Langa is a half-Japanese kid returning from Canada, where his dad taught him how to snowboard. Things change however when a new kid arrives in town and joins his class. The next thing we see him do is participate in the high-thrill, highly illegal, and highly dangerous skateboard racing track called “S.” Though Reki doesn’t have remarkable skills or a signature trick or fantastic persona going for him, he finds happiness through the thrill and challenge that comes with skating. Though he doesn’t offer an answer for what he believes happiness is, his actions speak for themselves. When studio Bones and creator Hiroko Utsumi first introduce Reki, he’s narrating to the audience how some people define happiness as being rich, famous, or respected. The show has a sports prodigy, but Reki, the protagonist of SK8 the Infinity, isn’t the prodigy himself - and it makes all the difference

Which makes SK8 the Infinity so refreshing. But many shows fall into a tired trope: having a protagonist who is really good at their respective sport from the very beginning. Sports anime can be exciting, endearing, optimistic, emotional, and in some respects, way better than actual sports.

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