Call me when you're in a pinch!
Chant this three times in your mind!
Enter the hero!
If you do that,
I'll
come to you
The zipper was up top, but the fly was wide open!
Someone pointed it out, but I ignored them.
I was like that for almost four hours after second period ended.
And nobody told me!
Isn't that funny, Smile?
Yes, it's funny.
You seriously never smile.
Where's Peco today?
I don't know.
If he's not here, Oota will start griping again.
Yes, you two are a thorn in his side. Do you get that?
Whatever.
Come on, man! Peco only listens to you, and thanks to Peco, we're...
Hey, first-years! Quit flapping your gums!
The third-years are here!
Yes, sir!
Yes, sir.
Tsukimoto Makoto (Smile) Right-Handed Shakehand
Racket: Double Reverse Style: Chopper
Come on! Let me hear you, first-years!
Captain Yamada.
What is it?
Has that chopper with the glasses always been on our team?
What are you talking about?
He's one of the two up-and-comers who joined this year.
The other's skipping practice.
Please, Mr. Koizumi, give him a talking-to.
The penhold one with the bowl haircut?
Yes.
If he doesn't want to practise, get him to quit.
We can't do that.
He's our star player.
What about Mr. Glasses over there?
Tsukimoto's good, for sure.
He's no match for Hoshino, though.
You're kidding...
Peco's probably at the table tennis hall near Odakyuu Station.
That's not what I'm asking.
I'll draw you a map. You go.
What was that?
I'm not Peco's guardian.
If you keep talking like that, I'll hit you!
Is Mr. Oota angry?
Yes. Since Hoshino and Tsukimoto came along, he's not a starter anymore.
They know they're better than us.
It makes them cocky.
You're new here, aren't you?
Yes, but I've been playing for ten years.
I'm sure I can beat a boy like you.
That's not what I meant.
I don't play people who don't bet.
Bet what? Money?
Old lady, I'm borrowing Table Four!
I don't rent tables to gamblers.
Hear that?
A thousand yen per game.
And FYI, I go by "Peco" around here.
You can call me that too.
But if I win, you add a "mister."
That's Mister Peco to you!
Hoshino Yutaka (Peco) Right-Handed Penhold Racket: Soft Front Style: Offensive, Close to Table
A new age has dawned, and still I can't make a decision
My path is too straight for my taste, but I'll walk it
I can't choose just yet
I have to think about it
I have no idea what I want to do
I'm going crazy!
Comparing yourself to others just makes you depressed
You're alone in this world
You're always alone here
Still you're gonna do it, right?
Maybe there's nothing that only I can do
But there's no way that I
But there's no way that I won't try to leave my mark
I just want to have my fun, whatever the times
Yes!
Ah.
Yes!
Stop messing around!
What does it matter, as long as I win?
Hey, Smile.
You don't drop by often.
Who's that?
A newcomer.
Said he made it pretty far in middle school.
But he plays like a rich university boy.
You're making a fool out of me!
Having fun at your club?
Not really.
The game is the same wherever I play it.
That's not true, Smile.
I didn't want you to go to that school. You deserve better.
Don't think too highly of me, old lady.
Yes!
I don't like it when people do that
Did you think over my offer to coach children?
I can't teach children.
I never know what they'll do, and I don't like them.
Got you!
Yes!
No bounce...
It's about three centuries too soon for you to challenge me.
What were my ten years of effort for?
Hard work is for chumps with no talent.
Once I'm out of high school, I'm going to Europe.
If I make it to the top, this place'll gain some prestige, right, old lady?
That's the same clichÃ© all snotty-nosed children use, Peco.
Come to the club tomorrow, Peco.
Leaving already?
You're not going to play?
I don't care either way,
but they asked me to tell you, so I did.
It must be exhausting to live like that.
I do like that side of him,
but even I don't want him to be like that forever.
We're not in middle school anymore.
Do you call him "Smile" because he never smiles?
Is he good?
He's been my friend for a long time,
so that's Mister Smile to you.
So why don't you smile, Tsukimoto?
Are you making fun of us or what?
Let it go, Oota.
It makes me tired.
Laughing. Getting angry.
Well, aren't you cool!
Don't be stuck-up.
Come on, give it a rest.
This is an order from your elder.
Laugh.
Dropping out of the womb a year earlier sure makes you high-and-mighty, doesn't it?
Idiot! Don't!
That first-year's is picking a fight.
You want to fight? I'll fight!
Hey, what are you doing?
Now, now.
Calm down and go back to practising.
I asked you a question, idiot.
What?
Hoshino, stop.
Ribbit, ribbit.
They're jealous because they can't beat you at table tennis.
If you keep drinking condensed milk, you'll get diabetes.
Let's ditch this pathetic practise and go to Tsujidou Academy instead.
You know, to see China.
China?
Tsujidou Academy brings in a Shanghai Junior League player as an exchange student
You mean the ringer they brought in from China?
That has nothing to do with us.
Smile, you're such a typical type B.
Really?
If he played first string in his province,
that means he's at the same level as the national teams of other countries.
Hello, everybody.
Is everyone here?
Yes, sir!
Look. Koizumi's turned up now because you took so long.
Lessons, lessons.
Tsukimoto's under pressure.
Yes.
Hoshino really is good.
Shut up, you first-years!
Yes, sir!
Question for you, Captain Yamada.
Is Mr. Tsukimoto under the weather today?
Who knows? I haven't heard anything.
Why?
He's not on his game.
That'd be because he's up against Hoshino
Huh?
His attitude toward practice aside, Hoshino's really good.
His footwork, his backhand, his blocks. Everything, basically.
Have they known each other long?
Tamura Table Tennis
You know Tamura, the tennis table hall near the station?
Yes.
They both got their start there.
Really?
I'm really excited to see how far they'll go at this year's Interhigh.
No man so good, but another may be as good as he.
What does that mean?
That there's always someone better than you.
Hey, you first-years!
Yes?
Come here!
I haven't seen Tsukimoto or Hoshino for a while.
What's going on?
They said they were going to spy on China. Right?
Yes. They went over to Tsujidou Academy.
Get outside.
You're running laps until you puke.
Which kind of gum do you figure makes the biggest bubbles?
I don't know.
Bubblicious is good,
but Marukawa's cost-performance is right up there too.
Want some gum?
No.
I wonder if Oota's making the first-years do laps right now.
Probably.
I have so much fun with you.
Never a dull conversation.
Next stop?
The one after.
Is it cold outside?
How would I know? Figure it out yourself.
Ah.
I should've studied abroad in Europe.
Maybe Sweden or Germany.
It's a little late to say that now. Hurry it up, Wenge
Kong Wenge Right-Handed Chinese Penhold Racket: Double Reverse Soft Style: Offensive Drive
Tsujidou Academy was once the king of the east, but we've been getting weaker every year.
We did our meager best to come up with a plan,
and decided our best bet was to invite a first-class player like Kong Wenge, and seek his direct guidance.
What is this?
A folk dance?
He says he's learning a lot from watching how Japan plays.
Coach, we're going running.
Sure.
Wenge! They're going running!
This practice regimen is stupid.
If I play here, I'll get rusty in half a year.
What did he say?
He's jet-lagged.
Would it be all right if he started tomorrow?
Oh, yes, of course.
That didn't occur to me.
Wait, Smile.
No Trespassing
Tsujidou Academy
Are you just going to walk straight in?
Yes.
Why not?
Why not? Because...
Well, whatever.
Is that the gym?
Don't get full of yourself, Wenge.
Remember they're paying for you to be here!
It's not a problem, as long as I win.
That's some confidence you have.
You saw those guys?
I could beat them with just my forehand.
If I'd known this'd happen, I would've given up sooner...
A Chinese penhold grip.
Kong Wenge?
So this is real Chinese sticky rubber.
Maybe China killed the whole team with his kung fu!
They're probably out running.
What kind of training regimen is that?
They have some nice tables.
This racket has nice rubber on it too.
And those losers aren't even good!
It's even got a carbon blade.
Looks like Wenge's not here.
Let's go.
Huh?
You must be kidding me.
Have to kill time until China gets here.
I want to return one of your chops with this baby!
You hear that?
Yes, that's a good chopper.
But the hitter is controlling the game.
He has speed.
Compared to the chopper, the attacker's play is sloppy.
But the chopper has his hands full just returning the ball.
Is the hitter getting a high arc?
No. He has speed, but he leaves himself wide open.
The chopper's losing on purpose.
Why?
Who knows? Maybe it's a Japanese thing.
Anyway, let's head inside.
The wind makes it too hard to hear.
The Wind Makes it Too Hard to Hear
Katase High! Fight! Fight! Fight!
You're slowing down!
Mr. Tsukimoto's not here, Captain Yamada.
Faster!
He said he was going to spy on Tsujidou Academy and left.
What?
It's just an excuse to skip practice.
Hoshino probably instigated it.
Let me hear you, first-years!
Katase High! Fight! Fight!
Captain, let them come back inside already.
We're not the track team.
But...
That's right.
It's because you spoil them that Tsukimoto and Hoshino take advantage!
Well, let them off the hook for today.
Coach...
It's a good chance for them to learn China's got more than just noodles and dumplings.
First-years, gather 'round!
That's enough!
Keep playing like that and it'll become a habit, Glasses!
It's China.
Holding back is disrespectful to your opponent.
He's trying to say...
You don't need to translate, Coach.
Glasses understands what I'm saying.
Right?
N-Ni hao. (Hello)
Switch with me.
Kong wants to play.
Try chopping my strokes.
Xie xie. (Thank you)
Not you.
Wenge! Play him.
Tch.
His speed varies like crazy.
There's heavy spin on that. Fast spin at that.
Is this like a "Super Drive" with 4,000 years of Chinese empire behind it?
I hear you loud and clear!
It's time...
Eat this 4,000-year Super Drive!
Huh?
He has a sinking drive too?
Then I'll hit it lower this time.
What did I do to deserve this?
That's a lot of spin.
I'll have to put some top spin on it.
I get kicked off the top team,
and then they toss me in with
poor players who wouldn't make second string?
Is this Hell?
Born in the country of table tennis,
I practised more than enough.
I got results.
I supported my family.
But one little slip-up,
and now I'm stuck with these guys...
Your backhand is weak!
So is your forehand!
And your legs!
And your reactions!
Nothing you have is good enough!
You don't deserve to be at the same table as me!
What did I do to deserve being thrown to end of the world?
Now learn
how powerless,
and unpolished you are!
Eleven-love.
The match goes to Kong.
I got skunked...
Skunked!
You have a bad habit of crying after you lose.
Let's go, Peco.
You went too far.
I was just making him face reality.
Stand up. Come on.
Okay.
Wait, Glasses.
You, with the glasses.
Show me your chops next.
Kong's interested in you.
Would you do me a favour and play him?
It'd only end in defeat.
He says no, because it would just end in defeat.
Whose defeat?
Glasses has no fighting spirit.
It's a pity that he had no one to instill it in him.
That said,
maybe it's more of a pity to believe in a talent you don't have.
Wenge.
Let's practise.
If there are guys like him here,
then maybe there's still some hope left for me.
Annihilated
What's that?
Monster Robot.
I mean the song.
Is it weird?
A little.
Next stop?
No.
The one after.
A red sun stares at me
The world goes blurry when I yawn
My wishes fluctuate like a metronome
Everything tells me this is the end
I do have some dreams, you know
Sometimes we breathe
and just seem to inhale the smoke of someone
somewhere out of sight
Then all our great energy just seems to melt away
I don't understand this wonderland
I won't get wet even if it rains
This is a wonderland
Once I've made it through this long tunnel
I'm sure that someone will kiss me
In my case, it's pretty simple.
I don't care about anyone else. I just don't find losing fun.
Anyway, all's good as long as I win.
I can feel another hot summer's coming.
Smile's a Robot