As a birthday present to my good friend Floop I wanted to make a mini-thread, not necessarily introducing any new analysis, but rather just simply discussing the most interesting aspect of the most interesting character in PPTA for me.

Specifically I want to talk about Chinese Ping Pong Prodigy Kong Wenge, a man who oozes class and arrogance, he comes to Japan and plays Ping Pong for arguably the highest stakes, a ticket home. He is a man who was dismissed from his homeland, one he considers to be...

"the land of Ping Pong". This is what I find so interesting about Ping Pong The Animation, a sport that is just two dudes hitting a 1.5 in ball back and forth for an extended amount of time, is able to deliver an amazing take on the ambitious theme of Paradise. Kong throughout...

the series is shown just how wrong he was to consider Japan to be weak, as Smile lets him win their match and Kazama absolutely destroys him. Though this is where Kong takes his most interesting turn, rather than descending into despair, being overcome with rage, or doubling...

down to ensure he won't lose again, Wong is able to accept his loss, he is able to accept that he ultimately doesn't have the wings he needs to take himself home. There is so something powerful to me here, that a man who only 3 episodes ago was shown to be filled with so much...

arrogance and pride is able to see just how far and distant his true goal was, that he was so easily able to accept that he couldn't fly, Wenge accepted he was unable to enter paradise. He learns humility and moves forward, and rather than growing his own...

wings, Wong instead "...teach my lost ducklings how to fly." One final note is that when observing how the main theme of "Learning to fly" applies to all the other characters in PPTA you notice one interesting thing. For Kong it isn't about learning to Fly, rather...

it's about learning that it's not his time to fly. The mechanical wings that he dreams of are not what will ascend him to where he desires, he needs to grow his own wings, but he can't, just yet. Though by the end of Ping Pong once everything is wrapped up and and completed we...

see that Kong was able to fulfill his goal and desire all along. He waited to fly and eventually fly he did.

Paradise, acceptance, and humility, that's what makes up the masterful character that is Kong Wenge.