idk if ur joking or not but I don't think it's that far fetched to say that Sonic, a character who's main theme in multiple of his games is called "It Doesn't Matter," is an existentialist
@@skeletorthepublicnuisance6707 I was gonna throw in the "It Doesn't Matter" point here but I already used it in the previous video, so I didn't wanna draw from the same straw. But, good point!
Born in 83, I've been a Super Sonic fan since day one, Games, TV shows, comics, etc. "What is Sonic?" well, I've always seen Sonic as a "Fighter" or more accurately as a "Challenger". He treats "life's problems" as challenges to overcome regardless of what medium or backstory they give him. Although difficulties are hard, accepting them as challenges is builds experience and character. That's what made me fall in love with the character, he wasn't just ready to take on a single challenge but all of them. He represented a "BRING IT" attitude in the 90s when we didn't see many doing that.
I think the fanbase needs to learn to embrace the fact that Sonic can be anything. There’s a reason he means so many different things to different people and at the end of the day it brings people together.
This is a big part of why I really feel bothered by a lot of the videos trying to draw that "original Japanese" angle of Sonic like even Japanese interpretations of Sonic as a character weren't heavily inspired by and drawing aesthetics from non Japanese sources. Sonic Adventure's entire plot can be analyzed through a Native/Aboriginal lens in the way it uses aesthetics from those cultures. There's an entire section of games that draw from Southwest Asia and North Africa. Sonic literally had a game themed around him seeing the world. Sonic himself is inspired a lot by Black artists you mentioned as we can start to really draw the Mickey Mouse and animation comparisons to their historical origins. But even within that, Sonic himself I think shows how vast and wide the connections people make to him are when you look at the ocean of fan content. It sticks out a lot to me how many people make interpretive work of his relationship with Tails, who is depicted as his best friend/little brother/almost child to him and they interpret their first time meeting and challenge the idea of the fastest thing alive, someone supposedly all about freedom and being unchained by the world as deciding to slow down and do what he has to do to take care of a kid. Tails is one of the only ones to ever make Sonic of all people say "we're going too fast. We need to slow down." And people love that. It's just a simple example of how Sonic doesn't mean anything and isn't chained down to a singular idea in the way people think he is. "Dadnic" stories are amazing, for the record! Unlike other franchises out there where it feels like there's outrage and pushback at even the slightest deviations to their ideas, it does feel like Sonic animation can come back with very different ideas each time and it not be that shocking. That's not to say I love everything about the execution, especially when yt ppl are involved (seriously--we gonna talk about the very conservative slant to Sonic boom?) but I love that there's a lot more flexibility with how very differently people can interpret Sonic and it still feels like it makes sense. And that's fine! I love it. Sonic was always a comfort for me to get through the worst parts of my life, to the point where I'm embarrassingly good at 100%ing I think nearly every Sonic game I've touched. Even something as simple as "Sonic is about freedom" can mean a million different things. I think about the disability centric episode of Sonic X, and while I have a lot of mixed views on it, I think it says a lot that to Sonic in that context, freedom doesn't come from "curing" your disability but instead comes from accessibility. It's not as simple as "Sonic = freedom" but questioning what freedom looks like and to who. If Sonic was real, he strikes me as someone who would have someone call him cringe and go "yeah? So what, nigga?" I've always liked the malleability of Sonic. He's simple, but complex. He's free, but in a lot of ways he's really not. He's anime shonen dude, but he also just kind of works no matter the genre you throw him in. Put him in a murder mystery, sci-fi, make a revolution story, make him a goofy kids show, give him a gun. Whatever. Let your mind run. Outside of my channel I have like 3-4 sonic related projects I've been storyboarding just on the side because I don't see this damn Blue hedgehog leaving my life any time soon.
That part about him being cringe means a lot to me, Sonic works best imo when it's doing insane shit and taking itself 100% seriously, because when it points out that it's doing insane shit it comes across as artificial and like an MCU film. I love that about the character, it's just so... campy, but it feels so fresh in a sea of Rick and Mortys that always have to point out that what they're doing is in fact silly (shocker) to feel like they're being taken seriously. I also agree with you about the black artists thing, I'm yt but from what I've seen there's been a lot of really cool inherently black art born from the sonic fandom and it's really cool to me, and those other cultures you mention are also embeded deeply in the text. I have a question though, how is Boom conservative? I'm a new fan and haven't got into most of the Sonic stuff out there so I haven't seen boom, and all I know about it's politics is that one scene where Knuckles critiques Amy's pop feminism, but most critique of pop feminism I've seen comes from leftists criticizing the apparent liberalism in it (because liberals are not on the left contrary to popular belief), and I took that scene as that instead of a conservative critique of feminism. Plz respond to me because I'm actually very curious in what you have to say 🥺🥺🥺
@@skeletorthepublicnuisance6707 With regard to Sonic Boom's conservative edge, Amy is part of it, yeah. I think a better example that brings her character into focus is "Just a Guy" which was an episode where Sonic ends up saving someone offended by Sonic calling him "just a guy" and Amy deciding to create a safe space for him which is framed as everyone coddling each other and being offended over nothing while portraying Sonic as the reasonable one for everyone getting caught up and too sensitive about him calling him a guy. It's effectively meant to be a take on the "SJWs are too sensitive" stereotype that became prominent a lot in the 2010s, with particular focus on safe spaces. The Simpsons (specifically the episode The Caper Chase iirc) and lots of another animated series also did similar takes on safe spaces during the 2010s because it became a very common conservative talking point imagining colleges in particular as just safe spaces where we bully yt cishet men. www.vox.com/2016/8/29/12684042/safe-spaces-college-university So with that in mind and considering nothing really supports what were at best just liberal comedians (one of whom on Sonic boom also wrote for Drawn Together, to put things in perspective) writing Amy as a stereotype of a whiny, performative feminist in the sea of dudebros with Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Eggman. A lot of the jokes surrounding Amy imagine her as just a caricature of vaguely left-wing things like her being environmentally conscious, a feminist and as a mediator who ends up being framed as hypocritical in those things. The 2010s was a rough time.
Gonna sound corny, but shadow to me is a role model similar to how sonic is a role model, however, not by his actions but what he means in the grand scheme of everything. Shadow is the exact opposite of sonic. He has a deep and depressing backstory, but his morals are based on fulfilling the wish of one person who died before she had a chance to truly live. Every day shadow struggles with depression and angst over his past while also trying to move on from it. In sonic battle he sees himself in Emerl. A weapon sought to be used by the very government who destroyed any chance of happiness he ever had. He wants to destroy Emerl at the start. But he grows a respect for their shared past. Shadow is a very complex character in a series full of fantastical shit that surrounds him. Yet even in his own game he refused to let his past turn him into a monster. He moved on since and has been fulfilling Maria's wish by staying in the present and protecting the very world she loved. He has no love for humans but he's not against them either. He moves forward no matter the cost. Even if it kills him he refuses to give up hope for the world Maria cherished. He goes against mephiles who actively shows him the humans will imprison him by simply stating "even if the world becomes my enemy, I will fight as I always have". Shadow is a metaphor for loss, grief, and the struggle to move forward after massive trauma to become who you were meant to be. Where theres light, there's shadow. Where there's Sonic, who always helps the little guy, there's shadow, who focuses on the bigger picture. The bigger threat and let's sonic take care of the small things that don't matter to him. So much in depression we don't see the reason for the little things. We focus on what we feel as a whole and try to be better than our pasts. Sure he's not always the kindest or the smartest or the funniest but he brings a groundedness that asks these questions of existentialism you've portrayed in this video by directly challenging us to ask "does our trauma control our lives, or do we? Can we really move on if we can't seem to let go of the pain inside no matter how hard we try? Are we able to free ourselves from our darkness and become the shining light we are meant to be for others in out similar situation?" shadow makes us question our purpose and answers it in one sitting. Our purpose is what we make of ourselves regardless of what others think. We honor the memories of those we've lost by continuing to do better one day at a time. Sorry if this is a massive chore to read. Your video just got me thinking about the other side of the coin when it comes to sonic and shadow.
Somehow growing up I always at least subconsciously understood Sonic really was just a marketing gimmick. But even that inspired me. I want to create cute characters for video games and cartoons, too.
I find it funny when you say Sonic was the mascot character who was easy to mold into anything and that Mario was the one who struggled a bit to fill in that same role. I've heard numerous people, one of them being RelaxAlax, having the opposite idea. He mentions how Mario's design principles are inherently round, symmetrical, and balanced in nature, and thus carries high adaptability. I felt this is why no one bats an eye when Mario attempts to do things like race kart games, sports games, rabbid crossovers, rpg, and party games. But with Sonic, many find his "adaptability" to be more problematic and out of place, especially considering giving Sonic a sword, or a vehicle, or alternate forms. Don't really disagree with your analysis since you provided a lot of evidence which really surprised me, but just thought this juxtaposition was funny lol
I really enjoyed this interpretation of Frontiers’ story, and it makes the fan discourse around whether these characters are properly written all the more ironic. It’s refreshing that Frontiers dares to ask, “do these characters mean more than their relationship to Sonic/protecting angel island?”
I see your point with Amy’s plotpoint in Frontiers. I actually adore the concept with the way you interpreted it. I think the disconnect is moreso how it’s written than the concept at all. This actually can go for every character in the game. It was written in a way as a means to course correct the last decade as opposed to questioning their purpose so it feels inauthentic. In the case of Amy whose the most overly course corrected character in the games, it comes off as stripping her of her personality because people took a lot of her qualities at face value and thought it was annoying or creepy, myself being one of those people growing up (and having an immature bias for Sally Acorn blinding me at the time). So it makes her feel more sterile and a bit of a waste because Amy was already her own adventurer and leader in her own right helping people and “spreading love around the world”. So it comes off as them trying to separate her from Sonic even more because of those people which her love for Sonic is fundamental part of her character. To completely remove that the way they are, you lose part of her bubbly character that makes her so infectious. Especially with how sterilized she is right now where she’s just the strong girl compared to her original character when written under Maekawa and Yoshimaru up til 2013. If it was written more of her questioning if she’d be fulfilled by solely being with Sonic, it’d have been better received.
I feel like it's kind of written that way anyway. I don't mention it here, but Amy's final scene with Sonic is written a lot like a break up if you want me to be honest. And, she's pretty explicit about her determination to see through her goals, even if it draws her further from Sonic. I love Amy and how she was in the 2000s for sure, but I'm not opposed to her being less cheerful in this game. I say it in the video, but she's very explicitly describing the feeling of death when Sonic asks how she's feeling. Tails kinda backs this up with his life flashing before his eyes and just beating himself up about his past. If all Amy is seeing of her life is one spent chasing Sonic, and then I 100% get why she's feeling dettached and projecting her purpose onto this Koco with a flower. The cynic in me even says that these characters will never truly evolve from their brand recognised roles and there's something sad and meta that Frontiers is saying about that. Frontiers, intentional or otherwise, brings to light how much these characters are stuck in a cycle. Knuckles is defined more by his tragedy than his desire to adventure. Amy is defined more by her love of Sonic than her love of the world. And, Tails is defined more by his subsidiary role to Sonic than his own journey to independence. Frontiers is really interesting when people take a step back from ragging on Ian for references and look at what he dares to even ask about these characters. Super interesting stuff.
Sonic Frontiers is easily the most Yoko Taro pilled Sonic title. People often compare it to Breath of the Wild for the big open ruin covered landscapes, or Shadow of the Colossus for the Titans, but it's much more comparable in to Neir Automata in a lot of ways. The plot is less focused and directed, for sure, but the sort of vague black humour of the Kokos "dying" after being helped and the general lamentful atmosphere reminded me a lot of a Nier title, they both take place in a world where the previous society(Humans/ancients) were wiped out and are trying to figure out the mystery surrounding that, where the main character thinks they're doing right but is being mislead etc. What's really noteworthy to me though, is The End. The End very, very much seems reminiscent of the unseen, unnamed evil God that's the overarching villain of the Darkenier Multiverse, i.e. the God of The Watchers. I have some theories as to what that really is, but I feel like in a weird way The End IS that God, or some incarnation or creation thereof.
I mean they're canonically like... what, brothers? I doubt it'll change much, other than just contextualise more why Shadow was so pressed about Emerl's awakening. If you've played Sonic Battle, you know Emerl's deal already.
@@TheStorytellerAJ it looks like he's part of the attack on Space Colony ARK when Maria's still alive. If this is already established I truly do not recall this.
First off, I want to thank you for that line at the end. I have no idea if that was quoted from someone or your own original idea but it did genuinely strike a chord with me. Existentialism is a subject I love and dread thinking, learning about and discussing. I appreciate that take you made at the end and will be carrying it with me so thank you. That said, I am happy to see someone put more eloquently the fact that sonic as a concept is defined by trends rather than having a strict identity lol. One last thing. HOW HAVE I NEVER NOTICED THAT SONIC DOESN’T HAVE A LEGITIMATE BACKSTORY WHILE ANALYZING THE CHARACTER?! 😂
I can confirm the line at the end is one I wrote. Existentialism is genuinely just something that interests me, and I've never really seen it as overly "hopeless" as people make it out to be.
@@TheStorytellerAJ then you are one of the wisest and one of the most optimistic people I’ve ever run into. Thank you for sharing that wisdom. Existentialism is a topic that has always equal parts fascinated and terrified me. I’ve only recently gotten to a place of being more comfortable with myself where I am in my journey through life and this was a piece of the puzzle I was not necessarily lacking, but lacked the proper wording to put into context that I could properly look at and share with others. While I’ve long been someone who has said things along the lines of “the meaning of life is the meaning you give it yourself”, there’s something much more, I don’t know, impactful or wiser about what you said that gives me more to think about. So thank you. I’ll be saving this vid and talking with those close to me about this in the very near future. Already shared the quote with them. I’m looking forward to those conversations too.
Bro, hearing Jetix gives me flashbacks. I used to watch Sonic X all the time on Jetix as a kid back in the early 2000s. The one thing I love about sonic, is that he is optimistic no matter what situation he is in. Currently in my life, I've been living trough hell and feeling down, and in my past time I like to replay the old sonic mega drive games. His attitude is something I adore, I just don't know how they designed him to be the ultimate person of hope.
The most existential character is Mr.President from Shadow the Hedgehog and the purple guy from Lost World. Both of them don't see the point of living and seem like they might Minecraft themselves.
This video and "THE WRETCHED OF THE SONIC." videos are the perfect balance of actually good analysis and complete nonsense that just makes the perfect video they deserve more views
as a lifelong sonic fan who grew up watching sonic x and sonic underground and playing sonic 06 (i thought it was good lmao) this video resonated with me so much its crazy 😭
People hate on Underground (and sometimes for good reason) but that shit had Manic and a lot of episodes about classism so it's not all bad. Also Cosmo's death, Natsu No Hi and The Revolutionary Tale are S Tier Sonic episodes.
Funnily enough. Sonics ability as a brand to be anything is the most relatable thing to Freedom it can be. The series was designed to be at its core cool and different but that in itself means so many different things. The series can be whatever because it has no rules. In a way its marios be anything and everything to its extreme Sonic is freedom because sonic means anything.
Everyone knows Sonic is cool as fuck. But knows what he’s thinking? Who knows why he crushes robots? And why do we think about him as fondly as we think of the mythical (nonexistent?) Coca Cola? Perchance. I believe it was Kant who said “Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play.” Sonic exhibits experience by crushing robots all day, but he exhibits theory by stating “Gotta go fast!” Keep it up, baby! When Sonic leaves his place of comfort to stomp a bald man, he knows that he may Die. And yet, for a hedgehog who can purchase lives with rings, a life becomes a mere store of value. A tax that can be paid for, much as a rich man feels any law with a fine is a price. We think of Sonic as a hero, but he is simply a one percenter of a more privileged variety. The lifekind. Perchance.
you know, while i can see your point and what you're trying to see, but i don't agree with you if you think that sonic do not have a concept that represent it, so here is what i've come to understand about who sonic is as a character when it comes to the game series if i were to answer the question of "what is sonic" than my answer in short is a good free spirited proactive nomad guy who ru fast, and whose core value is freedom, while fighting injustice whenever he spot it, and protect the natural beauty of the environment, and this is basically a short description of sonic's team original concept of the character the long answer who ever, is a character who is a good kind spirited guy with a loving nature, one whose core value is freedom, with a sense of jusitice, and a proactive nature of helping, protecting and saving people, he do not like to see people sad or even in suffereing, so he tends to help them when ever he could, with him having nothing to do with being a hero nor he want to do with any thing like that, with an attitude of not respecting authority in regards to saving people, unless some one point out to him a flaw about an action he's about to do, a nomad who like traveling around the world, he has a love for nature and the natural beauty of the environment, along with doing any thing to keep a good balance between technology and nature, along with a street level smart of IQ in tackling challanges. and respecting the decesions of others and not interfering in them nor claiming to know the truth of any one's actions, and instead stoping the bad actions of bad guys when they endanger others when they are not conveinced to stop. as well as a guy who represent a force of change who do not change nor go on a character development, but show emotions some times , and inspir others to change their ways to be better part of the reason why people never understood this concept or even how mostly perfect it is, has to do with a lot of factors that come into causing a lot of identity crisis , one of those factors is that people from western fans mostly do not understand that sonic stories always followed a subtle method of story telling, one that do not tell that much but rely on the player to see story details and piece together what he witness of hints from a game story to understand what's going on and realize the lore behind it , which if i'm honest is a much more fun story method when it comes to video games, hence why this version of sonic show you but not tell, and it's why a lot of people don't realize that attempting to make a story in a sonic game had always been there as the japanese manuals of sonic 1, 2, and 3 were a long build up to the story of Sonic Adventure , yet BARELY ANY ONE HAD A CLUE EN THAT, as well as the fact, and this is some thing i believe any fan need to do even for once, is to see accurate translations of the japanese script of each and every single 3D sonic game from adventure to frontiers, it's because it's what represent the vision of what the developers had in mind for how they wanted the characters to behave, even if you'll still find pacing issues and story situations that do not make sense, trust me when i say that dialogue is much better done with barely any of many reccuring flaws that you coul find in english script , even though the games of the 2010s will have that issue of their stories being boring to tears, despite not having stupid jokes, and not treating the characters with aspects that feel insulting to how they are supposed to be an other that i will point out, is that you might notice that there are a number of aspects that i never mentioned about sonic's character, which has to do with him being cocky, a bit selfish, eating chili dogs, and making fun of his enemies with jokes and stuff, but that's because NONE OF THIS HAD ANY THING TO DO WITH WHAT THE ORIGINAL DEVELOPERS HAD IN MIND FOR THE CHARACTER, AS IT WAS SEGA OF AMERICA's DOING seriuosly, where do i begin, while i understand that it's not uncommon for western corperations to change certain aspects of what a franchise is supposed to have, even done to character traits and characteristics, to appeal to their audience as much as possible, add to this that they desperately wanted sonic to have a bad boy attitude to make him stand out as much as possible from other cartoon mascots , and going so hard to emphesise that cool factor back in the 90s, and that game adaptations were in general very new at that time, resulting in all sort of directions when it comes to other media, that some how to this day, still influence other people openions on what sonic is supposed to be in the first place, hence why a lot of people when trying to undrstand what sonic is as a character, they come to the conclusion that sonic is a fast paced blue cartoon hedgehog who fight a bad guy putting animals into robots, which is such a basic and not good enough interpetition in how you define sonic but then add to this an other aspect that i found so stupid which was done in earliest years of the franchise, is that when Sega of America had a lot of edge and attitude when it comes to their aggressive marketing which is some thing they wanted to reflect on sonic, they went so far as to do some thing else which is to mock their competitors like what they did to mario of antagonizing the character and treating him like some kind of a joke, describing sonic as better and cooler, and the coolest thing ever, that's i believe is part the reason why there is a lot of toxicity within the fandom in regards to what they want of the character, as a lot of fans couldn't stand the fact that the franchise wasn't performing that well back in the 2000s in terms of reception , because they were so used to the idea that they are the best crowd among who consume video games, to the point of not standing all the bad press the franchise had in 2000s and 2010s, that's not the kind of attitude that adventure fans, boost fans, and fans of other media stuff of this franchise, yet the toxicity still some how passed down to A LOT OF THEM, and it's very few to see any of them who are in any way critical or very critical but in a good way and here what i have to say, yes, we've seen time and time again the franchise going through some kind of identity crisis, weither it is in the 90s with the many cartoons and comics, the 2000s from shadow the hedgehog, sonic 06, or those spin off games released from mid to late 2000s, but why there is always this issue that is unique to sonic, that is the thought that any thing that comes from the cartoons, the comics, or other media stuff is part what define the character even in games, when very few attributes like eating chilidogs and the name robotnick were the ones that made it to that series, why can't any one understand and deffrenciate between different iterations of the character and different canons and how they stand out from each other, why the original concept is not at least respected when a lot of elements that it has, were well thought out to make a concept that is timeless and meaningful, unlike what Sega of America attempted to do, a franchise can be so important to some people that it's so frustrating to see a new installement without that much good execution either in game play or in storytelling, but that do not mean that all of a sudden, we can't tell what exactly define a character or what it means, when it was always right there under our noses , not realizing it due to the sheer amount of other media stuff, and not even attemtping to see translations of the japanese script of each game, to help understand the developer's vision of the character and the franchise's game cast, especially when considering the fact that just because a franchise is treated in a certain way by a publisher in localisation or other media, do not mean that it's what represent what the developers had in mind if you try do more than what most fans do, and see beyond what the localisation stuff had to offer, it's so tiring to see people misunderstand what sonic team try to do with the franchise compared to how it's treated with western stuff, just because of the frustration of the quality of the product presented to them, but that's all i have to say, i hope i helped you gaining a different perespective, but remember if you still have your own openion from the video, i'm not trying to change it
This is such an amazing continuation of your "The Wretched of the Sonic" vid. I love your original vid and love this one too! This deserves more love!!!🙏🙌
This feels a bit dishonest. Sonic was made to compete with Mario, not explicitly to be just a brand mascot. They however captialized on it quickly after the success of Sonic 1 and branched out into multimedia. But Sonic has a set and defined character, literally from Ohshima himself who made his character bible for Sonic for Sonic 1 and that character was then updated and evolved by Maekawa and Yoshimaru in a way where the character grew up. Sonic has a set identity which is the source material i.e. the games. It also doesn’t help that Sega Of Japan and America didn’t have synergy which is why Sonic was so many things early on. That doesn’t invalidate the other versions of Sonic. Hell, my favorite interpretation of this franchise is the Pre-Sega Genesis Wave Archie Comics, one of the most radically different versions of Sonic. I don’t think other versions of Sonic shouldn’t exist. The problem however is that a lot of this is because the identity of Sonic, even seeping into the source material like bits and pieces of Frontiers, like IDW or Prime which is apparently canon to the games somehow. The problem is the lack of separation There’s a reason why no one harps on Archie or Underground about being different. They were always and explicitly their own thing. They were said to be apart of the source material or trying to sell an experience similar to the source material so that’s where the discourse starts. The existential crisis Sonic faces is that they’re trying to pull off brand synergy way too late down the franchise’s history and doing it by trying to piggyback on the most unrelated piece of Sonic material to the source material, the movies. So now they’re having to sacrifice the identity of Sonic which was at the forefront and consistent from 1991 - 2009 while simultaneously evolving and then changing it for the sake of the brand and any form of success which has been the case since 2010. That’s the existential crisis. If you want what the identity of Sonic is, it’s simply a blue hedgehog who can move at the speed of sound who operates on his own sense of freedom, morality and justice to protect people’s freedom from people who want to take it for their own reasons. It can be through machine like Eggman, through magic like Merlina, literal gods like Dark Gaia or from people whose are enslaved by their own emotions like Perfect Chaos. That’s pretty much the identity of Sonic. Sure, trends can be chased on a surface level. Sure, he may evolve and have a new tone but from 1991 to 2009, that basic idea was always there at the end of the day and that’s what made the character of Sonic The Hedgehog what he is. I don’t like the idea of saying Sonic is nothing, that undermines the intentional fundamentals made by the creators of Sonic in favor of just going with the suit and ties who tells the creatives what to do to optimize success. Naoto Ohshima’s character bio for Sonic for Sonic 1 is the most pure and potent Sonic you can get, the original Sonic. He only evolved and grew up while carrying those same fundamentals overtime by people who collaborated and consulted with him like Maekawa and Yoshimaru. It all changed when Pontaff came aboard and thats when Sonic became nothing.
Love Sonic with my heart. Let's not kid ourselves. Sonic was inspired by the King of Pop, Mickey Mouse and a popular president. And, so much of its history is biting or wildly different interpretations of itself. When I say Sonic means nothing, it's not this elaborate diss. It's kind of just bringing into question the discourse around what Sonic "means" or "should be" when that definition is so fickle and lacking in absolution. Everyone always wants to say "Sonic changed at this point" be it when Colours came out or even when the Dreamcast died. But when we get right down to it, so many of these games and media were radically different. And, I like that! Sonic's like a free canvas of sorts in that sense. But, because of that I think most discussions about his inherent meaning to be a waste of time. He's whatever he needs to be. Maekawa and Yoshimaru are great writers and world builders. But deifying specific artists isn't demonstrating Sonic's meaning. It's telling me you have a preference, which everyone does. "Original creator" and "the real best writer" politics has always been a stupid marketing gimmick anyway, when massive teams and visions go into these things. It's just such a lame and dismissive way of looking at the media we consume, with all due respect.
Pretty hyped to see the boondocks guy covering sonic now, 2 of my favorite series Edit: i have never agreed more with a Sonic video, i stg youre the only youtuber id love to have a conversation with.
I guess that's why I've always found something to enjoy about a given Sonic property regardless of the time and place (a few exception not withstanding). Sonic has always been...Sonic
What sonic is 'cool' It's the essence. What cool is, change, therefore so does sonic. It's not a character but the embodiment of the spirit of cool. That's how you endure bad games and survive, by becoming a symbol.
The sound I made upon see title of this pop up on my fyp because I am SO glad that I'm not the only one who sees the existentialism of this series holy moly, thank you for this
Trying to define this franchise with any definitive and inarguable trait is a pipe dream. Like even if someone REALLY believes there was a grand point to Sonic, what makes them think they have any control over that or is not subject to change?
It's like trying to define Pinocchio, when your first introduction to the text was the original Disney movie, are familiar with other adaptations through other mediums, and then go back trying your best suggesting the original text is THE TRUE Pinocchio story, which in a very straight forward way, yeah I guess? But it's not at all how we understand the concept, it's not how YOU understand the concept, that dry, reductive view on this concept that denies the social reality. These discussions, to me, has always been about social control. Who gets to be listened, who's to be ignored, who has the answers and who's "distracting us" from those answers.
I like the story of Frontiers and the theme of the game though. I think it's a step in the right direction, when it comes to fleshing out these characters in the video games, for them to question who they are and challenge their perspective. To grow more independent and to stand on their own than just "be sonic's buddy in the background." I'm aware the comics have much more characterization and narrative all around because it's a different medium than a video game, but you get the idea. You claim it's dumb but i sigh with relief as it makes me want to see if or how Sega will take these character with the games to follow.
Okay so, I *love* Sonic Unleashed, but now you've got me thinking about the missed opportunity to make it Sonic's existentialism story. It's kind of business as usual with the Werehog with very little actual drama around it (save for Tails and Amy not recognizing him at first). But it could've easily been Sonic struggling with "okay so without my speed what am I?" and learning to appreciate the new powers and how he could make them his own and that he's still him even without his power. The game's theme song - Endless Possibility - even suggests as much when it suddenly gets a heavy key change in the middle and the lyrics start "you're losing speed, you're losing control". (Still think Werehog levels would've made great Knuckles levels but damn now I'm starting to think they were on to something.)
one last thing i'm goiing to tell you is certain sources of information from videos that helped me giving this comment : "Learning to Love Sonic Adventure - A Retrospective" "Sonic Fans Vs. Criticism" a great video whose title do not do it enough justice "The Complete Story & Lore of Classic Sonic" which helped me realize that sonic team were building up to story of Sonic Adventure in the japanese manuals of the classic games during the 90s, and also their concept of sonic other than that, that's all i have to say , and THANK YOU FOR this great video, looking forward to more of your content
I've seen the videos you've cited already. Admittedly, part of the reason I made this and The Wretched of The Sonic is because I felt like so many videos on Sonic online were just really played out and saying the same kinds of things repackaged. If you're a big Sonic head (me!) you've probably heard everything most of these man have said before anyway and are hyperaware of the perspective. Which doesn't make them bad videos in the slightest! But more that I watch UA-cam to see new ideas, not to affirm my current ones. So, these alittle absurdist videos where I shine a massive lens on this series are kind of little demonstration pieces on how you can approach this series in a fresh and different way.
@@TheStorytellerAJ thank you for the reply, though i'd like to ask, have you seen my other comment i made on your video, where i explained about sonic's team original concept of sonic, how it's possibly handled to this day, and how we don't understand it due to multiple factors that i mentioned, i've seen that comment, tell me your thoughts about it in a reply
@@TheStorytellerAJ I have that video saved on my own UA-cam channel, and I still hate that you compared Sonic to Paw Patrol. It's the equivalent of people comparing Sonic to Thomas The Tank Engine, another preschool franchise. What is this world coming to?💀
@@obd9660 You've been mad about this for like 5 years lol. It's really fascinating to see. I'll say this, and it's part of what motivates me to make these videos. I like Sonic, his style and his games. I think people also take a lot of his stories a tad too seriously, doesn't mean I can't appreciate them, but he's never been the King of Storytelling, so it's hard for me to hold him to that standard. Always felt alittle absurd. Part of what's appealling about making these absurd videos about Sonic's overarching themes is that I get to take Sonic seriously in my own way. And people hear and tell me how absurd my ideas are on the series (which I'm actually cool with and mostly agree with!) but in the process, either get people to look at the series from a different lens or.... just maybe get some people to lighten up on how they look at it
It's kind of why I love Chrono Trigger, too (and despise the sequel). Also part of why TTGL grabbed me. Sometimes you have to tell the part of your mind that wants to go 'but what if it doesn't work/doesn't matter/isn't possible' to sit down and shut the f*k up. And I think a lot of why that part's so loud is manufactured to make us more pliable.
There are environmentalist messages in CT and Sonic both. And you can read them from leftist or environmentalist lenses. But a massive key component is 'someone should do something, and I'm someone'.
Sonic is cool because he's Sonic. Being himself, being confident about himself is what makes Sonic... Sonic The Hedgehog. That's why when diferent midias just try to use Sonic as an shell to put any random empty/generic personality they created, are usually quite divisive in regards to the reception, especially from fans.
About Sonic being cool I had this thought. What is cool changes, so for Sonic, any thing that ever was cool, is cool or will become cool, Sonic has tried it, or will try it at least once.
@@stitchfan_8290 basically this.. for example, people like to make fun of his edgy era now-a-days, but back then shadow with guns was considered cool.. so Sonic's identity changes with the times, as "cool" changes its meaning
Though I don't necessarily disagree with this video at all, i feel it's important to mention that Sonic team has stated that they're trying to make Sonic a lot more coherent and uniform, at least for now Sonic's philosophy as a character seems like it's gonna be what was described in Sonic IDW issue 50, as it pertains to the game canon at least.
@@inazumarai7690 This outro seems like it's a remix of that shazam result. Now I need to know who remixed it, cause this one is so much better Edit: Found it. Turns out, TheStoryteller has a soundcloud and reposted it. The music from his game is up there, too and it's🔥
Ur losing ur mind bruh
He’s cook(ing)ed
idk if ur joking or not but I don't think it's that far fetched to say that Sonic, a character who's main theme in multiple of his games is called "It Doesn't Matter," is an existentialist
No he's transcending 😩😩😩😩
@@skeletorthepublicnuisance6707 I was gonna throw in the "It Doesn't Matter" point here but I already used it in the previous video, so I didn't wanna draw from the same straw. But, good point!
Born in 83, I've been a Super Sonic fan since day one, Games, TV shows, comics, etc. "What is Sonic?" well, I've always seen Sonic as a "Fighter" or more accurately as a "Challenger". He treats "life's problems" as challenges to overcome regardless of what medium or backstory they give him. Although difficulties are hard, accepting them as challenges is builds experience and character. That's what made me fall in love with the character, he wasn't just ready to take on a single challenge but all of them. He represented a "BRING IT" attitude in the 90s when we didn't see many doing that.
I think the fanbase needs to learn to embrace the fact that Sonic can be anything. There’s a reason he means so many different things to different people and at the end of the day it brings people together.
For example, IGN needs to embrace that Sonic can be a werehog lol
This is a big part of why I really feel bothered by a lot of the videos trying to draw that "original Japanese" angle of Sonic like even Japanese interpretations of Sonic as a character weren't heavily inspired by and drawing aesthetics from non Japanese sources. Sonic Adventure's entire plot can be analyzed through a Native/Aboriginal lens in the way it uses aesthetics from those cultures. There's an entire section of games that draw from Southwest Asia and North Africa. Sonic literally had a game themed around him seeing the world. Sonic himself is inspired a lot by Black artists you mentioned as we can start to really draw the Mickey Mouse and animation comparisons to their historical origins.
But even within that, Sonic himself I think shows how vast and wide the connections people make to him are when you look at the ocean of fan content. It sticks out a lot to me how many people make interpretive work of his relationship with Tails, who is depicted as his best friend/little brother/almost child to him and they interpret their first time meeting and challenge the idea of the fastest thing alive, someone supposedly all about freedom and being unchained by the world as deciding to slow down and do what he has to do to take care of a kid. Tails is one of the only ones to ever make Sonic of all people say "we're going too fast. We need to slow down." And people love that. It's just a simple example of how Sonic doesn't mean anything and isn't chained down to a singular idea in the way people think he is. "Dadnic" stories are amazing, for the record!
Unlike other franchises out there where it feels like there's outrage and pushback at even the slightest deviations to their ideas, it does feel like Sonic animation can come back with very different ideas each time and it not be that shocking. That's not to say I love everything about the execution, especially when yt ppl are involved (seriously--we gonna talk about the very conservative slant to Sonic boom?) but I love that there's a lot more flexibility with how very differently people can interpret Sonic and it still feels like it makes sense.
And that's fine! I love it. Sonic was always a comfort for me to get through the worst parts of my life, to the point where I'm embarrassingly good at 100%ing I think nearly every Sonic game I've touched.
Even something as simple as "Sonic is about freedom" can mean a million different things. I think about the disability centric episode of Sonic X, and while I have a lot of mixed views on it, I think it says a lot that to Sonic in that context, freedom doesn't come from "curing" your disability but instead comes from accessibility. It's not as simple as "Sonic = freedom" but questioning what freedom looks like and to who.
If Sonic was real, he strikes me as someone who would have someone call him cringe and go "yeah? So what, nigga?" I've always liked the malleability of Sonic. He's simple, but complex. He's free, but in a lot of ways he's really not. He's anime shonen dude, but he also just kind of works no matter the genre you throw him in. Put him in a murder mystery, sci-fi, make a revolution story, make him a goofy kids show, give him a gun. Whatever. Let your mind run.
Outside of my channel I have like 3-4 sonic related projects I've been storyboarding just on the side because I don't see this damn Blue hedgehog leaving my life any time soon.
It's one of those things that doesn't get enough love, man. "You think I'm cringe, shame. I'll be out here living like I mean it."
That part about him being cringe means a lot to me, Sonic works best imo when it's doing insane shit and taking itself 100% seriously, because when it points out that it's doing insane shit it comes across as artificial and like an MCU film. I love that about the character, it's just so... campy, but it feels so fresh in a sea of Rick and Mortys that always have to point out that what they're doing is in fact silly (shocker) to feel like they're being taken seriously.
I also agree with you about the black artists thing, I'm yt but from what I've seen there's been a lot of really cool inherently black art born from the sonic fandom and it's really cool to me, and those other cultures you mention are also embeded deeply in the text.
I have a question though, how is Boom conservative? I'm a new fan and haven't got into most of the Sonic stuff out there so I haven't seen boom, and all I know about it's politics is that one scene where Knuckles critiques Amy's pop feminism, but most critique of pop feminism I've seen comes from leftists criticizing the apparent liberalism in it (because liberals are not on the left contrary to popular belief), and I took that scene as that instead of a conservative critique of feminism. Plz respond to me because I'm actually very curious in what you have to say 🥺🥺🥺
conservative slant to Sonic boom?
@@skeletorthepublicnuisance6707 With regard to Sonic Boom's conservative edge, Amy is part of it, yeah. I think a better example that brings her character into focus is "Just a Guy" which was an episode where Sonic ends up saving someone offended by Sonic calling him "just a guy" and Amy deciding to create a safe space for him which is framed as everyone coddling each other and being offended over nothing while portraying Sonic as the reasonable one for everyone getting caught up and too sensitive about him calling him a guy.
It's effectively meant to be a take on the "SJWs are too sensitive" stereotype that became prominent a lot in the 2010s, with particular focus on safe spaces. The Simpsons (specifically the episode The Caper Chase iirc) and lots of another animated series also did similar takes on safe spaces during the 2010s because it became a very common conservative talking point imagining colleges in particular as just safe spaces where we bully yt cishet men.
www.vox.com/2016/8/29/12684042/safe-spaces-college-university
So with that in mind and considering nothing really supports what were at best just liberal comedians (one of whom on Sonic boom also wrote for Drawn Together, to put things in perspective) writing Amy as a stereotype of a whiny, performative feminist in the sea of dudebros with Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Eggman. A lot of the jokes surrounding Amy imagine her as just a caricature of vaguely left-wing things like her being environmentally conscious, a feminist and as a mediator who ends up being framed as hypocritical in those things.
The 2010s was a rough time.
W comment
Gonna sound corny, but shadow to me is a role model similar to how sonic is a role model, however, not by his actions but what he means in the grand scheme of everything. Shadow is the exact opposite of sonic. He has a deep and depressing backstory, but his morals are based on fulfilling the wish of one person who died before she had a chance to truly live. Every day shadow struggles with depression and angst over his past while also trying to move on from it. In sonic battle he sees himself in Emerl. A weapon sought to be used by the very government who destroyed any chance of happiness he ever had. He wants to destroy Emerl at the start. But he grows a respect for their shared past. Shadow is a very complex character in a series full of fantastical shit that surrounds him. Yet even in his own game he refused to let his past turn him into a monster. He moved on since and has been fulfilling Maria's wish by staying in the present and protecting the very world she loved. He has no love for humans but he's not against them either. He moves forward no matter the cost. Even if it kills him he refuses to give up hope for the world Maria cherished. He goes against mephiles who actively shows him the humans will imprison him by simply stating "even if the world becomes my enemy, I will fight as I always have". Shadow is a metaphor for loss, grief, and the struggle to move forward after massive trauma to become who you were meant to be. Where theres light, there's shadow. Where there's Sonic, who always helps the little guy, there's shadow, who focuses on the bigger picture. The bigger threat and let's sonic take care of the small things that don't matter to him. So much in depression we don't see the reason for the little things. We focus on what we feel as a whole and try to be better than our pasts. Sure he's not always the kindest or the smartest or the funniest but he brings a groundedness that asks these questions of existentialism you've portrayed in this video by directly challenging us to ask "does our trauma control our lives, or do we? Can we really move on if we can't seem to let go of the pain inside no matter how hard we try? Are we able to free ourselves from our darkness and become the shining light we are meant to be for others in out similar situation?" shadow makes us question our purpose and answers it in one sitting. Our purpose is what we make of ourselves regardless of what others think. We honor the memories of those we've lost by continuing to do better one day at a time. Sorry if this is a massive chore to read. Your video just got me thinking about the other side of the coin when it comes to sonic and shadow.
This was the best essay on shadow I have ever seen!
@@anxhelovucinaj1576 I appreciate it thank you!
@@anxhelovucinaj1576 Fr, that was pretty amazing to read. I haven't seen anyone mention shadow like that and it's pretty accurate.
"If I can't be with Sonic, what am I?"
- TheStoryteller, 2024
good video i like
MY FAVORITE SONICTUBER OMGGG
al, i thought you died or smth
bro... I'm still waiting for that shadow video 😢
My favourite active youtuber
Where that video at potential man
soo, you still cooking?
Somehow growing up I always at least subconsciously understood Sonic really was just a marketing gimmick. But even that inspired me. I want to create cute characters for video games and cartoons, too.
I find it funny when you say Sonic was the mascot character who was easy to mold into anything and that Mario was the one who struggled a bit to fill in that same role. I've heard numerous people, one of them being RelaxAlax, having the opposite idea. He mentions how Mario's design principles are inherently round, symmetrical, and balanced in nature, and thus carries high adaptability.
I felt this is why no one bats an eye when Mario attempts to do things like race kart games, sports games, rabbid crossovers, rpg, and party games. But with Sonic, many find his "adaptability" to be more problematic and out of place, especially considering giving Sonic a sword, or a vehicle, or alternate forms.
Don't really disagree with your analysis since you provided a lot of evidence which really surprised me, but just thought this juxtaposition was funny lol
A way to have both make sense is Sonic does better with multimedia adaptations and mario looks more "natural" in other videogames
So what I’m hearing is because Sonic means nothing, Sonic can become anything? I love it Great video my dude!
Pretty much!
I like the lack of rigidity in sonic's identity. Its not a bad thing for what he truly means to not matter
and the final boss is a literal interpretation of “the end”, maybe the writers actually onto sumn
I really enjoyed this interpretation of Frontiers’ story, and it makes the fan discourse around whether these characters are properly written all the more ironic. It’s refreshing that Frontiers dares to ask, “do these characters mean more than their relationship to Sonic/protecting angel island?”
I see your point with Amy’s plotpoint in Frontiers. I actually adore the concept with the way you interpreted it. I think the disconnect is moreso how it’s written than the concept at all. This actually can go for every character in the game. It was written in a way as a means to course correct the last decade as opposed to questioning their purpose so it feels inauthentic.
In the case of Amy whose the most overly course corrected character in the games, it comes off as stripping her of her personality because people took a lot of her qualities at face value and thought it was annoying or creepy, myself being one of those people growing up (and having an immature bias for Sally Acorn blinding me at the time). So it makes her feel more sterile and a bit of a waste because Amy was already her own adventurer and leader in her own right helping people and “spreading love around the world”. So it comes off as them trying to separate her from Sonic even more because of those people which her love for Sonic is fundamental part of her character. To completely remove that the way they are, you lose part of her bubbly character that makes her so infectious. Especially with how sterilized she is right now where she’s just the strong girl compared to her original character when written under Maekawa and Yoshimaru up til 2013. If it was written more of her questioning if she’d be fulfilled by solely being with Sonic, it’d have been better received.
I feel like it's kind of written that way anyway. I don't mention it here, but Amy's final scene with Sonic is written a lot like a break up if you want me to be honest. And, she's pretty explicit about her determination to see through her goals, even if it draws her further from Sonic.
I love Amy and how she was in the 2000s for sure, but I'm not opposed to her being less cheerful in this game. I say it in the video, but she's very explicitly describing the feeling of death when Sonic asks how she's feeling. Tails kinda backs this up with his life flashing before his eyes and just beating himself up about his past. If all Amy is seeing of her life is one spent chasing Sonic, and then I 100% get why she's feeling dettached and projecting her purpose onto this Koco with a flower.
The cynic in me even says that these characters will never truly evolve from their brand recognised roles and there's something sad and meta that Frontiers is saying about that. Frontiers, intentional or otherwise, brings to light how much these characters are stuck in a cycle.
Knuckles is defined more by his tragedy than his desire to adventure. Amy is defined more by her love of Sonic than her love of the world. And, Tails is defined more by his subsidiary role to Sonic than his own journey to independence. Frontiers is really interesting when people take a step back from ragging on Ian for references and look at what he dares to even ask about these characters. Super interesting stuff.
Sonic Frontiers is easily the most Yoko Taro pilled Sonic title. People often compare it to Breath of the Wild for the big open ruin covered landscapes, or Shadow of the Colossus for the Titans, but it's much more comparable in to Neir Automata in a lot of ways. The plot is less focused and directed, for sure, but the sort of vague black humour of the Kokos "dying" after being helped and the general lamentful atmosphere reminded me a lot of a Nier title, they both take place in a world where the previous society(Humans/ancients) were wiped out and are trying to figure out the mystery surrounding that, where the main character thinks they're doing right but is being mislead etc.
What's really noteworthy to me though, is The End. The End very, very much seems reminiscent of the unseen, unnamed evil God that's the overarching villain of the Darkenier Multiverse, i.e. the God of The Watchers. I have some theories as to what that really is, but I feel like in a weird way The End IS that God, or some incarnation or creation thereof.
He's back, ladies and gentlemen!
The Swoletariat making videos about Sonic & Knuckles learning about SEGA uninionizing doesnt sound so out there
That new Shadow cartoon is about to change Emerl's relationship to the Shadow story...
I mean they're canonically like... what, brothers? I doubt it'll change much, other than just contextualise more why Shadow was so pressed about Emerl's awakening. If you've played Sonic Battle, you know Emerl's deal already.
Unless you've seen some parts of the show we haven't, everything they've shown off so far is what's been established as canon in Battle itself
@@TheStorytellerAJ it looks like he's part of the attack on Space Colony ARK when Maria's still alive. If this is already established I truly do not recall this.
@@TheStorytellerAJNot brothers no. Emerl was discovered and studied by Gerald but he didn't create him.
Sonic has always been dark since Sonic 3
First off, I want to thank you for that line at the end. I have no idea if that was quoted from someone or your own original idea but it did genuinely strike a chord with me.
Existentialism is a subject I love and dread thinking, learning about and discussing. I appreciate that take you made at the end and will be carrying it with me so thank you.
That said, I am happy to see someone put more eloquently the fact that sonic as a concept is defined by trends rather than having a strict identity lol.
One last thing. HOW HAVE I NEVER NOTICED THAT SONIC DOESN’T HAVE A LEGITIMATE BACKSTORY WHILE ANALYZING THE CHARACTER?! 😂
I can confirm the line at the end is one I wrote. Existentialism is genuinely just something that interests me, and I've never really seen it as overly "hopeless" as people make it out to be.
@@TheStorytellerAJ then you are one of the wisest and one of the most optimistic people I’ve ever run into. Thank you for sharing that wisdom. Existentialism is a topic that has always equal parts fascinated and terrified me. I’ve only recently gotten to a place of being more comfortable with myself where I am in my journey through life and this was a piece of the puzzle I was not necessarily lacking, but lacked the proper wording to put into context that I could properly look at and share with others. While I’ve long been someone who has said things along the lines of “the meaning of life is the meaning you give it yourself”, there’s something much more, I don’t know, impactful or wiser about what you said that gives me more to think about.
So thank you. I’ll be saving this vid and talking with those close to me about this in the very near future. Already shared the quote with them. I’m looking forward to those conversations too.
Bro, hearing Jetix gives me flashbacks. I used to watch Sonic X all the time on Jetix as a kid back in the early 2000s.
The one thing I love about sonic, is that he is optimistic no matter what situation he is in. Currently in my life, I've been living trough hell and feeling down, and in my past time I like to replay the old sonic mega drive games. His attitude is something I adore, I just don't know how they designed him to be the ultimate person of hope.
he's gonna drop that absolute banger in the intro, with no link?! 😢
This is why I've always resonated with Sonic.
I came here looking for a Sonic lore video or something and came out inspired about life. What an amazing video!
The most existential character is Mr.President from Shadow the Hedgehog and the purple guy from Lost World. Both of them don't see the point of living and seem like they might Minecraft themselves.
This video and "THE WRETCHED OF THE SONIC." videos are the perfect balance of actually good analysis and complete nonsense that just makes the perfect video they deserve more views
as a lifelong sonic fan who grew up watching sonic x and sonic underground and playing sonic 06 (i thought it was good lmao) this video resonated with me so much its crazy 😭
People hate on Underground (and sometimes for good reason) but that shit had Manic and a lot of episodes about classism so it's not all bad. Also Cosmo's death, Natsu No Hi and The Revolutionary Tale are S Tier Sonic episodes.
Funnily enough. Sonics ability as a brand to be anything is the most relatable thing to Freedom it can be.
The series was designed to be at its core cool and different but that in itself means so many different things. The series can be whatever because it has no rules. In a way its marios be anything and everything to its extreme
Sonic is freedom because sonic means anything.
Everyone knows Sonic is cool as fuck. But knows what he’s thinking? Who knows why he crushes robots? And why do we think about him as fondly as we think of the mythical (nonexistent?) Coca Cola? Perchance.
I believe it was Kant who said “Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play.” Sonic exhibits experience by crushing robots all day, but he exhibits theory by stating “Gotta go fast!” Keep it up, baby!
When Sonic leaves his place of comfort to stomp a bald man, he knows that he may Die. And yet, for a hedgehog who can purchase lives with rings, a life becomes a mere store of value. A tax that can be paid for, much as a rich man feels any law with a fine is a price. We think of Sonic as a hero, but he is simply a one percenter of a more privileged variety. The lifekind. Perchance.
you know, while i can see your point and what you're trying to see, but i don't agree with you if you think that sonic do not have a concept that represent it, so here is what i've come to understand about who sonic is as a character when it comes to the game series
if i were to answer the question of "what is sonic" than my answer in short is a good free spirited proactive nomad guy who ru fast, and whose core value is freedom, while fighting injustice whenever he spot it, and protect the natural beauty of the environment, and this is basically a short description of sonic's team original concept of the character
the long answer who ever, is a character who is a good kind spirited guy with a loving nature, one whose core value is freedom, with a sense of jusitice, and a proactive nature of helping, protecting and saving people, he do not like to see people sad or even in suffereing, so he tends to help them when ever he could, with him having nothing to do with being a hero nor he want to do with any thing like that, with an attitude of not respecting authority in regards to saving people, unless some one point out to him a flaw about an action he's about to do, a nomad who like traveling around the world, he has a love for nature and the natural beauty of the environment, along with doing any thing to keep a good balance between technology and nature, along with a street level smart of IQ in tackling challanges. and respecting the decesions of others and not interfering in them nor claiming to know the truth of any one's actions, and instead stoping the bad actions of bad guys when they endanger others when they are not conveinced to stop. as well as a guy who represent a force of change who do not change nor go on a character development, but show emotions some times , and inspir others to change their ways to be better
part of the reason why people never understood this concept or even how mostly perfect it is, has to do with a lot of factors that come into causing a lot of identity crisis , one of those factors is that people from western fans mostly do not understand that sonic stories always followed a subtle method of story telling, one that do not tell that much but rely on the player to see story details and piece together what he witness of hints from a game story to understand what's going on and realize the lore behind it , which if i'm honest is a much more fun story method when it comes to video games, hence why this version of sonic show you but not tell, and it's why a lot of people don't realize that attempting to make a story in a sonic game had always been there as the japanese manuals of sonic 1, 2, and 3 were a long build up to the story of Sonic Adventure , yet BARELY ANY ONE HAD A CLUE EN THAT, as well as the fact, and this is some thing i believe any fan need to do even for once, is to see accurate translations of the japanese script of each and every single 3D sonic game from adventure to frontiers, it's because it's what represent the vision of what the developers had in mind for how they wanted the characters to behave, even if you'll still find pacing issues and story situations that do not make sense, trust me when i say that dialogue is much better done with barely any of many reccuring flaws that you coul find in english script , even though the games of the 2010s will have that issue of their stories being boring to tears, despite not having stupid jokes, and not treating the characters with aspects that feel insulting to how they are supposed to be
an other that i will point out, is that you might notice that there are a number of aspects that i never mentioned about sonic's character, which has to do with him being cocky, a bit selfish, eating chili dogs, and making fun of his enemies with jokes and stuff, but that's because NONE OF THIS HAD ANY THING TO DO WITH WHAT THE ORIGINAL DEVELOPERS HAD IN MIND FOR THE CHARACTER, AS IT WAS SEGA OF AMERICA's DOING
seriuosly, where do i begin, while i understand that it's not uncommon for western corperations to change certain aspects of what a franchise is supposed to have, even done to character traits and characteristics, to appeal to their audience as much as possible, add to this that they desperately wanted sonic to have a bad boy attitude to make him stand out as much as possible from other cartoon mascots , and going so hard to emphesise that cool factor back in the 90s, and that game adaptations were in general very new at that time, resulting in all sort of directions when it comes to other media, that some how to this day, still influence other people openions on what sonic is supposed to be in the first place, hence why a lot of people when trying to undrstand what sonic is as a character, they come to the conclusion that sonic is a fast paced blue cartoon hedgehog who fight a bad guy putting animals into robots, which is such a basic and not good enough interpetition in how you define sonic
but then add to this an other aspect that i found so stupid which was done in earliest years of the franchise, is that when Sega of America had a lot of edge and attitude when it comes to their aggressive marketing which is some thing they wanted to reflect on sonic, they went so far as to do some thing else which is to mock their competitors like what they did to mario of antagonizing the character and treating him like some kind of a joke, describing sonic as better and cooler, and the coolest thing ever, that's i believe is part the reason why there is a lot of toxicity within the fandom in regards to what they want of the character, as a lot of fans couldn't stand the fact that the franchise wasn't performing that well back in the 2000s in terms of reception , because they were so used to the idea that they are the best crowd among who consume video games, to the point of not standing all the bad press the franchise had in 2000s and 2010s, that's not the kind of attitude that adventure fans, boost fans, and fans of other media stuff of this franchise, yet the toxicity still some how passed down to A LOT OF THEM, and it's very few to see any of them who are in any way critical or very critical but in a good way
and here what i have to say, yes, we've seen time and time again the franchise going through some kind of identity crisis, weither it is in the 90s with the many cartoons and comics, the 2000s from shadow the hedgehog, sonic 06, or those spin off games released from mid to late 2000s, but why there is always this issue that is unique to sonic, that is the thought that any thing that comes from the cartoons, the comics, or other media stuff is part what define the character even in games, when very few attributes like eating chilidogs and the name robotnick were the ones that made it to that series, why can't any one understand and deffrenciate between different iterations of the character and different canons and how they stand out from each other, why the original concept is not at least respected when a lot of elements that it has, were well thought out to make a concept that is timeless and meaningful, unlike what Sega of America attempted to do,
a franchise can be so important to some people that it's so frustrating to see a new installement without that much good execution either in game play or in storytelling, but that do not mean that all of a sudden, we can't tell what exactly define a character or what it means, when it was always right there under our noses , not realizing it due to the sheer amount of other media stuff, and not even attemtping to see translations of the japanese script of each game, to help understand the developer's vision of the character and the franchise's game cast, especially when considering the fact that just because a franchise is treated in a certain way by a publisher in localisation or other media, do not mean that it's what represent what the developers had in mind if you try do more than what most fans do, and see beyond what the localisation stuff had to offer, it's so tiring to see people misunderstand what sonic team try to do with the franchise compared to how it's treated with western stuff, just because of the frustration of the quality of the product presented to them, but that's all i have to say, i hope i helped you gaining a different perespective, but remember if you still have your own openion from the video, i'm not trying to change it
Beautiful video. I've been thinking about what in the world he is, i think it's so cool how Sonic is something that can't really be defined
This is such an amazing continuation of your "The Wretched of the Sonic" vid. I love your original vid and love this one too! This deserves more love!!!🙏🙌
One of the greatest sonic videos ever made on this site. You read the mess out of this series.
This feels a bit dishonest. Sonic was made to compete with Mario, not explicitly to be just a brand mascot. They however captialized on it quickly after the success of Sonic 1 and branched out into multimedia. But Sonic has a set and defined character, literally from Ohshima himself who made his character bible for Sonic for Sonic 1 and that character was then updated and evolved by Maekawa and Yoshimaru in a way where the character grew up. Sonic has a set identity which is the source material i.e. the games. It also doesn’t help that Sega Of Japan and America didn’t have synergy which is why Sonic was so many things early on.
That doesn’t invalidate the other versions of Sonic. Hell, my favorite interpretation of this franchise is the Pre-Sega Genesis Wave Archie Comics, one of the most radically different versions of Sonic. I don’t think other versions of Sonic shouldn’t exist.
The problem however is that a lot of this is because the identity of Sonic, even seeping into the source material like bits and pieces of Frontiers, like IDW or Prime which is apparently canon to the games somehow. The problem is the lack of separation
There’s a reason why no one harps on Archie or Underground about being different. They were always and explicitly their own thing. They were said to be apart of the source material or trying to sell an experience similar to the source material so that’s where the discourse starts.
The existential crisis Sonic faces is that they’re trying to pull off brand synergy way too late down the franchise’s history and doing it by trying to piggyback on the most unrelated piece of Sonic material to the source material, the movies. So now they’re having to sacrifice the identity of Sonic which was at the forefront and consistent from 1991 - 2009 while simultaneously evolving and then changing it for the sake of the brand and any form of success which has been the case since 2010. That’s the existential crisis.
If you want what the identity of Sonic is, it’s simply a blue hedgehog who can move at the speed of sound who operates on his own sense of freedom, morality and justice to protect people’s freedom from people who want to take it for their own reasons. It can be through machine like Eggman, through magic like Merlina, literal gods like Dark Gaia or from people whose are enslaved by their own emotions like Perfect Chaos. That’s pretty much the identity of Sonic. Sure, trends can be chased on a surface level. Sure, he may evolve and have a new tone but from 1991 to 2009, that basic idea was always there at the end of the day and that’s what made the character of Sonic The Hedgehog what he is.
I don’t like the idea of saying Sonic is nothing, that undermines the intentional fundamentals made by the creators of Sonic in favor of just going with the suit and ties who tells the creatives what to do to optimize success. Naoto Ohshima’s character bio for Sonic for Sonic 1 is the most pure and potent Sonic you can get, the original Sonic. He only evolved and grew up while carrying those same fundamentals overtime by people who collaborated and consulted with him like Maekawa and Yoshimaru. It all changed when Pontaff came aboard and thats when Sonic became nothing.
Love Sonic with my heart. Let's not kid ourselves. Sonic was inspired by the King of Pop, Mickey Mouse and a popular president. And, so much of its history is biting or wildly different interpretations of itself.
When I say Sonic means nothing, it's not this elaborate diss. It's kind of just bringing into question the discourse around what Sonic "means" or "should be" when that definition is so fickle and lacking in absolution.
Everyone always wants to say "Sonic changed at this point" be it when Colours came out or even when the Dreamcast died. But when we get right down to it, so many of these games and media were radically different. And, I like that! Sonic's like a free canvas of sorts in that sense. But, because of that I think most discussions about his inherent meaning to be a waste of time. He's whatever he needs to be.
Maekawa and Yoshimaru are great writers and world builders. But deifying specific artists isn't demonstrating Sonic's meaning. It's telling me you have a preference, which everyone does. "Original creator" and "the real best writer" politics has always been a stupid marketing gimmick anyway, when massive teams and visions go into these things. It's just such a lame and dismissive way of looking at the media we consume, with all due respect.
Also how can an interpretation of the series be dishonest lol
I got to say it makes alot of sense now the reason sega does different things with the character.
We need more intersections of video games and philosophy. Subbed
Pretty hyped to see the boondocks guy covering sonic now, 2 of my favorite series
Edit: i have never agreed more with a Sonic video, i stg youre the only youtuber id love to have a conversation with.
bro 2 mins in and I can already tell youve cooked up a banger
I try
I guess that's why I've always found something to enjoy about a given Sonic property regardless of the time and place (a few exception not withstanding). Sonic has always been...Sonic
What sonic is 'cool'
It's the essence. What cool is, change, therefore so does sonic. It's not a character but the embodiment of the spirit of cool. That's how you endure bad games and survive, by becoming a symbol.
Rad video, love your content and pumped for your game!
That green hill drill slapped!
I will literally sign up as a patron if you post / start posting the song lists in these videos.
The sound I made upon see title of this pop up on my fyp because I am SO glad that I'm not the only one who sees the existentialism of this series holy moly, thank you for this
What song is that on the intro?
amazing freakin video, i haven't even finished it yet but it's so perfect 😭
Trying to define this franchise with any definitive and inarguable trait is a pipe dream.
Like even if someone REALLY believes there was a grand point to Sonic, what makes them think they have any control over that or is not subject to change?
It's like trying to define Pinocchio, when your first introduction to the text was the original Disney movie, are familiar with other adaptations through other mediums, and then go back trying your best suggesting the original text is THE TRUE Pinocchio story, which in a very straight forward way, yeah I guess? But it's not at all how we understand the concept, it's not how YOU understand the concept, that dry, reductive view on this concept that denies the social reality.
These discussions, to me, has always been about social control.
Who gets to be listened, who's to be ignored, who has the answers and who's "distracting us" from those answers.
Just found your channel recently. You are Brilliant!
I like the story of Frontiers and the theme of the game though. I think it's a step in the right direction, when it comes to fleshing out these characters in the video games, for them to question who they are and challenge their perspective. To grow more independent and to stand on their own than just "be sonic's buddy in the background." I'm aware the comics have much more characterization and narrative all around because it's a different medium than a video game, but you get the idea.
You claim it's dumb but i sigh with relief as it makes me want to see if or how Sega will take these character with the games to follow.
Okay so, I *love* Sonic Unleashed, but now you've got me thinking about the missed opportunity to make it Sonic's existentialism story. It's kind of business as usual with the Werehog with very little actual drama around it (save for Tails and Amy not recognizing him at first). But it could've easily been Sonic struggling with "okay so without my speed what am I?" and learning to appreciate the new powers and how he could make them his own and that he's still him even without his power. The game's theme song - Endless Possibility - even suggests as much when it suddenly gets a heavy key change in the middle and the lyrics start "you're losing speed, you're losing control".
(Still think Werehog levels would've made great Knuckles levels but damn now I'm starting to think they were on to something.)
Yo who did the remix in the outro?
Whatever Sonic may or may not be, cop lover Sonic deserves the barbeque treatment, easily one of the worst versions of the character and world lmao
Well this just got deep all of a sudden! 🤯 Nice 👍🏿
wow, i can't believe you're the person to finally convince me to buy this game
Frontiers is good!
Shadow is an artificial life form.
his existence is canonically gotta go fast
"I guess I'm the guy that makes weird videos about Sonic" no disrespect my guy, but that distinction goes to hbomb.
I watched Kix and Pop all the time when I was a kid. Underground, SatAm, and even an anime called Inazuma Eleven.
So Sonic was intended to be just a mascot, like Hello Kitty.
Which probably explains the jank quality in products.
The sequel I didn't expect but am happy to see
when u said kix and pop i knew you were british
People who left the franchise early are going to watch 6:14-9:52 and say "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?".
Yeah he cooked a chili dog with this one
Everybody is a Sonic fan 🤗
one last thing i'm goiing to tell you is certain sources of information from videos that helped me giving this comment :
"Learning to Love Sonic Adventure - A Retrospective"
"Sonic Fans Vs. Criticism" a great video whose title do not do it enough justice
"The Complete Story & Lore of Classic Sonic" which helped me realize that sonic team were building up to story of Sonic Adventure in the japanese manuals of the classic games during the 90s, and also their concept of sonic
other than that, that's all i have to say , and THANK YOU FOR this great video, looking forward to more of your content
I've seen the videos you've cited already. Admittedly, part of the reason I made this and The Wretched of The Sonic is because I felt like so many videos on Sonic online were just really played out and saying the same kinds of things repackaged.
If you're a big Sonic head (me!) you've probably heard everything most of these man have said before anyway and are hyperaware of the perspective. Which doesn't make them bad videos in the slightest! But more that I watch UA-cam to see new ideas, not to affirm my current ones. So, these alittle absurdist videos where I shine a massive lens on this series are kind of little demonstration pieces on how you can approach this series in a fresh and different way.
@@TheStorytellerAJ thank you for the reply, though i'd like to ask, have you seen my other comment i made on your video, where i explained about sonic's team original concept of sonic, how it's possibly handled to this day, and how we don't understand it due to multiple factors that i mentioned, i've seen that comment, tell me your thoughts about it in a reply
Holy shit. I got an add for a sonic crossover in a gacha when he was talking about the meta stuff😂
did you just Evangelion sonic?
I love all the Kanye sampling
HE COOKED!
Shadow isn't a machine. He's biological, just artificial.
I argue that sonic is defined by social factors.
Aaww Yeeaaah!
This is FINALLY happening! :D
I remember you telling about this idea in your update video.
how the fuck does shadow not know he's a machine like you'd think he'd realize it when he pisses oil
"you mean that's NOT normal??!?!?!?"
Shadow is an artificial life form,not quite a machine per se.
He bleeds blood,not oil,I thought that was obvious
I see Sonic as an Eco Anarchist
7:50 Okay bruh
Damn this video went hard
Oh look, it's that guy who unironically compared Sonic The Hedgehog to Paw Patrol the pre school franchise!😂😂😂
When did he say that???
When was this ever said?
man never forgot loool - I deffo did say that, but maybe watching the video will give more perspective on it.
@@TheStorytellerAJ I have that video saved on my own UA-cam channel, and I still hate that you compared Sonic to Paw Patrol. It's the equivalent of people comparing Sonic to Thomas The Tank Engine, another preschool franchise. What is this world coming to?💀
@@obd9660 You've been mad about this for like 5 years lol. It's really fascinating to see. I'll say this, and it's part of what motivates me to make these videos.
I like Sonic, his style and his games. I think people also take a lot of his stories a tad too seriously, doesn't mean I can't appreciate them, but he's never been the King of Storytelling, so it's hard for me to hold him to that standard. Always felt alittle absurd.
Part of what's appealling about making these absurd videos about Sonic's overarching themes is that I get to take Sonic seriously in my own way. And people hear and tell me how absurd my ideas are on the series (which I'm actually cool with and mostly agree with!) but in the process, either get people to look at the series from a different lens or.... just maybe get some people to lighten up on how they look at it
Idk I kinda like shadow because he directly asks those questions
2:40
True
Sonic and the black knight mentionnnnnn
It's kind of why I love Chrono Trigger, too (and despise the sequel). Also part of why TTGL grabbed me. Sometimes you have to tell the part of your mind that wants to go 'but what if it doesn't work/doesn't matter/isn't possible' to sit down and shut the f*k up. And I think a lot of why that part's so loud is manufactured to make us more pliable.
There are environmentalist messages in CT and Sonic both. And you can read them from leftist or environmentalist lenses. But a massive key component is 'someone should do something, and I'm someone'.
Sonic is Robinhood
"what is Sonic"
the answer: Sonic is cool
to define what Sonic is, we first need to define what "cool" is
Sonic is cool because he's Sonic.
Being himself, being confident about himself is what makes Sonic... Sonic The Hedgehog.
That's why when diferent midias just try to use Sonic as an shell to put any random empty/generic personality they created, are usually quite divisive in regards to the reception, especially from fans.
About Sonic being cool I had this thought. What is cool changes, so for Sonic,
any thing that ever was cool, is cool or will become cool, Sonic has tried it, or will try it at least once.
@@stitchfan_8290 basically this.. for example, people like to make fun of his edgy era now-a-days, but back then shadow with guns was considered cool.. so Sonic's identity changes with the times, as "cool" changes its meaning
That intro song is hard af. You got a link to it?
peak youtuber fr
Can u drop the playlist
You like to see it 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Though I don't necessarily disagree with this video at all, i feel it's important to mention that Sonic team has stated that they're trying to make Sonic a lot more coherent and uniform, at least for now Sonic's philosophy as a character seems like it's gonna be what was described in Sonic IDW issue 50, as it pertains to the game canon at least.
What is the name of the song used during the intro?
I want that song
I may be tripping but is that Kanye's Violent Crimes in the background!?
Bingo
it def was after hearing Everything I Am 😭
Ending song???
Fight the Feeling - Felly
thanks, auto-shazam
@@inazumarai7690 This outro seems like it's a remix of that shazam result. Now I need to know who remixed it, cause this one is so much better
Edit: Found it. Turns out, TheStoryteller has a soundcloud and reposted it. The music from his game is up there, too and it's🔥
When is your live and learn cover dropping?
10:03 wrd i used to run like Sonic not like Naruto lol
Sonic is like your typical shoenen character where he is defined by the friends he has. Basically Ichigo lol
Olá do brasil
First!
sonic is gay. what is sonic
Gay.
@@tempestpbkh it was a joke
@@chinorobua9596 No, yeah I know. You said what is sonic and I finished it for you. Sonic is gay. What is Sonic?
@@tempestpbkh oh sorry
@chinorobua9596 No, it's good. There is no need to apologise.
Man, you lost me at "progressive environmentalist".