SK8 THE INFINITY PREMIERE WAS FREAKING AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Out of the few premieres I have watched so far, this is undoubtedly the one that made me the the most excited! Heck, I wasn’t even two minutes into the episode when I knew I couldn’t pass up on this. The animation, the music, the characters, oh god, I love every bit of it! I already had high expectations for Bones when it comes down to animation and THEY DID NOT DISAPPOINT. All I could think was, “DAMNNNN, THIS IS SO SMOOOTHHHH” It was truly a treat for the eyes, so I am very excited for the future match-ups.
The story revolves around a top secret downhill skating boarding competition known as “S”. It takes place at midnight in the abandoned mines, and only those with passes may enter. The race is nothing to make light of when the track is a dangerous one, and opponents can aggressively attack each other, including throwing unsafe objects like firecrackers which can result getting themselves seriously injured or worse. And as if the stakes weren’t already high enough, there is always something to win and lose.
We saw a bit of that play out when Reki a high-school student faced off against Shadow, a notorious competitor known to use dirty tricks such as throwing firecrackers at his opponents. Unfortunately for him, he lost his match and ended up having to pay the price by not only getting injured but watch his board burn. They were to sure to show us two other examples of what’s at stake, such as how the consequences of the bets won’t always impact the opponent, by their close companions as well. The third instance was where violence was a concern. Shadow played with the idea that if Reki were to race him again, if he were to lose, he would bust his arm so he could never use it again.
Bearing that in mind, this does make me a wary of the kind of consequences the losers will face. Certainly doesn’t help how it looks like the host of this event looks a bit crazy, so I’m a little concerned of what type of competitor he would be haha… (I suspect he will race at some point or another).
Among the… interesting characters we have met, we have the fairly ordinary Kyan Reki, an enthusiastic skateboarder who doesn’t consider himself to be especially skilled at racing, but is passionate about crafting his own boards. While we really didn’t get to see a whole lot of him today, he certainly came off as a likable guy. Unfortunately for him though, he kind of ended up fading in the background of today’s premiere because the moment Langa entered the picture, he was the star of the show. It is an understatement to say he left quite an impression on me.
He is a half-Japanese Canadian who has had just moved to Japan with his mother, and while he is a complete noob when it comes to skateboarding, but he has a lot of experience snowboarding on the snowy slopes, so his clumsiness as he tries to learn his way around makes it so much fun and even charming to watch. But it was the moment he was introduced to us in the classroom, I instantly fell for him, and sure enough I only fell even harder as the episode went on. Langa is the definition of the kind of character with the ultimate cool/cute type combo, which is something I just can’t get enough. I was laughing so hard when he decided to tape his feet to the board and then realized he couldn’t just slide down the slope like he usually would when snowboarding, so he had to use his hands to get moving. But while Langa can be an adorable dork, he also shown us how he has the ability to be remain cool and collected. He wasn’t fazed by his opponent or the environment he was in and was able to focus on adapting better.
Speaking of the race, I must say having a late start actually turned out to be quite beneficial for him. It made Shadow lower his guard, so he didn’t feel like he needs to resort to any dirty tactics right away to win the race. So by the time Langa did catch up (in epic fashion, oh my gosh, how does one look so cool making a corner?), he had already figured out how to transition certain skills he had acquired from snowboarding.
However while it was subtly of slipped under the rug with everything going on, the fact he is pretty determined to find a good paying job right now is something I’ll be keeping in the back of my mind. It is unclear at the moment whether there is a bigger reason why he is doing this at the moment (be it to save up for something in particular, or help support his mother), but considering the kind of bets that can take place in the “S” Race, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about what might happen if/when there’s prize money to be had.
That being said, I am quite excited to see Reki’s and Langa’s friendship be fleshed out a bit because even when they barely know each other, they already share great dynamics. It will be fun to see Reki teach Langa the basic fundamentals of skateboarding, and Langa sharing some tips and tricks that he is able to implement from snowboarding.
Overall SK8’s premiere absolutely hit the ball out of the park, and I’m here for it. If there isn’t anyone else looking to pick this up, I certainly will because this one looks too good to pass on!
Possibility of Blogging: High
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