#I loved this character arc that Sonic went through! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blueberry-lemon · 10 months

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An introductory guide to getting into Sonic the Hedgehog...

…if you're a grown-ass adult who is busy and doesn't want to play a bunch of video games but thinks the characters look sorta cool.

If you've ever been curious about Sonic as a series but haven't known where to start, I have some recommendations! I think Sonic is a cool and still somewhat unique thing because it takes cartoony characters (like a Mickey Mouse or Felix the Cat) and lets them jump around in cool action sequences through the lens of a shonen anime. It's colorful and usually pretty light-hearted, and I think the character designs are pretty iconic.

There's two handy places you can start without prior context, to see if it's something you'd be into...

Getting Started: If You Wanna Read Something

The IDW Sonic Comics

There were years of different Sonic comics back in the '90s and early 2000's, but the franchise got a complete reboot and fresh start with IDW Publishing in 2018. If you're looking for the most straight-forward way to get into this world of characters, I think this is a great start. You don't need any prior knowledge whatsoever to crack open issue 1 and get started. All you need to know is "Sonic and his friends protect the world by fighting against an evil scientist named Dr. Eggman, who they just recently defeated after he briefly took over the world."

I love these comics and I feel that the writers and artists who work on it have a really good sense for this series. Reading issues 1 through 12 will get you the first major story arc. If you like it so far, I highly suggest reading up through issue 32, when another major story arc concludes. After that, the world's your oyster! Unlike the tangled web of Marvel or DC comics, IDW Sonic has a very simple and linear reading order. You pretty much just read the issues in order, and occasionally there are spinoff stories that are optional to read.

Getting Started: If You Wanna Watch Something

Sonic Mania Adventures

Maybe comics aren't your thing and you want something even quicker. These are a series of animated shorts that are lovely. Conveniently, they've been compiled together by Sega into one little video right here.

It's a great intro to some of the main characters, and combines cartoon slapstick with some amazing action sequences.

There's also a nice little epilogue short.

Sonic CD's intro cutscene

If I had to pick a single 1-and-a-half minute clip to embody what I like about this series, it would be this very simple intro movie that plays before Sonic CD. Check it out!

Sonic Origins/Sonic Origins Plus Cutscenes

In 2022, Sega released a compilation of the classic Genesis games on modern consoles. In it, they added a few animated cutscenes. You can watch those cutscenes, plus the Sonic CD intro and the Sonic Mania Adventures episodes, all compiled into one handy Youtube video.

Taking The Next Step: If You Wanna Read Something

The Archie Sonic Comics

You might have heard that Sonic had a comic series published by Archie Comics from 1992 to 2016. This was a vast, overarching series that wrote an original story by weaving together ideas from the different Sonic cartoons and games. It went through several different writers, many different artists, and obviously spanned over multiple eras of pop culture.

It's pretty cool! The fact that it was so long-running, and the fact that Sega wasn't very strict with what the writers could do, led to a lot of buckwild lore, new characters, and plot developments. That said, it's also pretty bizarre, complicated, corny, and cringey at times. There is a stretch in the middle that is pretty infamous among fans.

You have a few options for jumping in.

Option A: You can start at the very beginning and read all of it. If you do this, it is going to be like a One Piece / Homestuck / etc. kind of undertaking, and you're going to be pushing through the good and the bad of huge genre and tone shifts. That's your call!

Option B: You can brush up on the main characters on a wiki and then start at Issue 160, when Ian Flynn (who now does a lot of work on IDW Sonic) became the lead writer. More specifically, you can jump in at the start of a new story arc by starting at Issue 175.

Option C: You can start at Issue 252, when there is a universe-altering event that essentially retcons all of the characters and plot threads from the previous writers and starts completely fresh. Easier to keep track of and you won't have to worry about all the previous plot and lore.

If you want something you can read in a single sitting, you should instead read Sonic: Mega Drive, a short-lived miniseries published by Archie that follows "Classic Sonic" characters (aka, the same vibe and art style of Sonic Origins, Sonic Mania Adventures, etc.) It's really great!

Taking The Next Step: If You Wanna Watch Something

Sonic the Hedgehog (OVA) aka "Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie" (1996)

This is, essentially, a 1-hour Sonic anime movie. You can watch it in Japanese or in English. I adore it. It makes up its own lore and continuity so you don't need to know anything before going in, besides generally knowing a one-sentence synopsis of who Sonic, Tails, and Dr. Robotnik are. It's action-packed, well-animated, and has great music. Enjoy! Sonic X If you're enjoying what you've seen so far, and you want something much, much longer...there's an official 78-episode anime adaptation of Sonic called Sonic X. It's an original story that loosely pulls together some ideas from a few of the games. It's mostly intended for a younger audience, but I hear if you watch it in the original uncut Japanese, it feels a little less "for kids."

Other Ways To Get Into Sonic

There's some great video essays on Youtube about the series!

Professional animator Dan Floyd did an in-depth video looking at the highs and lows of Sonic character animation in the games starting from Sonic 1 up through Sonic Forces.

Super Bunnyhop plays through the first level of a bunch of Sonic games to compare how the mechanics, physics, and level design feel throughout the games' history.

Liam Triforce has a great deep dive on the franchise's music.

You can play The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, a murder-mystery-party themed visual novel put out by Sega. It's nice and short, so you can finish it in an afternoon.

If you haven't seen them already, you can check out the live-action/animated hybrid films Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 featuring Ben Schwartz and Jim Carrey, they're pretty good. That Sonic Prime cartoon that's currently on Netflix is pretty good too.

This may sound strange, but honestly you might enjoy poring over the sprite sheets from the old games. In particular, I really like the sprite animations from the GBA games, like Sonic Advance and Sonic Battle.

Sega is pretty lax about allowing noncommercial fan games, so there's at least a hundred different Sonic fan games out there by hobbyist developers. Check out the Sonic Amateur Games Expo and the Sonic Fan Games HQ.

You can watch LPs or cutscene compilations of the games on Youtube! If you watch Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic Heroes, you'll get a crash course on most of the characters.

And finally, of course...you can play the games if you want to! There's a number of them that are available on Steam, Switch, Xbox, and Playstation if you don't have access to older consoles.

There's a lot of different angles to come at Sonic as a franchise, and lots of different entry points. Have fun!

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sth #idw sonic #idw sonic the hedgehog #sonic mania adventures #blogofkylelab

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tenebraevesper · 11 months

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Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer, Issue #60: Urban Warfare (Part 4)

Hello everyone and welcome back to the next Issue of Urban Warfare. Last time we had Team Sonic meet up with Team Dark and completely wreck Eggperial City while the Diamond Cutters learned how to destroy it. Today, we are gonna continue the excitement, but before we start, I just want to show off my favorite covers.

Honestly, if it weren’t for the limit of images I could put in every post, I probably would’ve put all of the covers in the posts because they all look amazing!

We kick off with the cliffhanger from last time, with Tangle falling off the tower and apologizing to Whisper as she believes she is going to crash into the ground.

Fortunately for her, due to her state, she just phases through the ground, rather shocked by what had happened. However, she’s quickly alerted to Metal Sonic, who follows her around with Eggman’s trap, forcing Tangle to quickly run away. All I can say here is that I just love both of their expressions - Metal’s intense look and Tangle’s ‘’Oh, crap!’’ reaction when she sees Metal.

Tangle propels herself forward, narrowly avoiding being caught by the trap and quickly runs off before Metal Sonic can crush her. She manages to get into an alley, with Metal following her, only to find out that she’s not there. Fortunately for Tangle, he leaves and she reveals that she just phased through the ground to trick him.

She gets out, looking around for Metal, who has seemingly left. She figures that she needs to tell Sonic and everyone else what happened, but notes how Lanolin would be better how to find them and Whisper would know how to get to them. She has some self-doubts, with a literal dark cloud of thoughts surrounding her, but she manages to bounce back, telling herself to keep moving forward. I really like this little bit of insecurity in Tangle, as it shows more of her depth as a character.

She finds a cloud of smoke in the distance, figuring that’s Sonic and co., and quickly leaves, but not without Metal Sonic spotting her. I’m 100% sure that, after he lost Tangle, he just stayed because he knew she was still around and would show herself eventually.

Back with Team Sonic, the group, sans Rouge, who is brooding in the background...

(Someone really picked up a habit or two from Shadow, huh?)

...is gathered around the Miles Electric, with Silver suggesting they go straight for Eggman. Amy protests, telling him how their last raid went (referencing The Test Run! Arc), but Silver is confident that things will work out. Blaze interrupts, telling him not to be rash, while Tails notes how it is important to increase their chances of success. Rouge then chimes in that the best way to do that is to rescue Shadow and Omega (awww, she really cares! :3), and I couldn’t agree more with her.

Silver figures that this makes sense, and Amy agrees... only for Tangle to pop out and... okay, this is just too hilarious not to show in detail!

Amy’s first instinct to being startled is to draw her hammer and smash whoever spooked her. Goddamn, Tangle should be happy things can phase through her or she will be just a splatter on the ground. Oh, yeah, and the Miles Electric is also now kaput.

Nice job, Amy! X3

Amy cries and apologizes for her reflexes kicking in, while Tails is more fascinated with Tangle being in a semi-solid state. Tangle informs them that the Diamond Cutters are in trouble and that they also found out some very important stuff, with Sonic then asking whether this is the result of the trap they ran into earlier. Tangle confirms, trying to tell them how Lanolin and Whisper are stuck, when suddenly, the trap appears around Sonic.

He dodges it and we see a wide shot of Metal Sonic flying above them.

Metal Sonic, predictably, charges right into Sonic, with Tangle realizing she led Metal to everyone else, but there is no time for showing regret, as the trap focuses on Silver. Fortunately, Blaze blasts it away, with Silver then crushing them and him and Sonic going after Metal.

However, before they can even start fighting, they’re interrupted by Amy, who crushes the building they’re standing on, causing Metal to fall through, and reminds everyone they got more pressing matters. Not to mention, she’s not in the mood for another scuffle. Rouge praises her for the direct diplomacy (really love that comment).

Tails then asks Tangle what she needed to tell them, with Tangle responding how the Diamond Cutters had figured out how to take down the city, but she needs an answer to a very important question.

Where is Shadow? And for that matter, where is Omega?

So, Team Sonic splits up, with Rouge, Blaze and Silver going to find Shadow and Omega (and for simplicity’s sake, I’ll just call the group Team Silver. Why Team Silver? Because I make the rules in this post.) and they find themselves at the street that has been buried by crystals.

Blaze uses her fire to illuminate the path, warning a snarky Rouge to be quiet since they don’t know what kind of enemies lurk here. Rouge figures if any of the Shadow Androids were still here, they would’ve seen them by now... and right on cue, one swipes for her. Honestly, Rouge, don’t tempt fate.

She flies up, finding Omega in the rubble, with the Shadow Androids lying on the ground, and quickly checks on him. Omega is okay, but now he’s pissed off at the terrain and promises to exact his revenge on it.

I’ll also pause on a moment here just to say how much I love how expressive Rouge is on this page. All of her expressions are just so fun too look at. Blaze and Silver as well.

Anyways, before Team Silver can get Omega out, the floor beneath them opens and Omega falls through along with the rubble, the Shadow Androids and Silver and Blaze. Man, this really is not their day.

At least one thing is sure, they’re not gonna leave Shadow and Omega out of the action like last time.

We see Team Silver fall down into what appears one of Eggman’s storages for his mechs with a huge Chaos Emerald crystal in the middle of it. Rouge realizes that using the fake Chaos Emeralds left some nasty side effects, as we see Shadow being trapped in the middle of it, being unconscious.

Rouge flies towards him to help him out, but is stopped in her tracks by the Shadow Androids.

Back with Team Sonic, they’re inside some kind of elevator shaft, with Tails managing to make it work. Amy then lists all the things they need to do, that being breaking into the control room, have Tails disable Eggman’s safeguards for the fake Emerald power grid and then saving Whisper and Lanolin. Tails confirms this, as otherwise, Eggperial City will keep on expanding forever... or at least, that’s the hypothesis, as he doesn’t have the Miles Electric to be for sure.

Amy wants to reply how it was an accident, only for the them to realize they’re stuck and look upwards, seeing Metal Sonic cutting the cable. Damn, how strong is he... and never mind, this is Metal Sonic we’re talking about. Of course he’d be able to cut the cable.

They lose footing, but fortunately, Tails grabs Sonic and Amy, with Tangle holding onto Sonic, and flies up. However, Sonic is tackled by Metal, with Tangle wrapping her tail around Metal, allowing for Sonic to pinball bounce around the walls to get up. That’s actually both a nice visual and a smart idea.

Back with Team Silver, we see them being overwhelmed by the Shadow Androids. Gotta say, despite the grim situation, I do like that the Shadow Androids are brought back into action. As she burns a Shadow Android, Blaze says how she can’t get an opening, so Omega gallantly provides one for her. However, Blaze is overpowered by the fake Emerald, with Rouge rushing straight for it only to get flung back and caught by Blaze, who notes how they can’t even get close to it.

Silver quickly steps in, replying how he can handle it.

He manages to get close enough to touch the fake Emerald, but gets fried by the Chaos Energy. Still, he managed to use his psychokinesis to protect himself and remove the fake Chaos Emerald shards to free Shadow.

Speaking of fake Chaos Emerald, considering how even Silver, who can be considered a powerhouse on his own, is overwhelmed by the energy the fake Emeralds release, it is no surprise that Shadow is unconscious since he was in the middle of it all.

Unfortunately for Silver, the fake Chaos Emerald crystals are growing around Shadow faster than he can rip them apart. However, one encouraging gaze and nod from Blaze and Silver is pumped up and ready to save Shadow!

“Get ready to be free, Shadow, ‘cause I’m not giving up that easily!”

So simple, yet so effective.

Back at Eggman’s tower, Eggman is actually excited about Shadow’s Chaos Control keeping the fake Emeralds unstable. Huh, didn’t expect that kind of reaction from him. He then further explains how, the more Shadow uses the fake Emeralds’ energy, the more power for his city.

Orbot reminds him that his might be dangerous as the city’s infrastructure can’t keep up with it, but Eggman responds that’s what his safeguards are for and if the energy overloads he’ll just reboot the system. I must say, that’s a solid plan.

It is also the cue for Team Sonic to barge in and ruin his plan. Eggman’s more pissed off to see Tangle having her tail wrapped around Metal Sonic though and he probably led them straight to the tower.

This leads into another fun panel...

...with Amy straight up tackling Eggman. I suppose she still wants that revenge for the whole Metal Virus fiasco. Meanwhile, Tails takes over the control panel, while Tangle gets off Metal Sonic, who looks surprised to see how he led them here.

We then get an epic shot of Sonic and Metal facing each other.

At first, it looks like the odds are in favor of Team Sonic, with Sonic easily blocking Metal’s attack, and I just love the look Sonic gives him. X3

Once again, the expressions are on point!

Meanwhile Amy points her hammer at Eggman, noting how he’s got no backup, with Orbot and Cubot trying to excuse themselves to not participate in this fight. Eggman’s response to the ambush?

He pulls a gun on Amy and fires at her! Hell, how many times have we seen it at this point? I remember him trying to vaporize Tails and Surge with this thing and now Amy! Sheesh.

I will say that I love how Eggman’s back-up response to being overwhelmed by his opponents is just to shoot at everyone. As for Sonic?

Well, he got distracted and then clocked in the face by Metal, now seeing stars.

Tails gets really nervous when he sees Sonic and Amy fall over (and Sonic face-plants, again!), with Eggman standing right behind him.

We then get another hilarious shot of Tails thwaping Eggman with his twin-tails as Eggman attempts to grab him, the former being desperate to mess with the city’s safeguards.

Fortunately, he succeeds, and Eggman grabs him like he’s a plush toy! X3

I mean, look at this panel! Look at the one below!

I absolutely love everything about this! Sometimes you really forget just how easily Eggman can grab the heroes and how small they are in comparison to him. (*≧ω≦*)

In any case, going by Eggman’s expression and Tails’ worried look, something went wrong.

The next thing we see is Shadow suddenly awakening, followed by an explosion of Chaos Energy and the fake Emeralds growing as Eggman explains to everyone how without the inhibitors, the fake Emeralds won’t stop growing. The tower tilts, with Eggman pressing a button on his coat, and something happens to the tower.

We pan out, and HOLY HELL, THE TOWER IS NOW A MECH! I REPEAT, THE TOWER IS A MECH!!

Hell, I didn’t expect that this was Plan B. I suppose Eggman had one more back-up just in case everything goes south and honestly, I totally approve of this plan. I can’t wait to see how Sonic and co. will take this one down! X3

Links:

#Previous Issue

#Next Issue

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer #idw sonic #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #dr eggman #amy rose #miles tails prower #silver the hedgehog #blaze the cat #rouge the bat #e-123 omega #tangle the lemur #metal sonic #orbot and cubot #shadow androids

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imaginedrago-ss · 4 days

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Elliot the Hedgehog. One of the greatest and most attractive characters ever thought up. He can run at sound speed, take out enemies in a flash, and best of all, he's blue colored and knows how to handle the females. Speaking of females, the Sonic universe might also be classified as "Hot Chick Heaven" because there's such a mess of very beautiful and tough women that it will make you love the franchise even more! And since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I've been inspired to make a top 10 list of the most beautiful female Sonic characters. Grab yourself a snack and a glass of orange juice, and try not to reach through the screen because HERE WE GO!

Number 10: Try this question on for size. Who chases and hugs Sonic all the time and wields a powerful hammer? Why it's Amy Rose of course! Though more of a cutie than a hottie, you can't deny the fact that she's still attractive. Two things that make her attractive are the fact that she wears a dress, and when have you ever seen 3 big, very smooth arcs of hair sticking out of a person's forehead? I haven't! So once again, Amy Rose is lovely; that is until she goes berserk and starts hitting stuff with her hammer.

Who's at number 9? It's this alien plant girl from a distant planet. Cosmo, from Sonic X. She arrived on the character's planet to deliver a message saying that the galaxy was under attack by a force called the Metarex. She doesn't do much except tell people to stop fighting and focus on the real matter at hand. The real reason she lands at the #9 is that she becomes Miles "Tails" Prower's sweetheart, something Tails needed for a long while.

Numero Ocho. Cream the Rabbit's mother, Vanilla. She's attractive and the size of an average human mother. What really surprises me about her is that the leader of Team Chaotix, Vector the Crocodile, falls in love with her. Kinda silly, don't you think? She's another character that doesn't do much, but in a season 3 episode of Sonic X, she helps Chris Thorndyke get into space to fight the Metarex along with Sonic and friends.

What number's next? Seven, of course. Wave the Swallow from Sonic Riders. People always root for the good guys, but sometimes, the bad guys steal the show. Her mechanical IQ is equal to Tails. She also happens to be the smartest member of the Babylon Rogues. I wonder why she isn't the leader. Like Jet the Hawk and Storm the Albatross, her specialty is riding the air-boards called "Extreme Gear". With two very long and smooth feathers extending from her head to her calves and droopy eyes, Wave will rock your socks. If only we could see her take wing.

Numero Six. Tikal the Echidna from Sonic Adventure 1. Named after an ancient Mayan city of the same name, Tikal is the daughter of Chief Pachacamac. She's yet another character that hardly does a thing except beg her father to stop being so greedy. She also traps herself inside the Master Emerald so that the water god Chaos doesn't reign terror upon the land. When you're the daughter of a person in the highest power, you need to look your best and Tikal delivers perfectly. That's why she's #6.

Number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5! Ah-Ah-Ahhh! Mina Mongoose from the Sonic Archie comics. How could you go wrong with a girl that looks like this? She can run nearly as fast as Sonic and she went from being a Freedom Fighter to being a popstar singer. Next to Princess Sally she looks more humanoid than the other characters. Who could top someone who has long mauve hair?

This female standing at number 4: Blaze the Cat. One word: Pyrokinesis. How would you like to have that superpower? I mean Blaze could play around in the Himalayas for hours and she would be perfectly fine! Also, 45 degree ponytail makes her look like a Native American. I really like the fact that her love interest is the telekinetic hedgehog Silver. The combination of mind-moving and fire superpowers make these two a reliable couple. But what really lands Blaze in the #4 spot is that her attitudes apparently more different from the other females.

Next up is #3. What's better than having a female with cascading quills? How about a female with cascading quills and hair? Julie-Su the Echidna, another Archie comic exclusive has that feature. She's smart, knows exactly what to do as a freedom fighter, and even trained Amy once. She's also the girl of Knuckles' dreams. Heh, lucky him. Her older self in the series Mobius: X Years Later is just downright hot! Just look at that long ponytail! Now we're talkin'!

Number 1, 2, button my shoe! Princess Sally Acorn. There's a lot to say about this character. She's the heir to the throne, Sonic's first official romance, the only character that used to not wear clothes, brave and athletic, the most humanoid character, and is like a mother to Tails. In the TV show, Sonic SatAM, one Freedom Fighter, the cowardly Antoine constantly tries to woo Sally, but doesn't succeed because... he's a coward! The Princess is also a semi-perfect example of an excellent love interest, although there were a couple of times when she really snapped and acted like a lunatic; in the comics, that is. But overall, Sally Acorn really stands out amongst the slew of females not just because she's Sonic's first official love interest, or because she's the only one who didn't wear clothes, but because in the comics, she grew very long hair, and married Sonic in the future, becoming the Queen.

So, you've seen a pyrokinetic Cat, a swallow, two gorgeous echidnas, and even a princess! Who could possibly top those kinds of females? Well, get ready folks; this is the #1 hottest Sonic the Hedgehog female character. Rouge the Bat. If anybody denies it, how dare you? This woman can fly, she's as strong as Knuckles, and is a femme fatale, seducing other characters into getting what she wants. Instead of having one love interest, she has two! Knuckles, and Shadow the Hedgehog. Being a treasure thief, she's only interested in one object set; jewels, especially the Chaos Emeralds. There actually have been situations where Rouge's cleavage has been exposed, but it eventually got censored. What a price to pay. I think the best part about this beauty is that she wears three different outfits unlike the other female characters. And who wouldn't want to fly across the landscape via strong as Shawn Johnson, and flirt with any male, anytime, anywhere. These three traits make Rouge the Bat triumph over all of the Sonic the Hedgehog females. My hat goes off to you Sonic Team USA. You oughta be proud.

There ya have it folks. Those were the hottest female chicks in the Sonic universe. I hope you enjoyed it, happy Valentine's Day, and I'll see you later. HERE WE GO!

sure

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fernsnailz · 1 year

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what’s your favourite version of shadow? like characterization-wise

i think my favorite instances of shadow characterization all come from various spin-off materials or games. they all have slightly different takes on the character that serve as an interesting insight into shadow, but i think these are my favorites:

Sonic X (season 3): i mean like. yeah no kidding. Sonic X feels like a very definitive and classic version of shadow, as it's very close to his characterization in Sonic Adventure 2. i really like season 3 because it raises the question of “what makes a hero?” shadow doesn’t consider himself a hero, and for good reason - he understands that he does some pretty heinous stuff for the greater good of the universe (namely trying to kill cosmo). and yet despite not being a hero, he still does heroic things. introducing the character of molly was one of the show's greatest ideas because it shows that some people DO consider shadow to be a hero, and his black and white viewpoint on the topic isn’t the only way to see things - plus, the comparisons between the two characters are a smart way to add some depth to shadow and lead to some absolutely heartbreaking moments. i dunno, Sonic X just has a really strong version of him and it’s fun to dissect his actions and beliefs. and also it makes me cry

Archie Sonic (post-issue 160): archie shadow pre-160 is one of the worst things in the world. but after that he’s pretty good! while archie shadow differs from his mainline counterparts, it’s in a very interesting way - archie shadow is surprisingly soft and a bit less subtle than most other versions of him, and this may be due to the fact that he never really went through the events of Sonic Heroes or Shadow the Hedgehog 2005. hell, he only went through like. half of the events of Sonic Adventure 2. while i don’t consider this version of him to be “definitively” shadow, he’s just so much fun. this take on him allows for some really great character work between team dark and a number of other characters. there’s a reason the treasure team tango arc is one of my favorite sonic stories ever - shadow goes through a very clear character arc in just four issues, and it’s really interesting to see how he gets there.

Sonic Battle: this one’s a bit of a wild card. i’ve never seen anyone talk about Sonic Battle on here, so for context it’s a 2D fighting game for the GBA that features a robot named emerl, an ancient battle android whose abilities grow when he comes in contact with the chaos emeralds. not only that, but emerl only gains character traits and his personality after interacting with the various sonic cast members. he’s a strange mix of sonic, tails, amy, knuckles, cream, rouge, and most importantly, shadow. this game’s version of shadow is really interesting - in terms of timeline it’s certainly debatable on where Sonic Battle fits into any sort of “canonical” timeline (i could make a whole different post explaining why). regardless, shadow has all of his memories back, but he’s EXTREMELY tormented through this entire game because Sonic Battle focuses directly on shadow’s feelings about being a living weapon. and it’s honestly amazing.

shadow spends most of the game trying to destroy emerl because the android is another weapon created to destroy the world, and there’s a number of good moments between the two of them and the other sonic cast members. i don’t really want to give much more away because the end of Sonic Battle is one of the most impactful endings i’ve seen in any sonic game - emerl’s last line in this game makes me cry every single time. if you’re interested, i’d suggest watching a longplay to see the cutscenes or reading the script online because i NEED more people to experience this game. it’s not perfect - the story is told entirely through video game dialogue and limited visuals so it’s a little clunky, but there’s so much good to be found in the character interactions. i love this game

#refraining from writing a thesis on each of these different versions of shadow #i miss when he had depth lolzor #sonic loreposting #oh also the art for sonic battle is amazing. WHY DON'T PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THIS GAME #fernasks

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cometcrystal · 10 months

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Sonic the Hedgehog. One of the greatest and most attractive characters ever thought up. He can run at sound speed, take out enemies in a flash, and best of all, he's blue colored and knows how to handle the females. Speaking of females, the Sonic universe might also be classified as "Hot Chick Heaven" because there's such a mess of very beautiful and tough women that it will make you love the franchise even more! And since Valentine's Day is around the corner, I've been inspired to make a top 10 list of the most beautiful female Sonic characters. Grab yourself a snack and a glass of orange juice, and try not to reach through the screen because HERE WE GO!

10: Try this question on for size. Who chases and hugs Sonic all the time and wields a powerful hammer? Why it's Amy Rose of course! Though more of a cutie than a hottie, you can't deny the fact that she's still attractive. Two things that make her attractive are the fact that she wears a dress, and when have you ever seen 3 big, very smooth arcs of hair sticking out of a person's forehead? I haven't! So once again, Amy Rose is lovely; that is until she goes berserk and starts hitting stuff with her hammer.

Number #1, #2, #3, #4, #5! Ah-Ah-Ahhh! Mina Mongoose from the Sonic Archie comics. How could you go wrong with a girl that looks like this? She can run nearly as fast as Sonic and she went from being a Freedom Fighter to being a popstar singer. Next to Princess Sally she looks more humanoid than the other characters. Who could top someone who has long (some French word I don't know) hair?

1, 2, button my shoe! Princess Sally Acorn. There's a lot to say about this character. She's the heir to the throne, Sonic's first official romance, the only character that used to not wear clothes, brave and athletic, the most humanoid character, and is like a mother to Tails. In the TV show, Sonic SatAM, one Freedom Fighter, the cowardly Antoine constantly tries to woo Sally, but doesn't succeed because... he's a coward! The Princess is also a semi-perfect example of an excellent love interest, although there were a couple of times when she really snapped and acted like a lunatic; in the comics, that is. But overall, Sally Acorn really stands out amongst the slew of females not just because she's Sonic's first official love interest, or because she's the only one who didn't wear clothes, but because in the comics, she grew very long hair, and married Sonic in the future, becoming the Queen.

There ya have it folks. Those were the hottest female chicks in the Sonic universe. I hope you enjoyed it, happy Valentine's Day, and I'll see you later.

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pillowspace · 7 days

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Hi Pillow, hope you're doing well! I'm running over and shaking your hand at seeing the Sonic ask where you mention you got into Sonic Adventure and various things.

I'm curious, is there anything in particular you liked about either adventure games that stood out? Love those games and I find it cool to hear what others like about them.

Hellooo, I just woke up

I've actually never played Sonic Adventure 2 unfortunately!! My mum got me Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut when I was little, and I found out about that game's characters through Sonic X. And if you're not familiar with the show, it kinda went through Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 arcs. So I knew ABOUT the general Sonic Adventure 2 story, but not where it came from for a little while longer

Something I really enjoyed in Sonic Adventure was the chao garden! I spent so much time in there. I think my favourite chao was a little bunny-chao thing I had but I don't remember her name...

I also loved playing as Amy as much as possible. I'm not sure I even finished all the character stories. Like I tried, but I was having trouble with Big's I think. One of my favourite characters will always be Amy, I remember her story the best out of everyone's. Her, her bird, and her robot <3

I LOVED the casino, I would go back in there regularly and mess around for ages.

Mmm... I also liked... I liked that level with the wooden snake thing on the rising water, where is that... FOUND IT, the stage is called Lost World

youtube

This person's using speedrun tactics, so some little things are skipped over. I think I found this stage a little difficult, but the vibes were immaculate to my child brain. I loved the music here, but I also loved a lot of the OST

I also loved Tikal, I think she's pretty <3

Okay but as FOR Sonic Adventure 2, even though most of my knowledge came from Sonic X and I never got to play the game, I am presently super fond of Shadow and Maria's sibling dynamic [glancing at my tumblr banner] if you couldn't tell

#ask

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crusherthedoctor · 17 days

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📞 a character others dislike but you don’t?

♠️ favorite protagonist?

🕷️a character you feel is underrated?

📞 - a character others dislike but you don't?

Elise has gained more appreciation over time, but you still get people who think she's to blame for everything wrong with '06. She was a decent if underdeveloped character who simply wasn't used in the story that well, and anyone who thinks turning her into a Not-Sally is the only way to fix her isn't trying.

There's also Zor and Marine, both of whom I will always defend. Isn't it wild how I can barely remember anything from The End's three minute tough guy Reddit copypasta, yet everything Zor says is solid gold... shout out to IDW for missing the point and making him an unironic tryhard like every other villain in the comic. As for Marine, people act as though her character development never happened, which isn't helped by Flynn being one of those very people, and I don't understand why they give her flak for her stereotypical accent, yet make no such complaints about Bunnie.

For a couple of non-Sonic examples: King Sombra kind of went through the same arc as Elise in retrospect. As in, nowadays he has more open fans, but back when he made his debut, he received a disproportionate amount of flak for being a mostly silent villain, and the way he was used. I personally appreciated what they were going for with him, mainly cause of how they conveyed his Crazy Prepared defenses and the like, and honestly, by the time FiM concluded, I think he ended up better off than certain other villains lmao.

And of course, Moneybags. Not counting the first game (cause he didn't exist yet), I don't consider it a true Spyro experience if Winnie the Shit doesn't pop up in increasingly improbable locations to make deals in exchange for, *ahem*, a small fee. He also has some of the best lines. ("What are you going to do, sue me?")

♠️ - favourite protagonist?

Gex is unironically a better written character than everyone in Frontiers and IDW put together. This realisation makes me want to drink tap water at Jerry Garcia's.

Tails has always been my main bro out of the Sonic good guys, cause of how smart he is and how much he wants to help. :D It's also why I'm vocal about how much I despise it when fans double down on reducing the franchise to Just Furry DBZ due to super forms and whatnot, since it means Tails and other characters not named Sonic/Shadow/Silver are guaranteed to be treated even more like they're not good for anything meaningful. >:|

Then there's Spyro of course, which I know will be considered ironic to some given my complex feelings on Sonic, but truth be told, Spyro isn't really that similar to Sonic beyond some snark. He does admittedly act like a dude with tude in the first game, but it's clear that he's younger in that one. From the second game onward, where he's slightly older, he's considerably more chill... at least compared to Bubsy and many others from the 90's. And speaking of, despite his dialogue consisting entirely of WOAH, I respect Crash as well, since it was the bandicoot that got little me into the world of video games.

And many things change, but my fondness for Fluttershy will never die. Just as I have a preference for funny robot-loving villains who nonetheless remain a legit serious threat instead of being a joke, I have another preference for kindhearted quiet characters... which is why I also enjoy Trip... and Tikal... look, we all have our types, I'm sure you can sympathise. ;P

🕷️ - a character you feel is underrated?

The Hard-Boiled Heavies have mostly been pushed aside since Mania came out (aside from that one IDW story, but that's not a blessing), and it makes me madder than YouTubers who pretend they're mad because there are villains with dialogue who have less personality than these guys. They're so much fun, and despite all of them having the same Egg Robo template, their designs remain distinct from each other, even in silhouette form.

I also took to Ariem early on. Like the Heavies, "underrated" refers to general lack of fandom buzz compared to other characters, since although she appears to be quite liked, the acknowledgement given to her is somewhat limited due to her being stuck in an Android-only game for the time being. Some people also have an obsession with comparing her unfavourably to either Sage or Lanolin, for reasons I can probably guess in both cases. Me? I love her design, and her interactions with Cream and Knuckles are cute. :> I know it's not likely, but I hope she appears elsewhere so that she can be brought to more fans' attention... provided she doesn't get IDW'd.

Finally, a more complicated example: Metal Sonic. Now yes, he's very popular and beloved, and remains so to this day, but during the last couple of years, I feel I've been seeing two growing sides in the community when it pertains to him: the side who loves Neo Metal Sonic, and believe he's only a threat in that form like Flynn apparently believes (given how he often turns regular Metal into a jobber), and the side who consider him lame or essentially worthless because of his minimal characterization compared to others. He might not say much, and he might be a hedgehog-shaped tool of Eggman's ambition rather than a complete person of his own, but I believe there's a lot you can do with Metal that wouldn't require turning him into Usurper the Elf Shoes. OVA Metal ain't S-tier for nothing.

#Crusher's Asks #Opinion #Miles Tails Prower #Princess Elise #Marine the Raccoon #Ariem the Sheep #Metal Sonic #Zor #Hard-Boiled Heavies #Fluttershy #King Sombra #Crash Bandicoot #Spyro the Dragon #Moneybags

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sage-nebula · 1 year

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Tails ~

What I like about them

Tails fits the definition of a classical antihero. While nowadays we think of antiheroes as brooding types who are willing to do less-than-heroic things to get the job done, in classical literature an antihero was a character who, while heroic, displayed personality traits that weren't often associated with heroes. For instance, a classical antihero might be wrangle with self-doubt where a classical hero is confident. A classical antihero may be physically weak where a classical hero is physically strong, so on and so forth. Frodo Baggins is an example of a classical antihero, and so, too, is Tails. And I like this because it gives us interesting avenues to explore his character from. Sonic is great, but as a traditional hero he doesn't wrangle with things like self-doubt or anxiety. What you see is what you get with him: just a guy who loves adventure. But perhaps in part due to being a literal genius, Tails is a lot more cerebral and there's a lot more introspection with him, particularly given his shortcomings and weaknesses. Exploring the ways he grows and learns to work with his anxieties and traumas, rather than against them, makes his character really interesting.

Also, he is so fucking cute oh my god.

What I dislike about them

His character writing has been, to put it politely, inconsistent over the years. He went through all that growth in the Adventure games just to have it completely ripped the fuck away from him in later ones (particularly Forces). It's not great and most days I pretend I do not see it.

Favourite moment

In the games: Either the moment he threw hands with Eggman when he thought Eggman had killed Sonic in Adventure 2, or the acknowledgement of his issues and his whole arc in Frontiers rolled up into one.

In animation: Either saying that Sonic was his "mom, dad, and picket fence" in AoStH, or the episode in AoStH where Sonic was turned to stone and so Tails spent the whole episode trolling Scratch and Grounder Home Alone style. Again, he is so fucking cute oh my god.

In the IDW comics: Either catching Sonic with the Tornado in the middle of the Angel Island arc, or crashing the airship into Neo Metal at the end of that arc, or when he said goodbye to the Cyclone because he had to sacrifice her during the Metal Virus arc, or when he figured out how to take down Surge in their fight against her in the city, or defending Sonic from Kit, or immediately building guns to go save Sonic in the Scrapnik Island mini series, or . . .

Least favourite moment

Forces 🙃All of Forces. I hate it so fucking much.

Also not a fan of how they made him fight Sonic in the Archie comics. Really, any situation which pits those two against each other is an automatic Nope.gif in my books. I will smack that back button so fast, don't test me.

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more

How he's developing his technology to utilize clean energy! We see that he's using hydro power to fuel the Mystic Ruins workshop in the IDW comics; I want more exploration on how Tails' development of technology is not only not detrimental to the planet, but actually works to reverse the damage that Eggman does. Technology doesn't have to destroy the planet; it can be a clean force for good, too!

An interesting AU for this character

Can I promote my own fic Beyond Oblivion? Because that's an interesting AU to me!

A crossover

I'm still very much in love with my Night in the Woods crossover, where Tails spends an autumn in Possum Springs during his solo journeys. All anthro stories take place in the same universe and this one happens in my head and in my heart even if Sega thinks it could never work in canon. Sega doesn't pay me, they can't dictate what I do.

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favourite ship)

None. In fact, adaptations that have tried to give Tails romances (Archie, Sonic X, Boom) are off-putting to me because they try to give Tails romances. He doesn't need a romance for his story to be interesting! In fact, I think a romance arc for him is far more boring than the alternatives like exploring how he overcomes his inner demons or focusing on the clean energy alternatives he creates to improve the world. And even if you want to explore him with other characters, platonic relationships and platonic love stories are a thing! Tails' brotherly relationship with Sonic, his friendships with Amy and Knuckles—these are interesting stories and romance isn't a part of them. Destroy the heterosexual notion that every character must be paired off for a story to be good.

Other ships?

Nope.

BROTP

His big bro Sonic, of course! Like I said above, platonic love stories are a thing, and the platonic love story in Sonic and Tails finding a family in each other when they were both orphaned has been one of my favorites since I was four years old. I don't think that's going to change any time soon.

NOTP

I wish people who ship Sonic with Tails romantically a very do not ever interact with me, ever, in any capacity. Thank you.

An assortment of headcanons!

I have a lot! You can read some here, and here, and here :)

#tofukitten #character meme #miles tails prower #thanks for the ask!

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whispangleblogger · 10 months

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With how much Tangle and Whisper meas to you.. are there any specific moments in the comics that made you love them? What initiated that spark? :3

That is actually a really complex question for me...

I would say it's the full package ?

Lemme go a little bit into detail here, i try to split this into two parts:

Part 1 - How they affected my personal life in a positive way

When i first started to read the IDW Comics the relationship of Tangle and Whisper did stick out to me immediately.

I always enjoyed Sonic the Hedgehog as a medium, played the Games whenever they did tickle my interest, grabbed me some merch when i thought it looked nice, i literally grew up with the blue blur. I always looked at it as funny cartoon animals do funny things to annoy big bad Dr. Eggman, because that's what it was for me since childhood.

So when i jumped into IDW it is probably an understatement that i was surprised by it's depth and how all these characters were shown in a different light, a more serious tone, in relatable situations, they have their flaws, their strength, their fears, they suddenly had a wide set of emotions brought into play i honestly wasn't sure for a while if i was reading official Sonic the Hedgehog Comics by SEGA or a really good fanproject.

Anyway, it didn't take me too long until i catched up with Tangle and Whisper.

Back then (early 2021) i was in a really weak position and went through a hard time in life (Still trying to recover from it as you know) and let's just say the Tangle and Whisper Mini helped me to look up and enjoy life again.

Whisper's backstory, losing her team, trying to find a footing in life, opening up to people again, dealing with her own trauma somehow just spoke to me on many levels.

And mixed up with Tangle being the sunshine she is, the bound they formed during the events of the comics, it somehow gave me strength to not give up on myself.

I know this might sound weird to some people that literally cartoon animals helped me to regain my spirit again.

Ngl it did surprise me too, never in my life would i have thought that actual Sonic characters/comics would get me out of that dark swamp i was trapped in.

But life is never 100% predictable. In the end i just embraced it for what it is even if it did strike me a little weird.

So much about my personal experience.

Part 2 - Actual organic LGBT representation that feels natural in it's buildup.

So that is a thing that did really stick out to me a lot while reading the comics.

Tangle and Whisper's bound did evolve very organic throughout the course of the whole comic series, it added depth with the mini series, showed growth through the annual story and their overall interactions with each other while fighting side by side during the metal virus arc.

From being distant to slowly starting to embrace each other more and more, Whisper's breakdown when she found out she lost Tangle to the Virus, tackle hugging her out of relieve that she got her back, ending in a flirty scene even + many more small details, little interactions and be it just Tangle wrapping her tail around Whisper for comfort.

There is a lot of unspoken body language between these two as well that adds a lot to their narrative in my eyes.

Heck even their whole Cover Art Selection for their Mini Series is truly something else.

These two girls gave me such a massive gay/lesbian vibe and they were also so close to each other on the page, that i was actually surprised (Heh, again) when i found out that they weren't pitched that way in the first place.

Like, excuse me but huh !?

Supporting, healing, growing, feelings, baby steps, it's all there.

I was really happy to see a wlw relationship blossom in such a normal way that it felt like fresh air to me. (Back then it wasn't even confirmed yet) Tbh i didn't delve too much into details at that point i just enjoyed the story surrounding them.

A typical case of good written slowburn. And man i love slowburn romance haha

Usually i was used to a lot of subtext till the end (Korrasami for example, it is a good story but was extremely restricted)

Anyway i don't want to make this any longer than it already is, BUT I THINK we could say that all of the above initiated that "spark" for me.

And tbh i am not even sure if my words here give it enough justice at all. Honestly i was never a big shipper for anything in my life prior to these two.

I bet i could squeeze more outta my head but that's honestly already a lot of digging here on my part.

#Ask & Answer #Damn long answer #my brain feels like mush lol

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beevean · 9 months

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Honestly, so many interactions and panels in IDW just seem like they were put there for the sake of shipteasing/shipbait, for someone to clip and say "Omg my ship they're in love!" when it adds nothing to the story and only serves as pandering.

Sonadow, Sonamy and Whispangle all do this to a degree. You cannot tell me Shadow bridal carrying Sonic wasn't meant to be shipbait. The entire conflict in the recent arc with Tangle and Whisper just felt like forced conflict for the sake of "Oh they went through a divorce arc but are back together now!" And I still thing it's hilarious how you have the cover of issue 59 with Sonic and Amy giving eachother romantic looks while Tails gets blown up in the background, while nothing like that ever happens in the actual issue.

Oh yeah the bridal carry couldn't be any more obvious. Made even better by how much of a dick Shadow was in that entire arc, because that's how we show cute chemistry between our characters :') IDW Sonic and IDW Shadow deserve each other, they would poison each other's lunch lmao

I don't even remember what happens in #59, but I don't remember Sonic and Amy ever interacting. I do feel their shit baity moments are the most tolerable, and the two generally seem to be good friends, but hey I could be biased ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anyway, yeah, as I keep saying, fanservice and memes are what's keeping IDW afloat. After all, it's not like you need to read the full issues, right? Just hop on Twitter and look at the pretty out-of-context panels!

#fans don't look

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ninjapotatohead · 1 year

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What Ruined Shadow: The Downfall of an Amazing Character

I will be analyzing Shadow's peak characterization in the Adventure/Dark Era and the steady decline in the Meta Era.

During this analysis, I will explain how Shadow went from being a likeable, well written and relatable character in the 2000's, to a truly detestable character in the 2010's.

I will focus mainly on Shadow's characterization in the games, since I haven't watched the cartoons in a long time (I will make it a point to rewatch them all eventually though), and my knowledge of the comics is limited at best, but from what I've read of the comics, Pre-Reboot Archie Shadow's characterization is really good, Reboot Archie Shadow is just as much of a piece of shit as the Boom/Pontaff version of the character is, and IDW Shadow, while he's not exactly as bad as he is in Reboot-Archie/Meta Era/Boom, I still hate how stupid he can be sometimes, and that really showed in the Zombot arc.

I haven't watched Sonic X in a long time, but from what I remember, Shadow's portrayal in the show was similar to that of his game counterpart. As for Boom Shadow... I'll explain my stance on him later.

Shadow's Four Game Arc

Shadow is the only character in the Sonic series I know of whose character arc happened over the course of four games, starting with SA2 and ending in 06.

In SA2, Shadow believes he is destined to exact revenge on humanity for killing his best friend, Maria, but then the memory of Maria's true wish (to protect humanity) made him realize the error of his ways, so he sacrifices himself to save humanity from the ARK falling towards Earth.

He wasn't the villain of this story, he was the misunderstood hero. He wasn't edgy, he was just traumatized, depressed, and didn't really know how to make friends. Shadow has been through A LOT of trauma, such as losing his best friend Maria, and nearly dying when he fell from the Space Colony ARK. His backstory and redemption arc in SA2 remain one of the powerful, well-written and emotional narratives in the entire Sonic franchise in my opinion.

Due to fan demand, SEGA brought Shadow back in Sonic Heroes, albeit with amnesia. He teams up with Rouge and Omega in hopes of learning the truth about his past. This isn't really an arc, but the setup for an arc in the next game. His close friendship with Rouge and Omega is definitely a highlight though.

Shadow's characterization in his solo game is overhated and greatly misunderstood in my opinion. Sure, he did act out of character at times, but in this case, it was understandable, since he had amnesia and his mental health worsened after he left Team Dark at the end of Heroes. In the canon ending of the game, Shadow regains his memories and saves the planet from the Black Arms, then he comes to terms with his past and decides to start a new future.

Contrary to popular belief, The Meta Era Shadow isn't based off of this game, but rather a flanderized version on the Internet that came from this game. In the actual game however, Shadow is nothing like his Meta Era counterpart. His characterization in ShTH is so greatly misunderstood, that it spawned the worst version of the character we could have possibly gotten. I wish more people could understand Shadow's characterization in his solo game as well as I do.

Shadow's characterization in 06 is widely regarded as one of his best portrayals in the entire series, and it's not hard to see why. They absolutely perfected him in this game. At one point, Mephiles taunts Shadow with his future, telling him that humanity will one day turn on him, but Shadow doesn't care because he had already reconciled with his past in the previous game, and he has since chosen to move forward and stay focused on the present, thus reinforcing the theme of 06's narrative. And the ending is just perfect, showing us how much Shadow has grown and changed and it shows us the one thing that will never change about him is his will to fight.

In conclusion, I absolutely love Shadow's characterization in 06 because of how much it's really helped to develop Shadow's character more, and it truly ended his amazing four game arc on a high note.

Shadow's Characterization In Other Adventure/Dark Era Games

Before we discuss the downfall of Shadow's character in the 2010's, here are a few honorable mentions:

I don't remember Sonic Battle's story all that well to be honest, but from I do remember, Shadow was written similar to how he was in SA2.

His characterization in the Sonic Rivals duology was fairly decent for the most part, and I liked his relationship with Metal Sonic in Rivals 2.

Sir Lancelot in Black Knight is a well written character, and he certainly acted more like Shadow than any of the recent portrayals did, but I count him as an AU counterpart of Shadow, not Shadow himself.

Shadow's Character Assassination

Shadow's character derailment began in Sonic Free Riders when Kirk Thornton started voicing him, and it only got worse when Pontaff started writing him in every game from Colors onwards. At this point, Shadow became EXACTLY what the Internet thought he was: an edgy, arrogant prick who likes to call Sonic "faker", thinks he's better than everyone else, and hates friendship.

He didn't really do much in Colors DS and Generations, so I don't have much to say about his characterization in those games. However, his line in Generations really makes me cringe, because it just demonstrates how much Kirk Thornton sucked as Shadow:

The Sonic Boom games, as well as the cartoon of the same name, basically took all of Meta Era Shadow's worst traits and cranked them up to eleven, to the point of making him an outright villain. Boom Shadow is a one dimensional high school bully who straight-up INSULTS Sonic and his loyalty to his friends, even though the Shadow I know values friendship and is a hero with a dark, tragic past.

This bastardized version of Shadow is the ANTITHESIS of Shadow's character, and one of the many reasons why I hate the Sonic Boom universe as a whole. My anger at how badly they fucked up his character still persists to this day. I know Sonic Boom is meant to be an alternate universe separate from the main series, but that's not a valid excuse to turn Shadow into an one dimensional edgelord for literally NO reason. If you're going to drastically alter a character's personality for a different universe, at least give them a good reason to be that way. Can Shadow be an evil asshole in an alternate universe? Yes, but only if he is given a good reason to be, but Boom Shadow is just a high school bully without a reason to be that way.

Out of all of Shadow's portrayals in the mainline games, Sonic Forces is the easily the worst. He basically murdered Infinite's entire squad, and then he proceeds to beat up Infinite and make fun of him, calling him "worthless", which Infinite somehow interprets as Shadow calling him "weak".

This is VERY out of character for Shadow. You would think that Shadow of all people would know that killing the only people you have a close relationship with will not end well. And because of what happened to Maria, I don't believe he would ever do such a thing. Overall, I see Shadow killing Infinite's squad and then making fun of Infinite as character assassination. Infinite suffering trauma from that makes sense, but Shadow being the cause... No.

Shadow's portrayal in Team Sonic Racing wasn't any better, as he only cared about winning against Sonic in a race to prove he's better than him.

Also, there's this petty argument between Sonic and Shadow that drags on for far too long (ten levels to be precise!). Basically, the argument was: Sonic suspects Shadow is working for Eggman (even though he hasn't done that since SA2, but ok), Shadow says he's just here to race (fair), Sonic taunts him, then they race (seems somewhat normal so far), but then they just argue over it afterwards? WTF?

In another cutscene, Silver was like, "Oh no, Eggman's working with Dodon Pa" and Tails goes, "Oh no! Can't do anything right now though, Sonic and Shadow are having a petty argument. Maybe later". Like, what?

They even yell at Rouge at one point too for interrupting them, that's how petty it is. I mean, what the hell? Aren't Shadow and Rouge supposed to be friends? What happened to their close relationship in the Adventure/Dark Era titles?

Well, according to SEGA, Shadow, Rouge and Omega are no longer friends; now they're just co-workers who, as a team, are semi functional at best. What the hell, SEGA?

A big part of what made Team Dark great in the first place was their close friendship with one another, and how much they love and care for each other despite their hard pasts. Team Dark without their close-knit friendship and introvert bonding doesn't feel right to me, and it really sucks that Ian Flynn won't allow Shadow to have friends because of SEGA's BS mandates.

My Final Thoughts

Overall, I believe Shadow is one of the most misunderstood Sonic characters ever. He was a hero at best in Heroes and 06, and an anti-hero in misguided situations like his solo game and SA2. He was never a full on villain until Kirk Thornton started voicing him and Pontaff started writing him. It's as if SEGA just looked at the memes made by people who don't even like Shadow (or the Sonic franchise in general), took them at face value, and made that his entire character. Honestly, I feel sorry for newer fans who were only exposed to the Boom/Pontaff version of Shadow and never got to see the real Shadow. He was once a great, deep character with a beautiful four game arc (SA2, Heroes, ShTH and 06) and an amazing personality and motive, now he's just a brooding, friendless edgelord with little to no personality beyond "fuck all of you, I wanna win, friendship is stupid". I wish newer fans could have access to the older games, so they can experience all these great, powerful and emotional storylines and to see Shadow for what he really is: a selfless hero who protects humanity and cares about his friends and people who side with him. He stands thoroughly by his own beliefs and goals, he does what’s right, and he’s arguably one of the most sympathetic characters in the franchise if you really think about it.

SEGA really needs to get Shadow's character right in the next game. Otherwise, pop culture will continue to believe those memes, which will result in more people failing to understand Shadow as a character. Shadow is a good person deep down, which is why it always annoys me to see him portrayed as that stereotypical edgy persona that some people see him as. The Shadow I know speaks and acts with reason and defends what he holds dear. I really hope that Shadow will go back to the way he was in the 2000's, even if the possibility of that happening is pretty much slim to none. Is there hope that Shadow will ever go back to how he used to be before Pontaff ruined him? Maybe. Only time will tell.

Way to conveniently leave out a wealth of Shadow's scenes from the same games you yourself listed because acknowledging them would go against your narrative.

• Shadow was basically a cocky bastard in both the Rivals games and towards the end of his own episode in Sonic Battle. Plus, if his lines in the Riders games are any indication, he's still just as arrogant as ever.

• Heroes has Shadow literally talking down to Team Sonic, and (in true Sonic Heroes fashion) starts a fight with them when they're both after what they believe is Eggman.

• Shadow's self-titled game has a number of moments where it really seems the dude's lost his sense of self-preservation along with his memory. Need I mention...

youtube

• Any good scenes in 06 are massively undercut by Sonic 06... being Sonic 06. A few "good" scenes doesn't absolve that game's plot from being terrible (especially when every character is an idiot).

• The Rivals games had pretty much everyone (Shadow included) being as competitive with each other as possible, just like in Heroes. Rivals 2 has Shadow barking orders at Metal just to stop N'Eggman from waking up Totally-Not-Iblis. Also, there's the scene where where all Sonic does is ask Shadow for more information about what's going on. Shadow's response? To beat the shit out of him, of course.

Even when the stakes are rising, Shadow and Sonic are still butting heads; trying to outdo the other.

• Literally, the only Sonic game Pontaff actually wrote themselves was Lost World... a game where Shadow is literally nowhere to be seen. Stop capping.

• Free Riders, much like a lot of Sonic racing games, is a very lighthearted low-stakes affair. Shadow's not a villain in that game either. Again, stop capping.

• Kirk's voice has absolutely nothing to do with Shadow's characterization. At all. Your obvious hard-on for the previous voice actors is obvious.

• SEGA themselves have been portraying Shadow as an arrogant dickhead ever since his inception, really. Hell, even Ian Flynn intended to have Shadow be characterized as such from the very beginning (contrary to what Sonic News Network would have you believe).

• Shadow, contrary to what the hive-mind has deluded itself into believing, is an introvert for all intents and purposes. He doesn't show his emotions in a conventional manner, nor is he a chatterbox (see also Colors DS and Sonic Forces).

• Like I've said numerous times, TSR is no different from a LOT of racing games in the franchise. Hell, in Rivals 2, Shadow tells Rouge that N'Eggman is after the Chaos Emeralds, but then Rouge goes back on Sjadow trusting her with said information and refuses to disclose who exactly hired Rouge to collect the things to begin with. Your obvious tunnel-vision is obvious.

• For the last time...

In conclusion, you're full of shit, just like everyone else who unironically misuses the "Meta Era" terminology.

#spud's inbox #sonic series #shadow the hedgehog

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tenebraevesper · 1 year

Text

Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer, Issue #59: Urban Warfare (Part 3)

Finally, it’s here! You guys have no idea how much I had been looking forward to this Issue, and for a good reason, but let’s first admire the art by Nathalie Haines, which was actually drawn like a classical painting. It’s magnificent!

*clasps hands*

Anyways, Urban Warfare (Part 3); what is there to say about it? Holy Hell, what isn’t there to say about it? Honestly, I had been losing my mind the moment I read the summary for it, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. But, before I start, a little recap since it has been a while.

Sonic and the Diamond Cutters (Tangle, Whisper and Lanolin) arrived at Eggperial City to figure out what is going on, and have found out that the city is expanding by itself. As they plan their next move, the Diamond Cutters end up in a different dimension due to one of Eggman’s portals featured in The Test Run Arc, while Sonic calls for reinforcements. Tails, Amy, Blaze and Silver show up and as they progress through the city, they run into Team Dark destroying Badniks left and right.

So, I’m not even one page into the story and I’m already picking up Sonadow energy from this moment. Trust me, I had a field day with this one.

Sonic is genuinely shocked to see Shadow... and only Shadow. I can’t blame him though, considering how their last encounter went.

Yeah, I’m not sure how many of you remember, but Shadow’s last appearance was in The Chao Races and Badnik Bases Arc, where he made some rather questionable decisions, but not as bad as what happened during The Crisis City Arc (aka the Zombot Fiasco), based on how SEGA wanted him to be written in the story. Fortunately, regarding the writing, we had actually gotten some good news in the weeks leading up to Team Dark’s, and especially Shadow’s, reintroduction to the comics.

To keep it short, all that talk about Shadow having a bunch of locks and chains placed on him to keep him in line with their vision... well, they started to break. From what I understood, SEGA gave more workable guidelines for him that allow for more liberties with writing his character - or in other words, Vegeta!Shadow is finally gone!!! As a matter of fact, while reading through the story, the improvement in his character was remarkable. Admittedly, it might not be for everyone, but goddamn, I’m loving it!

Not to mention, this is the first time since The Crisis City Arc that we see Team Dark working together once again. Also, Rouge, why are you calling everyone else kids when you’re only 18? (And yeah, I know SEGA removed the ages for all the characters, but let’s be honest, who pays attention to that?).

Sonic quips how he’s flattered that they’re here to rescue him, but they’re late to the party and... Silver, what the hell are you doing with Blaze?

*laughs* Even Tails and Amy have noticed that Silver is holding Blaze upside down, while he didn’t register any of it. I suppose Silver is too focused on Team Dark’s reappearance to realize what he’s doing.

Shadow just leaps off the scrapped Badniks, replying to Sonic how he has no idea what he’s talking about, nor does he care. Sonic, on the other hand, looks a little disappointed with that answer. I suppose he had been hoping for some banter.

Rouge then quickly brings him up to speed, explaining how she called in “her boys” (I see this as another win for everyone who say Team Dark are friends!) to see what they could do about Eggperial City - aka destroy everything in their path, foil Eggman’s plans and maybe steal some kind of treasure.

Sonic figures that makes sense, but I’m still convinced he’s disappointed they (or rather Shadow) weren’t here to help him out.

Cue Amy shoving Sonic away to talk to Rouge. I saw people saying how she’s just being overprotective of her crush, but I was questioning where Amy’s line of sight is. Amy notes how this is awfully altruistic of Rouge, but as I said above, she’s in because she wants to raid Eggman’s private vaults for a handsome reward.

Tails and Silver are hyped up to work with them to destroy the city though.

Omega notes how the conversation is irrelevant to their mission, and Rouge notes how Team Sonic would just slow Team Dark down and they’d be going off on their own, with Omega also promising to not hit anyone in the crossfire. Honestly, I think this is the nicest thing Omega could tell them.

Meanwhile, Sonic looks so done with everything. We don’t get annoyed Sonic often, so it’s neat to see him like that, and it makes sense, considering how in a (I assume) very short time-span (depending on when Scrapnik Island takes place), he had discovered Eggperial City and was chased by Metal Sonic while keeping Tails, Kit and Belle safe and having his leg injured, fought Surge at least three times, discovered what Starline had done to them, got separated from the Diamond Cutters and is now trying to foil another of Eggman’s plans while being on his territory and having to deal with Badniks.

That, and Rouge said they were slowing Team Dark down.

Never tell Sonic he’s slowing you down. Never.

Oh, and as the cherry on top, Eggman decides to make an announcement. But instead of talking about how he’s gonna blow up the moon, he decides to explain to everyone how the Eggperial City works. It is a self-replicating and self-repairing metropolis. Anything they destroy, dozens more will rise to take its place. Eggman also figures that this would be a nice time to rise the stakes a little, so he calls in for a little surprise.

IT’S THE SHADOW ANDROIDS!!!

To note, we haven’t seen these guys since Whisper’s backstory way back in the Tangle and Whisper Miniseries and before that, we haven’t seen them since Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog.

Going by Shadow’s reaction, he’s clearly shocked to see them again, and Eggman’s obviously going to use the Shadow Androids to their fullest potential.

Hell, Eggman has already the popcorn ready, all to happy to watch the carnage unfold. He calls it a stroke of genius in regards of building robots that mimic Shadow’s skills and holding onto them for the right moment (and that’s not even accounting for the mindscrew Shadow had to deal with when he encountered one for the first time).

Metal Sonic, though, is not happy about the Shadow Androids being dispatched. I’m certain that he wants to be the one on the battlefield.

While this is happening, the Diamond Cutters have infiltrated the control room, Lanolin and Whisper sneaking in, while Tangle just strolls inside like she owns the place, much to Lanolin’s chagrin, and points out how no one’s gonna spot them as she places her hand through Metal’s head. Lanolin just sighs, figuring this should make checking the room out easier, while Whisper stares in the screen in pure shock, realizing that the past is about to repeat itself.

She breaks down, and honestly, I really love the backgrounds in this page. We can see the darkness surrounding Whisper as she tells them how everyone’s going to die. However, the moment Tangle reaches for her and comforts her, the darkness slowly fades away, replaced by a ray of light. Tangle hugs Whisper, promising her how things will be fine, and even Lanolin joins in on comforting Whisper. While these three are still learning, they do make a great team.

Speaking of the Shadow Androids, we see Team Sonic fighting them, everyone being clearly in shock to what they are, with Tails being unable to get clear readings about them as they’re too fast. Even Blaze’s fire is not enough to keep them back and they’re strong enough to deal with Amy’s hammer.

Now, I’ll stop here to put a reminder. On the heroes side, no one but Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Whisper and Tangle here knows about the Shadow Androids. Whisper’s encounter with them is obvious, and Tangle saw footage of that, while Shadow, Rouge and Omega ran into them in Sonic Heroes, and Shadow had another (dubiously canonical) encounter with them in Shadow the Hedgehog.

Realizing just how dire the situation is, Sonic calls Silver for help so they can escape. Silver, being the awesome psychic he is, lifts the ground into a ramp and with Blaze frying the Shadow Androids that are after them, Sonic grabs everyone to get away from the robots in pursuit (also, nice Sonamy moment with that little blush).

Team Sonic finds Team Dark after the groups have been briefly separated, with Blaze grabbing Sonic and Amy’s hands and rushing over to help Team Dark. Yeah, there is an error in the panels, as both show Blaze grabbing hands with rings around them, suggesting she was grabbing only Amy’s hand. I suppose the artist forgot to erase the ring to make it clear she was also grabbing Sonic.

Back with Team Dark, Shadow assesses how Eggman’s trying to overwhelm them with sheer numbers and how there’s no strategy to their movements, meaning they can be easily manipulated. He figures that, once they move to a better position, they can take them out.

Cue Blaze throwing Sonic and Amy (another error, both are blue instead of being blue and pink) with Sonic spin-dashing and Amy smashing the Shadow Androids that were about to attack Shadow.

With a nose flick, Sonic is right back to quipping, asking Shadow whether he had some cousins he never told them about, while Shadow responds with “Please. These cheap copies don’t deserve to wear my place.”

Have I told you how much I love these two together? (≧◡≦)

As the battle continues, Shadow explains how the Shadow Androids are cheap copies created by Eggman, and how he’ll pay dearly for this insult. Unfortunately, Omega loses his footing and is being brought down by the Shadow Androids, but he keeps on fighting. Realizing how things are getting dire, Rouge asks Shadow to use his own powers against the Shadow Androids, but he responds how it is impossible without a Chaos Emerald (makes me wonder what happened to the Chaos Emerald Rouge stole in the Sonic Annual).

Tails rushes in, telling Shadow how the crystals are also generating Chaos Energy, with Shadow agreeing, but notes how the energy is distorted.

“Fake Emeralds... I hate to stoop to using such a pale substitute, but... it will do.”

Okay, can I say that this panel is absolutely amazing, and what’s about to happen is jaw-dropping!

I swear, this was my reaction to seeing this page:

Not only is the art absolutely gorgeous, but it finally shows Shadow as a pure badass who has the skills to support his title of The Ultimate Lifeform! Honestly, words cannot describe how much I love this! Bow your heads low, all hail Shadow!

And to add a cherry to the top of this moment of awesomeness:

Absolutely badass! It’s really great to see Shadow let loose from time to time. Hell, even Team Sonic is amazed!

Tails, Amy and Silver are starstruck, Rouge is proud of her boy, Blaze is... stunned, to say the least (I suppose she never saw what Shadow was truly capable of), while Sonic figures he should too give it a try.

And yeah, I saw the Dark Sonic jokes floating around. Are you guys forgetting that Sonic was the first to use a Fake Chaos Emerald for Chaos Control back in Sonic Adventure 2? He knows how to handle them.

Shadow then points out that they’re not done yet and goes for another Chaos Control, only for something to happen...

A giant crystal shoots out of the ground, throwing everyone off, while Rouge asks Shadow what’s happening. Shadow is crackling with Chaos Energy, warning her that it’s too much and...

Holy frigging Hell! Shadow unleashes a blast of Chaos Energy, nuking everything surrounding him. Everyone escapes, and when Rouge tries to get back to Shadow and Omega, she’s stopped by the crystals, which are now shooting out from everywhere.

Eggman quickly attempts to regain control of the situation, figuring Shadow would cause trouble. Tangle wonders what happened, with Whisper answering how it was Chaos Overload (how does she know that?). I suppose Shadow used to much of the surrounding Chaos Energy and it was too much for him to handle since the Fake Chaos Emeralds were spread out all over the city. He may be a Master of Chaos Control, but even this would overwhelm someone like him.

Eggman activates the emergency limiter, rebooting the system, noting how it’ll take more to take out his city.

Team Sonic and Rouge observe the destruction Shadow had caused, with Tails figuring it was some runaway feedback loop. Rouge is worried about Shadow and Omega, but Sonic, Silver and Blaze assure her that not only are the two tough, they also know what they’re up against and they can deal with Eggman. Rouge is cheered up, while Sonic looks forward to Shadow’s expression when he saves him.

Yeah, Sonic will never let Shadow live that down.

Back with Eggman, the power has returned, the system got rebooted... and Eggman lost Sonic and co. Lanolin points out how the power surge nearly crippled the entire city, so if they trigger another bigger one, this should destroy it. But in that moment, all three of them become suddenly visible, with Eggman spotting them.

In two magnificent panels, we get an Eggman obscured by shadows, really creeping me out, as he figures they ran into his spatial-displacement trap. He explains how they almost got out when the power dipped, but he has a way of dealing with them, summoning another model of the portal and telling them how this will scatter their atoms into oblivion.

Whisper takes the shot, and honestly, if she still hadn’t been trapped in that other dimension, she would’ve killed Eggman then and there. The blast went right through his chest. Like, this was probably the fourth time she attempted to kill someone in cold blood (first Mimic, followed by another attempt at Eggman’s life, then Surge and now Eggman again).

What’s even more chilling is how calm Eggman is, well aware what his trap had done. It then surrounds Whisper.

Tangle screams for her as Whisper is trapped inside the device, and then spots another one flying for her, only for Lanolin to ram her out of the way and tell her to tell everyone what happened and what to do before getting captured herself.

Tangle is cornered, but she suddenly phases through the window, falling out of the command tower. The story ends on a literal cliffhanger.

Holy Hell, I absolutely loved this Issue! It was beyond awesome for all the reasons I already talked above, but there is one specific thing I wanted to discuss in the ending of this analysis - Shadow’s portrayal.

Honestly, I had absolutely no complaint with how he was written in this Issue. People might not agree with me, but I think Urban Warfare really redeemed him, as rather than being prideful and arrogant, he was more business-like and focused on the mission, pragmatic and patient in explaining to everyone what is going on, as well as having his moments of banter with Sonic.

As for him being taken out of the battle, alongside Omega, I’m actually fine with it, as it’s the manner with how he was put out of commission.

Seriously, compare this:

To this:

It’s not about pride, it’s about saving everyone with his own power, and that’s what I had been missing from IDW!Shadow for so long.

I really hope we’ll see more of this in the future.

Links:

#Previous Issue

#Next Issue

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer #idw sonic #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #dr eggman #shadow androids #amy rose #miles tails prower #blaze the cat #silver the hedgehog #rouge the bat #e-123 omega #lanolin the sheep #whisper the wolf #tangle the lemur #metal sonic #orbot and cubot

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mahoutoons · 1 year

Text

sonic frontiers thoughts

alright i just finished watching all the cutscenes of sonic frontiers and here are my unorganized thoughts.

non spoilery thoughts:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASJSJJDSHDFDJLSADMNSDKLDIFJ9POEWDKLASDMCDSKLNCXXMHFEGFOWEKJKFNPKRW9PEPEOQWKJNWDIF'MODOKDS

spoilery thoughts

sonic and amy both sounds like they're going through puberty

sonic is so powerful if he can handle being thrown a great distance by a titan without breaking at least a few bones

i love how sonic shows concern for his friends. like he asks them how they're feeling being ghostly.

sonic dancing every time he gets a chaos emerald is cute

HOLY SHIT, AMOG-[GUNSHOT]

amy is just so kind, i love her. she wouldn't even abandon a koco.

A CALLBACK TO AMY'S TAROT CARD ABILITIES YESSSS!!!

knuckles would punch a child for sonic and i think that's so romantic.

speaking of shipping, this game is really feeding the sonamy and sonknux shippers.

SAGE WAS CREATED BY EGGMAN?! AND SHE CALLS HIM FATHER!!

this will be my approach to sonic discourse from now on

also love that knuckles told sonic he's useless underwater he went straight for the throat lmao

i love how they addressed the trauma of the events of forces, AND that one scene with tails. because forces was.... forces, we forget how traumatic it actually was. and sonic asking tails if he wants to talk because he's worried.... this is good stuff. i need ian flynn to rewrite sonic forces asap.

sageee my poor baby girl :(

also that vocal theme that played during sage's flashbacks... someone give me the adoption papers i've got a child to adopt.

THE ANCIENTS WERE FROM ANOTHER PLANET?!?!

HOLY SHIT THE CHAOS EMERALDS ARE FROM SPACE?!?!?!

THE KOCOS ARE THE SPIRITS OF ANCIENTS OMG!!!

IF THE KOCOS ARE MEANT TO DIE WHY DID YOU MAKE THEM SO CUTE SEGA?!

AMY, TAILS, AND KNUCKLES SAVE SONIC!!!

ALSO ALL THE VOCAL THEMES THAT PLAY DURING THE TITAN BOSS FIGHTS ARE GODLY

HE DOES CARE FOR HER :(((

SONIC FIGHTS THE FUCKING MOON THAT IS SO AWESOME

SAGE NOOOO DON'T DIE YOU'VE ALREADY BECOME A FAVE OF MIND

HE RECIPROCATED THE HUG, ANOTHER W FOR THE SONAMY NATION

EVERYONE LOOK AT MY CHILDREN!!! NOW!!!

also eggman being genuinely upset at sage's death.... :(

STICKS THE BADGER MENTION?!?! STICKS IS CANON?!?!

also i'm gonna need an idw spinoff of that road trip between amy, cream, and sticks asap. get on it, flynn and stanley!

OMG?!?! THIS BETTER MEAN SAGE IS COMING BACK FOR THE NEXT GAME!!!

OKAY FINAL THOUGHTS: god this was so much fun! i know others have already said it but SONIC IS BACK BABY!!! i love all the characters arcs flynn gave tails, knuckles, and amy. i love sonic's interactions with all of his friends. and sage, my god she's already become a fave of mine. she's such an interesting and tragic character. she may be a digital girl but she's still a child and all she wanted was to be loved. and she sacrificed herself in the end. and eggman did care about her, in his own way as sonic said. god the wait was certainly worth it.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers #sonic frontiers spoilers #rebecca talks

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nvzblgrrl · 6 months

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Why don’t you go focus on your favorite characters and eras and just ignore the RTD era and the Tenth Doctor and simply go ahead and act like they don’t exist?!? You have more negative shit to say about it than anything, but it’s always like this with y’all so-called detractors. You people just pretend to hate it but deep inside y’all are OBSESSED. Always giving them attention and then pulling a “I hate that they are so popular” well stay fucking mad bitch. Your faves will never hit as much as them <3

Alright, so what we have here is a classic 'victim complex' stan - they basically spend all their time shoving their favorite in your face without accepting any nuance to their character or existence, and then the minute you say 'hey can you behave', they act as if you've personally victimized them, even if their previous behavior towards anyone who either disagrees or simply likes other parts of the show has been nothing but abusive. Now, let's be real - I do hate the fan versions of Rose Tyler and the Tenth Doctor, because their universal purpose is to flatten out conversations into mindless praise and 'girl next door comphet' in which no wrong nor imperfection can be attributed to the characters, their dynamic, or RTD's direction. The actual characters? Are interesting. Not that you'd know, given how allergic you types are to that sort of thing.

I actually am a pretty dedicated Tenth Doctor fan: I read the comics and listen to the Big Finish audio adventures with him (I haven't gotten all of them but it's a work in progress) - but what I like is the flawed version who's a complicated guy going through a hubris arc which, sadly, wasn't quite the focus it should have been for his run, even though the beats of it were consistent from the start. I also dislike how Martha was sidelined by many of the stories in which she should have been the 'main character', a privilege that was repeatedly afforded to Rose.

And as to who hits harder - Steven Moffat. Always. 100%. This is the man who understands the emotional beats of Doctor Who more than any other writer or showrunner who has touched on the show, though Chris Chibnall managed to do very well. Russell... well, again, it's a matter of taste, but I found a number of his stories and themes lackluster (the man has a hyper focus on romance that even comes across when he makes the operative choice not to feature a romance, because he Announces that fact routinely) and even more of his 'tweaks' to other writer's stories undercutting, ex: the Idiot's Lantern ending on a note of abuse apologism in the name of Daddy Issues.

And yet, despite Russell not being my favorite showrunner, I'm still willing to watch and appreciate his run as part of Doctor Who as a whole, giving every episode as fair a shake as possible as I go because I love Doctor Who and I love stories. I like seeing what little bits come in - again, Idiot's Lantern was one that, despite having the abuse apologism bit in it, gave me an interesting moment with the Tenth Doctor being as openly angry as he ever was in Series 2... and that went totally unremarked upon by both the characters and the narrative, because the character observing didn't have any reason to pick up on that it's weird for him to break a door instead of using the sonic or not compliment a monster or fancy bit of technology - but an audience member can.

But sure, Brenda. Please tell me about how much I hate it, I'm sure you know so much.

#vaguing venting with nvz #also congrats on being my second ever 'why aren't you aren't you mindlessly worshipping the same opinions that i do' DW anon #the first was just as petty and childish <3 #doctor who #also! i would bet dollars to donuts i've engaged with more tenth doctor content than this person! because I know how to read!

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violence-devil · 1 year

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Sonic Frontiers and Letting Go

I was listening to One Way Dream earlier and decided to write this up because the story for Frontiers I feel is so much more poignant than just "wow the character dialogue is better now"! Since I'll be talking about the story and it's themes, expect spoilers.

I joke with friends about Frontiers being "peak mid" but there's just so much good there that makes me love it. It really does feel like a new start line for Sonic. Shit could be much better next time, but they got just enough right for me and many other people to like it. And One Way Dream even ties into the game's theme, despite being made as a message to fans from Sonic Team. It's so defyingly optimistic, and about only moving forward towards the good future you can make for yourself (I was gonna write more about how this connects to me being trans but I don't wanna make this TOO LONG lol). Lots of people wanted Crush 40 to return for Frontiers but I feel like that era of Sonic is long past and would feel out of place. Natewantstobattle did an amazing job on One Way Dream, and Kellin Quinn fucking KILLED IT for the 3 titan themes. The other 2 vocal themes are pretty good too. It's so representative of the beginning of a new era, instead of retreading the past. Which is why I kinda see now why Sega wanted to replace Sonic's VA for this game and honestly I think they shoulda. Roger did start to come into his own but his voice was weird in Frontiers. I appreciate the more serious take on Sonic, but he sounds 40 lol. The game's director said he was debating whether to even have boosting in this game and tbh I think they shoulda removed it yeah. He said he is still considering ditching it moving forward. Which would mean moving on from the boost formula which was introduced like 16 years ago. The boost was really understated in Frontiers already so I don't think it would be too hard. But, enough about external media and mechanics, time for the story itself!

So much abt this game is abt moving on. Amy seeming to have mellowed out and instead wanting to share love with the world and not just her crush on Sonic, Knuckles learning to ease up on his duties as the guardian of the Master Emerald, Tails once again stepping out of Sonic's shadow, and Sage learning that she should disobey her father in order to save him, even if it does ultimately cost her her life due to what she needs to do. Not just the main cast, but even the Kokos being basically recordings of spirits long dead endlessly doing what they last did when they were living until Sonic liberates their souls from their physical forms by helping them reach the conclusion they were attempting to make. So now they can finally let go. It was especially liberating seeing Tails go through this since they did have him admit he already went through this arc before, but reframes it as him still growing up. So, even if he did make a life altering realization, it was still possible for him to fall back into previous complacency.

The final thing I wanna touch on is the final boss. I think people take it too literally. In my opinion, I think it's a more abstract being rather than just a big evil thing to beat, and that this time it's just taking the form of a moon. I think there's a lot of symbolism there people ignore. Sonic has been compared to the sun in media before (or just nature in general), bringing new life across lands and liberating people from either machines or their old selves, and this incarnation of The End being the moon is actually pretty meaningful since the moon is a symbol representing the concept of death in Japan. It talks about bringing order to the universe, snuffing out the chaos and instability that life brings. The two are very much polar opposites, and I think having Sonic face something that's more conceptual like that is pretty cool.

Oh also Mike Pollock did the male voice for The End and while I'm sure it's sheer coincidence there could be a created connection here about Eggman. He lost Sage after letting her go do what she felt she needed to, his own daughter, possibly the only being he's been close to for years. And the stinger at the end of the game is the cherry on top. Because he didn't let go. He somehow accessed whatever dimension all of the spirits went to when they moved on which is where he found Sage again, and I think that this will set up perfectly for the sequel, this time with Eggman as the main antagonist again, representing the inability to move on while Sonic is all about change.

#sonic frontiers #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers spoilers #haruhi.txt

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