le bien qui fait mal a Tadashi Kikuchi x Ainosuke Shindo (TadaAi) web shrine

The plot of SK8 the Infinity

SK8 the Infinity is an original anime from the studio BONES that aired in Winter 2021. The series is directed by Hiroko Utsumi (Free!, Banana Fish), and ran for 12 episodes.

SK8 takes place in Okinawa, Japan. Langa, who recently moved from Canada, learns about a illegal, underground downhill freeride skateboarding race called “S”. There, he starts to learn to skateboard, and begins a journey of healing from his father’s death.

Langa meets a mysterious masked man named “Adam” that takes an interest in him, and through the course of the show, we learn that Adam and Langa’s stories around skateboarding are reflections of one another.

SK8, in a way, is a story about being queer and closeted, and not being able to live your life being who you are with the ones you love. Or, it could be a story about a teenager teaching a broken man that skateboarding is supposed to be fun.

The characters

Tadashi Kikuchi "S" name: "Snake"

“You may have forgotten, but I was the one who taught you how to skate.”

Tadashi Kikuchi is the son of a servant, and met Ainosuke (aka “Adam”) at a young age. He was the one who taught Ainosuke how to skate, which relieved Ainosuke from a lot of the pressures that he had during his upbringing.

In the current time, he is the secretary of Ainosuke, and also the head of the capmen that run the behind the scenes of the “S”. The difference in social standing between himself and Ainosuke brought a major rift in their friendship when they were teenagers. They eventually met again and worked together: Ainosuke as a young charismatic politician, and Tadashi, as his shadow, his secretary.

Ainosuke Shindo "S" name: "Adam"

“Isn’t there someone out there somewhere? An Eve just for me?”

Ainosuke Shindo is the only son of the Shindo estate. As a child, he was under a lot of pressure to grow up as the next head of the household, and was taught a warped sense of love by his father and aunts. He met Tadashi, and Tadashi became his first friend.

In his teenage years, he rebelled against his father, and was sent to America to study. When his father passed away, Tadashi became his secretary. At night, he is the “Matador of Love,” the enigmatic and charismatic skateboarding king of “S.” His skateboarding is compared to dancing, and he often uses violent means to race against his opponents in the no-hands barred S races, a complete 180 from his usual day persona as a politician.

Key events

Childhood: Tadashi and Ainosuke met at a young age, and Tadashi became Ainosuke’s only friend. Tadashi eventually taught Ainosuke how to skateboard in the pool at the Shindo house. At the bottom of the pool is carved a pair of intertwined hearts.

Teenage years: The rift between Ainosuke and Tadashi grows as they age. Tadashi is always worried about the consequences of Ainosuke being caught out while skateboarding.

The skateboard burning incident: Their conflict comes to an unfortunate head when Ainosuke’s father discovers Ainosuke’s skateboarding night activities, and he burns Ainosuke’s skateboard. Ainosuke expects Tadashi to defend and stand up to his father, but instead, Tadashi stands back and expresses that he has no opinion on the matter. Ainosuke is sent to America.

Return of S: After Ainosuke’s father’s death, Ainosuke returns to be the head of the family, and inherits Tadashi as his secretary. Ainosuke is a young, handsome, and charismatic politician, and Tadashi is by his side day in and day out, but their relationship is far from mended.

At night, Ainosuke becomes “Adam,” the king of the “S” illegal skateboarding race in Okinawa. Tadashi serves behind the scenes of “S” as the head of the capmen: driving the helicopter for Adam, flying the drones, recording the races. He is in every way the enabler even if he is not the one in the spotlight.

Tournament arc: During the events of SK8, Adam meets Langa, a new snowboarder-turned-skateboarder. Adam orders a tournament that he called a “Wedding Beef” to find his “Eve.” Tadashi, as Snake, vows to win the tournament to take skateboarding away from Ainosuke. Tadashi believes that he was the one who led Ainosuke astray by teaching him to skate. Near the end of the tournament, Tadashi drops out under the belief that Langa is a more suitable candidate as Adam’s Eve.

Funeral Beef: After learning of Tadashi dropping out, Ainosuke, humiliated and broken, rebrands the finals as a Funeral Beef. Langa and Ainosuke face off, and at the end, Langa mirrors the action of giving Ainosuke back his skateboard, and Ainosuke remembers who it was that taught him that skateboarding was fun.

Ever after: After the tournament, Ainosuke reconciles with Tadashi.

“I thought I’d gotten rid of it long ago. But he taught me. Like you did to me…back in the day.”

Tropes

• Master/servant, master/dog
• Tragic Victorian romance vibes
• Office romance
• Secret identities
• Age gap
• Mirrored skateboarding styles
• Childhood friend to lovers to enemies to lovers
• And much, much more. So tragic, so complicated

One of the Japanese ship names of Tadashi Kikuchi (菊池 忠) and Ainosuke Shindo (神道 愛之介) combines two characters from their names into 忠愛, meaning loyalty; devotion​. The pairing is “TadaAi” or “AiTada” in English.

Why I like TadaAi

“Unbreakable chains”: Tadashi and Ainosuke are two people that are undeniably intertwined. From their childhood days, they have always been together in some way, even when Ainosuke was shipped off to America. Even with the huge rift between them, they still spend basically all hours of the day together, from the moment that Ainosuke wakes up via Tadashi’s “secret” wake up technique, to working in the local government, to the nightly S visits. Why can’t they be apart even when their relationship is so broken before the end of the wedding tournament?

Learning to love: Ainosuke grew up under a lot of discipline and pressure from his family, and Tadashi would probably be the first time that someone loved him as a friend unconditionally.

Original sin: Tadashi carries a lot of guilt, as he even names himself “Snake” in the tournament. He believes he is the one that gave Ainosuke the fruit of wisdom, and awakened this child into this beautiful, messy, commanding monster. Ainosuke is written in a way that he is very clearly gay. S is a safe space for people to be themselves, and Ainosuke becomes Adam, someone he can’t be during the day.

Dancing: When Snake shows himself at the tournament, the other characters note that Snake’s b-boy style skateboarding is very much like the dancing that Ainosuke does on his longboard. Ainosuke very clearly remembers the dancing that Tadashi and him did as children, and he has continued to carry the torch even as Ainosuke chases after other Eves at “S.”

Adults with day jobs: Tadashi and Ainosuke are adults with day jobs and look really good in suits. Yup. That’s it.

Age gap: Tadashi, the servant/secretary/dog, is the older one. Ainosuke is slightly taller than him. They have about a 2 year age gap.

Official art: Just look at it.

Is that a proposal!?

“Did you think I would release you from your collar? You’re my dog for the rest of our lives.”

Me at the anime finale: AASDFJKSD??????? https://nijimen.net/topics/401969

Image songs

Rina Sawayama - This Hell: Saw a poster on the corner opposite the motel / Turns out I'm going to Hell if I keep on being myself / Don't know what I did, but they seem pretty mad about it / Getting ready for the night / Damned for eternity, but you're coming with me / Into the afterlife

Depeche Mode - Master And Servant: There's a new game we like to play, you see / A game with added reality / You treat me like a dog, get me down on my knees

Neon Hitch - Bad Dog: You're just an animal that I caught / Your hands are tied, I got my wish / So say a prayer 'cause this is it

P!nk - Slut Like You: I'm not a slut, I just love love

Hikaru Utada - One Last Kiss: Oh, although you have given me a lot / But please give me one more / Can you give me one last kiss?

Fanfiction recommendations

* shortened for brevity

• Splints and Splinters by unrivaled_tapestry
• The kindest thing by UselessLilium (o0whitelily0o)
• Red, Red Rose by MerrilyAround
• Agonistic Behavior by tropicsbear
• Just My Soul Responding by crinklefries
• new tricks by softcombat
• minor inconveniences by crankcourse
• Petals Fall Silently by fantastic_rambles
• Unleashed by tloraxin

Actor credits

Tadashi Kikuchi

English: Brandon Johnson

Japanese: Kensho Ono, Sayaka Senbongi

Stage play: Mashu Ishiwatari

Ainosuke Shindo

English: David Wald

Japanese: Takehito Koyasu, Mariko Nagai

Stage play: Allen Kohatsu

The stage play is good, too. Lovely~

More official art

SUITS!

Conclusion

Watch SK8 the Infinity for a fun skateboarding anime with a lot of feels.

Even if these two aren’t your cup of tea, there’s also the rest of the cast. It’s honestly a great show that has interesting adult characters.

Until next time, love again~