Recap / Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog S 01 E 64 Robo Ninjas

The sixty-fourth episode of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Robotnik captures a flute-playing ninja crane called Kwai Chang Crane and taps his martial arts knowledge with electrodes attached to his head, then transfers it to Scratch and Grounder.

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This episode provides examples of:

• Badass in Distress: Crane is captured by Robotnik, and Sonic, Tails, and Grasshopper, the last of whom is one of Crane's students, have to travel to Robotnik's lair to rescue him. Subverted at the end, where Crane releases himself from the Crane Brain Drainer when Sonic comes to rescue him. When Sonic asks Crane why he didn't escape sooner, Crane tells him that "An unexpected adventure often comes with soup or salad and a roll."
  Sonic: You could have gotten out of that thing any time?
  Crane: Certainly. The strength of one's muscles is not always measured with the tape measure of anger.
  Sonic: I've always said that.
• Big Damn Heroes: Sonic tells Tails and Grasshopper to stay behind while he rescues Crane, not wanting to put them in danger. When Sonic is surrounded by the Robo-Ninjas, he says, "Maybe I should have let Tails and Grasshopper come along after all." Cue Tails and Grasshopper coming to the rescue.
  Sonic: I love it when that happens.
• Broken Aesop: This episode's "Sonic Says" segment has Sonic give a message about not playing in the street as he stands in the middle of the street.
• Conservation of Ninjutsu: The two robo ninjas are more than Sonic can handle, but making more robo ninjas dilutes the competence of them so much Sonic can near effortlessly defeat them.
• Circling Birdies: Stars spin around Coconuts' head when he falls over attempting a ninja move.
• The Door Slams You: When Tails comes to Robotnik's fortress to help Sonic defeat the Robo-Ninjas, he kicks the door at the third and fifth ones, causing them to be Squashed Flat by it when it hits a wall.
• "Eureka!" Moment: After Sonic and Tails defeat Scratch and Grounder as the Robo-Ninjas a second time, Grounder suggests that they tap Crane's knowledge one last time, as they must be like an army to defeat Sonic. This gives Robotnik the idea to build an army of Robo-Ninjas.
• Finger in a Barrel: After Crane releases himself from the Crane Brain Drainer near the end of the episode, Grounder fires a laser at him. Crane puts his right index finger in the barrel of Grounder's laser, resulting in the laser exploding.
  Crane: Now is time for the important question; will my finger explode, or will your laser? (Grounder's laser explodes.) Some questions have simple answers.
• Gesundheit: Robotnik says this to Coconuts when the latter says "Ninja, ninja, ninja!"
• Go-Karting with Bowser: This episode's "Sonic Says" segment has Tails play a game of kickball with Scratch and Grounder.
• Hidden Depths: When Robotnik asks Coconuts how he knows so much about ninjas, Coconuts tells him that he watches a lot of Chop Socky movies on TV.
• High-Voltage Death: This happens to the first Robo-Ninja when Sonic tricks him into hitting a fusebox with his sword.
  Sonic: Didn't your mother ever tell you not to play with sharp objects?
  (The Robo-Ninja hits the fusebox, gets electrocuted, and explodes.)
  Sonic: See? You should have listened to your mother!
• Hoist by His Own Petard:
  • Early in this episode, Scratch and Grounder attempt to trap Sonic with a chili dog stand under construction, so that they can have the stand collapse on top of Sonic when Scratch pulls the rope attached to it. Unfortunately for them, Sonic becomes aware of the trap and prevents the stand from collapsing. After Sonic and Tails leave, Scratch looks over the trap to see what went wrong, then Grounder pulls the rope, causing the stand to collapse on Scratch.
  • The sixth Robo-Ninja tosses ninja stars at Sonic. Sonic spins, deflecting the ninja stars and sending them back to him, destroying them as a result.
  • The titular robo ninjas had sonic outmatched. Then Grounder suggests Robotnik make an army of ninjas, causing them all to become useless.
• I Lied: This exchange between Robotnik and Coconuts after Sonic and Tails defeat Scratch and Grounder as Robo-Ninjas a second time:
  Robotnik: Don't bother me now, Coconuts! I will turn you into a Robo-Ninja next time.
  Coconuts: Promise promise promise?
  Robotnik: A Robotnik never lies!... usually. Well, I'm not lying this time! Okay, so I'm lying. What of it?
• I Want My Mommy!: This exchange occurs near the end of the episode when Crane destroy's Grounder's laser.
  Grounder: (crying) Mama!
  Scratch: D'oh, you don't have a mama, stupid!
  Grounder: (crying) But I want a mama!
• Ice-Cream Koan: Crane perpetually rides the line on this. Some of his statements are alarmingly sensible:
  "Surprises along the path of life are like dirty socks in the laundry of barefoot cousins."
• Iris Out: This episode ends with one on Crane's hat as it floats in mid-air after Sonic snatches it from Crane's head and runs away.
• Near-Villain Victory: The Robo-Ninjas came close to killing Sonic and managed to capture and outfight him until the end.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Sonic tries to trick Scratch and Grounder by disguising himself as a ticket vendor for a robot beauty contest. To Sonic's alarm, sufficient doses of downloaded ninjitsu allow the robots to see through his disguises. When Scratch and Grounder get their stupidity back, Sonic is able to fool them with these disguises again.
• A Rare Sentence: This line from Sonic after Scratch captures Tails:
  Sonic: Grounder keeps me busy and you grab the kid! Nice move, Scratch! I never thought I'd say that.
• Rhymes on a Dime: Robotnik's machine that transfers Crane's ninja knowledge to Scratch and Grounder is called the Crane Brain Drainer.
• Rule of Three: Robotnik taps Crane's knowledge three times. The first time, to turn Scratch and Grounder into Robo-Ninjas, the second time to improve their ninja skills, and the third time to create an army of Robo-Ninjas.
• Squashed Flat:
  • This happens to the third and fifth Robo-Ninjas when Tails kicks a fallen door at them.
  • In this episode's "Sonic Says" segment, this happens to Scratch and Grounder when they get run over by a truck while playing a game of kickball with Tails.
  Sonic: Looks like these dumbots were flat out wrong about going in the street!
• Stock Sound Effects: When Coconuts types on Robotnik's computer, two sound effects from Super Mario Bros. are used. Ironic considering that Sega and Nintendo were bitter rivals at the time of this episode's broadcast.
• Tail Slap: Tails does this to Scratch after Scratch grabs him to escape from him.
• There Was a Door: Near the end of the episode, when Sonic comes to Robotnik's fortress to rescue Crane, the army of Robo Ninjas destroy the capsules they're in, which infuriates Robotnik.
  Robotnik: Use the doors! Use the doors!
• Trash the Set: At the end of this episode, Robotnik's main base and home inexplicably collapses and explodes, and does not appear anymore in the remaining two episodes.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: After Sonic, Tails, Crane, and Grasshopper defeat Robotnik's army of Robo-Ninjas, Robotnik escapes from his fortress in his Egg-O-Matic hovercraft, leaving Scratch and Grounder behind. The two robots follow behind him, not wanting to stay in the fortress as it collapses.