[dsrb]

Wait, yeah – maybe the finger/hand-waving was just a reference to GIANT SPORTS (albeit not sex) HAND.

[Jayextee]

dsrb, on 30 July 2012 - 08:47 AM, said:

GIANT SPORTS HAND.

SONIC'S NUM-BURRR ONE! SONIC'S NUM-BURRR ONE! Et cetera.

Could be another misguided appropriation of Western Culture™ as seen from the East -- usually crassly filtered by television. Sporting events (which the States are so fond of) could've informed this.

[Caniad Bach]

I think the whole "I'm number 1" thing could have some truth to it, a sort of "fuck you Mario" thing.

[Skyler]

...I can't believe you people are having a serious discussion about this.

[Caniad Bach]

Surely discussing a design decision that remains an integral and defining part of Sonic's character is better than asking what '06 would have been like if it had been "finished", or discussing the possibility of Sonic Adventure 3.

[Jayextee]

Besides which, eyelids and shoes have been done to death.

I think it was an innocent enough question to begin with. But all we can do is speculate until we get proof, or discuss. And the be honest, discussion was going rather well for an average Retro thread.

[Thousand Pancake]

Jayextee, on 30 July 2012 - 09:27 AM, said:

Besides which, eyelids and shoes have been done to death.

I think it was an innocent enough question to begin with. But all we can do is speculate until we get proof, or discuss. And the be honest, discussion was going rather well for an average Retro thread.

It's not like there's much else Sonic-related to talk about right now.

[The Growler]

Thousand Pancake, on 30 July 2012 - 10:08 AM, said:

Jayextee, on 30 July 2012 - 09:27 AM, said:

Besides which, eyelids and shoes have been done to death.

I think it was an innocent enough question to begin with. But all we can do is speculate until we get proof, or discuss. And the be honest, discussion was going rather well for an average Retro thread.

It's not like there's much else Sonic-related to talk about right now.

We could always create a thread about Sonic's nose next... *is shot*

[riomhaire]

I've always taken it to be a kind of "tsk tsk, you can't catch me" gesture. It's the "no, you should know better" gesture and in this case I think he's saying anyone is silly for thinking they can keep up with him.

[JaredAFX]

The Growler, on 30 July 2012 - 05:04 PM, said:

We could always create a thread about Sonic's nose next... *is shot*

Oh, the humanity!

On a more serious note, I've never really bothered to question his finger wave. If I had to, I'd guess it's just part of his "attitude". I quoted that because it's really only in the TV shows that Sonic's ever impatient (Well, except for the idle animations, but that's usually only in 2D games. I know in Generations, Modern Sonic would start sleeping a la Mario 64.)

[BystanderLC]

The Growler, on 30 July 2012 - 05:04 PM, said:

Thousand Pancake, on 30 July 2012 - 10:08 AM, said:

Jayextee, on 30 July 2012 - 09:27 AM, said:

Besides which, eyelids and shoes have been done to death.

I think it was an innocent enough question to begin with. But all we can do is speculate until we get proof, or discuss. And the be honest, discussion was going rather well for an average Retro thread.

It's not like there's much else Sonic-related to talk about right now.

We could always create a thread about Sonic's nose next... *is shot*

I honestly would rant about Sonic's mouth not being centered. *shot*

[Jayextee]

Spoke too soon, this party got nasty real quick. Stop it.

Most of Sonic's elements were from US culture, as Sega were trying to 'break' the West with Sonic's inception (look at an early design which is a clear Bart Simpson rip off for example) -- the nose (as mentioned) and the gloves were Mickey Mouse. The general construction and mannerisms are based on Felix the Cat and then some.

Here, have that same old video I like to link:


See rolling and loop-running (kinda) there? Sonic's waving finger came from somewhere also, and we have a whole bunch of places it may be. Could be, Ohshima saw them all and interpreted it as a 'cool' thing that Westerners did.

At the risk of a suspension for backseat-modding, quit it with the bullshit you guys.

[SpeedStarTMQ]

I agree, the pretending being shot quip isn't funny and doesn't detract from the fact you're essentially mentioning banned jokes of features of Sonic's body.

I've gotta say, I didn't really think we could make a topic out of this myself, but I'm surprised by the debate here. I always clearly thought that it was just "uhuhuh, I'm cool and no one can mess with me", but some of you clearly think different, which is cool I guess. It would be interesting to know who thought of the finger (or hand- there's not really any cultural distinction) wagging because the concept art didn't have this feature and by release it was clearly one of Sonic's trademarks.

This post has been edited by SpeedStarTMQ: 31 July 2012 - 06:10 AM

[KeathalKrisom]

Spark of attitude, "I'm number 1" or he's expressing a tut/tsk. - Like when he taps his foot on the ground showing he's impatient, telling you that he wants you to hurry up.

This post has been edited by KeathalKrisom: 09 August 2012 - 09:39 AM

[BystanderLC]

I don't know if it's been mentioned already or worth mentioning, but you know, he could be holding up one finger to denote it's the first instance of his game. I remember Sonic Advance 3's title art where he's holding three fingers.

You know, Paper Mario also had this signature pose at the end of his battles on the N64. He wagged his finger too.