Can you believe it’s been over 10 years since Sonic X left the airways? We’ve had a long time to debate the good and bad of Sonic X , love it or hate it, it’s been 10 years since the last Sonic cartoon, unless you include Night of the Werehog.
Well, it’s arrived, first announced over a year ago, fans dug up evidence of it’s existence several months before that. Since then there’s been teaser’s, live stage readings, new character introductions, controversy surrounding air dates and the sports tape, oh my goodness, the sports tape.
Which brings us to one question. It the show any good? Well, we’ve watched it, here are our thoughts.
Episode 1: You know how sometimes you watch or play a game and it doesn’t start off great, and you keep at it and suddenly you realise “This isn’t going to get any better is it?” This sums up this episode in a nutshell. It was poor, very poor in fact, and it hits you very early on that this is the case.
Most of the jokes are incredibly forced and you can practically hear the voice actors thinking “I seriously have to say this” at times, they don’t feel natural and it’s not convincing in the slightest.
The premise of this particular episode also falls short of every inch of potential it could have, for instance, the plot is basically ‘Sonic holds auditions for a new side kick’ yet it’s ultimately decided by a boring chase/race sequence, this was an ample set up to show Eggman & Tails competing in a series of challenges in which Eggman cheats to win, would have shown off their characters far better than what we got.
Whilst many of the clips have been shown previously in teasers and trailers, their transition to the show has been a let down, the juggling scene with Amy in particular, this would have been really funny, except they have her singing badly… and then bring this back for the shows final joke. It didn’t work and it distracted from her funny comedic actions in the episode.
However praise should be given for Sonic & Tails relationship, they got it down pretty good. Though I’m still trying to get my head around at how much of an idiot they’ve made Knuckles, I kinda like it, but they need to be careful. Knuckles isn’t stupid and he never has been, but he is easily manipulated. He’s funny, in fact he had some of the best lines in this episode, but he does risk falling into the trap of being ‘the dumb one.’
Overall: This was pretty poor.
Episode 2: Thankfully episode 2 was the exact opposite of episode 1. In a nutshell, fantastic. Everything about this episode was great, the sight gags were funny, the dialogue was funny, the jokes were funny, the voice actors even seemed to have another level of energy about them compared to the first episode.
Every time I watch it I’m convinced I see something or hear something new. For instance, did anyone else spot that the game they were playing was ‘The Green Hill Zone?’ Did anyone else twig that Eggman has driven Sonic & Tails to near madness and nearly taken it over after only two days of being in their house? The fact that when they’re watching Chimp Comedy there’s a small reference to Tails’ real name?
Amy’s character also plays a great role here, she’s funny, but also shows her kind and compassionate side, in fact this is her driving trait in this episode and it’s a welcome change from how most recent games have portrayed her.
I could rant on about this episode for ages, Orbot & Cubot have some great comedy moments there’s even an insight into how Eggman views his creations too, and also lets not forget that this episode shows us that Eggman must build some kind of music system into his robots for virtually no reason other than ‘because he can!’
The only negative point I can find… is Sticks… I’m still not sold on her, she’s neither annoying me or entertaining me, she literally just feels like part of the furniture that talks and is trying to be funny.
Overall: Boom is off to a decent start, Episode 1 was a major fluff for me, but episode 2 was brilliant. The only problem I have with Boom and this will be tricky for some to understand…
Unless you are a fan of Sonic… it might take you a few episodes to understand what’s going on and who is who. Compare these two episodes to the first episode of Sonic X, AOSTH and even Sonic Underground. They had the benefits of introducing who each character was and even the show specific ones. However, Boom throws all the characters right at you from the start.
Whilst I think Sonic & Tails have entered mainstream conciousness for people to recognise them. I don’t think the same is quite true for Amy, Knuckles… mmmm maybe… But Sticks? Orbot & Cubot? Shadow? No chance. Unless you’re a fan of the series, there is going to be a bit of ‘wait… who are these guys?’
The show is set after the game, that we know, and whilst as fans we have a great idea as to who is who and what’s going on, someone from outside the fanbase may struggle in ‘getting it.’
Bring on Episode 3.
P.S. Did anyone else notice how both episodes involved Tails becoming injured both physically and mentally?
Jason Berry
Episode 1: You can tell that this is definitely the pilot episode. While the story has heart and plenty of action. The jokes come off more juvenile and “for kids” then genuinely funny. Amy’s quite a bit more silly here than in the next episode. “Actually”, newcomer character Fastideous beaver is not very funny….at all. Still, I got a chuckle from Knuckles and the final fight was actually well done and a bit tense. Not a great intro episode, but not that bad either. I will say one thing. First episode and Sonic hugs Tails. Three seasons of Sonic X and Sonic couldn’t be bothered to hug or console his crying best friend after Tails was forced to murder his GF.
Episode 2: This may be my favorite episode of any Sonic cartoon ever. It is very smartly written and hilarious throughout. Eggman steals the entire show and gives Mike his biggest vocal range on Eggman ever even to the point of hearing Eggman happily sing while he’s washing dishes. I also really liked Amy’s role in this episode of trying to be a counselor and peacekeeper, but ended up just getting on everyone’s nerves. It was also hilarious to see Eggman’s treatment of Orbot and cubot. First telling Sonic “they’re like family” before later saying “they’re not people” and “they have no souls”. Sticks debut here is alright. It’s odd to have an episode where she’s just here and not really introduced properly. Still, it shows that her paranoia is usually right and near the end, she delivers one of the funniest lines of the episode (albiet, one I’ve heard in a few Looney Tunes cartoons).
Overall: Sorry SATAM lovers, but if this series keeps up the humor like the 2nd episode did, this could be might favorite Sonic cartoon yet. Even when it’s not that funny, it’s still a fun show to watch and when it’s funny, it’s the best. I will say that while the CG looks nice on the characters, their movements are a bit janky at times and whoever does the textures on this show needs to cut down on the deep blacks. Sonic’s tired look seemed like he had mascara on and injured Tails burned out eye freaked me out a little bit.
BTW, how come Amy is cheerful and wants to be Knuckles sidekick in the cartoon whereas she’s a total b— to him in the comic? (The comic review is coming soon BTW)
More staff may add their views later. For now, tell us what you thought in the comments.