Season 1 | Sonic Boom: TV Series Discussion

[Tara]

I asked if Eggman Nega is planned for Sonic Boom:

 

Mike Pollock ‏@itsamike 1h

@Lord_Robotnik I can't comment on anything that hasn't been announced. Sorry.

 

So, maybe in the future?

That doesn't say anything.  Saying what won't appear can be just harmful as what will, so, as stated, he can't comment on anything beyond what we've seen so far.

[VO.SUPER]

Mike is a very tight lipped and by the rules guy, even if Nega wasn't in the show, he wouldn't say because he doesn't want to risk his job. (He probably wouldn't, but he's just rule abiding like that.)

[Zaysho]

Mike is a very tight lipped and by the rules guy, even if Nega wasn't in the show, he wouldn't say because he doesn't want to risk his job. (He probably wouldn't, but he's just rule abiding like that.)

 

To be fair, given how little Nega has been used... what are the odds he even remembers who that is? He rarely even knows what game he's recording when he's called into the studio (thanks to NDAs and the fact that he likes his job).

 

I don't blame Pollock at all for simply going the no comment route. We have to remember: the voice actors likely know about as much as we do at the moment. Their involvement is limited to showing up to recording sessions.

[VO.SUPER]

Yeah, I doubt Mike really remembers much of his Nega role. He's a great actor, but certainly doesn't dwell on previous roles. XD

They probably finished their recording sessions by now for sure, unless it were the last few episodes. These things are usually done first after scripts and storyboarding in America.

And most, if not all of the animation should be done by the time the show finally airs.

(Here's some fun facts for you all. In America, all the voices are done first, which allows for proper lip movement. In Japan, voices are done after the animation is made allowing for cheaper episodes.)

[Jovahexeon Jax Joranvexeon]

If this show turns out to be all that and the bag of chips they're promising, I'll join in pushing for a renewal.Would be nice if this gives Sonic the MLP FiM effect and mass appeal.

[Mauro Fonseca]

You can tell because the dingleberry quills seem exclusive to the show.  

 

Only the concept art lacks them. They're in the game and look even worse, like he has antennae.

[BonkersTheAutomaton]

Hey everyone.  I finally have my full thoughts on both the game announcement and TV series.

 

Sorry if the video is a bit late on the news.  It took some time to get published and then uploaded (basically, my internet is rubbish)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PzIsnGag6Y

[Tenko]

(Putting it in here too since it relates to both the show and the game)

 

I just hope they use the back catalog of enemies that have been unused for some time either for the game, the show, or both.Their excuse is always that they have no where to fit them in without upsetting what they have going in the main series, and they didn't fit in with the side games either (even tho i personally think Riders and Generations was a missed opportunity). So why not in this? New universe, clean slate.

 

Sure have new ones, but there are plenty of fans out there that would love to see old ones return. Hell i would crack up if one episode had Eggman build Scratch and Grounder or something...one of the antho's in the town hub resembling Mighty or Ray, Bean or Bark. Have Nack make a come back for a bad guy or rival role, after all it said OLD and new enemies. Older fans would crack a smile, have a laugh, get some recognition. Easter eggs and cameos are always welcome. With a clean slate and not being as critical as the Sega of Japan main games why not? And it's mostly the western countries that remember and hold onto the "lost" characters due to the Archie Comics and the TV shows we have had here like AoStH and SatAM. Throw us a bone

[iDEATH]

Gotta say, I'm loving the newdesigns, glad we've finally got the chance to see them. Sonic's blue arms don't really do it for me but I'll get over it, I think all the designs do a good job of expressing each characters unique traits.

 

And...dat Eggman...

 

Trailer looks great too, models are awesome, textures, lighting and animation are all spot on and the writing seems really great. This has gone from a show I was fairly interested in to one I'm having a full on fangasm for.

[SKSpawn]

I actually...like the look of this quite a lot.  Sure, Sonic having blue arms is pretty jarring, and the abundance of taping is a tad strange, but those are really the only major issues I have with it, and it's not like it's anything that's really going to spoil it for me.

 

I like Knuckles' re-design, it really emphasises his power and seperates him from the others, makes him look older and, hell, at least he's in it for a change!  Amy's new design is good, too, she's needed one for a while now, and Tails is basically just still Tails, no issues there, same with Eggman.

 

I've no problem with the shorter, maybe more "kid-friendly" tone to the series as this means episodes are, presumably, cheaper and easier to produce and could help in re-branding and re-popularising Sonic among younger kids.

 

Honestly, I am very amused at how SEGA are rushing in to "put our minds at rest" that Sonic Boom is not replacing the main series - I can't recall ever freaking out as a child and thinking that Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, SatAM, or Sonic Underground were "replacing" the videogames, even when certain design elements were incorporated into the comics.  I could always make the distinction between the videogames, the cartoon shows, and the comic books, but it seems these days people/kids...are incaoable of that?  Plus...honestly...I think it might've been better if they had replaced the main series.

 

Think about it: Sonic is a little stale these days, a little hit-and-miss, and the fans are notoriously hard to please.  SEGA have struggled a bit at really defining what the Sonic brand is and have thrown almost every gimmick at the wall to see what sticks.  Sonic Adventure introduced a bold new design for the series and its characters, and a lot of fans have felt the series has needed a reboot, of sorts, for a while to help strip the series of some of its more convoluted elements.

 

By utilising the Sonic Boom aesthetic over the usual one, SEGA could have drawn a line through all that and really pushed a massive re-branding of the Sonic franchise, with Sonic Boom and its videogame tie-in at the forefront.  In fact, given that they're now saying Sonic Boom is totally seperate and unrelated to the main series, surely that's made the franchise more complicated?  They're essentially saying we now have:

 

1. The main Sonic series

2. The Mario & Sonic series

3. The Sonic & SEGA All-Stars series

4. The Archie comic books

5. Sonic Boom and all related merchandise

6. Whatever else I've forgotten

 

....and essentially none of it is related beyond the fact that they're all adaptations and ancillary products of the Sonic franchise.  If SEGA really are of the mindset that kids/people can't distinguish between what's "official" and what isn't, then convoluting things with another series seems counter-productive - hell just look at the efforts made in the comics now to align themselves closer to the world of the videogames, which fits with SEGA's recent desire to have "one brand, one Sonic".

 

Meh, thinking a bit too much in to it, but I would've been perfectly happy if the Sonic Boom re-designs had heralded a complete overhaul for all of the franchise.  As it is, though, it's looking good to me, and I'm excited to see more.

[Willsy]

The animation looks a lot like Lost World's CGI cutscene in terms of quality. That's very good, I was concerned that it would be like the Garfield Show, but this looks more comparable to Marza's animation.

[ElectricAngel]

The animation looks a lot like Lost World's CGI cutscene in terms of quality. That's very good, I was concerned that it would be like the Garfield Show, but this looks more comparable to Marza's animation.

Same. You have no idea how relieved I was when I saw the animation was very close to the video games' CGI cutscenes. My only complaint is that the lip syncing can be a bit off at times, but that happens with almost every CGI cartoon these days.

[Willsy]

Same. You have no idea how relieved I was when I saw the animation was very close to the video games' CGI cutscenes. My only complaint is that the lip syncing can be a bit off at times, but that happens with almost every CGI cartoon these days.

Since it's a French studio, they probably had some trouble lip syncing to the English dub. The French version will probably have perfect lip syncing, but to be honest the English version looks fine already. I didn't even notice the lip syncing issues.

[TrueBlue]

This is just so terrible... I don't even know where to begin.

 

Perhaps by stating what you find terrible?

[TrueBlue]

Everything. The entire direction this has gone in. I just don't like it. This is just another division to be made in the fan base. Hasn't made a good impression on me from anything I've seen or heard.

 

The fact this is going to be a game too, worries me in what direction Sega/Sonic Team are going in. Especially after Lost World, which I really disliked also.

 

Don't scorch me for disliking it so far. I know it's just early days. I'll say how I feel when it's properly all out in the open and I've watched it.

 

I know I'm not the only who probably feels this way.

 

Fair enough, nothing wrong with feeling that way.

 

Posts that just say "I don't like this" without explaining why just annoy me, personal pet peeve. They just contribute nothing to the discussion.

[Amomynous]

Good Points:

• Sonic seems in-character, I love how when Eggman introduces his robot and he just thinks it’s funny and complains about the name, as well as expressing familiarity with Eggman's weaponry. He's clearly smug from his body language and tone of voice, no bragging present or necessary.
• Eggman seems a bit different in his behavior, but still seems pretty well portrayed.
• Tails expression when the lever breaks, I found it fairly amusing that he doesn’t look so much scared as stupefied.

Bad points

• Weird animation,sometimes stiff, or the irises/pupils are off-kilter, Sonic's expressions look a bit awkward, partly due to westernisation I think, partly due to unsureness over the mono-brow/eye. Hopefully this is work in progress.
• His name is not actually Eggman.
• Badly timed slow-mo effect.
• Mild dislike of Sonic’s and Tails’s designs
• Strong dislike Eggman's, Amy's and Knuckles's designs.

[DarkLight]

Yeah, Tails looked so unusually calm when the Tornado was going to fall.

 

It's like he was thinking, "Oh, this is happening again. Ah well..."

 

*KABOOM*

[VO.SUPER]

That's a problem with CGI television animation. Funny faces are a bit difficult to do since going off model is very expensive. A CGI theatrical cut could do it, but television budgets have their limits.

I expect the theatrical film to have a lot of gorgeous speed to the animation, while making it more fluid than this.

[Amomynous]

I think Sonic's face does seem fairly stretchy and therefore 'going off model' it just seems more like the way they chose to have him 'make a face' sometimes, akin to how Archie STH  draws expressions a lot of the time.

[VO.SUPER]

I dunno, I think Sonic's face does seem fairly stretchy and therefore 'going off model' it just seems more like the way they chose to have him 'make a face' sometimes, akin to how many Archie STH artists draw his expressions sometimes.

Squash and stretch are different from purposefully going off model. There is a built in and molded set of expressions and mouth movements made for the show. But you won't see any huge exaggerations for the sake of comedy or emphasis. Doesn't mean they can't get a good face in, it's that they'll be more limited in what a character can express for comedy because of time limitations.

[Amomynous]

Oh so that's what you mean, in which case I wasn't expecting any of that at all. I mean their expressions rarely go outside their 'natural' facial structure in the games so I didn't expect that here, especially with the budget.

[Adrian Shephard]

I wish I could mute the fanbase so I could avoid these "why the fuck does sanic have blue arms" kind of questions.

 

Anyway, I like it so far. The CGI looks actually good and I dig the new designs. And it made me laugh which is a big thing to say after the corny shit we got since Colors. I wonder if the story will be any good.

[AdventChild]

Squash and stretch are different from purposefully going off model. There is a built in and molded set of expressions and mouth movements made for the show. But you won't see any huge exaggerations for the sake of comedy or emphasis. Doesn't mean they can't get a good face in, it's that they'll be more limited in what a character can express for comedy because of time limitations.

 

Yeah, this is one of the reasons I prefer a more 2D digital/traditional route than full CGI show (at least, it's better looking than Garfield) that there are limitations to what you can do in terms of character models/expressions and even in world-building. Heck, the 2D concept art/art style is great and more expressive in comparison and makes me wish that they make the show using that instead. IMO, it makes kinda sense after having 3 western series based on the 90s generation of Sonic and an anime based on Modern Sonic and to keep hold the 2D animated/cartoon tradition with Sonic Boom. 

[VO.SUPER]

Yeah, this is one of the reasons I prefer a more 2D digital/traditional route than full CGI show (at least, it's better looking than Garfield) that there are limitations to what you can do in terms of character models/expressions and even in world-building. Heck, the 2D concept art/art style is great and more expressive in comparison and makes me wish that they make the show using that instead. IMO, it makes kinda sense after having 3 western series based on the 90s generation of Sonic and an anime based on Modern Sonic and to keep hold the 2D animated/cartoon tradition with Sonic Boom.

Well, 2D is nice and all, but let's not forget its flaws. It may be easier to go off model for the sake of comedy, ala AoSTH, but it's also entirely dependant on the team being able to draw well structured characters and make them move good. Sonic X was probably an example of the worst 2D Sonic show ever animated. Characters were often drawn so poorly and animated like they were still drawings.

I just wanted to show that I see the flaws and the good's behind this show.

[JaidynReiman]

Everything. The entire direction this has gone in. I just don't like it. This is just another division to be made in the fan base. Hasn't made a good impression on me from anything I've seen or heard.

 

The fact this is going to be a game too, worries me in what direction Sega/Sonic Team are going in. Especially after Lost World, which I really disliked also.

 

Don't scorch me for disliking it so far. I know it's just early days. I'll say how I feel when it's properly all out in the open and I've watched it.

 

I know I'm not the only who probably feels this way.

Honestly... I fully agree except for the "hasn't made a good impression" part.

 

Everything being done with this TV series or this game could've been done with the main Sonic continuity and WITHOUT completely redesigning Knuckles or Eggman. Sonic, Tails, and Amy, personally I wouldn't have minded seeing slight updates to them like this (they haven't really changed much), but overall, I don't see why they had to create an entirely new continuity and create yet another division in the fanbase for this.

 

And no, I don't advocate replacing this with the old continuity. If they really wanted to fix their past mistakes, they would've fixed the old continuity and then made it so that the Sonic Boom TV series takes place a few years after the main game series so the characters are a little older and it would still be separate from the main series but in the same continuity.

 

 

I love the concepts introduced in the game, but I don't see why we had to have a new continuity to do them.

 

 

As far as Sonic Boom on its own, though, I kinda like it for it is. I just don't see why it was necessary to redesign the characters and create a new continuity when they didn't need to.