Scorching Ping Pong Girls
Media. Manga. "Scorching Ping Pong Girls", written and illustrated by Yagura Asano, began its serialization in the 2013 11th issue of Shueisha's "Jump SQ.19" on December 19, 2013. After "Jump SQ.19" ceased its publication on February 19, 2015, the series was switched to the "Tonari no Young Jump" online platform starting on May 15, 2015. The series finished on February 1, 2019. Shueisha compiled its chapters into seven "tankōbon" volumes, published between March 4, 2015 and April 4, 2016. Anime. An anime television adaptation of the series was announced in March 2016. The anime is  produced by Kinema Citrus, directed by Yasuhiro Irie and written by Hideyuki Kurata, featuring character designs by Junko Sugimura and music by MONACA. The series aired on TV Tokyo between October 3, 2016 and December 19, 2016 and was simulcast by Crunchyroll. The opening theme is by Suzumegahara Chūgaku Takkyū-bu (Yumiri Hanamori, Minami Tanaka, Marika Kōno, Yūki Kuwahara, Ayaka Imamura, and Hisako Tōjō), while the ending theme is by Wake Up, Girls!. The anime will be released across six Blu-ray & DVD volumes. Reception. Anime News Network had four editors review the first episode of the anime: Theron Martin  said that despite the bland production, workmanlike animation and typical moe designs, he commended the show's writing for its charming humor and moe elements, and leaving enough room for character development between its two main leads; Nick Creamer was initially unimpressed by the show's aesthetics in the opening scenes and described it as "meaningless club activities plus clumsy fanservice", but was hooked by the conflict between Agari and Koyori's differing viewpoints on playing table tennis and its adequate delivery of a sports narrative; Paul Jensen found the series conflicted with its jumbling of both school comedy and  sports elements and preferred that it went with the latter genre to focus on both table tennis and the Agari-Koyori relationship. The fourth reviewer, Rebecca Silverman, criticized the art direction and character designs for being generic and annoyingly simplistic, and the animation of the ping pong scenes for lacking excitement for the viewers. Silverman added that the series has potential by putting its focus more on both the explanation of ping pong and Agari's conundrum of wanting to excel at the sport while wanting to have friends, concluding with, "So right now this episode stands with as a  big question – will it learn to balance its elements? Will the sports drama win out, or will the moe? I'm not sure it's worth finding out."