Favorite Sonic Cartoon?

[Flyboy Fox]

I'll admit the one thing- aside from Chris- I disliked about Sonic X is its odd rewriting of the Sonic backstories. In the games, it's accepted that Sonic and company have always lived on Earth (Which makes sense, since Eggman's grandfather is from Earth). But Sonic X seems to make some bizarre concession to the SoA storyline, making the Sonic characters come from some other unnamed planet (an allusion to "Mobius" perhaps), an element of the show I always disliked.

I think the singular reason that they did this is for the same reason that Chris exists. It's a fanboy's wet dream. You wake up one day, and Sonic and co are real and show up on your doorstep (or in your mansion pool, if you're a rich brat). Chris is supposed to be the viewer, or at least, the viewer is supposed to imagine themselves in his place. Of course, to befit the story and avoid fourth-wall breakage, Chris doesn't already know about Sonic and co. But he's still supposed to be the little boy from OUR mundane little world who suddenly gets to meet and hang out with Sonic and co.

[Preston]

In that case, they should have just pulled a Mega Man OVA and have Sonic come out of the TV. It would be like Sonic Live, only good.

[SBR2]

AoSTH it's goofy but dang it it's just so much fun.

Sonic OVA I wish I could find the DVD I loved this movie, yes the voice actings terrible, yes it's bizzare but dang it this is deffinately the definition of so bad its good.

Sonic Underground I have never understood the hate for this show sure it's not very much like the games but then again non the were not AoSTH it was closer but not by very much the only thing I don't like are the songs and even then there are a few good ones.

SatAM eh it's okay but people hype it up way to much to the point where they basically say if it aint SatAM it's not good really it didn't do anything that any other Saturday Morning Cartoon didn't already do.

Sonic X yeah it's last on the list but I want to make one thing perfectly clear I do not hate Sonic X it has flaw's in both English and Japanese but I can stand both versions if I were to chose I'd go with the Japanese version it just seemed to me like the writers understood Sonic better than the 4Kids writers. Plus point's away from the dub because the director admitted he knew nothing about Sonic.

[Tobbii]

I just began re-watching AoSTH, I stand by it as the best US produced Sonic cartoon without a doubt. xD

[Ekaje]

The OVA, since it's the only one that I personally find watchable. I really like it since it's the closest thing there is to an animated classic Sonic, plus it has pretty much the same animation as the great Sonic CD intro/ending, and I like the really cheesy acting.

Edited May 6, 2011 by Ekaje

[Blue Blood]

Glad I'm not the only one who's going to say Sonic X. It certainly wasn't a good show, but ugh, all the others (not including the OVA cause I've never watched it) were tripe. No relation to the games, really ugly character designs, rubbish characterisation, terrible premises... the list goes on but I'm too tired to explain properly right now. The main reason I like X is that even though it's entirely it's own canon, it's still very much Sonic. If it wasn't for the physical character designs, I'd have no idea that AoSTH, SatAM or Underground (... especially Underground in fact) were anything to do with Sonic.

[Tobbii]

The OVA, since it's the only one that I personally find watchable. I really like it since it's the closest thing there is to an animated classic Sonic, plus it has pretty much the same animation as the great Sonic CD intro/ending, and I like the really cheesy acting.

What do you think of "Man of the Year" from Sonic Jam?

[krazystitch]

I would personally pick SatAM as my favorite one. The characters were great, the story was good, and the scenery was very good and dark. It was serious and I enjoyed the entire series. Plus, that's the one I grew up watching the most, so nostalgia has to apply here as well.

[Mega]

Meh. SatAM isn't perfect, but it's easily my favorite for a few reasons. First of all, I love the Freedom Fighters. They might not be as deep as other 90's characters, but I enjoyed each of them (except Dulcy) and the dynamics they shared, especially Sonic's interactions with Sally and Antoine.

Seconds, it's my favorite version of Sonic. Say what you will about him being a jerk or an idiot, but he's really not as bad as people make him out to be. He's pretty nice to his friends, even if he does get pretty egotistical sometimes, and he's also pretty clever. Using the lids of trash cans to reflect SWATbot lasers, teaching Tails about tracking... he might not be a genius, but when he takes the time to actually use his head, he's definitely crafty.

Plus, I've always enjoyed the moments where he has to take things seriously-- like in Sonic's Nightmare.

My only real complaint is Robotnik and how little he actually does. Otherwise, I enjoy it. And it's not as dark as people make it out to be. The show gets very lighthearted at times!

[LimeTH]

AoStH all the way. Theres just something about Long John Baldry's Robotnik's complete fascination and outright obbsession with himself that no other Robotnik/Eggman has ever been able to replicate. It's a stupid, idiotic show, but in all the right ways, and there were, believe it or not, some rare times when the writing could actually get rather clever and robust, such as the more inticrate dialouge jokes and a few of Robotnik's schemes.

I also find it pretty ironic that out of the three original American cartoons, AoStH is the closest one to the games.

[Mega]

I feel like one of the few who just can't appreciate AoStH. I loved it as a kid, but I recently tried to rewatch it and just couldn't get into it for some reason.

[Tobbii]

I feel like one of the few who just can't appreciate AoStH. I loved it as a kid, but I recently tried to rewatch it and just couldn't get into it for some reason.

That's too bad, everyone should be able to enjoy Rrrrobtonik!

[Mangoaxe5]

That's too bad, everyone should be able to enjoy Rrrrobtonik!

I don't get all the love for the AOSTH Robotnik.

I think that the only reason why people like AOSTH is because Robotnik says words that almost sound naughty.

I tried watching AOSTH, but after watching Satam I felt like AOSTH was a downgrade compaireed to Satam.

I haven't watched Sonic Underground, and I'm not sure that I want to.

I hate Sonic X.

I hate how in Sonic X Sonic comes from a different world, and is sent to earth by Chaos Control. Did the idot writers never play the Sonic games? Cause in the games Sonic always lived on earth.

I hate how the characters are portrayed in Sonic X.

Sonic was laid back and lazy. In some episodes he would be seen sleeping on rooftops.

Tails was a fixer-sue with no real personality.

Knuckles became stupid, this made it's way into the games so he now acts stupid in the games as well.

Amy become an insane Sonic fangirl who everyone is afraid of making angery. The way that Amy acts in Sonic X made it's way into the games.

Robotnik became a manchild. And became a joke villain thats hard to take seriously as a villain. Sadly this verison of Robotnik has infected the games, cause Sega somehow thinks that being a manchild makes Robotnik more interesting.

Plus there's Chris who steals the spotlight.

[Tobbii]

I don't get all the love for the AOSTH Robotnik.

I think that the only reason why people like AOSTH is because Robotnik says words that almost sound naughty.

I tried watching AOSTH, but after watching Satam I felt like AOSTH was a downgrade compaireed to Satam.

I haven't watched Sonic Underground, and I'm not sure that I want to.

I hate Sonic X.

I hate how in Sonic X Sonic comes from a different world, and is sent to earth by Chaos Control. Did the idot writers never play the Sonic games? Cause in the games Sonic always lived on earth.

I hate how the characters are portrayed in Sonic X.

Sonic was laid back and lazy. In some episodes he would be seen sleeping on rooftops.

Tails was a fixer-sue with no real personality.

Knuckles became stupid, this made it's way into the games so he now acts stupid in the games as well.

Amy become an insane Sonic fangirl who everyone is afraid of making angery. The way that Amy acts in Sonic X made it's way into the games.

Robotnik became a manchild. And became a joke villain thats hard to take seriously as a villain. Sadly this verison of Robotnik has infected the games, cause Sega somehow thinks that being a manchild makes Robotnik more interesting.

Plus there's Chris who steals the spotlight.

I just find him hillarious, even before he became a meme due to PINGAS and stuff like that.

I don't see the problem with Sonic coming from another world if you liked SatAM though. Because you know, SatAM disregarded the games even more.

[Your Vest Friend]

I'd hate to get on a personal basis, but I will say this; it's Darkfox you're talking to, I wouldn't expect any different out of him.

[Mangoaxe5]

SatAM disregarded the games even more.

The Sonic games were new at the time, and had little to no story, plus I think that the changes that were made for Satam improved upon the original storyline.

I don't see the problem with Sonic coming from another world

The problem with Sonic coming from another world in Sonic X is that Sonic X was surpose to be closer to the games. Edited May 7, 2011 by Darkfox

[Tobbii]

The Sonic games were new at the time, and had little to no story, plus I think that the changes that were made for Satam improved upon the original storyline.

So when a US studio says "Sonic is not from Earth" it improves the story, but when a Japanese studio says it then it's terrible?

[Mangoaxe5]

So when a US studio says "Sonic is not from Earth" it improves the story, but when a Japanese studio says it then it's terrible?

You're missing the point.

Satam was created when the games had little to no story.(And if we had gotten a third season of Satam we would have learned that Mobius is Earth hundrens of years in the future.)

Sonic X on the other hand was meant to be closer to the game canon. By the time Sonic X came out the games actually had a storyline. Sonic X was meant to be clooser to the way that Sega wants Sonic to be seen nowadays. But right off the bat they messed up and had Sonic living on some other planet. In the games Sonic always lived on Earth.

I wouldn't normally have a problem with this but since Sonic X was meant to be closer to the games this change is unacceptable.

[Tobbii]

You're missing the point.

Satam was created when the games had little to no story.(And if we had gotten a third season of Satam we would have learned that Mobius is Earth hundrens of years in the future.)

Sonic X on the other hand was meant to be closer to the game canon. By the time Sonic X came out the games actually had a storyline. Sonic X was meant to be clooser to the way that Sega wants Sonic to be seen nowadays. But right off the bat they messed up and had Sonic living on some other planet. In the games Sonic always lived on Earth.

I wouldn't normally have a problem with this but since Sonic X was meant to be closer to the games this change is unacceptable.

But it WAS closer to the games than any story before it, it wasn't identical, but you can't deny it was the closest of them all.

[Mangoaxe5]

I'd hate to get on a personal basis, but I will say this; it's Darkfox you're talking to, I wouldn't expect any different out of him.

Don't talk about me like that again. If you have nothing nice to say about someone then don't say anything.

Edited May 7, 2011 by Darkfox

[Flyboy Fox]

I think that the only reason why people like AOSTH is because Robotnik says words that almost sound naughty.

I think that's an unfair generalisation of people' opinions. You only have to look through the topic to see a variety of reasons why people like AoStH other than just for PINGAS. I myself said:

"It was adorable, funny, silly... all the things that made it a great cartoon for little kids, and a wonderful nostalgia trip for older kids and adults. It didn't spawn a thousand memes for no reason.

It was so incredibly daft that it can't help but cheer me up even on the worst of days, and the relationship between Sonic and Tails is just THE cutest thing ever.

It has it's share of inconsistencies (Tails claiming he can't read because he's only four and a half, and then writing a perfectly neat handwritten note to Sonic in another episode), but in other respects there was a certain level of continuity despite most episodes being stand alone (with the exception of the Chaos Emerald trio). I'd even say that Tails' characterisation was better in AoStH than SatAM, as he's shown to be both a pilot and a genius inventor in separate episodes.

And of course Robotnik steals the show. He's just outright hilarious. SatAM's Julian is still my favourite Robotnik for his sheer level of evil creepiness. But I love AoStH Robotnik for his absolute buffoonery. And his cohorts Scratch and Grounder (and Coconuts) are simply the best lackies he's ever had. Bocoe and Decoe and Bokun, and Cubot and Orbot have tried to recreate the same dynamic, but it's never worked as well as with Scratch and Grounder (and Coconuts)."

I do agree with most of what you said about Sonic X, however. In my opinion, that show was an absolute disaster with poor characterisation, completely nonsensical takes on game canon events, and a viewer-self-insert main character who is almost unanimously hated for his lack of personality and unnecessary over-focus.

As far as the Sonic-is-from-another-planet thing... I don't have a problem with it in principle. It was part of the overall hook - the viewer is supposed to relate to Chris, a bored kid from our specific mundane world. Sonic and co don't exist here, and so they don't exist in his world. The idea is that ANYONE could be Chris. Bored and lonely one day, and them BOOM, Sonic and co on your doorstep and you get to join them on adventures! It was clearly a deliberate angle they took by doing it that way, not just a random bizarre spit in canon's direction. However, the execution was poor because Chris was a rich spoiled brat that no kid could relate to anyway.

I'd hate to get on a personal basis, but I will say this; it's Darkfox you're talking to, I wouldn't expect any different out of him.

That was unnecessary. Let's avoid posts like this in future, please.

[Cerulean_Sky]

The OVA is by far the best by such a long way, it was actually amusing and it's the only one I would and still actually watch from time to time. Characters all had a good personality and the game characters personalities were consistent with the games. AoSTH is just totally crazy and silly, but it works for it. I've watched SatAM a couple of times and just didn't like it. Lol, I loved Sonic Underground as a kid, but I couldn't watch it now.

Sonic X is just so boring and uninspired. When Sonic X did the Adventure/Adventure 2 arcs, it was so annoying when they forced Chris into the situations that happened in the games and in other situations as well as it detracted from developing the relationships of other characters, the ACTUAL SONIC CHARACTERS. Other characters like Cosmo, had little to no personality at all. The final season improved things a little, and the episode where Tails had to destroy Cosmo was very well done.

[DarkLight]

I honestly don't have a favorite show. The only ones I consider my favorites aren't technically shows to begin with, (OVA and Night of the Werehog.)

I mostly grew up with AoSTH. Didn't know of SatAM's existence until the Internet. Like Underground when it was out, but not as much as AoSTH. Sonic X is a guilty pleasure (afterall, it did introduce me to the games, so it has to have a special place in my heart.)

....I feel like such a dork.

Edited May 7, 2011 by DragonSoul

[Dr. Mechano]

I don't buy this idea that "Since the games had little story, SatAM was justified in taking liberties." To me, SatAM has no excuse for the changes it made to the games' plot.

AoStH played fast and loose with canon too, but given the minimal information western gamers had about the game storyline, it painted a moderately close picture of what we knew at the time: Robotnik is a comical goofball villain trying to take over a colorful sugarbowl world with his army of animal-shaped robots. This basic premise hit a lot closer than SatAM's, which was basically "dystopian future furry show" that was "Sonic" in name only- It genuinely feels like some generic "animals versus humans" premise that had Sonic slapped on to it to make it more profitable. (I'm not saying this was the case, just saying it certainly felt this way)

In short, if a cartoon as dense and inconsistent as AoStH can at least wrap itself around the basic plot of the games, it stands to reason that SatAM could have done the same thing with its higher production values. But it didn't.

To me, the freedom fighters were just as superfluous and annoying as Chris Thorndyke, and just as prevalent a spotlight-stealing squad, and I'll stand by that. They played the same role, and constantly diverted attention away from the game characters. Yet, due to a certain large chunk of this fandom, they get a free pass because they're anthropomorphic animals, making their focus-diverting ways somehow more justifiable than Chris's. I see them as exactly the same, and exactly as unneeded.

And don't even try to tell me the freedom fighters were meant to be the small animals from the games. I've seen the "Ricky the Squirrel is Sally" postulating, and even if that was the original intent, that's far too much of a stretch. Sally is a completely different design, name, and gender from the small, ordinary squirrel Ricky. The freedom fighters were essentially officially-licensed fan characters that- to this day- continue to get skewed focus over the original game characters in the ongoing comic, as they did in the cartoon.

But yes, they're part of the reason I disliked SatAM so much. That and its mostly-bland portrayal of Robotnik just didn't sit well with me. Its universal love in the Sonic fandom admittedly amplified my hype aversion and caused me to examine the show more critically to highlight its flaws (And there are many), but I feel even without its unmerited popularity I would still see the show as terribly unimpressive. Even if it had nothing to do with Sonic, and didn't carry the baggage of "adaptation decay" with it, I would still view it as a rather mediocre show.

[Kuzu]

I'm going to go with AOSTH, and the OVA.

AOSTH had the whimsical charm that I would expect out of the games back then, and Robotnik is just too awesome in that show. I also give it praise for being closer to the games than SATAM. Yeah the games were new at the time, but that doesn't mean you should just throw in a completely different atmosphere into the series.

The OVA also gets points being a close representation of the games, and awesome animation. The characters were funny, the tone got serious when it needed to, and Sonic was a cocky little bastard.

I would put X, but its kind of degraded in my eyes. If anything I would give credit to the first season only, considering its the least messed up, despite all of the Chris Spotlight stealing. I liked how Amy & Knuckles were portrayed(Because Sonic & Tails were fucking boring in this series hands down, I didn't give a damn about Tails until Season 3 until he actually got to do something). Amy felt like a girl with a thing for Sonic, but also wouldn't take any of his crap, and would still risk her life to save him. Knuckles was anti-social and focused on his responsiblity of getting back home, and not spending his time with Sonic all of the time, and he was competent in season 1, he was a valuable ally, and friend, and not a Butt Monkey.