Am I watching a 2021 anime series or a 2001 Jimmy Eat World music video? That’s the question I had to ask myself at a couple points during this episode, so similar were its guitar-heavy soundtrack and punk-lite style to the bands of my youth. SK8 the Infinity isn’t merely a nostalgic trip, though – its use of CG backgrounds and approach to color design (“just use all of them”) are exceedingly modern. The frequent cuts to cartoon versions of the characters bear a loose resemblance to street graffiti, as well, giving the show a unique brand of visual comedy. All of this is wrapped in a love for skateboarding that even an energetic anime like SK8 can scarcely contain. It’s a sophisticated production with a simple story, which could make for tough blogging, but I’m enjoying the hell out of the series so far, so I’ll give it a whirl.
No matter how strong they may be on the visual end, good-looking anime never grab me for long without characters I can get attached to. Thankfully, SK8 has a handful of those already, with more to come in the future if the OP and ED are to be believed. The central duo of Reki and Langa have an excellent hot/cold dynamic going, which is more like hot/cool if I’m being honest – Langa may be the more chill of the two, but he displayed plenty of warmer traits this week. After his incredible duct-taped display in the premiere, I’m sure it was tempting for Ichiro Okouchi and his team to have the transfer student brush off his performance and hide in his shell for a bit, but thank goodness they didn’t. Langa was hooked, rising to Reki’s downhill skating challenge in the episode’s opening minutes, then spending the rest of them desperately trying to find his footing in this new sport. The multiple montages that established their close friendship contained some creative scenes – my favorite was the use of a skateboard to pass the ketchup between them as they munched on some french fries.
Plenty of other skaters showed up in episode 2, including a sailor-suited rival who’s likely to get the spotlight next week, but I want to talk about moms for a second, because SK8 has two really good ones. Langa’s mother is a working widow who walks on eggshells in conversation, while Reki’s mom is an unceasingly cheerful homemaker who dominates a room after walking in. Despite their limited screen time, both characters are sharply defined and fun to watch, with personalities just different enough from their boys to make the familial connection click. I did a bit of googling to discover their names or voice actors, but came up empty. That’s a shame, because both seiyuu deserve some praise, particularly the one providing Reki’s mom with such hearty delivery. Langa’s mom has shown up in both episodes, though, so if either of them are to get a little subplot at some point in the show’s run, it’ll probably be her. Whether that ends up happening or not, though, both women feel totally at home in an otherwise guys-only script.
Regarding the other characters: we can talk about Pink Hair and Green Hair and all the other Hairs once their roles in the story are clarified a bit, but I’d be remiss not to mention Pink Hair’s skateboard before then. It’s equipped with a voice-driven AI, you see, which calculates angles and projects optimal routes for its rider. This is probably the dumbest thing that SK8 has put on screen thus far, which is saying quite a bit (especially after just two episodes), but I hardly cared. In fact, I think it’s fitting that SK8 gives each racer their own quirk, from Shadow’s use of explosives to Langa’s fixed feet to Cherry Blossom’s Alexa board. It creates the feeling of a video game brought to life, as opposed to all the recent fantasy anime that slavishly duplicate MMO mechanics and feel like insert manuals instead of the games themselves. Meanwhile, SK8 bursts with over the top charm, especially the animated eyecatches, which featured new characters and music this week – I wonder how many we’ll get before they recycle one. Guess I’ll have to wait until this Saturday to find out!
One of my favorite parts of the episode was actually seeing Shadow outside of his Skate persona. It was only a moment, but it took him from a comical “villain” to an actual person who puts on a persona and enjoys himself in his off hours. He isn’t just a badguy anymore, but an actual person purposefully playing up a bad guy. That he works in a flower shop of all things is a great juxtaposition for him and I really hope its not just a one-off event. I want to see more of these characters, both on and off the skate board.