It’s not that Sonic is hated in Japan, it’s just not that popular. Japanese Sonic fans very much do exist and I know this cuz I spend some time on the Japanese side of social media to understand what’s actually going on (also cuz I’m learning the language and want to make friends from there). Japanese Sonic fans very much want this franchise to be more popular in their country and have even talked about how sad they are that Sonic 3 flopped. Yeah, there’s even videos with millions of views that kids have watched, it’s nice that the tradition of knowing Sonic from UA-cam and watching videos continues. The point is, don’t assume Japan hates Sonic just cuz it isn’t too popular. Also thank you Korone for helping make it somewhat more popular over there, keep it up.
I agree. Hate is a pretty strong word and seems exaggerated. Almost like some sort of way to create unneeded division. Japanese Sonic fans do exist and also love to discuss the series, its characters, make fan art, and all of that stuff. Although sometimes I wonder if Sonic not being very popular in Japan has to do with how he doesn’t get much rep in Smash compared to other franchises.
Thank you. The narrative of “Japan hates Sonic” never sat well with me. The conclusion I ended up coming to is that Sonic is much less popular overall in Japan but still has a small but dedicated fan base over there. Some games in the series did sell decently over there, even if the numbers are way lower than other regions and some of the Japanese releases of older Sonic games are pretty expensive due to rarity and demand. While I’m sure a portion of that demand may come from international fans, there is no way that they make up the entire demand for those games, there must be Japanese fans who are willing to pay those high prices for those games. While I’ve never directly interacted with Japanese Sonic fans, I just knew that they must indeed exist and care a lot about the franchise, which indeed is the case.
Yeah, Sonic has what I call the Bart Simpson appeal. The Young rebellious teen with an attitude type. Something that western kids gravitate towards, but is shunned in Japan since kids with attitude isn't supposed to be a thing there. But he's always been welcome in the West, multiple cartoons, movies and commercials we love him
Wanna know what's funny? Sonic's personality being disliked by Japanese gans is kinda hypocritical, since Crash Bandicoot has a somewhat similar personality, and Crash is extremely popular in Japan. Won't forgive them for Boom Bang, though. Alao, Sonic not being tonally Japanese is bad, but one of Japan's biggest horror game is RESIDENT EVIL. The tonally Western game. Japan is truly strange...
@somerandomuser3465Ted (movie), KFC, Michael Jackson, Amazing Digital Circus, Nintendo partnering up with Silicon Graphics for the N64, Toriyama referencing Terminator 2 in his series, etc... They have given Western media chance and have even worked with us lol.
I always thought "Super Tails" should've been a nine-tailed fox or some shit. Or that could be "Hyper Tails" if they brought hyper forms back. You could even make him a flaming nine-tailed fox. Sonic has gotten a few different "super form" designs and had a progressively edgy phase with it so why not do it with another character
So this is why Sonic felt more like an American franchise than a Japanese franchise. I always wondered why I didn’t hear more about Sonic in Japan as much as I hear about it in the US. I always thought that it was because I live in the US.
Yeah, Sonic was made to appeal to the west so it's not really surprising that things turned out this way. I'd bet if they put more money toward stuff like the Dark Beginnings mini series we got recently Sonic would probably do a lot better there. Honestly it would probably do a lot better here also. That seems to be the kind of thing everyone wants from the characters.
Yeah, Sonic has what I call the Bart Simpson appeal. The Young rebellious teen with an attitude type. Something that western kids gravitate towards, but is shunned in Japan since kids with attitude isn't supposed to be a thing there. But he's always been welcome in the West, multiple cartoons, movies and commercials we love him
This past couple years theres been a large uptick in "japanese sonic is the only valid and pure form of sonic unlike that western trash" and im just like.....huh? Where were yall 10 years ago?
there's a video from about 3-4 years ago called "what do japanese people think of sonic" where a girl reads sonic reviews from the japanese. one sentiment i heard often was that "sonic is too fast" and "i get motion sickness because he's too fast." a few also mentioned how they think modern sonic is uglier because he isnt cute and round anymore.
To be fair, the United States (Or America/West) have always been the ones to bring up more sales. There are more people in the states, so that means more profit. It’s why Mario is also popular in the states. It appeals to western audiences opposed to Japanese audiences more because it gets more money (Mario did a better job keeping both American and Japanese audiences happy). Japan regular does this too. They used to characterize the United States by a strong, blonde white guy who looks like he could lift the Statue of Liberty. Not to mention, the United States was REALLY influential back in the 1990s-2000s. It was, unfortunately for the Sonic franchise, always going to happen. Especially when they introduced Sonic talking.
I find it ironic that most Japanese don't even know who Sonic is despite the fact that, to this day, Sonic is the only franchise we seem to be getting consistent releases from SEGA.
Don't forget about Yakuza/Like a Dragon and Puyo Puyo. I wish they did more with their other franchises tho, which is why I am looking forward to their revivals. I hope they deliver, and that people buy the games
@fabianugalde3789 The last time we had a Yakuza game before Infinite Wealth was Yakuza Ishin, which was, like, half a decade before Infinite Wealth. Meanwhile, we get new Sonic games once every two years or so.
@@BaxterAndLunala Like a dragon ishin released in 2023, which im pretty sure is not half a decade ago, if you're talking about the original game then there's like 6 games released between ishin and infinite wealth
It's funny how the japanese liked Frontiers for its more eastern storytelling compared to other Sonic games, while there are american JP purists that dislike Frontiers for not being eastern enough in its storytelling just because it's not written by a japanese writer
That's because it was written by two different people. Kishimoto thought that americans need to be spoonfed things so he brought on Ian to write the English script which obviously, it wasn't very eastern while Kishimoto wrote the Japanese script which was even though it was a bit shoddy since this was his first time writing the story for a Sonic game. It's kinda like how Dragon Ball had two completely different scripts that made everything different between the two regions.
@ The story remains the same though, the difference being limited to the script, the narrative remains almost the same, the japanese script just feels more subtle but it doesn't change the story structure
@@gamingwithdream2005 The issue is, they hated the writting for the JP Script of Frontiers, which is why the DLC and Shadow gens are more accurate to the english script in comparision. They seem to be okay with Ian flynn and think he's a good writter from some comments i've seen, the discussion isn't as black and white like it's here with people OBSESSED with jp characterizations.
@@EduardoOliveira-qy1km the narrative was written by a jp person tho. An english person wrote the script for the cutscenes specifically & then that script was rewritten by another jp person for the jp version of the game
Went to a SEGA Panel at Otakuthon 2015 and some of the producers said that Sonic didn't have as big of a marketing push in Japan compared to the rest of the world, so it was seen as nothing but a cute mascot. Maybe they were talking about the amount of cartoons and comics we got that Japan didn't. Either way, I want a slice-of-life anime starring Amy and the other girls.
Yeah, the SEGA brand itself and their other franchises are more well known than Sonic in Japan, so Sonic seems to be simply viewed as an amusing little mascot I want it too
i guess thats a good thing for other franchises like puyo puyo but also a poor thing for sonic in japan well atleast he gets recognized as a mascot and yes i do want one too
Yep, Kiryu, Sakura Shinguji from Sakura Wars, Selvaria Bles from Valkyyria Chronicles, Akira Yuki frome Virtua Fighter and Arle Nadja from Puyo Puyo are the big SEGA mascots in Japan
People don't realise that Sonic not being popular in Japan, a juggernaut for gaming, actively hurts this franchise. It's why we don't get collabs with Square Enix like Mario did, or even another Sonic anime like people want. Instead we got things like Boom & stuff like that.
The Boom show was good, but the games flopped, mainly thanks to Rise of Lyric which originally wasn't made with the Wii U in mind because it ran of CryEngine, which that console didn't support. And SEGA struck up a partnership with Nintendo at the time, so they forced the devs to bring it to Wii U. And surprise-surprise, it became the next Sonic '06 and also became the worst-selling Sonic game of all time since the Wii U itself was a flop.
A character made to appeal to the USA market. Had several comic books and cartoons made in/for the USA market. Has a movie series made for USA. Only mediocre games and one bad anime came out in Japan. Fans in comment section are surprised that Sonic isn't popular in Japan.
Saying Sonic is ‘hated’ in Japan feels wrong, like ‘hate’ does not describe Sonic’s relationship with his home country. It’s more like the series just doesn’t have as big a connection to the series compared to everywhere else. There is fans of Sonic in Japan, there are people who like ‘Japanese Sonic’ and how they do things. But it needs to be mentioned that the series is in fact more popular outside of Japan because he fits better outside Japan, he was based on western figures and was the anti-Mario! The fact of the matter, Sonic isn’t hated in Japan, the series just isn’t as perfect on in Japan as it is in other countries. Time will tell if Sonic’s Japanese audience grows. It’s just something we have to observe.
Easy, Sonic was designed primarily to target Western markets. That's why he's seen as one of the biggest video game characters over in the West, but it a very niche character over in his home country. Frontiers did well in Japan because it targeted the "open-zone" trend that's popular in Japan.
I had a similar discussion about this with a Japanese sonic fan on twitter. They essentially told me mario and Disney became popular in Japan because not just cuteness and appeal but also variety. Like Disney has mascots but they also have stuff like twisted wonderland and in Mario's case they have RPGs and party games. Sonic usually only has jump and runs and racing games which don't resonate too much. Also how did sonic X flip If it was made with Japan in mind?
"Also how did sonic X flip If it was made with Japan in mind" Have you actually watched Sonic X? Aiming for a certain audience is not the same as being good.
The problem is that Japan have a older population. Which mean they most favored something like Pokemon, Disney, Shonen and anything Moe. Japan have the lowest Youth population and characters like Sonic can look foreign to them and they can look anywhere to suit their needs. Take Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shells for example, Hated in it's own home country but beloved everywhere.
@@goldflo91 The characters in AoT are _not_ likable. The popularity of SnK is most likely due to high-quality animation and kaiju-like vilains. I mean, naked giants eating people is definitely a Japan thing more than a western thing. As for OP : Pokemon and Disney are _massive_ successes in Japan....
@ That’s weird. I mean there are lots of franchises & Brands that were made in Japan like Super Mario, Mega Man, Kirby Dragon Ball & Sailor Moon they are pretty popular in Japan. I don’t see how Sonic The Hedgehog couldn’t be that Popular. I mean I know that Mega Man isn’t that popular in London Nowadays probably because of the lack of video games in 2010.
Tl:dr: He wasn't designed to be as culturally ambiguous as those other characters you mentioned. He's an American cool guy who Yuji Naka said loved eating at McDonald's (this was around the Sonic Heroes Happy Meal thing but still) and his favorite food is chili dogs! I don't think either one of those things are too popular in Japan (maybe McDonald's but idkkk)
@@elmemearana Definitely just not as big as in the Western World and maybe other parts of the world. I don't think Sonic is completely forgotten in Japan he's just overshadowed by Mario and other characters.
SEGA: why didn't Sonic work here in Japan? but IT IS BOOMING SO HARD IN THE WEST, ITS 3RD GAME HAD A HOLIDAY FOR IT! designer: we based his color scheme off of the American flag, and his attitude after Micheal Jackson... SEGA: .... WELL THERE'S YOUR PROBLEM!!!!
I recently thought about how weird it is we never got a Japan based country in sonic unleashed despite that being where sonic was created. Looks like it wasnt all that necessary due to his popularity being what it is in Japan.
Well thats the thing. I imagine Adventure era Sonic was popular, right? Back then there was more "anime" influence. Nowadays there isn't, the Japanese style is kinda washed out There is a distinct contrast between like Adventure-era Sonic and everything like Colors and onward. One feels distinctly japanese (even if they may have been developed in America), the other feels like an American invention. It probably alienates them a bit
@@zrexx9428 Frontiers onwards seems to be going back to that anime influence, especially evident with the face designs of Sage and Maria. A radical departure from the Pixar-like style of Unleashed.
@@zrexx9428 They also just historically don't market well over there. It's kind of like how Digimon fell off here after Fox sold the rights to it and all that wacky Digibowl type stuff disappeared and the whole series just fell into obscurity.
Sonic is unpopular in Japan, because they care more about JRPG moe-girls/waifus, and "husbandos" like Roy Mustang, Byakuya Kuchiki, and Shota Aizawa. If that's the case, why would anyone over there ever care about a "blue cartoon rat", or platformers in general? Tell me I'm wrong!
Sonic already existed 30 years ago, unlike the moe stuff, so it's unpopularity has other reasons than no waifu / hasbendo 🙂 This, despite Sega having a huge building dedicated to its games in Akihabara for a long time
@goldflo91 Anime moe girls also go that far back too. Not to mention there's other franchise that Japan remembers over Sonic, such as Doraemon, Anpanman, Lupin III, Kochikame, DBZ, Sailor Moon, Godzilla, Hello Kitty, etc. But nowadays, with Monster Hunter, Sword Art Online, Shangri-La Frontier, Idolmaster, K-On, and other works running around, what on Earth could possibly inspire SEGA to make another "shounen" Adventure game, as they did back in 1998 and 2001 respectively, especially with Yuji Naka gone and disowned.
@@NorthSutherland Easy, because they care about Hello Kitty, they care about Kirby, they care about Pac-Man, they care about Super Mario… THEY LOVE POKÉMON BRUVVVV!!! So no, Japan likes things that are akin to “blue cartoon rats”. As for platformers, Japan went fucking NUTS over the release of the original super Mario Bros, and it happened again for New Super Mario Bros DS. Now granted, platformers really aren’t as popular as they were back when they were the leading the charge of the gaming industry back in the 90s, but Mario game still do very well in Japan to this day and so do Kirby games. So what was it that you said? Tell me I’m wrong!
I think it was always going to happen for these reasons (Also before we go any deeper, Japan does not HATE Sonic. It’s just not popular there): - Voice acting - Character Redesign - Profit. - VA: Although voice acting is usually in Japanese games, many well known characters in Japan that was created in similar times to Sonic like: Mario and Pikachu speak VERY limitedly. The character was more up to interpretation when they don’t talk, and usually- they would see more cuter in Japanese’ eyes. Sonic.. especially in the 2010s, talked a lot. And in a way that didn’t make him look any better. Sonic had a much better time battling cool and cute in the 90s. The height of Sonic for many. What also had to deal with being cute had to deal with the next point.. CHARACTER REDESIGN: Of course, out of those 3 comparisons, the most changed character out of them was Sonic. He went from a round, stubby figure to a tall, spiky, lean figure. His design was created for that reason to show how he was much more dynamic, and looked much better when posing. He looked cool, the art design changed as well, screaming a spray paint design almost. But.. when translating to Sonic to this cool, fast hedgehog.. it made his cute design almost vanish. His round, friendlier version was changed. Many MANY Japanese people prefer cuter mascots. It’s why Mario is round, Kirby is round, Pikachu is round.. any cute mascot will have some sort of round figure. So seeing this new design of Sonic made him look ‘ugly.’ But.. the reason why SEGA changed Sonic design wasn’t just because of they didn’t want him to appeal to teens of the 2000s, but to appeal to the west. PROFIT: And personally, the most obvious reason is for profit. Japan has less population than the west. And for how influential America was in the 1990s, early 2000s, many people from different countries try to appeal to the American audiences. Making their games have more of an edge to them. And if Sonic wanted to be more popular than Mario, then they changed their design. Not only for the story or just to make them look cool, but to appeal to us, like stated before. It hurt their home audiences, but it boosted their popularity and profit. And it worked!! It was so widespread that even Michael Jackson wanted to make music for Sonic. It’s why Sonic became an actual rival to Mario (despite Nintendo not wanting one to begin with.. before they saw the profits). Ultimately, there are more factors like the writing of the story, yes.. but these are what I think is the most 3 important. Anyways, sorry for yapping, and please correct me if I’m wrong!
I always figured that the primary reason for Sonic not having much appeal to Japan was due to the fact that, being an anthropomorphic animal protagonist, those kind of characters hardly ever get featured in many forms of media over there, since most anime and manga franchises always tend to have humans (or even human-like beings) as the primary cast. And usually when there are animal characters in anime and/or manga, they're often portrayed as secondary characters or sidekicks who only play a minor role in the stories, which is honestly a shame considering the fact that I happen find a lot of appeal in anthropomorphic animals for as long as I can remember, especially since I tend to find them to be more creative and fun to draw than human characters in general, and I don't see any harm with things being different if it's able to appeal to a certain audience who actually appreciate characters that are unique in one way or another.
@@billyboleson2830Sonic X wasn't popular in Japan, the third season flopped which is why it wènt straight to dvd. Both were flops. Not to mention they made the anime about a annoying kid.
According to the Sonic Wiki Zone, Frontiers’s English and Japanese scripts contain more changes than any prior Sonic game, but it was also stated that both scripts are simultaneously canon. Might be worth covering that.
Sega would be gone right now had it not been for Sonic catering to the West, and that's just a fact. Sonic sold the Genesis/Megadrive outside Japan. It wouldn't have, had he had a watered down personality. We had the Comics and Cartoons which added to the personality, although I would argue Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Fleetway's Sonic the Comic captured the 90s better than Archie's Sonic comics and the SatAM Sonic. It needed something to stand out. You can't reshape Sonic to be popular to the Japanese (it just wouldn't be Sonic), you would have to reshape the Japanese to like Sonic and that isn't happening either. The Sonic movies even saved Sega again in recent years.
I guess we can say Sonic is... *Finding his flame* 彼は反対側にしがみついています。 彼は最後まで諦めません。 彼は星が衝突することで得られるものです。 敵であろうとなかろうと、彼は何にでも立ち向かいます。 彼はセガのマスコット、ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグです。
From Sonics inception he has been a parrot of American ideals from his colorway to personality, his rebellious nature and individuality was a turn off to audiences in the 90's so he didnt have a really good impression, not to mention Japan was also averse to furry/anthro characters for some time because they linked it to radio-active mutants.. he never had a chance to catch on when it mattered most so his cultural impact on Japan was nonexistent.
@ In Japan a social concept known as collectivism is historically prioritized over the concept of individuality. Collectivism being values such as obeying authorities, your elders, the government, law, family, formality etc, basically whatever benefits society at a large uniform scale rather than what is personal.
"not to mention Japan was also averse to furry/anthro characters for some time because they linked it to radio-active mutants" TMNT was popular there, though?
I think it's easy to explain, Sonic was big in the 90's, and then a bit in the early 2000's however it became nearly existent for a long time, kids and teens in current Japan barely know Sonic, and everyone who does is an adult working hard to raise their families.
The most ironic part about the lack of popularity in Japan is the fact that the Japanese writers understand how to write the characters in a way that appeals to Western audiences better then the American writers do. That's probably the most bizarre element to all this.
Because despite the popularity not being in Japan and no matter how many people say Sonic was made for American audiences, he is a Japanese character made from a Japanese perspective of Western influences/culture. He also has shounen qualities which people already acknowledge but only on a basic level (flashy fights, power ups, DBZ influence). The shounen quality also boils down in the style of writing which I think that's what the American writers lack. A lot of the writing is very dependent on references and meme culture nowadays IMO. And don't get me wrong, the memes can be funny sometimes but I wish they just stayed within the fanbase and not into actual official media. It comes across as "How do you do, fellow kids? We also love memes! Haha Gotta go fast (for the 1078th time)" . Incoming "JP purists" comments lol
The fact Sonic is hated by the country where Sonic was born surprised me but a thing which surprised me a lot that 3rd Season of Sonic X never aired in Japan, like becuase the anime show was created by Japan too, and the og. Japan version of this show is a lot better than the American’s 4kids disaster. That really surprised me.
As a 17 year old who’s a Sonic addict (and has been since I was 6), I see many Japanese Sonic fans on X, but of course, that does not mean most of them like the franchise. Idk why they don’t like Sonic, or why it isn’t popular, but who knows
Wow. That was SUPER interesting. I had no idea Sonic X had been made to advertise the character in Japan. The Evangelion inspiration for Sonic Frontiers, I hadn't realized. I discovered Eva _after_ Sonic Frontiers, and even then I had no idea, but now that you're pointing out, Sage definitely looks like Rei (and sounds like her, obviously). Even the father-daughter kind of relationship between Eggman and her could be inspired by Rei's relationship with Shinji's father.
just because it's not As popular as it is in the rest of world, doesn't mean Sonic is being Hated in Japan. Title bait of this video is fucking crazy, dude.
Maybe the reason Sonic movie 3 failed in Japan is because it was so American with all the American actors? It's almost the same storyline as Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic X which is crazy. Japan just likes things that are Japanese. -.-'
@@MacUser2-il2cx Season 3 never aired you nimrod. The show was cancelled in because no one in japan watched the first two seasons. 4kids saved it by paying for the 3rd season because it was doing good in america.
Its probably cuz his design is not cutesy enough. I doubt that it's only because he is "way too american and Hollywood" cuz they fkn love Disney. I've seen a lot of people uploading pictures from Tokyo Disneyland.
I don't think that's because they love Disney movies, I think they just love going out and spending money on expensive trendy stuff to photo and post on social media. Not even being hyperbolic, Japanese culture has a lot of good things about it, but shallow consumerism is very much a thing in modern Japan.
Sonic is only ever popular there when he hones in on his eastern roots even down to the gameplay. Like if you look at Sonic Adventure 1, 2, 06 and ESPECIALLY Frontiers, those would be considered JRPGs and those types of games appeal to that demographic. Hence why they are the best selling 3D games there. Given that Frontiers is the blueprint for the next decade and it straight up being a JRPG, I think Sonic's popularity there will skyrocket if they can make quality AAA games in that format and also touch up on somethings like the writing which if Shadow Gens is anything to go by with how much more involved Japan is with the writing, that should be fine. And then, they got to stylize the franchise more to make it pop like how Persona or Demon Slayer does or even with Sonic CD's artstyle which Kishimoto has confirmed that they are doing a style overhaul. I think the last thing would be music, less generic EDM and honing in more on orchestrals and rock similarly to 06 and Unleashed which is pretty popular music wise in Japan, maybe working with a J-Pop or J-Rock artist like maybe LiSA or Asian Kung Fu Generation who are prolific artists there and in the Japanese action space with their work on Naruto, Demon Slayer and Sword Art Online would do wonders for the game's reach. If they want to keep up with electronic music, then they could try taking a few keys for CD and make some J-House music for the games. Just spitballing but these are things I've noticed in what reaches Japan with Sonic.
Also making a sonic anime would be an awesome addition too, They could get studios like Trigger, Unfotable, Toei or Wit to do it. Plus they could have it based around the Archie and IDW comics.
Bro I hope to god that never happens 😭 anything that gets disneyified goes 6 feet under. There's a reason why Sonic beat Mufasa, and it(SEGA and Sonic Team) should forever remain separate from other major entities (other than having partnerships or whatever it is they're doing with nintendo)
@@nman1 Don't worry about that because it's just an unconfirmed rumor. I've heard that there could likely be some laws in Japan that would make it be impossible for Disney to be allowed to buy SEGA if they do try to do it. Also why would SEGA ever agree on merging with a clearly corrupt company who has purposefully and selfishly tried to rig some bigger theaters to make that third Sonic movie not have a chance to play in them and not make as much more money through ticket sales as it could have if it was also able to play in theaters like IMAX. Those things make this company purchase be truly unlikely to happen.
The whole "Disney wants to buy SEGA" thing is not even true. A user on Twitter made it up as a joke and everyone, for no reason at all, thought he was being serious (he has joked with many things like this before) xddd
The reason is pretty obvious, Sonic was made with the Western demographic in mind. I'm not from the US but people say Sonic was marketed heavily in the 90's, that's one of the biggest factors making Sonic popular in the West. Not to mention there are various media for it like SATAM, Underground, and the various comics.
One more thing for Sonic's non-popularity in Japan. The aggressive SEGA vs. Nintendo console war was a thing outside Japan BUT not in Japan itself, where such aggressive marketing is pretty much non-existent, so the association of Sonic with SEGA isn't as deep in Japan than it is outside. Another thing is that, Sonic was designed to be "cool and with attitude" to appeal to Western audiences than Japan's favoring of cuteness. Compared that to Crash, where the bandicoot is depicted as a cute character in Japan. It also helps that the Crash games lean towards to slapstick, which elevates the cute image he has in Japan, where as Sonic's slightly serious or shonen tones might be a hard sell considering that he started with a still-cute design.
When they play Shining Road song from sonic x i instantly recongnized it. I play it on piano all the time. My mom always ask "what u playing" i jus say "a song from that sonic x show u seen before" since she watched it once
from what I've heard from friends in japan, Sonic is not exactly hated, heck is not even unpopular, he's a niche character, like Bayonetta, people like him enough but he doesn't have what we called "mainstream appeal", if Sonic was hated Sega would've given up on him a long time ago, leave production of the games to Sega of america, yet he's still the flagship character of the company and "sonic team" is still one of if not the most important game developer team in the company.
Honestly, this is very close to how I feel Sonic failed in Japan. The Mega Drive flopped in Japan, but the Saturn was Sega of Japan’s one hit wonder. Yet, Sega failed to capitalize on its success as well as the success of Nights by not releasing a Japanese developed Sonic game for the Saturn. Instead, the Saturn only got 2 games from Travler’s Tales and a compilation of the Genesis games. They eventually got things right with the Adventure games, but then screwed things up after the flop of the Dreamcast by making Heroes more like the Genesis games than the Adventure games as well as later games like 06 being terrible. Glad to see that Frontiers on the other hand has finally brought back the sales in Japan, and I hope they build on that success with future games. I also feel Sonic X flopped in Japan due to its focus on Chris Thorndyke rather than sonic himself, and it would have possibly done better if they had the Metarex saga right from the start.
@randall168sTwackstickman it is pretty popular there, don't get me wrong, but Dragon Quest is bigger in Japan and FF tends to sell more in the west. Final Fantasy 15 sales were much bigger in west than japan, for example.
There is always talk about Sonic Frontiers "Succeeding in Japan" but I'm not entirely sure. Sure, it sold well, but I've heard of some pretty disappointed people, they thought it would be a free-running game in a vast world, but it turned out to be a more closed and directed game, with a list of things to do in order.
Sonic is popular in Japan, just not as popular as America, Japanese Sonic fans were sad that Sonic 3 flopped (from what i heard) Uhhhhh ye you proy heard this 100 times before and in the UK Sonic has JUST started becoming mainstream thanks to movies so thats a good thing :)
@@speedshoesyt Yooo love it when creators answer questions like this huge respect to you. Youd be surprised by how many people would’ve just ignored that question
I mean, Sonic was made to be cool for Americans so understandably he doesn't satisfy the tastes of the Japanese. Even I remember more of his english quotes than his jp ones. 6:22 "Koron" *_(coughs in mispronunciation)_*
We need to stop having Western-led Sonic media. America/Europe is gonna support Sonic no matter if the series feels Japanese or American, so it would be in Sega's best interest to just make more content specifically catered to Japanese audiences because their support depends on that very thing. The films aren't gonna do well in Japan as long as they are American made series that don't have the slightest of Japanese cultural influence. Sonic Prime, the films, *comics,* all these things are Western. Just make an anime or manga series for crying out loud and drop these western things.
L take. You’re going to drop your most successful markets just to appease an audience that doesn’t know your brand exists. That’s just bad business. Straight up.
The Japanese don't do that well either. Why do you think the OVA stayed as an OVA? Why do you think it took 15 years for Season 3 of X to release in Japan?
Also Why does everyone act like Disney is so great, Walt Disney was a well known racist and became so well off because of exploitation of other people. The company still continues to treat employees like garbage.
Yeah, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense why Sonic isn’t as popular in Japan than he is in the West. Even so, it’s honestly such a shame that he isn’t as popular over there. Hopefully with the series doing better nowadays than it did in the 2010s, Sonic will be able to gain more traction in Japan one day, but like you said, only time will tell. Just imagine if we got another Sonic anime, though. I’d definitely watch that!
@ That sega’s paid someone, (cybershell) whos laughed about a teenager passing because of using too much cologne. Sega hasnt done a good job on their marketing, giving an adult who can laugh about that stuff, ANY positive attention.
@@UnlockedTOS Cybershell even laughed about how much they laughed, gave NO condolences to the affected family, just joking that he thought he was gonna also end up- from laughing too much, over a 14 year old accidentally using too much cologne, cause the smell helped to comfort them. (He didnt even do any research on the case, and this was years after he initially saw and laughed at it.) Just saw the cologne stuff and laughed over that and “oh i know its not good but LOL.” Like the context of how a teen passing, matters over the fact they passed away. And sega is just “we’ll pay you!”
It's because Japanese people can't handle the chilly dog's (Jk, that's not true and I am also sorry to any japanese person who felt insulted.) [Just to clarify things, yes I know that a lot of people in Japan love spicy food.]
It's not that the Japanese HATE Sonic, they just don't know him and his media; especially since the game and anime market is very competitive, with so many characters !
It's kinda funny because Japan kinda viewed as some country that love/enjoy the good o' days, that's one of the theory on why Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire & Avengers: Endgame despite aired the same year, Detective Conan got more box office revenue locally than Endgame. And like the "millions" of school romance driven anime/manga pop in all the time It's like in a time capsule, which can be good and bad. It's also add to injury that apparently they don't really like you being different to others, meaning often time they like teamwork more than being special on your own (maybe that's why so many shounen anime use that like way too much). But I don't get it: Sonic do have teamwork elements, but each character got their own quirks, it didn't perform well. Yet My Hero Academia technically in similar boat, and its movie performed well locally?
It's not that deep. For the Japanese, Detective Conan has been around since the early 90s, will Marvel movie are most recent. Not to mention that general bias of foreign vs domestic. As for Sonic, the little bit of teamwork elements is paper thin as it just mostly about the 1 hero and his side-kicks. While My Hero Academia is centered around a large group that actually work together.
He’s not. He’s just not popular over there since SEGA doesn’t push for as big of a market as in the west. If anything, I imagine the Boom and Movie interpretations of Sonic are less liked among Japanese folks who actually know him, since those versions stray so far from the original Sonic. Boom Sonic really doesn’t have any of the OG Sonic’s drive for adventure and nomadic tendencies, and Movie Sonic is honestly just Silver if you think about it.
It’s not that Sonic is hated in Japan, it’s just not that popular.
Japanese Sonic fans very much do exist and I know this cuz I spend some time on the Japanese side of social media to understand what’s actually going on (also cuz I’m learning the language and want to make friends from there).
Japanese Sonic fans very much want this franchise to be more popular in their country and have even talked about how sad they are that Sonic 3 flopped. Yeah, there’s even videos with millions of views that kids have watched, it’s nice that the tradition of knowing Sonic from UA-cam and watching videos continues.
The point is, don’t assume Japan hates Sonic just cuz it isn’t too popular. Also thank you Korone for helping make it somewhat more popular over there, keep it up.
KORONE MENTIONED
Yubi yubi
korone!!
I agree. Hate is a pretty strong word and seems exaggerated. Almost like some sort of way to create unneeded division. Japanese Sonic fans do exist and also love to discuss the series, its characters, make fan art, and all of that stuff. Although sometimes I wonder if Sonic not being very popular in Japan has to do with how he doesn’t get much rep in Smash compared to other franchises.
Thank you. The narrative of “Japan hates Sonic” never sat well with me. The conclusion I ended up coming to is that Sonic is much less popular overall in Japan but still has a small but dedicated fan base over there. Some games in the series did sell decently over there, even if the numbers are way lower than other regions and some of the Japanese releases of older Sonic games are pretty expensive due to rarity and demand. While I’m sure a portion of that demand may come from international fans, there is no way that they make up the entire demand for those games, there must be Japanese fans who are willing to pay those high prices for those games.
While I’ve never directly interacted with Japanese Sonic fans, I just knew that they must indeed exist and care a lot about the franchise, which indeed is the case.
Won't lie... Sonic feels like a kid rejected by their parents but embraced by their friends
Friends love him, Parents forget his name💀
Yeah, Sonic has what I call the Bart Simpson appeal. The Young rebellious teen with an attitude type. Something that western kids gravitate towards, but is shunned in Japan since kids with attitude isn't supposed to be a thing there. But he's always been welcome in the West, multiple cartoons, movies and commercials we love him
Sonic isn't hated in Japan tho. Just because its not as popular doesn't mean he's not liked.
Yeah, it's indifference, not hatred.
Yeah, I’m sick of people misusing the word “hate”
@@Andythesonicfan the word ''hate'' was probably used so more people would click on the video, since a lot of people like to watch negative stuff
@lollalofi3933What a sad world, interpenetrating words for clickbait 😥
Wanna know what's funny? Sonic's personality being disliked by Japanese gans is kinda hypocritical, since Crash Bandicoot has a somewhat similar personality, and Crash is extremely popular in Japan. Won't forgive them for Boom Bang, though.
Alao, Sonic not being tonally Japanese is bad, but one of Japan's biggest horror game is RESIDENT EVIL. The tonally Western game. Japan is truly strange...
Funny thing is I found quite a few Japanese fans of the blue hedgehog in a comment section for Dark Beginnings’ Japanese version.
Yeah, It's annoying that most Japanese people won't give Western media a chance
@somerandomuser3465...? it's only a few franchises, like the one we're talking about rn
It's quite Aquarian and Virgo energy it seems, both like to contradict and be fastidious.
@somerandomuser3465Ted (movie), KFC, Michael Jackson, Amazing Digital Circus, Nintendo partnering up with Silicon Graphics for the N64, Toriyama referencing Terminator 2 in his series, etc...
They have given Western media chance and have even worked with us lol.
If Tails was the protagonist, it would be a hit in Japan because he is a kitsune.
I say this all the time. I think people underestimate how solid his design is.
People saying a ‘Tails, Knuckles, and/or Amy spin-off’ keep making up good reasons for all of them I tell ya!
He’s a fox with two tails not a kitsune
I always thought "Super Tails" should've been a nine-tailed fox or some shit. Or that could be "Hyper Tails" if they brought hyper forms back. You could even make him a flaming nine-tailed fox. Sonic has gotten a few different "super form" designs and had a progressively edgy phase with it so why not do it with another character
Tails is popular with the suicidal "slit ur wrists" part of the fanbase that wants to tie a noose and hang themselves using his two tails
So this is why Sonic felt more like an American franchise than a Japanese franchise. I always wondered why I didn’t hear more about Sonic in Japan as much as I hear about it in the US. I always thought that it was because I live in the US.
Yeah, Sonic was made to appeal to the west so it's not really surprising that things turned out this way. I'd bet if they put more money toward stuff like the Dark Beginnings mini series we got recently Sonic would probably do a lot better there. Honestly it would probably do a lot better here also. That seems to be the kind of thing everyone wants from the characters.
God bless the USA, Sonic is a full blooded American and proud of his freedom.
Yeah, Sonic has what I call the Bart Simpson appeal. The Young rebellious teen with an attitude type. Something that western kids gravitate towards, but is shunned in Japan since kids with attitude isn't supposed to be a thing there. But he's always been welcome in the West, multiple cartoons, movies and commercials we love him
As a big Mario fan and a sonic fan, How did the Italian plumber who lives in America managed to be liked more than sonic
True but I’m American too
Because he's cute and exotic (not Japanese) ?
@@goldflo91 he was made by Japanese like sonic but somehow Mario gets more love
Must be his beautiful mustache
Because American story of Mario and Japanese story of Mario different. Mario not from Brooklyn in the Japanese storybook.
"JP sonic is the real sonic" mfs after finding out what a hedgehog is 😳
@@Girbekafecon I don't get it.
???
@@kingkazma3246 they are native to Europe, Africa, AND Asia, not just Asia.
This past couple years theres been a large uptick in "japanese sonic is the only valid and pure form of sonic unlike that western trash" and im just like.....huh? Where were yall 10 years ago?
@@brohambbg Oh I get it, idiots thinking Hedgehogs are native to Japan 🦔
there's a video from about 3-4 years ago called "what do japanese people think of sonic" where a girl reads sonic reviews from the japanese. one sentiment i heard often was that "sonic is too fast" and "i get motion sickness because he's too fast." a few also mentioned how they think modern sonic is uglier because he isnt cute and round anymore.
That's true, I can see how the japanese would prefer classic Sonic for being cuter (and modern's prevalence further distancing them)
That explains Doraemon, Kirby and why so many Pokemon are just circle shaped.
@@speedshoesyt No wonder why sega's pumping out classic sonic games.
@@speedshoesytThat why the chao existed in adventure games
@MotivatedSharkie 100% this
0:10 sonic frontiers brought a TON of new Japanese sonic fans into the fandom
You didnt watched the full video pal
@@jonathanalberto-nx6lu but he got a heart, so I don’t think he needs to watch the entirety of it lol.
Did you watch till 5:28?
@ i didnt watch that part of the video but otherwise i mean... yeah i did and i know he said it
Sonic frontiers is kinda ass imo but it’s your opinion ig
Japan: What the heck is a Sonic?
🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🇯🇵🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Fast food restaurant i think
That is why Sonic Jam was created, when Sonic Team made NiGHTS supposedly they got fan mail asking them who Sonic was...
SMG4 reference?
So sonic was made from Japanese creators glazing America
America runs on dunkin 😔
To be fair, the United States (Or America/West) have always been the ones to bring up more sales. There are more people in the states, so that means more profit. It’s why Mario is also popular in the states. It appeals to western audiences opposed to Japanese audiences more because it gets more money (Mario did a better job keeping both American and Japanese audiences happy). Japan regular does this too. They used to characterize the United States by a strong, blonde white guy who looks like he could lift the Statue of Liberty. Not to mention, the United States was REALLY influential back in the 1990s-2000s. It was, unfortunately for the Sonic franchise, always going to happen. Especially when they introduced Sonic talking.
@ 😂😂😂
@@astratball Senator Armstrong
I find it ironic that most Japanese don't even know who Sonic is despite the fact that, to this day, Sonic is the only franchise we seem to be getting consistent releases from SEGA.
Don't forget about Yakuza/Like a Dragon and Puyo Puyo. I wish they did more with their other franchises tho, which is why I am looking forward to their revivals. I hope they deliver, and that people buy the games
@fabianugalde3789 The last time we had a Yakuza game before Infinite Wealth was Yakuza Ishin, which was, like, half a decade before Infinite Wealth. Meanwhile, we get new Sonic games once every two years or so.
@@fabianugalde3789puyo puyo mentioned
@@BaxterAndLunala Like a dragon ishin released in 2023, which im pretty sure is not half a decade ago, if you're talking about the original game then there's like 6 games released between ishin and infinite wealth
At this point, it is Yakuza/Like A Dragon doing most of the work for Japanese Audience
Nintendo: *Creates Mario*
Japan: Real shit?!
Sega: *Creates Sonic*
Japan: I sleep
Sega: Japan betrayed us!
The I sleep and Patchy the Pirate memes rolled into one.
It's funny how the japanese liked Frontiers for its more eastern storytelling compared to other Sonic games, while there are american JP purists that dislike Frontiers for not being eastern enough in its storytelling just because it's not written by a japanese writer
That's because it was written by two different people. Kishimoto thought that americans need to be spoonfed things so he brought on Ian to write the English script which obviously, it wasn't very eastern while Kishimoto wrote the Japanese script which was even though it was a bit shoddy since this was his first time writing the story for a Sonic game. It's kinda like how Dragon Ball had two completely different scripts that made everything different between the two regions.
@ The story remains the same though, the difference being limited to the script, the narrative remains almost the same, the japanese script just feels more subtle but it doesn't change the story structure
@@gamingwithdream2005 The issue is, they hated the writting for the JP Script of Frontiers, which is why the DLC and Shadow gens are more accurate to the english script in comparision.
They seem to be okay with Ian flynn and think he's a good writter from some comments i've seen, the discussion isn't as black and white like it's here with people OBSESSED with jp characterizations.
@@EduardoOliveira-qy1km Knuckles, Amy and Sage have completely different character arcs in English and Japanese
Tails has his differences as well
@@EduardoOliveira-qy1km the narrative was written by a jp person tho. An english person wrote the script for the cutscenes specifically & then that script was rewritten by another jp person for the jp version of the game
Let's not forget that Sonic Frontiers won the Japanese game award for most anticipated game.
Went to a SEGA Panel at Otakuthon 2015 and some of the producers said that Sonic didn't have as big of a marketing push in Japan compared to the rest of the world, so it was seen as nothing but a cute mascot. Maybe they were talking about the amount of cartoons and comics we got that Japan didn't. Either way, I want a slice-of-life anime starring Amy and the other girls.
Yeah, the SEGA brand itself and their other franchises are more well known than Sonic in Japan, so Sonic seems to be simply viewed as an amusing little mascot
I want it too
i guess thats a good thing for other franchises like puyo puyo but also a poor thing for sonic in japan
well atleast he gets recognized as a mascot
and yes i do want one too
I wouldn't mind something like that, as long as it isn't the cliche cringeworthy super girly anime style anime(iykyk)
@ true
@@nman1 NO. YOU WILL WATCH CREAM SIP HER TEA IN A KAWAII MOE FASHION WHILE VANILLA REVEALS SOME IMPORTANT DETAILS ABOUT THE NEXT SONIC GAME.
Let's be real, SEGA's mascot, at least in Japan at this point, is Kazuma Kiryu.
Yep, Kiryu, Sakura Shinguji from Sakura Wars, Selvaria Bles from Valkyyria Chronicles, Akira Yuki frome Virtua Fighter and Arle Nadja from Puyo Puyo are the big SEGA mascots in Japan
Japan is literally the opposite of Brazil in question of the blue hedgehog's popularity. Change my mind
Ribamar Gamer concorda.
@@LadiesMan21766 yeah, Sonic is still very popular here and kids really like him
@@dinoman6481 yeah ik, since I live in Brazil
People don't realise that Sonic not being popular in Japan, a juggernaut for gaming, actively hurts this franchise. It's why we don't get collabs with Square Enix like Mario did, or even another Sonic anime like people want.
Instead we got things like Boom & stuff like that.
The Boom show was good, but the games flopped, mainly thanks to Rise of Lyric which originally wasn't made with the Wii U in mind because it ran of CryEngine, which that console didn't support. And SEGA struck up a partnership with Nintendo at the time, so they forced the devs to bring it to Wii U. And surprise-surprise, it became the next Sonic '06 and also became the worst-selling Sonic game of all time since the Wii U itself was a flop.
Japan:hate sonics freedom
Us: love sonics freedom
Because *AMERICAAAAA.*
Imagine seeing Sonic x Shadow Tokyo just to have the final battle take place in England.
Lmaoo
A character made to appeal to the USA market. Had several comic books and cartoons made in/for the USA market. Has a movie series made for USA. Only mediocre games and one bad anime came out in Japan.
Fans in comment section are surprised that Sonic isn't popular in Japan.
Saying Sonic is ‘hated’ in Japan feels wrong, like ‘hate’ does not describe Sonic’s relationship with his home country. It’s more like the series just doesn’t have as big a connection to the series compared to everywhere else.
There is fans of Sonic in Japan, there are people who like ‘Japanese Sonic’ and how they do things. But it needs to be mentioned that the series is in fact more popular outside of Japan because he fits better outside Japan, he was based on western figures and was the anti-Mario!
The fact of the matter, Sonic isn’t hated in Japan, the series just isn’t as perfect on in Japan as it is in other countries.
Time will tell if Sonic’s Japanese audience grows. It’s just something we have to observe.
Easy, Sonic was designed primarily to target Western markets. That's why he's seen as one of the biggest video game characters over in the West, but it a very niche character over in his home country. Frontiers did well in Japan because it targeted the "open-zone" trend that's popular in Japan.
I had a similar discussion about this with a Japanese sonic fan on twitter. They essentially told me mario and Disney became popular in Japan because not just cuteness and appeal but also variety. Like Disney has mascots but they also have stuff like twisted wonderland and in Mario's case they have RPGs and party games. Sonic usually only has jump and runs and racing games which don't resonate too much. Also how did sonic X flip If it was made with Japan in mind?
That's a good point
Conclusion: we need another party game like Sonic Shuffle (but good) :P
"Also how did sonic X flip If it was made with Japan in mind" Have you actually watched Sonic X? Aiming for a certain audience is not the same as being good.
@ligtningdog6399 I did when I was like 9 and had my sonic phase
The problem is that Japan have a older population. Which mean they most favored something like Pokemon, Disney, Shonen and anything Moe. Japan have the lowest Youth population and characters like Sonic can look foreign to them and they can look anywhere to suit their needs.
Take Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shells for example, Hated in it's own home country but beloved everywhere.
That's a interesting point
That's strange because Attack on Titan is very popular in Japan despite its Western influences, but maybe it's because the characters are likeable
@@goldflo91 The characters in AoT are _not_ likable.
The popularity of SnK is most likely due to high-quality animation and kaiju-like vilains. I mean, naked giants eating people is definitely a Japan thing more than a western thing.
As for OP : Pokemon and Disney are _massive_ successes in Japan....
neither of those animes are hated in japan, tf are you on
Man! What happened to the Sonic The Hedgehog’s popularity in Japan?!
He’s Literally from Japan Alongside Mario, Zelda Mega Man & the list goes on!
He was never big in Japan like when they made sonic jam because sonic team got fanmail asking what sonic was in the sonic team
@ That’s weird. I mean there are lots of franchises & Brands that were made in Japan like Super Mario, Mega Man, Kirby Dragon Ball & Sailor Moon they are pretty popular in Japan. I don’t see how Sonic The Hedgehog couldn’t be that Popular.
I mean I know that Mega Man isn’t that popular in London Nowadays probably because of the lack of video games in 2010.
Tl:dr:
He wasn't designed to be as culturally ambiguous as those other characters you mentioned.
He's an American cool guy who Yuji Naka said loved eating at McDonald's (this was around the Sonic Heroes Happy Meal thing but still) and his favorite food is chili dogs! I don't think either one of those things are too popular in Japan (maybe McDonald's but idkkk)
@ because he was designed for a western market aka the American, uk and Australia
@@Spider-Guy62 couldn't have said it better myself! I've been saying American but I mean Western
I don't think Japan really hate Sonic, Sonic is not really popular in Japan anymore.
That's what I'm talking about. He definitely has some fans there tho.
@@elmemearana Definitely just not as big as in the Western World and maybe other parts of the world. I don't think Sonic is completely forgotten in Japan he's just overshadowed by Mario and other characters.
@@Ad1tputra true. In the end, I'm just happy this fur blue ball exists, so it's not that big of a deal lol
SEGA: why didn't Sonic work here in Japan? but IT IS BOOMING SO HARD IN THE WEST, ITS 3RD GAME HAD A HOLIDAY FOR IT!
designer: we based his color scheme off of the American flag, and his attitude after Micheal Jackson...
SEGA: .... WELL THERE'S YOUR PROBLEM!!!!
I recently thought about how weird it is we never got a Japan based country in sonic unleashed despite that being where sonic was created. Looks like it wasnt all that necessary due to his popularity being what it is in Japan.
Sonic fit every anime protagonist, How heck he not popular in japan? Even know Japanese in him more than American in him.🤨
Well thats the thing. I imagine Adventure era Sonic was popular, right? Back then there was more "anime" influence. Nowadays there isn't, the Japanese style is kinda washed out
There is a distinct contrast between like Adventure-era Sonic and everything like Colors and onward. One feels distinctly japanese (even if they may have been developed in America), the other feels like an American invention. It probably alienates them a bit
@@zrexx9428 Frontiers onwards seems to be going back to that anime influence, especially evident with the face designs of Sage and Maria.
A radical departure from the Pixar-like style of Unleashed.
@@zrexx9428 They also just historically don't market well over there. It's kind of like how Digimon fell off here after Fox sold the rights to it and all that wacky Digibowl type stuff disappeared and the whole series just fell into obscurity.
Sonic is unpopular in Japan, because they care more about JRPG moe-girls/waifus, and "husbandos" like Roy Mustang, Byakuya Kuchiki, and Shota Aizawa. If that's the case, why would anyone over there ever care about a "blue cartoon rat", or platformers in general?
Tell me I'm wrong!
I will. You’re wrong.
Sonic already existed 30 years ago, unlike the moe stuff, so it's unpopularity has other reasons than no waifu / hasbendo 🙂
This, despite Sega having a huge building dedicated to its games in Akihabara for a long time
@shofan0456 Now explain _why_ , otherwise you have no footing to stand on.
@goldflo91 Anime moe girls also go that far back too.
Not to mention there's other franchise that Japan remembers over Sonic, such as Doraemon, Anpanman, Lupin III, Kochikame, DBZ, Sailor Moon, Godzilla, Hello Kitty, etc.
But nowadays, with Monster Hunter, Sword Art Online, Shangri-La Frontier, Idolmaster, K-On, and other works running around, what on Earth could possibly inspire SEGA to make another "shounen" Adventure game, as they did back in 1998 and 2001 respectively, especially with Yuji Naka gone and disowned.
@@NorthSutherland Easy, because they care about Hello Kitty, they care about Kirby, they care about Pac-Man, they care about Super Mario… THEY LOVE POKÉMON BRUVVVV!!!
So no, Japan likes things that are akin to “blue cartoon rats”.
As for platformers, Japan went fucking NUTS over the release of the original super Mario Bros, and it happened again for New Super Mario Bros DS. Now granted, platformers really aren’t as popular as they were back when they were the leading the charge of the gaming industry back in the 90s, but Mario game still do very well in Japan to this day and so do Kirby games.
So what was it that you said?
Tell me I’m wrong!
it's Kinda similar to how Woody Woodpecker even tho created in the U.S. wasn't as popular as Mickey Mouse but he's very popular in Brazil.
Verdade
Woody Woodpecker got some LEGENDARY voice acting in Brazil
I think it was always going to happen for these reasons (Also before we go any deeper, Japan does not HATE Sonic. It’s just not popular there):
- Voice acting
- Character Redesign
- Profit.
-
VA:
Although voice acting is usually in Japanese games, many well known characters in Japan that was created in similar times to Sonic like: Mario and Pikachu speak VERY limitedly. The character was more up to interpretation when they don’t talk, and usually- they would see more cuter in Japanese’ eyes. Sonic.. especially in the 2010s, talked a lot. And in a way that didn’t make him look any better. Sonic had a much better time battling cool and cute in the 90s. The height of Sonic for many. What also had to deal with being cute had to deal with the next point..
CHARACTER REDESIGN:
Of course, out of those 3 comparisons, the most changed character out of them was Sonic. He went from a round, stubby figure to a tall, spiky, lean figure. His design was created for that reason to show how he was much more dynamic, and looked much better when posing. He looked cool, the art design changed as well, screaming a spray paint design almost. But.. when translating to Sonic to this cool, fast hedgehog.. it made his cute design almost vanish. His round, friendlier version was changed. Many MANY Japanese people prefer cuter mascots. It’s why Mario is round, Kirby is round, Pikachu is round.. any cute mascot will have some sort of round figure. So seeing this new design of Sonic made him look ‘ugly.’ But.. the reason why SEGA changed Sonic design wasn’t just because of they didn’t want him to appeal to teens of the 2000s, but to appeal to the west.
PROFIT:
And personally, the most obvious reason is for profit. Japan has less population than the west. And for how influential America was in the 1990s, early 2000s, many people from different countries try to appeal to the American audiences. Making their games have more of an edge to them. And if Sonic wanted to be more popular than Mario, then they changed their design. Not only for the story or just to make them look cool, but to appeal to us, like stated before. It hurt their home audiences, but it boosted their popularity and profit. And it worked!! It was so widespread that even Michael Jackson wanted to make music for Sonic. It’s why Sonic became an actual rival to Mario (despite Nintendo not wanting one to begin with.. before they saw the profits).
Ultimately, there are more factors like the writing of the story, yes.. but these are what I think is the most 3 important.
Anyways, sorry for yapping, and please correct me if I’m wrong!
I always figured that the primary reason for Sonic not having much appeal to Japan was due to the fact that, being an anthropomorphic animal protagonist, those kind of characters hardly ever get featured in many forms of media over there, since most anime and manga franchises always tend to have humans (or even human-like beings) as the primary cast. And usually when there are animal characters in anime and/or manga, they're often portrayed as secondary characters or sidekicks who only play a minor role in the stories, which is honestly a shame considering the fact that I happen find a lot of appeal in anthropomorphic animals for as long as I can remember, especially since I tend to find them to be more creative and fun to draw than human characters in general, and I don't see any harm with things being different if it's able to appeal to a certain audience who actually appreciate characters that are unique in one way or another.
Yeah that third season of Sonic x was an American exclusive that was the crazy part
Sort of, the got dvd releases in japanese but it was never aired. The OVA was a failed anime tho lol
France got it before àmerica
@@billyboleson2830Sonic X wasn't popular in Japan, the third season flopped which is why it wènt straight to dvd. Both were flops. Not to mention they made the anime about a annoying kid.
According to the Sonic Wiki Zone, Frontiers’s English and Japanese scripts contain more changes than any prior Sonic game, but it was also stated that both scripts are simultaneously canon. Might be worth covering that.
Sega would be gone right now had it not been for Sonic catering to the West, and that's just a fact. Sonic sold the Genesis/Megadrive outside Japan. It wouldn't have, had he had a watered down personality. We had the Comics and Cartoons which added to the personality, although I would argue Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Fleetway's Sonic the Comic captured the 90s better than Archie's Sonic comics and the SatAM Sonic.
It needed something to stand out. You can't reshape Sonic to be popular to the Japanese (it just wouldn't be Sonic), you would have to reshape the Japanese to like Sonic and that isn't happening either.
The Sonic movies even saved Sega again in recent years.
I guess we can say Sonic is... *Finding his flame*
彼は反対側にしがみついています。
彼は最後まで諦めません。
彼は星が衝突することで得られるものです。
敵であろうとなかろうと、彼は何にでも立ち向かいます。
彼はセガのマスコット、ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグです。
4:27 -- Sweet Jesus, did you REALLY have to hit me with the Cosmo's death music from Sonic X like that? INSTANT TEARS!
😭
From Sonics inception he has been a parrot of American ideals from his colorway to personality, his rebellious nature and individuality was a turn off to audiences in the 90's so he didnt have a really good impression, not to mention Japan was also averse to furry/anthro characters for some time because they linked it to radio-active mutants.. he never had a chance to catch on when it mattered most so his cultural impact on Japan was nonexistent.
That's crazy
How is being rebellious a turn off to Japanese not that it’s a problem am just curious ?
@ In Japan a social concept known as collectivism is historically prioritized over the concept of individuality. Collectivism being values such as obeying authorities, your elders, the government, law, family, formality etc, basically whatever benefits society at a large uniform scale rather than what is personal.
"not to mention Japan was also averse to furry/anthro characters for some time because they linked it to radio-active mutants"
TMNT was popular there, though?
@@mechadeka and yet people in Japan love kaiju films who one of the most popular kaiju is a radioactive lizard that’s a bit hypocritical
At least it gets an official release and dub in Japan. The same can’t be said for The Muppets.
8:35 I highkey believed you until you mentioned the Waifus
I think it's easy to explain, Sonic was big in the 90's, and then a bit in the early 2000's however it became nearly existent for a long time, kids and teens in current Japan barely know Sonic, and everyone who does is an adult working hard to raise their families.
The west will never let the blue hedgehog die 💙
I didnt expect this vid to have only 1k views! It's really well made and researched, you earned a new sub :)
Wow, thanks!!
The most ironic part about the lack of popularity in Japan is the fact that the Japanese writers understand how to write the characters in a way that appeals to Western audiences better then the American writers do. That's probably the most bizarre element to all this.
Because despite the popularity not being in Japan and no matter how many people say Sonic was made for American audiences, he is a Japanese character made from a Japanese perspective of Western influences/culture. He also has shounen qualities which people already acknowledge but only on a basic level (flashy fights, power ups, DBZ influence). The shounen quality also boils down in the style of writing which I think that's what the American writers lack. A lot of the writing is very dependent on references and meme culture nowadays IMO. And don't get me wrong, the memes can be funny sometimes but I wish they just stayed within the fanbase and not into actual official media. It comes across as "How do you do, fellow kids? We also love memes! Haha Gotta go fast (for the 1078th time)" .
Incoming "JP purists" comments lol
The fact Sonic is hated by the country where Sonic was born surprised me but a thing which surprised me a lot that 3rd Season of Sonic X never aired in Japan, like becuase the anime show was created by Japan too, and the og. Japan version of this show is a lot better than the American’s 4kids disaster. That really surprised me.
I guess Kirby is the opposite of Sonic then😐
Sonic was made in Japan. That's like Tekken and dragon ball z being hated in Japan
Dbz isn't really hated in Japan
Studio mappa?!?! Ah hell nah, I'd rather like a sonic series animated by studio TRIGGER.
As a 17 year old who’s a Sonic addict (and has been since I was 6), I see many Japanese Sonic fans on X, but of course, that does not mean most of them like the franchise. Idk why they don’t like Sonic, or why it isn’t popular, but who knows
Wow. That was SUPER interesting. I had no idea Sonic X had been made to advertise the character in Japan. The Evangelion inspiration for Sonic Frontiers, I hadn't realized. I discovered Eva _after_ Sonic Frontiers, and even then I had no idea, but now that you're pointing out, Sage definitely looks like Rei (and sounds like her, obviously).
Even the father-daughter kind of relationship between Eggman and her could be inspired by Rei's relationship with Shinji's father.
From the box office numbers of 3, looks like China or just Hong Kong loves Sonic more than Japanese. 😂
just because it's not As popular as it is in the rest of world, doesn't mean Sonic is being Hated in Japan. Title bait of this video is fucking crazy, dude.
Maybe the reason Sonic movie 3 failed in Japan is because it was so American with all the American actors? It's almost the same storyline as Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic X which is crazy. Japan just likes things that are Japanese. -.-'
X didn't do that well in Japan, either
@theofficialliedetector1545 Season 3 flopped. But during the first 2 when they covered the Adventure games it was better.
@@MacUser2-il2cxDidn't it take them 14 years to release Season 3 in sub?
@@MacUser2-il2cx Season 3 never aired you nimrod. The show was cancelled in because no one in japan watched the first two seasons. 4kids saved it by paying for the 3rd season because it was doing good in america.
Its probably cuz his design is not cutesy enough. I doubt that it's only because he is "way too american and Hollywood" cuz they fkn love Disney. I've seen a lot of people uploading pictures from Tokyo Disneyland.
I don't think that's because they love Disney movies, I think they just love going out and spending money on expensive trendy stuff to photo and post on social media. Not even being hyperbolic, Japanese culture has a lot of good things about it, but shallow consumerism is very much a thing in modern Japan.
Sonic is only ever popular there when he hones in on his eastern roots even down to the gameplay. Like if you look at Sonic Adventure 1, 2, 06 and ESPECIALLY Frontiers, those would be considered JRPGs and those types of games appeal to that demographic. Hence why they are the best selling 3D games there. Given that Frontiers is the blueprint for the next decade and it straight up being a JRPG, I think Sonic's popularity there will skyrocket if they can make quality AAA games in that format and also touch up on somethings like the writing which if Shadow Gens is anything to go by with how much more involved Japan is with the writing, that should be fine. And then, they got to stylize the franchise more to make it pop like how Persona or Demon Slayer does or even with Sonic CD's artstyle which Kishimoto has confirmed that they are doing a style overhaul. I think the last thing would be music, less generic EDM and honing in more on orchestrals and rock similarly to 06 and Unleashed which is pretty popular music wise in Japan, maybe working with a J-Pop or J-Rock artist like maybe LiSA or Asian Kung Fu Generation who are prolific artists there and in the Japanese action space with their work on Naruto, Demon Slayer and Sword Art Online would do wonders for the game's reach. If they want to keep up with electronic music, then they could try taking a few keys for CD and make some J-House music for the games. Just spitballing but these are things I've noticed in what reaches Japan with Sonic.
Also making a sonic anime would be an awesome addition too, They could get studios like Trigger, Unfotable, Toei or Wit to do it. Plus they could have it based around the Archie and IDW comics.
So, you’re telling Sonic is being hated in a country where his games were made? Now I see why Disney’s trying to buy SEGA
Bro I hope to god that never happens 😭 anything that gets disneyified goes 6 feet under. There's a reason why Sonic beat Mufasa, and it(SEGA and Sonic Team) should forever remain separate from other major entities (other than having partnerships or whatever it is they're doing with nintendo)
@@nman1 Don't worry about that because it's just an unconfirmed rumor. I've heard that there could likely be some laws in Japan that would make it be impossible for Disney to be allowed to buy SEGA if they do try to do it. Also why would SEGA ever agree on merging with a clearly corrupt company who has purposefully and selfishly tried to rig some bigger theaters to make that third Sonic movie not have a chance to play in them and not make as much more money through ticket sales as it could have if it was also able to play in theaters like IMAX. Those things make this company purchase be truly unlikely to happen.
The whole "Disney wants to buy SEGA" thing is not even true. A user on Twitter made it up as a joke and everyone, for no reason at all, thought he was being serious (he has joked with many things like this before) xddd
And here I thought Japan had smart people over there
Its a busy place over, Mario is Mr. Worldwide, and Sonic is the luigi over there lol ( i like Luigi more than Mario don’t hurt me)
They’re still way more smart than the Americans.
C’mon now dude, don’t say such rude things just because your favorite franchise isn’t very popular there.
@@ShadowtheHedgehogReal2025 they are still way smarter than the Americans.
The reason is pretty obvious, Sonic was made with the Western demographic in mind.
I'm not from the US but people say Sonic was marketed heavily in the 90's, that's one of the biggest factors making Sonic popular in the West.
Not to mention there are various media for it like SATAM, Underground, and the various comics.
"Why can't he be like that nice boy, Mario?"
That doesnt make sense when Sonic 3 has multiple Anime Reference like Dragon Ball for crying out loud
One more thing for Sonic's non-popularity in Japan. The aggressive SEGA vs. Nintendo console war was a thing outside Japan BUT not in Japan itself, where such aggressive marketing is pretty much non-existent, so the association of Sonic with SEGA isn't as deep in Japan than it is outside.
Another thing is that, Sonic was designed to be "cool and with attitude" to appeal to Western audiences than Japan's favoring of cuteness. Compared that to Crash, where the bandicoot is depicted as a cute character in Japan. It also helps that the Crash games lean towards to slapstick, which elevates the cute image he has in Japan, where as Sonic's slightly serious or shonen tones might be a hard sell considering that he started with a still-cute design.
Not surprised. Would _you_ try badmouthing Nintento right at their doorstep?
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!! JAPAN LOVES SONIC LIKE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
🤥
When they play Shining Road song from sonic x i instantly recongnized it. I play it on piano all the time. My mom always ask "what u playing" i jus say "a song from that sonic x show u seen before" since she watched it once
It's a very beautiful song :)
from what I've heard from friends in japan, Sonic is not exactly hated, heck is not even unpopular, he's a niche character, like Bayonetta, people like him enough but he doesn't have what we called "mainstream appeal", if Sonic was hated Sega would've given up on him a long time ago, leave production of the games to Sega of america, yet he's still the flagship character of the company and "sonic team" is still one of if not the most important game developer team in the company.
Honestly, this is very close to how I feel Sonic failed in Japan. The Mega Drive flopped in Japan, but the Saturn was Sega of Japan’s one hit wonder. Yet, Sega failed to capitalize on its success as well as the success of Nights by not releasing a Japanese developed Sonic game for the Saturn. Instead, the Saturn only got 2 games from Travler’s Tales and a compilation of the Genesis games. They eventually got things right with the Adventure games, but then screwed things up after the flop of the Dreamcast by making Heroes more like the Genesis games than the Adventure games as well as later games like 06 being terrible. Glad to see that Frontiers on the other hand has finally brought back the sales in Japan, and I hope they build on that success with future games. I also feel Sonic X flopped in Japan due to its focus on Chris Thorndyke rather than sonic himself, and it would have possibly done better if they had the Metarex saga right from the start.
Just a minor correction
Korone's name is pronounced Ko-ro-nay, not Ko-rone
That’s all I wanted to say
Thanks 😳
As far as I know, Metroid, Zelda and Final Fantasy also aren't as popular in japan as they are in the west.
Wait final fantasy is not popular in Japan??
@randall168sTwackstickman it is pretty popular there, don't get me wrong, but Dragon Quest is bigger in Japan and FF tends to sell more in the west. Final Fantasy 15 sales were much bigger in west than japan, for example.
@dinoman6481 that's actually pretty true
There is always talk about Sonic Frontiers "Succeeding in Japan" but I'm not entirely sure.
Sure, it sold well, but I've heard of some pretty disappointed people, they thought it would be a free-running game in a vast world, but it turned out to be a more closed and directed game, with a list of things to do in order.
Sonic is popular in Japan, just not as popular as America, Japanese Sonic fans were sad that Sonic 3 flopped (from what i heard)
Uhhhhh ye you proy heard this 100 times before and in the UK Sonic has JUST started becoming mainstream thanks to movies so thats a good thing :)
US Sonic is the real Sonic 🤦♂🤦♂
I can't believe Japan do not know who Sonic the hedgehog is
5:29 what a familiar phrase, and it just goes to show that Ian Flynn should've been on the game writing staff sooner than he was
So that's why i saw a sonic stand with barely any people even though it had a korone colab 😮
The live-action BLEACH movie also flopped in Japan.
What’s the background music at 1:08 ?
Sonic Mega Collection Extras Menu
@@speedshoesyt Yooo love it when creators answer questions like this huge respect to you. Youd be surprised by how many people would’ve just ignored that question
@ Thanks bro!! I'm still a small channel, but I will always make time to pay attention to the comments
Its not hated
It just not popular
I mean, Sonic was made to be cool for Americans so understandably he doesn't satisfy the tastes of the Japanese.
Even I remember more of his english quotes than his jp ones.
6:22 "Koron"
*_(coughs in mispronunciation)_*
We need to stop having Western-led Sonic media. America/Europe is gonna support Sonic no matter if the series feels Japanese or American, so it would be in Sega's best interest to just make more content specifically catered to Japanese audiences because their support depends on that very thing.
The films aren't gonna do well in Japan as long as they are American made series that don't have the slightest of Japanese cultural influence. Sonic Prime, the films, *comics,* all these things are Western. Just make an anime or manga series for crying out loud and drop these western things.
L take.
You’re going to drop your most successful markets just to appease an audience that doesn’t know your brand exists. That’s just bad business. Straight up.
The Japanese don't do that well either. Why do you think the OVA stayed as an OVA? Why do you think it took 15 years for Season 3 of X to release in Japan?
Then blame MUFASA the lion king for sonic 3 failing in Japan
Also Why does everyone act like Disney is so great, Walt Disney was a well known racist and became so well off because of exploitation of other people. The company still continues to treat employees like garbage.
Yeah, the more you think about it, the more it makes sense why Sonic isn’t as popular in Japan than he is in the West. Even so, it’s honestly such a shame that he isn’t as popular over there.
Hopefully with the series doing better nowadays than it did in the 2010s, Sonic will be able to gain more traction in Japan one day, but like you said, only time will tell.
Just imagine if we got another Sonic anime, though. I’d definitely watch that!
Sonic was created to appeal western teenagers.
Wait hold on, Sonic isn't popular in his own country wtf?
No one cares about tiny anime island, it's inhabitants are anime NPC characters.
SEGA did a great job delivering quality to the audience.
And endorsing a grown adult, who’ll laugh over a real teenager passing. Even laughing about how much they laughed. Yep, sega knows what its doing 😂
@@jesseroberts1041 What are ya yapping about lil kiddo?
@ That sega’s paid someone, (cybershell) whos laughed about a teenager passing because of using too much cologne.
Sega hasnt done a good job on their marketing, giving an adult who can laugh about that stuff, ANY positive attention.
@@UnlockedTOS Cybershell even laughed about how much they laughed, gave NO condolences to the affected family, just joking that he thought he was gonna also end up- from laughing too much, over a 14 year old accidentally using too much cologne, cause the smell helped to comfort them. (He didnt even do any research on the case, and this was years after he initially saw and laughed at it.)
Just saw the cologne stuff and laughed over that and “oh i know its not good but LOL.” Like the context of how a teen passing, matters over the fact they passed away.
And sega is just “we’ll pay you!”
6:35 I know she's japanesez but she's sounding like a baby singing "Sonic Heroes" and it's SO CUTEE AAAAAA
Korone-chan is a way of living 🙂
Well, it's the same in a lot of countries actually, and it's not really fair to compare Sonic to Mario anymore.
It’s almost like sonic was designed for the American market or something
That doesn't really mean shit to me because a huge hit in Japan domestically is nothing in comparison to the global market.
Sonic games suck after sonic and knuckles that's why
And just who the company endorses. Cybershell has ZERO reason to be given any positive attention
Sonic popularity in his country of origin is like El Chavo popularity in Mexico, they're not very liked or well known.
But el chavo is hated in México for issues related to politics, his creator and excessive repetitions on television.
It's because Japanese people can't handle the chilly dog's
(Jk, that's not true and I am also sorry to any japanese person who felt insulted.)
[Just to clarify things, yes I know that a lot of people in Japan love spicy food.]
Wow you sucked the life out of your own joke by trying to be PC and it didn't have much life to begin with...
@@ReeTard-l6elol indeed
Sonic isn't the only one street fighter is a complete failure in Japan they literally only popular only in America
what’s funny is, that the candy “Chocco ball” is popular than sonic.
Dreamcast launch in Japan barely had any games for it. It was like the N64 launch in the west. That might have helped Sonic Adventure. lol
I live in Shanghai and have a Japanese friend here who also grew up with Dreamcast and Sonic Adventure. We bonded over our common love of SA.
It's not that the Japanese HATE Sonic, they just don't know him and his media; especially since the game and anime market is very competitive, with so many characters !
It's kinda funny because Japan kinda viewed as some country that love/enjoy the good o' days, that's one of the theory on why Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire & Avengers: Endgame despite aired the same year, Detective Conan got more box office revenue locally than Endgame. And like the "millions" of school romance driven anime/manga pop in all the time
It's like in a time capsule, which can be good and bad. It's also add to injury that apparently they don't really like you being different to others, meaning often time they like teamwork more than being special on your own (maybe that's why so many shounen anime use that like way too much).
But I don't get it: Sonic do have teamwork elements, but each character got their own quirks, it didn't perform well. Yet My Hero Academia technically in similar boat, and its movie performed well locally?
It's not that deep. For the Japanese, Detective Conan has been around since the early 90s, will Marvel movie are most recent. Not to mention that general bias of foreign vs domestic.
As for Sonic, the little bit of teamwork elements is paper thin as it just mostly about the 1 hero and his side-kicks. While My Hero Academia is centered around a large group that actually work together.
He’s not. He’s just not popular over there since SEGA doesn’t push for as big of a market as in the west. If anything, I imagine the Boom and Movie interpretations of Sonic are less liked among Japanese folks who actually know him, since those versions stray so far from the original Sonic. Boom Sonic really doesn’t have any of the OG Sonic’s drive for adventure and nomadic tendencies, and Movie Sonic is honestly just Silver if you think about it.