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Pinpon

  • 2002
  • 1h 54m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
Pinpon (2002)
Coming-of-AgeTeen DramaComedyDramaSport

As a child, the introverted Smile was being bullied by a gang of kids until the brash Peco came by and chased all of them away. Peco then takes Smile under his wing and teaches him how to pl... Read allAs a child, the introverted Smile was being bullied by a gang of kids until the brash Peco came by and chased all of them away. Peco then takes Smile under his wing and teaches him how to play the game of ping pong. From there, a lifelong best friend relationship comes into exist... Read allAs a child, the introverted Smile was being bullied by a gang of kids until the brash Peco came by and chased all of them away. Peco then takes Smile under his wing and teaches him how to play the game of ping pong. From there, a lifelong best friend relationship comes into existence between these two polar opposite kids. Fast forward a decade later, and Smile and Pec... Read all

  • Director
    • Fumihiko Sori
  • Writers
    • Taiyô Matsumoto
    • Kankurô Kudô
  • Stars
    • Yôsuke Kubozuka
    • Arata Iura
    • Sam Lee
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    3.6K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Fumihiko Sori
    • Writers
      • Taiyô Matsumoto
      • Kankurô Kudô
    • Stars
      • Yôsuke Kubozuka
      • Arata Iura
      • Sam Lee
    • 31User reviews
    • 38Critic reviews
    • 59Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 6 wins & 7 nominations total

    Photos51

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    Top cast26

    Edit
    Yôsuke Kubozuka
    Yôsuke Kubozuka
    • Yutaka Hoshino…
    Arata Iura
    • Makoto Tsukimoto
    • (as Arata)
    • …
    Sam Lee
    Sam Lee
    • Kong Wenge…
    Shidô Nakamura
    Shidô Nakamura
    • Ryûichi Kazama…
    Kôji Ohkura
    • Manabu Sakuma…
    Naoto Takenaka
    Naoto Takenaka
    • Butterfly Joe
    Mari Natsuki
    • Obaba
    Yoshiyoshi Arakawa
    Takahiro Hirano
    Mako Ishino
    Kôen Kondô
    Kôen Kondô
    Erika Mabuchi
    Suzuki Matsuo
    • Policeman
    Asumi Miwa
    Ayumu Moriyama
    Akira Nishihara
    Kaei Okina
      Teppei Sasaki
      • Director
        • Fumihiko Sori
      • Writers
        • Taiyô Matsumoto
        • Kankurô Kudô
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

      User reviews31

      7.03.5K
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      Featured reviews

      9ville_koistinen

      The best Japanese movie I've seen.

      I watched this movie the first time last summer and I really liked it. Now after seeing it the second time I absolutely adore it. The ending almost got me into tears and that's really something.

      Ping Pong is about friendship and well, table tennis. I really don't think you can call this a normal sport film because that's kind of a lame term. And this isn't a lame film.

      The directing is good and acting too and the whole mood of this flick is stunning, especially in the end. I got the shivers.

      Too bad that this is, at least for most people, really hard to find. I'm glad my friend went to Japan and by mistake got this film and then gave this to me. A weird coincidence.
      10Inakaguy

      Simple and touching

      This was one of those movies that I really had to force myself to watch and ended up loving.

      It's a story more about the nature of friendship than the actual sport of ping pong.

      As with a lot of Japanese cinema, the movie takes a while to get moving, but don't let this deter you. The special effects are fantastic. Basically, I didn't even know there were special effects until I'd finished watching it.

      There are a few laugh out loud moments, although some of the humour requires a knowledge of Japan. My favourite moment is the boy who doesn't want to play in the tournament because his opponent is Chinese.

      While I should have found the ending schmaltzy, I actually found it quite touching. I have no hesitation in recommending this movie to anyone.
      10please_save_yuri

      There will never be a better movie about ping pong

      I watched this movie in Japan, in the theater, twice. At $25 a shot. But it was worth every dollar. And this was without understanding much of the dialogue, because I don't speak Japanese. When the DVD was released with English subtitles, I purchased it immediately. And again, it was worth every dollar.

      This movie is fantastic. On the surface, it's a movie about sports and competition. Beneath this, it's a movie about heroes and friendship. There's no clear-cut "bad guy". Every character has depth, motive and pain.

      In short, the filming is great, the story is fabulous, and the actors are well-cast. Even watching it in Japanese, the acting was good enough to convey the general story without me understanding what was being said.

      I love this movie. In fact, whenever I meet someone who hasn't seen it, I make them watch it.
      brecedogg

      it was great

      the movie is about these two boys who have been friends since they were young. they are both on the ping pong club team. the main character peco is a cocky kid who thinks that he is great, though he is, his best friend "smile" (because he doesnt) is equily as good but doesnt let himself try. the two join a tournament and peco loses to an easy foe while smile beats the only person to ever beat peco... make sense? anyway, the two separate. peco loses his will to play and smile trains harder than ever. they meet again at another tournament where at the end they are put against eachother by elimination. i think that the characters in this movie are pretty interesting. the acting for the most part is fairly good but also a little over the top in a few scenes because of how animated the peco character is. a few things are also pretty far fetched. i would say that it is overall a good movie but you cant take it too seriously or you will be let down.

      if you like this movie check out aoi haru (blue spring) it is based off of a manga by the same author that wrote ping pong... though much more violent, this movie is a fantastic movie. i would say to also check out kyoki no sakura staring kabozuke yosuke, also much more violent in nature, but a fantastic movie aswell.
      10yojimbo999

      Surprisingly good and charming

      a terrific movie. i was surprised by how good and mature the screenplay was. the movie takes place in the world of high school ping pong, but really it's more of a human story about friendship and hero worshipping, and not living life like it's a curse. a good movie, highly recommended, even if you don't know a lick about ping pong (which pretty much sums up my experience).

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      Coming-of-Age
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      Sport

      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Based on a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Taiyou Matsumoto about table tennis. It was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1996 to 1997 and collected in five tankobon volumes.
      • Connections
        References Gigantor (1964)

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      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • July 30, 2004 (United Kingdom)
      • Country of origin
        • Japan
      • Official site
        • Official Movie Website
      • Languages
        • Japanese
        • Cantonese
      • Also known as
        • Ping-Pong
      • Filming locations
        • Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
      • Production companies
        • Asmik Ace Entertainment
        • BS-i
        • Imagica Corp.
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

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      • Gross worldwide
        • $1,483,384
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Tech specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        • 1h 54m(114 min)
      • Color
        • Color
      • Sound mix
        • Dolby
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.85 : 1

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