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EP. REVIEW: Sk8 the Infinity


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MiiyoSon



Joined: 24 May 2018
Posts: 69
PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2021 11:30 am Reply with quote
Yeah this is a really really fun show so far. Never though I would want to see a Jojo character skating in a downhill race Casper sliding a tight corner but then they introduce ADAM THE MATADOR OF LOVE and I am here for it.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 6:26 am Reply with quote
SHD wrote:
it just feels like a Disney TV series for teens, written by hopelessly out of touch adults trying to depict "cool kids doing cool things". ...

the result is like a twelve year old's half-assed original fic

So is this the fever dream of adults trying to be kids or kids trying to be adults? I don't think it can be both.

I look at it as a take-off blending the Japanese skate-boarding scene with the Japanese car culture scene, with a dash of JoJo's. If you've seen what they do to trick out cars and dekotora, you know there is no such thing as over the top. Smile
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SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
Posts: 1752
PostPosted: Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:24 am Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
SHD wrote:
it just feels like a Disney TV series for teens, written by hopelessly out of touch adults trying to depict "cool kids doing cool things". ...

the result is like a twelve year old's half-assed original fic

So is this the fever dream of adults trying to be kids or kids trying to be adults? I don't think it can be both.

No, what I meant was it's a story about "hip and cool kids" written by adults who are very out of touch with the Youth of Today, and whose reference point for "hip and cool" is things they remember seeing on TV branded as "hip and cool" when they were young. Just look at Adam's costume or Shadow's, or bunch of the mob skater characters. They might as well be from anime/manga from the '80s or the '90s or the '00s... (Also, generally, skateboarding is not terribly hip & cool nowadays in Japan.) Shadow's design might have been vaguely cool in the '80s or early '90s but today... let's just say it's not something I see anyone wearing unironically, not even underground metal bands. And I don't even know where to start with Adam, this design was perhaps "cool" and "edgy" in kids' shows a few decades ago, but nowadays? And yet the show is asking us to just take it in stride and even think it's kinda cool.

Gina Szanboti wrote:
I look at it as a take-off blending the Japanese skate-boarding scene with the Japanese car culture scene, with a dash of JoJo's. If you've seen what they do to trick out cars and dekotora, you know there is no such thing as over the top. Smile

Thing is, SK8 has nothing to do with the actual Japanese skateboarding scene. It's like Hypnosis Mic and hip-hop - "skateboarder subculture" as imagined by someone who has never been part of the subculture (or indeed any subculture other than anime/manga). The creators may have done research on the technical aspects of skateboarding, and may have googled skateboarder slang, but what they ended up doing is following anime templates and sprinkling some skateboarding on top of the product. Even the slang is used in ways it's just not used IRL, at least to my best knowledge (which includes asking Japanese people who are/were into skateboarding) and it makes it sound really old and tryhard. And sure, this is anime and it's not like I expect it to be very realistic, but when you try to introduce "real world" elements into a completely fantasy version of reality it just doesn't mix well.

Also, about being over the top, SK8 is just... not doing it well. What I mean is, yes, it's unrealistic and exaggerates a lot, but it doesn't lean into being crazy OTT in a way that say, Jojo or Akudama Drive did, but it doesn't commit to being completely a fantasy, like Hypnosis Mic, either. (Akudama Drive is an example of a show that made me go "wow, this was really damn cool!" more than once, and did it without feeling like it's trying too hard.) It's playing way too safe and "soft" (not sure how to put this), and the result just makes me cringe more often than not.

But again, I'm not saying it's not an enjoyable show - I mean I don't enjoy it, but I can see how someone, I suppose someone mainly into pretty boys and slick animation, could have a great time with it. I'm just saying I don't think it's anywhere near being cool.
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RubyRed



Joined: 17 Aug 2017
Posts: 31
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 2:55 pm Reply with quote
MiiyoSon wrote:
Yeah this is a really really fun show so far. Never though I would want to see a Jojo character skating in a downhill race Casper sliding a tight corner but then they introduce ADAM THE MATADOR OF LOVE and I am here for it.

Right?! I was pretty skeptical about this going in but now I'm in it for the whole crazy ride. Really having a lot of fun so far, one of my fav shows this season!
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MiloTheFirst



Joined: 10 Dec 2014
Posts: 429
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 5:54 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Can Reki no longer see or visit this person even if they don't skateboard anymore? Or is Reki's devotion to the boarding lifestyle so absolute that someone not in the game is effectively disregarded by him?


My thoughts exactly. One would think that if Reiki really cared about that "friend" they wouldn't stop meeting just because they would have to do something else other than skating while together
.
Another thing that bothers me is why they are fleeing from the police. I can understand more than a couple of them including Adam not wanting to leak their identity if questioned, but under what charges exactly would they even arrest any of these people? "reckless behaviour"? having a large gathering without a permit?
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 9:21 pm Reply with quote
Sign this is even worse than air gear, it might as well be a shonen with power level and transformation. Shame I'd have like to see the version of this show that didn't go banana.
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NeedMoreCats
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Joined: 06 Oct 2018
Posts: 299
Location: Westchester, NY
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2021 11:44 pm Reply with quote
MiloTheFirst wrote:
under what charges exactly would they even arrest any of these people? "reckless behaviour"? having a large gathering without a permit?

I’m guessing breaking & entering, criminal trespass and destruction of private property, off the top of my head.

But I don’t really care about that stuff, I’m just here for the ride. I’m having tons of fun, this show is a blast. I especially loved how ADAM was using spectators as fulcrums for the tight turns as he was catching up to Langa. Hysterical!
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 8:36 am Reply with quote
MiloTheFirst wrote:
Quote:
Can Reki no longer see or visit this person even if they don't skateboard anymore? Or is Reki's devotion to the boarding lifestyle so absolute that someone not in the game is effectively disregarded by him?

My thoughts exactly. One would think that if Reiki really cared about that "friend" they wouldn't stop meeting just because they would have to do something else other than skating while together.

It might not have been Reki that ended it. Maybe his friend couldn't bear to be around Reki, who was still heavily involved with skateboarding, when he could no longer participate.

Kids end friendships or drift apart for lots of reasons at that age. Having to listen to your friend talk about something you can no longer do or censor half his life so you don't feel bad seems like a pretty normal reason for their friendship to cool, without it being anyone's fault.


Last edited by Gina Szanboti on Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:38 pm; edited 1 time in total
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NeverConvex
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Joined: 08 Jun 2013
Posts: 2267
PostPosted: Tue Feb 09, 2021 8:47 am Reply with quote
I was so distracted by the intensely over-the-top toxic matador-of-love skateboard/dance-off/woo'ing/mutually-assured-destruction that I honestly forgot Reki was there (kind of like Snow, I suspect Laughing), so his sad skateboarding backstory didn't register much with me. This show is a pretty entertaining kind of absurd.
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yeehaw



Joined: 09 Sep 2018
Posts: 420
PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 1:15 pm Reply with quote
The safety thing didn't bother me because honestly, being presented with potentially life-saving protective gear and going "no thanks" is very actual 17-year old boy behaviour. Absolutely 0 survival skills.
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phia_one



Joined: 15 Jan 2012
Posts: 1654
Location: Pennsylvania
PostPosted: Wed Feb 10, 2021 8:36 pm Reply with quote
I have to admit that I put off watching episode 5 because of ADAM. Well I finally watched it and holy shit ADAM is just too cringey for me. I'll still watch the show, but I'm not as excited about it now.

I'm guessing that red headed woman was the one who called the cops. I'm also going to assume that Langa is going to ignore the whole stay away from ADAM thing since he seems to an adrenaline junkie of sorts.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2021 8:48 am Reply with quote
If the stinky mud men were part of a festival where you apparently seek out getting slimed as protection from evil spirits, why did the inn warn them not to go out? Seems like they'd be handing out the fliers instead.

Favorite parts were the bathroom joke and cockblocking "Daddy!". But I also appreciated Langa's first trip to the ocean - I love his rapturous expressions when he's awed by something or someone.
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cruzceleste



Joined: 14 Feb 2008
Posts: 8
PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:40 pm Reply with quote
After 7 episodes this series is fun to look at, but has very little substances.

The motivation of the characters are not clear, and with only 5 episodes to go I doubt the creators would achieve anything on the development of the characters.

Is highly frustrating, because maybe they could have taken the time to tell us about Reiki, Langa, Miya, Shadow, JOE and Cherry without wasting time on Adam, a character that is not working as a villian and is totally ridicolous (a more superficial and bane Hisoka)
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11306
PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 3:23 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
And it effectively communicates Reki's true issue: That he's worried about losing another skateboarding friend, not just to potential injuries, but to a view of the sport that he can't abide.

Maybe not that effective? Because that's not how I understood his issues at all.

I still think Reki's friend quit him rather than the other way around, and now the shoe is sort of on the other foot, where the difference in their abilities now puts Reki in the "can't keep up" side and he's afraid that that difference will once again cost him a friend, even though this time he's the one unable to cope with the disparity. His lashing out at Langa for breaking the promise was about him being afraid of Adam while Langa was excited by the challenge. Getting angry over a broken promise was easier than admitting he was afraid and that he couldn't keep up (though he still managed to say both). And like his friend who could no longer skate (for fear of injury), Reki, who was already injured once by Adam, doesn't know how to relate to Langa's fearlessness.

If this was just about lack of recognition by his peers, or seeing Langa being overtaken by excitement rather than fun, he wouldn't have spent all day trying to hit that star himself. He needed to find out if he could keep up, and the answer was "no." And that's what triggered his outburst in the rain. While everything he said were his true feelings, if Reki had had Langa's skills and not been injured, I don't think he'd have quite the same issues with Adam's wacky approach to the sport or Langa's desire to compete with him. He'd be wanting to kick his ass for being a jerk. Langa, on the other hand, enjoys the rivalry because it pushes him to fly higher.

I also think we learned a great deal about Adam this episode. All his crazy flamboyance and focus on "Love!" is him acting out against his father, who burned his skateboard and forbade him from doing what he most loved, and who he couldn't/can't challenge head-on (is he even still alive?), as well as the biddies that sit in judgement of all he does. And I think Kiriko's role in bringing this all to a head will shortly become apparent (or at least by the finale).
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Waterdragon884



Joined: 10 Feb 2020
Posts: 20
PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:13 pm Reply with quote
Langa breaking his promise was pretty selfish. He doesn’t notice he’s making Reki suffer because he thinks going against ADAM is exciting when he’s dangerous, and not just in skateboarding skills. He might be getting what he wants, but he lost what he had, his friendship with Reki. Nothing should be worth the cost of friendship. Will Langa ever learn what he’s done?
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