So, I Finally Watched SONIC PRIME

[”You’re wrong, Shadow!”] [”That image playing over and overin your head like a GIF.”] [”It’s pronounced ‘Jiff’.”] [”Huh?”] [”’Dot jiff.’ Like the peanut butter.”] [”That’s dumb. It’s Graphics Interchange Format.”] [”The ‘P’ in JPEG stands for ‘photographic’,but I bet you don’t say ‘jay-pheg’.”] [”Name one word that starts with ‘G’pronounced like ‘J’.”] [”Getrification.”].

[”Shoot! Should’ve thought of that…”] [”I just hate you in general.”] [”You mean in ‘ghen-ral’.”] [”Ugh! I am ‘joe-ing’ to kill you!”] No matter what, you can't deny Sonic's persistence in animation. He's been featured in five different TV shows. He's endured wacky antics, a dystopian future, bad rock music, anime, and sports tape.

Oh, God, the sports tape. But now, he's facing his greatest challenge yet: the multiverse. Sonic Prime is a 2022 action comedy that premiered on Netflix. One fateful day, Eggman uncoversthe Paradox Prism, a jewel that can warp reality at his will. Team Sonic battles for the stone, but Sonic cracks it “Leroy Jenkins” style. The Prism splits the worldinto various “shatter spaces.”.

Sonic survives the blast,but finds himself in strange reflections of his world. Moreover, he finds opposition from the doppelgangers living there. Meanwhile, Eggman plans to conquer the multiverse. Sonic will need to slide across the shatter verse, collect the prism shards,and restore his home to one piece. Can Sonic rescue his friends in time? Sonic Prime is incredible. The visuals, animation, and character dynamics are all spot on. It has some of the best fights in any Sonic cartoon.

Man of Action, the brain trust behind Ben 10. is responsible for Sonic Prime. Is it the best Sonic show ever? That remains to be seen. Before we continue, Sonic Prime is confirmed for a 24 episode run, but only the first eight episodes are availableat the time of this video. Netflix has a terrible track recordof leaving good programs to die, while giving a blank check to… whatever the hell “this thing” is.

Sonic Prime is NOT exempt from poor business decisions. If I can't get around to the later episodes, that's why. Secondly, there will be FULL SPOILERS. Lastly, big thinks to “The Art Yoshi”for doing the thumbnails. She's been drawing by video assets for the past year. Go check her out! All right, let's get into this. [PRISM POWER OVERLOAD] [EXPLOSION].

The story begins when Sonic and pals thwart Eggman’s scheme. Eggman excavates the Paradox Prism, a stone filled with crazy powers. Kind of weird they don't mention the Master Emerald, but Shadow casually owns a Chaos Emerald. Maybe that'll be explained in season two. Without a second thought, Sonic homing attacks the Prismand all hell breaks loose. Minutes later, he wakes up in New Yoke City, a dystopian dimension ruled byEggman’s doppelgangers.

Sonic can't remember what happened,but maybe his friends have the answer. He experiences weird side effects,like his electric shoes and a character arc. Sonic the Hedgehog is a cocky, yet loyal speed demon. Despite his constant chatter, he trips overhis metaphorical blind spots. He takes his friends for granted, fumbleswith his Prism-enhanced shoes, and blames himself for creating the multiverse. [”I remember now. I was too focused on winning.I didn’t listen. I–”] [”Eggman didn’t create this world. I did.”] Wait.

Sonic feels remorse for making life worse for his friends? Sonic has self-doubt? Pinch me. I might be dreaming. Sonic's greatest strength is in his speed, but his empathy. We get tidbits on why Team Sonicbecame friends in the first place, not including befriending them again in each dimension. Sonic bumps into doppelgangers of his former gang. These variants include angsty cyborgs,starving jungle folk, and pirates.

At first, these guys treat Sonic as a nuisance,but he slowly earns their trust. Sonic works to be a better listenerand not take his friends for granted. It's part of Sega's recent trend of expanding his emotional range. We saw Sonic feel scared and sad in the live action movies. In Sonic Frontiers, he pretends everything is fine when it's not fine. Oh, did I mention he's dying? Primal takes this approach one step further. Sonic tracks down Nine,a version of Tails with cybernetic limbs. Nine was a loner who got bullied for his two tails.

In retaliation,he invented seven cybernetic appendages to defend himself. In a way, he became a nine tailed fox. Nine attacked Sonic for discovering his secret hideout. But Sonic saves his life from a subway collision.Sonic's like, “Nine, in my dimension, you were my friendand you made the coolest inventions ever. “Believe in me. ‘Believe in the Kaminawho believes in you!’” “Wait, did you just quote Gurren Lagann?That’s my favorite anime! “Did we just become best friends?” “You bet we did.”.

Nine agrees to examine Sonic's Prism-enhanced gearand get him back home. Sonic's “glass half-full” outlook is quite commendable. Is any of this subtle? Not really. But the show proves why his friends matter. They lean on his support as much as he leans on them. Sonic doesn't get anywhere near as vulnerable as hisSatAM counterpart. Sonic SatAM had him crying, saying goodbye to his uncle,and almost losing his friends. However, Prime Sonic has a few tricks up his sleeves.

When Sonic shattered the Paradox Prism,the stone’s energy corrupted his body, gloves, and shoes. Each dimension changes his gear to suitthat world’s specific environment. In the jungle world, he gets retractable claws. In the sea world,he gets hover shoes. I have mixed feelings on this“shattered gear” mechanic. On one hand, it's cool seeing Sonic receive abilitiesthat are unique to that dimension. On the other hand, they're underutilized. Just when Sonic fumbles in the dark,.

Dumb luck kicks inand his gear conveniently averts disaster. Sonic uses his new gear once or twiceand then forgets about it. The Prism gear mechanic comes offas a lazy way to sell more toys. Moreover, only Sonic's gloves and shoes changewith each dimension. That begs the question:why doesn't he get new outfits? If you're going to change his appearance,you might as well go all the way. Meanwhile, the Egg Bots captures Sonic and Nine. They're brought to the Chaos Council,a coalition of Eggman’s doppelgangers. The first member is Doctor Babble,.

A baby with unusually high intelligence. Next is Doctor Don’t, an angsty teenagerwho spends all day on his Steam Deck. Then there's Doctor Done It, a cranky old man on steroids. The fourth member is Doctor Deep, a twenty-something samuraiwith an equally disturbing goatee. The fifth and final member isMister Doctor Eggman, a middle aged manwhose fashion sense is rather questionable.

Are the five Eggmen walking stereotypes. Yep. Are they memorable antagonists? Absolutely. They bicker like angry relatives at Thanksgiving,and it's glorious. The Eggmen run a pacer test on the Blue Blur. At certain velocities, he can triggeran EMP wave across the city. The Eggmen throw in a dangerous obstacle course,but Sonic gets an A rank with his fighting skills. The best part of Sonic Prime is the fight scenes.

Making a three dimensional actionshow on a limited TV budget is no easy feat. The Sonic Boom cartoon was a mixed bag in this area. Most of its fights were cookie cutter and unnecessary. Limited animation aside,the storyboarding was stilted and uninspired. Thankfully, Boom got “more better” in season two. The fights were more ambitious and varied. Prime takes Boom’s serviceable battles to new heights. Sonic Prime's fight choreography is inventive. Firstly, it makes full use of Sonic's move set.

He'll not only spin dash into things,but he also runs circles around his enemies. He's constantly trying new tactics on the fly. Moreover, he uses the environment to his advantage. Secondly, the terrain in each dimensionplays a major factor. In New Yoke City, Sonic usesthe city's train system to misdirect his foes. In the pirate dimension,Sonic is afraid of the sea. Like, no duh. He can’t swim. But he uses his new hover shoes to race againstEggman’s goons across the deadly seas. The changing environments prevent the show from getting stale.

Lastly, the supporting characters get their own moments to shine. Tails uses his gizmos to fight. Knuckles speaks with his fists. Amy wields her hammer,and Rouge uses flight and kicks. These guys combine their strengths with Sonic's mobility. Hell, even Shadow gets a piece of the action. I have a question for you, my loyal viewer: What's your favorite scene in Sonic Prime? If you leave your answer in the comments below,we can conquer the YouTube algorithm together.

My favorite scene is Shadow colliding with Sonic in episode two. In “The Yoke's On You,”we flashback to the hour before the Prism incident. Shadow’s like, ”Sonic, you’ve been causing weird EMP wavesall over Green Hill lately. ”I’m gonna stop youbefore you do anything dangerously stupid.” Sonic retorts, ”Shadow, I’m kind of in a hurry to take down Eggman. ”I don’t need another lecture on speedrunning.” ”You dare question my wisdom? It’s on!”.

[”Shadow, what are you talking about!?”] [”You’re a beta male, Sonic.”] Both hedgehogs reenact the jungle battlefrom Sonic Adventure 2. The scene brilliantly contrasts Sonic's cockinessagainst Shadow's mad improv skills. Sonic tries spin dashing, super jumping,and even creating a tornado. But Shadow is always one step ahead. This fight isn't just fun to watch,but also builds on Shadow's mystique. Shadow the Hedgehog is a brooding introvertwho'd rather live in his own sphere. Sadly, Shadow doesn't get much screen time.

He fights Sonic once, uses Chaos Controlto escape the Prism incident, and hangs out in the voiduntil Sonic can conjure more Prism energy. He has a solid reason to despise Sonic, since their only home was splita hundred different ways. Unfortunately, Prime doesn't elaborate onSonic and Shadow’s rivalry, or whether Shadow is still friends with Rouge. Also, both hedgehogs didn't get split into alter egos. There is only ONE Sonic and ONE Shadowacross these eight episodes. You know, for a show whose entire premise is mixing upthe different variants with each other,.

Not having multiple Sonics in the same showis kind of a wasted opportunity. Who knows? Maybe these gripes will be addressed in season two. I wish we had more backstory for Shadow. That stings even more, considering flashbacks make up 10% of the runtime. Sonic Prime follows a serialized story structure. Each episode leads directly into the next. However, it constantly interrupts itself with flashbacks.

Prime starts off with a cold opening, but sprinkled tidbits of Team Sonic's life just before the Paradox Prism. I didn't mind these flashbacks at first,but they JUST kept popping up. For example, we cut back to the day Amy and the gang planteda palm tree for Sonic. The tree symbolizes the group's collective friendship. But Sonic barely caresbecause it's like every other tree in Green Hill. He's correct in that assessment. [”The gift isn’t just the tree. It’s the memorieswe’ve made around that tree.”].

[”Right, Sonic?”] [”Don’t you think you’re all beinga little too… sentimental?”] [”I guess you don’t get it.Do you, Sonic?”] This flashback pops up like three or four timesin the exact same context. I bet the constant flashbacks were doneas a way to save money. A few interruptions isn't so bad if we get 90% of a good story. Thankfully, Prime offers a good story with memorable characters. Let's go over the prominent residentsof Green Hill Zone.

Rouge the Bat is a flamboyant treasure hunter. In Sonic Adventure 2, she spent most of the gameprying the Master Emerald from Knuckles. She only cared for jewels, her friendship with Shadow,and BAT CLEAVAGE. Why was that even a thing? [”I can’t believe your tits are one polygon!”] In Prime. she's a permanent memberof Sonic's posse. She values treasure, but enjoys hanging out with Team Sonic. It's kind of a weird choice,but I like this new direction.

She makes for a competent field commander, has some funny exchanges with Knuckles,and dresses modestly for a change. This is a small detail, but Rouge sleeps upside downby hanging from a tree. You know, like a real bat? Rouge and her friends get alternate versions of themselves. There are too many variants to list, so I'll keep it brief. They turn into cyborgs, freedomfighters, savage jungle people, and pirates. Who can forget pirates?.

Argh! Oh, and JackSepticEyevoices a pirate for one nanosecond. [”Take them for everything they’ve got!”] [”Almost makes me feel sad for them.”] [”I’m Irish, Irish the Hedgehog!”] Weird choice, but I guess they neededto win some Twitter points. Most of these clones are hostile, Sonic’s compassion wins them over,especially Tails. Tails “Miles” Prower is a tech geniuswho invents crazy gadgets.

He looks up to Sonic as an older brother. He warned Sonic to not mess with the Prism,but that plan goes out the window. Knuckles the Echidna is a stoic guywho'd rather speak with his fists. He likes to hang back, but on the field,he'll gladly be your muscle. Amy Rose is a compassionate ladywith an equally compassionate hammer. While Sonic is the front liner,Amy is the soul of the team. Amy's crush on Sonic is significantly downplayed. Similar to the Sonic Boom cartoon, Amy shares a healthy friendship with Sonic without being an obsessive stalker.

She will do anything to protect the ecosystem of Green Hill. She's even good friends with the dopey fisherman. Big the Cat is a gentlebut slightly dimwitted fisherman. He owns a pet frog and will fishjust about anywhere, even city dumpsters. He's the closest thing to a “normal guy” in Sonic Prime. He strives for a simple life, but Sonic's escapades mess up his day. He'll only help if he's got no other choice. Not gonna lie:I find that dynamic funny. Big is, ironically, a small size character in Prime.

Yet, he appears so often I would consider him an unofficial member of Team Sonic. But don't mess with this jungle variant. He'll snap if you push his buttons [”Look, Pim.”] [”I know it’s our job to help this guy and everything.”] [”But I think this guy’s a lost cause.”] [”He’s obviously made up his mind.”] [”Why don’t we just cut our lossesand get out of here?”].

[”Oh, come on. That’s nonsense, Charlie.”] [”We’ve never given up on a job so far.”] [”IT’S MISERABLE!”] [”Um, I know you don’t know who I am.”] [”I’M NOT ANGRY!”] Big’s inclusion greatly contributes to Sonic Prime'ssense of “community.” Sonic Prime achieves the impossible: Make Green Hill Zone FEEL like a tangible community. In most Sonic media, it's meant for iconic visualsand not much substance.

Sonic Prime makes the zone a personal home for the cast. When Sonic travels the multiverse,he's teleporting in the general vicinity of Green Hill. He recognizes his favorite landmarks being ruined, overgrown,or bulldozed into oblivion. He has a clear connection with his old community. Moreover, we get a slice of normal life at Green Hill. Sonic casually greets Big on his way to adventure. The original characters from Sonic Forces are citizens of this world. Green Hill Zone isn't just“tired aesthetic pack” number one. It's a community that holds real significance for our characters.

These elements further Sonic's driveto put his home back together. The last piece of the puzzle lies in the technical department. The animation is fluid, bouncy, and full of personality. The animators went above and beyond. The lighting suits each world very well,and the art direction is quite spectacular. But there is one glaring flaw. The one thing holding Sonic Primeback from masterpiece status is the pacing. I don't just mean Sonic's running speed. He runs just fine.

Prime's story is a little too fast paced. It goes full throttle, briefly catch its breath, then full sprint again. Rinse and repeat. I watched Sonic Prime in two sessions. At the end of that marathon, I was kind of exhausted. When Prime eventually hits the brakes, the slow emotional scenes are well done. But Prime is about 60% action. It gets mind numbing if you're watching everything in one go.

It's the kind of seriesyou should watch one episode at a time. You know, soak it inlike a high quality GIF. [”It’s pronounced ‘JIFF’.”] Fine! A high quality “jiff.” What's next, Shadow? You're gonna tell me “laser” is an acronym? [”Light Amplification byStimulated Emission of Radiation.”] [”Huh? Didn’t know that.”].

Can we just get to the tier list, please? [EXPLOSION] How well do the dimensions stack up? In Sonic Prime, they're called “shatter spaces.” That's pretty cool. But we only visit four locations: New Yoke City, Boscage Maze, the Grim,and No Place. Each place has its own unique backstory and environmental hazards. Let's do a shatter space tier list.

Because why not? Let's judge each dimension by two factors: How they contribute to the plot, and whether or not they look cool. Let's start from the bottom. In dead last, we have The Grim. It's a desert world with gray hexagonal rocks strewn around and it's completely barren. Sonic and Nine stake out the place for five minutes. But Sonic decides to jet.

I don't blame him. It's a pretty boring place. In C tier, we have No Place, the dimension with pirates, high sea levels,and JackSepticEye. Other than the intense pirate battles, there's not much to say about this flooded dimension. But I'm telling you, man.Those sea dogs are not my cup of tea. [”A sea dog? What’s it made of?”] [”Don’t ask.”].

Next up is Boscage Maze, a jungle dimension ruled by Thorn Rose,a ruthless version of Amy. Thorn Rose hoards most of the foodon the ground and leaves her former friendsto starve on the treetops. Thorn Rose and her friends gotinto a huge misunderstanding over rationing the jungle's limited resources. The upper portion of the forest is filled with dead branches, while the bottom portion is bathed in thorns and ugly blue lighting. Boscage Maze gets a pass for its back story.

Boscage's situation wasn't caused by Eggmanor some ecological disaster. It was refreshing having a moral conundrumthat wasn't solved by punching robots. The only thing keeping Boscage back is its poor lighting choices. The treetops look fine,but when you venture to the ground level, it's ugly as hell. It's muddy, full of ugly shades of blue,and straight up looks unfinished. I guess they want a “spooky jungle” vibe,but it just looks bland. In A tier, we have New Yoke City,a dystopian dimension ruled by Eggman. It's a mechanical wasteland with bad robotsand a foreboding atmosphere. It's no accident it reminds me ofRobotropolis from Sonic SatAM.

Unlike Boscage Maze, the lighting is actually tolerable. I like the dark reds, foreboding oranges. I could tell that New Yoke had the most care and attentionfor the production team. Sonic travels on elevated railways, a testing chamber, the subway,and on the streets. It's astounding how many sets they got from this one locale. But it’s not my favorite. That honor goes to… Green Hill Zone! Or at least the pre-shattered version of Green Hill.

I don't know how they did it, but the way they tortured and modeledthe place is off the charts. The colors and various landmarks just pop. The series also did a good job making Green Hillfeel like a community that personally matters to Sonic. The palm trees and loop de loops give him,and the audience, some emotional attachment. I may get tired of running through Green Hills Zoneagain and again in the games, but Prime convinced methere's still soul left in this location. And that's the tier list!.

If we make it to season two and three,you bet I'll keep the other dimensions in mind. Okay, let's wrap this up. [EXPLOSION] Sonic Prime is damn good. The animation, fight scenes, and multiversal aspectsare all incredible. I especially loved Sonic's characterization. He's hotheaded and a little clumsy,but he learns not to take his friendships for granted. No matter how far someone's fallen,he'll always help them back to their feet. I enjoyed the humor, the worldbuilding,and the genuine connection between Sonic and his peers.

The constant flashbacks and relentless fast pacemight be a little too much, but otherwise, it's an A tier cartoon. I think it might just be my favorite Sonic cartoon. But, I still have to watch the very first one,so I'll get you back on that. Sonic Frame might not be the funniestor most emotionally complex cartoon, but it'll make you smile. Assuming Netflix doesn't screw up, like they usually do,I look forward to season two. Thank you for watching! Remember, no hedgehogs were harmedin the making of this video.

[”How did you end up alone on that island?”] [”Because I… Have got a doozy.”] [SONIC GRUNTS] [FACE PUNCH] [”Learn to focus.”]

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