TV-Series
Description
Kakeru Uobuchi is a thirty-two-year-old freelance jump coach who travels across Japan to help figure skaters master difficult jumps. Despite his age, he has a youthful appearance that often leads people to mistake him for a middle or high school student, which surprises adults who learn he is only four years younger than the prominent coach Shinichiro Sonidori. He stands 165 centimeters tall and has an AB blood type, with a birthday on November 30.
In terms of personality, Kakeru maintains a calm and imperturbable demeanor, rarely showing excitement or embarrassment even when people praise his achievements or react with shock to his youthful looks. He focuses entirely on producing results, stating that if he does not deliver a certain level of output in a day, he cannot consider his job done. He genuinely enjoys helping skaters land jumps, but he does not become emotionally attached to winning or losing. His attitude is pragmatic to the point of being detached, and he accepts injuries as a normal part of training, once commenting that breaking a rib is something that happens fairly often and that there is no choice but to continue despite the pain. People like Tsukasa Akeuraji and Hitomi Takamine have described him as being like the character Snufkin, referencing his cool, wandering, and self-contained aura. His hobby is fishing, which mirrors his patient and observant approach to coaching.
Kakeru was formerly a skater himself who was known as a jump enthusiast, having even taught himself to land a quadruple Lutz without relying on any coach. He was once part of the men's national strengthening squad and is widely recognized for his role in helping many skaters succeed with high-difficulty jumps. He now works as an independent, neutral instructor who travels between clubs nationwide. His overarching goal is to raise the overall technical level of jumps in Japan, noting that while other countries often employ multiple specialized coaches, many Japanese clubs still rely on a single coach to teach everything. He seeks to reduce this burden and elevate jump skills across all clubs, even helping rival teams become stronger.
In the story, Kakeru is called upon to train the young skater Inori Yuitsuka when her coach Tsukasa realizes she needs expert help to master difficult jumps. He brings with him a harness, a jump training tool that was not yet widely adopted in Japan. Using this equipment, he teaches skaters proper in-air axis correction techniques, dramatically improving their success rates. He demonstrates remarkable skill with the harness, and his teaching method is so effective that he can help skaters land advanced jumps after a short period of training. For instance, he offers Inori the option to learn a quadruple Salchow, a jump that neither she nor Tsukasa had previously considered attempting. His confidence is captured in his statement that even if a skater is drowning in any kind of difficulty, he will reel them back up and out of it.
Kakeru is a devoted fan of Shinichiro Sonidori's jumps, to the extent that his smartphone wallpaper is a photo of Sonidori mid-jump. His relationships with other characters are shaped by his wandering, neutral role. Tsukasa Akeuraji is so impressed by Kakeru's methods that he attempts to replicate them, purchasing a harness to use at his own club. However, when Tsukasa tries to imitate Kakeru's technique while training Inori, he loses his balance and falls hard on the ice while protecting her, resulting in a cracked rib. Kakeru responds to this incident with calm pragmatism, bluntly stating that such injuries are common and that Tsukasa simply has to continue despite the pain. He later rents an entire rink to help Inori practice personally, serving as both her instructor and a teacher to Tsukasa on how to use the harness correctly.
Kakeru's development is reflected in his impact on those around him rather than in personal change. He appears, transforms the jump training environment, and then slips away again, leaving both progress and a sense of awe in his wake. His presence pushes other coaches to improve their own methods while forcing skaters to confront difficult technical decisions. He is not loyal to any single team or skater; his allegiance is to the overall development of Japanese figure skating. By strengthening everyone equally, he raises the competitive base of the entire country.
Kakeru's notable abilities center on his complete command of harness training. His technique requires mastery of proper axis correction in the air, making it an instructional method that only someone of his caliber can truly perform. He draws on vast experience gathered from traveling across the country and guiding numerous skaters. His methods are considered top class, and others often hurt themselves when trying to copy his techniques without his level of skill. He can teach jumps that experienced coaches have not even contemplated and can dramatically improve a skater's jump success rate in a remarkably short time. His calm, results-driven approach, combined with his technical genius and his almost mythical wandering presence, make him a unique and formidable figure in the skating world.
In terms of personality, Kakeru maintains a calm and imperturbable demeanor, rarely showing excitement or embarrassment even when people praise his achievements or react with shock to his youthful looks. He focuses entirely on producing results, stating that if he does not deliver a certain level of output in a day, he cannot consider his job done. He genuinely enjoys helping skaters land jumps, but he does not become emotionally attached to winning or losing. His attitude is pragmatic to the point of being detached, and he accepts injuries as a normal part of training, once commenting that breaking a rib is something that happens fairly often and that there is no choice but to continue despite the pain. People like Tsukasa Akeuraji and Hitomi Takamine have described him as being like the character Snufkin, referencing his cool, wandering, and self-contained aura. His hobby is fishing, which mirrors his patient and observant approach to coaching.
Kakeru was formerly a skater himself who was known as a jump enthusiast, having even taught himself to land a quadruple Lutz without relying on any coach. He was once part of the men's national strengthening squad and is widely recognized for his role in helping many skaters succeed with high-difficulty jumps. He now works as an independent, neutral instructor who travels between clubs nationwide. His overarching goal is to raise the overall technical level of jumps in Japan, noting that while other countries often employ multiple specialized coaches, many Japanese clubs still rely on a single coach to teach everything. He seeks to reduce this burden and elevate jump skills across all clubs, even helping rival teams become stronger.
In the story, Kakeru is called upon to train the young skater Inori Yuitsuka when her coach Tsukasa realizes she needs expert help to master difficult jumps. He brings with him a harness, a jump training tool that was not yet widely adopted in Japan. Using this equipment, he teaches skaters proper in-air axis correction techniques, dramatically improving their success rates. He demonstrates remarkable skill with the harness, and his teaching method is so effective that he can help skaters land advanced jumps after a short period of training. For instance, he offers Inori the option to learn a quadruple Salchow, a jump that neither she nor Tsukasa had previously considered attempting. His confidence is captured in his statement that even if a skater is drowning in any kind of difficulty, he will reel them back up and out of it.
Kakeru is a devoted fan of Shinichiro Sonidori's jumps, to the extent that his smartphone wallpaper is a photo of Sonidori mid-jump. His relationships with other characters are shaped by his wandering, neutral role. Tsukasa Akeuraji is so impressed by Kakeru's methods that he attempts to replicate them, purchasing a harness to use at his own club. However, when Tsukasa tries to imitate Kakeru's technique while training Inori, he loses his balance and falls hard on the ice while protecting her, resulting in a cracked rib. Kakeru responds to this incident with calm pragmatism, bluntly stating that such injuries are common and that Tsukasa simply has to continue despite the pain. He later rents an entire rink to help Inori practice personally, serving as both her instructor and a teacher to Tsukasa on how to use the harness correctly.
Kakeru's development is reflected in his impact on those around him rather than in personal change. He appears, transforms the jump training environment, and then slips away again, leaving both progress and a sense of awe in his wake. His presence pushes other coaches to improve their own methods while forcing skaters to confront difficult technical decisions. He is not loyal to any single team or skater; his allegiance is to the overall development of Japanese figure skating. By strengthening everyone equally, he raises the competitive base of the entire country.
Kakeru's notable abilities center on his complete command of harness training. His technique requires mastery of proper axis correction in the air, making it an instructional method that only someone of his caliber can truly perform. He draws on vast experience gathered from traveling across the country and guiding numerous skaters. His methods are considered top class, and others often hurt themselves when trying to copy his techniques without his level of skill. He can teach jumps that experienced coaches have not even contemplated and can dramatically improve a skater's jump success rate in a remarkably short time. His calm, results-driven approach, combined with his technical genius and his almost mythical wandering presence, make him a unique and formidable figure in the skating world.