SK∞ エスケーエイト

SK∞

ANIME

STATUS
COMPLETE
EPISODES
12
RELEASE
April 4, 2021
LENGTH
24 min

DESCRIPTION

Reki, a high school sophomore and skater, is addicted to “S,” a highly secret and dangerous downhill skateboarding race that takes place in an abandoned mine. The skaters are especially wild about the “beefs,” or heated battles that erupt in the races.

Reki takes Langa, a transfer student returning to Japan after studying abroad, to the mine where the races are held. Langa, who has no skateboarding experience, finds himself pulled into the world of “S”...

(Source: Aniplex of America)

Note: On March 13, 2021 a recap episode (9.5) went on air, postponing the broadcast of the regular episodes by one week.

CAST

Reki Kyan
Tasuku Hatanaka
Langa Hasegawa
Chiaki Kobayashi
Miya Chinen
Takuma Nagatsuka
Kaoru Sakurayashiki
Hikaru Midorikawa
Kojirou Nanjou
Yasunori Matsumoto
Ainosuke Shindou
Takehito Koyasu
Tadashi Kikuchi
Kenshou Ono
Hiromi Higa
Kenta Miyake
Nanako Hasegawa
Mie Sonozaki
Shoukichi Oka
Kenta Ookuma
Kiriko Kamata
Takako Honda
Koyomi Kyan
Sayaka Senbongi
Carla
Yukiko Motoyoshi
Masae Kyan
Keiko Fukushima
Kazu
Masaya Fukunishi
Chihiro Kyan
Arisa Sekine
Nanaka Kyan
Arisa Sekine
Takashi
Noriaki Kanze
Ema
Saori Hayami
Sketchy
Arisa Sekine

EPISODES

Dubbed

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RELATED TO SK∞

MANGA ComedySK∞: Chill Out!

MANGA ActionSK∞

OVA ActionSK∞ Extra Part

ANIME ActionSK∞ 2nd Season

REVIEWS

ayukawas
75/100
Sk8: an anime that leaves you feeling that you can be infinite.
__“_Skating is a lot more fun when you skate together with someone else!_” __
Sk8: The Infinity is an anime that many fans looked forward to this year due to the fact that skating isn't really a sport people made anime about except now, so it brought a lot of excitement and anticipation from all skaters and non-skaters alike.

The entirety of this anime just screams style. With unique character designs, a primarily male cast, a popular but not very talked about sport as the main storyline, and cool streetwear outfits, Sk8 was able to capture the attention of many people. From the trailer to the first few episodes, this anime was not about to disappoint.

At least, until the later half of the season started.

The protagonist, Reki Kyan is a charming character with a passion for skateboarding. The redhead was strong-willed and loud. Every night, he'll go to an illegal event called 'S' where people skated and bet on something to start a ‘beef’. He’s your typical shounen protagonist until we reach the later part of the series. His counterpart, Langa Hasegawa, is more withdrawn compared to him. He also has more inborn talent for skateboarding that was grown by him snowboarding as a child.

The best part for me about this series is the way the characters were written, specificlaly Reki. At the start of the series, we see a Reki who is happy with skateboarding, but then we watch that happiness start to crumble into pieces after his realization that he’s not as good compared to his other extremely talented peers. We watch his love for skating slowly turn into hatred for himself and resentment for the geniuses that surround him. Like a regular person, he crumbles at the realization that Langa, a person he has taught for only a few months, is already so much better than him. We get a (kind of) satisfying end to his character arc, although I would’ve wished to see more.

The other side characters are pretty interesting too. We have Miya Chinen, a talented skater who has lost his friends due to him progressing too fast along with Hiromi Higa (SHADOW) , a character mainly used for comic relief who uses quite the interesting tools to beat his opponent in skating. The other characters, CHERRY (Kaoru Sakurayashiki) and JOE (Kojiro Nanjo) also have interesting backstories with the antagonist, ADAM.

Adam is also a pretty well written character, although he’s heavily overshadowed by the fanbase hating on him because his actions are stalker-like and quite extreme. He has also been violent towards his opponents and has hurt them severly. Don’t get me wrong, I hate him with my entire heart, but the fact that the viewers grew to hate Adam so much is a genuine sign of how well he’s written. His backstory is pretty sad too.

Now, let’s get to the flaws of this series. Sk8 is an anime with amazing visuals and an outstanding OST, but when it comes to the actual skating, it tends to be unrealistic. The moves shown in the anime were well explained, like the ollie, but there are also certain moves in the anime that can never be attempted in real life, like Reki literally flying up in the air and landing semi-safely. Although that isn’t much of a problem, having the skating be realistic would’ve been the ideal. Another big flaw is again— the character development. Reki’s development was amazing but Langa, however, was quite fast and not very impactful. We see his enormous growth from being someone who can’t stand on a board to someone attempting deadly skills on a mountain which is quite concerning.

There are some pacing issues but the anime exceeds expectations in writing both lighthearted scenes and angsty scenes. It’s also amazing at writing bonds even the viewers get attached to, and the characters are extremely lovable and fun to watch. We feel the emotions the character feels in the show, and in my opinion that is EXTREMELY important. The later half of the show gets quite confusing and messy but this anime makes up for it by creating problems and resolving it well.

Overall, this is a very wholesome anime with sprinkles of sadness. It can be quite bittersweet at times, but the episodes will always leave you wanting more. The anime succeeds in making you feel excitement watching the beefs and frustrated when the character you love loses. Do I recommend it? Yes, yes, yes. Despite its issues, this anime is still a good sports anime and it has made me so happy whenever an episode airs. The character’s bonds towards each other is written so well and the fact that despite everything, the group still ends up with each other is quite beautiful. This anime shows just how much a sport can influence one’s life, and how much the way you act can indirectly affect others. This anime teaches you that you can love what you love, even if there’s someone better than you. Your efforts define you and your passion is yours only.

This anime is the type of anime that comes with a bang, and ends with a bang. That’s what’s so good about it.
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Jamiebreeze
75/100
Sk8ter bois who I hate to say "See you later" to.
-This review will contain spoilers.
-If you don't get the pun in the title of the review, then I'm genuinely old as fuck, or you have way better taste in music than 13-year old me back then.

Are you interested in knowing what happens when a clown gets obsessed with a teenager? then this is for you. All jokes aside, SK8 was probably one of my favourite shows this past season. COVID has affected every single area of everyone's life, and even though the quarantine is not in full force in plenty of countries, mine included, traveling is still very much not recommended. I cannot explain to you how boring life feels lately since there is not really a lot of stuff to do outside.

SK8 is like the summer experience I've been missing out on since last year. It is a pretty fun show to watch, has a fantastic and fun cast, the animation is very fluid (Bones continues to be a great studio), and also made me wanna pick up a skateboard (which I won't ultimately do, as I do not want to fall flat on my ass and break bones. Such is the sad realization of getting older).

Going into this show I wasn't sure what to expect. The poster was cool, but as soon as I saw the director was none other than Hiroko Utsumi, my trust issues skyrocketed. Hiroko Utsumi has directed very fun shows such as "Free!" and "K-on!", but she has also directed shows like: "Dororo", "Clannad: After Story", and "Banana fish", which all very much gave me depression. Needless to say, I wouldn't have been expecting a dude to fall dead in an anime about skating if she wasn't the director.

I was pleasantly surprised that nobody fucking died. Seriously, I am one more gay man dying away from having a nervous breakdown (This is kinda the quote from 21 Jump Street except not fully but credit where credit is due) Nobody dying doesn't mean this show is shy from beating the living crap out of anybody, however, since the skating races are anything but PG friendly. People will bleed, get scarred for life, almost die, get body parts wrecked, you name it.

Probably one of the best assets of SK8 is the comedy. There are two types of comedy I personally like. The first one is where random shit happens just because (think: Golden Kamuy, Gintama), and the second one is character-centric comedy, which as the name says, is based around the quirks each character has and/or their relationship with others (One Piece, Gintama again, Dorohedoro). SK8 has a mix of both.

The show is able to utilize every mannerism each character has to make it work for a pun or any other comedic scene. Langa is the usual quiet character, but despite being a handsome dude is completely dumb, and Reki is very smart and fun, but he and Langa share one brain cell. Miya is sarcastic and a bit of a mean kid (all while giving vibes oddly similar to my chihuahua. )

Shadow is an eccentric man who looks tough on the outside but has a big heart, Cherry is the rich dude who is obsessed with technology, and Joe is the guy all the ladies want. There are also many other characters in the supporting cast who are just as fun, like Langa's mom, Reki's sisters, the shop owner, and that little fox pet that I find extremely adorable.

I love the fact that the main cast is not just teenagers. You have adults and even a middle school kid. It was a very nice experience to watch all of these characters become friends along the way despite their ages. The sport they practice, along with everything else that happens throughout the show, made all of them closer and it doesn't feel out of place. The relationships between the characters seem to flow very well and I don't see myself forgetting their names anytime soon.

This show going by the premise alone could easily have been your average sports anime but was able to introduce pretty good stuff, starting with something akin to a REAL villain, and not just you know, a rival teenager who thinks he is better than you at your sport and who wants to win the big game at the Koshien stadium or something.

ADAM as a villain is fantastic. He is like a mix of Hisoka and Tsurumi, both very crazy characters. He is a rich man, very successful, and has warped views on both life and love, which steam from how he has been brought up in his family (strict father, violent aunts, and having everyone's expectations on him since he is the heir). ADAM feels shackled by his life at home, and he is able to find his freedom in the races he performs at an event called "S". In there he is literally a god and is able to almost get away with murder.

ADAM is free, in his mind, at S because when he skates he feels like he has gotten rid of the shackles he has at home and at his workplace. This is very much not the case since the way he "skates" (Listen I know jackshit about skating, but I'm pretty sure slamming someone with a skateboard is not anything but an asshole move, even if it is allowed at their race.) will just end up leaving him even more alone (I mean he kept Tadashi in the end, I guess?)

My favourite character in all of this has to be Reki. He is your usual outgoing and fun protagonist who is all smiles. He loves skating and is very talented in many areas of his life (drawing, socializing, math, etc). Reki begins as this happy character who as the show goes on, starts feeling inferior because his friend, Langa, is rapidly becoming better at skating, and he feels left behind.

Many people thought Reki was being selfish when he fought with Langa, and yes a bit, but you also have to remember that Langa did break a promise he had made to him. Part of Reki's feelings had to do with jealousy, but it was more of the fact that he just didn't want his friend to get beaten up by ADAM.

The way the show handled Reki as a character was pretty good. It started little by little, and you could see him struggle with his issues and getting angry at himself. Reki is a good dude. He himself feels he is being childish for ignoring his friend and feeling less than, but he still wasn't able to stop himself from feeling like so, which is extremely relatable.

Reki and Langa's friendship suffering and their conflict not getting resolved in one episode was another nice touch. For moments like this to work, you need to let the audience see the distance between the characters and how they react to it, and in this case, it happened. I wish rather than just skating together, he had really told Langa how he felt but other than that it was fine.

It is kind of sad that Reki won't know how much of an impact he made in Langa's life (yes, that talk in episode 10 was cute but he didn't really tell him everything.) Langa was very much lifeless at the beginning of the series. Depressed about his father's passing, in a new school and a new country, all of this probably made him feel terrible. Reki introduced him to a new world, skating, and made him fall in love with the sport and make even more friends along the way.

Langa getting some form of closure in regards to his dad and seeing a vision of him while skating was a good touch. No, you never really heal from a parent passing on, but you can certainly feel more at ease once you understand that you did what you could, and that life moves on and so should you. Like the book, "The Lovely Bones" says, "Sometimes you cry. Even when someone you love has been gone for a long time." I am happy he is doing better and I am sure he will continue having fun infinitely.

I never expected Shadow to not get the girl he liked in the end, but he went from an antihero to a real hero, so I am sure he will find someone eventually. He was probably the second-best boy of the show.

I am not sure I like how ADAM's character arc ended, and Tadashi seems to have a kink of being someone's dog that I will never understand, but respect to him, I guess.

TLDR; The animation was fire most of the time (episode 11 was probably the weakest as far as artwork is concerned, I don't like the 3D environment used for the mine ), the characters have other obligations and they don't just skate, everyone changes outfit at least once, the opening is a banger and the ending is great, the whole cast is very nice and fun, so it is impossible to get bored, and the villain has enough charisma to be memorable and feels human (many people hate him and well, I don't love him but I do enjoy his presence.) It was a nice and fun show, even if I think an extra episode could have made the ending land better. It truly is an anime that I wish was longer.
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spratty
90/100
Tony Hawk has been kinda quiet since SK8 the Infinity dropped...
At first, I was quite hesitant about whether I should watch SK8 the Infinity or not. As cool as a skating anime may sound, I wasn’t sure if it would be done properly or if I would actually enjoy it. But looking back at things now, I’m definitely glad I picked it up.

SK8 the Infinity follows Reki, the redheaded high school teen who loves skateboarding and enjoys watching the underground skateboarding race called “S”, and Langa, an exchange student from Canada who grew up snowboarding before moving to Okinawa with his mother to start anew. At first Langa seems to be a very stoic and indifferent kind of person, barely showing any emotions, but that changes when he meets the easygoing and affable Reki. Reki has no issues befriending Langa and soon after introduces him to skateboarding. Having found a common interest, the two of them start hanging out and the more time they spend together the closer they become.

The story is compelling and exciting, jammed with action and flair. But what is most surprising is that the story is also emotional and touching. I had imagined that a skating anime would mostly be dramatic, thrilling, and intense and while it certainly is like that sometimes, the anime also puts great attention on the complexity of the characters and their feelings. Watching Reki and Langa go up against other skaters like Shadow, Miya or the notorious Adam, certainly is exhilarating to watch but I also enjoyed seeing the main duo grow significantly as the story progressed. Reki who adores skating so much, finds himself in a slump halfway through the season, as he realizes he’s not as talented as the other skaters and begins to doubt his self-worth. He distances himself from Langa and both boys begin to lose that spark in them that really love skating. However, soon after, Reki realizes that his love for skating isn’t because he’s good at it or not but because it is super fun. Similarly, Langa realizes his love for skateboarding comes from the fact that he gets to skate alongside Reki and not because he super talented at it. Their spark ignites once again, and the boys discover what skating truly means to them.

Besides the main characters, the rest of the cast was excellent as well. While they are not on the same level as Langa or Reki, characters like Miya, Joe, Shadow, and Cherry were a treat to watch. They are charming and lovable and there is never a dull moment with them around. The interactions between each other were either always hysterical or impactful such as when Joe gives advice to Reki telling him to never be alone, or when Reki assures Miya that he won’t abandon him like his old friends did. It’s moments like these that had me smiling from ear to ear, glad that I was getting to experience such a great show each week. The animation was good, and the beautiful visuals were dynamic and impactful when needed to be, making the anime even more immersing.

When I see Reki skating and having the time of his life I think of my old friend from High School. When he first started skating, I didn’t think it would last very long. I thought it was another one of his phases and that he would get bored of it easily. But boy was I wrong. In the end he managed to rope me and a couple of other friends into buying skateboards and learning how to skate. While I was never as passionate about skating as my friend was, I certainly did enjoy spending time together with everyone. And because of SK8 and because of Reki, I think I now understand why skating was so special to him and why it meant so much to him as well. Nothing is wrong with being competitive. But you should also remember to have fun along the way. That is something Haikyu!! taught me and SK8 reassured me.

If I’ve learned something today, is that the animes that you’re most skeptical of can end up being a huge favorite of yours, so don’t hesitate to pick something new to watch and enjoy. SK8 the Infinity went beyond my expectations and delivered tremendously. There are a bunch of insignificant things I can nitpick about this show such as pacing and characters, but that’s not important to me. I’m just glad I had something fun to watch this winter season. And yea the skating may not be super realistic but that’s what makes it fun. Plus if it were possible to do such insane tricks you can bet so many skaters would be doing stuff like that. Why? Cause we’re extra. That’s something the anime got right. SK8 captured the true meaning of the sport for me. It was wicked, radical, gnarly, totally tubular and all that other stuff. Check it out if you can.

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