Welcome to the first iteration of my video review series, where I give my opinions on the newest video drops in skating. As always, this series is completely for your enjoyment, and if you disagree with my takes, feel free to let me know what I got wrong. I will link each video so you can go support the hardworking people who made them!
Skate Video Review #1: Kento Urano’s “100 Gums” Part | 8.5/10
Going into this review, I have some major bias toward Kento as a skater. His trick selection, style, and versatility are exactly what I look for. I first became a fan after seeing clips of him on Instagram doing ledge combos I had never even thought of before, while barely moving his shoulders. Definitely someone to keep an eye on if you’re into technical skating.
The video opens with a fish-eye filmed line on buttery marble ledges: first a back smith 180, immediately followed by a mind-blowing half cab crook heelflip 180 out. For the average skater to pull off technical ledge lines like this, they’d have to focus all their efforts on learning and perfecting ledge tricks. Kento offers every type of street skating—from rails to gaps—at a high level, which is impressive. Soon after, he drops a slow-rotating varial flip down a hefty gap. I don’t know about you, but anyone who can make varial flips look half-decent has my respect.
Out of everything this video has to offer, I have to say the inward heel tailslides at 3:02 took the top spot for me. Kento has proven to be a pioneer of this trick and has one of the best inward heels in the game, in my opinion. Having the control and confidence to do an inward heel into a ledge that is raised far off the ground is beyond me. If you commit but miss the tailslide, that is a recipe for disaster. Not only does he land the inward heel front tail perfectly, but he even adds a front bigspin out in the same session. He has this trick DOWN too, check out his 2023 run at Tampa AM 2023 (he deserved to be at least third by the way).
The spot selection in this video is up to standard. I enjoy watching people skate spots that combine two types of skating (like a manual pad that ends in a pole jam, for example), and this video has a few of those. Every time I watch a video filmed in Japan, I can’t help but feel a bit jealous. Every spot has a gorgeous aesthetic, and the ledges look perfect. One example is at 1:34 and features a beautiful-looking ledge into a tall gap. The trick selection was a great fit for the spot as well, a balanced nosegrind 180 that landed perfectly on the smooth tiling.
My favorite featured spot of the video was at 2:53, which was a fun-looking curved rail that ended in several small kinks down a set of stairs. Even crosslocked, hitting a rail that curves and then immediately transitions into several kinks is not an easy feat. This trick specifically added some variety to the video, which was heavier on the ledge side of skating than anything else.
The theming of this video is well done and balances out well with the quick-footed nature of Kento’s style. I loved the claymation shots thrown in at various points. The bursts of B-roll are distributed well and don’t detract from the skating too much. The filming in this video was decent and met my expectations. The mix of long lens and fish eye is suitable for his style of skating.
Overall, this video had a lot to offer for a sub-five-minute part. It didn’t cut any corners and had me on the edge of my seat, wondering what trick could be next. The only aspect of this part I would have liked to see more of was the number of gnarly spots. If there were a few large handrails and gaps thrown into the mix, this part would have been perfect in my eyes.
That being said, Kento Urano is one of the most innovative skaters out right now. Even with the incredible amount of progression right now in skateboarding, he sticks out with his unique trick selection, consistency, and style. If you haven’t watched this part yet, click here.
Have you seen my pop shuv tutorial video? Go check it out here
