Sonic Prime

So my experience of Sonic is having been a fan since the first games, both 90s series (SatAM and that... not so good one), Sonic Underground, Sonic X, the anime movie, Sonic Boom, the comics and of course all the games... You get the point- I'm an absolute nerd but I know Sonic 😆😆 What I love about this new series is you can absolutely tell this was made by other Sonic fans! I've wanted something exactly like this since the SatAM series that abruptly ended and most of us never got over lol.

The voices are slightly jarring, but only because of what we've been used to. I find them fitting and actually love the new energy they bring.

Given I'm in my 30s I probably shouldn't comment on the humor of a show for kids with a Y7 rating lol. But there's enough for the adults to be amused and entertained.

This long time Sonic fan is presently surprised.

In the lush green area of Green Hill, Sonic the Hedgehog (Deven Mack) along with his friends Miles "Tails" Prower (Ashleigh Ball) a two tailed technically proficient fox, Knuckles the Echnida (Adam Nurada), pink hedgehog Amy Rose (Shannon Chan-Kent), and Rouge the Bat (Kazumi Evans) have seemingly foiled another one of Dr. Eggman's (Brian Drummond) plans only for it to have been a trick to help open the path to Eggman's true goal the Paradox Prism. During a battle with Eggmam, Sonic inadvertently strikes the prism and winds up in a dystopian world where Dr. Eggman along with his Chaos Council rule over the industrialized autocratic New Yolk City which is an alternate Green Hill. Now with alternate versions of his friends Sonic must face new threats in an attempt to return home.

Sonic Prime is the sixth animated series featuring Sega's anthropomorphic blue Hedgehog following previous versions such as the three DIC produced series from the 90s Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (aka Sonic SatAM), and Sonic Undergorund, as well as the TMS produced anime series Sonic X and the CGI series Sonic Boom. Produced as a co-production between the United States, Canada, and Japan (hence why Colleen O'Shaunghnessey doesn't reprise her role as Tails from the video games due to Canadian content and union laws) the series was made for streaming service Netflix with a planned total episode count of 24 episodes covering the story. The series is written by noted writing collective Man of Action with creative consulting from Ian Flynn who has penned a number of Sonic comics for Archie, Boom, and IDW. Now with the first 8 episode season dropping on Netflix, I'm pleased to say this will be a welcome treat for fans of this franchise.

For the most part the series is arranged in such a way that pretty much anyone can enjoy this show even if they've not played a Sonic game or read a Sonic comic, but the show does expect its audience to be at least somewhat familiar with these characters (for example Shadow the Hedgehog is a recurring character and the show doesn't do the best job of re-introducing him but it's not a major hurdle). Once the show kicks off with its premise Sonic is the pretty much the only constant in the series as the rest of the cast are given alternate versions of themselves that contrast with how the audience knows them. For the most part I thought Deven Mack does a decent job as Sonic and he manages to convey the titular blue hedgehog's personality quite effectively with his voice over performance and he makes a good proxy for which the uniqueness of the other worlds to bounce off against. The show also delivers some enjoyable dimension hopping shenanigans with the novelty of seeing different worlds and different takes on established characters such as a battle hardened version of Tails named Nine or pirate or caveman like versions of the rest of Sonic's friend lending themselves to some unique setpieces with Shannon Chan-Kent as Amy Rose and her various incarnations a lot of fun playing the various versions of the character including the secondary antagonist Rusty Rose. The action is very on point for the series with the show delivering some unique and inventive fight sequences tailored to the various environments although on occasion the action beats can maybe last a bit too long at the expense of building character.

I think people will be really pleased with Sonic Prime as an entry in the franchise and if you enjoyed Sonic SatAM or the idea and marketing of Sonic Forces (that was a pretty big lie) you'll definitely get what you're looking for here.

Sonic Prime is a new show that is exclusive to Netflix, and it takes Sega's mascot in a whole new direction. As Sonic and his friends (Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge) get in a battle with Dr. Eggman over the Paradox Prism, a jewel that can reshape the world of Green Hill to the evil doctor's liking, Sonic ends up shattering the prism as Eggman is about to rip it out of the ground. This results in Sonic being flung into the Shatterverse, a multiverse where he sees worlds with different versions of his friends, and even Eggman himself. Now he must travel between these worlds to find the shards of the Paradox Prism in order to get back to his own universe.

This series is a good one. With the voices, everyone has new VAs (due to this being made by WildBrain, a company in Canada, so because of that, the cast is mostly Canadian. Deven Mack takes over as Sonic, and I like him, as he actually channels the energy Ben Schwartz had for the movie version of the heroic hedgehog. In fact, all the actors do a good job doing their roles (which includes Ashleigh Bell as Tails, Shannon Chan-Kent as Amy, Kazumi Evans as Rouge, and even Brian Drummond as Dr. Egmman), with the only I am not liking being Normal Universe Knuckles, as they made him sound like a stereotypical strong man and his character all about smashing things (and not worrying about the Master Emerald, making me wonder why Sega keeps doing the rad red echidna powerhouse so horribly). At least his counterparts are better (as they get a different VA in Vincent Tong).

The series is great as it has a storyline going through each episode. While there only three alternate worlds at the time of this review (hopefully, the second and third seasons will add new worlds), it invents new takes on Sonic's friends (like Amy Rose as a robot named Rusty Rose, and Knuckles as a pirate captain named Knuckles The Dread), and the series is full of references to the games.

TL:DR - Sonic Prime is a great show for fans, kids, and non-fans. It takes its time to introduce us to all characters without needing a prior experience.

Sonic the Hedgehog has a few TV shows, and each has its charm. However, this one is right now the best for me!

The animation is fluid, lovely, lively, wacky, and wholesome on all levels. I've found only a few instances where it maybe looked a bit strange. Basically small nitpicks.

Models for characters or environment are really nice and detailed. Sonic and his friends aren't much different from their game counterparts. But their alternative-selves, that's when the fun begins. Each has a distinct clothes and personality quirks. They are both similar and different from the ones we know.

Voice acting is spot-on. Every person sounds in character, full of emotions and believable. It may only take a while to get used to, but I don't mind.

The weakest spot is the music. There is some background one, but nothing that would be as memorable or catchy like Sonic X or SatAm Sonic intro. Which is a shame, but nothing that would ruin the experience. The theme is also only a few seconds long.

Action scenes are really fun to watch and none felt like recycled assets from the previous ones. The creators had fun with this one, as some has creative "battle moves" and flow. They weren't kidding about the Marvel-Movie-like action sequences :-D Some looks really epic.

The story is simple in its outline, but I feel it's more complex than it shows in the first 8 episodes. And for a kids' show, it has some dark implications and "side-notes". We visit three alternative worlds where the Dystopia works as a hub, and we will cover the most through the whole series for sure. Jungle and Pirate world get 2 episodes each, which is a good length.

There was enough time to get introduced to old-new characters, get the gist of their world, and to get a "complete" mini-story arc with a satisfying pay-off. Each universe had a focus on a different character, but the others got their spotlight too. I don't doubt we will revisit both worlds in the next episodes. But I also hope we will get one or two new ones for the later parts.

While I may be 30+ I find the humor chuckle-worth most of the time. At worst, I smiled. Sonic is a loveable goof, but can be serious when realizing the situations requires it.

Now to characters themselves. Sonic has flaws, visible ones. That makes him a lot different from Game Sonic or Sonic X, where it was more like "kinda a perfect hog changing others" than a real person learning from his mistakes and realizing his short-sight.

Here, Sonic is influencing others, but also learning from the same people. It's a growth on both sides. This is like with Movie Sonic, who is moving from a carefree kid to a more mature and wiser young-teen across two movies.

The other Prime character is Shadow. He is more mature and like an older-brother to Sonic in this version. This is visible in his first fight with Sonic, when he is visibly less aggressive and tries to reason with Sonic. Albeit he still uses force to do so which backfires. Both needs to learn to speak without spin dashing XD I eagerly await his role in the next episodes as he will lend Sonic his hand (once they can stop punching each other XD).

Some people mentioned jumping a bit back and forth to Sonic's memories is confusing if binge-watching. I do not see it that way. I'm glad they did it, as it allows for the pace to change without it feeling sluggish or weird. Not to mention, we get to see POV's of others and how or why they were there meeting with Sonic.

The pixel-art memories are a cute detail.

This show is pretty much all I've ever asked for from the Sonic franchise. Faithful to the original material while still creating its own separate story? Check. Story is actually enjoyable and not insufferable and cringe trash? Check check. The Sonic characters have actual diverse personalities and are fun to watch? We got that too. Fun and bouncy animation that emphasizes the characters' personalities? Ya gotta love it.

Sonic Team, I want you guys to take notes. THIS is how you make the Sonic franchise fun. Seriously, if this came out when I was a kid who was crazy about Sonic, I would've ADORED it. You can obviously tell that the creators actually cared about the franchise, and they cared about making a good show. That's something that has seriously been overdue for Sonic.