Smile, you still following Peco wherever he goes?
Say hi to the old lady for me.
Demon's amazing. He's playing the first game for Kaiou.
Could you ask him to come to our school?
The only way to be sure you won't lose is to not fight.
Where's Kazama?
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 going to do it?
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
You sure, Wenge?
You don't have to stay here alone.
Kong Wenge (China) Right-Chinese Penhold Grip Pips-In Rubber on Both Sides Style: Counter Driver Interhigh Preliminaries Quarterfinalist
Well, I don't know how I can face them...
Plus, I was hired to beef up that week little club,
even if that wasn't the real goal.
Hello. Goodbye. Thank you.
Heh heh. Pretty good, huh?
The only saving grace is that Kazama won worlds as well.
If he'd lost the Interhigh,
I would've found a witch to turn me into a frog.
I'll miss you, Wenge.
Right back at you.
Kazama! Congratulations on your gold medal in singles at the Youth Olympics!
Could you share your thoughts?
My performance in the team and doubles events was less than stellar,
but I'm satisfied with my victory in the singles.
Kazama Ryuuichi (Dragon) Kaiou Captain Right Shakehand Grip Style: All-rounder Youth Olympics Gold Medalist
From Narita Airport
Table Tennis Youth Olympics Gold Medalist
However, what I'm most worried about is my school, Kaiou
From Narita Airport
Table Tennis Youth Olympics Gold Medalist
The overall strength of our team has dropped.
For Kaiou Academy to be as formidable as it once was,
we require players as good as Tsukimoto from Katase High School.
Kazama!
Huh?
That's it?
Huh? Is that the girl from the commercials?
The ones for Poseidon?
That was an all-too-brief interview with Kazama Ryuuichi, who took singles gold in the Youth Olympics table tennis.
Now, back to you.
From Narita Airport
Table Tennis Youth Olympics Gold Medalist
From Narita Airport
Table Tennis Youth Olympics Gold Medalist
Let's play table tennis!
For all your table tennis needs.
Poseidon
By Fujisawa Station.
Congrats! You're amazing, Ryuu!
Auntie Emiko was overjoyed too.
Have you called her?
No.
You should! She'd be really happy.
I hear she always shows her customers newspaper clippings of you.
So, home?
No. I want to see the old man first.
Really? That sucks.
Say, there's a good pancake house nearby...
Sorry. I get it.
Even though you're world champ, you have it rough.
It's like Grampa's at the centre of the world!
yen
Parasol
Beach Chair
Mat
Inflatable Raft
Banana Boat
yen
That's pricey.
yen
It's dirt cheap.
You'd pay more than double this at a resort beach!
You sure we need these?
We'd burn to a crisp in less than half an hour without a parasol.
And chairs are mandatory!
Ah, I'll be covered in sand!
Table Tennis News We have a World Juniors Winner!
Rub lotion on me.
Give me a minute.
What's up with that? It's hilarious.
It's totally cracked.
from Katase High School
For Kaiou Academy
to be as formidable as it once was
we require players as good as Tsukimoto
from Katase High School
Huh?
Tsukimoto
Hey, isn't there a famous pancake house around here?
Yo, we want to order.
Yes, sir.
Order something for me.
What?
What would you like?
I don't want that stuff.
What?
Oh...
I guess the beach isn't right for me, either.
Maybe I'll try the mountains.
Are you ready?
We're about to close up.
Good work, Ryuuichi.
Next we'll spend some money on a commercial featuring you.
Still, you pulled quite the stunt!
And on TV too.
Will he come to us?
No doubt.
I'm sure he knows where he belongs.
I'm counting on you.
Kaiou must always win.
This isn't good, Ryuuichi.
You know it isn't.
Yes, sir!
I'm very sorry, sir!
I can tell you're genuinely worried for Kaiou.
Kazama Ryuuichi
Fails to Defend Title
But the guys who got crushed at the Interhigh haven't bounced back yet,
Kaiou Academy sinks
Defeated in the second round of the team event
and their captain only caring about another school's player is a slap in the face
Kazama Ryuuichi
Fails to Defend Title
Second Consecutive Individual Victory
My apologies, sir!
Yo. I hear Kazama got called into the Coach's office.
Yes, sir!
He ran his mouth at the airport on the afternoon news.
Yes, sir.
Apparently, the guy's like a robot. He doesn't even smile.
His name's Tsukimoto?
But we're talking about Kazama here.
He didn't mention him by accident.
He's planning to get that four-eyes with the parted hair on our team.
Probably so.
Sakuma Manabu (Demon) Right Penhold Grip Pips-In/Long Pips-Out Style: Modern Defender Defeated in Interhigh, Second Round
Where Did I Go Wrong?
Thanks. Good work.
Your speed is dropping.
Pick it up!
Swing your arms.
More! More!
Tough it out!
There!
Okay, you're good.
Tsukimoto Makoto (Smile) Right Shakehand Grip Pips-In/ Long Pips-Out Style: Attacking Chopper Defeated in Interhigh, Third Round
Don't stop.
Keep walking.
Hey, Captain Oota.
You heading home?
Yes, sir.
We're calling it a day, but do you need help with anything?
No, thanks.
See you later, then!
Goodbye.
I don't like it.
Oota, what're you up to today?
Getting my license.
Got to be able to drive my family's light truck.
A family business must be nice.
We're university-bound with no prospects.
Idiot.
You don't know how rough small-town appliance stores have it.
Your bowl-headed friend didn't come today, either.
Let's go inside.
We'll catch a chill.
Hm? Ah, right.
Next is multi-ball training.
Okay.
Use your feet.
You missed a ball.
Don't return with just your hands.
You're slow! Too slow! Your feet are flopping all over the place!
Personally, I like Akagi Dairy.
I'm impressed by their liberal management style.
Their BLACK commercials are pretty sharp too.
The success of their cream products hasn't made them arrogant.
They keep putting out new products.
You look like burnt toast.
I almost didn't recognise you
I thought you quit, Hoshino.
I don't see Smile around.
Have you put on weight?
Ugh, for real?
Tsukimoto's running laps outside with the old man.
He's on a completely different training regimen from us.
He comes to school at five in the morning and runs ten kilometers.
He's doing three times the exercise we are.
The old man arranges a stupid number of matches for him too.
Why?
Hello, everybody.
Are you all here?
Yo.
Have you put on weight?
Your new glasses just make it look that way.
You've been eating too many sweets.
That's my policy.
The cigarettes too?
Huh?
He looks down on us.
He plays so many matches because none of us are worth practicing with.
Which means we play schools that're at his level.
The prince rides the winning-streak highway alone.
There's no "team" here anymore.
He's the only member of the first string; everyone else is just a ball boy.
What? Sakuma's not here?
No, sir! He said he'd rest up in the dorms because he's coming down with a cold!
A cold?
Very well.
Fine. You can go.
Yes, sir!
Three!
Four!
Look, I don't believe in Sakuma's "cold."
One!
Two!
He's the type who'd play with appendicitis.
Three!
Four!
The posters in his dorm room aren't funny to me
Tsuburaya
He worships you like a god.
One, two, three, four!
Where would a guy like that go?
Kaiou doesn't tolerate us playing other schools' athletes without permission.
One, two, three, four!
Knowing that, where could Sakuma have gone?
It's fine by me if you want that chopper from Katase.
One, two, three, four!
But it seems to me that if you go around calling us losers in public,
it might throw a spanner in the works.
One, two, three, four!
You hear me, Kazama?
Kazama, break time is over.
Oh.
Concerned about Sakuma after all, huh?
No.
Yes, Sakuma's the last guy who'd—
Sakuma will lose.
Tsukimoto Makoto's play is on a different level from the rest of you.
Sakuma can't beat him.
I smell sweet olive.
Excuse me, but we need to start!
Yes, yes, we're coming!
Anyway, Sakuma will leave a hole in our team.
What?
Our most pressing need is finding someone to fill it.
Hold it there.
How do you figure Sakuma'd feel if he heard that? Well?
He's been with us through thick and thin!
Here's what I'd like to know: how shall that compassion help us regain our former glory?
We can't even dominate the Interhigh without players who can win on the international stage.
Nothing has changed. We're still in crisis.
Winter is coming.
Smells like trouble.
You think it's funny, don't you?
Is it about what Ryuu said on TV?
Yes.
Thanks.
There's a first-year on my team. One of a dying breed.
He plays our first match.
Is he good?
He's the poster boy for awkwardness. If there were contests in it, he'd be in the running immediately.
I didn't scout him.
In fact, I was set against letting him on the team.
I kept turning him down, telling him he'd only suffer.
But he refused to listen. He said, "I came to Kaiou to become like Kazama."
I caved, figuring I could make him manager someday... But you know what?
He turned out to be the type who, if you tell him to drop and give you ten, will do a hundred or a thousand.
But table tennis is a sport where natural talent really matters.
It's impossible for him to become like Ryuuichi.
But your dad here likes him.
He's just too adorable for me!
It's the same for our team now.
We're weaker than we were in our glory days, but I love those guys.
I wish Ryuuichi felt the same way.
It's not easy when things don't go your way.
What will you do when you graduate from junior college?
I'm thinking it over.
Let me hear you, first-years!
Yes, sir!
Oh dear.
Hey. What's wrong, mister?
Why did you stop? Come on!
Come on, Demon.
Have your eyes gotten that bad?
You got off at the wrong station.
This isn't Kaiou Academy, you know.
Put on some weight, Peco?
Excuse me!
Where might I find the coach?
Here.
Sir!
I am Sakuma, first-year at Kaiou!
I've come here today because I'd like to play Tsukimoto!
You heard him.
I don't mind playing, Demon.
But you'll lose.
Aren't you cool?
Whatever. I don't care anymore.
I don't mind you playing a match,
but doesn't Kaiou forbid playing other schools without permission?
Yes. If we lose, we're kicked off the team immediately.
Did you hear that, mister?
They're like the Shinsengumi.
You don't have Kondou Isami's permission?
I didn't even tell Hijikata I was coming
So you're prepared to commit ritual suicide.
Okay, Mr. Okita.
We'll gift you some of our time.
Wrap it up in fifteen minutes.
I want to finish up the rest of our regimen.
Got it.
Bring it on.
It's been two years and four months since I played you, Smile.
Has it?
Time!
My record against you is 96 - 37.
I don't remember any of that.
Ready!
Don't get ahead of yourself just because Kazama likes you a little bit.
Your winning streak comes from playing easy games against rank amateurs.
You're just a big fish in a small pond.
Here we go.
One-love!
I can see you've improved a little, Smile.
That guy's not bad. He returned Tsukimoto's third shot!
That's Kaiou for you.
Love-two!
Love-three!
Four-love!
Eleven-one!
Game goes to Tsukimoto!
Smile, you dog...
Don't be fooled by simple spin like that.
Idiot.
Hey, Demon.
Don't hit Smile.
But, Peco... this guy sucks.
He doesn't get any better.
The right?
Out!
Two-eleven!
Game goes to Tsukimoto.
Ah.
I can't predict his shots at all.
I can't throw him off, either.
He returns my knuckleballs with ease.
Tsukimoto up two games to love!
I feel like I'm playing a university student or a pro.
Where did I go wrong?
What tripped me up?
That's some astigmatism you have, Manabu.
Where did I go wrong?
Focus on distant objects when your eyes get tired.
What tripped me up?
Unlike me, he has good eyes.
Look at that, Manabu.
No, Manabu.
That's a choo-choo, not a vroom-vroom.
Where did I go wrong?
Once I'm out of high school, I'm going to Europe.
Sakuma's playing our first match?
I have high hopes for him.
What tripped me up?
Come on, Manabu.
What...
can you see?
Straight? No!
Five-love!
Ah!
Why you? Why?
I worked hard!
Ten! No, a hundred! A thousand times harder than you!
All so that Kazama would acknowledge my skill!
All so I could beat Peco!
From dawn until dusk, my only thoughts were of table tennis!
I've given everything I had to table tennis!
So why—
Because you don't have a talent for table tennis, Demon.
That's all there is to it.
It's nothing to shout about.
Nonsense.
That can't be...
If you're not going to keep playing, leave.
I don't have time for this.
It can't be. That's not possible...
So, there are different theories about how Bruce Lee died—
That hurt, brat! Where are you looki—
Shut up!
Kaiou Academy Table Tennis Team Member Sakuma Manabu
Where do I have to look for you to praise me, huh?
Suspended from school for two weeks for causing bodily harm and...
Answer me! Come on!
Where should I look when I'm walking?
removed from the table tennis team
Sorry, partner.
Rest in peace, yes?
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
I could've soared the skies if I so pleased!
I'm serious!
But of course I didn't take a trip to the moon and back.
I didn't know what the word "miracle" meant, you see.
Now, behold!
I Love Table Tennis More Than You Guys!