Despite Smile's greater natural talent, he sees the sport as simply a way to pass the time, and often lets less able players such as Peco beat him out of consideration for their feelings.

Several years later, Peco has fulfilled his dream of playing professionally in Europe, while Smile helps a young boy learn the sport.

The cast includes Yosuke Kubozuka (Peco), Arata (Smile), Sam Lee (China), Shidō Nakamura (Dragon), Kōji Ōkura (Akuma), Naoto Takenaka (Butterfly Joe, the high school coach) and Mari Natsuki (Obaba, Peco's mentor).

[4] Jeannette Catsoulis from The New York Times praised the film and stated "Stylistically stunning and completely nuts, Ping Pong is nevertheless perceptive about male social hierarchies and the benefits of knowing your place.

Between the pistoning elbows and whizzing balls, the director, Sori, repeatedly films his protagonists sitting on stairs, subtly altering their positions as the story progresses.

In fact, when not busying himself with slow-motion sweat and eye-popping backspins, Sori has a lot to say about the heart-versus-skill conflict and the demands of natural talent.