[cite web | url=http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/kodansha.shtml | author=Joel Hahn | title=Kodansha Manga Awards | work=Comic Book Awards Almanac | accessdate=2007-08-21] ]Characters
; Maeno: Somewhat the 'leader' of the Ping Pong Club. He has a strange demeanor and enjoys any conversation or subject involving his glorious 'ass', of which he is very proud. Contrary to the belief that his strange and perverted attitude would repel girls, it actually attracts them (as well as his good friend Izawa). anime voices|Kōsuke Okano
; Hiromi Izawa: Izawa's strange hairstyle is constantly the 'butt' of many a joke in the series. He is a kind and caring person, although quite perverted at times, and he lives his life by the laws of chivalry. He is a huge boxing fan and wears his shoulder length hair in the style of Joe Boxer from the popular manga. He and Maeno constantly play little games in which Izawa almost always acts as the woman, be it a mother, child, or love interest. His relationship with Maeno can be debated. He is pretty much Maeno's very close friend but he has a very strange adversity to Maeno's getting a girlfriend and he even went so far as to dress up as a woman to repel Maeno's soon-to-be lover. He is also the only one in the show who has freckles. anime voices|Takumi Yamazaki
; Takeda : One of Ping Pong Clubs two 'pretty boys'. Takeda has a bowl haircut with short bangs, and he is also the crush of female character Kiyoko. He even has a whole episode devoted to him fondling her breasts (in which Maeno, Izawa, and Tanaka are all hiding naked in a locker). anime voices|Tsutomu Takayama
; Yūsuke Kinoshita: The quintessential 'pretty boy' out of the two in Ping Pong Club. He, like Izawa, has hair down to his shoulders and is the most popular and cool guy in the whole school, constantly having girls chase after him. In one episode however, Maeno and Izawa dress him like a girl and it's now Tanaka who's chasing after him. In the English dub of the series, Kinoshita is shown as having a slacker 'surfer-boy' accent. anime voices|Susumu Kaseta
; Tanaka: A tiny little pervert coming from a long line of 'Panty Masters'. Under his clothes, he has a very shapely feminine body that is mistaken for that of a girl's from the back in an episode. He is constantly tricked into playing along with Maeno and Izawa's schemes. He also constantly refers to girls he likes as 'Mommy'. anime voices|Yasuhiro Takato
; Mitchell Gorō Tanabe: The token American of the series. Hairy, blond, and blue-eyed, Tanabe is always looking out for people in trouble and for ways to help his good friend, Tanaka. He is known for his exponential stench and bad B.O. The only thing that has been able to destroy his horrible smell is pool disinfectant. anime voices|Masato Amada
Anime
The episodes in "Ping-Pong Club" are actually split into 12-14 minute segments,combined together to form a typical 25 minute single episode. Seeing that there are26 full episodes, when in fact all are split to a total of 52 episodes released on 5 DVD's. [http://www.centralparkmedia.com/cpmdb/cfcpm.cfm?Cat=SSDVD_6199]
Changes for North American release
When localizing the Anime for release in North America, Software Sculptors neglected to follow the 52-Episode numbering, deciding instead not to count the five two-part episodes as two separate episodes. Their official Episode count on the DVD's is instead 47. Also, volumes in the series have had name changes when re-released, with Discs 4 and 5 in the series being renamed from"Ping Pong Club - Goes for Broke" and "Ping Pong Club - Assorted Shorts"to " Ping Pong Club - Goes Too Far" and "Ping Pong Club - Rots in Hell". [http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=60]
List of Episode Titles
Disc 1: Make Way for the Ping Pong Club
1. School Boys/Evil Plot
2. Half-Baked/The Worms
3. Maeno Germ/Seductive Snob
4. The Purchase/Hot Summer
Disc 2: Love & Comedy (Die! Die! Die!)
5. Training Camp/Curse of Takeda
6. Sixty Years/Burning Spirit
7. Inachu Vs./Sex Ticket
8. Love & Comedy/Love & Comedy Part II
Disc 3: Ping Pong Club Losers' Club
9. First Love/Loser's Community
10. Dress-Up Dolls/Ultra Tanabe
11. Winning the Lottery! Part 1/Winning the Lottery! Part 2
12. Shibazaki's Plan/Survival
Disc 4: Ping Pong Club Goes For Broke/Goes Too Far
13. Friendship/Tsutomu
14. Saturday Hare/The Wimp
15. The Outcast/Shorty
16. Dr. Maeno Part I/Dr. Maeno Part II
17. Find Happiness/Sheds His Skin
18. Partner? Part I/Partner? Part II
19. The Unfortunates/May I Have It?
Disc 5: Ping Pong Club Assorted Shorts/Rots In Hell
20. A River/Retirement
21. Loan King/Flaming Perverts
22. The Invasion/Into the Big Sky
23. I've Got Guts/A Dramatic Photo!
24. Fake Drunkard/Takeda Fondles
25. Wanted Part I/Wanted Part II
26. Dandy Principal/The Drifters
[60http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=60&page=25]
Trivia
*The characters Maeno and Izawa often play a game called "Lupin and Fujiko", where one of them dresses as Fujiko Mine whilst the other dresses as Lupin the 3rd and gropes the other. This is a clear parody/reference to the anime "Lupin the 3rd".
*Izawa starts the anime with heavily gelled hair and is often seen sporting a style similar to that seen in "Ashita no Joe".
*Maeno does the Bruce Lee warming-up from "Way Of The Dragon" in episode 22.
References
External links
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