Kotora Mitani 'Evisen'
Back in the very early 00's, when Heroin Skateboards' Mark 'Foz' Foster started showcasing Chopper and the skaters of Osaka, the western view of Japanese Skateboarding was a cartoon style punk rock affair. Shin Okada then brought his brand of ledge tech via Daewon Song's Deca brand and the Far Eastern Skate Network blew minds with Gou Miyagi and VX work the likes of which we'd never seen before.
Fast forward a few years to Yuto Horigome's trailblazing run of success in Street League, and the inevitable onslaught of insanely talented skaters shredding in his wake, and one would be forgiven that those early days of barging Japanese rock and rollers was a thing of the past. But here Kotora Mitani is to remind us that Japan still has an amazing underground scene (and that punk's not dead! Certainly not in Japan anyway).
Hosted by Thrasher and repping home brand Evisen, Kotara's part pays homage to the giants of Japanese skateboarding that came before him. With a nod to Heroin's 'Everything is Gonna be Alright' and a tip of the hat to Takahiro Morita's legendary camera work, this is everything a student of Japanese skateboarding could want, all the while being completely up to date. Put simply this is seriously sick, so give it a watch now!