Spoilers ahead!

Don't get me wrong, I love Sk8. I thought it was going to be my new favourite anime for part of the time it was airing. Those first six episodes were just so much fun to me. The dynamic between Reki and Langa was excellent, the comedy was great, and I really cared about those characters.

And then episode 7 came out. Why, Hiroko Utsumi, why did you do that? Of course, she directed both Free! and Banana Fish previously, so honestly I should have expected a certain amount of queerbaiting and angst. But I feel that within Sk8, it was so unnecessary, at least the way in which it manifested. It could have been a light-hearted anime about an unlikely group of friends who skateboard together, and if that's all it was, it would have done it wonderfully. Obviously there's nothing stopping a light-hearted story from having drama, but Reki and Langa's argument really threw me off. It came out of nowhere, and was ultimately rushed. That's my main problem with the show: the pacing. If you want to create an angsty show, you can't just keep up the pretence of it being just a happy, fun, springtime of youth story for half of the total runtime, then shoehorn everything in. I wouldn't have had a problem with Sk8 if it balanced out the angst pacing with the light-hearted parts. The second half of the season felt so totally rushed, I could see them trying to cram so much content in that they'd never be able to fit it all in. Which they didn't. Even though I love the beach episode, did it really need to be there if they were going to struggle so much to realise their plot ideas later on?

Whilst I say that the argument came out of nowhere, it did make sense. Reki's issues with self-confidence and not being able to improve completely fit his character, and there's evidence to back up his feelings. But it never really got to him until the previous episode. That's fine, but it escalated so quickly instead of being allowed to gradually build up. And then after a few episodes of sulking, with nothing really being advanced, he suddenly gets beaten up, hit by a car, and then goes back to his boyfriend all within the same episode. The resolution to this conflict doesn't feel earned, and whilst I enjoyed their reunion, it was certainly awkward. Then it's basically back to business as usual for the rest of the season, save for a few moments when Langa feels guilty about the situation. However, I was very glad that Reki finally got his chance to shine in those last two episodes. THIS felt completely earned, showcasing Reki's knowledge of skateboards and technical strategy that had been consistently shown since the beginning. It was also realistic, he had an advantage because of his knowledge, but still lost because of the gap in skill. But ultimately what counts is that his planning got him close.

Overall, I just wish that Sk8 went one of two ways. Either drop the angst and keep everything light-hearted to create a comfort anime people can come back to time and time again, or fix the pacing so the angst isn't jarring, and plotlines can work fluidly. I love it, but it will always be tainted by the awful pacing for me. I look forward to seeing what the new anime project turns out to be. Season 2, movie, OVA, whatever, just please, Utsumi, make it flow.