Your favorite Sonic cartoon?

[MetalSkulkBane]

With slow, but imminent coming of Sonic Prime I began to wonder if it can surpass other shows. And I'm curious what everyone else thinks about them.

I start on a slightly downer note by saying that all of them had good stuff in, but none of them was actually a "good" show. At least, not something I would wholeheartedly recommend to non-Sonic fan. (except for Mania Adventures and few other shorts. But I'm talking about long-length shows.)

Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

Spoiler

It had its basic charm, but not enough to watch 65 episodes or even 22 minutes. It's hard to ignore that it's just Looney Tunes but with a plot and lesser animation. It's not so much of show aging, as much as not really trying to be anything more than a basic show for younger kids.

Sonic Satam

Spoiler

Now Satam just aged badly. Yes, intro the is great. Setting is really cool. Robotnik is pretty menacing. And yes, I get why people like Sally so much.
But dear lord, Antoine is just beyond obnoxious. And I hope you like him, because Bunnie, Rotor and Tails are mostly background characters. And Sonic.... look he's a dummy the o Sally can be a smart one and he's a jerk because "haha, Antoine is a coward". That just doesn't sit with me.
But what really brings the show down for me are very simple plots. They are just generic 80/90s cartoon plots you seen million times.

Sonic Underground

Spoiler

I must admit, I actually kinda like Sonic and Manic. Even Jaleel White playing all three siblings. And yes, chaos forgive me, I kinda like some of the songs. "Justice Calling" or "No one is an Island" are really catchy. Visuals during songs are so bad, they become good again. And of course, give Knuckles his god damn dinosaur.
And that it's I can say nice about the show. It's a compromise of the previous two shows, having the strength of neither. Honestly, it's just very forgettable, and that can be worst than just being 'bad'. Plus this show had some of the ugliest designs I have ever seen in a cartoon.
And BTW, every single version of Ivo Robotnik is great in some way. Satam, Boom, Movie, Games, EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Expect for this dullard.

Sonic Ova

Spoiler

My take on OVA is "Sonic fans will like it, non-fans just have many better options".

Sonic is kinda a jerk, but I can swallow it. Voice acting is kinda bad, but I can swallow it. Princess Sara is annoying and Robotnik tried to marry her, gross, but I can swallow it.

Because Knuckles has a cool hat!... this is exactly the thing fans will care for, and no one else.

I mean, I love Metal Sonic, I adore every scene with him in this OVA. But everything else is just a notch lower. But animation is pretty good.

In the end, I think it's basically okay, but far from "must see".

Sonic X

Spoiler

X is the closest to a good Sonic show. Of course, I watched it as a kid, so Satam fans feel free to accuse me of being biased.

Animation is lacking, especially if you compare it to any popular anime. And Chris Thorndyke, do I even need to say anything?. I grew to 'not hate' level, but objectively speaking I still consider him one of worst Sonic characters. At least Elise had actually bad life. This punk has a loving family, loving servants, cool gramps, cool uncle, good friends, butt-load of money, Sonic characters living in his house and he still finds reasons to mope.

But if you overlook that, it's a decent show with its own quirky humor. Chris aside, a lot of human characters are actually very fun. Agent Topaz, Tanaka or my favorite, teacher Stewart. Meanwhile, Sonic cast is a wide spectrum.
Rouge and Knuckles? Possibly the best in whole franchise.
Eggman? Very fun, and cooky, yet can surprise you with competence.
Sonic and Amy have ups and downs, but ultimately I liked them both.
Only Tails and Cream are problematic. Their fans just have to live with fact how little both of them do.

Sonic Boom

Spoiler

I'm re-watching the show right now and... it's worse than I remember. It's kinda like watching the Simpsons before the quality dropped to an embarrassing level. Like, IDK, past seasons 11, but not as bad as seasons 20 forward.

I like all of the main 8 characters. Eggman is great, it's basically his show. Everyone else is a dullard, but who cares?
Tails is one of best ever been. Sonic has his own style.
I even like Knuckles, as long as I think of him as a completely separate being from Sega Knuckles.
Amy is a bit random but fine. And Stick I really like, even if objectively speaking she's a one-joke on repeat.

The budget is obviously very small. Reused locations, characters and voice actors. Animation isn't "bad" per se, but it doesn't play to its strength. 2D animation can be much more expressive, have more variety, or be off-model. 3D strengths are in very complex designs (like Transformers Prime) or beautiful movement in fighting (2012 TMNT) oooooor it's just cheaper to make (like... well, here).

Plots can be all over the place. Take the episode where Eggman loses confidence. He hires a motivating coach, then fires when he's all pumped but, but where's only halfway through episodes, so he instantly gets unmotivated yet again. Then Sonic and friends try to motivate him with a silly ploy, it doesn't work, but suddenly we're running out of time, so Sonic insults him, and THAT does the job.

Of course, it all comes down to comedy. And this show has moments of absolute brilliance. but overall I would say for every good episode about Silly Hat Knuckles, there was at least one Buster episode.

Sonic comes as a little of 'coach potato' and that's exactly the energy I get from this show. When you're tired and just want to watch something to fill your brain. Not challenging, not exciting, just a sitcom with characters you like giving you basic entertainment.

And yes, if we insist on taking about "Mania Adventures" or "Team Racing Overdrive", they were pure gold. But I feel there are different challenges in making 10 minutes short Vs a long-running carton or sorta movie like OVA was.

[___]

Yeah, I don't really have an easy favorite here. I guess it would have to be AoStH, if only by default. Robotnik has all the best lines and scenes and he's a joy to watch in it. The problem is, unlike in the YTPs, he's not in the show that much compared to Sonic, who's just so annoying and tryhard.

SATAM I understand why people would like it so much. Its serious with lighthearted moments and has a memorable support cast. But I dunno, I think it's kind of boring and dreary. Very "generic tie-in cartoon meant to sell stuff" feel that most cartoons from the 80s and early 90s had. It also doesn't feel like Sonic (though maybe that's more down to how unique it was in 30 years of hindsight).

Underground feels even less like a Sonic thing, the support cast are all annoying, the songs are a bit cringey, and it came out after Adventure 1, which just blows my mind. Feels like something from a decade earlier in the worst sort of way.

Sonic X is probably better in Japan, but the English dub/edit is downright bad in numerous ways. Loud constant music, voices that don't feel right yet, etc. Even then, the focus on the human characters is a big turn off for me. The third season is what the whole show should have been.

Sonic Boom... Ugh. I know that a lot of people loved the show specifically, but I hated it from the beginning. People standing around and making immature jokes is the last thing I want from anything Sonic related. It felt like dollar-store Regular Show, and I hate Regular Show.

Sonic Prime doesn't have a high bar to clear in my opinion.

[batson]

Objectively best: Sonic Boom

Personal favorite: Sonic X or SatAM.

Most nostalgic: AoStH.

Most worst: Underground. That's right, most worst. I can bend the english language all I want and you can't stop me.

I really hope Sonic Prime is good, and I also hope that it is more action than comedy oriented. That's all I really want from a Sonic cartoon; a good action show. Like I said, Sonic Boom is good, but it's not in the genre I prefer for the franchise. Then you got SatAM and Sonic X which are action cartoons but which I can only describe as mediocre. Well except the third season of Sonic X where they go into space and fight the Metarex, that was genuinly good stuff. More of that from Sonic Prime please.

 

[TailsGotTrolled]

Sonic boom but also that episode of sonic X where knuckles breaks out of a cell by yelling into a the bug they installed in it

 

[KnuxDLX]

On 2/6/2022 at 2:31 PM, TailsGotTrolled said:

Sonic boom but also that episode of sonic X where knuckles breaks out of a cell by yelling into a the bug they installed in it

 

Dude I just rewatched that episode for like the hundredth time.

 

Sonic X has the BEST art direction of any Sonic media, in fact I think it still sets the overall design of the characters. The episode where they introduced Chaotix was good as hell. 
 

But really the animation was so on point. I think the art style was lacking some identity, especially with the human characters (hello Sora), but the environments are beautifully illustrated, clearly inspired by the vast well of Sonic level backgrounds. 
 

Oh, and I love the way Rouge stole the show on numerous occasions, and Kathleen Delaney is just phenomenal. The way she picked up that script and delivered every word with such sass. She is still the only voice of Rouge I hear in my head.

 

Before anyone starts like they did on Reddit, yes I’ve seen the negative comments about Delaney’s Rouge and I am disappointed to say that they all seem to focus on anything other than the actual performance. 
 

and yes the saxophone does make it better.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Hmm, can’t really say.

I watched most Sonic shows except for Sonic Boom—not out of spite, mind you, as while I’ve made it no secret I’m not a fan, that’s mainly out of lack of interest than dislike of Boom.

The one I most fondly remember are AoSTH and SatAM—SatAM aged rather poorly rewatching it (good lord, that pilot script was cheesier than I remember!) but it do like to rewatch it from time to time. AoSTH was weird from the start, so it was easier to take the silly parts it had.

Then there was X. Which I watched mainly to see the newer characters that came after the Adventure series.

I watched the OVA too, and it was great to see Metal Sonic in action.

Can’t really say there’s a favorite—each has its ups and downs and it’s own charms. There are things I like from each and dislike as well, but they’re representions of eras more than anything when I look at them.

[DanGreen]

Sonic X

SATAM

Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog 

Sonic Boom

Sonic Underground 

Sonic shows that are more action orientated with larger story threats/stakes are what draw me in the most which is why Sonic X and SATAM are my 2 favourites.
I think Sonic X just takes the 1) spot as I enjoy seeing a lot more of the game characters and I enjoyed the adaptions of SA1 and SA2.
I also loved the Metarex Saga.

I remember SATAM blew me away as a kid as it literally premiered on Channel 4 in the UK the week after Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog finished!
I was confused at first by the new intro and how dark it was and it gripped me immediately with a much more evil Robotnik and the freedom fighters.

With the two more comedy focused shows, Adventures comes in third over Sonic Boom mainly due to childhood nostalgia of it being my first Sonic cartoon I watched from the very beginning. I won’t knock Sonic Boom though as it has very strong writing on some episodes and Mike Pollock is always fantastic. I do wish Knuckles was not portrayed as the dumb comic relief though.

Sonic Underground is at the bottom of the pile. It’s in a weird place where o don’t consider it a comedic show like Sonic Boom or Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog but doesn’t have the action or high stakes that Sonic X or SATAM has. I also found the songs annoying and the whole plot of a brother and sister and his mother being a queen bizarre.

Despite all this I don’t hate the series, if the songs were ditched, Manic and Sonia had more character development and was treated as a more serious story it might have had a better reaction today as a unique spin-off.

I really enjoy the OVA despite the awful English dub but kinda consider it as a separate entity to the other long running Sonic shows so didn’t place it in the ranking.

[GX -The Spindash-]

I still feel pretty good about Sonic Boom.

It sort of reminds me of, do y'all remember whenever Cartoon Network had that weird animated Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck sitcom? Sonic Boom is that, a weird animated sitcom where these vaguely defined video game characters are molded into sitcom roles. If I have a complaint, it's mostly that the characters are all entertaining playing into their own archetypes, but they don't really play off of each other very much. There's a lot of "This is a good line for this character," but not a lot of "this is a good interaction between characters."

[Raya]

Sonic Boom is objectively the best tv show and i really like it, but I also have a lot of nostalgia for Sonic X. Sadly, many of the episodes in my native language are lost due to the copyright problems

[juiceDpunk983]

Sonic X is my favourite so far. Wish they'd release a box set for us here in Region 2, we only have eight episodes on DVD here lol.

[Iko]

I'm not a big fan of any of the Sonic cartoons, though Sonic X is the one that interested me the most, for being more similar to the mainline games. Regardless, I still don't like Sonic X that much, I think Sonic works much better as an anime rather than as a cartoon (I know they mean the same thing, you got my point), though Sonic X for me was kinda disappointing, be it due to the pointless human characters or wathever.

From the very little I've seen of Sonic Prime, I got some Sonic Colors' cutscenes vibes, and I have very little hopes for it. I'm honestly sick of Sonic being a saturday morning cartoon in style and tone.

I wish some day anime will become a trend again like in the early 2000's, I want Sega to try a Sonic anime again, this time without unnecessary human characters, and more action-oriented, possibly a short series with more effort put into quality animations and art style (they can always do more seasons if it turns out successful).

[Mangoaxe5]

Satam is the best Sonic cartoon. It improves upon the source material. Plus it has a Robotnik that feels like a threat instead of a goofy manchild.

 

[The Famous Sonic]

22 hours ago, CraigAmation983 said:

Sonic X is my favourite so far. Wish they'd release a box set for us here in Region 2, we only have eight episodes on DVD here lol.

Sonic X is on Netflix but doesn't have the Metarex saga. 

[knuckles20]

Sonic X is currently my favorite and 4kids edits aside, I like the english dub. When it comes to the other shows they're either very fun or just ok. If I ever rank them Underground would be at the bottom due to main plot never getting resolved. You can say the same about Satam but one could argue they kinda had a conclusion with the Archie Comics.

[Cuz]

SatAM still holds the candle for me. A good cast of characters put through their paces. It even wraps up well cliffhanger be damned. The OVA has some of my favorite action but is a little too lean a feature to stack up to a series like SatAM.

[Darkness Void]

Sonic SatAM was always my favorite. Yes it aged badly, and I see flaws but they are nothing compared to the only Fleetway comics which were criminally short.

With SatAM, I just loved the characters. I enjoyed the world and how everything was just played just right for a world on the brink of judgement day.

And Robotnik is my favorite version of the character. The only episode I can say that I didn't liked was the time travel one. Not because it was bad, but how it just didn't work.

Fans are actually making a fan season 3 using the notes the team wrote for season 3 but never got to used. Let's hope no C&D notice..

[Rabbitearsblog]

I loved watching Sonic Satam growing up.  It had such a unique take on the franchise at the time and I loved how serious the tone of the show was (well, until the second season anyway).  However, when I started watching Sonic X, I think that became my favorite Sonic show because it was the most faithful to the Sonic series at the time and I loved how the stories were done in that series, especially the Metarex arc.

[MGA_Gamer]

Probably AoSTH, mostly because of its brotherly relationship between Sonic and Tails.

Sonic is so protective and supportive of Tails in this show, and Tails gives his best bud some affection in exchange. It's almost like an adorable parent/child relationship. Heck, Sonic even says to Tails that he loves him at one point!

This show, and how it portrays the franchise's most iconic duo, is one of the reasons why I love Tails so much (Heck its why my SSMB user icon is what it is).

[Darkness Void]

15 hours ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

I loved watching Sonic Satam growing up.  It had such a unique take on the franchise at the time and I loved how serious the tone of the show was (well, until the second season anyway).  However, when I started watching Sonic X, I think that became my favorite Sonic show because it was the most faithful to the Sonic series at the time and I loved how the stories were done in that series, especially the Metarex arc.

Sonic X was awesome. It had flaws and unanswered questions (like what was in the second capsule that Maria sent to Earth along side Shadow's?) But I really liked how Chris actually had a role in season 3 that helped.

Inventing different shoes for Sonic to wear, for example, showed that through the years apart that Sonic still had an impact on his life.

Now if only they had him stayed and not cancelled the show..

[Rabbitearsblog]

15 minutes ago, Darkness Void said:

Sonic X was awesome. It had flaws and unanswered questions (like what was in the second capsule that Maria sent to Earth along side Shadow's?) But I really liked how Chris actually had a role in season 3 that helped.

Inventing different shoes for Sonic to wear, for example, showed that through the years apart that Sonic still had an impact on his life.

Now if only they had him stayed and not cancelled the show..

I'm actually mixed on Chris himself.  While it was interesting seeing how Sonic would relate to a human character, I didn't like the fact that Chris took away the roles that Sonic's friends would play in the games, like playing as Sonic's best friend throughout most of the series, despite the fact that the games had established Sonic and Tails as best friends or have him be the one who convinces Shadow to help Sonic, when it was Amy Rose who did that.

[Darkness Void]

Just now, Rabbitearsblog said:

I'm actually mixed on Chris himself.  While it was interesting seeing how Sonic would relate to a human character, I didn't like the fact that Chris took away the roles that Sonic's friends would play in the games, like playing as Sonic's best friend throughout most of the series, despite the fact that the games had established Sonic and Tails as best friends or have him be the one who convinces Shadow to help Sonic, when it was Amy Rose who did that.

Yeah I hated that with Amy. Although being human himself I can understand how Chris triggered Shadow's memories.

I'm overall fine with Chris. At the very least he wasn't captured every 5 minutes.

[Rabbitearsblog]

2 minutes ago, Darkness Void said:

Yeah I hated that with Amy. Although being human himself I can understand how Chris triggered Shadow's memories.

I'm overall fine with Chris. At the very least he wasn't captured every 5 minutes.

That's true. It could have been worse: Chris could have been that character who Sonic has to rescue all the time and it would have been pretty annoying if that happened.  At least Chris was much more proactive in the third season.

[Darkness Void]

10 minutes ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

That's true. It could have been worse: Chris could have been that character who Sonic has to rescue all the time and it would have been pretty annoying if that happened.  At least Chris was much more proactive in the third season.

Remember when everybody was coming up with fake imagery for a 4Th season ranging from Blaze and Mephiles?

[Zaysho]

OVA is kind of the de facto choice for me. I don't even strongly care about it (I actually don't like any of the original characters lol), but I think it had lots of interesting potential in its world design and character writing I kinda wish they had done more with it. I actually really like the boys in particular just because they get a lot of fun banter and Sonic and Tails are, oddly enough, the most "sibling-like" I've seen them in anything with the way they bicker about dumb shit but will still look out for the other and trust them. I think Sonic's "meanness" in this version works and has a nice balance to it.

I would say SatAM is a close second but with the caveat that my memory of it is largely overridden by Archie. SatAM is fun, but even as someone who watched that show first when he was, like, five, and watched it in reruns whenever it was on growing up, I was a far more avid reader of the comic which was my favorite version of the series overall even with its weird problems.

Everything else is kinda whatever or it's something like X where I can't even stay conscious through it or Underground which I've never seen and don't plan to watch any time soon.

[Rabbitearsblog]

10 minutes ago, Zaysho said:

OVA is kind of the de facto choice for me. I don't even strongly care about it (I actually don't like any of the original characters lol), but I think it had lots of interesting potential in its world design and character writing I kinda wish they had done more with it. I actually really like the boys in particular just because they get a lot of fun banter and Sonic and Tails are, oddly enough, the most "sibling-like" I've seen them in anything with the way they bicker about dumb shit but will still look out for the other and trust them. I think Sonic's "meanness" in this version works and has a nice balance to it.

I would say SatAM is a close second but with the caveat that my memory of it is largely overridden by Archie. SatAM is fun, but even as someone who watched that show first when he was, like, five, and watched it in reruns whenever it was on growing up, I was a far more avid reader of the comic which was my favorite version of the series overall even with its weird problems.

Everything else is kinda whatever or it's something like X where I can't even stay conscious through it or Underground which I've never seen and don't plan to watch any time soon.

Even though OVA was closer to the source material at the time, I had a rough time with Sonic's personality in that movie.  I don't know, I never liked it when Sonic was too mean to Tails (even though the Fleetway comics did just that).  However, I did love Metal Sonic in this movie, so it has that going for it.