Sonic the Hedgehog: The OVA - Part 1

Sonic the Hedgehog: The OVA - Part 1

"Welcome to Eggmanland!" 

Japanese Release Date: January 26th, 1996

US Release Date: September 7th, 1999

In 1996, there wasn't much in the way of official "Sonic" lore. Each pop culture spin-off of the game brought with it their own takes on things. By this point, the comics had already built up pretty elaborate universes. Yet the games, far more focused on gameplay than plot, still left a lot of details up to fans' imaginations. This might have been why "Sonic" was attractive to an anime studio at the time. You got the prestige of working with famous characters but still had a chance to, more-or-less, make up your own world. Which is exactly what Studio Pierrot did with their two-part OVA. Though drawing some loose inspiration from "Sonic CD" and featured multiple familiar faces, the OVA stands on its own as a unique take on the "Sonic"-verse. 

The first half, "Welcome to Eggmanland!," has a dotting old man owl bring an urgent message to Sonic and Tails, who were trying to enjoy themselves on the desert island they live on. The president of Planet Freedom has invited Sonic to the White House. There, our heroes discover that Eggman has taken the president and his teenage daughter Sarah hostage. Eggman then explains that Sonic's help is needed. An eviler doppelgänger called Metal Robotnik (called Black Eggman in the Japanese) has taken over Eggman's city. If he's not stopped, an out-of-control generator may destroy the whole planet. Sonic reluctantly agree to help and, after traveling to the ruined city Eggman operates out of, battle Metal Robotnik. Knuckles appears to help them out. Neither of them know it's all been a trap engineered by Eggman... 

In a lot of ways, the OVA presents a unique take on Sonic and his world. Planet Freedom is made up of two "dimensions." The Land of the Sky is composed of continents floating above the world atop icy structures. The Land of Darkness below is seemingly a post-apocalyptic Earth, with Eggman operating out of a ruined Manhattan sinking into the ocean. This fuses together reoccurring elements from various corners of the franchise, like floating islands and grim urban sprawl, to make a far-out sci-fi vision. This anime is also notably the first animated appearance of Knuckles, who is characterized as a traveling treasure hunter who can levitate in the air. A translation error apparently made the Japanese animators think he was a mole too, which is probably why he's introduced digging out of the ground and has a dislike of sunlight. (He also has a cool Crocodile Dundee hat, presumably because the character designer thought it would look neat. It does!) 

It's not just the world here that is radically different from the video games. The OVA also introduces several characters exclusive to this anime. (Who are also owned by Studio Pierrot, which is why Sega got pissed when Archie gave them cameos in the comic.) Old Man Owl is an absent-minded foul who is introduced flying a burning aircraft. Eggman has a small armor of spiky, vaguely SWATBot-like robot warriors, who look pretty cool. There's also the incompetent president – humanoid-shaped but with elf ears – and Sara, his daughter. Sara is a traditional anime cat girl, with big ears and tail atop a traditional human body. She, and the tiny mini-skirt and crop top she wears, was introduced presumably because someone decided the "Sonic" franchise needed a little more sex appeal. 

The problem with these new characters is... They're mostly pretty annoying. Old Man Owl is such a fool that he doesn't even notice his plane is on-fire. Later, he talks to a flower, mistaking it for Sonic, while rambling off an unrelated anecdote. Sara, meanwhile, represents a high-pitched style of comic relief not unknown to children's anime. Even though she's Eggman's hostage, she repeatedly threatens to leave him. She cries and throws a fit when she looses the fighting game she plays with the villain. Eggman, meanwhile, puts up with these temper-tantrums because, I guess, he thinks she's hot. I'm not sure a fumbling old man and a spoiled little rich girl were character types "Sonic" really needed. 

But that points towards an issue the entire anime has. The characters are kind of obnoxious. Tails is introduced building a rocket-powered surfboard, while Sonic chills on the beach. The hedgehog doesn't show much interest in his friend, which gets him yelled at. In fact, Sonic selfishly ignores his little body up until he's in actual danger. Later, after Robotnik asks Sonic to help save the world, he blows the whole thing off at first. Nineties Sonic was defined by his 'tude and this would sometimes result in him being written like a massive asshole, which is clearly what happens here. Anime Eggman is certainly more sinister than his "AoStH" counterpart, as he threatens Sara with a spike at one point. He's still kind of a joke, often comically underminded by the people around him. 

These are all indications that, even in Japan, "Sonic" is mostly for kids. Yet the contrast built-in into the franchise – cutesy characters and goofy humor existing alongside a ruined environment and killer robots – is present here too. The enormous Metal Robotnik, with his intimidating design and machine gun hands, is certainly a threatening presence. He repeatedly tells Sonic he's going to kill him and the hedgehog is almost drowned at one point. This divide is represented in the anime's slightly edgy, but also juvenile, elements. I'm not just talking about sexy little Sara. Sonic extends his middle finger to Metal Robotnik, among a couple other milder but still somewhat rude gestures. In response, the evil robot fires sticky globs of mega-muck.... From a chute in his backside. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's a poop joke. Metal Robotnik took a shit on Sonic. This gesture is returned when Sonic points a missile at Metal Robotnik's ass. 

While these elements are certainly interesting, this stuff probably isn't why I returned to this tape so much as a kid. The truth is the "Sonic" OVA" is definitely the coolest looking iteration of the character up to this point. There are several beautifully animated sequences. Sonic racing along the side of this island's cliffs to rescue Tails and Old Man Owl has the same style and attitude as the beloved "Sonic CD" opening. The stand-out moment of the film is definitely when Sonic and Tails enter the Land of Darkness. They sail through protruding rocks, leap on springs, running along valleys, and smash a Crawlton. There are other notable sequence, such as a pretty cool POV shot of Sonic racing through the tunnels of NYC while Metal Robotnik chases them. The sequence where the Tornado takes off features a lot of detailed animation of a runway deploying, showing that the mechanical designers had fun on this project. 

Despite the obvious flaws, the first half of the “Sonic” OVA is a satisfying watch. Tails' body-boarding skills come back in the second half, as he improvises a surfboard out of some wreckage and uses it to help rescue Sonic. Sonic, despite his ego, still relies on his friends to help him win the day. Even though he's not exactly treated seriously, Metal Robotnik still makes for a creditable villain. In the last third, where Sonic gets an assist from Tails and Knuckles and spin-dashes the big metal baddie in two? Yeah, that shit is satisfying to watch. Also, the score is really good as it invokes the classic Genesis sound and style without the compression or directly replicating any of the games' music.

Clearly, “Welcome to Eggmanland!” leaves me with a lot of things to think about. I'm sure I'll have even more to say about the second half, which we'll get to soon enough. While it's a sometimes obnoxious, or idiosyncratic at the very least, take on the familiar characters, the things I like about it far outweigh the things I find annoying about it. [7/10]