Even then, the games are considered bad, so japanese won't care anyway.
Shadow does bug me though.
Nice review!
To win, you need to adapt, and to adapt, you need to be able to laugh away all the restraints. Everything holding you back.
I would have to disagree with this review quite a bit, though I think that my main issue is that it's meant to be comedy. Maybe I'm just not a humor person, but I really don't find the jokes to be funny. In addition, it seems as the characters are simply one-note individuals.
1. Sonic is extremely hard to place, since I find him to be just sort of... there. He's cocky, he's arrogant, he cares for his friends. Yup, nothing deeper than that. Why should I be watching him aga - Oh! Squirrel!
2. Tails is... the smart sidekick. His inventions backfire, he never remembers to fly (episode 1 could have been solved if he'd unbuckled his seatbelt and flown - or even just glided - away from the wreckage) and from what I've seen of episode 3, he's entirely too reliant on his plans actually working. He didn't even have a back-up plan for if he actually had to end up working for Eggman.
3. What can I say about Amy? Oh look, she's not chasing after Sonic! Ummm... yay? What really bother's me about her character is that she tends to play the mediator, and I don't think it's a role she's much suited for. Amy's always been energetic and passionate about things, not just Sonic.
4. I hate dumb Knuckles. Can I just say that? To me, Knuckles has never been the "brash loner" type. He always seemed to be the go-to guy for spiritual stuff; cautious in his approach to people, but a loyal friend when he opens up to you. And since his "American" portrayal seems to have comepletely eradicated all of that. I use "American" in quotation marks because I don't feel that this version captures what most Americans think of Knuckles.
5. Sticks is the opposite of everyone. And paranoid. I just don't find that funny.
6. I prefer my Eggmen as threatening but goofy, thank-you-very-much. Just plain goofy doesn't do it for me.
7. Cubot and Orbot... meh. They're just more Scratch-and-Grounder clones, and I haven't seen much of their personalities to make a decision. So, meh.
All that aside, I do happen to be the sort of person who prefers things to have a proper conflict, plot and world-building. So maybe this show just isn't for me. I simply wouldn't call it "The American Sonic" or say that it "gets Western Gags". Verbal comedy doesn't have to be dirty or punny to be funny.
As long as we're discussing the merits of the show's approach, I'll add my two cents.
The humor's kind of hit or miss. The Translating Buddy episode was hilarious. But there are things like Eggman's "evil ham" line and Amy's sidekick interview that feel random for the sake of being random, with no real thought behind the joke. To the show's advantage, the voice actors always deliever the material very well, even if the material itself is kind of weak.
A lot of Knuckles' lines are funny, but they take his stupidity to the point that it feels a little mean. It doesn't help that he's full of himself, and the combination of stupidity and arrogance kind of makes him look like a douche at times. I find Sticks funny, but I can see why others would dislike her. I've noticed that when she gets too much dialog, her voice grates on me. I don't have any particular problems with the other characters.
I've noticed that they haven't explained why Eggman is trying to take out Sonic. In the video games, most of Eggman's schemes don't revolve around Sonic, but on taking over the world or just gaining power. He plans for Sonic, but he usually doesn't devote his energy solely on getting rid of him. It's easy to assume that he's after Sonic just because Sonic's standing in the way of the usual villain motives, but it nags at me that they don't establish their conflict very clearly.
I was looking forward to the show, but I didn't really expect much of it. It didn't sound like they were going to be doing anything interesting with the characters. I hate the True Art Is Angsty mindset as much as anyone, but I can't deny that it's easier to have memorable plots and character development when there's some element of darkness to a work. Honestly, some of the backlash is probably because some fans are bitter that the saturday morning cartoon ended on a cliffhanger. Sonic has such a varied history, including the longest running licensed comic book in existence, that I can see why it's frustrating that the developers decided to go for a simple show instead of something that makes use of the various elements that have been introduced into the franchise over the years. What makes it worse is that the video games did a poor job of building up the world and the new supporting cast.
Meh, I'm enjoying the show overall, but I wouldn't be surprised if this franchise doesn't get further than one cartoon season. The video games flopped and CN seems to be doing all they can to kill it.
Leave a Comment:
By Us, For Us
A lot of people were complaining that Sonic Boom would be bad because it wasn't made for Japanese audiences. They clearly forgot what happened the last time that happened. The fact is that Western and Eastern senses of humour are completely different, as are their senses of what's okay (which is why we saw big chunks of Sonic X episodes cut down). Eastern gags are often visual, while Western humour in kids shows involves dirty wordplay, which translates horribly between the languages. "Now's your chance to get some". Then Amy's juggling balls while auditioning as Sonic's sidekick. Those aren't jokes you'd get from a Japanese-made show.
From the first episode I was pleased. The sense of humour is developed especially for us. This new, Western portrayal of Knuckles as big and dumb is deeply entertaining - and big and dumb is another Western thing. Amy has a personality that goes beyond chasing after Sonic. After all, Eastern schoolgirls with a crush go chasing after terrified guys. Western schoolgirls hide it and giggle a lot. And it really doesn't take that long to get used to the new character designs, because they picked the voices to suit them. Eggman has been stupidified back into a corny Saturday Morning villain whom we haven't seen since T Ao St H, while still having a plan every time. New character Sticks doesn't get in the way, but helps round out the group. Fortunately, the makers have understood who the heroes are, and Sonic and Tails have zero changes to their personality.
Additionally, though Shadow hasn't shown up yet, by watching cutscenes from the games it looks like he has been completely rewound to his original personality of "I am a loner asshole who thinks Sonic is a douche".
True, the episodes are only 10 minutes long, but since the series revolves entirely around humour it's probably better that way, hitting younger audiences with snappy humour.
You know what's annoying me? Penny Arcade thought this would be crap, with a comic showing Gabe shooting a Sonic Boom Sonic in the head. They had better apologise for that.