SK∞ SK∞ エスケーエイト

2021 winter | Episodes: 12 | Score: 8.0 (303894)

Updated every Sundays at 02:00 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Producers:Aniplex | Movic | ABC Animation

Streaming: Crunchyroll | Bahamut Anime Crazy | Bilibili

Synopsis

High school student Reki Kyan is passionate about one thing: skateboarding. When night falls, he heads to "S," an illegal underground race inside a mine where skaters compete in highly dangerous situations. After a loss that results in his skateboard being destroyed and his arm being broken, Reki is now incapable of practicing at all. While working, Reki runs into his new classmate, Langa Hasegawa, a half-Canadian and half-Japanese boy with no skateboarding experience whatsoever. Langa is in desperate need of money. After they both visit "S" when tasked by Reki's boss, they get into trouble and are forced into a bet that requires Langa to skate in a race. However, the mysterious transfer student holds a trump card that Reki is unaware of, one which might help him win the race in the most unexpected way. [Written by MAL Rewrite]

Voice Actors

Kobayashi, Chiaki

Hatanaka, Tasuku

News

Reviews

Ah
06/09/2024, 01:30 AM
So I just want to say that this review is coming from someone who's been in the skateboarding community for over 6 years, and therefore I will try to remain unbiased and understanding of a non-skater's point of view, as well as mine. I am assuming when you are reading this review, you can categorize yourself into 2 categories: A: You want to watch this anime, mainly for the storyline and don't really care about the realism and accuracy of how skateboarding is depicted, it's anime after all, so maybe it doesn't matter to you. B: You are a skater yourself and like anime, so you wanna watchsomething that you can relate to. Otherwise, you may not skate but want to learn more about it, in the most accurate way, and by watching anime. I'll start off by saying that this anime has a decent plot, it's decently interesting... but that's about as much as I can say. It's not a plot you can get hooked on easily, but it may be worth watching if you have nothing else to. Now, talking about the accuracy of how skateboarding is depicted in this anime, it would probably have to be a 2/10. You can tell that the entire direction for this story, has never met a skater or tried it before; mainly due to the fact that none of the tricks are realistic and also that the sense of community is nowhere near the same as in real life. In conclusion, I think I was expecting something relatable as a skater, and I was a bit disappointed that I didn't feel that it described the whole community of skateboarding very well, but the storyline and plot is worth watching and stays fairly interesting until the last episode. If you want to learn more about skateboarding, you should definitely go and try it! But if you can't for any reason (or if you want to learn more about it through anime or manga), you should maybe check out: SK8R'S. It's as realistic as it gets in terms of skateboarding anime and it's worth reading.
JupiterGhost
04/03/2023, 05:18 PM
It started off so well!!! I’m not too sure what the creators were thinking towards the end. I think for any show, it’s easy to suspend your disbelief (no matter how unbelievable the fable), if the rules within the universe are well defined and adhered to throughout the entirety of the story. In the case of this anime, it was easy to suspend your disbelief initially. Some questionable aspects of skating on rocks down a mountain, but generally it was easy to get into. Then the primary antagonist up’d the ante by turning the competition into some sexualized fight club and the show went downhillfrom there. Where previously the only other bad actor used laser pointers and fire crackers on his foes, this char aznable wanabe got free reign to bash faces in, pummel other skaters into rock walls and generally abuse the competition. It’s not like us anime fans don’t enjoy a little violence here and there. It’s just that it didn’t make sense here. Why wouldn’t the other skating competitors partake in violence if it was allowed? There was so much potential here…
helcchi
11/07/2022, 04:06 AM
The anime comes off as both knowledgable and uninitiated in the sport it's trying to portray. It’s both futuristic and backwards at the same time. Some parts of the show are astoundingly realistic, while other times throws logic out the door completely. One of the main characters (Langa) has been a snowboarder since he was 2 years old, yet he’s never been exposed to skateboarding before. And when he tried for the first time, he lost his balance just standing on the board. I’m sorry, but I haven’t met a snowboarder that couldn’t skate, let alone a snowboarder that’s been doing it for 15 years. He saidhe couldn’t even do one push, but snowboarders push all the time when they’re on flat snow. This should just come naturally to him. And they keep saying how it’s unprecedented if he could switch to being a pro skater as if this hasn’t happened in real life. Like currently two of the best snowboarders in the world are also pro skaters. Ayumu Hirano - olympic snowboarder and skateboarder - was literally their consultant on this anime, how could they not even acknowledge this fact despite his involvement. Don’t even get me started on the shoes. I don’t care if this was set in the future or alternate timeline, you can’t wear geta on a skateboard. Do they want to die? Even the guy on Tiktok who wears hanfu on his longboard wears skate shoes when he’s riding. I can’t believe such an important aspect of skateboarding is ignored like that. Shoes are as integral to the culture and the sport as the skateboards are themselves. I also hate how they just combined all the disciplines as if they’re all the same thing. Freestyle skateboarding (Miya) is not the same as downhill (everyone else in that dumb street race), and neither are park or street (Reki). Racing and tricks are two distinct philosophies in this sport. The ollie that the main character Reki was so proud of (to the point he made a whole monologue about how you could skate your entire life without ever learning to ollie, but when you do, your whole life changes), aren’t even a part of racing, yet that’s the event he partakes in every night. The lack of understanding of each others’ sports as the source of Reki's feeling of inadequacy is so juvenile. Langa progressed so far in such a short amount of time because he’s been snowboarding for 15 years, and Reki knows that. He hadn't been left in the dust because of Langa's raw talent. Langa was NOT a beginner. He already had years of experience. The skills carry over. How can someone, fictional or not, be so dense about that fact? And how can Langa catch so much air you ask? Because it’s fucking standard in snowboarding. Just replay Ayumu’s Tokyo olympics run, the commentator literally said “He’s riding this thing like a (snowboard) halfpipe.” How many times did they forget and remember about having fun? Did all those crashes give them brain damage? There’s so much unnecessary angst that’s not conducive to character development at all. In a sport that has hundreds of amazing tricks, this anime just had to invent ones that don’t exist or are impossible to do. And they haven’t even included one skateboarder that looks like a skateboarder. A topless bodybuilder? A businessman in a suit??? A ninja cosplayer in a kimono???? And then in the very last episode, they introduced this fictional supernatural state called the Zone, which is completely taken from Kuroko’s basketball. BUT there is a real life phenomena common in action sports called flow state that illustrates what the zone basically is, why couldn’t they just call it what it really is? It’s supposed to be a kids' show, but why do they have to make it about illegal racing, and make it more illegal by adding combative elements to the races and have people get away with assault? Skateboarding is rebellious enough as it is. The part where they got busted for trespassing in the parking lot was one of the most relatable and realistic parts about skateboarding in this anime, and I wish they included more of that instead. But I’m glad they didn’t downplay the kinds of injuries you get from this sport. I’m glad that action sports is getting representation in anime, the art is great, even though the story is a letdown. I don’t have high hopes for season 2.
lynx1215
04/17/2022, 03:16 AM
this review contains minor spoilers! THINGS I LIKED: 1. the realism of the show. sk8 the infinity isn't exactly the most realistic anime there is. the skating of most of the characters are often something people in real life couldn't ever physically pull off, but i think the show really captured the emotions felt, and the relationships between each character. the characters actually felt like real people, with realistic insecurities and emotions, which i think played quite a big part in why i liked the show so much. (i would also like to say that despite a lot of scenes in sk8 weren't realistic, it doesn't mean that it'slike,, bad. shows or stories that is based off an activity we do irl doesn't mean it has the be realistic.) 2. the character designs. each character in sk8 are different and recognizable in their own way. like in real life, they all had their different personalities and strengths, and they all had their own interesting backstory. i think each character was written and designed really well, and we could see they each had complex personalities despite the show only having 12 episodes. 3. the music/intro. i don't have a lot to say here, but i really loved the intro. it was super catchy and had an upbeat and positive vibe, which the show itself portrayed. 4. the overall theme/message. i think sk8 does a good job of making the main message relevant. in my opinion the main message is not how "skating is infinite" or "skating is fun", but is how "anything can be fun if you're doing it with the right people/people you care about". we can see this when (SPOILERS) reki and langa don't feel the appeal of skating when they had their argument, and also when adam doesn't realize how skating is fun and just ends up hurting people. i like how they wrote the story in a way where this message is reflected in not only the main plot but also in the character's emotions. 5. other things i liked were... in conclusion, i loved the overall vibe of the story and also how they implemented a lot of funny scenes in the story without it feeling forced or just,, unfunny. i think the story flowed really well and there was a backstory or development for a lot (if not all) of the main characters. THINGS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER: 1. adam. i don't really need to say more lol. i think how adam acted towards langa was super unnecessary and could have been written much, much better. it didn't exactly ruin my overall enjoyment of the show, but it definitely soured the show a little bit. adam had a super weird personality at times which i couldn't understand, and i definitely think there was a potential to write him to become a better (and less weird) antagonist, as he already had a sad/unfortunate backstory. 2. the lack of female characters + the relevancy of the existing ones. the show has a lot of complex and great character designs, but i wished there was actually a female character that could have played a bigger role. this fact didn't really bother me when i was watching the show the first time, but when i was looking back at it, i wished that there was more representation. kiriko, who was the inspector in sk8, wasn't exactly relevant in the plot. she was just,,, there, and i think that was kind of a waste (unless she becomes useful in the future if there's going to be a continuation of a story??). 3. the argument on whether the show is gay or not, and how that affected the show itself. there were definitely parts where the show seemed like it was hinting that some characters could be gay (?). not only were there scenes like this (especially in the dub), but the show was also directed by the same person who directed banana fish (which was gay). as much as i like my ships in the show, i lowkey feel like the show is taking the route that i like to call 'the yuri on ice route'. basically, it's where everything else good in the show, whether it be the plot, music, character development, is overshadowed by if the characters are gay or not. i do admit that i would like some pairings to become canon, but i'm just worried that the show would just become known as enjoyable because there are gay people. representation of the lgbtq+ is always welcomed, but just because something is gay/has a character in the lgbtq+, doesn't mean it's good. like, i don't want sk8 to be known as 'the anime that has gay characters!!! they also skate btw but that doesn't really matter because we're here for the ships!!', but rather as 'the cool skating anime. also some characters could be gay but that doesn't really affect the show.' or whatever. overall, though, i did really enjoy watching the show. ofc, there were some parts i thought that could have been improved (e.g, like, adam as a whole apart from his backstory,,,). sk8 was super fun, and i had a really great time watching the show! thanks for reading!
doitsushine92
09/25/2021, 02:42 PM
I just finished watching this show, it took me three days because, well, as a certified senior citizen of 21 years old, I can't pull a marathon the way I used to when I was in high school >.< but I think that taking my time with this show was the right thing to do, after all. First, story wise, I think the show was okay. There isn't really any big or life changing plot, it's exactly as how it's advertised: a story about skating, and skaters, and about friendship, too. I think what really bothered me was how unrealistic it felt, since many of thestunts they pulled should've landed them in the hospital. And yes, I know, many animes are unrealistic in terms of injuries, but that won't stop me from pointing it out!! As for the characters, many of them were one-dimensional, and there wasn't a single important female character. Adam and Reki were the most interesting ones, because their character arcs were more fleshed out than the others, and personally, I would like to see more of the others. I think that Adam in particular is a very interesting character, and I would have loved to see more about his dynamics with Joe, Cherry, and Tadashi. Moving on to the fanservice, this show was full of it, and I'm not complaining. As a queer person myself, there were many instances where I had to pause and ask myself, "Is this fruity??" only for them to flake out. Seriously, there were so many moments between Reki and Langa that were just... very homo, in my humble opinion. To sum it up, I thought this show was enjoyable. It was fun, and it kept me entertained, and I think that a second season would be nice but only if they were to expand on the characters and send Adam to prison. That would be fun to watch.
changopongo
04/21/2021, 09:09 AM
this is the only good anime. all other anime is bad. if you think other anime are good and you haven't seen this one? well you're wrong. and if you have seen this one and you still think there are other good anime? well you're wrong again. this anime isn't for little babies who sit around picking their nose crying over some garbage slice of life same ol' regurgitated stories. this anime for da boys. only watch this anime if you like to skate fast, eat ass . visuals? BANGING story ? AMAZINGcharacter? INSANE if you don't like this anime there is a good chance you are a stupid baby.
spyro115
04/11/2021, 01:10 PM
EDITED 2023: I like Sk8 cause it gave a fun vibe, all the characters associated share especially the competitive part was extreme to where it made me want to try out skating myself, it's truly inspiring. The character relationships were also interesting, it even gave me nostalgia of 2012 where i felt like i would have watched this back in the summer at that time, good times too. This was the best sports based anime i've ever seen, the characters and story were amazing, it made me wish there was a sequel too. If only there were more sports anime that had the same kind ofvibe as Sk8. to me, i say Sk8 is one of the best animes of 2021.
Injenss
04/09/2021, 02:06 PM
Hey ya'll, did you know that skating is fun? Skating is REALLY fun. You can do it with your friends! You can do it anywhere! It's really so fun! Seriously! It's like the MOST FUN THING! You know what's REALLY FUN about skating?! When you hop off your board and smack people in the head with it! Or, you throw firecrackers in people faces! Or, you join up in groups and attack people with steel batons for no apparent reason at all!FUN TIMES! You've really got to understand how important it is to know that SKATING IS FUN! Did you know it can save your life?! If you're free-falling off of a cliff, all you have to do is remember that SKATING IS FUN, and you won't die! You can just skate down a sheer cliff leading to jagged rocks 2,000 feet below! You'll be fine! And don't forget the power of fun in skating can save any broken relationship! Do you have a friend who's a hater because you're so much better than him at skating? Simply remember SKATING IS FUN and he'll stop being salty! You don't even have to talk about it! Have you lost your ever-loving mind simply because a powerless servant didn't stand up for your skating hobby as a kid? And now you try to literally MURDER people in skating competitions? Never fear! Your mind can be saved with the power of skating! Simply get the underage boy you're pedo-ing over to beat you in a race and remind you that SKATING IS FUN, and you'll be okay! SKATING. IS. FUN. Got it?! Seriously...this anime is one of the most cringe animes I've seen in a while. Honestly, it didn't seem like it would turn out this way at the start. It seemed like it was just going to be your typical racing type anime, but with skateboards. You had your common MC duo of the wild-haired, boisterous guy (Reki) paired with the quiet, uber-skilled savant (Langa). You had what looked like would be an interesting cast of supporting characters. And it looked like it was just going to be a straight comedy with solid humor. The animation was quality. The Soundtrack was even good. Everything looked set up for an enjoyable anime. With a little luck, it might be as good of a sports anime as Haikyuu or Kuroko's Basketball. Well, those lofty hopes die pretty quickly, but it still looked like SK8 would settle in as a pretty good comedy... and then ADAM enters the picture. The main villain who looks like he was lifted right out of a Gundam anime from the mid-90s. SPOILERS AHEAD: ADAM is a pedophile who becomes obsessed with Langa because of his skill. This grown man is so obsessed with the teen boy that Hisoka actually stopped stalking Gon and Killua for a minute to make a cameo to call Chris Hansen on him. (He did not). ADAM wants Langa to be his "Eve", because he's hard up for a decent opponent and he believes Langa can be that for him. In order to build Langa up to those expectations, the anime basically turns at this point from a comedy to a homoerotic dramedy, that was pretty much focused on gassing up Langa for being good at the expense of his boyfrie--erghm---"buddy", Reki. Seriously, episode after episode, it's just "Oh, Langa is so great. But, that redheaded guy with him is just the most trashiest of all the trash." (Which didn't even make sense because he could hang with some of the best skaters in the anime. But, whatever, plot's not gonna push itself.) At any rate, Reki can't handle being the Krillin to Langa's Goku, so he turns into a hater, stops talking to him and quits skating. So, now we have to watch the guy who was supposed to carry this anime's comedy aspect, mope and skulk around because he's just a Krillin. And it made him totally unlikable, because nobody likes "friends" who can't celebrate your success. He's just a hater. Fortunately, he remembered SKATING IS FUN after getting jumped in an alley and all of his insecurities just went away and he stopped being a salty hater. So, now that, that needless drama ended we can get back into the comedy and action--and nope--because now we have to deal with ADAM's psychological problems. What made this guy turn into a flamboyant kiddy-diddling matador? What makes him get off of his board mid-skate and just bash people in the face with his skateboard at 60MPH? Which is attempted murder? (Side Note: Why was this guy even lauded as some kind of a skating legend when his "special moves" consisted of "turning around mid race and standing in your way" and "Hitting you in the face with a skateboard?). What soul-breaking betrayal could've have turned a happy young lad into James Charles? Well to find that out, we have to be bombarded with flashbacks that this dude lost his marbles because his friend, a mere house servant, said he had "no opinion", when ADAM's father, (the head of the entire family) asked him if he wanted to buck up because he burned his own son's skateboard. What was he supposed to say? "Yeah, guy who can ruin my entire family, let me, a child, step in here and tell you how to raise your kid."? Apparently, this "deep betrayal" and some raps on the wrist with a ruler by his aunts turned him into a guy who consistently keeps trying to throw people off of cliffs. (Don't rap children's wrists with rulers, people. They will start dressing up in grave clothes and wanting teen boys to be the "Eve" to their "Adam".) At any rate, between the flashbacks of ADAM being destroyed emotionally by the most tame betrayal since my wife ate the last of my ice cream, and ADAM skating with Cherry and Joe, we get a continued story of cringey pedophilia. ADAM begins to literally stalk Langa with drones and is upset that Langa and Reki are reunited. Because ADAM wants to have Langa/Eve all to himself, he targets Reki for a race in the shortest, most predictable, tournament in anime sports history and Reki nearly beats him. (I will give credit where credit is due: the race between Reki and ADAM was pretty good, and was the only race where you didn't know who would win before it began.) ADAM gets all in a huff because he nearly lost to this "terrible" skater, (who, again, nearly beats all the best skaters and only loses because his board breaks or someone throws firecrackers at him) and ADAM then goes from being a matador pedo to being an undertaker/evangelion pilot pedo, and races Langa in the finals. And they race on 2,000 feet tall cliffs and go in the zone, and there's rainbows and white noise and flashbacks of dead dads and Langa falls and should die but SKATING IS FUN, so he doesn't and wins and whatever and I'm wondering why I spent time watching this instead of continuing Wonder Egg Priority. But even with all of this, I have still not properly conveyed the worst part of the anime. And that is, without a doubt, the dialogue. The dialogue is just so incredibly cringe in the later parts of the anime. I swear Langa should've just stayed quiet. Every other sentence out of his mouth towards Reki would've been proceeded by "How could you say something so embarrassing with a straight face?" in any other anime. If he wasn't spitting the most embarrassing lines to his "friend", it was how he felt empty without Reki around while wistfully grabbing at his heart. (Langa's heart hurts, girls. Buy his merch, ok?) And it wasn't just confined to Langa and Reki, either. All the characters were just talking nonsense towards the end. "I know what your true nature is now, let's bring this to a finale.", "Adam is skating all alone. That can't be fun.", "SKATING IS SO MUCH FUN!!", "You'll be my dog for the rest of our lives.", "I'll take skateboarding from you...to save you.", "I thought I got rid of these insignificant feelings long ago!". You can't get rid of the feeling that SKATING IS FUN, Adam. "SKATING IS FUN" is a universal law. Man, it was just one bad line after another after another. The dialogue was just atrocious. This anime doesn't even come close to the 8.05 rating it has as of the writing of this review. Even if it lived up to its potential, at best it would be a 7. But, it hardly does that and I would only give it a 3. 1 point for the funny first couple of episodes. 1 point for the Reki/ADAM race. Other than that, it's a weak anime, with a weak story and awful dialogue. I should also deduct a point for that stupid female cop angle. That served no purpose at all. Why was it even a part of the story? It had no bearing on anything in the end. Down to 2. I really don't understand why some of these animes are scoring so highly lately...
Blue_Maroon
04/08/2021, 07:29 AM
If I had to describe SK8 the Infinity in two words it would be “ridiculous” and “fun”. This may be the most unabashedly over-the-top anime that I have ever seen. A secret skating community full of people with alter-egos that race down a mountain. Skaters that can defy the laws of physics. A skater that can break rock walls with the force of his quads. A computer skateboard that can transform into different boards and calculate the best routes on a course. Oh, how could I also forget the guy that dresses like a masquerade bullfighter and acts like Hisoka’s impressionable younger brother? If you arelooking for a realistic skateboarding anime, you won’t find it here. What you will find here, however is a really good time. Bones is the studio behind this anime so you know you are in for some good animation. The races are the highlights of the series and they look fantastic. The animation is so smooth and you can always tell what is going on despite the skaters racing on a rocky, mountain course at night. The art is very clean as well. Even though the art style is nothing special, it’s still high quality and characters are never off-model. The characters themselves are pretty straightforward, but they have distinct personalities and are brought to life by some great voice acting. The sound design is top-notch as well and the OST fit the style of the show to a “T”. You may be wondering why my score for this anime is only 7/10 despite praising it so much these first few paragraphs. The reason for that lies within the writing of this anime. While I find that the plot is pretty standard (it mainly revolves around races and one of the main characters teaching a new kid how to skateboard) there was so much unneccesary things added in to force drama and to appeal to a certain fanbase. I don’t believe that some down-to-Earth aspects like realistic drama are a bad thing for an over-the-top anime. If it is all fun and games all the time then it can get a little repetitive. But, forcing drama between characters for no other reason aside from adding meaningless tension is not the way to go about it. Especially when it is at the cost of betraying everything about a character to do so. I won’t spoil anything, but one of the main characters starts being a complete ass for no real reason. The reason the anime gives is not something that this character cared about at all before the conflict occurred. Now all-of-a-sudden it is so important to him that he deals with it for 4 TOTAL EPISODES! If you are going to force some conflict, at least make it quick. Don’t stretch out a meaningless conflict that betrays how one of the main characters has been written for 1/3rd of your entire series. That is just bad writing. But what annoyed me the most about this anime is how much yaoi-bait is present throughout this series. DISCLAIMER: I have no problem with gay relationships being portrayed in anime or in any medium. What I do have a problem with is when gay relationships are being heavily suggested by an anime, yet nothing ever comes from it. There is a lot of gay relationships that are suggested in this anime and none of it has any significance by the end. All that time and deliberate effort spent suggesting these relationships is left with an ambiguous at best conclusion. Don’t get me wrong, I know why the creators did this. The yaoi fanbase is a passionate one that is known for creating fan art, fanfiction, etc. Having passionate fans is a great way to spread awareness of an anime and it isn’t like the sports genre is unfamiliar with fans shipping male characters. It irritates me when I see an anime intentionally trying to tap into this market, yet not having the resolution to go through with it and make the characters actually gay. It’s like I’m watching the anime making desparate attempts to convince watchers to make content about it, as if it doesn’t have confidence that it is good enough to grab people’s attention. But it also feels like it is trying to “have its cake and eat it too” by suggesting these relationships for the yaoi fanbase but not going through as to not scare off people that do not like that content. This indecision puts it in no man’s land where it feels cheap and insincere, by far the worst option between leaving it out or making the characters gay. Aside from the shameless yaoi-bait and the contrived conflict, I do not have much else to really criticize this anime for. There was a meaningless canon filler/recap episode that also served as fanservice in the middle of the season which didn’t help my rating. But that is about it for my gripes. Looking back, I think this anime could have been slimmed down into a good movie if all the bad stuff I talked about was cut out of it. There is a lot to like about this anime. It is a blast to watch when the characters are racing and was a pretty good time overall. I would recommend giving it a shot because it is an easy watch. Although if you drop it for the reasons I mentioned, I wouldn’t hold it against you. It is closer to a 6/10 than an 8/10.
Ele777
04/06/2021, 12:53 AM
Someone here left a 1-star rating and you're just disrespectful. The animators took time and effort to create a show while you sat on your butt judging and acting like you are a top tier food critic for Michelin star restaurants when you can't even make Kraft Dinner. So relax. Anyway, I just could not have said NOTHING. ***Not really spoilers, just a message about the show kinda*** Honestly, I have no interest in skateboarding. I thought it was going to be a dumb show with hot 2D characters. I always give every anime at least 5 episodes before I decide to continue or drop it.It was a slow start for me, but it actually ended up being really great. I liked how it revolved around friendship. It taught me that in our lives, sometimes we end up comparing our selves to others, even our friends. When we are faced with the reality of letting our own inadequacies rip us apart, do we rise above and be better people or succumb to our self-doubt? In the age of social media this is a great lesson to show us that just because we may not be "the best" at something, we should do what makes us happy and always try our best. This show is a great reminder to surround yourself with people who want you to succeed in your own way, even if that means you're not number one. I am not saying that everyone should "get a trophy" for participating... I am saying that hard work and results look different for each individual. This show reminded me to look at myself and reflect on that, and THAT'S why this show is great. I wish people would take the time to see the deeper meaning of anime. I feel like a lot of people these days are superficially analyzing how amazing a show is just because of an intricate storyline or the immaculate beauty of an art style. Not every anime has a deep meaning mind you, but this one does. If you want to watch it, it's only 12 episodes with a good ending feeling and I personally think it's totally worth your time.
MaizKolbe
04/05/2021, 04:29 PM
It is 1 am and I should head to bed, but here I am writing a review just because I can! (excuse my grammar/spelling errors, I am barely conscious as of writing this. This is also more of a personal thing which I can look back and cringe at) Story: 7/10 The story in of itself is nothing original skating aside. We have the same standard "sports anime duo", one being the excited fanatic and the other the cool and talented. They are quite different but share the same love for so they end up getting along because of it. That love being thespark which ignites their friendship. The "one guy surpasses the other which makes them jealous" plot line is also in no way revolutionary but the deal with Sk8 is that it doesn't need to be original. It carries itself well and uses the tropes in a fun way so we may not get bored. Art: 8/10 What can I say? There's a reason for there having been no skating centered anime before this. We were lucky to have Bones being the ones to animate this and bring this piece to life. In the wrong hands it would've looked stiff and unsatisfying, something you never want in an anime. Sk8 The Infinity has some absolutely amazing animated scenes, and the character designs only makes them better. The main cast all have their own distinct look which you can easily recognize without much thought being put into it. They are at the same time quite cleverly thought out and fit their personalities well. Sound: 7/10 It is solid! I don't really have much to say here except that I like it and the score fit the scenes well. Characters: 7/10 I really loved the characters, some thing which contradicts my score ha. Well, I loved the chemistry between the characters and is imo the factor that carries the show. The characters as individuals are completely fine but Reki and Langa as a pair simply radiates so much fun energy, and just seing them hang out makes me actually wish I made an effort in making friends. Joe and Cherry also have some very entertaining chemistry and their banter remind me of an old married couple. Shadow and Miya are also just a pair of fun characters to have around (Shadow deserved better). I've seen very mixed reviews about Adam and I can understand why. But for me he was simply *cheffs kiss*. Everyone calls him "Sk8er Dio" and I can't possible agree more with that statement. He was over the top and bloody hilarious. The only thing I'm unsure of is his ending, which I am not sure if I'm completely satisfied with. Enjoyment: 9/10 I had an absolute blast watching sk8! I know very well that it is no way a perfect anime and I can easily point out multiple flaws with the show. That aside, I just never found myself bored when watching sk8 (aside from the recap wth was that?). I waited excitedly every week for a new episode, watched the Banger opening all the way through, and always ended up with a crave to punch my screen whenever those bloody palm trees appeared. Overall: 8/10 Sk8 was overall a very fun experience! It worked as my weekly dose of serotonin and had me something to look forward to every week. I will in no way forget it anytime soon!
Fruitpie
04/05/2021, 07:43 AM
So, what’s the story? On 7 September 2013 Tokyo was selected as the host city of The XXXII Olympic Games. Japanese government wanted to promote upcoming event among youth through entertainment industry: music and TV, including anime. Popular anime characters were selected as ambassadors (Sailor Moon, Naruto, Luffy and others) and also new anime projects about different Olympic events were commissioned. Such as rugby (Number 24), artistic gymnastics (Taisou zamurai), volleyball (2:43), baseball (Tamayomi), soccer (Sayonara Watashi no Cramer), surfing (Wave!!), water polo (Re-Main), bouldering (Iwa Kakeru!) and others. Even parasport (Breakers) and male rhythmic gymnastics that will take part at the gymnastic exhibition duringthe final olympic day (Bakuten!!). “SK8: the infinity” from studio BONES is the part of that big program. This original anime is dedicated to the skateboarding that debuts as a new Olympic sport in Tokyo. Utsumi Hiroko was put at the helm since she was responsible for a successful series about other summer sport (Free!!). Seems like her original idea included a snowboarder who decided to take part in the illegal skateboard races that were organized by one crazy guy in search of his ideal Eve. There was a police investigation involved, sudden return of a girlfriend, serious money troubles and other typical tropes from you-know-where. But then Utsumi (or someone else from the stuff) thought that MC needs to go through some adjustment to his technique before he will crush everyone in the races. And that’s how Reki was born. As a supporting guy who can’t skate but whose role was to screw the wheels to the board and nothing more. In the end at the last minute stuff decided to redo everything from the scratch and make the “guy with the wheels” the MC instead. As a result dozens of plot points were cut or thrown out. The scenario was altered so many times so late in the game that they didn’t even had time to cut a girlfriend appearance from one of the first episodes. She never ever appeared again. As a result of this hot mess we have a story were the villain (former antihero) has more flashbacks and background than any of the leads. Our new MC has a zero background apart from “one time one totally irrelevant to the plot guy got hurt by irrelevant to the plot reason”. Reki’s journey went from the point A to … the point A (from the “even though I can’t skate but still…” to the “yeah, I can’t skate but still…”) with some stupid pity drama in between. Langa’s plot points were thrown out entirely. He has even less substance than Reki. Unnamed girl and mysterious money problems that’s all that left from the original draft and now it leads nowhere. Adam is obviously Utsumi’s favorite. Not only because he suffered the least damages from redoing the script, but because he’s the one whose character she actually bothered to explore. She even gave him a new “lover” since the old one was “taken away”. But Adam still looked stupid. That’s how this anime looks over all. Its script is ultimately foolish. Maybe if they had kept the original idea everything would have looked much more decent. Or maybe the original idea was a lot more disastrous, that’s why they went to such extremes to redo everything. Anyhow, decision was made and result was awful. First episodes were awesome production wise. Animation, music, everything was superb. But something (COVID, mess with the script or who knows what else) happened halfway through that resulted in the noticeable drop in quality. They even had to use a recap episode. Series that started with such a promise ended with a huge “What the Hell was that?!” “Taisou zamurai” is so much better than this. But since “samurai” has never tried to play a fujobaiting game it had zero chances to became popular. First 5 episodes ranking: 9/10. Episodes 6-10.5: -1/10. Episodes 11-12: 5/10. Overall ranking: 4/10.
AozoraAi
04/05/2021, 12:39 AM
Man, I was really rooting for this series. The concept of skating as a premise was new and interesting. It was engaging in the beginning but half way through the series, it felt as if the creators were running out of imagination and was making a mess out of the plot elements. The ending was a huge letdown. Even though I fairly enjoyed the anime, I still can’t give it a high score because truth be told it’s relatively very average. Let me tell you they could have run with far more interesting scenarios than making the plot revolve around a knockoff brand of Hisoka. Itwas a cringe fest. Episode 12 was an amalgamation of cringe that was build up throughout the 11 episodes. It seems to me that this anime was targeted towards a younger audience because if you have a more mature literary standards, then your brain will recoil when you watch this. And I don’t mean the entire series is like that. It has decent comedy and chill entertainment. But even if you watch it without any seriousness whatsoever, you still can’t look past the lame-ness of the show. Plot: As I mentioned earlier, I personally believe that from a script’s pov, they could’ve run with other scenarios that would’ve been much more intriguing than a focal villain. This Adam villain is corny. There’s a limit to which one can shut off their brain. There was nothing he did that made sense as to why he was redeemed so quickly. It’s like the characters have amnesia or so. There are no consequences to his actions and they don’t care what happened an episode ago? That’s corny. Who in the right mind would forget about someone who tried to kill you and then forgive them enough to join their bbq party? Right. And the race with Langa and Adam had no stakes. It was predictable. There was nothing in their relationship that warranted a dramatic change or made that race intriguing. Why on earth is Langa invested in curing the guy who had no hesitation to kill Reki? There was no natural tension. It felt corny. I know I’m using this word a lot but that’s just how I felt watching the last episode. I couldn’t take this show seriously. For some reason I thought the final race would’ve been between Reki and Langa, as that would’ve been a twist and there was more psychological and philosophical elements to explore if it had been that way. Reki’s insecurities were the only thing in the show that was most natural and compelling and it could’ve gone in a direction that resolves it in a more fruitful way than a guy who’s horny to find his EVE for some godamn reason. I still don’t understand his shit. Characters: Reki is by far my favorite character. But, it was a bit annoying when he started to say “skating was fun” for every other thing later. Langa was a prodigy who had absolutely no low points making him quite bland. He wasn’t insufferable though. I feel they could’ve explored more of his snowboarding background in Canada and how good he actually was. Snowboarding itself is an amusing sport and they could’ve may added more of his background elements. That would’ve been fun to see. It’s like all of this was there, but nothing was well developed. Some other characters are very typical but not bad though. I liked them. I do have to say Miya was a waste. His only function was to add visual variety to the show by filling the role of the cutesy cat boy. Because let me tell you he did absolutely nothing after his debut. They all had potential to build interesting character relations and give them challenges but all they cared was for Adam. And let me tell you Adam isn’t even that great. He’s not an intimidating antagonist. And his backstory was also subpar. Oh yes, talking about character development, after everything was over, he calls his PA Tadashi that he will be his dog forever to which Tadashi blushes. What the hell is wrong with people, seriously? LMAO. That’s the level of this show if you need a glimpse. Sound: Okay OP and ED are pretty good. No objections. Is this a gay anime? Not really. It’s debatable, but it certainly has gay undertones. But I genuinely don’t think this show is bold enough to say it is a shonen ai. It’s more or less ambiguous because it’s specifically made in a way that is convenient for fujoshi fan service and queerbaiting. Those who don’t want to see it that way can watch it without any problem. And those who wants to think of it as shonen ai also have plenty of treats to fulfill their entertainment quota. Fujoshi’s can ship Renki and Langa to their heart’s content. At the same time, an episode clearly showed he’s interested in girls when he blushed around a random girl on their cruise. That’s how shows like this works ladies and gentlemen. It’s a one for all formula that always works. You can’t say they’re not gay but you can’t prove they are either. I don’t think this show has the balls to make it completely a Yuri on Ice was there to be a second season. Oh well, that’s just how I feel. I would still recommend a watch if you like sports anime. Don’t expect Haikyuu level of sports or a nuanced slice of life anime though. It’s a little mix of both but with more fantasy and unrealism.
BlueEclispe
04/04/2021, 02:54 PM
Sk∞ is the skateboarding anime that people have been waiting decades for. A show which had only not been made eariler due to limits in technology. But does it live up to the hype fans give it. To begin with, it was a dark horse. A show that a lot of people didnt even realize existed until the internet exploded. Then it still went widely ignored. Being that it is my favorite show of the winter season i have bias but, to be honest. It got the attention it deserved. The show follows two main characters and a very dynamic cast of sides. Reki and Langa. Langabeing a Canadian, after his father passed his mother decided to return to her homeland of japan. Being thrust into this new land with very little preparation Langa is lost. There are not any mountains or snow where he is. so he would need to find a new hobby. He would also have to used to a new language. More specifically how to read and write with it. But he finds quickly finds a new friend to help. Reki is skateboarder and when he meets Langa he takes him under his wing. Being obsessed with the sport his whole life, he reads magazines, works in a skate shop, and designs his own boards. His whole life is skate and he finally has someone to truely share it with. Someone who can see it the way he does rather than someone that does it to look cool. Reki is also a part of an underground club called S. A place where all the best skaters gather to race downhill with no rules. After some plot, Reki and Langa get roped into a race. Rather, Langa gets roped in despite being new to the sport. And as you can guess he performs surprisingly well. Why? Because he was a snowboarder. And the gap is not that far. The show now follows the two friends and their adventures with S. If you know the team that made this show, you can guess the tone of the story as it is very similar to Bananafish. It also shares the wonderful art. If you are not familiar, the show is very friendly to people that like shipping men together. So that may turn you off like it did with Bananafish viewers. Then if you couldn't care less, the story keeps you strapped in but im not spoiling quite yet. Now back to me mentioning the show getting the attention it deserved. It doesn't do anything to separate itself from other shounen in it's subgenre let alone the genre in general. The underdog main character isnt an underdog for long. Now he is comparable to the best if not better. Now we watch as he looks to snatch the crown for himself weather he wants to or not. We've seen this a thousand times in anime, so it comes down to execution. Even the obligatory beach episode hits all the notes. Thing is, the show executed more than perfectly. Hey, if you are new to anime it will feel like one of the best shows youve ever watched with little competition. But, if you happen to be bored with shounen sequence, the art and skating will keep you engaged. Everyone is happy. Now for heavy spoiling. Like i mentioned. Langa is talented. He immediately becomes a god at the sport. This of course grabs the attention of the number one skater Adam. The man that started S. The man who started it only to find someone who can grab his attention. Someone different from the others, special. Be it how unpredictable Langa is or how he uses snowboarding tricks for skating or whatever else. Langa is everything he has been looking for all these years. And Adam will have him. Not that our side characters wont get the way. Than handsome and musclebound Joe. The beautiful and graceful perfectionist that is Cherry. (These two approach skating in opposite ways so the rub each other the wrong way. Joe is a brute that relies on muscle and instinct. Cherry uses a computer and only wants the perfect way down the mountain.) There is also rookie hunter that likes to play dirty in Shadow. And much much more. The important one here being, Reki. One of the weaker skaters in S. Who of course becomes jealous of Langa. Sad that he feels like Langa is skating way from him. And mad that Langa cant keep a promise. So eventually the two break up until Reki finds his love for skating again. I've been rambling. Its an amazing show. If you want to watch it. Just do it.
Naramea
04/03/2021, 04:41 PM
So, this is my first mal review ever and I'm not a native English speaker but I hope that doesn't affect the review. This review includes spoilers! First of all I have to say: I'm absolutely disappointed. This anime wasted it's whole potential. It starts of really nice, I liked Reki and Langa, even though they are a bit cliche but that wasn’t a big problem. Later some other characters were introduced, for example Cherry and Joe (who had a great dynamic together, gotta say). The anime first focuses a lot on Reki and Langa and skating in general. I myself have no clue about skateboarding so I don't knowwhether "S" is realistic or not but I was fine with it because it was kinda fun to watch the beefs. But then a certain someone showed up to ruin the mood. I don't know what the creators were thinking when they planned Adam but this guy ruined the whole anime in my opinion. He is a really, really bad copy of Hisoka from HxH and he is one of the cringiest characters I've ever seen. His blabbering about marrying Langa and finding his Eve was so hard to watch, I cringed every time he opened his mouth. Also his whole behaviour was just ridiculous (I mean, hitting someone with your damn skateboard has nothing to do with skating anymore). He is one of the most unnecessary and worst written antagonists I've ever came across (he is nearly as unnecessary as the red haired police officer, like, why was she even there?) And he RUINED the whole anime. Also something that was quite weird (and unrealistic) were the people watching the beefs. They give a shit about Cherry getting hit by Adam with his skateboard because he is to "boring" in Adams opinion (which is just a big WTF). Another character worth mentioning is Adam's... secretary (I guess? I already forgot his name lmao) because also WTf!? He’s getting treated like shit by Adam (he calls him dog and it didn't bother the secretary at all) and his only purpose is to bring a bit of "tension" into the tournament and a "sad backstory" for Adam (at which they fail miserably btw). What I kinda liked was the "arc" focusing on Reki after he realised he is nothing special in comparison to Langa. I know this feeling very well and therefore could empathize with him easily. It was also nice that he didn't overcome this feeling within one episode and actually needed some time. The last episode was just a cringefest and they didn't spare with cliches. Suddenly Langa makes Adam realise that skating is about fun and not only competing (who would have seen that coming?! Lmao) and they are all best buddies now. Aha. Overall the anime is full of unrealistic scenarios, bad written characters and a lacking plot (well, if you could call it plot...). I would have been totally fine watching Reki and Langa improve, competing with "normal" characters and Rekis down phase. That would have been enough... I wouldn't recommend this anime bcs you don’t really learn anything about skating and the character cast is… something. It had some nice moments but that’s it. Overall it made me incredibly angry lmao (thank you Adam). Yeah, that's it. Thanks for reading^^
Armeymey
04/03/2021, 03:51 PM
Sk8 is a really entertaining anime that made me laugh and smile A LOT, and also made me cry. Here are my thoughts overall: Pros: - Beautiful animation. Colorful, bright. It looks perfect. The character design is even better. If you had to pick your favourite character on looks alone, it would be very difficult to pick. - Entertaining characters. Some of the characters are very relatable to viewers, for example Reki who feels inferior to his best friend. What’s great to see is how he learns that the reason he skates is because it’s fun, not because he wants to be number 1. Langa,Reki’s best friend, is fun to watch as he grows. Then we have Miya, the catboy child prodigy. Then there’s Cherry and Joe, who are a comedic duo just like Langa and Reki. We also have Shadow, who you’d think is the villain at first, but he’s honestly wholesome and gives dad vibes. Then there’s also Adam, who’s just insane. - The opening. I love the opening so much. The closing is also good. Contras: - Queerbaiting. The amount of queerbaiting in this anime is astronomical. Romance between many characters was hinted A LOT. And for a particular pair, it for sure was not bromance. So of course, as a viewer you’re hoping you won’t be queerbaited. WRONG. I felt disappointed and was waiting every week for something to happen. In the last episode I just didn’t feel satisfied. I felt like what I received was not enough compared to the queerbaiting I witnessed for the past 3 months. - No female characters. There’s no female characters in the main cast. The only speaking female characters are Reki’s mom and sisters, Langa’s mom and Shadow’s love interest. Notice how all these female characters existed because they were somehow related to one of the male characters? We could have gotten skatergirls! - Foul play in the races. What baffled me every time was how one of the character’s cheating passed as “secret skating moves”. I’m no skater but I think jumping off your board during a skateboarding race and sprinting on your legs would get you disqualified. Another thing that genuinely shocked me was how that same character could just lift his board and slam it on his opponent’s head to the point where he passed out and went to the hospital, and it would be considered a strategy. He automatically won. Huh? Personally, I feel like you should win a skateboarding race by skating, not by beating the sh!t out of your opponent and paralyzing him. - Defying the laws of gravity. Gravity just doesn’s exist in this anime. A skater could be literally flying and nobody would question it. Honestly it’s not necessarily a bad thing because it brings intensity to the action and it definitely makes things more interesting, BUT it’s for sure VERY unrealistic.
Halel31
04/03/2021, 01:49 PM
“No one knows the answer to the meaning of happiness” “Skating is infinite”. “It was fun. It was really fun in the beginning. But everyone disappeared. The better you become…They all disappear in the end anyway” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sk8 to the infinity is one of the most enjoyable, and exciting, and surprising anime I've ever seen. It always made me so fricking excited and happy, One of the best sports anime I've seen. I would recommend it to everyone.it gave me so much motivation to even start skating, I love every character from this anime and even have a character that I am very similar to Andmany good quotes as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story- The story is great I am happy that they knew how to handle a skating anime and didn't mess up the story (: ---------------------------------------------- Art- The art is so fricking good I love how they handle the skating races and more very well! ---------------------------------------------- Characters- The characters are very realistic, And you can easily have a similar personality and perspective of thinking like them. ---------------------------------------------- Enjoyment-10/10 I enjoyed this anime so much I can't even explain it in words. i am pretty sad right now because it's ended probably going to rewatch it right now lol. -------------------------------------------- Overall- 10/10 it was so good I would recommend it to everyone even for people that don't like sports anime.
Kraagesh
04/03/2021, 11:15 AM
-Note: English is not my native language, I apologize for possible mistakes. The script for SK∞ has a casual tone that is easy to catch, with the inclusion of comedy overtones that, without being recursive, is effective. But undoubtedly one of the production's greatest strengths is the artistic rendering and technical effort on Bones' part. Because building a current fiction from the foundations of an urban culture alien to current times would not be easy if it weren't for the excellent work of photography, color, music and artistic direction in general, which give the set a great appeal and special magnetism. Special mention, of course, tothe special level of detail and display in terms of animation, with interesting camera exercises and kinesthesia in the races, offering excellent quality levels that have very little to envy to similar cut products. SK∞ is a sincere proposal that does not seek to be elusive, since it is very clear about what to offer and where to aim. His treatment of skate culture is as engaging as it is eccentric, and the dynamics between his characters make it incredibly easy and organic to want to follow their learning and see how far they are capable of going not necessarily to win, but to feel good about themselves. Hiroko Utsumi's work transmits passion and fun with a treatment that I wish was seen more often: that of humility, that of enjoying without the need to achieve great feats.
Alepercy
04/03/2021, 10:53 AM
This review don't contain spoiler. Sorry for my bad English. Sk8 the infinity I would say that it proved to be a nice spokon, I almost seemed to see Initial D on the skate I swear,then obvious Inital D is on a completely different level Those who expect something realistic and those who are a lover of skate may perhaps be disappointed given that such a thing in reality could not exist, but we are still talking about an anime that is also very crude and at the same time cool at the end. The skate competitions are really exciting and the characters are nice, I especially likedthe relationship between the two protagonists. For the rest there is a lot of already seen and with many clichés, but the fact remains that it is still enjoyable in this context. The best part of all anime though is the sound, with great soundtracks. The animations are also of a high standard, but we're talking about Stubio Bones so that's nothing new. Having said that I would say a very pleasant original spokon, not among the best for many reasons but still not to be missed.
KANLen09
04/03/2021, 10:30 AM
Yes, it's studio Bones...and yes, it's Hiroko Utsumi, director of Free! and Banana Fish. But I believe that this is more than just another passion project of an original sports anime. It's one that's done with lots of respect towards the skateboarding community, more than just being one that's an easy inspiration to Tony Hawk: Pro Skater. Are you ready to SK∞ to Infinity and Beyond? In the history of anime, sports shows are regular to showcasing what kinds of sports are actually all about, but in rarer cases do we actually get some specific ones, from Welcome to the Ballroom's in-line skating to Yowamushi Pedal'sbicycle racing. Whereas in SK∞ the Infinity, skateboarding (or it's more correct term of street skateboarding), is a discipline which focuses on flatground tricks, grinds, slides and aerials within urban environments and public spaces. Street skateboarders meet, skate and hang out, in and around urban areas referred to as "spots", which are commonly streets, plazas or industrial areas, or as shown in the anime, the secret place called "S". It's there that like-minded skaters settle for no-holds-barred competition purposes. It's interesting that Bones has contracted an animation studio known as Studio No Border for the skateboarding designs, and all of this comes from acclaimed French artist Thomas Romain and his small team of multimedia creatives. Having first worked with Shinichiro Watanabe for both spaceship design in Space Dandy and world design on Carole & Tuesday, and working with other studios to produce background design, world art concepts, comics, board games, video games, and animation projects at that time. So it is from that one fateful meeting of just a regular meeting at studio Bones where Thomas Romain and his friends met up with producers who were working on the SK∞ anime, albeit with some reluctance of acceptance since his small team of has had quite the crunch from numerous projects. It's there that they help make the skateboard designs that are strictly peculiar to each and every character in the anime, and knowing director Hiroko Utsumi's extreme sense of attention to detail, Thomas Romain and his small creatives got to work on relentlessly illustrating and negotating with Utsumi from the designs down to the technicals. And that's a hella work that's done to make this show stand out. For context, Studio No Border designed nine skateboards, and some other designs lke the “S” sticker and the decals, which are the illustrations underneath the skateboard. Here is the list of employees that worked on SK∞: - Juliette Mercier (skateboard design for Reki, Langa, MIYA, SHADOW, Cherry Blossom, JOE, ADAM) - Stanislas Brunet (skateboard design and decal for Kikuchi, skateboard rough for Cherry blossom) - Ayumi Kakei (decals for Reki, Langa, MIYA, sticker of the “S”) - Thomas Romain (decal for ADAM) - Loïc Locatelli (decals for JOE and SHADOW) It's all of these details that tend to miss the public eye, and I really have to commend director Hiroko Utsumi and Studio No Border for creating such a lush show that has skateboarding fans rave in joy of how it mimics the true representation of the sport. Anyways, since this is the typical "newbie comes into town and learns a new sport" trope, I won't bore too much on its setting, but this is a lil' bit special: Reki Kyan, being an avid lover of skateboarding, working part-time as a mechanic and creating his own custom boards, meets Langa Hasegawa, a half-Japanese, half-Canadian transfer student who grew up as a snowboarder. In typical fashion, both street skateboarding and snowboarding skills can be interchanged as long as the skills required are fit to do so, and Langa immediately gets the hang of skateboarding after the enthusiastic Reki gives him an invitation to the secret "S" skateboarding races and having to race one of its regulars unequivocally, further cementing his position from being the half-assed rookie to a fully-fledged skater. Being a character drama story, this is where Utsumi places very heavy emphasis onto characterization, and for the most part, has excelled well just like her last series on Banana Fish: - Both Reki and Langa "Snow" Hasegawa are "brothers for life", from their first initial coincidential meet-up to where they're now: skaters for life, treading through every success and failure, nook and cranny, blood, sweat and tears of relentless training. Whether happy or sad, elated or depressed, these two gay guys definitely have the affinity and not the hots for each other. The double-parallel life of the "S" skaters: - Hiromi "Shadow" Higa, kind florist-cum-dirty tactics skater; - Miya Chinen, junior skater champion whose skills are inspired by pro skater Rodney Mullen's style; - The double "childhood friend" of Kaoru "Cherry Blossom" Sakurayashiki, calligrapher-cum-AI skater and Kojiro "Joe" Nanjo, chef-cum-childhood rival with Kaoru. These two goofballs are like mature adults that can go head-to-head in the most immature and childish fashion. - The double Master-Assistant of Ainosuke "Adam" Shindo, politician-cum-legendary "S" skater and assistant Tadashi "Snake" Kikuchi. Even though the wealthy Shindo Family of aunts are of corrupt sound and mind, Ainosuke is but a victim to upholding the family's honours, by hook or by crook. Assistant Tadashi who've been staying by his side since childhood, teaches the lonely Ainosuke the art of skateboarding, not knowing that it'll prove fatal as time passes with Ainosuke associating pain with love, a twist of psyche. Adam's Kanji name is also interesting: stylized as 愛抱夢 (but spoken in Katakana), his prominent attack is the "Love Hug", and for those of you who know your languages well, it's a direct translation of that. Even down to the symbolisms of the skater status, Adam is labelled as the "Matador of Love", donning a matador costume and mask. Word is that he's looking for his "Eve", someone to match his unequivocal skating skill levels, and Langa is the supposedly new rookie that he has his eye on. Take a step back on that to realize that this is just like the Bible's representation in the Book of Genesis: Adam (Ainosuke), Eve (Langa) and the Serpent (Tadashi), the "Fall of Adam" becoming synonymous with the fall of humanity (skating) that brings forth dissent of their attitudes. It's these symbolisms which add up to the testament of how Hiroko Utsumi is THAT meticulous, and can greatly ramp up the experience of SK∞ as a whole. I mean, come on, it's studio Bones, you know that you're gonna get some good visuals and animation, that is hardly a surprise at all. The best parts are not just the skating action itself, but what most people will easily miss are the presentation of the visuals for both the OP and ED, and that they're also directed by Utsumi herself. It's rare that songs like Rude-α's "Paradise" and Yuuri's "Infinity" are given the proper treatment of syncing both songs with the animation, beat by beat and coupled with amazing visuals for the OP and funny skateboarding fails for the ED. Just lovin' those pumping beats and chill lo-fi songs. This is an exemplary example of a show that even with unintended production hell (like Wonder Egg Priority), has maintained with stride and careful planning to deliver the ultimate experience of a passion project, and I can definitely feel the call-backs to said directed shows helmed by one of the most prominent female directors of the modern anime age. A job well done, and a massive thank you to both Hiroko Utsumi and Bones for making this fine show. SK∞ the Infinity: Skating is Infinite.

SK∞ SK∞ エスケーエイト

2021 winter | Episodes: 12 | Score: 8.0 (303894)

Updated every Sundays at 02:00 | Status: Finished Airing

Type: TV

Producers:Aniplex | Movic | ABC Animation

Streaming: Crunchyroll | Bahamut Anime Crazy | Bilibili

Synopsis

Voice Actors

Kobayashi, Chiaki

Hatanaka, Tasuku

News

Reviews

Ah
06/09/2024, 01:30 AM
So I just want to say that this review is coming from someone who's been in the skateboarding community for over 6 years, and therefore I will try to remain unbiased and understanding of a non-skater's point of view, as well as mine. I am assuming when you are reading this review, you can categorize yourself into 2 categories: A: You want to watch this anime, mainly for the storyline and don't really care about the realism and accuracy of how skateboarding is depicted, it's anime after all, so maybe it doesn't matter to you. B: You are a skater yourself and like anime, so you wanna watchsomething that you can relate to. Otherwise, you may not skate but want to learn more about it, in the most accurate way, and by watching anime. I'll start off by saying that this anime has a decent plot, it's decently interesting... but that's about as much as I can say. It's not a plot you can get hooked on easily, but it may be worth watching if you have nothing else to. Now, talking about the accuracy of how skateboarding is depicted in this anime, it would probably have to be a 2/10. You can tell that the entire direction for this story, has never met a skater or tried it before; mainly due to the fact that none of the tricks are realistic and also that the sense of community is nowhere near the same as in real life. In conclusion, I think I was expecting something relatable as a skater, and I was a bit disappointed that I didn't feel that it described the whole community of skateboarding very well, but the storyline and plot is worth watching and stays fairly interesting until the last episode. If you want to learn more about skateboarding, you should definitely go and try it! But if you can't for any reason (or if you want to learn more about it through anime or manga), you should maybe check out: SK8R'S. It's as realistic as it gets in terms of skateboarding anime and it's worth reading.
JupiterGhost
04/03/2023, 05:18 PM
It started off so well!!! I’m not too sure what the creators were thinking towards the end. I think for any show, it’s easy to suspend your disbelief (no matter how unbelievable the fable), if the rules within the universe are well defined and adhered to throughout the entirety of the story. In the case of this anime, it was easy to suspend your disbelief initially. Some questionable aspects of skating on rocks down a mountain, but generally it was easy to get into. Then the primary antagonist up’d the ante by turning the competition into some sexualized fight club and the show went downhillfrom there. Where previously the only other bad actor used laser pointers and fire crackers on his foes, this char aznable wanabe got free reign to bash faces in, pummel other skaters into rock walls and generally abuse the competition. It’s not like us anime fans don’t enjoy a little violence here and there. It’s just that it didn’t make sense here. Why wouldn’t the other skating competitors partake in violence if it was allowed? There was so much potential here…
helcchi
11/07/2022, 04:06 AM
The anime comes off as both knowledgable and uninitiated in the sport it's trying to portray. It’s both futuristic and backwards at the same time. Some parts of the show are astoundingly realistic, while other times throws logic out the door completely. One of the main characters (Langa) has been a snowboarder since he was 2 years old, yet he’s never been exposed to skateboarding before. And when he tried for the first time, he lost his balance just standing on the board. I’m sorry, but I haven’t met a snowboarder that couldn’t skate, let alone a snowboarder that’s been doing it for 15 years. He saidhe couldn’t even do one push, but snowboarders push all the time when they’re on flat snow. This should just come naturally to him. And they keep saying how it’s unprecedented if he could switch to being a pro skater as if this hasn’t happened in real life. Like currently two of the best snowboarders in the world are also pro skaters. Ayumu Hirano - olympic snowboarder and skateboarder - was literally their consultant on this anime, how could they not even acknowledge this fact despite his involvement. Don’t even get me started on the shoes. I don’t care if this was set in the future or alternate timeline, you can’t wear geta on a skateboard. Do they want to die? Even the guy on Tiktok who wears hanfu on his longboard wears skate shoes when he’s riding. I can’t believe such an important aspect of skateboarding is ignored like that. Shoes are as integral to the culture and the sport as the skateboards are themselves. I also hate how they just combined all the disciplines as if they’re all the same thing. Freestyle skateboarding (Miya) is not the same as downhill (everyone else in that dumb street race), and neither are park or street (Reki). Racing and tricks are two distinct philosophies in this sport. The ollie that the main character Reki was so proud of (to the point he made a whole monologue about how you could skate your entire life without ever learning to ollie, but when you do, your whole life changes), aren’t even a part of racing, yet that’s the event he partakes in every night. The lack of understanding of each others’ sports as the source of Reki's feeling of inadequacy is so juvenile. Langa progressed so far in such a short amount of time because he’s been snowboarding for 15 years, and Reki knows that. He hadn't been left in the dust because of Langa's raw talent. Langa was NOT a beginner. He already had years of experience. The skills carry over. How can someone, fictional or not, be so dense about that fact? And how can Langa catch so much air you ask? Because it’s fucking standard in snowboarding. Just replay Ayumu’s Tokyo olympics run, the commentator literally said “He’s riding this thing like a (snowboard) halfpipe.” How many times did they forget and remember about having fun? Did all those crashes give them brain damage? There’s so much unnecessary angst that’s not conducive to character development at all. In a sport that has hundreds of amazing tricks, this anime just had to invent ones that don’t exist or are impossible to do. And they haven’t even included one skateboarder that looks like a skateboarder. A topless bodybuilder? A businessman in a suit??? A ninja cosplayer in a kimono???? And then in the very last episode, they introduced this fictional supernatural state called the Zone, which is completely taken from Kuroko’s basketball. BUT there is a real life phenomena common in action sports called flow state that illustrates what the zone basically is, why couldn’t they just call it what it really is? It’s supposed to be a kids' show, but why do they have to make it about illegal racing, and make it more illegal by adding combative elements to the races and have people get away with assault? Skateboarding is rebellious enough as it is. The part where they got busted for trespassing in the parking lot was one of the most relatable and realistic parts about skateboarding in this anime, and I wish they included more of that instead. But I’m glad they didn’t downplay the kinds of injuries you get from this sport. I’m glad that action sports is getting representation in anime, the art is great, even though the story is a letdown. I don’t have high hopes for season 2.
lynx1215
04/17/2022, 03:16 AM
this review contains minor spoilers! THINGS I LIKED: 1. the realism of the show. sk8 the infinity isn't exactly the most realistic anime there is. the skating of most of the characters are often something people in real life couldn't ever physically pull off, but i think the show really captured the emotions felt, and the relationships between each character. the characters actually felt like real people, with realistic insecurities and emotions, which i think played quite a big part in why i liked the show so much. (i would also like to say that despite a lot of scenes in sk8 weren't realistic, it doesn't mean that it'slike,, bad. shows or stories that is based off an activity we do irl doesn't mean it has the be realistic.) 2. the character designs. each character in sk8 are different and recognizable in their own way. like in real life, they all had their different personalities and strengths, and they all had their own interesting backstory. i think each character was written and designed really well, and we could see they each had complex personalities despite the show only having 12 episodes. 3. the music/intro. i don't have a lot to say here, but i really loved the intro. it was super catchy and had an upbeat and positive vibe, which the show itself portrayed. 4. the overall theme/message. i think sk8 does a good job of making the main message relevant. in my opinion the main message is not how "skating is infinite" or "skating is fun", but is how "anything can be fun if you're doing it with the right people/people you care about". we can see this when (SPOILERS) reki and langa don't feel the appeal of skating when they had their argument, and also when adam doesn't realize how skating is fun and just ends up hurting people. i like how they wrote the story in a way where this message is reflected in not only the main plot but also in the character's emotions. 5. other things i liked were... in conclusion, i loved the overall vibe of the story and also how they implemented a lot of funny scenes in the story without it feeling forced or just,, unfunny. i think the story flowed really well and there was a backstory or development for a lot (if not all) of the main characters. THINGS THAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE BETTER: 1. adam. i don't really need to say more lol. i think how adam acted towards langa was super unnecessary and could have been written much, much better. it didn't exactly ruin my overall enjoyment of the show, but it definitely soured the show a little bit. adam had a super weird personality at times which i couldn't understand, and i definitely think there was a potential to write him to become a better (and less weird) antagonist, as he already had a sad/unfortunate backstory. 2. the lack of female characters + the relevancy of the existing ones. the show has a lot of complex and great character designs, but i wished there was actually a female character that could have played a bigger role. this fact didn't really bother me when i was watching the show the first time, but when i was looking back at it, i wished that there was more representation. kiriko, who was the inspector in sk8, wasn't exactly relevant in the plot. she was just,,, there, and i think that was kind of a waste (unless she becomes useful in the future if there's going to be a continuation of a story??). 3. the argument on whether the show is gay or not, and how that affected the show itself. there were definitely parts where the show seemed like it was hinting that some characters could be gay (?). not only were there scenes like this (especially in the dub), but the show was also directed by the same person who directed banana fish (which was gay). as much as i like my ships in the show, i lowkey feel like the show is taking the route that i like to call 'the yuri on ice route'. basically, it's where everything else good in the show, whether it be the plot, music, character development, is overshadowed by if the characters are gay or not. i do admit that i would like some pairings to become canon, but i'm just worried that the show would just become known as enjoyable because there are gay people. representation of the lgbtq+ is always welcomed, but just because something is gay/has a character in the lgbtq+, doesn't mean it's good. like, i don't want sk8 to be known as 'the anime that has gay characters!!! they also skate btw but that doesn't really matter because we're here for the ships!!', but rather as 'the cool skating anime. also some characters could be gay but that doesn't really affect the show.' or whatever. overall, though, i did really enjoy watching the show. ofc, there were some parts i thought that could have been improved (e.g, like, adam as a whole apart from his backstory,,,). sk8 was super fun, and i had a really great time watching the show! thanks for reading!
doitsushine92
09/25/2021, 02:42 PM
I just finished watching this show, it took me three days because, well, as a certified senior citizen of 21 years old, I can't pull a marathon the way I used to when I was in high school >.< but I think that taking my time with this show was the right thing to do, after all. First, story wise, I think the show was okay. There isn't really any big or life changing plot, it's exactly as how it's advertised: a story about skating, and skaters, and about friendship, too. I think what really bothered me was how unrealistic it felt, since many of thestunts they pulled should've landed them in the hospital. And yes, I know, many animes are unrealistic in terms of injuries, but that won't stop me from pointing it out!! As for the characters, many of them were one-dimensional, and there wasn't a single important female character. Adam and Reki were the most interesting ones, because their character arcs were more fleshed out than the others, and personally, I would like to see more of the others. I think that Adam in particular is a very interesting character, and I would have loved to see more about his dynamics with Joe, Cherry, and Tadashi. Moving on to the fanservice, this show was full of it, and I'm not complaining. As a queer person myself, there were many instances where I had to pause and ask myself, "Is this fruity??" only for them to flake out. Seriously, there were so many moments between Reki and Langa that were just... very homo, in my humble opinion. To sum it up, I thought this show was enjoyable. It was fun, and it kept me entertained, and I think that a second season would be nice but only if they were to expand on the characters and send Adam to prison. That would be fun to watch.
changopongo
04/21/2021, 09:09 AM
this is the only good anime. all other anime is bad. if you think other anime are good and you haven't seen this one? well you're wrong. and if you have seen this one and you still think there are other good anime? well you're wrong again. this anime isn't for little babies who sit around picking their nose crying over some garbage slice of life same ol' regurgitated stories. this anime for da boys. only watch this anime if you like to skate fast, eat ass . visuals? BANGING story ? AMAZINGcharacter? INSANE if you don't like this anime there is a good chance you are a stupid baby.
spyro115
04/11/2021, 01:10 PM
EDITED 2023: I like Sk8 cause it gave a fun vibe, all the characters associated share especially the competitive part was extreme to where it made me want to try out skating myself, it's truly inspiring. The character relationships were also interesting, it even gave me nostalgia of 2012 where i felt like i would have watched this back in the summer at that time, good times too. This was the best sports based anime i've ever seen, the characters and story were amazing, it made me wish there was a sequel too. If only there were more sports anime that had the same kind ofvibe as Sk8. to me, i say Sk8 is one of the best animes of 2021.
Injenss
04/09/2021, 02:06 PM
Hey ya'll, did you know that skating is fun? Skating is REALLY fun. You can do it with your friends! You can do it anywhere! It's really so fun! Seriously! It's like the MOST FUN THING! You know what's REALLY FUN about skating?! When you hop off your board and smack people in the head with it! Or, you throw firecrackers in people faces! Or, you join up in groups and attack people with steel batons for no apparent reason at all!FUN TIMES! You've really got to understand how important it is to know that SKATING IS FUN! Did you know it can save your life?! If you're free-falling off of a cliff, all you have to do is remember that SKATING IS FUN, and you won't die! You can just skate down a sheer cliff leading to jagged rocks 2,000 feet below! You'll be fine! And don't forget the power of fun in skating can save any broken relationship! Do you have a friend who's a hater because you're so much better than him at skating? Simply remember SKATING IS FUN and he'll stop being salty! You don't even have to talk about it! Have you lost your ever-loving mind simply because a powerless servant didn't stand up for your skating hobby as a kid? And now you try to literally MURDER people in skating competitions? Never fear! Your mind can be saved with the power of skating! Simply get the underage boy you're pedo-ing over to beat you in a race and remind you that SKATING IS FUN, and you'll be okay! SKATING. IS. FUN. Got it?! Seriously...this anime is one of the most cringe animes I've seen in a while. Honestly, it didn't seem like it would turn out this way at the start. It seemed like it was just going to be your typical racing type anime, but with skateboards. You had your common MC duo of the wild-haired, boisterous guy (Reki) paired with the quiet, uber-skilled savant (Langa). You had what looked like would be an interesting cast of supporting characters. And it looked like it was just going to be a straight comedy with solid humor. The animation was quality. The Soundtrack was even good. Everything looked set up for an enjoyable anime. With a little luck, it might be as good of a sports anime as Haikyuu or Kuroko's Basketball. Well, those lofty hopes die pretty quickly, but it still looked like SK8 would settle in as a pretty good comedy... and then ADAM enters the picture. The main villain who looks like he was lifted right out of a Gundam anime from the mid-90s. SPOILERS AHEAD: ADAM is a pedophile who becomes obsessed with Langa because of his skill. This grown man is so obsessed with the teen boy that Hisoka actually stopped stalking Gon and Killua for a minute to make a cameo to call Chris Hansen on him. (He did not). ADAM wants Langa to be his "Eve", because he's hard up for a decent opponent and he believes Langa can be that for him. In order to build Langa up to those expectations, the anime basically turns at this point from a comedy to a homoerotic dramedy, that was pretty much focused on gassing up Langa for being good at the expense of his boyfrie--erghm---"buddy", Reki. Seriously, episode after episode, it's just "Oh, Langa is so great. But, that redheaded guy with him is just the most trashiest of all the trash." (Which didn't even make sense because he could hang with some of the best skaters in the anime. But, whatever, plot's not gonna push itself.) At any rate, Reki can't handle being the Krillin to Langa's Goku, so he turns into a hater, stops talking to him and quits skating. So, now we have to watch the guy who was supposed to carry this anime's comedy aspect, mope and skulk around because he's just a Krillin. And it made him totally unlikable, because nobody likes "friends" who can't celebrate your success. He's just a hater. Fortunately, he remembered SKATING IS FUN after getting jumped in an alley and all of his insecurities just went away and he stopped being a salty hater. So, now that, that needless drama ended we can get back into the comedy and action--and nope--because now we have to deal with ADAM's psychological problems. What made this guy turn into a flamboyant kiddy-diddling matador? What makes him get off of his board mid-skate and just bash people in the face with his skateboard at 60MPH? Which is attempted murder? (Side Note: Why was this guy even lauded as some kind of a skating legend when his "special moves" consisted of "turning around mid race and standing in your way" and "Hitting you in the face with a skateboard?). What soul-breaking betrayal could've have turned a happy young lad into James Charles? Well to find that out, we have to be bombarded with flashbacks that this dude lost his marbles because his friend, a mere house servant, said he had "no opinion", when ADAM's father, (the head of the entire family) asked him if he wanted to buck up because he burned his own son's skateboard. What was he supposed to say? "Yeah, guy who can ruin my entire family, let me, a child, step in here and tell you how to raise your kid."? Apparently, this "deep betrayal" and some raps on the wrist with a ruler by his aunts turned him into a guy who consistently keeps trying to throw people off of cliffs. (Don't rap children's wrists with rulers, people. They will start dressing up in grave clothes and wanting teen boys to be the "Eve" to their "Adam".) At any rate, between the flashbacks of ADAM being destroyed emotionally by the most tame betrayal since my wife ate the last of my ice cream, and ADAM skating with Cherry and Joe, we get a continued story of cringey pedophilia. ADAM begins to literally stalk Langa with drones and is upset that Langa and Reki are reunited. Because ADAM wants to have Langa/Eve all to himself, he targets Reki for a race in the shortest, most predictable, tournament in anime sports history and Reki nearly beats him. (I will give credit where credit is due: the race between Reki and ADAM was pretty good, and was the only race where you didn't know who would win before it began.) ADAM gets all in a huff because he nearly lost to this "terrible" skater, (who, again, nearly beats all the best skaters and only loses because his board breaks or someone throws firecrackers at him) and ADAM then goes from being a matador pedo to being an undertaker/evangelion pilot pedo, and races Langa in the finals. And they race on 2,000 feet tall cliffs and go in the zone, and there's rainbows and white noise and flashbacks of dead dads and Langa falls and should die but SKATING IS FUN, so he doesn't and wins and whatever and I'm wondering why I spent time watching this instead of continuing Wonder Egg Priority. But even with all of this, I have still not properly conveyed the worst part of the anime. And that is, without a doubt, the dialogue. The dialogue is just so incredibly cringe in the later parts of the anime. I swear Langa should've just stayed quiet. Every other sentence out of his mouth towards Reki would've been proceeded by "How could you say something so embarrassing with a straight face?" in any other anime. If he wasn't spitting the most embarrassing lines to his "friend", it was how he felt empty without Reki around while wistfully grabbing at his heart. (Langa's heart hurts, girls. Buy his merch, ok?) And it wasn't just confined to Langa and Reki, either. All the characters were just talking nonsense towards the end. "I know what your true nature is now, let's bring this to a finale.", "Adam is skating all alone. That can't be fun.", "SKATING IS SO MUCH FUN!!", "You'll be my dog for the rest of our lives.", "I'll take skateboarding from you...to save you.", "I thought I got rid of these insignificant feelings long ago!". You can't get rid of the feeling that SKATING IS FUN, Adam. "SKATING IS FUN" is a universal law. Man, it was just one bad line after another after another. The dialogue was just atrocious. This anime doesn't even come close to the 8.05 rating it has as of the writing of this review. Even if it lived up to its potential, at best it would be a 7. But, it hardly does that and I would only give it a 3. 1 point for the funny first couple of episodes. 1 point for the Reki/ADAM race. Other than that, it's a weak anime, with a weak story and awful dialogue. I should also deduct a point for that stupid female cop angle. That served no purpose at all. Why was it even a part of the story? It had no bearing on anything in the end. Down to 2. I really don't understand why some of these animes are scoring so highly lately...
Blue_Maroon
04/08/2021, 07:29 AM
If I had to describe SK8 the Infinity in two words it would be “ridiculous” and “fun”. This may be the most unabashedly over-the-top anime that I have ever seen. A secret skating community full of people with alter-egos that race down a mountain. Skaters that can defy the laws of physics. A skater that can break rock walls with the force of his quads. A computer skateboard that can transform into different boards and calculate the best routes on a course. Oh, how could I also forget the guy that dresses like a masquerade bullfighter and acts like Hisoka’s impressionable younger brother? If you arelooking for a realistic skateboarding anime, you won’t find it here. What you will find here, however is a really good time. Bones is the studio behind this anime so you know you are in for some good animation. The races are the highlights of the series and they look fantastic. The animation is so smooth and you can always tell what is going on despite the skaters racing on a rocky, mountain course at night. The art is very clean as well. Even though the art style is nothing special, it’s still high quality and characters are never off-model. The characters themselves are pretty straightforward, but they have distinct personalities and are brought to life by some great voice acting. The sound design is top-notch as well and the OST fit the style of the show to a “T”. You may be wondering why my score for this anime is only 7/10 despite praising it so much these first few paragraphs. The reason for that lies within the writing of this anime. While I find that the plot is pretty standard (it mainly revolves around races and one of the main characters teaching a new kid how to skateboard) there was so much unneccesary things added in to force drama and to appeal to a certain fanbase. I don’t believe that some down-to-Earth aspects like realistic drama are a bad thing for an over-the-top anime. If it is all fun and games all the time then it can get a little repetitive. But, forcing drama between characters for no other reason aside from adding meaningless tension is not the way to go about it. Especially when it is at the cost of betraying everything about a character to do so. I won’t spoil anything, but one of the main characters starts being a complete ass for no real reason. The reason the anime gives is not something that this character cared about at all before the conflict occurred. Now all-of-a-sudden it is so important to him that he deals with it for 4 TOTAL EPISODES! If you are going to force some conflict, at least make it quick. Don’t stretch out a meaningless conflict that betrays how one of the main characters has been written for 1/3rd of your entire series. That is just bad writing. But what annoyed me the most about this anime is how much yaoi-bait is present throughout this series. DISCLAIMER: I have no problem with gay relationships being portrayed in anime or in any medium. What I do have a problem with is when gay relationships are being heavily suggested by an anime, yet nothing ever comes from it. There is a lot of gay relationships that are suggested in this anime and none of it has any significance by the end. All that time and deliberate effort spent suggesting these relationships is left with an ambiguous at best conclusion. Don’t get me wrong, I know why the creators did this. The yaoi fanbase is a passionate one that is known for creating fan art, fanfiction, etc. Having passionate fans is a great way to spread awareness of an anime and it isn’t like the sports genre is unfamiliar with fans shipping male characters. It irritates me when I see an anime intentionally trying to tap into this market, yet not having the resolution to go through with it and make the characters actually gay. It’s like I’m watching the anime making desparate attempts to convince watchers to make content about it, as if it doesn’t have confidence that it is good enough to grab people’s attention. But it also feels like it is trying to “have its cake and eat it too” by suggesting these relationships for the yaoi fanbase but not going through as to not scare off people that do not like that content. This indecision puts it in no man’s land where it feels cheap and insincere, by far the worst option between leaving it out or making the characters gay. Aside from the shameless yaoi-bait and the contrived conflict, I do not have much else to really criticize this anime for. There was a meaningless canon filler/recap episode that also served as fanservice in the middle of the season which didn’t help my rating. But that is about it for my gripes. Looking back, I think this anime could have been slimmed down into a good movie if all the bad stuff I talked about was cut out of it. There is a lot to like about this anime. It is a blast to watch when the characters are racing and was a pretty good time overall. I would recommend giving it a shot because it is an easy watch. Although if you drop it for the reasons I mentioned, I wouldn’t hold it against you. It is closer to a 6/10 than an 8/10.
Ele777
04/06/2021, 12:53 AM
Someone here left a 1-star rating and you're just disrespectful. The animators took time and effort to create a show while you sat on your butt judging and acting like you are a top tier food critic for Michelin star restaurants when you can't even make Kraft Dinner. So relax. Anyway, I just could not have said NOTHING. ***Not really spoilers, just a message about the show kinda*** Honestly, I have no interest in skateboarding. I thought it was going to be a dumb show with hot 2D characters. I always give every anime at least 5 episodes before I decide to continue or drop it.It was a slow start for me, but it actually ended up being really great. I liked how it revolved around friendship. It taught me that in our lives, sometimes we end up comparing our selves to others, even our friends. When we are faced with the reality of letting our own inadequacies rip us apart, do we rise above and be better people or succumb to our self-doubt? In the age of social media this is a great lesson to show us that just because we may not be "the best" at something, we should do what makes us happy and always try our best. This show is a great reminder to surround yourself with people who want you to succeed in your own way, even if that means you're not number one. I am not saying that everyone should "get a trophy" for participating... I am saying that hard work and results look different for each individual. This show reminded me to look at myself and reflect on that, and THAT'S why this show is great. I wish people would take the time to see the deeper meaning of anime. I feel like a lot of people these days are superficially analyzing how amazing a show is just because of an intricate storyline or the immaculate beauty of an art style. Not every anime has a deep meaning mind you, but this one does. If you want to watch it, it's only 12 episodes with a good ending feeling and I personally think it's totally worth your time.
MaizKolbe
04/05/2021, 04:29 PM
It is 1 am and I should head to bed, but here I am writing a review just because I can! (excuse my grammar/spelling errors, I am barely conscious as of writing this. This is also more of a personal thing which I can look back and cringe at) Story: 7/10 The story in of itself is nothing original skating aside. We have the same standard "sports anime duo", one being the excited fanatic and the other the cool and talented. They are quite different but share the same love for so they end up getting along because of it. That love being thespark which ignites their friendship. The "one guy surpasses the other which makes them jealous" plot line is also in no way revolutionary but the deal with Sk8 is that it doesn't need to be original. It carries itself well and uses the tropes in a fun way so we may not get bored. Art: 8/10 What can I say? There's a reason for there having been no skating centered anime before this. We were lucky to have Bones being the ones to animate this and bring this piece to life. In the wrong hands it would've looked stiff and unsatisfying, something you never want in an anime. Sk8 The Infinity has some absolutely amazing animated scenes, and the character designs only makes them better. The main cast all have their own distinct look which you can easily recognize without much thought being put into it. They are at the same time quite cleverly thought out and fit their personalities well. Sound: 7/10 It is solid! I don't really have much to say here except that I like it and the score fit the scenes well. Characters: 7/10 I really loved the characters, some thing which contradicts my score ha. Well, I loved the chemistry between the characters and is imo the factor that carries the show. The characters as individuals are completely fine but Reki and Langa as a pair simply radiates so much fun energy, and just seing them hang out makes me actually wish I made an effort in making friends. Joe and Cherry also have some very entertaining chemistry and their banter remind me of an old married couple. Shadow and Miya are also just a pair of fun characters to have around (Shadow deserved better). I've seen very mixed reviews about Adam and I can understand why. But for me he was simply *cheffs kiss*. Everyone calls him "Sk8er Dio" and I can't possible agree more with that statement. He was over the top and bloody hilarious. The only thing I'm unsure of is his ending, which I am not sure if I'm completely satisfied with. Enjoyment: 9/10 I had an absolute blast watching sk8! I know very well that it is no way a perfect anime and I can easily point out multiple flaws with the show. That aside, I just never found myself bored when watching sk8 (aside from the recap wth was that?). I waited excitedly every week for a new episode, watched the Banger opening all the way through, and always ended up with a crave to punch my screen whenever those bloody palm trees appeared. Overall: 8/10 Sk8 was overall a very fun experience! It worked as my weekly dose of serotonin and had me something to look forward to every week. I will in no way forget it anytime soon!
Fruitpie
04/05/2021, 07:43 AM
So, what’s the story? On 7 September 2013 Tokyo was selected as the host city of The XXXII Olympic Games. Japanese government wanted to promote upcoming event among youth through entertainment industry: music and TV, including anime. Popular anime characters were selected as ambassadors (Sailor Moon, Naruto, Luffy and others) and also new anime projects about different Olympic events were commissioned. Such as rugby (Number 24), artistic gymnastics (Taisou zamurai), volleyball (2:43), baseball (Tamayomi), soccer (Sayonara Watashi no Cramer), surfing (Wave!!), water polo (Re-Main), bouldering (Iwa Kakeru!) and others. Even parasport (Breakers) and male rhythmic gymnastics that will take part at the gymnastic exhibition duringthe final olympic day (Bakuten!!). “SK8: the infinity” from studio BONES is the part of that big program. This original anime is dedicated to the skateboarding that debuts as a new Olympic sport in Tokyo. Utsumi Hiroko was put at the helm since she was responsible for a successful series about other summer sport (Free!!). Seems like her original idea included a snowboarder who decided to take part in the illegal skateboard races that were organized by one crazy guy in search of his ideal Eve. There was a police investigation involved, sudden return of a girlfriend, serious money troubles and other typical tropes from you-know-where. But then Utsumi (or someone else from the stuff) thought that MC needs to go through some adjustment to his technique before he will crush everyone in the races. And that’s how Reki was born. As a supporting guy who can’t skate but whose role was to screw the wheels to the board and nothing more. In the end at the last minute stuff decided to redo everything from the scratch and make the “guy with the wheels” the MC instead. As a result dozens of plot points were cut or thrown out. The scenario was altered so many times so late in the game that they didn’t even had time to cut a girlfriend appearance from one of the first episodes. She never ever appeared again. As a result of this hot mess we have a story were the villain (former antihero) has more flashbacks and background than any of the leads. Our new MC has a zero background apart from “one time one totally irrelevant to the plot guy got hurt by irrelevant to the plot reason”. Reki’s journey went from the point A to … the point A (from the “even though I can’t skate but still…” to the “yeah, I can’t skate but still…”) with some stupid pity drama in between. Langa’s plot points were thrown out entirely. He has even less substance than Reki. Unnamed girl and mysterious money problems that’s all that left from the original draft and now it leads nowhere. Adam is obviously Utsumi’s favorite. Not only because he suffered the least damages from redoing the script, but because he’s the one whose character she actually bothered to explore. She even gave him a new “lover” since the old one was “taken away”. But Adam still looked stupid. That’s how this anime looks over all. Its script is ultimately foolish. Maybe if they had kept the original idea everything would have looked much more decent. Or maybe the original idea was a lot more disastrous, that’s why they went to such extremes to redo everything. Anyhow, decision was made and result was awful. First episodes were awesome production wise. Animation, music, everything was superb. But something (COVID, mess with the script or who knows what else) happened halfway through that resulted in the noticeable drop in quality. They even had to use a recap episode. Series that started with such a promise ended with a huge “What the Hell was that?!” “Taisou zamurai” is so much better than this. But since “samurai” has never tried to play a fujobaiting game it had zero chances to became popular. First 5 episodes ranking: 9/10. Episodes 6-10.5: -1/10. Episodes 11-12: 5/10. Overall ranking: 4/10.
AozoraAi
04/05/2021, 12:39 AM
Man, I was really rooting for this series. The concept of skating as a premise was new and interesting. It was engaging in the beginning but half way through the series, it felt as if the creators were running out of imagination and was making a mess out of the plot elements. The ending was a huge letdown. Even though I fairly enjoyed the anime, I still can’t give it a high score because truth be told it’s relatively very average. Let me tell you they could have run with far more interesting scenarios than making the plot revolve around a knockoff brand of Hisoka. Itwas a cringe fest. Episode 12 was an amalgamation of cringe that was build up throughout the 11 episodes. It seems to me that this anime was targeted towards a younger audience because if you have a more mature literary standards, then your brain will recoil when you watch this. And I don’t mean the entire series is like that. It has decent comedy and chill entertainment. But even if you watch it without any seriousness whatsoever, you still can’t look past the lame-ness of the show. Plot: As I mentioned earlier, I personally believe that from a script’s pov, they could’ve run with other scenarios that would’ve been much more intriguing than a focal villain. This Adam villain is corny. There’s a limit to which one can shut off their brain. There was nothing he did that made sense as to why he was redeemed so quickly. It’s like the characters have amnesia or so. There are no consequences to his actions and they don’t care what happened an episode ago? That’s corny. Who in the right mind would forget about someone who tried to kill you and then forgive them enough to join their bbq party? Right. And the race with Langa and Adam had no stakes. It was predictable. There was nothing in their relationship that warranted a dramatic change or made that race intriguing. Why on earth is Langa invested in curing the guy who had no hesitation to kill Reki? There was no natural tension. It felt corny. I know I’m using this word a lot but that’s just how I felt watching the last episode. I couldn’t take this show seriously. For some reason I thought the final race would’ve been between Reki and Langa, as that would’ve been a twist and there was more psychological and philosophical elements to explore if it had been that way. Reki’s insecurities were the only thing in the show that was most natural and compelling and it could’ve gone in a direction that resolves it in a more fruitful way than a guy who’s horny to find his EVE for some godamn reason. I still don’t understand his shit. Characters: Reki is by far my favorite character. But, it was a bit annoying when he started to say “skating was fun” for every other thing later. Langa was a prodigy who had absolutely no low points making him quite bland. He wasn’t insufferable though. I feel they could’ve explored more of his snowboarding background in Canada and how good he actually was. Snowboarding itself is an amusing sport and they could’ve may added more of his background elements. That would’ve been fun to see. It’s like all of this was there, but nothing was well developed. Some other characters are very typical but not bad though. I liked them. I do have to say Miya was a waste. His only function was to add visual variety to the show by filling the role of the cutesy cat boy. Because let me tell you he did absolutely nothing after his debut. They all had potential to build interesting character relations and give them challenges but all they cared was for Adam. And let me tell you Adam isn’t even that great. He’s not an intimidating antagonist. And his backstory was also subpar. Oh yes, talking about character development, after everything was over, he calls his PA Tadashi that he will be his dog forever to which Tadashi blushes. What the hell is wrong with people, seriously? LMAO. That’s the level of this show if you need a glimpse. Sound: Okay OP and ED are pretty good. No objections. Is this a gay anime? Not really. It’s debatable, but it certainly has gay undertones. But I genuinely don’t think this show is bold enough to say it is a shonen ai. It’s more or less ambiguous because it’s specifically made in a way that is convenient for fujoshi fan service and queerbaiting. Those who don’t want to see it that way can watch it without any problem. And those who wants to think of it as shonen ai also have plenty of treats to fulfill their entertainment quota. Fujoshi’s can ship Renki and Langa to their heart’s content. At the same time, an episode clearly showed he’s interested in girls when he blushed around a random girl on their cruise. That’s how shows like this works ladies and gentlemen. It’s a one for all formula that always works. You can’t say they’re not gay but you can’t prove they are either. I don’t think this show has the balls to make it completely a Yuri on Ice was there to be a second season. Oh well, that’s just how I feel. I would still recommend a watch if you like sports anime. Don’t expect Haikyuu level of sports or a nuanced slice of life anime though. It’s a little mix of both but with more fantasy and unrealism.
BlueEclispe
04/04/2021, 02:54 PM
Sk∞ is the skateboarding anime that people have been waiting decades for. A show which had only not been made eariler due to limits in technology. But does it live up to the hype fans give it. To begin with, it was a dark horse. A show that a lot of people didnt even realize existed until the internet exploded. Then it still went widely ignored. Being that it is my favorite show of the winter season i have bias but, to be honest. It got the attention it deserved. The show follows two main characters and a very dynamic cast of sides. Reki and Langa. Langabeing a Canadian, after his father passed his mother decided to return to her homeland of japan. Being thrust into this new land with very little preparation Langa is lost. There are not any mountains or snow where he is. so he would need to find a new hobby. He would also have to used to a new language. More specifically how to read and write with it. But he finds quickly finds a new friend to help. Reki is skateboarder and when he meets Langa he takes him under his wing. Being obsessed with the sport his whole life, he reads magazines, works in a skate shop, and designs his own boards. His whole life is skate and he finally has someone to truely share it with. Someone who can see it the way he does rather than someone that does it to look cool. Reki is also a part of an underground club called S. A place where all the best skaters gather to race downhill with no rules. After some plot, Reki and Langa get roped into a race. Rather, Langa gets roped in despite being new to the sport. And as you can guess he performs surprisingly well. Why? Because he was a snowboarder. And the gap is not that far. The show now follows the two friends and their adventures with S. If you know the team that made this show, you can guess the tone of the story as it is very similar to Bananafish. It also shares the wonderful art. If you are not familiar, the show is very friendly to people that like shipping men together. So that may turn you off like it did with Bananafish viewers. Then if you couldn't care less, the story keeps you strapped in but im not spoiling quite yet. Now back to me mentioning the show getting the attention it deserved. It doesn't do anything to separate itself from other shounen in it's subgenre let alone the genre in general. The underdog main character isnt an underdog for long. Now he is comparable to the best if not better. Now we watch as he looks to snatch the crown for himself weather he wants to or not. We've seen this a thousand times in anime, so it comes down to execution. Even the obligatory beach episode hits all the notes. Thing is, the show executed more than perfectly. Hey, if you are new to anime it will feel like one of the best shows youve ever watched with little competition. But, if you happen to be bored with shounen sequence, the art and skating will keep you engaged. Everyone is happy. Now for heavy spoiling. Like i mentioned. Langa is talented. He immediately becomes a god at the sport. This of course grabs the attention of the number one skater Adam. The man that started S. The man who started it only to find someone who can grab his attention. Someone different from the others, special. Be it how unpredictable Langa is or how he uses snowboarding tricks for skating or whatever else. Langa is everything he has been looking for all these years. And Adam will have him. Not that our side characters wont get the way. Than handsome and musclebound Joe. The beautiful and graceful perfectionist that is Cherry. (These two approach skating in opposite ways so the rub each other the wrong way. Joe is a brute that relies on muscle and instinct. Cherry uses a computer and only wants the perfect way down the mountain.) There is also rookie hunter that likes to play dirty in Shadow. And much much more. The important one here being, Reki. One of the weaker skaters in S. Who of course becomes jealous of Langa. Sad that he feels like Langa is skating way from him. And mad that Langa cant keep a promise. So eventually the two break up until Reki finds his love for skating again. I've been rambling. Its an amazing show. If you want to watch it. Just do it.
Naramea
04/03/2021, 04:41 PM
So, this is my first mal review ever and I'm not a native English speaker but I hope that doesn't affect the review. This review includes spoilers! First of all I have to say: I'm absolutely disappointed. This anime wasted it's whole potential. It starts of really nice, I liked Reki and Langa, even though they are a bit cliche but that wasn’t a big problem. Later some other characters were introduced, for example Cherry and Joe (who had a great dynamic together, gotta say). The anime first focuses a lot on Reki and Langa and skating in general. I myself have no clue about skateboarding so I don't knowwhether "S" is realistic or not but I was fine with it because it was kinda fun to watch the beefs. But then a certain someone showed up to ruin the mood. I don't know what the creators were thinking when they planned Adam but this guy ruined the whole anime in my opinion. He is a really, really bad copy of Hisoka from HxH and he is one of the cringiest characters I've ever seen. His blabbering about marrying Langa and finding his Eve was so hard to watch, I cringed every time he opened his mouth. Also his whole behaviour was just ridiculous (I mean, hitting someone with your damn skateboard has nothing to do with skating anymore). He is one of the most unnecessary and worst written antagonists I've ever came across (he is nearly as unnecessary as the red haired police officer, like, why was she even there?) And he RUINED the whole anime. Also something that was quite weird (and unrealistic) were the people watching the beefs. They give a shit about Cherry getting hit by Adam with his skateboard because he is to "boring" in Adams opinion (which is just a big WTF). Another character worth mentioning is Adam's... secretary (I guess? I already forgot his name lmao) because also WTf!? He’s getting treated like shit by Adam (he calls him dog and it didn't bother the secretary at all) and his only purpose is to bring a bit of "tension" into the tournament and a "sad backstory" for Adam (at which they fail miserably btw). What I kinda liked was the "arc" focusing on Reki after he realised he is nothing special in comparison to Langa. I know this feeling very well and therefore could empathize with him easily. It was also nice that he didn't overcome this feeling within one episode and actually needed some time. The last episode was just a cringefest and they didn't spare with cliches. Suddenly Langa makes Adam realise that skating is about fun and not only competing (who would have seen that coming?! Lmao) and they are all best buddies now. Aha. Overall the anime is full of unrealistic scenarios, bad written characters and a lacking plot (well, if you could call it plot...). I would have been totally fine watching Reki and Langa improve, competing with "normal" characters and Rekis down phase. That would have been enough... I wouldn't recommend this anime bcs you don’t really learn anything about skating and the character cast is… something. It had some nice moments but that’s it. Overall it made me incredibly angry lmao (thank you Adam). Yeah, that's it. Thanks for reading^^
Armeymey
04/03/2021, 03:51 PM
Sk8 is a really entertaining anime that made me laugh and smile A LOT, and also made me cry. Here are my thoughts overall: Pros: - Beautiful animation. Colorful, bright. It looks perfect. The character design is even better. If you had to pick your favourite character on looks alone, it would be very difficult to pick. - Entertaining characters. Some of the characters are very relatable to viewers, for example Reki who feels inferior to his best friend. What’s great to see is how he learns that the reason he skates is because it’s fun, not because he wants to be number 1. Langa,Reki’s best friend, is fun to watch as he grows. Then we have Miya, the catboy child prodigy. Then there’s Cherry and Joe, who are a comedic duo just like Langa and Reki. We also have Shadow, who you’d think is the villain at first, but he’s honestly wholesome and gives dad vibes. Then there’s also Adam, who’s just insane. - The opening. I love the opening so much. The closing is also good. Contras: - Queerbaiting. The amount of queerbaiting in this anime is astronomical. Romance between many characters was hinted A LOT. And for a particular pair, it for sure was not bromance. So of course, as a viewer you’re hoping you won’t be queerbaited. WRONG. I felt disappointed and was waiting every week for something to happen. In the last episode I just didn’t feel satisfied. I felt like what I received was not enough compared to the queerbaiting I witnessed for the past 3 months. - No female characters. There’s no female characters in the main cast. The only speaking female characters are Reki’s mom and sisters, Langa’s mom and Shadow’s love interest. Notice how all these female characters existed because they were somehow related to one of the male characters? We could have gotten skatergirls! - Foul play in the races. What baffled me every time was how one of the character’s cheating passed as “secret skating moves”. I’m no skater but I think jumping off your board during a skateboarding race and sprinting on your legs would get you disqualified. Another thing that genuinely shocked me was how that same character could just lift his board and slam it on his opponent’s head to the point where he passed out and went to the hospital, and it would be considered a strategy. He automatically won. Huh? Personally, I feel like you should win a skateboarding race by skating, not by beating the sh!t out of your opponent and paralyzing him. - Defying the laws of gravity. Gravity just doesn’s exist in this anime. A skater could be literally flying and nobody would question it. Honestly it’s not necessarily a bad thing because it brings intensity to the action and it definitely makes things more interesting, BUT it’s for sure VERY unrealistic.
Halel31
04/03/2021, 01:49 PM
“No one knows the answer to the meaning of happiness” “Skating is infinite”. “It was fun. It was really fun in the beginning. But everyone disappeared. The better you become…They all disappear in the end anyway” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sk8 to the infinity is one of the most enjoyable, and exciting, and surprising anime I've ever seen. It always made me so fricking excited and happy, One of the best sports anime I've seen. I would recommend it to everyone.it gave me so much motivation to even start skating, I love every character from this anime and even have a character that I am very similar to Andmany good quotes as well. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story- The story is great I am happy that they knew how to handle a skating anime and didn't mess up the story (: ---------------------------------------------- Art- The art is so fricking good I love how they handle the skating races and more very well! ---------------------------------------------- Characters- The characters are very realistic, And you can easily have a similar personality and perspective of thinking like them. ---------------------------------------------- Enjoyment-10/10 I enjoyed this anime so much I can't even explain it in words. i am pretty sad right now because it's ended probably going to rewatch it right now lol. -------------------------------------------- Overall- 10/10 it was so good I would recommend it to everyone even for people that don't like sports anime.
Kraagesh
04/03/2021, 11:15 AM
-Note: English is not my native language, I apologize for possible mistakes. The script for SK∞ has a casual tone that is easy to catch, with the inclusion of comedy overtones that, without being recursive, is effective. But undoubtedly one of the production's greatest strengths is the artistic rendering and technical effort on Bones' part. Because building a current fiction from the foundations of an urban culture alien to current times would not be easy if it weren't for the excellent work of photography, color, music and artistic direction in general, which give the set a great appeal and special magnetism. Special mention, of course, tothe special level of detail and display in terms of animation, with interesting camera exercises and kinesthesia in the races, offering excellent quality levels that have very little to envy to similar cut products. SK∞ is a sincere proposal that does not seek to be elusive, since it is very clear about what to offer and where to aim. His treatment of skate culture is as engaging as it is eccentric, and the dynamics between his characters make it incredibly easy and organic to want to follow their learning and see how far they are capable of going not necessarily to win, but to feel good about themselves. Hiroko Utsumi's work transmits passion and fun with a treatment that I wish was seen more often: that of humility, that of enjoying without the need to achieve great feats.
Alepercy
04/03/2021, 10:53 AM
This review don't contain spoiler. Sorry for my bad English. Sk8 the infinity I would say that it proved to be a nice spokon, I almost seemed to see Initial D on the skate I swear,then obvious Inital D is on a completely different level Those who expect something realistic and those who are a lover of skate may perhaps be disappointed given that such a thing in reality could not exist, but we are still talking about an anime that is also very crude and at the same time cool at the end. The skate competitions are really exciting and the characters are nice, I especially likedthe relationship between the two protagonists. For the rest there is a lot of already seen and with many clichés, but the fact remains that it is still enjoyable in this context. The best part of all anime though is the sound, with great soundtracks. The animations are also of a high standard, but we're talking about Stubio Bones so that's nothing new. Having said that I would say a very pleasant original spokon, not among the best for many reasons but still not to be missed.
KANLen09
04/03/2021, 10:30 AM
Yes, it's studio Bones...and yes, it's Hiroko Utsumi, director of Free! and Banana Fish. But I believe that this is more than just another passion project of an original sports anime. It's one that's done with lots of respect towards the skateboarding community, more than just being one that's an easy inspiration to Tony Hawk: Pro Skater. Are you ready to SK∞ to Infinity and Beyond? In the history of anime, sports shows are regular to showcasing what kinds of sports are actually all about, but in rarer cases do we actually get some specific ones, from Welcome to the Ballroom's in-line skating to Yowamushi Pedal'sbicycle racing. Whereas in SK∞ the Infinity, skateboarding (or it's more correct term of street skateboarding), is a discipline which focuses on flatground tricks, grinds, slides and aerials within urban environments and public spaces. Street skateboarders meet, skate and hang out, in and around urban areas referred to as "spots", which are commonly streets, plazas or industrial areas, or as shown in the anime, the secret place called "S". It's there that like-minded skaters settle for no-holds-barred competition purposes. It's interesting that Bones has contracted an animation studio known as Studio No Border for the skateboarding designs, and all of this comes from acclaimed French artist Thomas Romain and his small team of multimedia creatives. Having first worked with Shinichiro Watanabe for both spaceship design in Space Dandy and world design on Carole & Tuesday, and working with other studios to produce background design, world art concepts, comics, board games, video games, and animation projects at that time. So it is from that one fateful meeting of just a regular meeting at studio Bones where Thomas Romain and his friends met up with producers who were working on the SK∞ anime, albeit with some reluctance of acceptance since his small team of has had quite the crunch from numerous projects. It's there that they help make the skateboard designs that are strictly peculiar to each and every character in the anime, and knowing director Hiroko Utsumi's extreme sense of attention to detail, Thomas Romain and his small creatives got to work on relentlessly illustrating and negotating with Utsumi from the designs down to the technicals. And that's a hella work that's done to make this show stand out. For context, Studio No Border designed nine skateboards, and some other designs lke the “S” sticker and the decals, which are the illustrations underneath the skateboard. Here is the list of employees that worked on SK∞: - Juliette Mercier (skateboard design for Reki, Langa, MIYA, SHADOW, Cherry Blossom, JOE, ADAM) - Stanislas Brunet (skateboard design and decal for Kikuchi, skateboard rough for Cherry blossom) - Ayumi Kakei (decals for Reki, Langa, MIYA, sticker of the “S”) - Thomas Romain (decal for ADAM) - Loïc Locatelli (decals for JOE and SHADOW) It's all of these details that tend to miss the public eye, and I really have to commend director Hiroko Utsumi and Studio No Border for creating such a lush show that has skateboarding fans rave in joy of how it mimics the true representation of the sport. Anyways, since this is the typical "newbie comes into town and learns a new sport" trope, I won't bore too much on its setting, but this is a lil' bit special: Reki Kyan, being an avid lover of skateboarding, working part-time as a mechanic and creating his own custom boards, meets Langa Hasegawa, a half-Japanese, half-Canadian transfer student who grew up as a snowboarder. In typical fashion, both street skateboarding and snowboarding skills can be interchanged as long as the skills required are fit to do so, and Langa immediately gets the hang of skateboarding after the enthusiastic Reki gives him an invitation to the secret "S" skateboarding races and having to race one of its regulars unequivocally, further cementing his position from being the half-assed rookie to a fully-fledged skater. Being a character drama story, this is where Utsumi places very heavy emphasis onto characterization, and for the most part, has excelled well just like her last series on Banana Fish: - Both Reki and Langa "Snow" Hasegawa are "brothers for life", from their first initial coincidential meet-up to where they're now: skaters for life, treading through every success and failure, nook and cranny, blood, sweat and tears of relentless training. Whether happy or sad, elated or depressed, these two gay guys definitely have the affinity and not the hots for each other. The double-parallel life of the "S" skaters: - Hiromi "Shadow" Higa, kind florist-cum-dirty tactics skater; - Miya Chinen, junior skater champion whose skills are inspired by pro skater Rodney Mullen's style; - The double "childhood friend" of Kaoru "Cherry Blossom" Sakurayashiki, calligrapher-cum-AI skater and Kojiro "Joe" Nanjo, chef-cum-childhood rival with Kaoru. These two goofballs are like mature adults that can go head-to-head in the most immature and childish fashion. - The double Master-Assistant of Ainosuke "Adam" Shindo, politician-cum-legendary "S" skater and assistant Tadashi "Snake" Kikuchi. Even though the wealthy Shindo Family of aunts are of corrupt sound and mind, Ainosuke is but a victim to upholding the family's honours, by hook or by crook. Assistant Tadashi who've been staying by his side since childhood, teaches the lonely Ainosuke the art of skateboarding, not knowing that it'll prove fatal as time passes with Ainosuke associating pain with love, a twist of psyche. Adam's Kanji name is also interesting: stylized as 愛抱夢 (but spoken in Katakana), his prominent attack is the "Love Hug", and for those of you who know your languages well, it's a direct translation of that. Even down to the symbolisms of the skater status, Adam is labelled as the "Matador of Love", donning a matador costume and mask. Word is that he's looking for his "Eve", someone to match his unequivocal skating skill levels, and Langa is the supposedly new rookie that he has his eye on. Take a step back on that to realize that this is just like the Bible's representation in the Book of Genesis: Adam (Ainosuke), Eve (Langa) and the Serpent (Tadashi), the "Fall of Adam" becoming synonymous with the fall of humanity (skating) that brings forth dissent of their attitudes. It's these symbolisms which add up to the testament of how Hiroko Utsumi is THAT meticulous, and can greatly ramp up the experience of SK∞ as a whole. I mean, come on, it's studio Bones, you know that you're gonna get some good visuals and animation, that is hardly a surprise at all. The best parts are not just the skating action itself, but what most people will easily miss are the presentation of the visuals for both the OP and ED, and that they're also directed by Utsumi herself. It's rare that songs like Rude-α's "Paradise" and Yuuri's "Infinity" are given the proper treatment of syncing both songs with the animation, beat by beat and coupled with amazing visuals for the OP and funny skateboarding fails for the ED. Just lovin' those pumping beats and chill lo-fi songs. This is an exemplary example of a show that even with unintended production hell (like Wonder Egg Priority), has maintained with stride and careful planning to deliver the ultimate experience of a passion project, and I can definitely feel the call-backs to said directed shows helmed by one of the most prominent female directors of the modern anime age. A job well done, and a massive thank you to both Hiroko Utsumi and Bones for making this fine show. SK∞ the Infinity: Skating is Infinite.

SK∞ SK∞ エスケーエイト

North American Anime & Manga Releases for June

TV Anime 'SK∞' Gets New Anime Project

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Winter 2021 Preview

PV Collection for Nov 30 - Dec 6

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'SK∞' Reveals Main Cast, Additional Staff, Second Promo

Aniplex, Bones Announce 'SK∞: SK Eight' Original Anime Series for January 2021

SK∞ SK∞ エスケーエイト

North American Anime & Manga Releases for June

TV Anime 'SK∞' Gets New Anime Project

Winter 2021 Simulcast List [Update 2/25]

Q1 2021 Anime & Manga Licenses [Update 3/24]

PV Collection for Dec 14 - 20

Winter 2021 Preview

PV Collection for Nov 30 - Dec 6

PV Collection for Nov 16 - 22

'SK∞' Reveals Main Cast, Additional Staff, Second Promo

Aniplex, Bones Announce 'SK∞: SK Eight' Original Anime Series for January 2021