#reki analysis

[yunyunbby]

Tenma Tsukasa and Bakuno Reki comparison

When Tsukasa4 event was ongoing there's some people point out the similarity between the two so I feel like bringing them back

Past

Reki's parents don't get along and they both go to work. So Reki spent most of his childhood feeling lonely.

Tsukasa has loving parents. Since Saki spends her time in the hospital, their mother would spend time taking care of Saki while their father tend to come back work late. Which makes Tsukasa feel lonely (but in denial).

Motivation

Feeling lonely (since he's a friendless introvert), Reki starts talking to the characters of the books he reads and slowly he makes up his own characters by looking at the people around him and wondering what they would be like. Reki's motivation is "To have someone to talk to".

For Tsukasa, seeing the show and realising how much it makes his family and especially Saki smiles, he also starts to make his own show. Since the shows make Saki's smile, he also wants to make everyone smile with his shows. Tsukasa motivation is "To make everyone smile with his shows".

Imagination

Reki likes to converse with the characters in the books he read. And that makes it wanting to think what people around him be like.

Tsukasa can make various type of shows and he even can do an improv. The plushies he has are his actors of his shows and it even manages to be manifest into the sekai.

Skills

Reki understands the side characters he plays by thinking about what he thinks the character would be like and what kind of life they would have. And this motivates Reki to make the supporting characters shine with his acting.

When Tsukasa found out how to act as Nakayama, he plans to think how Nakayama would act outside the story with his troupes and Reki's help. When he firmly grasp the character he wants to play he can act it as realistic as possible.

[ryanthel0ser]

I just finished Sk8 the Infinity

first off "queer subtext" my ass, it is front and center you can't NOT see it.

second, oh my god the theme of love and having a passion for something is done in a way that scratches my brain in the best way. The three main relationships, Reki and Langa, Joe and Cherry, Tadashi and Adam, whether you think they are gay or not they totally are all highlight this dynamic of loving skating versus getting lost in the competition.

Reki and Langa are the clearest example of this. Reki loves skating, he may not be the best at it but he truly loves it. He understands the tricks and the skills, he knows it so well that he can make boards specifically to suit nuanced skills like Reki's because he loves it. He has the passion and the spirit for it which is the central thing he learns during his character arc in the show. But even outside his arc, Reki embodies the spirit of skating, that love of skating. That's what makes his race with Adam so important and that's present in why Langa feels the way he does when he's skating with Reki other than being gay. Langa falls in love with skating and Reki but then he starts to get lost in the competition of it all. Once he races with Adam (who is the antithesis of Reki's skating spirit), his love for skating is poisoned by Adam's "love" of skating. He starts focusing on skills, getting better, reaching Adam's level, he starts losing the spirit of skating. He loses Reki. Once Langa realizes what he's missing, he begins seeking it out again, looking for Reki. But Reki hasn't come back yet, the fun of skating is dead still until Reki has his own realization. Something that is brought back in part by the two other "Reki's" of these relationships: Joe and Tadashi.

Joe and Cherry's is the one that is in the background the most, but it's clear they're meant to parallel Reki and Langa's relationship. While the dynamic is not as extreme and the other two relationships it is still present. Joe loves skating, even if he wasn't the best at skating he'd still be doing it. That is made clear in his conversation with Reki when he gets him to come see Langa at the tournament. He understands that. His race against Adam isn't about proving his skill, he wants to beat Adam because he hates what Adam has become and what Adam is embodying. He wants to punch him in the face. Cherry however does want to prove his skill to Adam. He wants to beat Adam because he's better than him. In a sense, Adam's "love" tainted his enjoyment of skating too. Hence the AI board, the board giving him everything down to the millisecond, to the decimal so he could get the best time possible. I honestly believe part of Joe's worry during Cherry and Adam's race is because he knows Cherry is going to get lost in trying to surpass Adam and forget the fun of skating. Then Cherry gets slammed in the face quite literally by this, he's forced to face what's being going on through this injury. We don't see the resolution of this since it's regulated to the background, but it's still clear these two are meant to parallel Reki and Langa's dynamic towards skating. Also there's the whole thing where Adam is like Cherry's ex and Joe wants to fight the ex that hurt Cherry yadda yadda yes I ship Matchablossom what's new.

Tadashi and Adam are the most extreme of this dynamic going in a negative direction. Adam as I stated is the antithesis to the spirit of skating. He's completely forgotten what it meant to skate and is now tainting every other skater around him with this "love" he has. He's so lost in this darkness that it's seeping into the other skaters like Langa. All that matters is being the best, to crush everyone else below his level so he's completely alone. He's ruining skating for everyone else. Tadashi is the spirit of skating for him. Tadashi is the one that introduced him to skating and led him to fall in love with it as a comfort and an escape from the horrible environment he was being raised in. Skating with Tadashi was his escape. Tadashi was a comfort. But then Adam is found out by his father and Tadashi makes a mistake, but not the one he believes for most of the show. Instead of leading Adam back to the fun of skating, he lets Adam trample it. Rid of it. Put it completely in the background because he blames himself for what happened to Adam that day. And Adam doesn't rid of Tadashi because skating is still a comfort to him, though twisted and abused. He refuses to let it go. To let him go. Tadashi then tries to completely take away skating from Adam and then tries to get Reki to abandon it too. However, Tadashi's broken spirit only fuels Reki's back to life. Then, as he watches the race, Tadashi realizes where he went wrong with Adam. What the true love for skating was, not what Adam thinks it is.

This spirit of skating versus Adam is why Reki's race, Tadashi's presence in the tournament, and why Langa's race are so central. Tadashi including himself in the tournament is Adam being forced to see the dead spirit of skating that he's forgetting and it pisses him off. Reki's race is him directly being pitted against the living embodiment of that spirit of skating and while he does win the race, he still gets his ass beat. He's not stronger than it. Then his race with Langa is where he finally returns to it. Langa is like Adam, but he's fully back to the spirit of skating. He's had his character arc and now Langa helps Adam return to it as someone who experienced to a certain level what Adam is experiencing. Then Langa wins the race and the spirit of skating, the true love of skating, defeats Adam's "love." And Adam leaves the race changed, he remembers the real love of skating, he returns from that darkness he was in. The Adam of their childhood begins to return to Tadashi.

This main conflict in the show that's present in these three relationships is presented so brilliantly and it's what makes Sk8 the Infinity not just another sports anime with some possible queer subtext or baiting. It reminds me of Yuri on Ice and how the relationship to ice skating is reflected in Yuri and Victor's relationship, a show that I absolutely adore (and yes I wept profusely over it when the announcement came out). I desperately hope that Sk8 the Infinity does not receive the same fate because this show has something great that I want to see continued, it's almost a spiritual successor to Yuri on Ice to me.

Now I need the studio to let them lean into the very very very gay tones of these relationships like Yuri on Ice because holy shit all three of them have it. I thought Reki and Langa were going to kiss in the back of that van, Cherry and Joe kept acting like a couple and the english dub only emphasized that, and then that last scene with Adam and Tadashi hello????

[starlostlix]

REKI'S ARC IN SK8 IS SO REALISTIC IT HURTS - an essay?

For this I really wanted to focus on episodes 7-11 so that's what I mostly talk about here. But the seeds of self doubt in Reki's mind exist earlier on, from his first beef with Adam and onwards.

So by episode 7 Langa is an absolute BEAST at skateboarding. Like, toe-to-toe with Adam, Joe and Cherry levels of skill. It's more than anyone, especially Reki, could have ever expected, since he started out only months ago. Langa, as Snow, is an icon of the S scene - one of the biggest names in the community alongside the founders of S previously mentioned. And Reki - well he's become known as the guy that hangs around with Snow, the redhead that follows Snow around, his name not even worthy to be mentioned alongside Snow by people in S. Nevermind the fact that it was his teaching, his skills in making custom boards, and his friendship with Langa that helped Langa succeed in the skateboarding world. Langa has it all - the praise, the notoriety, the skill, the admiration, the fame - all that Reki wanted and more, and yet Reki is left behind.

This gets to him a lot. It makes him feel worthless, not skilled or famous enough to hang around with the top skaters like Langa is. Langa, due to his skill, is on a plain of existence in the skating world that Reki thinks he will never reach. He's in a weird spot - one where he's happy for his friend's success yet still wishes he could have even a sample of the same.

This is shown perfectly through the star at the bridge skating area. Langa managed to jump to reach the star with ease, yet Reki keeps trying time and time again, pushing through failures and injuries, to reach that same mark - trying to reach the same greatness that Langa has achieved, and Langa himself. And he can't. The failure to reach the star proves to him what he already feels - he will never be good enough to skate with Langa. He thinks that it can't be fun to skate with someone who cannot match their skill, and so in feeling inferior to Langa he starts to distance himself from the skateboarding world as his self-confidence declines sharply and he slips into depression.

What Reki doesn't acknowledge is that the star is the exceptional, and exceptional is not always possible. In reaching for the exceptional, the notions of average and good are heavily skewed until, to some, they lose all meaning. There is only to them room for 'the best', which they may not be. However acknowledging that necessitates lots of logic over emotion, something which many can struggle to balance with strong emotions. Reki's feelings here may not be logical, but Reki is human, and humans in general are not always logical either.

[Side note that may be one of my favourite non-skating scenes in the show]

But also Reki has noticed change - in the way others view and talk about him, in Langa's attitudes towards skateboarding and S, and in how he views himself. It is clear that this change, and the subsequent changes in his attitudes to skating as he falls further into depression, is not something he copes well with. Everything changed too quickly that he wasn't able to keep up with others.

Langa also has changed. Not just in his skill, but in his attitudes to S and skating. Him breaking his promise to not skate with Adam isn't just about breaking a promise - it's Langa choosing to race against better skaters, specifically one that really hurt Reki. In Reki's eyes, Langa choosing to skate with Adam despite the danger (which he has first hand experience of) proved that Langa needed more skilled skaters to hang out with - and that he wasn't one of them. Langa still thinks the fun in the sport is there and Reki can still join in and have fun, but by skating with Adam he starts to lose sight of what made skating fun - not the competition, the thrill or the titles, but being with Reki. Langa's arc is a whole other essay topic though, as by this point Reki barely shows up to events at S and hasn't spoken to Langa in a while.

Reki shows up to Langa's race against Joe and experiences the momentary joy of cheering his friend on and defending his skill to some naysayers. But, knowing that Langa is to skate against Adam next, he quickly feels disheartened and retreats - as he does, he deposits his S entry badge on the way out.

But it is clear that skateboarding is such a big part of Reki's life that he can't just stray away from. Skateboarding with Langa had him at his happiest, but without it he is at an extreme low. So much so in fact that he's stopped socialising, stopped working, not in school as much, and he's not skating. Also, he's put himself in more dangerous situations - the beating by the strangers that insulted his skateboard would only reinforce his negative association that skateboarding has only brought him trouble. Seeing him become more reckless as a result of his depression is him at his lowest and at his most dangerous to himself. Skateboarding is one of the few things that brings him immense joy - which is at its most visible when he stops partaking in it. He needs to be reminded that he doesn't have to be the best to be good, and it doesn't matter that Langa is better than him naturally because he still wants to skate with him. He needed to be reminded that his friends are there for him no matter what, which is what the skate shop owner does.

It is only when him and Langa finally reconcile that Reki realises that Langa doesn't see him as inferior or talentless. In fact, they are what make each other enjoy skating so much, and why without one another it doesn't feel the same. And it's beautiful the way they find joy in skating with one another.

Reki's self-doubt as he feels left behind his friends and him spiralling into self-isolation and self-hatred is honestly what makes him feel so human, and very relatable. I've been through similar experiences myself where I fear that my friends don't really want to hang around with me, that I can't necessarily relate to things they enjoy because they are better than I am, where I begin to isolate myself away, where I compare myself to others, where I feel left behind. It's been amplified by periods of autistic burnout too, wherein the energy to try and compensate for this is not available. Low self-esteem can really hurt, and Reki here really encapsulates the way negative thoughts can spiral into bigger and even more dangerous issues. And it's why he comes across as so relatable and so human.

[This has been in the drafts for a bit but I really do appreciate Reki's arc so much. I wanted to write at length about it because of how relatable in his struggles with low self-esteem and depression are. I almost considered not posting this but here we are i guess. Please feel free to comment on my wording of anything if it doesn't sound quite right i'm kind of sleep deprived still right now.]

[cherishsscene]

All I want to do is focus on the fake scenarios I’ve made with my ships and you’re making it really hard to be delusional with all of this homework

[sebdoeswords]

And Now: SK8 Music Analysis, Presented by Someone with Auditory Processing Issues

(Or: Don't expect me to know anything about music)

So as I was listening to Langa's theme earlier, I noticed how it starts out with some tones in the background that are reminiscent of Adam's theme. The sort of... piano? Keyboard? Synth keyboard??? Melody in the background as it ramps up around 0:20 really reminds me of the kind of somber and dramatic tones in Adam's theme.

But pretty quickly, it ramps up into something a bit more rock when the guitar comes in and the drums ramp up (both of which are very prevalent in Reki's theme. Dimensions of the Wind starts out subdued and wistful, but then it ramps up and becomes lively (like a certain Canadian), and by the end those Adam-like tones are completely gone and replaced in the melody by Reki's guitar. I seldom even notice when it ends and switches over to Seize the Moment.

Reki and Langa's themes represent their characters incredibly well (shoutout also to the way Seize the Moment starts out with a sound that's a bit childlike, but then also ramps up and becomes a bit more serious, following Reki's development through the series), but blend so seamlessly into each other they seem to make one whole song together.

[van-skmugen]

Before SK8 Instagram Live event starts, I left below cut line this analysis I made of image that they showed for the event, just be aware that it is quite long. Feel free to read and add your own thoughts. I would love to know more points of view. ↓

Disclaimer: English isn't my first language so if something sounds rouge that's why, I'm still learning to improve it.

Ok, now that I've found time I'm going to write a little of what I've seen in SK∞ WEEK EVENT image and what I perceive in it. I come from a fandom where you need to speculate a lot all allegories that author puts in every thing he does so here I'm not going to be less and I'm going to be a little deep analyzing, although then that in reality it may not be so deep, who knows. I warn you that this is going to be long, as is usual for me, since I start with a tiny thought and end up writing a manuscript. Be warned. I will start with something that I find interesting and that during the whole image is repeated and it's concept of first season about Reki and Langa being the beginning (Reki's monologue in episode 1/epilogue) and the end (same monologue of Reki, said by Langa at the end of series).

The beginning: Reki is on left side of image both sitting frontally, as well as his characteristic drawing on mural ( drawing of his skateboard) and with cat showing his face on top of his skateboard. The end: Langa is on right side of the image, also drawn on the mural in the rightmost part (the yeti) and the cat showing his tail on top of his skateboard.

Reki was the one who started teaching Langa skateboarding and the importance of being more fun when you do it among friends (beginning), Langa taught ADAM what he learned from Reki (end), in the first season. It's worth mentioning that the concept of beginning (Reki) and end (Langa) is not finite, that in western and eastern reading image is read differently (west from left to right and top to bottom, east from right to left) so depending on how you read the image, Langa can be perceived as the beginning or the end (just like Reki) [Something out of context: even within the same show Reki and Langa would read the image differently, as Reki has been raised in the East while Langa has been raised in the West and even their religions are different].. Also the human being always ends something and starts something new (it's a cycle that never ends, unless you die) and it's also something interchangeable between people, objects, etc… (Reki and Langa being the beginning and the end even vary within their own arcs, Example: Reki learning from Langa to reevaluate why he started skateboarding in the beginning, is in itself a new cycle that Langa started and Reki finished when he returned to skateboard in chapter 10 after leaving it for believing that if he wasn't good it wasn't worth to continue practicing it since not being at Langa's level he would always be left behind).

Going into the mural, the background of the wall is purple (like the color that represents Shadow). Purple symbolizes jealousy and insecurity. It's also often associated with femininity, glamour and sweetness. Emotional qualities associated with purple include solemnity, grace, mystery, insecurity and tenderness. Purple was recognized as a noble color in both the West and Japan in ancient times. With that in mind to summarize and not make it much longer than it's being we could go back to the first season with the first two symbols (insecurity and jealousy), how Reki felt insecurity for his skateboarding, for his friendship with Langa endangered by seeing how he was improving and moving away from him (regardless of Langa's feelings) and the jealousy he felt towards Langa, for seeing how he improved in a very short time when he needed twice or three times as much skill to do something, without taking into account that Langa had been snowboarding since he was very young and that Reki's ability to teach Langa how to learn skateboarding, adapting the skateboard to his needs helped him to adapt and learn the basics in a short period of time. (And good bases are always important)

The first leftmost drawing is undoubtedly Reki Kyan/REKI, with the drawing inverted, although I guess it was a design decision to integrate it more with the mural, unless you want to symbolize something deeper in verse to Reki. Although we must also take into account that at the top is written the word happiness in white with red background. Going more to speculation we could think that in the future it could be possible that his friend who left the skateboard aside some time ago could come back, the inverted drawing with the word happiness on top could be associated to an opposite change in his usual dynamics.

The S of SK∞ clearly represents Hiromi Higa/Shadow, although it doesn't show the color that officially represents him (purple). On the outside highlighting the S is the color of his hair, orange, and inside it has a dark turquoise green color (like the color that represents Kojiro/JOE in the third I of Infinity on the winged skateboard we'll talk about later), with drawings of what look like white daisy flowers, which in the language of flowers symbolize innocence.*

The K of SK∞ undoubtedly represents Kaoru Sakurayashiki/Cherry blossom, around and inside the pink/purple color representing Carla and inside in black, with the motifs depicted on the Cherry skateboard and cherry blossom (Sakura) petals.

The ∞ of SK∞ undoubtedly represents Ainosuke Shindo/ADAM, on the outside a dark blue (or purple? considering it's the color that is on the second I of Infinity on the skateboard and represents Hiromi/Shadow) the inside black with its heart symbol in red. Ainosuke on the outside, ADAM on the inside. It's interesting that it's the infinity, as it is the symbol that is repeated three times in the whole image, the infinity of SK∞ representing him, the infinity between Reki and Langa (red and blue) and in the text of the skateboard with wings (Infinity) that all together represent him, showing again that he's part of the central axis of story, as all the characters wouldnt have been able to meet and come together having a connection the same way they did in S, without him, who also created it.

Then we have the white snake coming out of skateboard with wings and that is over the S and the K and that seems to be heading towards the word "beef" with white letters surrounded by green color. Obviously representing Tadashi/Snake, could we have more beefs from him in season 2 (maybe with Cherry and Shadow?), or will he just remain oblivious like at the end of season 1? Going by the image, it looks like that won't be the case, but who knows.

At the top is shown an infinity that probably represents Reki and Langa, who are also on each side of the color (Reki's foot is on the red/left side of the infinity and Langa's foot is on the blue/right side of the infinity). Although the red part eats part of the blue part, and they aren't completely balanced, which I find curious.

Then we have over the ∞, a cat that of course represents Miya Chinen/MIYA, being purple and green, Miya's favorite character in role-playing videogame he usually plays in the first season. And who also seems playful, either playing with "Langa's shoe" or trying to interact with the infinity on the mural (which is surely the most likely). It also seems that he's no longer afraid of ADAM as he poses on the infinity without any problem. On the back is written the word "fun" in white surrounded by yellow.

Coming out a little from the ∞ is shown a half sun that clearly represents Kojiro Nanjo/Joe, yellow in color but with little stripes that make you think of a tiger, and the first kanji of his name translates as tiger (虎, tora). It's covered by the infinity representing ADAM and above it has on one side the word "fun" and on the other the word "S" with white letters surrounded by blue.

Biting the infinity, we have a white yeti that undoubtedly represents Langa Hasegawa/Snow, with the colors white, blue, black and purple feet. Surely Langa biting ADAM could be an allegory that he's over him. Although it's funny/curious that right next to it is written the word fan with white letters surrounded by pink.

Finally we have a black skateboard with wings that represents the slogan of the series, that skateboarding is infinite, since the wings symbolize freedom, and to support that they have written the word "infinity" representing the eight main characters, and the wheels with purple and blue colors. I= Reki Yellow N= Langa's blue F= Light green of MIYA I= Shadow/Hiromi's purple (although it also resembles a dark blue, as it is identical to the color surrounding the infinity representing ADAM) N= Pink of Cherry/Kaoru I= Green/ of JOE/Kojiro (which also has a similar shade to the dark turquoise green found in the S representing Shadow) T= Red of ADAM Y= White of Snake/Tadashi, it's curious that this time they haven't used gray, which is the color that symbolizes Tadashi in much of the merchandise and official content (although maybe only in the first season, who knows, it's also true that everyone has an assigned color but that doesn't mean that these colors are immovable and can be interchangeable between some characters or that they cann't change over the years or that they're false symbols AKA the red that symbolizes ADAM but when it's Ainosuke symbolizes more the color blue).

And finally the words: Happy in red (ADAM), beef in green (Joe), fun in yellow (Reki), S in blue (Langa) and fan in pink (Cherry). Being happy and fan in lower case, all the others in upper case.

I'll leave it here for the moment, I love the color symbolisms, but this time I've run out of time. Like last time if anyone has anything to add, wants to add anything or whatever, they're welcome as always. I may edit it or reblog it with added notes if today there is new news regarding the second season or the OVA (although I see it as more likely to hear about the OVA before the second season) and see if they have any connection to this image. See you at Reki's Birthday!

*Sources: https://greensnap.co.jp/columns/daisy_language

[confusedgoldenflower]

Long Time Coming: Cherry Should Be Dead

First off, please put down the pitchforks, I love him dearly and know it’s an ✨anime✨ but for an anime set in a *more realistic* way, there’s no comprehensible reason he could have survived @d*m’s “Full Swing Kiss.” (That piece of shit should also understand how simple cause and effect works regarding injury, but I digress. He gives me indigestion and a migraine.)

How he was hit:

60mph—I’m generously assuming given Reki stating they can go that fast “at least down to the mountain,” and these two were out for speed.

~60mph spun around and hit, full rotation, with the broad side of a horned skateboard. He’s hit so hard that Carla goes flying off to who fucking knows where (I’m impressed she was alright tbh). Any rational person would assume he’s hitting the track hard.

My, non-medical-professional, opinion:

Broken clavicle (most commonly broken and stupid-easy to break)

Wicked case of whiplash

Broken nose

Broken jaw

Skull fracture(s)

Concussion-zzzzz

Bruised bones

Bruised organs (liver, spleen, kidneys, lungs, probably heart and others)

Possible ruptured bowel (intestines)

Other broken bones

Some sort of TBI (besides concussion)

Shock

Dislocations

Spinal cord injury

Internal lacerations/probable internal decapitation (all that force went right into his head and neck)

Maybe broken pelvis

PTS-fucking-D

Whilst being a cute MatchaBlossom moment, Joe should NOT. HAVE. TOUCHED him. It doesn’t take much to fuck up especially the neck injuries by moving the patient. Huge no-no! The paramedics should have come, assessed him, stuck him with a neck brace and hauled him to the OR… but that woulda made a bigger conflict with the plot 🙄

Kaoru having gotten away with an apparent broken (dominant) arm (his occupation/special interests/passions!!!😭😭😭) and opposite leg with undisclosed but seemingly *uncritical* head injury is… laughably little. And not in a “haha funny” way.

“Using mathematical formulas and physics experiments, researchers learned that 43 mph is the fastest speed at which you have a fighting chance to survive a head-on collision.��

I respect wanting to keep characters in and functional, however… this event, in my mind, really should have been revisited and revised.

TLDR: this man has been turned into a medical mess and I’m livid. The man’s ghost-writing now.

[eemoo1o-kuroo]

The fact that Shadow is introduced almost villainously and is then implemented into the main / protag six really feels kind of revolutionary to me.

I’m sure it’s been done before, but the guy’s literally introduced as looking like Kyu from Death Note, with a wicked cackle to match (I’ve never seen Death Note, can you tell?). And he even bests/beats our MC (Reki) less than, what? Five minutes in.

I just think it’s interesting—I’d never paid him much mind or found him enjoyable during my first watch for how he was introduced. Perhaps I should.

[danceofthephilos]

SK8 Cast Image Colors, and the Super Sentai Roots of Character Color Coding

Unlike my post about hanakotoba, where only a few examples can be confirmed to be intentionally meaningful choices, image colors are an aspect of SK8's visual symbolism that has been explicitly assigned by the creators to each of the eight main cast members. From design elements to official art and merchandise (such as the art and the Infinity Week logo above) to shots in the show itself, these image colors are a consistent aspect of the series' visual language, and colors, like flowers, have meanings and associations that can provide interesting insight into why these colors were chosen for these characters. Color-coded casts are also strongly historically rooted in the super sentai subgenre of tokusatsu series, a genre that has had massive impact on Japanese pop culture, especially battle anime like SK8, in part, is, so I'll also examine the archetypes associated with their colors in super sentai (and, in Adam's case, another important piece of anime history.)

As color associations can vary by culture, I made sure to use Japanese sources - I mainly started with the dictionary on TC Color Therapy for basic color meanings but frequently checked other sources. My primary source on colors in super sentai is a paper on color theory in tokusatsu by Misako Takahashi, along with fan wikis such as Pixiv Dictionary and other Japanese blogs analyzing the subject. I also supplemented with quotes from SK8's staff when relevant.

All the image colors come from the official character guide included in volume 4 of the Blu-rays.

Reki Kyan - Yellow

Despite his red hair, Reki's image color is yellow, the color of the signature hoodie he always wears at S. Yellow is associated with brightness, cheerfulness, fun and excitement - all things that Reki embodies at his best, and are very important parts of his character arc and what he represents to the people around him. In Utsumi's instructions to colorist Yukari Gotou, as shown in SK8 Design Works, she requested Reki's design have "so many bright and colorful primary colors it's tiring" in order to draw the eye, fitting of a bright and energetic protagonist. Yellow is a common color for team members in sentai anime, being the third most common after red and blue and appearing in the majority of series, and are often bright and cheerful "life of the party" type characters as well. This is a trend dating back to Himitsu Sentai Gorenger, the very first long-running super sentai series (beginning in 1975,) whose color coding has persisted for decades. Kirenger, the yellow member in Gorenger, was even a big eater with a signature favorite food (a trait more commonly attributed to Langa, but Reki's love for ramen and all things salty - even toothpaste - is a recurring bit in SK8 as well) and a big family.

In Takahashi's paper, she quotes another academic, Asako Yoshida's, analysis of another core aspect of yellow sentai characters, where she describes them as "an intelligent type who gathers information and forms strategies before taking action", and "rather than fighting on the front, they're a tactician who uses their wits and comes up with strategies," traits that Reki also shows frequently, especially in his biggest triumph in episode 11.

Like many of the image colors, it's also used in the show (both in the opening - highlighting his yellow-orange eyes - and in episode 11.)

~

Langa Hasegawa - Blue

Langa's image color is blue, selected along with white from the beginning to fit his snow theme. Blue is associated with positive meanings like calmness and intelligence, but also more negative ones like coldness, sadness and loneliness, fitting of both Langa's calm exterior and the grief that's central to his storyline. Blue sentai members are classically considered "cool" characters, an association that remains strong even as actual characters of that type have grown somewhat rarer over time, with newer series sometimes deliberately subverting expectations. Like yellow, the association of blue with the cool member of a team also dates back to Gorenger, with Aorenger (the blue member) being a cool, stoic character who came from a snowy region. Takahashi quotes Yoshida's description of blue heroes as "the calm, composed and cool second in command type," a character who "doesn't worry about what's in front of him, never seems to get worked up and deals with things calmly," which certainly describes the impression Langa gives off at first - and belies what SK8's producer Kyoko Uryuu described (when comparing him to a petit gâteau) as his "surprisingly passionate" interior.

Like with Reki, Langa's color is shown off in the opening and in the show itself - notably as his "aura" when he's in the Zone with Adam.

~

Miya Chinen - Light Green

Miya's image color is light green, usually shown as a yellowish lime green. I'll get to green as a whole for Kojiro, but yellow-green specifically is associated with youthfulness, beginnings and hope, as it's the color of newly budding plants - and it can also be associated with immaturity, all meanings fitting of a very young character like Miya. While his costume is meant to be an in-universe game character, his bright green hood could also be seen as vaguely evoking Link from the Legend of Zelda series.

Green sentai characters have more varied archetypes, but were historically often the youngest member of the team, while more recently it's been a trend for them to be the oldest member of the team - fitting for the youngest and oldest members of the six characters making up SK8's main "team." The idea of a green member being the youngest also dates back to Gorenger, with Midorenger (the green member) being an innocent younger boy compared to the rest of the team, who was treated like a "mascot" of sorts and even shared Miya's affinity for animals. It's also become a trend for green characters to have close relationships with the yellow members, and to be in conflict with the red members.

Like with most of the other characters, Miya's color is highlighted in the opening.

~

Hiromi Higa - Purple

Hiromi's image color is purple, the color of his lipstick and the inside of his cape. Purple is associated with mystery, rarity, luxury and nobility, and in Japan in particular it's frequently associated with horror (from urban legends like the purple mirror to the common use of purple miasma to show disgusting/horrific food in anime.) Purple sentai members are incredibly rare, and at the time of Takahashi's paper the few that existed were usually mentor figures, but several since have been "dark heroes" or antiheroes - as "Shadow-sama" (fitting of the link to nobility) calls himself, as the self-proclaimed Antihero of the S community. With how he becomes a close friend (and even somewhat of a mentor) to the boys despite his very antagonistic first appearance, he certainly fits the "enemy-turned-ally" archetype, and while he's not actually the much older mentor early purple members were, Reki constantly calling him "old man" does evoke that trope too.

His color appears in the opening as well as featuring heavily in his S costume.

~

Kaoru Sakurayashiki - Pink

True to his surname and aesthetic, Kaoru's image color is pink, the color of cherry blossoms. Pink is associated with beauty, grace, luxury and love. Just like in the west, it's considered a very feminine color - also shown in the fact that pink sentai members are almost exclusively women, and typically particularly feminine and glamorous when on teams with other female members. This is a case where Cherry is in large part a departure from the classic color coding just because of his gender; SK8's colorist, Yukari Gotou, even expressed in Skater's Backstage that she was a bit worried about having a male character with pink hair, but Utsumi described him as a "pink ninja" from the get-go in her coloring notes.

And even Kaoru isn't completely immune to hitting the sentai archetypes either, with his noted beauty and a concern for his looks that Kojiro mocks as effeminate in the series; the contrast between the feminine characteristics he has and his masculine voice and personality are a core part of how his character was designed. He even has a surprising connection with Momorenger (Gorenger's pink member, and only woman) in his affinity for kicks. (As of 2022, there's also finally been a male character properly featuring as the pink member in a sentai series in Avataro Sentai Donbrothers.)

Of course, on top of featuring so heavily in his design, Cherry's color is also used in the opening.

~

Kojiro Nanjo - Green

Rather than Miya's light green, Kojiro's image color is a regular green. Green is associated with calmness, stability, growth and nature, fitting for a very calming and stable mentor character who just "goes with his feelings" like Kojiro - but like light green, it can also signify immaturity, which also suits a character who proudly proclaims to be a "kid" when he's on vacation. Where Miya fits the "youngest member" trope for green sentai members, Kojiro fits the "oldest member" trope, and he also fits the recently trendy close relationship with yellow and conflict with red. In Takahashi's paper, she quotes Yoshida describing green characters as a whole as "a caring type who's always concerned if things are peaceful" (also fitting of Miya, who's always the most concerned for Reki and Langa,) "a soothing person who makes you feel warm and comforted just by being next to them" and as someone who "loves their friends, and 'being together with everyone' is important to them," and in Utsumi's color notes in SK8 Design Works, she described Kojiro as "A calming, mature green. Comforting."

And like with the others, on top of being his hair color, Kojiro's color is also shown in the opening.

~

Ainosuke Shindo - Red

Naturally for the "Matador of Love", Adam's image color is red, a color associated with love, passion and excitement, but also danger and anger, covering both sides of the duality of Adam's connection with love and romance and his violent skating. Utsumi's color notes in SK8 Design Works describe it as "the color of love and blood", and described Adam himself as "a guy who stole a main character's color" - fitting of the fact that in sentai series (and many anime influenced by them,) the red member is almost always the main protagonist and leader. (And perhaps a cheeky reference to Reki, though it seems Adam's color was decided on much earlier on.) Between red and blue being tied for their inclusion in sentai series and yellow in a close second place, the three primary colors form a core trio of characters in sentai series that's also reflected by Reki, Langa and Adam as the three most central characters in SK8.

While many works follow Gorenger's lead with the red protagonist being a hot-headed, passionate natural leader (a role that Adam does command at S as a whole, at least at first,) it's covered such a wide spectrum of protagonists over the course of the genre's history that red's biggest association is simply "being the main character," superseding a single specific character archetype. To momentarily dip into the history of anime itself rather than tokusatsu's influence, I'd be remiss not to mention that thanks to the influence of Mobile Suit Gundam (a franchise that both writer Okouchi and character designer Chiba have history with and mentioned in interviews on Febri as inspiring their interest in anime) it does have a memetic association with speed (and rival characters,) as Gundam's frequently-imitated masked antagonist Char Aznable's custom red mecha is notoriously "three times faster" than any other. (Adam's voice actor, Takehito Koyasu, has even played two "Char Clones" himself.)

As with the other characters, Adam's color appears in the opening but it also surrounds him frequently in the show even from his first appearance, including a red glowing aura to mirror Langa's blue when they're in the Zone (even in the finale when the red is gone from his costume.)

~

Tadashi Kikuchi - Gray

(Tadashi never got an official Twitter icon like the other characters, so I used a different piece of merch.)

Lastly, Tadashi's image color is gray, which is mostly known for being... a bit of a non-color, though it can be associated with gloom, ambiguity or uneasiness. It's mostly seen as a color that blends in and doesn't stand out by itself, which was the purpose behind Tadashi's color scheme, as Utsumi described in her notes as wanting his coloring to "make the main character stand out", given that he was designed from the beginning to appear alongside Adam, who has the "main character's color." Gray is an incredibly rare theme color in sentai series, to the point that there aren't specific character archetypes either; in 2014, at the time of Takahashi's paper, the only gray character she noted was a literal ghost. Even Tadashi's image color is alienated from the other skaters'...

While there are comparatively few (and less obvious) examples of Tadashi's image color appearing in the show, his last emotional scene with Ainosuke takes place in an almost entirely gray room.

It'll be interesting to see how these associations might continue to be used in the future.

[approximateknowledge]

have some volume 5 egg analysis

^so this shows one of the ongoing struggles for kiri, in that she constantly has to be hyper-aware of the fact that because she's a "guy", because her actions will be interpreted a certain way even if it was never intended like that. specifically, the "she's gonna think im hitting on her"-thing. which she'd never do, but also she wouldn't blame others for thinking it. so it ends in this situation where kirito is afraid she (sinon that is) will misinterpret her intentions, but because this is ggo and her avatar is fem as hell, sinon assumes she's a girl, and because of this *accurately understands her intentions*

in other words "being seen as a guy" is consistently an obstacle for kirito when it comes to interacting with other people because her intentions and assumptions just don't line up. but they do when they see her as a girl. which i think is very interesting and also very familiar

some later moments

^so here's when sinon "finds out"; notice how the main motivation for kirito to out herself is just *guilt and fairness and honesty*. like the situation is unfortunate and she already feels bad for "lying" so she just outs herself and apologises on the spot (also note, no intentional harm was done, and also no horny whatsoever; like none)

^and this is sinon's pov shortly after

^and then this

so you're saying before she outed herself there, her behaviour was "natural", and afterwards it flipped back to become "aloof"?

as if putting on a mask, if you will?

is that what sinon's impression of it was reki? is that what you're putting down? that for a moment we saw behind the facade and it was forced back on? fascinating

i couldn't make her more eggy if i tried

^afterword of volume 5, btw

[zilebastikevdeyoktunuz]

Also, I forgot to mention in my theory, Reki was a threat for Adam because Langa was in "love" (in Adam's dictionary) with Reki. For Adam, love is like 2 + 1 (Adam, Eve and skateboarding -maybe we can say that it's forbidden apple...? Idk someone also mentioned it in their analysis on tiktok but I don't remember at all...?-) Reki was a crowd, an obstacle for their love. As soon as Adam noticed that, he tried to get rid of Reki. And the same happened to Miya and Takashi. Miya was in love with Takashi (not that way, I'm talking by Adam's terms) so Takashi was a crowd because Adam and Eve had to be alone with each other (?). Adam got rid of Takashi to take Miya to himself. Also we can say it like Langa has fun with Reki while skating and Miya USED TO have fun with Takashi while skating. Adam is all alone. I wanna also mention that before Adam, Miya used to be so genuine still he is but buried. Miya's emotions are so readable even he keeps them to himself. If Miya smiles genuinely or happy, he blushes A LOT. If he's upset, he can't hold back his tears, if he's angry, his antennas and tail are up and claws are on. If he's scared and anxious, he shakes. If he's worried, he's loud and can't stop talking. If he feels insecure, unintentionally bullies his friends but he really doesn't mean it. Thanks for reading. If you wanna argue, just comment we can debate about it all day.

[yunyunbby]

A parallel between Nakayama event (tsukasa's event) and Movie event (rui's event) [THEORY / ANALYSIS]

So in the Rui event, the way they handle the directing for Bakuno's acting is to focus more on Bakuno himself. So like that's why Bakuno's script got change. To fit with more on what Bakuno himself would do while still not erasing the role itself.

Google translation:

In short their making it as "What if the role of Katsuyuki (Bakuno's role) is Bakuno himself?".

Which for me, feels like a parallel to the Nakayama scene. Since for that scene it's more so showing that Tsukasa has become Nakayama.

(Translation from Tsukasa No.3 fan on Youtube)

In the Rui event, Katsuyuki (the role) is Bakuno.

While in the Tsukasa event, Tsukasa is Nakayama (the role).

You see what I'm getting here?

I really want to say that this means when Bakuno is acting, Bakuno is Bakuno but when Tsukasa is acting, Tsukasa is not Tsukasa. Yeah I'm overthinking this but whatever cause theory is theory.

[hanzaikyou]

Kubota Hidetoshi Range Analysis

So. A year after the last one, and a year after I said I'd do my boy, we're finally doing Hide! Hide's will be interesting, because while he's often made to sing in a higher key (and certainly capable of it), we've also had multiple instances of key adjustments (and him requesting key adjustments) to better fit his register. So let's go~

The Verdict

From what I've found, Hide has a possible, proven range of A2-B4, just over 2 octaves. His comfortable upper range, however, most likely ends around E3. I do think he could go lower, due to the ease with which he hits his lowest notes, however no evidence has been found to prove this.

The Evidence

I think the benefit of waiting so long to do this one is that now, I have a rather vast range of materials to check through; this analysis is brought to you by my admittedly too large collection of Hide DVDs.

Lower Limit (A2)

So, I started my journey here with the Tenimyus, specifically Petenshi Da and Illusion, specifically the Dream Live 2014 version.

I came here first for one reason, and that is that this was the first known instance of a song's key being changed to suit him - his performance in Rikkai Nationals is in Masa's key, but when he got to perform it in concert for Dream Live, it was roughly a semitone lower. Suited him far better in the key change, but he killed both versions. Petenshi Da had a more subtle change - the harmonies that Bachon and Masa did originally were switched, as Mikati more carries Masa's high tone, so Hide has the low harmony.

That said. Illusion from DL2014 gave me a low of D3 (after the first mm ahh ecstasy part), and Petenshi's low harmony goes to E3. Decent starting point, though I did feel we could go lower.

And I was rewarded, almost immediately, with OP1 during the Baron Dublin part, roughly 25 minutes in - on the "even if my hands are tainted with sin" line, Hide's low harmony goes down to a C3. Hell yes. Same with Oath, his harmony is a C3. I don't believe we will get lower than that in a myu, and certainly not on a solo song, as the lowest we get with any baritone in Morimyu is around a C3-D3 (Arterton, Shunly, sort of Izawa too?). That said, I do think Hide is capable of lower.

AND I WAS RIGHT! Valentine Blue, my favourite cosy stage, and the owner of my heart. Pretty, cosy Hide hits a A2 in that, as the first note, in a really cute acapella song that had me melting. (Hearing him sing "you will never walk alone" just. Dammit I love him.)

It was right about here I remembered Hakumyu. Please understand this whole thing was written up, and all the research done, with the Bluray literally sitting directly in front of me. Like between my arms as I typed in front of me. Idk how I forgot it. Either way, checked that. We got an Eb3 in the first song, not a lot that can apply here, and I got to freak out about Hide's growls and pretty long hair again. I'm considering that a win.

Higher Limit (B4)

Okay, so starting (as last time) with Illusion, but this time the Rikkai Nationals version, we got a high of G4. He hit it, and hit it beautifully, but I have no doubt that this note was why the song changed key. Petenshi Da wasn't far off, giving us a high of F#, sung alongside Mikati.

My next plan was to head to Morimyu, specifically OP1. Hide had mentioned in the OP3 bonus DVD that he had requested after OP1 to have his parts lowered, so it stood to reason that the first myu would have some of his highest parts. That said, the highest we got was an F#4, found in The Three Brothers' Secret.

Now by this point, I was fairly certain that I'd well and truly found that highest note. But I had more Hide stages with more Hide songs. And I cannot resist a good Hide song. Reki Tame Live 3 had a song in it, which gives us a more recent iteration of that G4. Sengoku Night Blood was similar in that effect, no new info, but he hit that G4 beautifully (and the growl earlier in the song? hello).

The only one I think may have something higher is High Card - the intro song, Trickster, has a B4 at the end of its chorus. Hide is clearly singing at that point, but there are so many people singing at that point that he can't be audibly identified. Gotta love an intense group song, amirite. Similarly, the ending song Squad! has a Bb4 in it's lower harmony on that chorus - I have to assume that would have been Hide's part. A watch of the backstages proves that both he did sing those notes, and that they were stable, so I must include them. Go off my legend.

EDIT: The ending song of Host-Chan THE FINAL (I believe its called Gimmie Your Love) also contains a B4 in its chorus, and on the show where he wins, Hide can be audibly identified. He hits it, and good job to him, but he does sound like he’s straining for it.

I didn't realise his range would be so wide, going in to this - he's rivaling Shogo, and quite easily at that. I would be so curious to see how low he could go, given opportunity to go outside the Standard Musical Range, cause the dexterity seen on those Valentine Blue notes was amazing to see. This was such a fun excuse to just. flip through a bunch of Hide stages for fun; I've been focusing too much on trying (badly) to sub High Card that I didn't give myself time for all the other pretty Hides. Anyway, we'll see how long it takes me to do another, and who exactly will pop up... perhaps Kenken? I wanna rewatch the Cocoa Otoko stuff. See ya later~

[starlostlix]

Finally adding my Intro post:

Hi, I'm Alyssa!

- Age - 18

- Lesbian, She/They

- AuDHD

- Main focus of my page will probably be MTP and BSD with some other things I like on occasion. Sometimes dip into sociology and psychology analysis, i do general analysis of themes/ideas in the show I mentioned and sometimes i just do funny posts or highlights of trips in the future or even casual reviews im not sure yet.

- Not spoiler free for BSD/MTP manga!!!

- DNI - z!0nist, hom0phobe, r4cist etc.

- Anime/manga I like - Bungo Stray Dogs (both), Moriarty the Patriot (both), Yuri On Ice (anime), Case Study of Vanitas (anime), SK8 the Infinity, (will update as I watch more)

- Other shows - Arcane, TGCF (donghua only currently), Derry Girls, Heartbreak High (Netflix version), Renegade Nell, Stranger Things, Glee, Heartstopper, Geek Girl. etc. (some of these i like more intensely than other lmao, will update as I find any others)

- Kpop fan, Stray Kids are my favourites, also love ATEEZ, TXT, Purple Kiss, Xdinary Heroes, Twice, Loona, BTS, P1Harmony. Listen to a lot of other kpop artists on the regular like Kiss of Life, and many many kpop artists overall.

- Other artists I enjoy - Boygenius + their solo music, Taylor Swift, Conan Gray, Babymetal, Laufey, Maneskin, Fiona Apple, Chappell Roan etc.

- Other things I like/have - I love collecting stuff especially Kpop albums and manga, I ADORE ROLLERCOASTERS (special interest of mine), love me some lego (flowers sets especially), Boba tea enjoyer (specifically chocolate flavour), have a crystal collection I do not know how to use (they're just pretty), I have a collection of signed books if that's something you find cool, i'm starting to gain a sizeable amount of plushies for the first time since I was young, etc.

- Things I want to do/like to do - write powerpoints about my interests, infodump about things i like (majority of my posts), would like to try cosplay (either Chuuya or Sherlock), have tried scrapbooking before idk if i'm any good at it?, make somewhat mediocre edits on tiktok using basic capcut, occasional lyric analysis, i enjoy organising things too. and sometimes the occasional silly post as a treat.

- Kins - Quinni Gallagher-Jones (HBH), Robin Buckley (Stranger Things), Reki Kyan (SK8), (add more in the future when I understand kins a bit better)

[barking]

tagged by @wife !

choose four of your favorite characters from four pieces of media as options and let your tumblr pals decide which one most suits your vibe

okay this selection was tough and i'm really only including my recent media (aside from reki) but

i tag (if you want to do this) @homoerotic @cheddarchaser @mikonawa @neocock @jinkies @corset and anyone else !

[sebdoeswords]

Out here touching grass with no internet when i SHOULD be blorbo posting 😩