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So if this anime had come out when I was a child, I would’ve been beyond psyched. Hello everyone and welcome back to Otaku Thursday! Today we’re going to be talking about the anime that seems to be all over twitter and has the BL accounts a flutter (though I would question why on BL accounts? Someone point me the way)–today, we’re going to be talking about SK8 The Infinity.

So SK8 was an anime that piqued my interest back in December when I first heard about it. It promised to be an anime about skating–and no, not ice skating–not rollerblading–skating with a skateboard skating. I was so into it. As a child, I loved Tony Hawk–I wore clothes from Element–my brother (who was hella into skating) taught me how to kind of ride a skateboard, and I owned my very own black and pink board. Of course, despite that I didn’t continue skating past elementary school, though I still had a deep love for Tony Hawk (and his many Pro skater video games). Skaters were considered ‘super cool’ in popular media in the early to mid 2000s, but they didn’t endure in such lights. Which is exactly why I was pleasantly surprised to see Sk8. An anime? In 2021? About skating? And pretty boys? Sign me up. But of course there was the hesitance of whether or not this would be a good anime or if it was just one of those sports anime that is subpar but focuses on a non-mainstream sport. And the verdict? It’s definitely got some wings of its own.

The anime starts with one of our protagonists–Reki, who introduces us to S — a skating race with generically higher stakes made by the participants. The first look is cool, but the plot really gets going when Reki meets transfer student Langa who, while looking for a part-time job, ends up working at the same skateshop Reki does. The two students get along great, and Langa certainly takes an interest in the skateboard itself–not knowing how to skate though. The first episode really does a nice set-up to the characters of Reki & Langa, and I felt surprisingly connected to and invested in them both by the end of the episode. Their chemistry is honestly outstanding, though it’s because of this great chemistry that I think a lot of people think this will be uh–Boys Love. Now, I love boys love–I love when anime are unexpectedly BL, but I’m not sure that’s where this show is going. I’ve seen some people also call it “Bait” much like Free!, but I also kind of disagree with that. Reki and Langa, at the moment, only seem to really respect and idolize each other. They get along swimmingly, Reki is always extremely supportive and in awe of Langa, and Langa likewise appreciates Reki and also finds himself in awe of the red-haired boy. It’s a really cute friendship, and while it could be the start of a cute relationship–I wouldn’t bet on it. For now they are two bros for life.

Now with that said, the best part of this anime happens at the end of the episode (Duh). Reki gets challenged to a race on S after bringing the wrong board to a client, but Langa–enamored with the handmade skateboard that Reki made (no matter how shitty) gets on the skateboard and finds himself having to do the race instead. Its then we find out Langa used to be a snowboarded, and has natural talent at skateboarding–having to only make small adjustments. Regardless, he still wins the race. The way this entire sequence takes place is–great. Just great. I was really nervous with how the skateboarding would look–mainly because I had just watched the surfing anime Wave, that ended up being underwhelming when it came to the cgi of the surfing. And some sports anime end up having really underwhelming sports action…but y’know? I was pretty impressed with SK8. The skateboarding actually looked–good. And the racing sequence was surprisingly exciting. And when Langa made that jump in the end? That scene was GORGEOUS. And Reki’s thoughts about almost being able to see the snow around him? So wholesome. I love their friendship.

The first episode was a real eyecatcher, and while the second and third episode were equally as good, I have started to wonder what the real plot of this will be. Like, Reki is teaching Langa how to skate, but to what end? What are they building up to? I know it might be a little early in the series to answer such questions, but I’m starting to wonder if this is going to have a clear plotline they are working up to or if this is only going to be about Langa learning to skate. To be honest though…it’d be really enjoyable either way I think. After all, Star and I are REALLY enjoying watching this. It’s a great addition to your winter 2021 anime watchlist, if you haven’t started it yet. Also the fennec fox in it is so cute and sassy and I would die for it. Oh, also lastly–the ending song is a straight up bop.

Overall, would I recommend it? Yes. I would 100% recommend that you go and watch Sk8 the infinity. It has been a delightful surprise in all aspects of the show. But just don’t bet on Langa and Reki ending up together in the end–this shows is Sk8, not bait. I think…okay we don’t know. Anyway, just watch it–it gets an A+ from us!

Stay weebtastic~!

xoxo

Luna