In fairness, the competition isn't exactly fierce. Sonic's never been known for cutting-edge cartoons. I prefer the OVA but even that is only 2 episodes long, and doesn't have animation as good as Prime.
Exactly. This is why Batman: The Animated Series is an odd comparison to make. Yeah, they're both aimed at 'children', but clearly not the same exact age-bracket. My 4 year old nephew would love this. Though it's pretty clear where the show is going and what it's really about: this show's shitty version of Sonic learning to be less shitty. Extremely-telegraphed stuff.
So has everyone just developed a seething hatred for Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) or something? Last I checked, that was the best cartoon. Yes, it's not game-lore accurate, but it wasn't trying to be in the first place, and it still got the basic formula of Sonic down pat with Sonic and Robotnik striving to defeat the other. Apparently, the target audience is 6 to 11 year olds. So it's the same target demographic as Batman the Animated Series. Considering you think it's for kids still watching Sesame Street and Doc McStuffins, it tells me the quality of the writing... And this is the same version of Sonic as from the games, so...
That's fine on paper, but in reality "6 to 11" is a range, and some things in execution can skew closer to one end or the other. In the case of Sonic Prime and Batman: The Animated Series, it's pretty clear from watching them both which ends they skew towards (spoiler: not the same one). I can tell you that I'd have found this shit way more cheesy and lame as an 11 year old than I would have as a 6 year old. Either way, this is indeed made for kids, and not superfan lorebeasts like those of us posting on this message board. That's not an excuse for low-quality writing, because, again, there's a pretty clear narrative through-line they're going for, and it's being done perfectly adequately. Speaking as a superfan lorebeast myself, seeing Omega, or Blaze, or Silver, or whoever else would be cool, but their absence isn't sabotaging or kneecapping the story that is clearly being told here. I know it keeps you up at night, but this can be and is true regardless of how in-congruent the finer details are to game lore (despite the PR speak). You should check out the Sonic OVA some time. Great stuff.
Which is what annoys me. This could be something fantastic, but we're getting... this. And everyone's defending it because 'it's for kids'. I dunno, I guess it's a combination of Batman: The Animated Series and Sonic the Comic, where we had darker plots but it was still directed towards kids ranged 7-11 and is making me think Sonic Prime could be so much more than a bog-standard adventure formula series. Anyone remember that time they killed Tails? Spoiler Good times. Oh, I love Sonic the Hedgehog (OVA), I actually burned out a DVD from watching it too much (which is fitting, I also burned out a Mega Drive playing the classic games too much as a kid), but I don't think it's the best cartoon: it comes second to Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) to me, though really only because it was basically a pilot that didn't expand into a series (though I recall some discussion long, long ago about how it potentially led to Sonic X and I kind of lowkey headcanon that Sonic's World is Planet Freedom as a result). Had it become a series, kept the tone and done some overarching plots, I definitely would consider it the best Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon. Still, people declaring it Sonic's best cartoon just baffles me... Nah, that's not what keeps me up: my insomnia and existential dread do that fine
SATAM's animation is extremely cheap, the show lives or dies on how you feel about its writing, which didn't kick into high gear until Season 2. And while this isn't its fault, the fact that it never actually concluded really hurts a show thats dependent on its writing. That's not to say SATAM is bad, nor that Prime is amazing. Both are like a 6 or 7 out of 10 to me. Sonic cartoons are all about putting up with serious flaws because you enjoy watching the blue blur and his friends. I think people calling Prime the best just enjoy having a well-animated show that sticks to the games the most out of the previous contenders.
The OVA reigns supreme in my opinion. Though I don’t recall enough of SatAm to definitively say it’s worse than the OVA without simply relying on the fact that I have always liked the Japanese interpretations of Sonic better. SatAm was on Netflix in some regions, right? I know we have X but I’ll check if it’s available here to give it a whirl.
You folks comparing a 2022 show to 90s shows helps nothing. Values changed these last 20/30 years regarding age ratings and people deem appropriate to kids. Sonic Prime is only one of many "kids show" that got sanitized to current standards, that's all.
I don't think its that, kids shows with real depth has always been a rarity. It's not like every 90s cartoon was like BTAS, it was a minority. Even SATAM co-existed with the total joke that is AOSTH. Edit: I do wonder if maybe the very nature of Netflix streaming is causing the show's creators to be hesitant about doing a plot-heavy cartoon. That tweet someone posted by the animators made it seem like there's insecurity about the show's future. In that case, it's understandable why they'd go for comedy instead of potentially having a SATAM 2.0. It does seem like animation specifically is a pretty volatile industry when it comes to streaming (see the rash of WB cancelling cartoons)
Sonic Prime is not going to win any awards for its writing, but its the only Sonic show to date that actually understands that these characters are meant for movement and action. Every other Sonic show is cheaply animated due to a budget that none of them ever took advantage of any of their design quirks. So all you had to fall back on was the writing...and outside of fringe moments here and there, there's not a single Sonic show I would say has wholly good writing. Is saying Prime the best Sonic show just for its animation a low bar? Yes, but that's not a bad thing either? Feel like some of the standards here for Sonic are a little too high. Its one thing if we're dealing with game design, but the writing surrounding Sonic has never gone beyond "decent". And comparing it with Batmab TAS is ignoring a lot of the context. Batman was a very deliberate attempt at breaking away from the more campy Silver Age version of the character and it was the exception of children's programming at the time, not the rule. Someone of you are acting like TAS was the only children's cartoon being showed in the 90's. As mentioned, even SATAM had AOSTH as a contrast to it.
The OVA reigns supreme in my opinion. Though I don’t recall enough of SatAm to definitively say it’s worse than the OVA without simply relying on the fact that I have always liked the Japanese interpretations of Sonic better. SatAm was on Netflix in some regions, right? I know we have X but I’ll check if it’s available here to give it a whirl.
I feel like you're ignoring that I also used Steven Universe as another example of how children's shows can be better written. Also see: Gravity Falls, The Owl House, Amphibia, Gargoyles, Ducktales, I can keep going if you want, I just thought people would see the examples provided and be able to pull from similar examples... It is, since it's basically saying "the writing and plot is irrelevant, so long as the characters look good!" What's so wrong with wanting both? Sorry for wanting a franchise I love to be better. See, the difference is we're dealing with a cartoon show, where plot is more important and the development team don't need to worry about gameplay primarily. The fact people are dismissing it as "well the writing in the franchise never went beyond decent anyway, so why should they be bothered trying now?" baffles me, since that kind of logic is going to lead to another Sonic Forces. I'd rather we see the writing improve rather than just be another "eh" entry and eventually see it fall to new lows. I'm not, it's just the best example of what I'd consider a good standard, and evidence kids can enjoy things beyond "look at the shinyshiny", since that show led to the DCAU, with Batman of the Future, Justice League, and so on. A show for the same age range lead to this:
Yeah, we could be getting something fantastic for 11 year olds, but instead we're getting something fantastic for 6 year olds. It's not the end of the world.
Animated shows for kids didn't get dumber in those 20 years. They've actually improved immensely since production has shifted away from being strictly to promote a toy line. Blackhole already listed several examples and together we can conjur up a larger selection. This statement just comes off as completely disingenuous and just throwing the rest of the industry to excuse this one mediocre show.
Except it's not even fantastic for 6 year olds. It's just a by the numbers adventure so by the numbers, it's practically married into the numbers family.
There's nothing wrong with wanting better for a franchise you like. I've just never particularly prioritized the series' writing as much as most of the fanbase because its never been particularly stand out to me. Like I said, the comparison to Batman is ignoring a lot of context. That creators of that show were specifically out to create something that stood out from anything else at the time. Not that Sonic can't do that, but its obvious that isn't what the creators of this show intended. Its fine if you think the show should have been more ambitious but its also not the end of the world if it isn't either. Its fine for things to just be decent, and its not a sin if it is. And I say this who's way more critical about the games settling for decent myself.
On one hand, a by-the-numbers adventure sounds pretty fantastic for a 6 year old (though I'd have to talk with some 6 year olds to know for sure) so I hesitate to agree. On the other hand, fair enough, I wouldn't really call this fantastic by any metric, only extremely-adequate; par the course; will probably handily accomplish its very milquetoast narrative goals. The Sonic Forces of Sonic cartoons.
You didn't enjoy the pirate theme episodes where they cram every single pirate pun and reference imaginable set in a featureless flat world? You're missing out on peak Sonic the Hedgehog my friend. Anywho, there's nothing left for me to say until the rest of the show releases. It's just annoying that people seem to be fully willing to dig a hole in order to move the bar even lower for the sake of this show. Western Animated shows struggle to break the "strictly for kids" label and efforts like this aren't helping change anyone's minds. The production values are clearly their for it to be far better than what we received.
Indeed, it's fair if it's decent, but unfortunately it's not even really that. It's also the premise held so much potential that's being completely missed. But alas, it's what we have now. Well at least it's not the Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoons...
Unfortunately, the creators aren't Sonic nerds like us who spend almost all of their free time studying every single bit of obscure Sonic lore One day, one of us will be running the asylum and you can inject every fan theory you ever had into the product.
