History Characters / SK8TheInfinity

* CharClone: While he has dark hair, Ainosuke goes by the RedBaron nickname of Adam, wears a red suit in that persona, and notably wears a mask, all while pulling imposing moves on his skateboard. He also UsedToBeASweetKid and is, in current time, wrapped up in a lot of fantastical ideas. [[spoiler:By the end of the series, he's "switched sides," so to speak, although he's TheFriendNobodyLikes and still seems very willing to engage in schemes in his every day life.]] He's also very...[[spoiler:murdery]], in the last episodes. Not to mention a known {{Jerkass}} throughout.

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TakumaNagatsuka (Japanese), Ry [=McKeand=] (English)

* GutturalGrowler: This is played up even more in his English dubbed voice where he sounds like he's growling when he's excited or angry.

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Arisa Sekine (Japanese), Ciarán Strange (English)

* LovingAShadow: He seeks to find his "Eve" through potential skating partners, and when he's convinced that Langa would be his Eve, Adam [[JustForPun adamantly]] chases after this idea of Langa. In a complicated sort of way, [[spoiler:what Adam ''really'' wants is to have someone who can allow him to let his walls down and remind him of the fun he had when he first learned to skate. Something he recalls during his and Langa's final beef was skating with Tadashi when they were children, before he felt betrayed when Tadashi didn't stand up for him when his father burned his skateboard.]]

* BadassBaritone: His Japanese and English voices have him come across as this when he gets serious during his races at S.

* CombatPragmatist: This guy will use any trick in the book to get the upper hand, even going so far as to throw miniature bombs as his opponent. Cherry blossom remarks upon it at one point, calling SHADOW's methods vulgar.

[[folder:Kaoru Sakurayashiki (Cherry Blossom)]]
!!Kaoru Sakurayashiki (Cherry blossom)

One of the legends of S, Cherry blossom uses his AI board named "Carla" to calculate perilous turns and dangerous freeways. He is known for his AI calligraphy in his civilian guise.

* CherryBlossomGirl: GenderInvertedTrope: One of the kanji characters in his family name is "sakura" (cherry blossom) and his S alias is "Cherry blossom" [[GratuitousEnglish in English]]. Furthermore, he has pink hair, his birthday (March 27) is Cherry Blossom Day, and his overall motif consists of traditional Japanese imagery; outside of S, he's known as a master of calligraphy, which is a traditional Japanese art.

--> '''Voiced by:''' Arisa Sekine (Japanese), Ciarán Strange (English)

** EvenTheGuysWantHim: One of his male fans even declares, after SHADOW [[spoiler: defeats Harry in the quarter-finals]],
--->'''Groupie:''' I'm fallin' for ya, Daddy!
* PaperThinDisguise: SubvertedTrope: Reki, Langa, and Miya are easily able to figure out Shadow's true identity despite his attempts at hiding with thick make-up and glam-rock gear, down to even his workplace. Miya's only explanation is that it was "obvious."

* LogicalWeakness: Cherry skates down to the precise angle in his races no matter what, rarely taking chances or getting creative which Joe even points out. If Cherry can't clearly predict his opponents moves or how they'll react, this puts him in an incredibly vulnerable position. This kind of scenario is used against him during his race with Adam where [[spoiler: Adam takes his board and ''smashes'' it across Cherry's face mid race, leaving him with heavy enough injuries to send him to the hospital.]]

* CharClone: While he has dark hair, Ainosuke goes by the RedBaron nickname of Adam, wears a red suit in that persona, and notably wears a mask, all while pulling imposing moves on his skateboard. He also UsedToBeASweetKid and is, in current time, wrapped up in a lot of fantastical ideas. [[spoiler:By the end of the series, he's "switched sides," so to speak, although he's TheFriendNobodyLikes and still seems very willing to engage in schemes in his every day life.]]
** He's also very...[[spoiler:murdery]], in the last episodes. Not to mention a known {{Jerkass}} throughout.

* SignificantBirthdate: May 1st, or 5/1, can also be read as [[GoroawaseNumber go-i]], which sounds close to the Japanese word for love (恋, ''koi'').

* ChristmasCake: In the Cindereki drama cd, Miya claims that Cherry is getting on in years and would have a hard time landing a husband. Cherry responds by attacking Miya with calligraphy.

* CasualDangerDialog: When he first races against Reki, he calmly pulls the teen in as the two go up a corner pipe and then ''pins'' Reki to the ground while clearly enjoying his opponent screaming in pain.

%%
Character sheet for ''Anime/{{Sk8 the Infinity}}''. Due to [[Administrivia/HandlingSpoilers wiki policy]], trope names are unmarked and may spoil.

[[foldercontrol]]
!!Main Characters

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TasukuHatanaka (Japanese), Creator/MattShipman (English)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reki.png]]

Reki is a passionate skater and skateboard creator that lives and breathes S. Despite that, he knows his limits and is quite rational when it comes down to it. He trains Langa in the sport of skateboarding after seeing his potential during his first race.

* TheAce: Although it's not acknowledged by others aside from Langa [[spoiler:until late in the series]], ''Reki.'' He designs, configures, and creates skateboards with his own tools and hands, something that needs both math skills and artistic talent, keeps track of the latest info for it, has very-well-honed analysis skills, [[spoiler:and once he finally gets over his block regarding skateboarding, he ''rocks'' it, utilizing his own expertise and instincts while doing so]].
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Combined with CantCatchUp, this is how he feels about Langa in episodes 7-9 and most of 10 and one of the reasons behind their fallout. He feels like he's overshadowed by him in terms of talent and recognition, that he is only remembered as a "nobody" compared to Langa, and that he'll be left behind and [[spoiler:unable to regain equal footing so that they could continue to skate together]].
* AmbiguouslyBi: Unlike Langa, it's not direct, but goes by subtext. He's shown to be interested in a girl in episode 6, blushing heavily around her. [[spoiler:In episode 10, once they finally make up]], he gets flustered and blushes very heavily after Langa pays him a series of sincere compliments.
** Lampshaded in a ''[=SK8=]: Chill Out'' comic, as after Reki fails to get the attention of the girl in it, Langa's shown reminiscing their first meeting and musing, "Was he hitting on me...?"
* AngerBornOfWorry: He gets frustrated with Langa not only advancing faster than he ever could, but also because he knows how dangerous Adam is as he takes a keen interest in Langa. He had a friend in the past who ended up quitting skating after sustaining a heavy injury and doesn't want to see the same happen to Langa.
* AnimalMotifs: Miya refers to him as a "dog" and in the spin-off manga, Reki is likened to a dog in Langa's head.
* AnimeHair: Has spiky, bright red hair that makes him very easy to point out in crowds.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis:
** He can analyze people's skating techniques in a heartbeat, allowing him to customize and ticker their boards to fit their style.
** Episode 11 is the first occasion where he uses this ability for himself, when he's suddenly summoned to face Adam in the place of Shadow in their semi-final beef, Reki notices the weather is shifting and replaces the wheels of his skateboard with deeper grooved ones, more akin to car tires, that allow his to have better traction in the rain and mud; this works phenomenally in his favor. He's also the only other character [[spoiler: to pull off Adam's Love Hug technique.]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: Toward Miya. He defends Miya from Adam when the latter tries tearing down the younger boy's self-esteem.
* BigDamnReunion: In episode 10 after he and Langa have been separated for at least a month, Reki realizes what he really wants and seeks out Langa. It's in this moment the two awkwardly try to patch up their misunderstandings and coming to realize they want to skate with each other. They end their discussion with their handshake and laughing with one another.
* BlatantLies: He claims he's not afraid of ghosts, but the entire beach episode proves that he can't stand supernatural things.
* BoisterousWeakling: Reki is the case of the [[LoserProtagonist rare main character]] who falls into this. Because he cannot deal with his skills being insulted, he has a habit of challenging people above his paygrade. [[FailureHero He winds up losing every single race or challenge]] and this eventually does a massive number on his self-esteem.
* BookDumb: Tries to explain Japanese history to Langa, only to be corrected by Miya, a first-year middle schooler.
* BreakTheCutie: His already low self-esteem goes through a slow spiral after his one-sided match with Adam, and Reki finally snaps when his HiddenBadass friend Langa, who he respects and admires but feels inferior to, asks him if he doesn't find it thrilling to compete against someone like Adam, who purposefully heavily injured him.
* BrokenSmile: Throughout episode 7. Toward Langa, [[spoiler: around the time he finally admits he hasn't found pushing himself in skateboarding fun or exciting and fears Adam]].
* CantCatchUp: In episode 6, Reki becomes disheartened when he sees that Langa has adapted to skateboarding quickly and confides to Joe that he feels like he's being left behind. [[spoiler:This comes to a head in episode 7, where he breaks off his friendship with Langa after the latter wants to race against Adam, stating that geniuses should skate together and leave him behind.]]
* CannotSpitItOut: There's at least one instance in which Reki's inability to express something seems to contribute in the [[spoiler:breaking of his and Langa's friendship]].
* CannotTalkToWomen: Explicitly blushes and flusters when he tries asking a girl out in episode 6, only to fail. Interestingly, he actually has flustered movements when he [[ShipTease first meets Langa, and reciprocates a subtle blush]].
* {{Catchphrase}}: [[ShipTease Langa]], almost as much as often as the other calls for him.
** How he always goes on about how he love to skate just because it's fun [[spoiler: which ends up being something that helps Langa snap out of the "zone" in his final beef against Adam.]]
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Reki is shown to have aspects of this. Immediately after befriending his rival Miya, he challenges the most dangerous skater at S for his abusive language towards the middle schooler. However, this trope is unfortunately deconstructed.
* CoolTeacher: A rare version, where both characters are adolescent peers. [[spoiler:Langa candidly acknowledges that Reki was his teacher and a great one in episode 10, and Reki looks happy at the acknowledgment]].
* CrushBlush: There's a point in the series where he has this for a girl he's explicitly pointed out to find attractive, and there are several points toward Langa in which he blushes subtly or not-so-subtly (see LuminescentBlush) that could count, including during their MeetCute.
* CuddleBug: Physical affection seems to be his thing, particularly [[ShipTease with Langa]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Only mentioned once so far, [[spoiler: but Reki had a friend he shared a similar friendship with as he does with Langa, but he was severely injured while skating. This fuels Reki's fear of seeing Langa get hurt by getting involved with skating against Adam.]]
* {{Determinator}}: His valor actually tends to hold up well outside skateboarding, such as the time where he risks his neck to save Langa from the cops on a motorbike. He doesn't give up after several losses and at first stays pretty determined to hone his skateboarding skills too, but is veered off course... [[spoiler:However, after getting his love of skateboarding back and getting through his fear of Adam, he basically ''skates'' on this, never backing down even after his instincts inform him of the moment Adam is about to ''murder'' (or at least seriously wreck) him.]]
* DiabolusExMachina: In his rematch with Adam, his skateboard breaks down [[spoiler:mere moments before he crosses the finish line, costing him the match]]. This is ''heavily'' downplayed, however, since he not only survived a match with an opponent that physically maimed his opponents and was aiming for him ''specifically'', his showing was incredibly impressive in itself and not only earned him the respect of the audience watching his match, but reignited his passion for skating. [[spoiler:Losing probably didn't even ''matter'' to him at that point.]]
* DidNotThinkThisThrough: While he has good intentions, he sometimes doesn't think his actions all the way through. Such as going up against skate-legend Adam without considering the consequences if he were to lose, which like others before him turned out to being sent to the hospital. Also when he's first teaching Langa how to skatehe forgets to teach him the other necessary basics like, how to ''turn'' or ''stop''.
* EleventhHourSuperpower: Reki pulls it together enough [[spoiler:in episode 11 to skate and leap off a cliff, soaring high in the air like Langa does in episode 1]], justified by his obvious and constant practice of every move he admired or was recommended throughout the series (and the power of anime).
* TheEngineer: One of his biggest strengths is not his skill in skating, but rather, his technical and creative mindset when creating boards for people. He often uses benign products from around the city to get ideas, which translates to his board spectacularly.
* ExpressiveAccessory: His headband has a cartoony face on it that will sometimes mirror his emotions.
* FamilyThemeNaming: He and his sisters' names all have to do with the sun; Koyomi (月日), Chihiro (千日), and Nanaka (七日) all have the kanji for "sun" (日) in their names, while the kanji for his own name (暦) also uses it as a radical.
* FailureHero: He never manages to stand up against Adam for Miya, though Miya himself didn't care about that as much as Reki's friendship.
* FieryRedhead: While he's not that quick-tempered, he doesn't back down and challenges those he disagrees with without hesitation.
* FirstFriend: He ends up becoming this to Langa, as the latter never had that many friends in Canada.
* FloralMotifs: Hibiscus, which means "new love" or "delicate beauty", in hanakotoba (flower language). Hibiscus bushes grow outside the Kyan residence, with the camera zooming in on them when Reki asks Langa not to skate with Adam. During the beach trip, Reki's trunks are also shown to have hibiscus printed on them.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** When Oka asks if Reki can really work with his arm bandaged up, he brushes it off and replies that he's fine. Oka then points out that whenever he says he's fine, [[BlatantLies he really isn't]]. This later comes into play as [[spoiler: Reki starts feeling like Langa is leaving him behind as he becomes a pro and celebrity at S while he's only known as "the guy who's with Snow" and the two then have a falling out.]] Whenever Langa asked him beforehand if he was okay, Reki would slap on a smile and pretend nothing was wrong.
** His complex over his skills is also hinted at in the same conversation with Reki saying it was all his fault he lost since he sucked. So once Miya and Shadow start to point out how he wasn't that skilled along with Langa rapidly surpassing him, Reki starts to spiral down harder and [[spoiler: even breaks off his friendship with Langa.]]
* GadgeteerGenius: He's essentially the one who helps Langa continue to skateboard in his now-signature style; if Reki hadn't adapted Langa's skateboard towards it, Langa would've likely had to adjust his methods further, and taken a much longer time to figure skateboarding for himself out.
* 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.
* HasAType: He seems to be attracted to pretty and elegant looks, as at least two people he's shown directly blushing around have such looks.
* TheHeart: Brings warmth and humor to the cast. Has a habit of stressing over Langa's troubles and more impulsive decisions, typically for his sake, and has no qualms saying it.
* HeroicBSOD: After his fight against Adam, he shows a number of PTSD symptoms, including turbulently waking up from a dream in which Langa is endangered.
* HeroicSecondWind: During his match with Adam, Reki is completely demoralized after it's made clear how horribly outclassed he is. Then he recalls Langa's words before the match, and finds the HeroicResolve to finally pull off the trick he'd prepared. Unfortunately for him, it is immediately [[HopeSpot subverted]].
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: He loves skating and "S", but his repeated failures have clearly taken their toll on his self-esteem, and he clearly tells Manager Oka his losses are his own fault because he "sucks."
* HiddenDepths: Reki can draw realistically, since the sketchbook Langa was holding when going through designs for his skateboard was Reki's. It's likely he just prefers the more cartoony style of his drawings.
* HotBlooded: While he doesn't necessarily ''run'' on hotbloodedness, as he can be rather easygoing and reacts cautiously when he's aware of any danger, he's quick to respond to anyone who dares to mess with him or the people he loves..
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Despite being well liked in school, he doesn't have that many close friends, [[spoiler: with his last friend giving up skateboarding altogether after he sustained heavy injuries.]] Reki desperately wants someone he can share his passion with. Luckily, Langa comes along. In the manga [=Sk8=] Chill Out, he's so intense in his attempts to make a friend out of Langa he practically showers the other will all of the skateboarding knowledge he has.
* ItRunsInTheFamily: He likely gets his cheerful attitude from his mom.
* JackOfAllTrades: ''Reki.'' He designs, configures, and creates his own skateboards, ''and'' has skateboarding skills, [[spoiler:and when he finally gets through his skateboarding block, he kills it, leaving Adam in the dust.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: "Seize the Moment" usually plays for Reki, like when he gets pumped up during a race. [[spoiler: Especially during his second beef against Adam where he decides to jump a cliff because it was something Langa would do. And he ''succeeds''.]]
* LoserProtagonist: Despite being well-liked for a while beforehand, he's treated as such by a good many people in S after Langa rises in prominence, though friends like Langa and Miya disagree.
** He finally proves himself and changes the opinions of the members of S on him [[spoiler:when he nearly defeats Adam in Episode 11, where even though Adam won the race, everyone was cheering Reki's name]].
* LuminescentBlush: He blushes very heavily after Langa tells him a series of genuine compliments.
* MadeOfIron: He can take quite a fall and beating throughout the entire series and still manages to get back up. In his second rematch with Adam [[spoiler: he gets thrown, spun, dragged around, scraped against the wall, punched and falls at the end of the race when his board breaks,]] but still manages to laugh about it afterwards.
* MotorMouth: Once he gets talking there's very little that can make him shut up, especially if it's about skateboarding.
* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Reki is the rare protagonist who falls into this camp. Coinciding with his [[OverShadowedByAwesome complex]] over not being able to keep up with Snow, he's notably the only main character without [[RedBaron a signature nickname]] [[spoiler:until he boasts "It's REKI!"]] at the end of the series. In episode 7, Shadow and Miwa rather insensitively joke that Reki is known in S as "the guy who hangs around/the groupie of" Snow rather as an actual peer and skater in his own right.
* NiceGuy: Reki notices right away that Langa is spaced out and disconnected, and is eager to befriend him when they run into each other in the street. Likewise, despite Miya's disrespectful attitude, Reki steps in to defend him from Adam.
* NonUniformUniform: He wears a hoodie under his school uniform.
* NotAfraidToDie: He seems instinctively aware of the moment [[spoiler:his opponent, Adam,]] attempts to kill him, but this doesn't shake him as he dodges ''just'' in time, with his {{Determinator}} tendencies reaching their full heights. Yes, this is a skateboarding anime.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Whenever Reki gets unnaturally quiet, this is usually a sign that something is off. His sister mother noticed his strange attitude after he and Langa fight. When the eldest sister Koyomi calls him dumb, he dazedly replies with "thank you", leaving even his grandmother stunned. You can also tell Reki is out of it when he's not wearing his headband.
* OverlyLongName: Not his own name, but his creations. Such as Langa's board which he initially named, "Reki Royal Straight Prince-Maru".
* OvershadowedByAwesome: Episode 4 highlights part of his trouble early on--Langa is still in 'top form', having been snowboarding for 15 years, while Miya is very specifically aiming for championship-level competitions, tailoring his diet and training around it, and the adults all have their own specific niche and workouts. Reki loves to skateboard, but he's not ''trying'' to be a pro, and seems to have some hang-ups regarding the past, too.
* PerformanceAnxiety: Reki seems more prone to anxiety over skateboarding than the rest of the cast. It's rooted possibly in part to [[spoiler:what happened to his friend]], currently exacerbated by his reaction to his match with Adam, as well as accumulated losses against known pros.
* ThePollyanna: Almost always bright and cheerful, and quick to bounce back from his troubles. Mixed with StepfordSmiler, as he seems to have low self-esteem and insists he's fine even when it's obvious he isn't. In episode 11, he's finally focused on enjoying the thrills skateboarding has to offer even after [[spoiler:Adam tries killing him, yelling after having collapsed at the very end that "Skating is super fun after all!"]]
* PostVictoryCollapse: Deconstructed. [[spoiler:In his rematch against Adam, Reki doesn't win, but everyone treats him like he did, and after he collapses he starts laughing happily over having gotten his love for skateboarding back.]]
* PrimaryColorChampion: Has bright red hair, a blue headband, and amber eyes, and is also often seen wearing a yellow hoodie.
* ThePromise: He has Langa promise him to be a little less reckless when he skates and eventually has him promise to not go up against Adam for fear he would get hurt. [[spoiler: Langa doesn't end up holding his end of the promise.]]
* PyrrhicVictory: Completely inverted in his rematch against Adam in Episode 11. [[spoiler:While he does lose]], he comes out almost completely unscathed, avoided all of Adam's attempts to break him physically and mentally, and refound his passion for skating. [[spoiler:Adam, on the other hand, ended up beaten down and humiliated.]]
* RedOniBlueOni: The red oni to Langa's blue oni.
* RespectedByTheRespected: While Langa has gotten much recognition and admiration in S within a few months, it's largely because of Reki and his versatile skills that Langa begins skateboarding, and in a big way, [[spoiler:it's Reki who he really wants to skate with and impress]].
* SatelliteCharacter: PlayedForDrama. [[spoiler:InUniverse, by the time Langa is a known name in S for his prodigal skills, Reki is by comparison seen as nothing but "that guy who hangs around Snow", which frustrates him.]]
* SayMyName: Whenever Langa is racing, Reki usually screams his name as he cheers him on. In Episode 9, Reki belts out a loud "Langa" in an attempt to motivate him to not give up in his race against Joe.
** In Episode 11, everyone at S chants his name after he survives against, shows up, [[spoiler:and nearly beats]] Adam in a beef and finally earns their respect.
** In Episode 12, he runs to the finish line as Langa and Adam are coming up and screams Langa's name. [[spoiler: Langa ends up winning against Adam by a small margin and [[TheGlomp happily tackles Reki]] with a hug once he sees him at the end.]]
* SecretHandshake: He and Langa bump fists with each other and after episode 10 [[spoiler: they've added in an infinity symbol.]]
* SelfDeprecation: At the start of the series, Reki will occasionally talk about how much he sucks in terms of skills and realizes how far behind he is [[CantCatchUp compared to the other S skaters]]. It starts getting worse around episode 7 where he can't help but compare himself to Langa and hates that he can't keep up with him. This ends with Reki [[spoiler: severing his friendship with Langa and falling down a depressive spiral for the next few episodes.]]
* SignificantBirthdate: Reki is born on August 8, or 8/8, a nod to the title of the series.
* TheSmartGuy: Reki's one who pays attention to Langa's skateboarding techniques to craft a skateboard fit uniquely for him, is able to analyze techniques by others' to their precise detail, and [[spoiler:in his rematch against Adam, he strategizes based on weather conditions and takes all his analysis of friends and foes alike to leave a tripped-up Adam scrambling.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: Had Reki not gotten the wrong skateboard that night, Langa likely wouldn't have decided to try skateboarding in that moment and soon become a revered figure in S, as well as gaining back his love for something similar to snowboarding since his father's death.
* SupportingProtagonist: He's the main viewpoint character, but the show's development is focused in Langa, and the beef and conflict [[BigBad Adam]] has is with Langa, not Reki. Reki himself is aware that he's quickly becoming just the dude who hangs out with Langa, which frustrates him, and while he takes steps to shake off his percieved irrelevance, the core of the plot and climax is ultimately still between Langa and Adam.
* TalentedButTrained: Reki exemplifies this trope--he's skilled at gadgeteering and analysis. Throughout the series, he shows he's able to quickly pick up on certain skating maneuvers from others, too, but is very clumsy with them, and never quite gets to the point of using them efficiently. [[spoiler:This is all until his rematch with Adam, in which he displays everything he has in his bag, so to speak, ''spectacularly.'']]
* TearsOfJoy: After a talk with Tadashi, Reki [[spoiler:unintentionally remembers what it is he loves about skateboarding]], crying these sort of tears.
* TookALevelInBadass: Basically what happens in his rematch with Adam in Episode 11. Not only does he do ''much'' better this time, [[spoiler:he almost wins and probably would have if his board didn't [[DiabolusExMachina break right before the finish line]]]]. He also comes out almost completely unscathed, having either countered or avoided Adam's attempts to physically hurt him during the match. Not only does he regain his passion for skateboarding, but he also managed to earn the respect of the other skaters in "S" for [[spoiler:being the closest person to beating [[TheAce Adam]]]].
* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening: Subverted for Reki, as when he attempts to get his HeroicSecondWind during his early match against Adam, he's cut off and never recovers from it.
* UnlimitedWardrobe: Amongst most of the cast, Reki is the one who changes outfits the most in a given episode. He apparently makes his own clothes and has hoodies in multiple colors. The staff said that this was so the audience could tell the passage of time when Reki was teaching Langa how to skate.
* TheUnreveal: There are several instances within the original Japanese where Reki trails off on ''something'' regarding Langa.
--> '''Reki:''' Don't you know just how much I...
* WhatWouldXDo: When in a desperate corner, Reki gathers the courage to try out a whole new, extremely risky stunt after asking himself what Langa would do.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: He has a fear of ghosts, which is exacerbated during their hot springs trip.
* 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.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Challenges Adam without hesitation, as anyone would expect TheHero to do, despite Adam being an undefeated LivingLegend, and works tirelessly to improve before their match. Instead of managing to pull an [[UnderdogsNeverLose unexpected victory]], Reki is played with, crushed, and sent straight to the hospital.

[[folder:Langa Hasegawa (SNOW)]]
!!Langa Hasegawa (SNOW)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ChiakiKobayashi (Japanese), Creator/HowardWang (English)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/langa.png]]

A half-Canadian transfer student who recently moved to Okinawa with his mother, Langa unexpectedly gets into the world of S when he's forced to skate for one of Reki's clients. Despite not knowing anything about the sport, he shows an innate talent that immediately piques the interest of many skaters.

* TheAce: Despite being a novice, Langa's skill with aerial tricks, unique approach to obstacles, and many years of honing snowboarding talent allows him to compete, and even surpass, far more experienced skaters. He hasn't lost yet.
* AfraidOfBlood: Played with. Since he would only get broken bones or bruises when he snowboards, it's likely he wasn't used to drawing blood when he falls. In episode 2 when he sees the cuts on his hands drew blood after bailing he quickly freaks out and passes out to Reki's shock.
* AmbiguouslyGay: Whenever Reki talks about girls or girls are brought up, he never seems to have a reaction above his usual stoic expression. Then in Episode 8, Langa asks for his mother’s advice regarding his falling out with Reki. She proceeds to give him more of love advice, flat-out asking if he ‘likes’ the person he’s referring to, which causes Langa to fluster before saying yes hesitantly. When his mother calls the person he’s talking about a “her,” confirming her question was with romantic connotations, instead of denying any romantic feelings, Langa merely goes, ”her?” confusing his mother. In the final episode, [[spoiler:he pretty much refers to [[ImpliedLoveInterest Reki as his "happiness"]]]].
* AmbiguousInnocence: Langa is so fixated on skateboarding that sometimes it's the only thing he notices.
** Langa enjoys his rivalry with Adam as it pushes him to reach a higher potential. He is unperturbed by Adam's cruel and predatory behavior upon their first meeting and is far more focused on the rumors surrounding his skills than his actions. Despite knowing Reki dislikes Adam and was heavily injured thanks to him, Langa is still oblivious to how much Reki is bothered that he thinks of him highly. In episode 7, Langa admits he wants to enter Adam's tournament for a chance to race him again, unaware how much his choice would hurt Reki as he had previously promised not to do so earlier.
** In episode 6, when he and Reki are being chased by the Paantu, he is amazed at how well one of them can ride a skateboard instead of fearing for his life.
* AmusingInjuries: Despite all of the hard bails that he takes early on when he's first learning to skate, it should be said that the way he goes through them is incredibly amusing as the bandages across his body and face start to wrack up.
* ApologizesALot: Since Langa is fairly polite, he tends to apologize a lot. Expect to hear a lot of "Sorry" said in the Canadian accent for the English dub.
--> '''Reki:''' (''asking about Langa's life in Canada'') Any pet phrases?\\
'''Langa:''' "Sorry".
* 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.
* BewareTheQuietOnes: Despite rarely saying much, he is very protective of those he cares for. One of the reasons he wanted to skate against Adam was likely due to the fact that he sent Reki to the hospital.
* BigDamnReunion: In episode 10 after he and Reki have been separated for at least a month, Reki seeks out Langa at the skating park to make up. It's in this moment the two awkwardly try to patch up their misunderstandings and coming to realize they want to skate with each other. They end their discussion with their handshake and laughing with one another.
* BigEater: A number of scenes imply this.
** He's shown drinking full cartons of milk during school lunch. Additionally, during Reki's explanation about S, Langa is more interested in Reki's lunch than S.
** In episode 4, Langa's shown with ''ten'' burgers during the A&W scene, with a waitress later bringing him an order of super poutine. Earlier in the same episode, Langa has a full bowl of ramen while Reki is finished with his, implying that Langa ordered seconds.
** His idea of a good pickup line, shown in episode 6, is, "Are you hungry?"
** In the epilogue of the final episode, he can be seen happily munching on a huge hamburger.
** In the spin-off manga "[=Sk8=] The Infinity: Chill Out" he apparently tried to make some money by participating in food challenges. This ended up backfiring on him.
--> '''Langa:''' I was searching for a job so I thought I'd do some big eater challenges. But I cleared it so many times they banned me...
* 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.]]
* BlueMeansCold: The "S" community starts to call him "Snow" because of his bright blue hair, blue board, and sick snowboarding tricks. He wears mostly blue and white as well.
* ButNotTooForeign: Langa is half-Japanese and half-Canadian. While he's fluent in Japanese, he's spent most of his life in Canada and is [[HeritageDisconnect out of touch with Japanese culture]] as a result.
* CanadaEh: Downplayed; Langa is half-Canadian and spent most of his childhood in Canada, but he doesn't display many Canadian stereotypes other than [[ApologizesALot apologizing a lot]], poutine being one of his favorite foods and being into snowboarding. In the dub, his voice actor pronounces "sorry" in a Canadian accent and peppers in the typical Canadian "eh" from time to time.
* CannotSpitItOut: Langa seems to have this problem around Reki pretty frequently. When his mom is giving him advice and tells him to be open about his emotions with this person, he blushes and quietly says that it was embarrassing.
* ChristianityIsCatholic: It's implied that he has a Christian upbringing. He performs the Sign of the Cross before using the toilets in episode 6.
* TheComicallySerious: Langa is expressionless by default, which makes for some laughs during any FunnyBackgroundEvent when he's only half-heartedly paying attention to any conversation at the forefront. It's played up the most during the first two episodes where he's just getting into skating but his expression never changing above a confused frown.
* TheConscience: Langa is basically placed in this role [[spoiler:by Tadashi for Ainosuke in the last episode, [[ThereAreNoTherapists despite being a teenager and having watched Adam attempt to possibly kill a friend and everything]]. Regardless of this, he seems to succeed at the end.]]
* CombatParkour: Langa's shown to make the most use of this, having to fight off the likes of FacelessGoons and [[TheDreaded Adam]], and usually doing that by slamming his skateboard against something and flipping into the air at precise times.
* CombatPragmatist: For most of his races, he makes use of the terrain around him to propel him into the air or give him a boost of speed whether that be a tree or a steel beam. The one time he uses his board for combat is when he jumps in the air to shield himself from some mooks trying to strike him.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: He has light blue hair and eyes.
* CrushBlush: His reaction when asked by his mom if he likes the person he broke a promise with is to gasp, blush and avert his gaze, basically cinching this toward Reki in all but explicit confirmation. He has a few other subtle (or a bit not-so-subtle) blushes around Reki that seem like they could fall under it as well, such as the time Reki calls him and his battle against Miya "even more awesome" than Reki's skateboard creation, and even his gawking one during their MeetCute.
* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Since he's been snowboarding every since he was two, he finds out that his old habits die hard. When still learning skateboarding he tried to stop his skateboard like a snowboard, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome only to send him flying face first into the street]]. This is especially apparent when Reki make a custom foot-clip for Langa since he doesn't feel comfortable not having his feet connected to his board. He keeps it on for most of the story until the finale.
* DeadpanSnarker: Extremely deadpan, though his snarkiness is downplayed compared to most examples.
* 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.]]
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Langa and Adam both take an interest in one another and are always keen to race one another. Adam is the undefeated champion of S, and Langa is a newby quickly rising in the ranks. Their first beef stops midway due to cop interference, leaving no concrete victor. In the final episode [[spoiler: Langa manages to beat Adam in their final beef.]]
* {{Deuteragonist}}: Despite being less evident in the trailers and promotional material than Reki, Langa absolutely steals the spotlight in the first episode and goes on to be the driving force of the story.
* DidNotThinkThisThrough: He tends to do whatever in the moment without thinking of the consequences. Such as having Reki push him down a hill without knowing how to stop properly on a skateboard, causing him to roll into the middle of a street and nearly get hit by an incoming truck.
* DisappearedDad: Langa's father, Oliver, died prior to him moving to Okinawa. His father's death greatly affected his passion for snowboarding.
* DistressedDude: Falls into this trope near the end of the Cindereki drama CD. [[spoiler:As he's about to skate with Cindereki back to the snow country, Adam appears out of nowhere and kidnaps him.]] The opening of the actual show also foreshadows something like this, with Reki running to save him as screens with projections of Langa disappear and are replaced by ADAM's grin. While nothing really comes out of it, Langa remains Adam's primary target for the entirety of the show [[spoiler:and by the end of episode 11, Adam's new goal is to have Langa fall together with him as his Eve]].
* ElementalMotifs: He's heavily associated with snow and ice, enough so that it looks like it's snowing in the tropics when he flies through the air. The S community even dubs his S name "SNOW", and talk about how his hair and eyes seems like snow in some forums.
* EmptyEyes: His memories after his father died left his eyes looking like this whenever he snowboarded, unable to feel happy about a sport he once shared with his father. This happens again when [[spoiler: he has his final race against Adam and gets into the "zone", where he's unable to feel anything or remember why he's skating at all. It takes falling and seeing Reki's board with the word "FUN" written over it for him to snap out of it.]]
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: After spending most of the first episode spaced out, Langa suddenly comes alive while plunging downhill, leading up to his absolutely fearless jump off a ramp over a storm of firecrackers.
* FailureMontage: Most of episode 2 shows Langa learning the basics of skateboarding and trying to master an ollie. It also shows plenty of scenes focusing on the fact that he falls over and bails hard.
* FanOfTheUnderdog: A lot of Langa's early enthusiasm for skateboarding comes from his admiration of Reki and his skills, even though Reki himself isn't aware of his own talents and doesn't actually get much respect among frequenters of S.
* FishOutOfWater: From moving to Okinawa and learning to skate. While he quickly adjusts to the latter, he still has troubles understanding Japanese culture, such as pronunciations of words and manners.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In the first episode before he goes off to help Reki deliver a client's board at S, he looks at a picture of his family. It shows Langa, his father and mother posing in the snow with a snowboard next to his father and child Langa holding a snowboard of his own. When he decides to give skating a try, he tapes his feet to the board like a snowboard and treats skatboarding like it's snowboarding.
* FriendlessBackground: It's implied that he didn't have that many friends even back in Canada as he always asked his father to be the one to snowboard with him. Once he moves to Japan Reki becomes his FirstFriend.
* GeniusDitz: Langa is incredibly athletic but Reki and even his own mom describe him to be pretty spacey. Most scenes when he's not paying attention to the conversation at hand, he's staring off into space.
* TheGlomp: [[spoiler: In episode 12, after beating Adam in their beef, Langa makes a beeline to Reki and leaps off his board to hug him, both falling to the ground in a heap.]]
* GoThroughMe: In episode 11, Langa [[spoiler:protects Reki by getting in front of him before Adam can do him harm, to Reki's surprised expression]].
* GratuitousEnglish: In the original dub, he will occasionally sprinkle English phrases into his conversations.
* GrinOfAudacity: When Adam is "dancing" with him and expects Langa to be terrified just as Reki was. However Langa instead sports an incredibly twisted grin on his face, indicating he's not terrified, but he's actually enjoying the ''[[ThrillSeeker thrill]]'' of it all to Adam's shock.
* HeritageDisconnect: Langa can speak Japanese fluently, but due to his Canadian upbringing, his writing and reading leave much to be desired. He also doesn't know {{Keigo}} very well and is often prompted by Reki's way of talking to speak politely.
* HiddenBadass: Doesn't seem like much more than a NaiveNewcomer at first, until the race with Shadow reveals him to be nothing short of a spectacular former snowboarder capable of stunning aerial tricks.
* HotBlooded: Downplayed. Despite his cool, usually stoic personality and apparent reservations, he still reacts very, ''very'' easily to challenges, and much like Reki, can be protective of the people he loves and cares about, though he might be less ''[[ObliviousToLove aware]]'' about it.
* IcyBlueEyes: Has bright turquoise eyes that look pale, icy blue under the harsh yellow lighting of "S".
* TheIllegible: His handwriting for Japanese characters leaves much to be desired, but it's justified since he hasn't studied that much Japanese, at least in terms of writing. It's likely because of his handwriting that Cherry even politely turned him away from applying to a ''calligraphy'' job.
* ImplausibleBoardingSkills: Reki admits Langa's probably the only one that could make his CoolBoard work.
* InappropriateHunger: He sometimes announces that he is hungry at the wrong times and Reki points out once that no one is similar to him in [[ObsessedWithFood his obsession with food.]]
* InnocentBlueEyes: He has light blue eyes and his attitude comes off as incredibly air-headed and innocent. He somehow didn't know much about skating until Reki came along, excitedly rushes towards the beach once he sees the ocean and [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers doesn't know what a love hotel is]].
* InnocentlyInsensitive: He doesn't realize how Reki is hiding his feelings of being left behind by the others since he's just "that guy who's with Snow" and Adam messing with him after their first race concluded. Even as he tries to talk to Reki about S and how far he's qualified just to hear Reki go back to his usual self. Langa doesn't seem to understand why this would upset Reki even more until he talks it out with a few of the adults.
* InstantExpert: Played with. Due to his experience in snowboarding ever since he was two, he picks up skating really quickly and a lot of the moves he ends up incorporating are also used in snowboarding. However, he does wipe out and mess up when he's still learning, and he does have to put in time and effort to get better. As time goes on, he's able to pick up other people's skills quickly, such as Adam's rail-slide which he only saw once.
* ItWasAGift: Once his board breaks [[spoiler: after racing against Joe, Langa is distraught and refuses to buy a new one as he claims, "It has to be this one". Joe then realizes the reason Langa is so attached to the board is because Reki made it for him.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: "Dimensions of the Wind" by ASH DA HERO. It plays exclusively during Langa's races, usually during intense moments where he's about to pull off incredible stunts or turn a disadvantageous situation into an advantageous one.
* LikeADuckTakesToWater: Despite being a complete newcomer and an awkward start, Langa takes to "S" with ease, to the point that he enchants the entire community.
* LogicalWeakness: At the start, he can't stop properly with his feet since they're taped to his board, and he's also unable to perform some tricks that require him to jump off of his board. Downplayed however, since he's so used to snowboarding, he just incorporates those skills into skateboarding.
* LuminescentBlush: After he realizes what drives his skateboarding, he has a soft blush as he laughs, indicating he's experiencing the same happiness he did as a child after a long time of feeling depressed.
* MadeOfIron: At the start when he's still learning to skate, he takes quite a few heavy bails but always manages to get back up afterwards.
* MementoMacGuffin: Several episodes after a [[spoiler:breakdown of his and Reki's friendship, he's heartbroken when the skateboard Reki gave him breaks, telling Joe "it has to be this one" when Joe suggests getting a new one. Joe smiles and tells him to go find Reki, afterwards. In the last two episodes, Reki helps salvage what parts he can, and seeing the board with "FUN" written on it is what saves Langa from certain death.]]
* MomentKiller: Inverted. Instead of Manager Oka, who pops up right after and possibly acts as a kind of wingman, he totally kills the moment for Reki when the latter is telling him he's willing to help pick out a skateboard for him....and blushing as he's about to finish the sentence.
* MommasBoy: He clearly cares for his mother as he tries to cook for her when she comes home from work and attempted to find a job so he could help support her.
* MultiEthnicName: His family name is Japanese while his given name isn't, reflecting his half-Japanese, half-Canadian heritage (though "Langa" [[AsLongAsItSoundsForeign is more commonly used as a last name in real life]]).
* NewcomerSavesTheDay: In the first episode, by taping himself to a skateboard and taking on Shadow without batting an eye.
* NewTransferStudent: Mixed with ForeignExchangeStudent. He's new to Japan and transfers into Reki's school, but still [[ButNotTooForeign half-Japanese]].
* NoSocialSkills: Communication is not Langa's strong point, as Reki and even his own mother have pointed out. When introducing himself to the class, Langa only briefly mentions his name and where he is from, when the class had expected him to say more.
* NotSoStoic: While his usual stoic attitude rarely phases, when it does it's usually when he's skating with Reki and the others.
* ObsessedWithFood: Any other scene when he's just relaxing, he's eating food or thinking about food, with Reki even lampshading it by saying that no one else but him thinks about food that much. In the manga spin off, he even attempted to do multiple food challenges to get money, but soon got banned because he finished so many in such a short time. He even thinks a good pick up line is asking the other if they were hungry.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Subverted. The initial reason he has to take on Dope Sketch was because he wanted a job to help support his mom. After a while, it's clear he's mainly staying because he's grown to love skating and being around Reki.
* PassThePopcorn: In episode 4, while Miya and Shadow are squabbling, Langa is shown enjoying his burger and poutine.
* PrinceCharming: Reki claims the girls at their school call Langa this, which he doesn't believe. Played straight in Cindereki where he's the Prince Charming to Cindereki's Cinderella.
* ThePromise: He promises Reki not to be as reckless when he skates, and especially to not go up against Adam. [[spoiler: He doesn't hold up to his promise, which is part of the reason for his falling out with Reki.]]
* TheQuietOne: In his first appearances at school, he doesn't talk much and gives the bare minimum effort required for conversations. He opens up later on because of Reki, but still prefers to let his actions speak louder.
* RedOniBlueOni: The blue oni to Reki's red oni.
* SecretHandshake: He and Reki bump fists with each other and after episode 10 [[spoiler: they added in an infinity symbol.]]
* SignatureMove: The Backside-Rodeo is a move he uses quite often, most of the time to give himself an aerial boost that helps him get ahead in a race. Reki has even described it as Langa flying with snow falling around him.
* SignificantBirthdate: Langa is born on February 8. February is in mid-winter, which goes with his ice theme, and the 8, like Reki's birthdate, is a nod to the title of the series.
* SkewedPriorities: After his and Reki's PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure, instead of being worried about passing the qualifiers, he's more concerned about why Reki isn't texting him back. In the finale he has two choices. [[spoiler: Avoid Adam falling out of the sky, or keep eating his burger?]] He choses his burger.
* {{Sleepyhead}}: If he's not eating or staring off into space, Langa seems to be able to nap about anywhere.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Had Langa not decided to be impulsive in that moment and offer to skate in Reki's place against Shadow, Langa wouldn't have ever gotten into skating and regained his love for something since his father's death.
* TheStoic: Rarely ever expresses emotion besides vague curiosity. [[NotSoStoic However, he starts showing subtle emotions like worry and sadness from time to time.]]
* StrongerThanTheyLook: He seems fairly slim, but before his beef with Miya he can easily hold his ground when Reki jumps on him with his full weight without so much as budging.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: He's a good mixture of both of his parents. While he shares his mother's facial features, he does have his father's eyes.
* StumbledIntoThePlot: After he's rejected as an applicant for a job at Kaoru's shop for being a minor, Langa picks up the skateboard that comes rolling straight at him, then after Reki demonstrates his prowess with it, he seems enarmored, and the rest is...''[=SK8=] The Infinity''.
* TalkingToTheDead: While he never really voices his words aloud, he does occasionally talk to his father's portrait, mainly to reassure him he's doing okay and how much he's grown to love skating.
* TechnicianVSPerformer: 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.]]
* TermsOfEndangerment: Adam will refer to him as either "Snow" or "Eve". In the dub he calls him "Snowball", "Snowbun", "Angel" or "Little Langa."
* ThrillSeeker: Unexpectedly, Langa seems to quite the adrenaline junkie. During his beef with Adam, while spinning madly around a turn at ridiculously fast speeds, he sports an extremely unnerving GrinOfAudacity.
** This is flipped on its head when episode 9 reveals that Langa performs at his best with the PowerOfLove, [[spoiler:and as his [[ShipTease close friendship]] with Reki comes crashing down on him, he begins to lose his stride.]]
** Played for laughs in the spin-off manga where Reki talks about how Shadow's cheap tricks are dangerous while Langa happily smiles saying that it was the best part of the race, to Reki's shock.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: In episode 4, he orders a large serving of poutine at [=A&W=]. In episode 5, he asks Joe if he can serve him poutine. He also seems to have an affinity for burgers.
* TragicIceCharacter: An icy young man who recently lost his father and his former passion for snowboarding, and is left adrift in a foreign country and a tropical environment that contrasts with his wintery motifs.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: In the manga "[=Sk8=] The Infinity: Chill Out" it shows Langa's perspective in the first episode where he actually sees Reki ''flying out'' of S because of Shadow's bombs. When his mom asks what's wrong he replies with a dull "Nothing".
* WhatIsThisFeeling: As Langa starts to enjoy skating even more, he describes it as his heart beating incredibly fast as he gets excited. However, as Reki starts to pull away from him after their PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure, he starts wondering why his heart isn't beating the way it used to and why he doesn't seem to be enjoying skating anymore. [[spoiler: Once he sees Reki shouting at him from the sidelines, he then realizes this feeling is him enjoying skating because Reki is there. Then when the two later reconcile Langa pretty much tells Reki that his heart only starts getting excited when he's beside him skating.]]
* WhenSheSmiles: He doesn't smile much at the start. The only times when he really brightens up is when he's skating or [[ShipTease when he's with Reki]].
* WorthyOpponent: Sees Adam as this, as he pushes Langa to not only perfect his skating skills, but also the limits to his abilities.
* XanatosSpeedChess: Part of why he succeeds in skateboarding isn't merely his evasion ability or air flips, but ability to think on his 'feet,' with a flexible mind that seems to plan for what's ahead and instinctively react at the same time.

[[folder:Miya Chinen (MIYA)]]
!!Miya Chinen (MIYA)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TakumaNagatsuka (Japanese), Ry [=McKeand=] (English)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miya.png]]

A first-year middle schooler with quite a cheeky streak, Miya is a contender for Japan's national team. Despite his confidence, he hides some deep insecurities from his childhood.

* AnimalEaredHeadband: He wears a cat-eared hoodie with his S costume.
* AnimalMotifs: His sly personality and the cat-themed outfit he wears for S make him resemble a cat. All his casual outfits, as well as his phone case and skateboard, feature cat heads somewhere on them. He also has a tendency to scratch people when he's angry.
* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Subverted. Miya is the smallest and youngest among his peers, but he is equal to or even better than some at skating.
* {{Blackmail}}: Point-blank tells Shadow to drive them to S or he'll tell on his manager about his secret skating persona.
* CatBoy: The overall theme of his S costume, which includes a hoodie with cat ears and a cat tail, as well as gloves with pink paw prints. He is also drawn with a cat-like appearance whenever he is being mischievous.
* ChildProdigy: Miya is already a contender for Japan's national skating team, despite only being in middle school.
* CombatPragmatist: Played with. He doesn't actually do any physical fighting, but he's very creative with his skating moves. He demonstrates for some interviewers some spins and even does a handstand on his board, able to quickly anticipate some bullies trying to sabotage him and land gracefully. When going against Langa, he performs his own version of a Railside, where he's riding the side of the board while his wheels propel him further.
* DeadpanSnarker: Especially towards Reki. He also has no problems with poking fun at Shadow and his main insults are [[RunningGag towards his age]] where he calls him an "[[OlderThanTheyLook old man]]".
* DefeatMeansFriendship: After Langa beats him, Miya quickly becomes part of the team, popping up to help Reki train for his beef against Adam.
* DeliberatelyCuteChild: He generally hates being babied and treated like a kid but he has no problem using his young and cute appearance to his advantage, like that time he cockblocked Joe by making himself look shorter and pretending to be Cherry and Joe's son (complete with a BlushSticker and PuppyDogEyes!) thus driving the girls clinging to Joe away.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: He doesn't like tomatoes.
* DontYouDarePityMe: Tries to talk Reki out of challenging Adam into a beef to make him apologize for looking down on Miya who tells him not to sympathize with him and that he's okay with Adam's words.
* EveryoneHasStandards: For as haughty and rude as he comes off, he never wants to see his opponents endanger their lives, such as his race with Langa where he worries that other is likely going to fall off the broken rails.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: He's the only other person besides Manager Oka that Sketchy overtly likes. In an episode preview when Reki is asking him questions with one being who's his type, Miya responds with his fondness for animals.
* TheGadfly: Doesn't mind messing with the others around him when given the opportunity. Whether it's blackmailing Shadow, pretending to be Joe's son so he can cockblock him from picking up girls or calling Cherry his "mom" and asking for the man to buy him a game, or repeatedly using "slime" to insult Reki.
* HairAntennae: He has two strands of hair at the top of his head that stick out.
* HiddenDepths: While his academics aren't brought up in the story, it can be implied by Reki's opening narration that Miya's "happiness" is to eventually get into a good school.
* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Due to his incredible skill at skateboarding, this has led the friends he had around his age to abandon him out of jealousy. He tries to wear a prideful persona and claims he doesn't need friends, but deep down he's incredibly lonely and just wants people who understand him. Luckily for him, Reki and Langa gladly become his friend.
* InopportuneVoiceCracking: Happens the most in the English dub where his voice cracks the most when he's stressed or angry.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: He's on somewhat friendly terms with Shadow, who's 24 years old, but is more friendly with Langa and Reki who are in high school while Miya is still in middle school.
* InsultOfEndearment: He calls Reki a "slime", which was an insult at the start. When they do become friends, this nickname becomes slightly more affectionate in Miya's own way.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's plenty cheeky and condescending towards those he considers below him in skill, but he lightens up significantly after Langa beats up and Reki defends him from Adam. He also gets worried for Reki [[spoiler:during his second race with Adam who doesn't hold back on beating the ever-living ''shit'' out of Reki every chance he gets.]]
* KickTheDog: His habit of calling Reki a "slime" and belittling his skills after beating him in an impromptu trick-off was the start of Reki's self-esteem taking a pounding. Even after the two had become friends, it becomes apparent that Miya's past insults still played a role in Reki's self-esteem taking a blow.
* LogicalWeakness: A ChildProdigy he may be, Miya is still a young teen, meaning he has little chance of victory when going up against more experienced and physically large adults like Adam or Snake who easily speed past him.
* LonelyAtTheTop: Miya explains that the more skilled he got, the 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.
* MouthyKid: Miya starts out as a BrattyHalfPint when he antagonizes Reki and Langa, but after Reki befriends him, he becomes more of a mouthy kid.
-->'''Reki''': Langa, go talk to her!
-->'''Langa:''' Why me?
-->'''Reki:''' You know, if it's me, they [girls] get cautious!
-->'''Miya''' (laughs mockingly): You know your place.
* ThePerilsOfBeingTheBest: Being a very talented skater and winning prizes made his peers become quite jealous of him and avoid him, giving him the TallPoppySyndrome treatment.
* PickyEater: When Reki shoves a hamburger in his mouth, he angrily fights back saying to not shove fatty food in his face. Justified as he tries to have a pretty strict diet as an athlete and even attempts to make a menu for Reki to prepare for his upcoming match with Adam.
* ThePrankster: Downplayed, however, he loves to play pranks on his friends from time to time like cockblocking Joe and replacing Reki's Cola with a healthy but nasty-tasting protein drink.
* SailorFuku: His middle school uniform is this.
* SecondaryColorNemesis: Compared to Reki, he wears greens and purples to contrast. Subverted when after Langa defeats him in a race, he's soon brought into the skate squad with Reki promising he won't leave him like his old friends did.
* SignatureMove: His Railslide which he changes so he's actually sliding down on the side of his board, causing himself to propel forward at a faster rate. He even teaches it to Reki for his race against Adam.
* SignificantBirthdate: February 22nd, which is [[AnimalMotifs Cat]] Day in Japan.
* SpeaksFluentAnimal: During the episode 3 dub preview, Miya claims he can talk to cats.
* SproutingEars: He occasionally sprouts cat ears and a cat tail for stylistic effect when he's being mischievous.
* TallPoppySyndrome: Miya became a victim of this. As his exceptional skating skills earned him recognition and awards at his school, he drifted apart from his "friends" who felt like they were [[CantCatchUp left behind by him]] and told him to "go get famous or something. [[ChildProdigy The hero]] can't party up with [[OvershadowedByAwesome slimes]]." He even {{Lampshade}}s this at the end of episode 3.
-->'''Miya:''' "The better you become... They [true friends] all disappear in the end anyway."
* {{Tsundere}}: Most obviously towards Reki. Miya will occasionally tease him about his relative lack of skating skills or call him a [[CuteSlimeMook "slime"]], but he also tries to help Reki whenever he can, such as preparing a practice menu for him before his beef with Adam (who Reki had challenged in order to defend Miya) or proposing to visit a hot spring to help heal Reki's injuries.
* WhenSheSmiles: At the end of Episode 3, when he realizes that Reki and Langa are serious about wanting to be his friends.
* TearsOfJoy: Miya keeps tearing up every time he realizes Reki is okay and doing well during [[spoiler:his rematch against Adam]].
* TookALevelInIdealism: He was very cynical about friendships and {{Pride}}ful at the beginning, belittling Langa and Reki's whole PowerOfFriendship thing they got going on, to the point where Reki and Langa's bonding moments piss him off enough to make his winning bet ''against Langa'' involves ''Reki'' [[WagerSlave getting humiliated]] [[{{JerkASS}} just because they are friends]]. But he becomes noticeably less cynical [[ATasteOfDefeat after his defeat at Langa's hands]], and befriends them as a part of his CharacterDevelopment.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: Downplayed. Adam had an interest in Miya due to the boy's skills at skating and hoped to cultivate those skills. However, once Langa appeared at S, Adam uses Miya to lure him back when he doesn't make a reappearance for two weeks. Once Miya ends up losing his beef against Langa, Adam is quick to dish out sniping remarks on why Miya is always left alone and pretty much points out how disposable he was. Miya is visibly trembling at these words, and Adam then shifts his full attention to Langa. Although Adam does admit that once Miya gets older he'd "love him" the same as all of his other skating partners he takes an interest in.

[[folder:Hiromi Higa (SHADOW)]]
!!Hiromi Higa (SHADOW)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KentaMiyake (Japanese), Creator/ChrisGuerrero (English)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shadow_8.png]]

A brash skateboarder who loves winning, Shadow's known as the "anti-hero of S" for his dirty tricks and overall unpleasant personality. In his civilian guise, he's a florist who's known for his gentle personality.
----
* AlliterativeName: '''Hi'''romi '''Hi'''ga.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: [[spoiler: In the credits of the final episode, just as he's about to finally ask his manager out on a date, her boyfriend rolls up in his car to greet her. He [[DramaticDrop drops the bouquet he was carrying]] in shock, and the scene cuts to him skating at S while barely holding back tears.]]
* AmbiguouslyBi: At the very end of the series, [[spoiler:once Shadow goes through a montage of heartbreak after learning that the manager he'd been crushing on throughout the series already had a boyfriend, there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it frame of him happily proferring an entire pot of peony flowers to ''Manager Oka,'' who awkardly has his hands up to make space between them while smiling. As these parts of the ending are voiceless, it's ambiguous whether he's gotten over her and being a professional, or HasAType]].
* BigBrotherInstinct: He doesn't like to admit it, but he does look after the younger ones in their group. When he hears Langa, Reki and Miya's stomach grumbling after skating for a long time, he immediately tries to order four bowls of ramen at Joe's restaurant.
* ButtMonkey: Expect him to be the butt of every joke in the series, even in the ending song. In the final episode he isn't spared this fate as it's revealed [[spoiler: his manager who he's been pining after and finally worked up the courage to ask out on a date already has a boyfriend.]]
* CallingYourAttacks: He has a tendency to call out his skateboarding tricks, all of which are [[FloralThemeNaming flower-themed]].
* CantHoldHisLiquor: If the beach episode is any confirmation, all it takes for him to get drunk is one cup of sake.
* CardCarryingJerkass: In the first episode he pulls moves like calling a girl something incredibly insulting and burning Reki's skateboard alongside his usual tricks, and flaunts all of it, calling himself the 'anti-hero' of S. He even has to explain to Miya after he's pulled into their friend group what the difference between what he and Adam does is. As the series goes on he drops most of his worst moves, but occasionally still plays rough. It still comes back to bite him, though.
* CombatPragmatist: This guy will use any trick in the book to get the upper hand, even going so far as to throw miniature bombs as his opponent. Cherry blossom remarks upon it at one point, calling SHADOW's methods vulgar.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: It takes a few episode, but after his defeat against Langa, SHADOW quickly gets roped into becoming the kids' chauffeur from/to Crazy Rock and then dragged into babysitting them on their beach trip to Miyakojima.
* DoggedNiceGuy: Shadow has a huge crush on his manager and goes the extra mile to help her at his job.
* EasilyForgiven: He breaks Reki's arm and burnt his skateboard after their beef, even wondering sadistically if they'll get a rematch so he can break his other arm. When Langa races against Miya, Reki seems to have dropped all animosity towards Shadow, leading him to become the groups chauffeur and ButtMonkey.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Despite playing up being a heel and using cheap tricks, Shadow is clearly disgusted when ADAM resorts to straight-up assaulting Cherry in Epiosde 9 during their beef.
* FieryRedhead: He's red-headed with a hot-blooded personality to match.
* FloralThemeNaming: The various tricks he uses against his opponents (Haemanthus Bomb, Gladiolous Laser, Violet Spider) are all named after flowers. It's later revealed that this is because he works as a florist during the day.
* GenderBlenderName: His given name is more often used for women.
* {{Heel}}: He comes off as this as the "anti-hero" of S, and is even dragged into the Sk8 group after Langa beats him.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: [[spoiler: In Episode 7, he tells Reki that the S community sees him as "that guy who's not SNOW", unknowingly touching on a very real insecurity that Reki has been wrestling with for the past few episodes––namely, that Reki isn't a good enough skater to stand at Langa's side.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite being quite brash and unpleasant, he's more than willing to help out Langa and Reki (albeit reluctantly) whenever they need a ride to S. He also lightens up on his unpleasant nature quite a bit after seeing Langa's potential.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Goads and insults a skater in episode 1 who he was supposed to challenge but ended up going against Langa who offered to go on the wrong board that Reki brought. Episode 10 is where [[spoiler: that same skater returns to hurt Shadow's manager with a metal bat, blaming Shadow for humiliating him and his girlfriend dumping him after that race and sending Shadow to the hospital.]]
* MaamShock: Shadow often retorts that he is 24 years old whenever Reki calls him "old man."
* MeanCharacterNiceActor: The Shadow persona he performs in "S" plays up being a Heel. In his actual everyday life, Hiromi Higa is rather laid back and works an assuming job as a florist. Even with his getting annoyed by Reki and Langa, he's considerably nicer outside of "S."
* NonGameplayElimination: Gets badly beaten up after work before his beef with Adam, causing him to drop out due to injuries. Notably unlike Cherry, who was able to attend the bonus beef in a wheelchair, Shadow remained hospitalized overnight.
* OnlyHasSameSexAdmirers: In the "S" community. While Joe and Cherry Blossom seem to have a lot of female fans, Shadow's groupies are shown to be all men.
** EvenTheGuysWantHim: One of his male fans even declares, after SHADOW [[spoiler: defeats Harry in the quarter-finals]],
--->'''Groupie:''' I'm fallin' for ya, Daddy!
* PaperThinDisguise: SubvertedTrope: Reki, Langa, and Miya are easily able to figure out Shadow's true identity despite his attempts at hiding with thick make-up and glam-rock gear, down to even his workplace. Miya's only explanation is that it was "obvious."
** However, although Shadow himself is well-disguised, his pink car is not. The car is property of the flower shop he works at, and has its name, "Tulip", printed all over the sides. Shadow does put the effort into taping over the logo whenever he takes the car to Crazy Rock, but the name is still pretty visible, and the tulip decals aren't covered at all. A smart kid like Miya would easily be able to guess the name of the flower shop.
* RealMenWearPink: Despite being very brash as a skateboarder, he's a florist in his civilian life and is quite proud of it.
* RunningGag: The others, especially [[TheGadfly Miya]] referring to him as an old man will lead him to respond with an indignant "I'm only twenty-four!!"
* SecondaryColorNemesis: His S costume makes use of this, combining his orange hair with green eye makeup and magenta lipstick and accessories. Fitting for the "vulgar", "anti-heroic" persona he puts on when he skates.
* SecretIdentityVocalShift: When he's at his job he speaks in a higher pitched voice, whereas when he races he likely drops it to what's his actual tone of voice.
* SignatureMove: His "Hyacinths Bombs" which he throws at his opponents and "Gladiolus Laser" which he uses to blind them.
* SignificantBirthdate: September 14th, meaning that Shadow is a Virgo--a nod to his delicate feminine side.
* TeamMom: He comes off the most like this when he's stuck looking after the teens. He tries to make sure they're eating food and while it was against his will, chaperoned the kids at the beach, even taking care of the food and where they would be staying at for the trip.
* TheWorfEffect: Episode 8 [[spoiler:sees him getting outwitted by the significantly more skilled "Snake", who proves that he can play even ''dirtier'' than him.]]
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Reki frequently calls Shadow "old man", which is followed up by Shadow reminding him that he is only 24 years old.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kaoru Sakurayashiki (Cherry Blossom)]]
!!Kaoru Sakurayashiki (Cherry blossom)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/HikaruMidorikawa (Japanese), Creator/DamanMills (English)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cherry_23.png]]

One of the legends of S, Cherry blossom uses his AI board named "Carla" to calculate perilous turns and dangerous freeways. He is known for his AI calligraphy in his civilian guise.

* AmbiguouslyGay: While Langa's sexuality is broached more directly, by episode 9, due to parallels in Cherry and Adam's high school relationship with [[ShipTease Reki and Langa's]], and Cherry's reaction to Adam saving him from falling, there's an implied question about whether Cherry once admired Adam a great deal, or had something of a crush on him. It doesn't help that in present time he sincerely hoped that Adam would go back to how he once was in their high school years [[spoiler: until Adam decks him in the face with his board during their race.]] His English-VA does headcanon him as gay.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: He has a keen eye when breaking down other skaters abilities and tricks, and was the one who told the others how Adam's Love Hug worked likely from intense study on his own part. He also quickly figured out that Langa was likely a snowboarder, based off of how he tried to get on Reki's board when they were outside his building.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: While they do bicker in most of their scenes together, Cherry does care for Joe as he gets nervous when the other is racing against Langa. He also [[spoiler: went straight to Joe's restaurant when he snuck out of the hospital, likely because he felt safe enough to sleep there.]]
* BerserkButton:
** Calling him "Kaoru" in S. Conversely, anybody calling him "Cherry Blossom" or any variant outside of S.
** People referring to Carla as "just an AI". Or just anything happening to Carla, such as losing battery life causing him to wail to Joe asking for a blanket and "warm power outlet" (Joe thought Cherry was referring to a real person being in trouble). He almost seemed ready to hit Sketchy who was sleeping on Carla had Miya not been there to hold him back.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Most of the time. He's fairly indifferent about what the others do, and only really shows some form of annoyance if they're actively putting themselves in danger. During his business trip at the hot spring, he slaps Reki's hand that was reaching towards his alcohol with his fan.
* BigBrotherMentor: While he's typically standoffish, he does give some advice to the younger cast and even offers some encouraging words when they are doubting themselves.
* BigStupidDoodooHead: He always uses "feebleminded gorilla" and other similar childish insults exclusively with Joe.
* BoringButPractical: Cherry doesn't have any signature moves unlike most of the other skaters, he instead calculates the exact angle or board he needs to go faster and stay ahead of his opponents. While it's nowhere near as flashy as the others, it has made him one of the top skaters of S and also one of the founders for a reason.
* BrutalHonesty: When amongst his friends, he usually says what's on his mind and doesn't hold back on his criticisms.
* CharacterTic: He tends to hold his fan up close to his face when he's observing people or thinking.
* CherryBlossomGirl: GenderInvertedTrope: One of the kanji characters in his family name is "sakura" (cherry blossom) and his S alias is "Cherry blossom" [[GratuitousEnglish in English]]. Furthermore, he has pink hair, his birthday (March 27) is Cherry Blossom Day, and his overall motif consists of traditional Japanese imagery; outside of S, he's known as a master of calligraphy, which is a traditional Japanese art.
* ChickMagnet: Downplayed. It's not to the extent that [[MrFanservice Joe]] is, but he seems to have a lot of female fans under his skater persona that rival's even Joe's own fans. His civilian persona is also quite popular with the ladies as his boss noted they made the right choice in hiring him since their female clients were ecstatic to see him.
* ChildhoodFriends: Joe and Cherry are this, according to their bios on the official site. The anime shows that they've known each other since at least high school, and have also known Adam from back then. WordOfGod confirms in an interview they've known each other since kindergarten.
* ChristmasCake: In the Cindereki drama cd, Miya claims that Cherry is getting on in years and would have a hard time landing a husband. Cherry responds by attacking Miya with calligraphy.
* CoolMask: He wears a mask that covers the lower half of his face when he skates, giving him the look of a ninja.
* CrazyPrepared: He has different forms for Carla from her AI stand he uses when interviewing Langa, a wrist communicator, a skateboard and wheelchair. [[spoiler: The last one he uses when sneaking out of the hospital after Adam decks him in the face during their beef to go to Joe's restaurant.]]
* CulturedBadass: In his civilian identity he's a well-respected calligraphy expert, and he's also a highly-skilled skater with the knowledge to back it up.
* CompanionCube: Cherry Blossom's skateboard contains an artificial intelligence named Carla, whom he is fond of and treats as a human to the point where he gets offended when Joe calls her a machine and corrects him that she is called Carla. In the manga spin off, he basically uses Carla for everything from finances to checking the bathwater temperature which Joe even lampshades.
* DarkIsNotEvil: His civilian clothes are usually dark, but he's overall a nice person.
* DeadpanSnarker: Comes across like this a lot, especially towards Joe.
* DoNotCallMePaul: Cherry Blossom does his best to keep his personal life and S identity strictly separate, to the point he gets pretty violent when someone slips up. In episode 2, he kicks Joe when the latter uses his real name while they are at S, while in episode 5, he slaps Reki for calling out to him using his S alias during one of his public calligraphy showcases.
* DoubleEntendre: In the English dub, Joe annoyedly tells Cherry he only calls his A.I. by a girls name because he, "can't get a real one". Given how everyone just calls him Cherry, it could be implied Cherry hasn't had any romantic partners, unlike Joe.
* DudeLooksLikeALady: At a glance one can mistake Cherry for a woman if they don't hear him speak. Played for laughs during the beach episode when Miya tells his "dad" to stop flirting and points to his "mom". Joe stares at a pair of slim pale legs and admires them before he looking up and realizes it was actually Cherry.
* ExperiencedProtagonist: He's stated to be one of S's legends and has the skills to prove it. He also occasionally gives the younger skaters some advice, such as when he demonstrated Adam's Love Hug.
* FormerTeenRebel: In high school, Cherry wore a lot of piercings and even had DelinquentHair.
* FragileSpeedster: Everything about Cherry's S persona seems to be a play toward this, including his ninja get-up. He nearly reaches Adam's level of speed, and shifts his style to be more rough against his opponent...but, when he least expects it, [[spoiler:his holding onto emotional connections with the antagonist of the series [[TapOnTheHead shatters him]]]].
* GenderBlenderName: His name "Kaoru" is a unisex name, fitting with his feminine appearance despite being male.
* HairTriggerTemper: He seems to lose his temper fairly quickly, but to be fair, this mainly happens around [[VitriolicBestBuds Joe]].
* HiddenDepths: In an interview, it was said that he has anxiety and often has Carla play him a lullaby, especially one from his childhood.
* InsultOfEndearment: Joe often refers to him as "Four-eyes" or "cheapskate".
* InTouchWithHisFeminineSide: Compared to the others, he does lean a bit more on the feminine side. Such as the time where he carried around an umbrella so he wouldn't get a tan, carries around a fan and he's been described with traits that are more classically feminine.
* ItIsDehumanizing: He gets ''really'' angry when anyone refers to Carla as just an A.I or machine as he'll always respond with "Her name is Carla!"
* ItsPersonal: He apparently holds a seven year grudge against Adam and is main reason he wants to skate against him.
* KimonoIsTraditional: PlayedWith. Kaoru always wears traditional Japanese garments as a skateboarder and in his daily life, and his public image is that of an elegant and refined master calligrapher. However, he's also very interested in new technologies and he is a FormerTeenRebel.
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: His arguments with Joe come off like this, and they've known each other since they were kids.
* LogicalWeakness: Cherry skates down to the precise angle in his races no matter what, rarely taking chances or getting creative which Joe even points out. If Cherry can't clearly predict his opponents moves or how they'll react, this puts him in an incredibly vulnerable position. This kind of scenario is used against him during his race with Adam where [[spoiler: Adam takes his board and ''smashes'' it across Cherry's face mid race, leaving him with heavy enough injuries to send him to the hospital.]]
** Although never really brought up, he also still needs to charge Carla or else she's pretty much useless for skating and Cherry's everyday life.
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: He has a fine appearance and a mostly calm personality, and has very long hair to boot.
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: His reaction to Adam [[spoiler: smashing a skateboard to his face mid-race? Sneak out of the hospital to go to Joe's restaurant and saying it was "just a scratch".]]
* MeaningfulName: Cherry Blossom's family name has the kanji for cherry blossom in it (桜 "sakura")
* MissedTheCall: While like Langa, Cherry's eyes become iridescent as a sign that he's about to reach Adam's space in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, he's...rejected. As it turns out, [[spoiler:for the better]].
* MotherlySidePlait: Gender-inverted. He does wear his hair like this when he's not skating at S.
* MotorMouth: If he's found something to nitpick on, expect him to do non-stop critiquing.
* MrViceGuy: His first scene shows that what gives him happiness is the amount of money he can make from his job, and he's among the skate group as one of the heroes. Joe also frequently comments on how Cherry is a "cheapskate", and it can be implied that one of the reasons Cherry goes to Joe's restaurant so often is to get a free or discounted meal and bottle of wine. In episode six, he was particularly annoyed when the group managed to mooch a free meal off of him (likely Joe getting payback) and attempts to have ''Miya'' pay for his part of the hot-spring bill, calculating to eighty-thousand and thirty one yen.
* NoodleIncident: Him losing his wallet during a school trip, which lead to Joe getting them even more lost. Cherry then has to point out that he was the one who had to make an itinerary for their other trip in Paris.
* NotSoAboveItAll: He may act calm and cool, but he does have his moments of childishness, mainly when he's with Joe. Other times he does join in on the other's antics, such as racing to the beach, the hot spring and getting in on scaring Reki with ghost stories.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Implied in the first episode what gives him the most joy is the amount of money he gets for his work or services. This likely helps him fuel his interest in making his own tech like Carla.
* ThePerfectionist: Especially in skating. He has Carla calculate the exact angle needed to make a turn and the exact board needed to make his run faster. Joe even calls him out by saying there's no fun in his skating if it's all based on calculations. When Joe's racing against Langa, Cherry starts rambling on how Joe should have done something slightly different which would have made him go faster, causing Miya and Shadow to become a bit annoyed.
* PinkMeansFeminine: Cherry Blossom's main color is pink and he is depicted as graceful and elegant (traits that are more associated with femininity) compared to the rest of the characters.
* PlayingBothSides: He gives advice to Langa in order to beat Adam when it's time for them to race, but he also watches the match closely in order to get data for himself to help beat Adam if he ever gets the chance. When Joe does make note of this, Cherry brushes off his underhandedness by claiming both sides benefitted from this, so there was no problem.
* RoseHairedSweetie: SubvertedTrope: He has pink hair and looks nice enough, but he's quite acerbic when someone rubs him the wrong way (that person being Joe most of the time).
* SignificantBirthdate: 3/27, which is Cherry Blossom Day, or Sakura no Hi, in Japan. It's a Japanese pun for 3 x 9, which equals 27. 3 in Japanese is 'san,' which can be abbreviated as 'sa,' and 9 in Japanese is 'ku' or 'kyu', which forms a pun for ''saku,'' which means ''to bloom.''
* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: Out of all the main characters, Cherry Blossom is the most strategic and knowledgeable about the most advanced tricks used in skateboarding. He was also able to figure out Langa had snowboarding experience based on the way he stood on the board, and furthermore, during his races, he calculates his turns to the most perfect degree to ensure he has the advantage. Oh, and he's also the only main character who wears glasses regularly.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: With Joe whenever the two are at least within shouting distance of one another.
* StepfordSmiler: He's pretty good at keeping up a cheerful or polite persona in public, such as when he's getting "acquainted" with Joe, or when Reki calls him Cherry during one of his public exhibition, but manages to keep up a friendly smile. However, once he's out of view and earshot, all hell can break loose.
* StrongerThanTheyLook: He's not particularly muscular like Joe and seems more on the slim side. However, he can easily lift up a teen like Reki and make sharp turns when skating. In extra materials, Joe even notes that despite his slim frame, Kaoru's punches and kicks are incredibly painful.
* SuperWristGadget: Subverted. In his civilian clothes, he wears what appears to be a simple purple band on his left wrist which he uses to communicate with Carla.
* TeamMom: Played for laughs. When pretending to be Joe's kid, Miya refers to Cherry as mom, even in the episode preview when begging his "mama" to buy him a game. In [=Sk8=] Chill Out the others join in on the teasing and refer to Cherry as "mom".
* TechnicianVersusPerformer: The Technician to Joe's Performer. He has Carla calculate the exact angle he needs to make a turn and the type of board he'll need during races which gives him an advantage against others. However, this makes him fairly predictable in a race [[spoiler: leading Adam to smash his board against Cherry's face and sending him to the hospital.]]
* TensionCuttingLaughter: After [[spoiler: Adam trips when his attack misses Reki, it cuts over to Cherry who's at first trembling with his head down but then bursts out laughing at Adam's karma finally coming to bite him.]]
* ThoseTwoGuys: Rarely seen without being near Joe, on and off S.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: In the preview of episode 11 where he and Joe are bickering once more, Joe reveals that Cherry actually prefers Italian food over Japanese food.
* TsurimeEyes: In contrast with Joe's TaremeEyes.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Joe. They bicker at each other constantly, but they are still somehow best friends.
* VolleyingInsults: Whenever he and Kojiro are near each other, expect them to start insulting one another in less than a second.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He used to consider Adam a friend when they were in high school and constantly got into trouble together. In the present, he's bitter over how much Adam has changed but has a small bit of hope he does still care for their previous friendship or at the very least with enough prompting, will end up changing his ways. [[spoiler: In episode 9, Adam smashes his board against Cherry's face during their race, leading Cherry to being quickly sent to the hospital, and losing whatever remaining hope he had of Adam [[UsedToBeASweetKid ever being who he once was]].]]
* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: Joe will sometimes slip and call him "Kaoru" when they're at S to Cherry's anger and he hits Joe in response. However, when he's about to skate against Adam, Joe is genuinely concerned for the other especially [[spoiler: after Adam decks Cherry in the face, causing Joe to rush over while calling him Karou.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kojiro Nanjo (JOE)]]
!!Kojiro Nanjo (JOE)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YasunoriMatsumoto (Japanese), Creator/JonahScott (English)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/joe_80.png]]

Known in S as the "strongest six-pack skater", Joe is one of the proclaimed legends of S. He runs an Italian restaurant in his daily life.
----
* AdaptationalSexuality: While Reki, Langa and Cherry all have subtextual to near-textual queer-coding in the original Japanese, Joe is much more lowkey, as can be seen in HomoeroticSubtext in the main page, as his and Cherry's quips to each other veer more toward SnarkToSnarkCombat and less toward flirtatious snark. The English-language dub, however, changes that, with his stating lines like "You're cute, but..." at Cherry during their scenes together. Of note, Joe's English-language VA has mentioned that [[WordOfSaintPaul he sees him as bisexual]].
* AmbiguouslyBi: In the Japanese, it depends on how one interprets his StupidSexyFlanders moment with Kaoru, and TheStinger at the end of episode 9 that's open to a lot of interpretations. The English-language dub makes his bisexuality more obvious, in earnest, via the word of his voice actor, Jonah Scott.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: He's the most dark skinned out of the rest of the cast.
* AnimalMotifs: Joe is often called a 'gorilla' by Cherry, and is one of the strongest and more muscular skaters.
* AtLeastIAdmitIt: He calls all of the other skaters at S idiots who can only connect through skateboarding, but does admit he's not an exception.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: As much as he picks fights with Cherry he really does care for the other, as shown when he tries to stop Cherry from going through with his beef against Adam. He's also [[spoiler: the first to get to Cherry after Adam slams his face with a skateboard. When he checks on Cherry he seems ready to fight Adam before Shadow comes up in his car and hurriedly calls for Joe to focus on getting Cherry to the hospital ASAP which he quickly obliges to by carrying Cherry bridal style.]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: When Adam is about to race against Reki, he and Cherry both arrive to challenge Adam to a race in hopes he'd leave the teen alone. During the hot-springs trip as Reki seeks out Joe for some advice, he gladly sits down to talk to the teen. At another point, when Langa is going at a breakneck speed, Joe catches up to him to break him out of a daze, worrying about where his mind is. When Reki hasn't shown up to S in a while, Joe seeks him out at the ramen shop and tells him not to be alone.
* BigBrotherMentor: To both Reki and Langa, encouraging Reki to not isolate himself and Langa to go find Reki.
* BridalCarry: Gives one to Cherry [[spoiler: after Adam decks him in the face with his skateboard, and has to carry him to Shadow's car so they can rush Cherry to the hospital.]]
* TheCharmer: Joe is able to charm women easily and at least two women are often seen with him, much to Higa (Shadow) and Reki's annoyance.
* ChickMagnet: Girls are immediately attracted to him, and his supporters are mostly women.
* ChildhoodFriends: Joe and Cherry are this, according to their bios on the official site. The anime shows that they've known each other since at least high school. WordOfGod confirms that the two have known each other since kindergarten.
* DynamicEntry: Joe ''smashes'' through a bunch of industry-grade steel to make a path for himself into the abandoned factory.
* ExperiencedProtagonist: He's been skating since at least high school and is quite skilled enough to be considered one of S's top skaters.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Flashbacks showed that he had short hair back in high school. Nowadays his hair is long enough to pull into a short ponytail.
* TheGlovesComeOff: While he's been nothing but supportive and kinda to Langa, he does let the teen know before their beef starts that he's not gonna hold back during their race. Their entire beef nearly gave Langa a run for his money when Joe shows off his Power-Break and even smashing into a steel beam in the abandoned factory for a short cut.
* GracefulLoser: When he's chosen to race against Langa and ultimately loses, he takes it all very well and even congratulates Langa on a good race.
* GroinAttack: His bail reel for the ending song shows him suffering through a failed rail grind, appropriately named, "Nutcracker".
* GutFeeling: He claims this is how he likes to skate, claiming there's no fun if he has to overthink everything like Cherry. During their late night discussions at his restaurant, he even notes that despite Adam being the top skater of S, [[LonelyAtTheTop he must be lonely]] based on a gut feeling.
* {{Hunk}}: His design is more handsome than pretty, and even InUniverse he's known for his strength and his well-built body.
* InsultOfEndearment: Cherry constantly refers to him as "gorilla", but given how long the two have been friends, Joe likely knows it comes from a friendly place.
* InstantlyProvenWrong: When he's racing alongside Cherry, Joe performs a trick over a rock and claims that there's no fun in skating if one doesn't take risks like Cherry does. Cue his board hitting something and nearly causing him to fall off as he flails around to keep balance.
--> '''Cherry:''' [[DeadpanSnarker Idiot]].
* ItsPersonal: His reason for wanting a beef with Adam, he abandoned him and Cherry when they were teens and then started to hurt other skaters, [[UsedToBeASweetKid changing from the happy guy the once knew]].
* ALadyOnEachArm: Whenever he isn't at work, expect Joe to show up accompanied by at least two beautiful ladies. His first scene at the beginning of the series shows him kissing two girls on his arms.
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: His arguments with Cherry come across like this, and they've known each other for a long time.
* 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.
* MusclesAreMeaningful: He cultivates his muscles specifically for pulling off neat skating tricks. We see one such trick (using his back and arm muscles to pull off a Super Man) in Episode 9.
* NiceGuy: He's a friendly, upfront guy that gives advice whenever he can.
* NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech: He says as much to Langa just before their beef starts. Once they both start heading down the mountainside, Joe proves he was ''not'' joking.
* NoodleIncident: Claims that during one of their school trips his "instinct" helped them find Cherry's wallet, which the other corrects by saying he actually ended up leading them to a random restaurant in LA. He then brings up how the restaurant in Paris was nice, but Cherry again corrects him by saying he was the one who had looked it up.
* OffhandBackhand: Gives one to some mooks who are trying to sabotage Langa.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: He's rarely referred to as Kojiro and even when not skating at "S" he's still called Joe.
* RealMenCook: He's the owner of an Italian restaurant in his civilian life, and he also works as a chef there.
* ShipperOnDeck: Not that explicit, but when he notices Langa feeling down because Reki wasn't around, he encourages him to go and seek out Reki. He does the same to Reki when he runs into the teen and gives him advice to talk it out with Langa. For the English-language dub, [[WordOfSaintPaul Jonah Scott has said]] he intentionally voiced Joe in a supportive role of someone who wanted to make two closeted characters feel safe, and sees their interactions in that kind of BigBrotherMentor way.
--> '''Joe:''' It'll be alright if it's you two.
* SignatureMove: "Power Break", a move that requires him to go at an insane speed to make a turn considered to be "impossible", eventually going so fast that it seems like he's going to hit a wall. He then uses his strength to lift him off to get ahead of his opponent. Cherry Blossom states that it's so impossible, only Joe could pull it off because of his sheer power.
* SignificantBirthdate: July 7th, Tanabata.
* SnarkToSnarkCombat: Whenever he and Cherry are within each other's vicinity, even during their jobs or "S" races.
* StupidSexyFlanders: At the beach, Kojiro briefly mistakes Kaoru for a beautiful woman. He's clearly admiring the view before he recognizes him.
* TaremeEyes: In contrast with Cherry's TsurimeEyes. They go well with his status as the series' resident NiceGuy.
* TattooAsCharacterType: He has a big tattoo on his left shoulder fitting with his [[TheBigGuy muscled]], fanservice-y body and [[ChickMagnet his popularity with girls]].
* TeamChef: As an Italian restaurant owner, it is inevitable that he cooks for the other S members sometimes.
* TechnicianVersusPerformer: The Performer to Cherry's Technician. While Cherry is calculative and precise, Joe's style is wild, flashy and relies more on his pure strength alone. He nearly gives Langa a run for his money when they race against each other.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Rarely seen without Cherry being nearby on and off S.
* TranquilFury: [[spoiler:When he sees Adam smashes his board against Cherry's face, Joe has a calm but anxious expression. He's downplayed when he runs up to Cherry and then Adam calls him boring, gets mad and he seems ready to fight Adam.]]
* VitriolicBestBuds: He's best friends with Cherry Blossom, but that doesn't mean that they won't bicker with each other or throw a few insults here and there, along the way.
* VolleyingInsults: Whenever he and Cherry are near each other, expect them to start insulting one another in less than a second.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: True to his title as the "strongest six-pack skater", Joe also ''loves'' to show off his aforementioned six-pack that he is ''almost always'' shirtless when skating. See MrFanservice above.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: With Adam, before their relationship got strained to where it is today. During Cherry and Adam's race for the English dub, he even explicitly says, "But now, I want nothing to do with that creep."
* 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.
* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: While he never hears it, the rare times Cherry does refer to him as "Kojiro" he's very worried or stressed over his friend.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ainosuke Shindo (ADAM)]]
!!Ainosuke Shindo (ADAM)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TakehitoKoyasu (Japanese), Creator/DavidWald (English)

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adam_51.png]]

The founder of S, he's a legendary skater that has crushed his opponents with little effort. It isn't until Langa joined the competition that he makes his formal appearance to S sometime, dead-set on making Langa his "Eve". His civilian guise is that of a powerful politician.
----

* LargeHam: There's barely a moment when he's not spouting some lines about love or giving his love to his opponents. It's even worse [[AbhorrentAdmirer around]] [[WorthyOpponent Langa]].

* AnimalMotifs: Miya refers to him as a "dog" and in the spin off manga, Reki is likened to a dog in Langa's head.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: He can analyze people's skating techniques in a heartbeat, allowing him to customize and ticker their boards to fit their style.

** Unlike Reki, Langa enjoys his rivalry with Adam as it pushes him to reach a higher potential. He is unperturbed by Adam's cruel and predatory behavior upon their first meeting and is far more focused on the rumors surrounding his skills than his actions or history, so much so that he attempts Adam's SignatureMove without ever seeing it. Despite knowing Reki dislikes Adam and was heavily injured thanks to him, Langa is still oblivious to how much Reki is bothered that he thinks of him highly. In episode 7, Langa admits he wants to enter Adam's tournament for a chance to race him again, unaware how much his choice would hurt Reki as he had previously promised not to do so earlier.

* InstantExpert: Played with. Due to his experience in snowboarding ever since he was two, he picks up skating really quickly and a lot of the moves he ends up incorporating are also used in snowboarding. However, he does wipe out and mess up when he's still learning, and he does have to put in time and effort to get better. As time goes on, he's able to pick up other people's skill quickly, such as Adam's rail-slide which he only saw once.

* {{Leitmotif}}: Dimensions of the Wind by ASH DA HERO. It plays exclusively during Langa's races, usually during intense moments where he's about to pull off incredible stunts or turn a disadvantageous situation into an advantageous one.

* ObliviousToLove: In a roundabout way. While his rivalries -especially the one with Adam- do focus on thrill and pushing his limits, it's been subtly implied that he's fueled by love and care from early on in the series. He's constantly asking himself what he's feeling or why he's feeling it when skating, but doesn't seem to fully comprehend that [[spoiler:it's a lot about Reki]].

* TheStoic: Rarely ever expresses emotion besides vague curiosity.
** [[NotSoStoic However, he starts showing subtle emotions like worry and sadness from time to time.]]

* LonelyAtTheTop: Miya explains that the more skilled he got, the 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. See TallPoppySyndrome below.

* NoodleIncident: Claims that during one of their school trips that his "instinct" helped them find Cherry's wallet, which the other corrects by saying he actually ended up leading them to a random restaurant in LA. He then brings up how the restaurant in Paris was nice, but Cherry again corrects him by saying he was the one who had looked it up.

* KickTheDog: In episode 9, after plenty of flashbacks of Adam in the past showing how much he enjoyed being around his friends, [[spoiler:Adam unexpectedly knocks Cherry out by slugging him in the face with his skateboard. He then follows it up by mocking Cherry, saying that he didn't want to beef with him because he was too ''boring''. His words clearly hurt Cherry as Cherry's eyes visibly ''flinch'' when he hears Adam say this]].
** He terrifies and injures Reki in a way that leaves him with PTSD (to the point Reki has a tell-tale flashback), while Langa is brought uncomfortably near a IHaveYouNowMyPretty situation during a match. [[spoiler:He later tries to kill Reki]]. After Miya loses to Langa, Adam wastes no time in telling Miya how weak and insignificant he was, leading to the young teen to visibly tremble.

* VillainousCrush: Adam is heavily fixated on Langa, and his dialogue and actions towards him carry sexual undertones. In the preview for episode 5, he tries to get acquainted with Langa and vows that he prefers to be the one taking the initiative, becoming excited when he thinks Langa responded positively to his suggestions to bondage.[[note]](Langa is actually talking to Reki and ignoring Adam.)[[/note]] In episode 5, his attraction is more overt, with him playfully referring to their match as a "date", presenting him with roses on arrival, and naming him his "[[ThemeNaming Eve]]."

* TheDreaded: Downplayed. The staff at the Ainosuke residence seem to have a form of respect for Tadashi, but even they know to quickly leave the room when he overhears them gossiping about Adam behind his back.

* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: During his beef with Langa, he links their hands together and spins them around fast enough that Langa ends up airborne. When Langa closes the distance between them to spin them even faster, Adam is absolutely delighted. In his second beef against Reki, Adam grabs the other by the arm and spins him across the ground. Played for laughs in Cindereki where, [[spoiler: Adam drops his role as the narrator, kidnaps Prince Langa and spins him into the air.]]

* AmbiguousDisorder:
** Many fans believe Langa is on the autism spectrum. This is due to his straight-faced expressions, somewhat monotone voice, struggle with picking up non-verbal cues and reading between the lines, inability to properly communicate his emotions, as well as his hyperfixation with skateboarding -- a special interest -- that keeps him from realizing how dangerous some of his stunts are. His mother even notes that he tends to get obsessed over things he takes a deep interest to.
** It can also be implied that before he moved that Langa had depression. He also didn't show much emotion when he first moved to Okinawa and only started to open up once he met [[FirstFriend Reki]]. After his father's death his eyes are portrayed as EmptyEyes whenever he tried to snowboard on his own. When skating against Adam in their final beef [[spoiler: the "zone" seems to remind him of his father's death again, sending him back into his blank despression state.]]

* CryCute: Cries as he reveals that despite feeling the pressure to be, and even pressuring himself to be, a supporting role, [[spoiler: what he really wants is to be able to skateboard at Langa's side]].

* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler: In Episode 11 after Reki manages to trip and humiliate him in their race. [[PyrrhicVillainy While he still manages to defeat Reki, the crowd still cheers for Reki]].]]

* {{Foreshadow}}:
** When the manager Oka asks if Reki can really work with his arm bandaged up, he brushes it off and replies that he's fine. Oka then points out that whenever he says he's fine, [[BlatantLies he really isn't]]. This later comes into play as [[spoiler: Reki starts feeling like Langa is leaving him behind as he becomes a pro and celebrity at S while he's only known as "the guy who's with Snow" and the two then have a falling out.]] Whenever Langa asked him beforehand if he was okay, Reki would slap on a smile and pretend nothing was wrong.

[[folder: Manager Oka]]

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ChiakiKobayashi (Japanese), Howard Wang (English)

* ThePollyanna: Almost always bright and cheerful, and quick to bounce back from his troubles. Mixed with StepfordSmiler, as he seems to have low self-esteem and insists he's fine even when it's obvious he isn't. Taken UpToEleven by episode 11, in which he's finally focused on enjoying the thrills skateboarding has to offer even after [[spoiler:Adam tries killing him, yelling after having collapsed at the very end that "Skating is super fun after all!"]]

* {{Camp}}: He talks very dramatically most of the time and throws in random English words like "lovely" in his speech, he is also obsessed with "love" in general, as well as Langa, which all highlight his disturbing personality. His campiness is almost dialed UpToEleven in the English dub.

* {{Bishounen}}: He's very good looking, and even in the manga adaptation when he first transferred some of his classmates wondered if he was a model.

* {{Bishounen}}: Compared to Joe and the others, he certainly passes as one.

!!!'''Voiced by:''' Takako Honda (Japanese)