| “ | Of course, I'm sure that for many, that's what happiness is. But none of them are my happiness. I know... ...what my happiness is! |
” |
— Reki Kyan, Snowfall on a Hot Night
|
Reki Kyan (
Appearance[]
Reki is a fair and slightly tan skinned teenage boy of average height with wild and spiky red hair where he often sports an Egyptian blue headband with white detailing and a red wrist sweatband, and amber colored eyes. He appears to have a lithe figure and his face is very expressional and easily read where he is usually sporting a smile or a silly face.
Similar to the skater-boy look, his outfits consist of a sweatshirt or layered sweatshirt and sweater/t-shirt combos with baggy pants. He commonly wears a yellow hoodie in his layered or unlayered outfits. His main sweatshirt he wears matches his board detailing.
His outfits fall under the street fashion subculture called skater style.[4]
Gallery[]
Personality[]
Reki is a carefree high schooler. At first glance, it's easy to assume all he cares about is skateboarding, and while that's somewhat true, he's also shown to be interested in more creative things like drawing and even making skateboards from scratch.
Reki, excited about the opportunity to talk about skateboarding
With his outgoing personality, Reki can get easily along with everyone, although he has a special affinity for those who are also interested in the skateboarding world. He's on the lazier side of the spectrum, only doing the bare minimum in school to get good grades and never really thinking much about the future career-wise, but when given responsibilities about things he's passionate about, he tries his hardest and sets high goals for himself.
He is also a selfless person who wants the people who he cares for to succeed in anyway shape or form, even if it puts himself in harm's way. He enjoys physical touch which is seen with both Miya Chinen and Langa Hasegawa interactions where Reki is often touching them.
Reki cares deeply for his friends as an example of this is when he defends Miya from Adam: he challenged Adam to a beef in hopes of winning and forcing Adam to take back his insults about Miya. He also will do anything to make sure of his friends' safety like going to others to try to convince Langa not to skate against Adam.[5] He expresses his concern for Langa, often making sure that he is okay.
While he has a high patience, it's not above him to crack a few jokes about his friends or boss. After all, it all comes with the laid-back personality.
Reki expressing his fear about the idea of racing against Adam
Reki also shows the fear of falling behind and being left behind which means he has to work harder to catch up to the raw natural talents of his friends. He gets shown to be visually upset when he gets complimented by Langa [6] showing that he doesn't believe his friends' words about his own self worth.
It's been shown that Reki doesn't think of himself highly at all instead listening to the words of others saying that he's just the "redhead" that Snow hangs around.[7] He shows weakness and covers it up with a smile. He fears being left behind so much it leaves him to self-destruct, damaging his body and mind in the process. He thinks he is inferior to his best friend because of the raw natural talent Langa has for everything.
Reki shows self-doubt throughout the episodes progressively growing in depth and leading to him snapping at Langa about how he doesn't feel excited to go against Adam—he feels fear. He falls apart when he realizes that he cannot benefit his friend anymore and tells him this is where our path together ends out of fear and self-doubt. He is deeply affected by realizing all of his closest friends are talented while even as a joke imply he is not talented. He loses the light in his eyes when he talks about skateboarding, progressively becoming a shell of the once happy skateboard-loving nerd.
Reki finally at peace with himself
Later, Reki is shown as usually deep in thought and more or less drained, unlike his usual excitable demeanor.[8] He does feel guilty when ignoring Langa at school and does still want to support him. He tries simply watching Langa race and yells out when he sees him losing his focus in the middle of the race, showing that despite being in his rut, he still deeply cares about Langa. Despite his best efforts, he eventually realizes he wants to stand with his friends, but feels like he could never reach the place he needs to be to stand with them. This leads to him breaking down as Langa and Joe skate, realizing he doesn't want to be on the side supporting them. In his self-deprecation, he turns in his "S" pin, leaving the skating world behind.[6] The self-deprecation continues to worsen, even leading him to validate being beaten up on the pretence that he deserved it, showing a new lack of even self-preservation. He goes out of his way to avoid Langa specifically, yet still pushes anybody who cares for him away until he finds a reason to figure out his actions need to change and that they all matter to him, leading to the rekindling of Langa and himself.[7]
Reki yells out that skating is really fun
After making up with Langa and promising to skate infinitely together, Reki's self-deprecative traits in regards to his skating skills seem to disappear as he realises that skating really is just having fun with the people you want by your side and proudly expresses this principle to anyone who doubts it. It is shown that Reki, whilst he still gets flattered and flustered at extensive compliments, he accepts them much easier. He also becomes more confident in his board-making skills, utilizing his knowledge with board mechanics, as well as foreseeing the weather to improve his own performance during his race with Adam.[8] When the race is over, despite being beat up and falling over at the finish line, Reki exclaims his love for skating, smiling whilst being surrounded by his friends.
Reki also paints the word "FUN" on the bottom of Langa's new board, much to the latter's surprise, inadvertently saving him from being stuck in the "zone".[9] When Langa is close to reaching the race, Reki immediately starts sprinting to the finish line, ready to cheer him on. At the end of the show, Reki prepares to race Langa one-on-one in their promised race, telling Langa to not go easy on him.
Abilities[]
Reki has been skating since he was young, having become obsessed with it after his friend got him into it during their childhood.[9] Despite not being a natural and taking a while to learn tricks [10], Reki has become a skilled and passionate skateboarder who's capable of performing well even at top-end competitive races like "S", and can even serve as a good teacher for beginner skaters even if he isn't quite on the same level as some of "S"'s more famous skaters.[11][12]
Reki is also a skilled skateboard engineer thanks to his experience working at DOPE SKETCH and he is able to create and design all sorts of different boards for customers.[11][13]
Reki's initial struggle to learn
- General Prowess: It's been revealed that Reki wasn't innately talented at skateboarding, perhaps because he got into it at an older age than many other skilled skaters, but is still above average in ability and can race neck and neck with other competitive skaters. He can hold his own in beefs and doesn't shrink away from challenging older and more experienced skaters.[14]
Later on, Reki develops a new sense of logicality towards skating and is able to plan strategies for upcoming beefs based on what he knows about the terrain and opposing skater. He was capable of outwitting Adam through the use of rain wheels and was able to fearlessly avoid his Full Swing Kiss attack even after being injured during their beef.[12]
Reki manages a rail slide during a heated beef
- Tricks: Reki is capable of pulling off a lot of the more common skateboarding tricks such as the ollie and the rail slide and knows them thoroughly enough to be able to teach them to other people without a hitch.[13] He can utilize them with a high success rate during beefs.[9]
- Observation Skills: Reki's passion for skateboarding has led him to become notably observant of other skaters. He's capable of figuring out exactly why Langa Hasegawa's board feels incorrect and the reason why its scratches are concentrated in one place, and also the small, technical reasons behind why Langa's unable to perfect some tricks straight away.[13][6]
Reki and Langa in Reki's workshop
- Mechanical Skills: Due to his experience with working at a skateboarding shop and his observation of other skaters, Reki has become very skilled at creating boards that fit skaters' individual needs and styles. He's able to think up a foot-clip idea for Langa's board in order to help him feel more secure as he transitioned from snowboarding to skateboarding and took advantage of Langa's snowboarding roots to create a board with a swiveling front truck in order to grant Langa more freedom as he skated.[14][15]
Background[]
Reki initially got into skateboarding because one of his childhood friends taught and roped him into it. He became passionate about the sport quickly despite not having a natural affinity for learning it and continued to skate even after his friend got into a serious accident as a consequence of it. Somewhere along the lines, he discovered "S" and becomes a member/skater there.
Reki appears on the surface as a carefree skateboarding nerd, but as the series continues, we see his vulnerable side. He puts his entire trust into Langa Hasegawa and wants to see his friend succeed. He cares deeply for the ones close to him and will throw himself in harm's way to protect them. He can see the good in people, strives for everyone to be happy and dislikes anyone who bullies or picks on others. He is very handy and creative, which is seen when he customizes Langa's board. He figured out the best way for it be shaped and styled, modeling it after the natural style a snowboarder has.
Reki is shown to feel inferior to the skaters in his friend group, which leads him to fight more with his mental state than race in "S". He feels as though he has no talent compared to the 'geniuses' he's around. He covers the self-doubt with a smile, but it progressively eats him alive. In which he later remembers his worth and welcomes himself back into the lives of his friends; with the remembrance skating is fun and it shouldn't be anything less than that.
Stats[]
| Love of Skateboarding | 5/5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Communication | 5/5 | |
| Competitiveness | 5/5 | |
| Good with Hands | 4/5 | |
| Scatterbrained | 3/5 |
Appearances[]
| SK8 the Infinity appearances | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 |
| Episode 8 | Episode 9 | Episode 9.5 | Episode 10 | Episode 11 | Episode 12 | |
Trivia[]
- Reki's name contains the kanji for "joy, rejoice" (喜 ki?), "roof, house, shop, dealer, seller" (屋 ya?), "chivalry, warrior, military, martial" (武 n?) and "calendar, almanac" (暦 reki?).
- "Kyan" is an Okinawan surname with origins in Old Ryukyuan language. It refers to the tip of a cape or headland, particularly the southernmost tip of Okinawa.
- Reki's name in kanji, (暦) uses the 日 radical. This radical can be seen in Reki's other family members too such as Masae (昌江), Koyomi (曆), Nanaka (菜々香). This can certainly symbolize the fact that Reki and his family symbolize the sun as Reki's red hair, amber eyes and energetic personality support this theory.
- Reki's Zodiac sign is Leo.
- He is born on August 8, or 8/8, a nod to the title of the series.
- Reki started skateboarding because one of his childhood friend begged him to.
- Reki has bad sleeping habits and falls asleep while working on things. He's the type to wear a sweatshirt to sleep.[16]
- Reki is a "regular" skater, meaning he prefers to skate with his left foot at the front of the board.
- Reki has phasmophobia.[6]
- Reki has never received chocolates before so has no experience reciprocating, but he'd be very happy giving a white day gift and also very shy. He would worry about what to give as a return gift and end up giving a bad one. He would also worry over dates, but would choose whatever seems fun in the end.[16]
- Reki would have childish tastes in food.[17]
- As a young child, Reki would have been naughty and rambunctious, a problem child, and the type to fall down and cry a lot.[18]
- Reki would like a surprise proposal. He would not like a grand reception. He would not want "see ya" kisses everyday. He would want to go to Los Angeles for his honeymoon. He can get very absorbed in skating and neglect other things, so his spouse would have to skate with him even if he's better at it, he wouldn't leave a partner behind. Anything Reki would do with his spouse would guaranteed to be fun.[19]
- Reki would be good at taking care of children.[20]
- Reki's favorite food is shio (salt broth) ramen.[21]
- Reki's hobby is making skateboards and modding.[21]
- Reki is 25 on Joe's rankings of the muscles of S. Joe's comment: He’s a high schooler so this is normal. If you bulked up a little more I’m sure you’d be more popular kid.[21]
- Reki is -100% on Adam’s Passionate Love Parameter, how much passion he has for each skater. Adam’s comment: Passion for this trash? He just makes me depressed. I’ll give him negative points.[22]
- Reki's daily schedule when there's no S:
- 8:00-8:30 - Wakes up, eats breakfast
- 8:30-16:00 - Skates to school, attends school
- 16:00-18:00 - Part time work
- 18:00-19:30 - Skatepark (Even of weekdays, he's immersed in skating! On holidays he probably spends the whole day at the park)
- 19:30-20:30 - Eats dinner, has bath
- 20:30-22:00 - Watches skate videos
- 22:00-24:00 - Makes new board sketches, does board maintenance
- 24:00 - Sleeps (He probably falls asleep while playing on his phone and gets scolded by his mother for it often......)[21]
- Reki would go to a skatepark for a summer date, then maybe a theme park because he likes having fun. He'd get his date wet on a water slide. If there was unexpected rain, he would prioritize his date and lend his towel.[23]
- Reki's preferred fashion sense is standard street style clothing! He always has a T tool in his bag, since he has to fix the fittings on his skateboard a lot. For a date, Reki would wear his normal clothes, his favorite outfit in particular. Cute clothes like white summer dresses catch his eye. Reki would buy his clothes from second hand stores and is the type to try things on. For a shopping date, Reki would go to a lot of places besides clothes stores, like an arcade or just walking around a lot. Reki's mom does his laundry. If someone snapped a picture of him on the street, Reki would awkwardly blush.[24]
- If Reki was a sweet, he would be Sata andagi. They’re what you think of when you think about Okinawa and they’re easy to eat and lovable so it’s really Reki-ish.[25]
- Reki believed in Santa until early elementary school. He probably figured it out since he has little sisters. But when he believed he was all excited waiting for Santa and couldn’t sleep. Before loving skating, when he was little he probably wanted dinosaur toys and things for Christmas. When he was in elementary school he probably asked Santa for remote controlled cars and electronics but they were probably too expensive so he would get completely different presents.[26]
- If Reki was a dog, he'd be a beagle. If somehow Reki turned into a dog, Langa Hasegawa would accept it easily. They'd somehow be able to still have conversations even though Reki couldn't talk, and they'd sleep in the same bed together.[27]
- Reki's omotenashi would be preparing lots of fun things for his guest, such as skate movies and games. He can't cook so he'd ask his mom for a delicious meal and would help with grocery shopping in exchange. He likes salty things like curry, ramen, and karaage.[28]
- Reki dislikes eggplant.[29]
- Reki's blood type is O.[3]
- Tasuku Hatanaka (Reki's Japanese voice actor) is married to Sayaka Senbongi (Koyomi Kyan's Japanese voice actress).
- Surprisingly, Tasuku is the son of Keiko Fukushima (who voices Reki's mother Masae Kyan).
- In Episode 3, instead of looking at Langa, Reki broke the fourth wall when he looks directly at the viewer and says "Just wait and see!" when the two are discussing a big upgrade Reki is about to add to Langa's board.
References[]
- ↑ SK8 the Infinity Official Website
- ↑ SK8 DESIGN WORKS
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Skater’s Backstage
- ↑ Animedia Magazine September Issue: SK8 the Infinity Q&A with Hiroko Utsumi
- ↑ SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 5.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 6.
- ↑ SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 7.
- ↑ SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 8.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 4.
- ↑ SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 10.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 1.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 11.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 2.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 3.
- ↑ SK8 the Infinity Anime: Episode 12.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Animedia Magazine March Issue: SK8 the Infinity Q&A with Hiroko Utsumi
- ↑ Animedia Magazine April Issue: SK8 the Infinity Q&A with Hiroko Utsumi
- ↑ Animedia Magazine May Issue: SK8 the Infinity Q&A with Hiroko Utsumi
- ↑ Animedia Magazine May Issue: SK8 the Infinity Marriage Certificates
- ↑ Animedia Magazine May Issue: SK8 the Infinity Q&A with Hiroko Utsumi
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 SK8 the Infinity Anime: BD&DVD Vol.4
- ↑ SK8 the Infinity Anime: BD&DVD Vol.5
- ↑ Animedia Magazine August Issue: SK8 the Infinity Q&A with Hiroko Utsumi
- ↑ Animedia Magazine September Issue: SK8 the Infinity Q&A with Hiroko Utsumi
- ↑ Otomedia Magazine Autumn Issue: SK8 the Infinity Q&A with Kyoko Uryu & Mari Suzuki
- ↑ Animage December 2021: SK8 the Infinity Q&A with Hiroko Utsumi
- ↑ Animage December 2021: The ones who are devoted Q&A with Hiroko Utsumi
- ↑ Otomedia December 2021: SK8 the Infinity Q&A with Hiroko Utsumi
- ↑ SK8 the Infinity Official Guidebook
[]
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