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Sonic Prime (Netflix Animated Series)

Discussion in 'General Sonic Discussion' started by The Joebro64, Dec 10, 2020.

  1. Crimson Neo

    Crimson Neo

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    Oh, huh... I totally forgot to post this here:


    I really liked Shadow's voice here. It's very good.
     
  2. Yeah, he sounds quite good.
     
  3. AstroSeedP

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  4. Crimson Neo

    Crimson Neo

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    Literally the whole episode.
     
  5. BlackHole

    BlackHole

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    If the writers go about this smartly, they'll have Shadow seeking out the Chaos Emeralds while Sonic seeks out the Prism Shards.
     
  6. Sneasy

    Sneasy

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    Why? The Chaos Emeralds have been a non-entity and redundant with the Prism Shards. The green one falling into the Void is important for when that comes into play, but I personally don't see the point in having two functionally identical fetch quests at the same time.

    Anyway, Sonic gets his ass beat a lot in this show lol
     
  7. BlackHole

    BlackHole

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    Because now, Shadow's antagonistic story has been stopped dead: the devices don't work for him, so he can't go get the shards nor play a rival role in fighting Sonic every time he comes out of a Shatterspace for them.

    He's now either got to basically sit around waiting for Sonic to pass him the shards and play errand boy by taking them to that Echoing World (not sure what it's called), or stay put there and watch Sonic do the important work.

    At least if he's going for the Chaos Emeralds, which have proven useful time and time again and I very much doubt Super Sonic would be useless in dealing with the Chaos Council, he's doing something that actually contributes to the resolution instead of sitting pretty.
     
  8. Sneasy

    Sneasy

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    Giving Shadow a random quest so he can Do Things that aren't actually important would distract from the plot.

    As an element, the Chaos Emeralds (sorry, Emerald, singular) have no purpose besides giving Shadow Chaos Control. Introducing them now is far too late, and while things aren't ideal for Sonic and co. right now, it's nowhere near dire to require the "make Sonic completely invincible" plot coupons.

    And if Shadow is meant to collect them, then they have to be in the
    intentionally drab, boring, and empty Shatterspace with no characters to interact with or oppose him. Is the story supposed to cut from Sonic dealing with the actual plot, characters, and settings so we can see Shadow effortlessly get the Chaos Emeralds seven times in a row?

    Shadow contributed to the resolution by properly asserting the stakes and rules of the plot. Without him, Sonic would be pinballing across realms, believing that he can still get home. Now Sonic has a concrete goal and can make decisions that drive the plot himself. It's fine that Shadow is out of the picture now. This is Sonic Prime, not Shadow Prime!
     
  9. RDNexus

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    While I understand you, the issue here is (again) being "Sonic the Show".
    The plot doesn't have to gravitate ONLY around Sonic, other characters could also do stuff and play relevant roles in the overall plot, Shadow included.
    SEGA keeps doing what I deem a mistake, create and introduce characters time and again only for Sonic to get all of the spotlight.
     
  10. Sneasy

    Sneasy

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    For a video game, sure, yeah, but for a serialized TV show, you don't have that sort of liberty or time to bounce around all the characters to have them Do Things. We have a cast of effectively 22 characters (Sonic, Shadow, three versions of Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, and Big, and five Eggman counterparts); trying to balance them all so they can Do Things and Be Important drags down the story. There is literally no problem in the protagonist being the most important person in their show.

    But even saying that, the show already did a pretty good job in giving other characters a spotlight anyway. That's the point of the first season. Put Sonic in a new world, establish the status quo, have him influence and change it, fulfill a major character's arc, leave. With the plot properly in motion, now they can do important things. They can help Sonic or oppose him or assert their own stake in the plot. Plot plot plot

    But hoisting a pointless fetch quest (in a show that is already built around a fetch quest) on Shadow just so we can be reminded that he is indeed Doing Things is not economic. I doubt the story will be as simple as Sonic getting all the shards and everything is fixed forever.
     
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  11. Crimson Neo

    Crimson Neo

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    Watched the episode. Shadow is well-written, I approve that.
     
  12. RDNexus

    RDNexus

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    @Sneekie, you're seeing it the way SEGA wants you to. Let me rephrase my mindset, might help you a little.

    You got TONS of characters, right. But of all of them, how many are the original ones? ONLY Sonic & Shadow!
    This way they can work around their own characters without risk of harming them in the long run and make Sonic hog all of the relevant spotlight.
    The whole multiverse dynamic isn't being misused, as far as I know. But it also only works within its own bubble.

    Each new character has a bit of spotlight, you say? Nice, but how much all of it may benefit the franchise in the long run? Surely nothing, and that's my peeve.
    If SEGA wants a new animated series to be, at least let it contribute something worthwhile to the franchise in the long run.
    Don't simply feed a basic plot that works within itself and when done and over it's simply dumped into oblivion, like with many others before.
     
  13. Sneasy

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    It's really funny how much you're pushing "Sega wrote Sonic Prime to be about Sonic" like it's a sinister conspiracy you discovered and not... the premise. I might sound smarmy, but I don't know what else to say to that. Yes. They wrote a story where Sonic is important in Sonic Prime. That's how... writing works.

    Why does it have to "benefit the franchise in the long run"? What does that even mean? Did Sega ever put a notice saying that "Sonic Prime is the new era of Sonic"? I don't remember that. I genuinely do not understand what you're talking about.

    Sonic Prime exists as another medium for fans to enjoy and for people to jump into Sonic. That's why it has a self-contained story. Because it's an entry point to the franchise. It benefits the franchise because the kids who watch this on Netflix may become Sonic fans and buy the next game and have a good time. It benefits the franchise because it gives Sonic creators another medium to make Sonic stories from.

    And even if Sonic Prime is supposed to "benefit the franchise in the long run", how is killing the story's plot and pacing so literally every single character can get their own special backstory and detailed character arc and is on-screen for every single frame going to be the solution?
     
  14. Chimpo

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    Do you want them to walk away emotionally scarred, a broken arm or something? The focus of the show should be the story it wants to tell in the time that they have. I have no idea what you're even looking for to develop from this long term that would be beneficial in future stories moving forward. You're trying to enforce TV writers to think about implications (whatever those are) for future cross media installments that they have no control over.
     
  15. BlackHole

    BlackHole

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    Yeah, it's nowhere dire now, but the situation can escalate. The situation wasn't dire for them to collect the Chaos Emeralds in Sonic Heroes, but they did anyway because it's always good to have invulnerability to hand when it is.

    You introduce threats into the void between then: the Chaos Council is aware of the Shatter Spaces now, would they not have a vested interest in seven gems of mythical powers? Could you not see Shadow fighting 'shadows', reflections without a Shatter Space to call home?

    But it's clear I have a very different idea on what I find enjoyable.
     
  16. I think wanting other characters besides Sonic to get focus isn't wrong.
     
  17. Chimpo

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    The released episodes so far have been about Sonic interacting and learning about other characters, their motivations and worlds. A good chunk of the focus and development are characters that aren't Sonic.
     
  18. Sneasy

    Sneasy

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    Sure it can escalate but frankly, it's not interesting for the characters to lack any and all faith in their own abilities and start looking for Emeralds the first sign of trouble.

    Frontiers had the Emeralds going to Starfall Islands as the inciting incident, had the voice tell him to get the Emeralds, and had Sonic get his shit wrecked by Giganto before he went "okay, I need the Emeralds". Nothing about the story right now needs the Emeralds.

    The Chaos Council is already searching for the Prism Shards. What's the point of throwing in more gems? To have two entirely different sets of powers that do drastically different things but ultimately amount to fetch quests.

    I don't see Shadow fighting "shadows", no. I wouldn't love it if the writers just made up a random enemy for the sake of putting Shadow in pointless action scenes in his own pointless fetch quest for the plot-irrelevant plot coupons.

    Right?
     
  19. BlackHole

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    I mean, what kind of trouble would you say warrants it? The Universe shattering to pieces would kinda edge onto "get the Chaos Emeralds" territory for me, personally.

    To have super form on standby, and make sure the Chaos Council doesn't stumble upon one and make the current situation worse.

    As opposed to random trope worlds with no actual rhyme nor reason, and at least Shadow would seem like he's doing something, not literally sitting around looking pretty while Sonic does everything now. At the very least, they could've had him 'shatter' as well when he got knocked back by the Shatter Space and become a new factor in the worlds that Sonic has to contend with, but we're a little late on that now that we've seen him intact after the part they could have shattered him and just stuck in the void between.

    But if you can think of an idea for Shadow's story from this point, since his role is otherwise over with, by all means suggest it.
     
  20. Sneasy

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    The world was shattered by the Prism Shards being shattered, so just getting those makes more sense than the Chaos Emeralds out.

    Getting the "super form on standby" is not interesting, makes the characters feel weak, and takes the tension out of the story. The story is not about collecting the Emeralds; inserting them in so the characters can have a literal instant win condition is lame. Even Dragon Ball has the characters use the orbs as a last resort, or have the plot revolve around them to begin with (i.e. they have to be strong enough to win). And when they do just use the Dragon Balls as a win button, it deflates the story.

    The trope worlds add variety to the general setting and make them actually interesting to be in. And they don't violate rules; they are the rules. They're used to explore different situations and characters for Sonic to interact with and develop upon.

    If the idea of Shadow Doing Something is adding in random stuff that have nothing to do with the story, then maybe he shouldn't do anything at all and that's okay. There's nothing interesting about shoving in a random plot element, killing the pacing, complicating the story, and removing tension from the story, just so one specific character can have "something" to do and eat up precious screentime.

    Sure, they could have been a part of the Shatterspaces, but what would he actually do? He is not one of Sonic's closest friends, and he's not working with the Council. Is he just gonna be there for the sake of it? That's not smart writing.

    Sometimes a character's role in the plot is done and that's okay. It's not an offense to a character that they are important for every second.

    And like I said, the story will not be so simple to have Sonic successfully get all the Shards and instantly win. When everything goes tits up and the situation gets worse, that's when Shadow has something to do.

    Why does Shadow absolutely need to be on screen all the time? It's ultimately not his show. Why do I or anyone "need" to give him a super important role that has him have ao much screentime? If this is the end of his role, that's fine.