‘SK8 the Infinity’ EXTRA PART will tide you over until season 2

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Four years after its first season, SK8 the Infinity EXTRA PART dropped as fans await an update regarding season two. Featuring four different vignettes, the OVA focuses on the characters fans have been wanting to see more of for years. It’s a nice holdover that I loved every second of. 

SK8 the Infinity EXTRA PART spends time with everyone

Each major character from SK8 the Infinity is featured in the OVA. Joe and Cherry get their flashback moment in “Becoming Really Serious About Things.” Langa, Miya, and Reiki have a great hangout despite the rain in “Rain and a Cat, Soda Ice Cream from the Convenience Store.” We also see Adam and Tadashi’s morning routines in “Morning Routine.” The thing that connects each of these vignettes is friendship, how that looks for different people, and the way it’s woven into SK8 as a whole.

Out of all the vignettes, the “Hiromi, Do Your Best” vignettes with Shadow are my favorite. As one of the more side characters, it was nice to see his life outside of S explored. The dedication he puts into the florist shop is adorable to see. It’s clear that he cares a lot about the shop—and, of course, the manager—so seeing how dedicated he is to it was really nice. With these acting as go-betweens for the other vignettes, they’re a breath of fresh air that resets audiences’ expectations. Plus, watching Shadow struggle at the front door because he’s in his S outfit and doesn’t want to reveal it to the manager is great. 

Filling in some of season one’s gaps

“Becoming Really Serious About Things” is an exploration of Joe and Cherry’s friendship from when they were teenagers. It’s a great look at how they acted when they were younger, if they were always so competitive with one another, and their obvious care has been in their friendship since day one. Their ridiculous fight in the classroom shows that the two of them have always been dramatic competitors. It’s the perfect way to introduce their high school selves in this OVA. 

This vignette in particular is a prequel to the first season of SK8 the Infinity. It shows the basis for not only Joe and Cherry’s friendship, but also how the two of them start skateboarding. It’s obvious in the first season how important skating is to Cherry, but the audience never knew why until now. Diving into that background and exploring Cherry’s motivations—and by extension, Joe’s motivations as well—was a great way to show that exposition we were missing in season one. The way the writers revealed how seriously Cherry takes skateboarding connects really well with his reactions to Adam and their tense relationship in the present. 

There is a lot to enjoy, rain or shine

On a less serious note, the vignette with Langa, Miya, and Reiki is all fun and games. “Rain and a Cat, Soda Ice Cream from the Convenience Store” is all about the warmth that comes with friendship on a rainy day. What makes this one special is Miya. Audiences are used to seeing him a certain way, but in this vignette he finally gets to show off his playfulness with other kids his age. His friendship with Langa and Reiki is, for lack of a better term, adorable. He has that childlike wonder that isn’t in season one. Not only that, it was nice to see his reaction to Reiki’s room that is covered in skateboarding stuff. It’s obvious from his reactions that his opinion on Reiki has changed, even if it’s only a small amount. Little things like that are what make the OVA that much more special. 

Last, certainly not least, is the segment focused on Adam and Tadashi, “Morning Routine.” Depending on how you feel about Adam, you might think this vignette is either too long or too short. While I don’t personally care for Adam—I think he’s a creep who needs a reality check—I loved seeing Tadashi in the spotlight. For a character that was criminally underrated in season one, being able to see his very lazy, very relatable morning routine was wonderful. He had such little dialogue in the entire OVA, but his personality still shows through in this glimpse of his life. 

Connecting people beyond skating

The overarching theme of friendship is one that works perfectly with each vignette. Even Shadow’s vignettes, which didn’t feature any of the other major characters, featured his friendship with the florist employees and customers. The writers behind the OVA put their all into the writing for each vignette and it’s clear that they have a lot of love for these characters. These characters are a lot more complex than what is presented on the surface and this OVA really showed that. 

SK8 the Infinity EXTRA PART does what it does best: it reminds us why we fell in love with SK8 the Infinity in the first place. Each vignette was a wonderful look into the lives of the characters we’ve come to know and miss. While it doesn’t quite answer any questions fans might have, it doesn’t need to. If you ask me, this was just enough to hold me over until we get that season two release date.

SK8 the Infinity EXTRA PART is available now on Crunchyroll.

Featured images ©BONES, Hiroko Utsumi/Project SK8

Kayla Chu

Made up of feminism, sports, and cheap wine.
Questions, comments, inquries please be sent to kaylamchu@gmail.com