Self-Comparison is a Motherfu — : Reki and Langa | Sk8 the Infinity
Spoilers ahead.
“The only thing anyone knows about you these days is you’re his friend. Or maybe his groupie.” — Shadow
Episodes 6 through 10 of Sk8 the Infinity follow Reki intensely. His brief moments of excitement, his growing spiral into numbness, and his detachment from his love of skateboarding.
I must admit, dedicating 5 episodes to Reki’s range of emotions seemed like a lot. And although there were bits and pieces of what the other castmates were doing during this time, I found myself asking, “Why can’t Reki just be happy for Langa?”
You see,
Langa had 15 years of snowboarding experience prior, and although Reki introduced him to skateboarding, Langa showed promise even without having practice or understanding of a skateboard. For his first match, he taped his feet to Reki’s board. It resulted in a win.
Episodes 1–5, and even 6 showed how naturally their friendship developed. They skated, ate, hung out, and repeated.
Doubt and insecurity built inside Reki slowly, and over time. A notable fact was, everyone who Reki identifies as a great skater either got beaten by or found interest in Langa.
- Reki gets injured during his race with Shadow. Langa defeats Shadow.
- Miya challenges Langa to a match and insinuates that Reki has no talent, and Langa beats Miya.
- Adam, the best underground skateboarder, finds Reki to be an unworthy opponent (before and after skating him) and finds Langa to be on par.
These moments when viewed in their entirety were dispiriting.
The seed of self-comparison was planted in episode 6 but got watered in episode 7 when Reki hears people calling him Langa’s “groupie”.
His entire identity up until this point was all about skateboarding. We became invested in the craft, the air, and the art of skateboarding by way of his excitement.
He introduced us to the underground world of S and instilled in us that skateboarding is infinite.
One day with open eyes, he noticed that his skillset didn’t match up to Miya, Joe, Cherry, Adam, and even Langa’s.
He stepped away from all things skateboarding, all things S, and all things — Langa.
On his journey in solitude, he coincidentally had a conversation with Adam’s secretary, Tadashi. And through their opposing ideas of why one skates, Reki remembered why he even started in the first place.
Langa had a different task during these 5 episodes. He was becoming so obsessed with skateboarding that he burnt himself out of the joy he use to feel.
When Reki was finally able to face Langa in episode 10, he says, “I’m sorry. I’ve been trying to be a good skater, but I’ve been such a terrible friend.”
After skating it out together, Langa says, “Skating with you brought the excitement back. I’m having so much fun.”
They agreed to skate together “infinitely.” They remembered that skating was fun together.
Reki’s character encompasses what a non-mainstream hero’s journey looks like. It’s not always a hard beginning, practicing every day and becoming the best.
It sometimes looks like trying your best, not getting what you want, seeing others achieve it, taking a step back, reevaluating some things, and making the most out of what you have.
It can be as simple or as complex as exploring your emotions, and remembering your “why”.
When Reki came back from his hiatus, he raced against Adam again. Compared to his first match where he was stressed and filled with anxiety, his second allowed him to try tricks, think ahead, and play toward his strengths.
One being, he is a skateboard-making genius.
His first match with Adam ended with an injury, but his second ended with Langa, Miya, Shadow, Joe, and Cherry cheering him on.
He didn’t win, but he got the most air he’d ever experienced. He also customized his board to withstand the slip of rain, which allowed the match to be close. He played towards his strength.
This is a different Reki from the one in episode 1 to 7 to now 11.
His journey was not so much linear as it was personal to him.
I hope you can keep that infinitely with you.
Thank you for reading.
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