@@mooz3kitt3n_eaterJoe confused Cherry with a woman in that scene. I know it's dumb to do that to a live long friend of his, but maybe he just didn't know that Cherry shaves. XD
whenever i rewatch this anime i get whiplash from how gay it is, after awhile of not watching im like “maybe im trying too hard to make it gay” then i rewatch it and LMFAOAO bro you can not deny the tension between charaters
I hope he will have a rematch with Shadow. He will try to use his laser and Reki will pull out a mirror and say, take that poser! Reki will win and for loosing, Shadow will have to sing Jojo Siwa - Karma's a B!tch in front of everyone! XD Ok this wouldn't happens but I can dream...
For real. He should realise that he's a jerk like his dad, and Assaulting people is not a good way to cope. And that he's childhood friend didn't mean wrong. He was just too worried.
The site I use to watch allows comments. On the last episode, all the comments were “I’m glad they didn’t make any gay shit happen.” Which means that the people who commented could see the subtext and were “frightened” by it. You heard it, everyone, even those against agree there’s tension
To me there is no question. When your English VA's are actively conspiring behind the scenes to get lines to sound gayer (i.e. "Reki, my love... of skateboarding"), you know it's gay all the way. If it quacks, it's a duck.
Yeah but that's just the English cast. In anime it's not uncommon for the English dub to contain and "rewrite" the actual show to better fit with audiences outside Japan.
@@catinacafe7105 Nah, it's in the Japanese version too. In the scene where Langa's mom is talking to him about his "feelings for" Reki, she uses the romantic phrasing when referring to the person he likes, and Langa agrees instead of just correcting her.
To add to Rekis fear of abandonment: his past friend who got hurt skating and never wanted to skate again is (from what I’ve seen) often discussed as Rekis ex who after getting hurt decided to go all the way back in the closet and blame reki for turning him into a skater . So the risk of Langa doing the same is very real
Dropping casually here that there is a fan made video on RUclips called "Cindereki DVD" that takes to characters we love from Sk8 and transposes them to the world of Cinderella. And the voice actors are the original cast !
I think an important thing about queerbaiting is that it’s often used to criticize shows and say it’s just to get the lgtbq+ audience on board. Which can definitely be true at times but I think it’s important to realize just how hard it is for shows to put queer representation on screen. For those who know western kids cartoons, Gravity Falls and Steven Universe faced a lot of trouble and censorship for trying to represent queer couples and sometimes they had to go along with the cuts and changes studios told them in order to keep their show going. While some will brave the cancellation, like with Steven Universe, others aren’t willing to risk the time, the loss of money, jobs, and their creation. So I think there’s a level of empathy that should be present when looking at queerbaiting situations for at the very least the creators that are obviously trying and the people working on it because they are trying to represent but also trying to make money, their livelihood.
PREACH MY FRIEND PREACH but seriously, this is such a great video. im a huge fan of the anime and i hadn't noticed some details until you mentioned them.
Technically Langa accidentally came out to his mom without realizing it, and to the beach episode it is confirmed that Reki also likes girls, but if he likes Langa which I'm not sure if he does, he would be bisexual.
Or straight. Like even if Langa likes him in that ways, that doesn't mean it's mutual. They can be friends and be opposite. I mean that are opposite in just about almost everything. So if one of them likes to go for the same team, and the other for the opposite, why should that stop them from begin friends? I don't hate the ship, but I think they realistically won't be a thing.
@@GabeKis-fz8tnwhy won’t they be a good couple if they already hang out with eo all the time, and they share love for skateboarding so they’re not opposites in that, and also they literally said they want to skate infinitely together so they agreed on a long-term relationship of this kind, so what is exactly your reasoning for saying that they won’t work?
I love this video, it’s so good to see Sk8 the infinity videos in 2024 I hope season 2 gets released this year! ☺️ Edit: I finished watching episode 9 with my mom and she said that there’s a high chance that season 2 will come out during the fall !! :>
Sameee, I read some comments somewhere else that season 2 was supposed to be released last October or something. As we can see, that didn't age well and I just hope we won't have to wait that much longer🥹
might i add there's a literal full moon in the back when Langa and Reki finally talk things out if anyone knows Japanese's literature the moon symbolizes you know what lmao also in the new season what if we get a new character but its tied in w/ cherry, like cherry meets this new person when Joe and Adam were both out of the country
@@kyubiniee So the moon in general In Japanese or Asian literature is used as a way to show the passing of time or the emotions/plot of the characters without saying it out loud. So in this case since the moon is full and clear once more when both characters rekindle their bonds (if that makes sense hopefully 😅)
@@kyubiniee Also interesting thing in anime and manga is that they often say "the moon is beautiful today" and it means "I love you" in a more subtle way
I hope that they confirm this ship in the next season. Its not even a ship its like totally cannon. All of the fanbase has honestly mutually agreed on it and sense there isnt any women love interests introduced, I don't see how people would be mad at all. Everyone would be pretty happy.
@@user-he1by3lx8g also the ship is like 50% canon because Langa admitted to liking Reki. Now, Reki's very cheerful and happy for Langa being good at skating, the only time he was jealous was because he thought Langa would leave him behind because he felt inadequate. Not to mention whatever the freak happened in episode 10, (which seemed like a platonic-romantic-idk-wth-that-was confession) he (how do I say this) sort of said he had mutual feelings about skating with Langa (subtext written with the fanciest font you could imagine.)
okay, i just started (and finished) sk8 literally less than 24 hours ago so im slightly delirious from consuming constant sk8 content since then, but putting aside even the specificity of this being a sk8 infinity analysis, you did an AMAZING job with this video. the connections to love and queerness as a whole was on point and you succinctly made your points. i know this is subjective, and i thought this even without watching this video, but i think anyone who /does/ see this would have an Extremely hard time disproving you. i’ve watched a lot of anime’s, and many BL ones too, and i really don’t think any of them get close to how sk8 expresses queer identity and love in general. again, im running on four hours of sleep and constant renga art/videos/content so bear with my rambles 😭😭 i just loved this video so so much, you did an amazing analysis !!!
Thank you for making me watch Sk8! I went to watch it because your description of the show at the start sounded cool. I absolutely loved the show, and I came back to finish your vid.
i am no more then 21 seconds into the video and am already subbed, you my friend, are a genius of comedy. upon seeing the bingo card please i want it all to happen!
You should make a video about female anime writers and directors like Hiroko Utsumi, their styles in writing, their choice of cinematography, the way they portray fanservice, etc. It would be a good way for you to spotlight women in the industry directly. Also Hiroko Utsumi is such a degen it's fucking awesome lmfao
Your video really make me see SK8 in a new light. I never saw so much of the symbolism for the characters implied feelings, but it's now super obvious when you present the scenes like this. I can't not see the gayness now. It's funny since I hate it when fans refuse to acknowledge the other side, girl's love, so I suppose I have my own blind spots too which is humbling
idk ok so lets take another example of the opposite- Sound Euphonium. Thats arguably way more queerbatory (probably not a word) but its still understandable as a platonic friendship. I think SK8 is kinda similar. I think Cherry/Joe is more obvious, but idk Reki/Langa and Miya as another is more .. up in the air to say the least. Even the 'romantic scenes' have nowhere near the same vibe as actual BL like Given or Sasaki to Miyano.
I might have to watch this sometime. It's hilarious how seriously they take skateboarding, but I guess it's the closest thing we'll get to actual homosexuality in anime which aren't used as comic relief or depictions of creeps.
Bravern though! A lot of it is comedic, but it's also sincere. Obari managed to surpass Golden Kamuy in terms of having a hot blooded and authentic homoerotic sensibility that those with a similar eye could easily clock, and then went further by actually sticking to his guns and making the sexual tension completely canon. Anything else would have been a betrayal of the entire tone and message of the show, but I still can't get over that it actually happened. Dude just said "subtext is for cowards" and the studio didn't stop him, didn't even know that was possible lol.
I'm a few months late but holy shit. I cackled my ass off not one minute in and bawled my eyes out after 6 minutes. Like yeah, duh, Sk8 is hella queer, but you brilliantly put it into tangible words why. I loved every single character analysis!!!! One thing I'd like to add (somebody might have mentioned it before) in the queerbaiting debate about having to prove being in love as a queer person is heavily Western-minded. In the Japanese language and culture a *lot* is based on context and your own interpretation, whereas in Western countries you have to be way more direct. So I believe the production team just put a lot more trust in their Japanese audience. Also THAT BINGO CARD IS BRILLIANT I WILL SO USE IT
I would like to say that Kaoru is in fact a famous calligrapher so it would make sense that he would hide his identity so that people don't know that it is him at S. That is why he covers his face at S and Adam does too but Kojiro doesn't because there wouldn't be as many negative issues if he were to be 'found out.' I think Hiromi just wears makeup for the bit of being a 'clown' at S. I thought I would just share my thoughts lol
Great video, really puts into words a lot of my thoughts about sk8 and why it's a show I keep coming back to. Also, thank you for talking about Adam in such a nuanced way, I find him very uncomfortable but also very compelling and it's good to see some discussion of him that acknowledges his issues (both in-universe and at a meta level) but doesn't disregard his relevance to the story's most interesting themes.
7:42 this is a really interesting point that imo is kind of a double-edged sword. on one hand, it sucks that queer couples have to "prove" their relationship on screen while straight couples don't. there are so many cases of m/f characters having no development and yet the narrative still portrays them as being in love, whereas two characters of the same gender could fully act like a couple and the narrative doesn't acknowledge any kind of romance between them. which is fine in some cases, it's nice seeing good friendships on screen, but it can be disheartening as a queer person to watch potential queer couples constantly get dismissed by the narrative bc the creators either can't or won't acknowledge the chemistry the characters have together on the other hand, I think that this could sometimes work in favor of canon queer relationships. it's like sometimes writers know that some people aren't going to buy a queer couple unless they really sell it, so while straight couples might get almost no development, queer couples will get the writing behind them that justifies the pairing. it's like the writers know they have to write a romance so clear that even homophobes can't say "well this was pulled out of nowhere." a decent example might be kurt & blaine from glee, because it took like 8 episodes for them to get together even after both being established as gay, whereas rachel and finn were literally on a date/kissing by episode 2 iirc there's also an interesting video by a creator called Sarah Z titled "Gay Fanfiction" where she goes into detail about why people often ship characters of the same gender when the canon is that they're just friends. it's kind of related to what I mentioned above - here's a quote from that video: "Often [straight] romances can feel kind of forced or shoehorned in without any real development because of the presumption that a man and a woman together is just naturally gonna equal romance. Like, 'there’s an attractive man and an attractive woman; obviously they’re going to get together, so why should we bother developing them or spending a lot of time on their budding romance? We know what’s gonna happen in the end.' But when it comes to friendships between characters of the same gender, it seems like a lot of writers kind of accidentally pen quasi-romances between them. Because oftentimes a romantic relationship is neither planned nor considered, any interpersonal development that happens between the 'couple' tends to be organic rather than something that happens simply because it’s expected to happen. So, oftentimes, even if they’re not written as expressly romantic, these characters can have more genuine bonds and development with one another than in a lot of heterosexual romances, where writers sometimes don’t bother to really develop a relationship because it’s presumed from the start." anyway if anyone's read this far, thank you for doing so, I didn't mean to leave a novel lol. also to the creator, thank you for making this video! I've watched it twice now :) I especially like the bingo card at the end, "reki's dad says a line of dialogue," "the guy who owns the skate shop actually skateboards" lmao
Can we also talk abt how after Cherry got "smacked" by Adam, Joe already had a seat removed from the bar because he knew Cherry would sneak out and meet at his restaurant :3
this is so amazing, I'm beyond glad that I got your channel recommended, love to see passion projects unfold properly. we will watch your career with great interest
Its the tiniest detail in the intro so dont worry but shindo isn't dancing salsa but flamenco, his hole symbolism is meant to resemble a spanish toreador. Also i watched the sub and remember the queer subtext being way more obvious but it was a while ago so I may be misremembering
I wonder if s is support to a metaphor for sexuality? Since the video talks about sk8 being a metaphor for the types of queer love. So maybe S- the skateboarding ring is the metaphor for the characters different viewpoints of their sexuality.
For whatever reason something that I want either in the very last season of the show or just in general, a future season is a surfer who joins S. It’ll be a nice parallel to Langa and it’ll be a nice mentor kind of moment to see how far he’s come and so he can have that same sort of experience of him teaching somebody about something he loves so much and hopefully that person loving it just as much. I’m fully aware that the surfer to skateboarder angle would literally just be longer but with water instead of snow, but I don’t know I just sort of want to see it. I do think it would make more sense in the final season, whatever season that might be, as it’s sort of “the next generation“ filling their shoes, and such as they have to step away from S but still always love skateboarding as a whole. I don’t know I just think it’s really cute. I think it could be kind of poetic. Have a sort of Johnny tsunami moment.
wow such a cool analysis. I've never taken in consideration those symbolisms and I love the way you reinforced the queerness with the found family dynamic. New fav video analysis fr :)
This was great! Might actually give me a new anime to watch, even if it isn't quite my style. Your video was great! BUT. I have one single question. Why the heck is almost no one wearing a helmet during those races?!/lh/nsrs
Amazing video. I love both the sub and dub, but reviewing the dub gives you a more queer experience. Not that the sub doesn't have queer subtext (it still does), but you won't find stuff like "bae" or "non-binary hoes" in the sub.
I WANT TO POINT OUT SOMETHING!!!! if sk♾️ WAS queerbaiting,,,why would adam say this yk? (8:33) like... enby people.... lgbt community....LGBT. if they WERE trying to subtly queerbait (in its most accurate definition) they wouldn't have included that in the take, right? since at 7:05 it mentions hinting to attract both lgbt AND conservative audiences-but with the implication of adam referring to and in a way accepting nonbinary people (albeit calling them hoes...) wouldn't that make the more conservative part of the fandom angry? whether scripted or not, they kept that final recording and used it for the dub....i don't know how to word this very well sorry if it's confusing
Its so nice to find a channel that digs deeper at manga and anime as medium of literature (popular) I like them but their biased women representation, focus on problematic troope and many other factors make me feel quite frustrated most of the time
Is the "subtext" also present in the original version or is it just a english version thing? The original must take precedence when it comes to cannon (which wouldn't invalidate what I said in my other comment btw)
I lovvfeee sk8 and well alot of other bl animes but sk8 is so cool to me and gets me excited and happy when i see them being excited (Personally my fav is reki so i was kinda pissed when he didnt get to win any beefs)
I watched it and Im not so sure. I think it's like with Voltron. People thought main of characters where all lgbt in some way. They where not. The only gay character Shiro was not explicidlly gay until the post credit. (which is an non-achievement if it can be censored) They could hint on that with Adam's character but they didn't. So don't expect too much if season 2 will come out. But I like your theory with S begin in danger of begin shut down and new famale villan, cuz I am sure that police woman will be back. She was deny to work on the investigation regarding Adam. So my theory is that she will make a private investigation and discover S. Maybe she will even go there in undercover as a hobbiest skater to gather more information. And sience characters nicknames like Adam and Snake were a referacnce to bible, I think this new character could go by name like Eve, Ester, Martha, Lilith or something like that And they should give Adam a redemption ark cuz I can't belive everyone just forgave him after what he did to Cherry. And give Shadow a happy ending jezz!
@tylerleach8796 It's really not. The only reason why we are supoused to look at skating and Langa's and Reki's relationship as romantic is because of Adam, and the fact that he belives it to be a thing. But there is a problem, Adam is a delusional clot! He uses a lot of metaphore's while speaking, and he even admitted to Miya that he's into all his skating partners. And will get bored when they unblossom. Like what!? And no, his relationship with Tadashi is not cute. It's toxic and it's all about power imbalance, and victimblaming. And I get the theories that Adam and Cherry where a thing, and I can belive that he lead Cherry on and then dithed him when he aged out of his prefered rate. But others are not gay if you know the context. With context you will know that Joe only blushed for Cherry in beach episode cuz the thought that he's a woman. Yes i know it's stupid trope, but it was made only for comedy! Joe is really straight with context. I know people like shipping them, but they knew eachother sience kindergarden! It's normal that he looks at Cherry with care. He's probably like a brother for him at this point. I know that many people watched it in english. I only wathed subtitles, so I wathed the "less gay version" cuz they purpously added more flirts for fanserwis, really! For Cherry Idk, I always headcanoned him as asexual, sience he treat's his IA assistance like his girlfriend, and he's not intrested in any of his fangirls. Sience they only want to "sit on a cherry tree". Like I know I would be ignoring them too, but come on! Maybe Im wrong with this one, maybe he's just really into technology. Langa had one moment when he talked to his mother and she asked him "you like this person?" And in japanise dub this word mean like as "romantic intrest". But Langa doesnt get japanise perfectlly so this ended up with misunderstanding. I think it was just difficullt for him to talk about his felling to his mom. Plus he compared the bond he has with Reki to the one he had with his dad. (Kinda weird if they are supoused to be a couple?) And the heartbeat? It's Adrenaline not Oxytocin! By this logic he's also in love with Adam, cuz he also had this faster pulse when he thought about the race he had with him. And that was not romantic at all! I mean he did look at Reki with "kawai eays" when he raced againts Adam, so maybe he does have a crush but it still would be one sided. And Reki had only one sus moment. when he colorised Langa's sk8boarding skills. But Reki sais insane stuff most of the time, and he doesn't even know how people feel about it. He also blushed when Langa said too much complements to him, sience he's not used to recive them. That's just not enough to convince me that they are more than platonic friends. Yes they interactions comes out as weird sometimes. That doesn't mean they are a conon couple.
@@GabeKis-fz8tn I recommend looking it up. Though I still say you don't need to because the show is about as subtle with its subtext as a sledgehammer.
...Did you even watch Banana Fish? It's NOT fanservice and it's not adolescent angst. The story is about man who was a victim of sex trafficking as a child, street gangs, corruption, US military intervention... Disgusting how you diminished such a story like that.
Calling a story about a child r victim, who again continues to face sexual violence in the story, "adolescent angst" and "fanservice" is incredibly irresponsible
Sk8 doesn't count as queerbaiting for one simple reason, the show is made for a female audience and not one for gay men. Not that I have an issue with this however, I am a woman after all. Also drag is misogynistic.
@@MadRyker It's literally men dressing up as women to openly mock and make fun of them, explain to me how exactly it isn't misogynistic? It's literally on par with a white person wearing black face. Also I don't get what my favorites have to do with literally anything.
Maybe because character's that are meant to be LGBTQ+ can't outright say it because of censorship? And the many times actual queer characters had to be coded in subtle ways just to make it on the screen? There's a reason even just one canon gay couple is cheered as much as a football team winning, it's simply so rare and at this point media leaves the community themselves to make the couple an actual thing, so they take it.
Tribalism and wanting a sense of community isn’t anything new. I think the idea of wearing the fact that your sexual orientation is a minority, which is far from the case nowadays, as a badge of honor is silly. Analyses like these are usually biased and hindered by the ideological view one holds regardless of whether they’re pro-gay or anti. Personally, I can’t say I care all too much, but it does become an upwards trend worth mentioning especially when saying anything remotely critical might lead to you being called “homophobic” or otherwise. There will always be unreasonable people no matter what position you might take.
Not you doing Cherry and Carla dirty like that🫣. Loved the video, said all the things I couldn't put to words! Gah, if they go with the Adam "redemption" thing and make them tolerate his existence in S2, Imma be pissed. Keep that creep away from our boys and schools. Propose change for that bingo square: the police lady wasn't a red herring and sh!t goes down.
the only reason theyre keeping that pedofile on screen is (i hope) because without him s shuts down, but they are painting him in a far too positive light. i want him under the jail personally
Why is the audio so echoey? Because I recorded this in an underground abandoned mine. You know, for *authenticity.*
You go woman!!! Quality is still amazing for your fourth video! Assumed you were a long time hidden gem!
Are you still drawing sus MHA art noralites?
SK8 The Infinity is pretty much the anime personification of “there is no heterosexual explanation for this.”
Joe and cherry in that beach episode💀 exact reason
@@mooz3kitt3n_eaterJoe confused Cherry with a woman in that scene. I know it's dumb to do that to a live long friend of his, but maybe he just didn't know that Cherry shaves. XD
whenever i rewatch this anime i get whiplash from how gay it is, after awhile of not watching im like “maybe im trying too hard to make it gay” then i rewatch it and LMFAOAO bro you can not deny the tension between charaters
THIS
EVERY TIME LMAO
"If Reki doesn't win a freaking beef I'm gonna skateboard off a cliff" THAT HAD ME DYING.
It’s so real though😂
I hope he will have a rematch with Shadow. He will try to use his laser and Reki will pull out a mirror and say, take that poser! Reki will win and for loosing, Shadow will have to sing Jojo Siwa - Karma's a B!tch in front of everyone! XD
Ok this wouldn't happens but I can dream...
I also ship Adam with court mandated therapy. 😂
Best ship
For real. He should realise that he's a jerk like his dad, and Assaulting people is not a good way to cope. And that he's childhood friend didn't mean wrong. He was just too worried.
Reading Shadow as a straight guy doing drag is an insane take and I love it
It’s so nice to see a SK8 video in 2024, especially because of the OVA announcement! Thanks so much for this video, it’s such a thorough analysis!
Wait we're getting an OVA?!
@@Zehrukyes! It has been announced, on twitter i think. It's going to be about cherry and joes youth day fndnkckfj
"SHOW HER SHE'S A LUCKY GIRL!^^"
"..What girl?-"
The site I use to watch allows comments. On the last episode, all the comments were “I’m glad they didn’t make any gay shit happen.” Which means that the people who commented could see the subtext and were “frightened” by it. You heard it, everyone, even those against agree there’s tension
To me there is no question. When your English VA's are actively conspiring behind the scenes to get lines to sound gayer (i.e. "Reki, my love... of skateboarding"), you know it's gay all the way. If it quacks, it's a duck.
Yeah but that's just the English cast. In anime it's not uncommon for the English dub to contain and "rewrite" the actual show to better fit with audiences outside Japan.
@@catinacafe7105 Nah, it's in the Japanese version too. In the scene where Langa's mom is talking to him about his "feelings for" Reki, she uses the romantic phrasing when referring to the person he likes, and Langa agrees instead of just correcting her.
not to mention the eng cherry and joe va's went kind of off script just to make their lines towards each other sound flirtier
To add to Rekis fear of abandonment: his past friend who got hurt skating and never wanted to skate again is (from what I’ve seen) often discussed as Rekis ex who after getting hurt decided to go all the way back in the closet and blame reki for turning him into a skater . So the risk of Langa doing the same is very real
Dropping casually here that there is a fan made video on RUclips called "Cindereki DVD" that takes to characters we love from Sk8 and transposes them to the world of Cinderella. And the voice actors are the original cast !
The Cindereki story is an original CD Drama, one could say it's canon in the context of it being Reki's actual dream
I refuse to believe anything other than Joe only goes after women because Cherry is emotionally unavailable
I think an important thing about queerbaiting is that it’s often used to criticize shows and say it’s just to get the lgtbq+ audience on board. Which can definitely be true at times but I think it’s important to realize just how hard it is for shows to put queer representation on screen. For those who know western kids cartoons, Gravity Falls and Steven Universe faced a lot of trouble and censorship for trying to represent queer couples and sometimes they had to go along with the cuts and changes studios told them in order to keep their show going. While some will brave the cancellation, like with Steven Universe, others aren’t willing to risk the time, the loss of money, jobs, and their creation. So I think there’s a level of empathy that should be present when looking at queerbaiting situations for at the very least the creators that are obviously trying and the people working on it because they are trying to represent but also trying to make money, their livelihood.
PREACH MY FRIEND PREACH
but seriously, this is such a great video. im a huge fan of the anime and i hadn't noticed some details until you mentioned them.
If reki and langa were a man and a woman they would be cannon
Technically Langa accidentally came out to his mom without realizing it, and to the beach episode it is confirmed that Reki also likes girls, but if he likes Langa which I'm not sure if he does, he would be bisexual.
Or pan
Or straight. Like even if Langa likes him in that ways, that doesn't mean it's mutual. They can be friends and be opposite. I mean that are opposite in just about almost everything. So if one of them likes to go for the same team, and the other for the opposite, why should that stop them from begin friends?
I don't hate the ship, but I think they realistically won't be a thing.
@@GabeKis-fz8tnwhy won’t they be a good couple if they already hang out with eo all the time, and they share love for skateboarding so they’re not opposites in that, and also they literally said they want to skate infinitely together so they agreed on a long-term relationship of this kind, so what is exactly your reasoning for saying that they won’t work?
I love this video, it’s so good to see Sk8 the infinity videos in 2024 I hope season 2 gets released this year! ☺️
Edit: I finished watching episode 9 with my mom and she said that there’s a high chance that season 2 will come out during the fall !! :>
Sameee, I read some comments somewhere else that season 2 was supposed to be released last October or something. As we can see, that didn't age well and I just hope we won't have to wait that much longer🥹
20:18 K.O IS CRAZY😭
might i add there's a literal full moon in the back when Langa and Reki finally talk things out if anyone knows Japanese's literature the moon symbolizes you know what lmao
also in the new season what if we get a new character but its tied in w/ cherry, like cherry meets this new person when Joe and Adam were both out of the country
I'm sorry but..what does the full moon mean in Japanese literature?
@@kyubiniee So the moon in general In Japanese or Asian literature is used as a way to show the passing of time or the emotions/plot of the characters without saying it out loud. So in this case since the moon is full and clear once more when both characters rekindle their bonds (if that makes sense hopefully 😅)
@@miat1329 oh okay, nice meaning to the scene seeing it that way! thanks!
@@kyubiniee Also interesting thing in anime and manga is that they often say "the moon is beautiful today" and it means "I love you" in a more subtle way
@@anery_x yeah I know this one and it's such a subtle way to say such a meaningful thing, it's so nice.
I hope that they confirm this ship in the next season. Its not even a ship its like totally cannon. All of the fanbase has honestly mutually agreed on it and sense there isnt any women love interests introduced, I don't see how people would be mad at all. Everyone would be pretty happy.
We gonna have a second season??
@@ZeiyaRRW yeah! its supposed to happen this year im pretty sure, fall time
@@user-he1by3lx8g also the ship is like 50% canon because Langa admitted to liking Reki. Now, Reki's very cheerful and happy for Langa being good at skating, the only time he was jealous was because he thought Langa would leave him behind because he felt inadequate. Not to mention whatever the freak happened in episode 10, (which seemed like a platonic-romantic-idk-wth-that-was confession) he (how do I say this) sort of said he had mutual feelings about skating with Langa (subtext written with the fanciest font you could imagine.)
okay, i just started (and finished) sk8 literally less than 24 hours ago so im slightly delirious from consuming constant sk8 content since then, but putting aside even the specificity of this being a sk8 infinity analysis, you did an AMAZING job with this video. the connections to love and queerness as a whole was on point and you succinctly made your points. i know this is subjective, and i thought this even without watching this video, but i think anyone who /does/ see this would have an Extremely hard time disproving you. i’ve watched a lot of anime’s, and many BL ones too, and i really don’t think any of them get close to how sk8 expresses queer identity and love in general. again, im running on four hours of sleep and constant renga art/videos/content so bear with my rambles 😭😭 i just loved this video so so much, you did an amazing analysis !!!
finding your channel a bit ago was a pleasant discovery, it's nice seeing you cover an anime i've actually grown to become attached to
Thank you for making me watch Sk8! I went to watch it because your description of the show at the start sounded cool. I absolutely loved the show, and I came back to finish your vid.
i am no more then 21 seconds into the video and am already subbed, you my friend, are a genius of comedy.
upon seeing the bingo card please i want it all to happen!
You should make a video about female anime writers and directors like Hiroko Utsumi, their styles in writing, their choice of cinematography, the way they portray fanservice, etc.
It would be a good way for you to spotlight women in the industry directly.
Also Hiroko Utsumi is such a degen it's fucking awesome lmfao
Your video really make me see SK8 in a new light. I never saw so much of the symbolism for the characters implied feelings, but it's now super obvious when you present the scenes like this. I can't not see the gayness now. It's funny since I hate it when fans refuse to acknowledge the other side, girl's love, so I suppose I have my own blind spots too which is humbling
idk ok so lets take another example of the opposite- Sound Euphonium. Thats arguably way more queerbatory (probably not a word) but its still understandable as a platonic friendship. I think SK8 is kinda similar. I think Cherry/Joe is more obvious, but idk Reki/Langa and Miya as another is more .. up in the air to say the least. Even the 'romantic scenes' have nowhere near the same vibe as actual BL like Given or Sasaki to Miyano.
6:23 THE CENCORING BAHAHA
Reki, my love...
“For skateboarding..”
@@ZazzaloniesNO STOP THERE. THAT PHRASE DOESN'T EXIST
Thanks so much for making this! You captured so many nuances and good points perfectly. Hopeful we get a sequel once season 2 and the OVA comes out!
Ok omg i love the bingo card, i want to make one now
Adam x court mandated therapy is such an underrated ship
(In all seriousness- great video!)
Nah cause fr
From now on im entering all rooms like this 8:31
I might have to watch this sometime. It's hilarious how seriously they take skateboarding, but I guess it's the closest thing we'll get to actual homosexuality in anime which aren't used as comic relief or depictions of creeps.
Bravern though!
A lot of it is comedic, but it's also sincere. Obari managed to surpass Golden Kamuy in terms of having a hot blooded and authentic homoerotic sensibility that those with a similar eye could easily clock, and then went further by actually sticking to his guns and making the sexual tension completely canon. Anything else would have been a betrayal of the entire tone and message of the show, but I still can't get over that it actually happened. Dude just said "subtext is for cowards" and the studio didn't stop him, didn't even know that was possible lol.
What a fantastic analysis! You deserve more subscribers for sure can't wait to watch you grow
i have nothing to say this is just the perfect explanation of one of my favourite animes
I'm a few months late but holy shit. I cackled my ass off not one minute in and bawled my eyes out after 6 minutes. Like yeah, duh, Sk8 is hella queer, but you brilliantly put it into tangible words why. I loved every single character analysis!!!! One thing I'd like to add (somebody might have mentioned it before) in the queerbaiting debate about having to prove being in love as a queer person is heavily Western-minded. In the Japanese language and culture a *lot* is based on context and your own interpretation, whereas in Western countries you have to be way more direct. So I believe the production team just put a lot more trust in their Japanese audience. Also THAT BINGO CARD IS BRILLIANT I WILL SO USE IT
I screenshotted that bingo card I cant wait to play it when I watch season 2
love your videos!! keep posting please!!
fantastic analysis u just verbalised all of my thoughts x
great video, gave me a new perspective on sk8 and the messages of certain scenes (also I'm totally stealing that bingo board idea for the new season)
I would like to say that Kaoru is in fact a famous calligrapher so it would make sense that he would hide his identity so that people don't know that it is him at S. That is why he covers his face at S and Adam does too but Kojiro doesn't because there wouldn't be as many negative issues if he were to be 'found out.' I think Hiromi just wears makeup for the bit of being a 'clown' at S. I thought I would just share my thoughts lol
I'm literally addicted to your channel I've washed all your videos at least twice ❤
You're also 1 of only 3 channels I have notifications terned on 🔔
Great video, really puts into words a lot of my thoughts about sk8 and why it's a show I keep coming back to. Also, thank you for talking about Adam in such a nuanced way, I find him very uncomfortable but also very compelling and it's good to see some discussion of him that acknowledges his issues (both in-universe and at a meta level) but doesn't disregard his relevance to the story's most interesting themes.
7:42 this is a really interesting point that imo is kind of a double-edged sword. on one hand, it sucks that queer couples have to "prove" their relationship on screen while straight couples don't. there are so many cases of m/f characters having no development and yet the narrative still portrays them as being in love, whereas two characters of the same gender could fully act like a couple and the narrative doesn't acknowledge any kind of romance between them. which is fine in some cases, it's nice seeing good friendships on screen, but it can be disheartening as a queer person to watch potential queer couples constantly get dismissed by the narrative bc the creators either can't or won't acknowledge the chemistry the characters have together
on the other hand, I think that this could sometimes work in favor of canon queer relationships. it's like sometimes writers know that some people aren't going to buy a queer couple unless they really sell it, so while straight couples might get almost no development, queer couples will get the writing behind them that justifies the pairing. it's like the writers know they have to write a romance so clear that even homophobes can't say "well this was pulled out of nowhere." a decent example might be kurt & blaine from glee, because it took like 8 episodes for them to get together even after both being established as gay, whereas rachel and finn were literally on a date/kissing by episode 2 iirc
there's also an interesting video by a creator called Sarah Z titled "Gay Fanfiction" where she goes into detail about why people often ship characters of the same gender when the canon is that they're just friends. it's kind of related to what I mentioned above - here's a quote from that video:
"Often [straight] romances can feel kind of forced or shoehorned in without any real development because of the presumption that a man and a woman together is just naturally gonna equal romance. Like, 'there’s an attractive man and an attractive woman; obviously they’re going to get together, so why should we bother developing them or spending a lot of time on their budding romance? We know what’s gonna happen in the end.' But when it comes to friendships between characters of the same gender, it seems like a lot of writers kind of accidentally pen quasi-romances between them. Because oftentimes a romantic relationship is neither planned nor considered, any interpersonal development that happens between the 'couple' tends to be organic rather than something that happens simply because it’s expected to happen. So, oftentimes, even if they’re not written as expressly romantic, these characters can have more genuine bonds and development with one another than in a lot of heterosexual romances, where writers sometimes don’t bother to really develop a relationship because it’s presumed from the start."
anyway if anyone's read this far, thank you for doing so, I didn't mean to leave a novel lol. also to the creator, thank you for making this video! I've watched it twice now :) I especially like the bingo card at the end, "reki's dad says a line of dialogue," "the guy who owns the skate shop actually skateboards" lmao
I read your novel, 😁😃
@@FRU1TY_STAR thanks for doing so!! :3
Can we also talk abt how after Cherry got "smacked" by Adam, Joe already had a seat removed from the bar because he knew Cherry would sneak out and meet at his restaurant :3
I don't watch sports anime and have never heard of this show before.
that said you managed to get me deeply interested in this series. great video!
this is so amazing, I'm beyond glad that I got your channel recommended, love to see passion projects unfold properly. we will watch your career with great interest
*cutely steals bingo card*
Its the tiniest detail in the intro so dont worry but shindo isn't dancing salsa but flamenco, his hole symbolism is meant to resemble a spanish toreador.
Also i watched the sub and remember the queer subtext being way more obvious but it was a while ago so I may be misremembering
2024 SK8 VID!! HOORAY!!😚💕
I've just found your channel and now i am obsessed
I wonder if s is support to a metaphor for sexuality? Since the video talks about sk8 being a metaphor for the types of queer love. So maybe S- the skateboarding ring is the metaphor for the characters different viewpoints of their sexuality.
this video is everything
For whatever reason something that I want either in the very last season of the show or just in general, a future season is a surfer who joins S. It’ll be a nice parallel to Langa and it’ll be a nice mentor kind of moment to see how far he’s come and so he can have that same sort of experience of him teaching somebody about something he loves so much and hopefully that person loving it just as much.
I’m fully aware that the surfer to skateboarder angle would literally just be longer but with water instead of snow, but I don’t know I just sort of want to see it. I do think it would make more sense in the final season, whatever season that might be, as it’s sort of “the next generation“ filling their shoes, and such as they have to step away from S but still always love skateboarding as a whole. I don’t know I just think it’s really cute. I think it could be kind of poetic. Have a sort of Johnny tsunami moment.
wow such a cool analysis. I've never taken in consideration those symbolisms and I love the way you reinforced the queerness with the found family dynamic. New fav video analysis fr :)
This was both informative and hilarious from start to finish
This was great! Might actually give me a new anime to watch, even if it isn't quite my style. Your video was great! BUT. I have one single question.
Why the heck is almost no one wearing a helmet during those races?!/lh/nsrs
Its cause safety is only for people who have something to live for, and guys who ride scooters :3
I love you. You are awesome for this
I love this!
The bingo is great, I literally went "Yes! OMFG yes please that could totally happen!" For almost all of the panels😂😭
i haven’t even watched the show but this video’s writing, editing, and overall feel is excellent
Ah this came out right as I got reobsessed with sk8, great watch!
This was phenomenal, I had heard the show was queer and meant to watch it at some point. This video has definitely moved it up my list.
Amazing video.
I love both the sub and dub, but reviewing the dub gives you a more queer experience.
Not that the sub doesn't have queer subtext (it still does), but you won't find stuff like "bae" or "non-binary hoes" in the sub.
TURBO GAY LMAO
Just found your channel. Love your content! Always on point
I WANT TO POINT OUT SOMETHING!!!!
if sk♾️ WAS queerbaiting,,,why would adam say this yk? (8:33)
like... enby people.... lgbt community....LGBT.
if they WERE trying to subtly queerbait (in its most accurate definition) they wouldn't have included that in the take, right? since at 7:05 it mentions hinting to attract both lgbt AND conservative audiences-but with the implication of adam referring to and in a way accepting nonbinary people (albeit calling them hoes...) wouldn't that make the more conservative part of the fandom angry? whether scripted or not, they kept that final recording and used it for the dub....i don't know how to word this very well sorry if it's confusing
I love the bingo card. I want to see most if not all of that happening. I don't even care if the creators are getting their ideas from it.
Its so nice to find a channel that digs deeper at manga and anime as medium of literature (popular)
I like them but their biased women representation, focus on problematic troope and many other factors make me feel quite frustrated most of the time
Is the "subtext" also present in the original version or is it just a english version thing? The original must take precedence when it comes to cannon (which wouldn't invalidate what I said in my other comment btw)
my dude when two guys with bare chests do a lot of physical activity in close proximity there's not much a language translation can add
@@Feasco so you've never seen a bunch of straight guys playing basketball without their shirts? Sad life
Yeah the sub is gay too
The sub already had this SUBTEXT, the dub just cranked it up to 11.
I lovvfeee sk8 and well alot of other bl animes but sk8 is so cool to me and gets me excited and happy when i see them being excited
(Personally my fav is reki so i was kinda pissed when he didnt get to win any beefs)
Reki, my love…
I wanna add somthing else to the bingo board, a Kiriko plotline or development!
In the name of Like, Comment, Subscribe, The Holy Numbers bless this video.
How it save a life mentioned for a split second. That fanfic was very sad I read it all it was so emotional
THIS IS WERE THE MEME COMES FROM!!!!🤯🤯🤯🤯😍
Adam's more of a Walmart Hisoka 🤣
Love the video! I hope you get the chance to do a vid on Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury
Could you talk about wierd semi experimental isakai anime like reborn as a vending machine or campfire cooking in another world
replace skate with date next time you watch
Subtext?
Without watching the show, Adam just seems like dollar store Hisoka 💀
Hisoka is a dollar store joker from Batman
HII. I really like the video but the audio is not great. I hope you continue growing :)
I LOVED THIS VIDEO SO MUCH IT HAD NO RIGHT BEING THIS FUNNY?!?!?!?! GOOD JOB FR
I watched it and Im not so sure. I think it's like with Voltron. People thought main of characters where all lgbt in some way. They where not. The only gay character Shiro was not explicidlly gay until the post credit. (which is an non-achievement if it can be censored) They could hint on that with Adam's character but they didn't. So don't expect too much if season 2 will come out.
But I like your theory with S begin in danger of begin shut down and new famale villan, cuz I am sure that police woman will be back. She was deny to work on the investigation regarding Adam. So my theory is that she will make a private investigation and discover S. Maybe she will even go there in undercover as a hobbiest skater to gather more information. And sience characters nicknames like Adam and Snake were a referacnce to bible, I think this new character could go by name like Eve, Ester, Martha, Lilith or something like that
And they should give Adam a redemption ark cuz I can't belive everyone just forgave him after what he did to Cherry. And give Shadow a happy ending jezz!
How exactly did watch this show and not be sure? This show’s as subtle as a sledgehammer with it.
@tylerleach8796 It's really not. The only reason why we are supoused to look at skating and Langa's and Reki's relationship as romantic is because of Adam, and the fact that he belives it to be a thing. But there is a problem, Adam is a delusional clot!
He uses a lot of metaphore's while speaking, and he even admitted to Miya that he's into all his skating partners. And will get bored when they unblossom. Like what!? And no, his relationship with Tadashi is not cute. It's toxic and it's all about power imbalance, and victimblaming. And I get the theories that Adam and Cherry where a thing, and I can belive that he lead Cherry on and then dithed him when he aged out of his prefered rate. But others are not gay if you know the context.
With context you will know that Joe only blushed for Cherry in beach episode cuz the thought that he's a woman. Yes i know it's stupid trope, but it was made only for comedy! Joe is really straight with context. I know people like shipping them, but they knew eachother sience kindergarden! It's normal that he looks at Cherry with care. He's probably like a brother for him at this point. I know that many people watched it in english. I only wathed subtitles, so I wathed the "less gay version" cuz they purpously added more flirts for fanserwis, really!
For Cherry Idk, I always headcanoned him as asexual, sience he treat's his IA assistance like his girlfriend, and he's not intrested in any of his fangirls. Sience they only want to "sit on a cherry tree". Like I know I would be ignoring them too, but come on! Maybe Im wrong with this one, maybe he's just really into technology.
Langa had one moment when he talked to his mother and she asked him "you like this person?" And in japanise dub this word mean like as "romantic intrest". But Langa doesnt get japanise perfectlly so this ended up with misunderstanding. I think it was just difficullt for him to talk about his felling to his mom. Plus he compared the bond he has with Reki to the one he had with his dad. (Kinda weird if they are supoused to be a couple?) And the heartbeat? It's Adrenaline not Oxytocin! By this logic he's also in love with Adam, cuz he also had this faster pulse when he thought about the race he had with him. And that was not romantic at all! I mean he did look at Reki with "kawai eays" when he raced againts Adam, so maybe he does have a crush but it still would be one sided.
And Reki had only one sus moment. when he colorised Langa's sk8boarding skills. But Reki sais insane stuff most of the time, and he doesn't even know how people feel about it. He also blushed when Langa said too much complements to him, sience he's not used to recive them. That's just not enough to convince me that they are more than platonic friends. Yes they interactions comes out as weird sometimes. That doesn't mean they are a conon couple.
@@GabeKis-fz8tn the creators of the show confirmed they were romantically interested in each other, dude.
@@tylerleach8796Where? On twitter? I need context dude.
@@GabeKis-fz8tn I recommend looking it up. Though I still say you don't need to because the show is about as subtle with its subtext as a sledgehammer.
I first heard of this anime from James Somerton.
His channel is gone now due to cancellation
Big brain
You’re right
...Did you even watch Banana Fish? It's NOT fanservice and it's not adolescent angst. The story is about man who was a victim of sex trafficking as a child, street gangs, corruption, US military intervention... Disgusting how you diminished such a story like that.
Calling a story about a child r victim, who again continues to face sexual violence in the story, "adolescent angst" and "fanservice" is incredibly irresponsible
...is it weird that I never once saw any of the series as having queer subtext, but just text with zero payoff?
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
0:01
Adam! Langa is a minor. Leave him alone.
Yeah.... but Langa is a minor.
B
what are you talking about
Did you watch the video?
Sk8 doesn't count as queerbaiting for one simple reason, the show is made for a female audience and not one for gay men. Not that I have an issue with this however, I am a woman after all.
Also drag is misogynistic.
"Drag is misogynistic"
Bait, judging by your RUclips favorites (set to public by the way)
@@MadRyker It's literally men dressing up as women to openly mock and make fun of them, explain to me how exactly it isn't misogynistic? It's literally on par with a white person wearing black face.
Also I don't get what my favorites have to do with literally anything.
@@smegellimes💀
About the favorites, you've got some transphobic shit, a lot of anti-feminist shit, and even some pedo shit (Pomf) in there.
i disagreed with everything you said except for one thing.
@@sleepieste And that is?
Why does everything have to be gay for u people
I don’t mean to be rude but what do you mean by “You people” 😘
Maybe because character's that are meant to be LGBTQ+ can't outright say it because of censorship? And the many times actual queer characters had to be coded in subtle ways just to make it on the screen?
There's a reason even just one canon gay couple is cheered as much as a football team winning, it's simply so rare and at this point media leaves the community themselves to make the couple an actual thing, so they take it.
@@Mizuki-dx5cu YESSS THANK YOU SOMEONE FINALLY SAID IT 😭😭😭
Tribalism and wanting a sense of community isn’t anything new. I think the idea of wearing the fact that your sexual orientation is a minority, which is far from the case nowadays, as a badge of honor is silly. Analyses like these are usually biased and hindered by the ideological view one holds regardless of whether they’re pro-gay or anti. Personally, I can’t say I care all too much, but it does become an upwards trend worth mentioning especially when saying anything remotely critical might lead to you being called “homophobic” or otherwise. There will always be unreasonable people no matter what position you might take.
Not you doing Cherry and Carla dirty like that🫣. Loved the video, said all the things I couldn't put to words!
Gah, if they go with the Adam "redemption" thing and make them tolerate his existence in S2, Imma be pissed. Keep that creep away from our boys and schools. Propose change for that bingo square: the police lady wasn't a red herring and sh!t goes down.
the only reason theyre keeping that pedofile on screen is (i hope) because without him s shuts down, but they are painting him in a far too positive light. i want him under the jail personally