History Anime / SK8TheInfinity

** Most obviously, Miya is a freestyle skater, frequently performing highly technical tricks both in the gym and at S. As revealed in this [[https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021/01/25/fan-spots-real-pro-skater-influence-in-sk8-the-infinity-rodney-mullen/ article]], Miya's moves were heavily inspired by Rodney Mullen, a skateboarding prodigy who went pro at age 14 and invented such staple skateboarding trick such as the ground ollie, kickflip, impossible, and heelflip - all moves that Miya uses in the anime.

* ShoutOut: In the second eyecatch for Episode 2, Shadow does a TransformationSequence in the same style as ''Anime/SailorMoon''.

--> '''Reki:''' I'm fine. I can do it.
--> '''Oka:''' There's never been a time when you've said "I'm fine" and meant it.

** Most obviously, Miya is a freestyle skater, frequently performing highly technical tricks both in the gym and at S.
*** As revealed in this [[https://www.funimation.com/blog/2021/01/25/fan-spots-real-pro-skater-influence-in-sk8-the-infinity-rodney-mullen/ article]], Miya's moves were heavily inspired by Rodney Mullen, a skateboarding prodigy who went pro at age 14 and invented such staple skateboarding trick such as the ground ollie, kickflip, impossible, and heelflip - all moves that Miya uses in the anime.

--> '''[[spoiler:Reki]]''': ''(towards [[spoiler:Langa]])'' You and I... aren't a good match anymore.

--> '''[[spoiler:Tadashi:]]''' You may have forgotten, but I was the one that taught you how to skate.

A manga adaptation illustrated by Kazuto Kojima was released on March 5, 2021 but went on an indefinite hiatus after chapter 7. An even more light-hearted {{SpinOff}} called [=SK8=] Chill Out! where all the characters are [[SuperDeformed chibi-sized]], illustrated by Toriyasu, began serializing on Jan 11, 2021, and ended on Sep 20 with 26 chapters.

** In episode 11, just as he says he will in a skit in an earlier episode, Langa [[spoiler:''does'' protect Reki]].'

* ProductPlacement: An [=A&W=] restaurant is seen in episode 4. This is also TruthInTelevision, since Okinawa is the only part of Japan where there are [=A&W=] restaurants.

* AdamAndOrEve: Ainosuke calls himself ADAM and is obsessed with Langa, wishing him to be his EVE.
* AFriendInNeed: Not long after they've taken a level in friendship, Reki is surprised by Langa saving his skateboard (again) when he nearly loses it after a lot of practice, asking how he'd known he'd be practicing. Langa says "Just got a feeling," implying familiarity with Reki's habits, to which Reki laughs cutely.

* AgentPeacock: Adam utilizes a flashy red matador suit with an equally flashy mask to hide his identity to the world of S. He's considered to be one of the best skaters despite of it.

* AnimalMotifs:
** Miya resembles a cat with his sly personality and cat-themed outfit.
** A dog or a snake can both apply to Tadashi.
** As the Matador of Love, Adam has some bull imagery associated with him, including his skateboard with horns and his Taurus zodiac sign.
** Joe is often called a 'gorilla' by Cherry, and is one of the strongest and more muscular skaters.
* AnimeHair:
** Reki has spiky, bright red hair that makes him very easy to point out in crowds.
** Adam, while in his S persona, has vivid blue hair that's even spikier than Reki's. As a civilian, his hairstyle is more realistic and subdued.

* BadBoss: Adam starts off only verbally mistreating Tadashi, calling him "dog" under his breath more than once and ignoring Tadashi's requests and suggestions to focus on his own goals. [[spoiler:However, it's revealed later that he plans for Tadashi to be his sacrificial lamb in the political field to save his family's skin, and when Tadashi finally goes up against him, he reacts aggressively, saying "A dog can't disobey his master," and threatening harm if they face each other.]]
** [[spoiler: The trope is given a twist because Adam knew he was never in any danger of going to jail and was just saying it to get a rise out of Tadashi - who usually claims he doesn't have an opinion. Unfortunately Adam got the usual response, much to his annoyance.]]

* BeginnersLuck: Langa beats Shadow in his very first race, despite having never skateboarded before and ''duct-taping his feet to the board''. However, this is justified as Langa has 15 years of experience snowboarding, so he was able to transfer some of his techniques to skateboarding. Then when Langa learns to skateboard normally, he frequently falls on his ass, showing that he is not immediately perfect at the sport. He gets better rather quickly though.

* BettyAndVeronica: To Langa, Reki is the Betty, Langa's best friend who introduced him to the simple joys of skateboarding and was always by his side, supporting him. ADAM is the dark and mysterious Veronica who shows Langa the riskier, heart-pounding thrills skateboarding can offer and is actively trying to seduce him.
* BlockingStopsAllDamage: Subverted for Langa when [[spoiler:his skateboard smashes against a mook's pipe during his race with Joe, leading to him almost lose his race, and in particular, breaking the skateboard Reki crafted for him in half.]]

* BoyMeetsGirl: [[spoiler:"Boy meets boy" is how Langa and Reki's storyline]] can be summed up. They have a MeetCute, become very close friends, [[spoiler:lose each other, then find each other again]].

* {{Bowdlerise}}: The dub has been noted to have the very strange mix of changing some of the lines, tones and context of Langa and Reki's relationship (leaving the effect of randomly [[GetBackInTheCloset reducing their ship tease]], if not necessarily erasing it on the whole), while simultaneously giving Joe and Cherry an adaptational flirtation upgrade.
* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: After [[spoiler:Reki finds Langa]], they finally sit-down to have a heart-to-heart, [[spoiler:with Langa emphatically expressing everything he admires about Reki, and Reki agreeing with Langa that he wants to skate with him 'infinitely.']]

* CanadaEh: Langa is half-Canadian and just recently moved to Okinawa from there. Although he does not act stereotypical, those stereotypes are invoked in episode 2's preview where Reki asks Langa about Canada. Also, he does really like poutine as seen in episode 4 as he orders an extra large version at the fast food restaurant.
* CastFullOfGay: Not explicitly, but in a subtextual to near-textual way. While the antagonist Adam [[HideYourGays is the only one]] who openly equates skating with male characters to dates, weddings and something involving the concept of "love," a majority of the main cast (Langa, Reki, Cherry, Tadashi, and even Shadow in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment) seem to be AmbiguouslyGay or AmbiguouslyBi, and with more heavy intent than typical series with a CastFullOfPrettyBoys, as Langa expresses that Reki is his ImpliedLoveInterest several times, and the two have a [[spoiler:[[BoyMeetsGirl Boy Meets Boy storyline]]]] throughout the series with a lot of romantic overtones.
** The English-language dub even ups this by including Joe in the mix, as while he could be called AmbiguouslyBi even in the Japanese for his StupidSexyFlanders moment and has a highly interpretative interaction with Cherry listed under HomoeroticSubtext, it's much less blatant than several other characters.

* CerebusRetcon: Some of Reki's passing remarks in earlier episodes act as {{Foreshadowing}} for heavier episodes. For example, in episode 1:

* ChaosWhileTheyreNotLooking: For some reason Joe and Cherry are introduced lightly brawling every time Cherry's business client isn't looking. We soon learn they're childhood friends.
* ChekhovsGun: Among the wheels that Reki has when rebuilding Langa's board in episode 11 are a set of tire-like wheels that are meant for rainy conditions. Realizing the potential of rain during his rematch with Adam, Reki used them on his skating deck to give himself the advantage once the downpour starts to hit.
* ChildProdigy: Miya is one, being a contender for Japan's national skating team despite being in middle school.

* CompetitionFreak: Adam uses his illegal skate park to find someone he thinks can actually stand a chance against him. Turns out that [[spoiler:if it's someone he thinks shouldn't be able to, he freaks out.]]
** This sets Adam and Reki up as foils in an InUniverse CasualCompetitiveConflict drama. While initially Reki is focused on skating for the fun of it, he's invested in the competitive arena of S, but is shut down from competition by Adam, who thinks he's not capable or worth it. When Langa ''is'', Reki starts realizing the imbalance in his and Langa's relationship, and struggles to reach competitive heights. [[spoiler:This comes to a head in his rematch with Adam, by which time he regains his {{Pollyanna}} outlook, which makes ArrogantKungFuGuy Adam ''furious.'']]

* DeclarationOfProtection: In episode 6, Langa "pretends" to state this in a joke skit between him and Reki. [[spoiler:By later episodes it's heavily implied that part of what drives him is protecting those he loves, and in episode 11, he protects Reki by placing his body before his when Adam goes to harm him.]]
* DepravedHomosexual: While his sexuality isn't confirmed, Adam plays with the DepravedHomosexual or DepravedBisexual trope. He is not only dangerous, but his skateboarding moves and mannerisms ooze sex appeal as his theme is "love." Not to mention, his [[SingleTargetSexuality fixation]] on Langa borders on more than just admiration, and he also has a sexually suggestive conversation with him in the preview for episode 5. Then there's the fact that he calls him his "EVE" in the heat of their race of episode 5, becoming enamored with him by the end.

* DisappearedDad: Langa's father died sometime before the events of the series.

* DoggedNiceGuy: In his daily life, Shadow has a huge, comical crush on his manager and often does more than necessary to help around the flower shop.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Played with and defied. [[spoiler:While tough, it turns out Adam isn't as "unbeatable" as the first half hypes him up to be for HiddenBadasses like Reki and Langa. Reki doesn't quite get there, but doesn't care, which stings Adam more, and Langa's focused on [[ImpliedLoveInterest someone else]] by the end of the race.]]
* DramaticIrony: Despite being pivotal in helping Miya out of his hang-ups about having friends, [[spoiler:Reki falls into the same pitfall in later episodes of season 1]], to all his friends' stress.

* TheDreaded: Adam is very much this InUniverse, being a highly intimidating skater that not only has some serious skill, but some ''very'' dirty tactics that revolve around intimidation. Shadow notes that he's taken out all of his favorite skaters as soon as he came onto the field and has caused major injuries to his opponents.
* EnhancedOnDVD: Of particular note are later episodes, in which there's additional moments of animation that weren't originally present.
* TheEngineer: Reki is a skilled skater, but even better skateboard creator. He is able to create custom boards using his analytical skills and creative usages of simple items.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: All the main characters seem to have male groupies, some of whom sound like they have a fan-crush on them, even though they're not focused on like the female groupies are. This doesn't even go into how Langa has sights [[spoiler:solely for [[ImpliedLoveInterest his best friend Reki]]]], despite the [[StalkerWithACrush main antagonist Adam]] trying to gift him the likes of roses and [[VillainousCrush push him into an "Eve" role]], Cherry's former very likely crush on Adam in their childhood, and Joe's AdaptationalSexuality in the dub pushing his relationship with Cherry into clearer BelligerentSexualTension territory (versus the more low-key Japanese SnarkToSnarkCombat that could still be interpreted as such, with his StupidSexyFlanders reaction at one point).
* EveryoneHasStandards: There pretty much ''are'' no rules in "S", with things like using AI assistance, throwing fireworks at your opponents, and shoving and tackling the competition being totally fair game. However, all the racers and onlookers are genuinely shocked when [[spoiler:Adam hits Cherry over the head with his skateboard]], which could've ''killed'' him. In general, even the racers who admire Adam's skills seem a little wary of him because of just ''how'' dirty he's willing to fight, his tactics putting multiple people in the hospital.

* FictionalSocialNetwork: We're shown a lot of commentary by S members on one that looks similar to Twitter - they're hyping Snow and trashing Shadow, who's pissed.

* FinishingEachOthersSentences: Reki and Langa have a habit of things like this [[spoiler:initially, until their breakup]]. The most straight example is when they excitedly finish each other's sentences after Langa is first enamored by skateboarding, but by episode 4 they seem in-tune with each other's thinking enough that it amazes Miya.
* {{Foil}}: Although Cherry and Joe can't quite reach (or are ''denied'' by) Adam, as Joe empathetically points out, he's alone, while they're...well, not. Though this can switch to MirrorCharacter depending on interpretation, Joe at least [[spoiler: encourages Langa and Reki to avoid following that path]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Reki and Langa's boyfriend-girlfriend skit highlights Langa's BullyHunter tendencies, and the imbalance Reki sees in their relationship.

* GenderBlenderName:
** Shadow's given name "Hiromi" is more often used for women.
** Cherry Blossom's given name "Kaoru" is also more often used for women, but it is sometimes used for men.

* GoThroughMe: In episode 11, Langa [[spoiler:uses his body to shield Reki before Adam can even think about hurting him]].
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Reki's storyline explores this but [[spoiler:ultimately subverts it, mainly through his regaining confidence, focusing on having fun with his passion, and in doing so, figuring out how to work his talents into his passion]]. It's noted that he's not necessarily the same as Langa and his other friends, and this is what works for him.
* HeldGaze: As their [[ShipTease friendship deepens]], there's more than one between Langa and Reki, [[spoiler:before Reki breaks it off]].
* HiddenDepths: Shadow, surprisingly enough, is a florist as a civilian.
* HideYourGays: The entire series has a back-and-forth of the adult Adam being an openly DepravedHomosexual or Bisexual with a VillainousCrush on the teenage Langa, and the increasing ShipTease buildup between Langa and his best friend Reki...but at the very end, despite being the protagonists, all that culminates for the latter is Langa subtly expressing that Reki [[spoiler:is his ImpliedLoveInterest (while Reki is AmbiguouslyBi, it's shown mainly through occasional blushing and body language subtext toward Langa, instead of direct words). Meanwhile, canonically [=gay/bi=] Adam gets [[MinionShipping teasing]] with his ExtremeDoormat secretary, Tadashi]]. In contrast, too, the series explicitly showcases male-female [=romantic/sexual=] interest without the characters involved being villainous.
* HomoeroticSubtext: While ''highly'' dependent on interpretation, as one could easily take Joe's dialogue as one of friendship (or [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther romantic]], if so inclined), the visuals, audio and the way he phrases his YouAreNotAlone speech to Cherry in the aftermath of episode 9 can lend to the interpretation of unspoken feelings, as well. The English-language dub changes Joe's very subtextual interaction by making Joe more obviously AmbiguouslyBi, coloring the scene more potentially romantic or with some amount of unspoken feelings.
** While he can still be seen mainly as a BigBrotherMentor, Joe can also be seen as a subtextual ShipperOnDeck for Reki and Langa. While he doesn't explicitly express approval or teasing a la a typical Shipper-On-Deck, when considering the series' ShipTease of Langa and Reki, his body language and words to Langa in episode 9 follow traditional Shipper-On-Decks. In episode 10 he seems very impressed by [[spoiler:how fast Langa chases after Reki, as well]].
* HopeSpot: After being outclassed, overwhelmed, and downright humiliated by Adam's dance during their heat, Reki regains his spirit and finally manages to pull off the railslide he'd been practicing. But just as things are looking up, Adam pulls off an even more impressive move, swings his board around, and initiates the infamous "Love Hug".

* IncitingIncident: Langa's first race kicks off the plot when he catches the attention of Adam and the rest of the S community.
* IndyEscape: A portion of episode 6 involves Langa and Reki running from people who want to drown them in mud. It makes just as much sense to them as it does to the audience watching.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: In episode 11, Tadashi [[spoiler: drops out of the tournament and admits that Langa is the one who is most suited to restore Adam's love of skating. ]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** Shadow is initially a {{Jerkass}} through and though, being a highly unpleasant player who beats everyone because of his dirty tactics (which are allowed in S), and is not afraid of shoving his wins right in front of their face. However, after he loses to Langa and unwittingly falls into Reki's crowd, he bickers with Reki at first but eventually lets him have his way. It doesn't stop him from using his dirty tricks, however.
** Miya is also this, being a condescending skater who loves to tell people that they're worse than him. He starts getting better after losing to Langa and getting some encouragement from Reki.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Shadow humiliates the girlfriend of the opponent at the very beginning of the series, which leads her to dump said opponent...and that opponent [[spoiler:comes back near the end of the series looking to exact revenge, initially targeting Shadow's crush but then beating Shadow up instead]].
* {{Leitmotif}}:
** Beethoven's 5th Symphony in C Minor pops up whenever Adam is really relishing his enjoyment with someone (usually Langa). Whenever he appears at S, he's usually accompanied by a track called, "Dance Like a Marionette".
** Langa's theme once he starts getting serious during a race is "Dimensions of the Wind".
** Reki also has a theme called "Seize the Moment!!" when he starts getting a moment during his beefs. [[spoiler: One of them being when he decides to try and jump from a cliff during his second beef against Adam.]]

* LivingLegend: Adam is this to the "S" world, as he is the founder of "S".
* LonelyAtTheTop: Miya explains that as he got more and more skilled, the more and more his friends resented him. It got to a point where his friends completely abandoned him, leaving him to believe that he's much better on his own.

* MaamShock: A rare male version: Reki calls Shadow "old man", to which Shadow retorts that he is only 24 years old.
* MeaningfulName:
** Cherry Blossom's family name has the kanji for cherry blossom in it (桜 "sakura")
** Adam has the kanji for love (愛) in both his given name (''Ai''nosuke) and his S name (the ''A'' in "Adam")

* NotAfraidToDie: While Langa could qualify due to never giving up even after Adam first shows he's willing to grievously harm skaters, by episode 11 special mention goes to [[spoiler:''Reki,'' of all people. Adam threatens and possibly did mean to ''murder'' him, but going full {{Pollyanna}}, he ignores him and is just focused on how fun skateboarding is for him, at that point]].

* OddCouple: Reki's energetic and expressive and leaps headfirst into conflict, while Langa is reserved and stoic and mainly responds to others' challenges.
* OddFriendship: Kojiro skates by instinctual feeling and strength, while Kaoru is all about precision accuracy via [=AI=] and is a FragileSpeedster.

* PhenotypeStereotype: Averted. Langa, being half-Canadian, has light blue hair.

* PowerOfLove: After Langa gives away a likely crush he has on Reki in episode 8, episode 9 heavily implies that [[spoiler:Langa performs at his peak when he's driven by [[FourLoves love and affection]], and he only reaches his full potential in the episode after a watching Reki screams his name as he begins to falter down a course]].

* PseudoRomanticFriendship: Between Reki and Langa, whose friendship has a romantic aspect to it from early on, to the point that it seems like they're on the precipice of something before Reki suddenly expresses romantic interest in a girl in episode 5 (and is promptly rejected). Episode 8 heavily implies that Langa has an out-and-out crush on Reki by his gasping, blushing and averting his eyes when his mom asks if he 'likes' the person he broke a promise with (his mom clarifies she meant the romantic insinuation, though assumes it's a girl, and Langa only questions the gender in confusion). Late series on Reki's side, it's a [[AmbiguouslyBi little more]] [[ButNotTooBi ambiguous]], but the animation seems to [[CrushBlush imply things]].

* RealMenCook: Joe runs a restaurant as head chef in his civilian guise. Langa also apparently cooks for his mom whenever she comes home late after work.
* RealMenWearPink: In his daily life, Shadow works in a flower shop and is well-known among his customers for being sweet and adorable, at least on the surface. He also drives a pink car with flower decals for his job.

* RoseHairedSweetie: Subverted for Cherry Blossom. He appears to be a nice, gentle person, but he can be exceptionally acerbic whenever someone pushes him the wrong way (usually that person being Joe).

* SecurityCling: Reki purposefully parodies this with Langa in the beach episode. A subtle point of ShipTease seems to be their holding onto each other a fraction longer than necessary.

* ShipTease: Like many SportsAnime that focus on a pair of protagonists, one of the biggest focuses in the series is on Reki and Langa's growing friendship and conflicts, but unlike many, [=SK8=] seems to ''very'' deliberately ship tease the two, whether it's Reki's tendency to be a CuddleBug and admiring towards Langa, or Langa's tendency to seek Reki out even at his own detriment and occasionally even (subtly) blush around him. The pair's writing can at times fit in with romance-oriented series', such as their MeetCute-style first meeting, and a RescueRomance-style catch while they're on the run from hijinks. The likelihood of deliberate ship tease is elevated after episode 8 and 9 heavily imply that Langa has a crush on Reki, and his mother not so subtly thinks their falling out is just a romantic quarrel with a girl (until he clarifies later).
** Exclusive to the English-language dub, Joe and Cherry get more explicitly flirty lines in several of their (less frequent) appearances, such as Joe going "You're cute, but..." when faced with Cherry's demonstration of the Love Hug (against him). In episode 8, Langa's highly implied crush-betraying gasp sounds a little more panicked, as well. This isn't helped by the fact that, at least in English, it's rare for someone to ask another "You like this person, right?" in a conversation like theirs outside of a romantic context.

* SignatureMove: Adam's "Love Hug".
* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: Cherry Blossom wears glasses in his daily life and is the CEO of an AI company. He also has quite the encyclopedic knowledge on skating, as well as snowboarding.
* TheStoic: Tadashi is a straight-laced, emotionless man who consistently has a tired look on his face. Compared to the more lively personalities within the series, he looks downright somber next to them.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Skateboarding and snowboarding, no matter their similarities, are fundamentally different sports. At the beginning, Langa trying to treat them as the same due to snowboarding for as long as he can remember causes him to wipe out as Reki trains him. While his background in snowboarding does help him adjust to skateboarding, he only gets better after he learns that different techniques need to be applied to skateboarding in order to do it well.

* TechnicianVSPerformer: Cherry Blossom prefers using precise calculations and measurements to ensure his best chances of winning, unlike Joe, who prefers using tricks. The downside to this is that this makes Cherry's skating incredibly predictable, as Adam points out in episode 9.
** Also seen in Reki and Langa. Langa has a lot of natural talent while Reki knows more about skateboards. During [[spoiler: his second race against Adam]] he uses his knowledge of wheels and weather predictions to [[spoiler: almost win.]]

* UnderdogsNeverLose: Unfortunately, this is averted for Reki after he challenges Adam to a race for trash-talking his new friend Miya.

* VillainRespect: Adam arrives with nothing but cold derision for Miya, but expresses clear admiration for Langa's skills and unpredictability.

* WalkingShirtlessScene: Joe skateboards with an open shirt, owing to his nickname as the "strongest six-pack skater."
* WallPinOfLove: Adam does an over-the-top variation of the ''kabe-don'' during a sharp turn where he throws Reki against the ground and leans forward, looming over him, which, given his "love" theme and thirst for sadism, is nothing less than suitable for him.

* WillTheyOrWontThey: Langa and Reki by later episodes of season 1. With Langa's feelings being somewhere between near-textual and textual, Reki blushing heavily around Langa by episode 10, their relationship writing following the path that many romance-oriented series' do, [[spoiler:and Adam now trying to rope Reki into his "wedding" beef plot so as to get Langa's attention]], it's to be seen whether the romantic undertone of their relationship will be addressed in any clearer fashion.
** [[spoiler:They're left at ShipTease, with subtle dialogue on Langa's side that Reki is his ImpliedLoveInterest]].
* TheWorfEffect:
** In the first four episodes, Reki has only raced twice and lost both times, both instances only to demonstrate how powerful his opponents are.
** Shadow gets beaten by the new skater "Snake" ([[spoiler:who's actually Tadashi in disguise]]) in the eighth episode by a landslide.

* YouAreNotAlone: Joe essentially says this to Cherry after he, [[spoiler:heavily-injured]], falls asleep in his restaurant in the after-credit scene of episode 9.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Reki often calls Shadow "old man" whenever he and his friends need a ride. Shadow continuously has to state that he's 24.

* YouAreNotAlone: Joe essentially says this to Cherry after he, [[spoiler:heavily-injured]], falls asleep in his restaurant in the after-credit scene of episode 9.
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Reki often calls Shadow "old man" whenever he and his friends need a ride. Shadow continuously has to state that he's 24.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Many of the main characters have bright hair colors:

* BeautyMark: Tadashi has a single mole underneath his right eye.

* RomanticTwoGirlFriendship: GenderInverted with Reki and Langa, whose friendship has a romantic aspect to it from early on, to the point that it seems like they're on the precipice of something before Reki suddenly expresses romantic interest in a girl in episode 5 (and is promptly rejected). Episode 8 heavily implies that Langa has an out-and-out crush on Reki by his gasping, blushing and averting his eyes when his mom asks if he 'likes' the person he broke a promise with (his mom clarifies she meant the romantic insinuation, though assumes it's a girl, and Langa only questions the gender in confusion). Late series on Reki's side, it's a [[AmbiguouslyBi little more]] [[ButNotTooBi ambiguous]], but the animation seems to [[CrushBlush imply things]].

* AnimalMotifs: Miya resembles a cat with his sly personality and cat-themed outfit.

* InstantExpert: Played straight and then subverted. In his first race, Langa is able to best Shadow despite having no experience in skateboarding, though this is justified when it's revealed that he snowboarded during his childhood. The very next day, however, he crashes and burns nearly every single time he tries to get on the skateboard, leading to Reki having to teach him all of the basics. Though it's downplayed soon enough when Langa's able to do an ollie after two weeks of learning... only for him to fall on his face again.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Shadow humiliates the girlfriend of the opponent at the very beginning of the series, which leads her to dump said opponent...and that opponent [[spoiler:comes back near the end of the series looking to exact revenge, initially targetting Shadow's crush but then beating Shadow up instead]].
* {{Leitmotif}}: Beethoven's 5th Symphony in C Minor pops up whenever Adam is really relishing his enjoyment with someone (usually Langa).

* MrFanservice: InUniverse, Joe is named "the strongest six-pack skater", known for two things: his strength and his abs. His S outfit features him in an open jacket that shows off his marvelously toned upper body. Outside of that, he dresses in a more conservative fashion in his daily life.

* NiceMeanAndInBetween: Kojiro's the nice, Kaoru's the "in-between," and Ainosuke (Adam) is the mean...nowadays.

* OneDialogueTwoConversations: In the preview for episode 5, Langa and Adam seemingly have a conversation where Adam promises to "love" him sweetly and warns him he may use bondage if necessary. Langa gives responses that suggest he's more than open towards the idea -- except it turns out that he's not even having the conversation with him. In a Chill Out comic that came with the 2nd DVD, it turns out Reki, Miya and Langa were having a camping trip at Crazy Rock and Adam was watching on his screens and pretending to be talking to Langa while Langa was requesting something to eat.

* RealMenCook: Joe runs a restaurant as head chef in his civilian guise.