Sonic the Hedgehog (Movie/OVA-2 episodes-Based on the Sega action/adventure game series) Review By Rashad Moore
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Gads. And I thought the two American animated Sonic series in the U.S. were bad enough. One had a decent story but it just wasn't cool or creative enough and the other was a version that had been "tooned" to the point where I wanted to smash my head in agony.(The third was decent, but the rock band theme just HAD to go.) In the quest to make a decent animated Sonic series, I had really high expectations for the Sonic the Hedgehog anime. Especially after I heard that it was made from the same staff who created the awesome anime opening and ending cinemas for Sonic CD (one of my favorite games of all time I might add.) Perhaps they were a little TOO high, cause I came in expecting the most thrilling 60 minutes ever. They turned out to be 60 of the most excruciating. What could've been made into something really cool with a lot of potential turned out to be the most chaotic, incoherent and ear-drilling hour of anime ever experienced. As soon as the end credits came up I just had to ask why?

Well, sometimes I had to question whether this anime was actually made by Sega's enemies. I still can't grasp what ruined the entire experience for me. It was most likely the dubbing, which was so god-awful I had to replace Dangaio as the canidate for the worst dubbing job ever. Sonic sounds like a cheesy, real cheesy mock game show host. Tails sounds like he has a noseplug stuck deep in his nose. And Robotnik gets SO damn unpredictably annoying that I would add watching this video to the book of Chinese torture.(Ocean Group anyone?) Another thing I want to point out. Sarah. Playing the "Bulma" of the anime, she could've been a good character addition to Sonic, but she turns into such an annoyingly spastic damsel-in-distress that I just begged never to see her again. But just like Sara, this anime is annoyingly spastic. The first episode with Metal Robotnik could've been a really good action scene, but nothing is taken with the utmost seriousness and the direction and pacing is so tacked on and chaotic that I reeled in confusion and disgust at how tacky the entire scene was handled. This is Sonic, it should be fast, not sloppy. What on Earth happened to the smooth direction of the animation on Sonic CD?

Also, Metal Sonic, Robotnik's bad-ass robot clone of Sonic (unfortunately mistranslated as Hyper Metal Sonic) could've been an awesome villain as he was in the game. But ultimately he was also wasted. I appreciated the creators efforts to give more of a plot-line to him. But who in the hell decided to make him a sympathetic character?! The sappy final moments (Terminator 2 anyone?)scraps would could have made an awesome rivalry between them. Sonic could have been the yin to Metal Sonic's yang. Not to mention the final battle could have been so much cooler, but instead it's once again....spastic.

There are still some good points though. First of all, as a video game series, Sonic the Hedgehog never really can decide when or where the games take place. The 16-bit games take place on Mobius, CD takes place on the Little Planet, and Sonic Adventure seems to take place on Earth. The anime had the most interesting setting of all, a post-apocalyptic Earth. Sonic settings and backdrops are the most eye-catching features. The Land of the Dark where Robotnik lives is really a dark, deserted New York City. The Land of the Sky where Sonic lives is also beautiful and eye-catching(and even contains a reference to Star Trek if you look closely at Sonic's scrap-heap house) But it's too bad, Sonic's world really would've been a great plot line, and if only had it told us how the it turned this way it would've made this anime five times better than it already is. Also another point (that is unfortunately wasted) is how much the anime actually resembles the game. From the scenes when Sonic and Tails travel to the Land of the Dark, almost everything is similar to the game, from the springs to the familiar enemies you've seen so many times on your Genesis. But alas, it's still nowhere near as well-directed (or fast) as the Sonic CD opening, and the animation lacks detail giving it a more simple and cartoonish look. The music is fitting for this kind of anime although it doesn't stand out enough to make it good.

I apologoze for my ranting and cursing but this was really bad and was far away from what I was expecting. I guess this anime's ultimate downfall is it's target audience, the younger set. I still yearn for the day when a Sonic anime has a decent storyline (like Sonic Adventure did) speedy pacing and great animation. Sonic just seems to stay around for spastic comedy that didn't even make me crack a smile, making it all the more worthless. ADV Films had insulted us even further by not even bothering to release a subtitled version on tape (It's only on the DVD version) So in the end we are stuck with a torturous dubbing job that's just as fun as listening to nails on a chalkboard. This is a crying shame though, Sonic could've really been something memorable, but hey most video game adaptions spawning bad anime (except Pokemon) are common. But this had the potential to be SO much better. Stay away.....far away and no one will get hurt.

And oh yeah, Knuckles is here but he''s also just as spastic. I really think you know who he should really point those spiky fists at....

Fansub Only/Coming Soon from ADV Films. Image shown is not created by atek studios. Review by Rashad Moore. August 2000.