You know I was rewatching some Sk8 the Infinity stuff and I realized some things that while Reki didn't win against Adam, he won against Adam in a way that no one else in the show did not even when Langa won against Adam
Like, that scene where Reki dodges Adam's skateboard and Adam falls onto the muddy wet ground and like sees his reflection in the puddle I would give up my Dr. Pepper for my entire life that was the first time Adam really felt humiliation in skateboarding as it was done in front of peopl who are watching this and especially by someone who he views as someone who no talent for skateboarding (which I will go into in a bit).
I feel like if it had been Cherry, Langa, Joe, Snake, even Miya he wouldn't have been as pressed as he was on the sole factor that in his eyes these guys can skate these guys had some version of talent that even Adam himself can't really deny, probably no matter how much he probably tried excluding Langa.
But it was Reki, this guy that all he can really do is make skateboards. He can't really skate, he's not good as Cherry, Langa, Joe, Snake, Miya heck not even as good as Shadow. Because it was Reki, that made Adam fall that Adam was pressed. That Adam had to stare so fucking hard at his reflection because it was Reki that had dared to oppose him in such a way especially after he beat his ass the first time.
And it was something that in Adam's mind that was unacceptable because in his mind it was all about who had talent, who was skilled and who wasn't, the best of the best, heck he probably was thinking that he was untouchable, and it was the worst of the worst (of that group) that had beaten him and not in the race, Adam won that but he knew that he had lost because Reki had done something that none other person had done and that would to make him feel humiliated and show that even the worst skaters has a chance at winning and potentially inspire the people we all know that can't skate in that crowd to skate more and to try again and again and to never give up. At least from what I interpreted :3
This brings me to my next point. Reki should not be the worst of the worst. Here's my reasoning as to why.
Reki Kyan, at the end of the day, is the main character of Sk8 the Infinity. we all love to watch Langa the Infinity, but this ain't his show. Yet Reki has shown no growth. Yeah, he had outsmarted Adam that one scene, but not only did he still lose that race (though he won it in other ways) to me it was always something that he could always have done. Reki is a dumbass yes but I wouldn't say he's a dumbass when it comes to skateboarding. I'd say he knows his way around skateboards, considering that he makes them.
So, I wouldn't say he has grown in the aspect of skill. He's grown has a character, yeah, but like every MC, they don't only grow in character but in strength and skill or whatever it is in the anime. Take another sports anime, Haikyuu. Not only does Hinata grow in character throughout the series, but he has become better at volleyball, too.
Whether it was perfecting an already known move or learning a new move or trying to improve something he wasn't good at but he was growing and I can hear the "Well yeah but Haikyuu is like 4 seasons long and got movies and Sk8 the Infinity only has one and who knows if we get a season 2 or when season 2 comes out (I forgot if s2 was confirmed) of course Reki wouldn't grow." Hinata and Kageyama literally learned how to work out their quick spike move or whatever it's called within the first season.
Not to mention that Reki I would dare say been practicing more than everyone in the group excluding Miya (but I would even dare say Miya too as with him from shown was really skateboarding in a chill way or events/competitions/tournements stuff which I wouldn't call practicing but we haven't really seen what Miya does in his free time so I'll exclude him). Joe, Shadow, and Cherry have jobs that keep them busy in the morning and afternoon and Langa? He practices, but I wouldn't dare say that it's more than Reki. Reki practices and has more history with skateboarding than Langa (and no snowboarding doesn't count here cause it's not really the same) to the point that bro got beat up by a past group.
Not to mention, bro learned how to do an ollie earlier than most and was beating Shadow before tricks were used. No matter how you put it Reki is a talented skater just not as talented as the ones around him which I call fucking bullshit on because Reki should be growing as a character and a skater. He should be getting better and not at a standstill and not just using his good observational skills that he has. I'm not saying he should be getting better at the same pace as Langa (which is not only bullshit and plot armor at it's finest in sports anime) but he should be growing but he's not and you can't say that he is because in the race against Adam part 2, he could already do all of that he's not getting better where all that practice he's been doing should be coming in handy and that's poor writing.
He shouldn't just be suprising everyone using his great knowledge of skateboarding and observant skills but with how much he's improved in skating but he's not and cause of that he doesn't feel like an MC. If you aren't obsessed with Reki or super deep into Sk8 the Infinity well, I'd dare say you'd only know Reki cause of his ship with Langa and not anything else because he's just there.
