Sonic X, Episode 1.15: Skirmish in the Sky

Sonic X, Episode 1.15: Skirmish in the Sky

Japanese Title: Mobile Fortress Egg Fort Attacks!

Japanese Air Date: July 13th, 2003

U.S. Air Date: December 13th, 2003

Let's get right into this one. Since their existence is public knowledge now, and Amy is bored of being cooped up in the Thorndyke mansion, Chris and Ella decide to take Tails and Amy to the mall. (Sonic declines, on account of being a free bird you cannot cage.) Meanwhile, the U.S. government goes about excavating Egg Base only for a massive warship to burst though the ground. Not only did Eggman survive his base's destruction but he's built Egg Fort, a flying battleship, to replace it. He immediately sets out to destroy Station Square. Luckily, Sonic arrives to save the day... But he's gonna need help.

This is another action-packed episode that was likely to please the fidgety seven-year-olds this cartoon was targeted at. Once the attack on Station Square begins, this is pretty much non-stop destruction. Bipedal robots outfitted with wrecking balls smash things, including the Thorndyke limousine. Sonic runs from, and rides around on, drones that resembles both birds and jets. He fights back against a horde of floating, green machines outfitted with death rays. (Which, in classic Eggman, flash several times before firing.) It gets a little repetitive at times — the animation of Sonic making Swiss cheese of the wrecking ball bots gets repeated too much — but I can enjoy this. 

Better yet, Sonic is even challenged by this attack. Sonic can destroy or outrun one Eggman robots in seconds but an endless horde of them is more difficult. It's refreshing to see the hedgehog overestimate his jumping ability or get annoyed, even when powered up with a ring. I also like the moment where Sonic insists they have to lure Eggman out of the city, to make sure he doesn't destroy any more property or hurt more people. This episode could've pulled a "Man of Steel" and just reveled in the collateral damage but Sonic isn't morally bankrupt like that. Good to know. 

Eggman immediately takes the bait and follows the X-Tornado out to sea. This is despite Bocoe and Decoe asking him not to do that. This furthers the "Sonic X" Eggman's characterization as both incredibly dangerous and really dumb. It's also revealed in this episode that Bocoe and Decoe are apparently the only assistants on the entire Egg Fort, a massive airship you'd imagine would take hundreds of people to operate. This might explain why one blow from Sonic, after grabbing two Power Rings, is enough to take the entire ship down. I can only conclude that Eggman is a genius at quickly manufacturing massive weapons of destruction but never actually thinks about things beyond that. He's some sort of mad scientist idiot savant.

Yet even this is not what I will most remember about this episode. Once again, "Sonic X's" oddball sense of humor catches my attention the most. Tails and Amy deciding to go to the mall was not such a good idea. Unsurprisingly, a pair of anthropomorphic cartoon animals attract a lot of attention wherever they go. People either flee in fear, stare in fascination, or squeeze them like they're produce. A kid in the toy aisle drags Tails by his tails. After Ella takes everyone to an exclusive rich person club, the gang is assaulted by a horde of handsy rich ladies. It's weird, uncomfortable, kind of realistic too, and also pretty funny. Where else are you going to see a matronly old woman molest Amy Rose's ears, outside out the more specific corners of r34? There's also a pretty funny scene at the beginning where Chris tries to give Sonic a cellphone but the hedgehog discards it. Because he has no interest in Chris being able to contact at him at any time. Lol.

I never thought I'd say this but, just over the course of its first fifteen episodes, "Sonic X" has built up a unique supporting cast that it actually has time for. Over the course of this episode, Ella, Sam Speed, Mr. Stewart, and Mr. Tanaka all help out. Some of this stuff is goofier than other. Mr. Tanaka driving a semi-truck containing the X-Tornado into some robots at just the right time is actually kind of badass. Mr. Stewart dramatically jumping onto a car to deflect some laser beams with a handheld mirror is hilarious nonsense. And it's not like I exactly love to see Sam Speed, who the show wants to be a lovable dumb-ass but forgot the lovable part, but it's nice Chris' uncle shows up when his nephew needs a quick getaway. I'm just glad this show is actually making these clowns useful. 

Also, this is another episode where it's really obvious what kind of cartoon the animators and designers would rather be working on. "Skirmish in the Sky" packs in just enough references to classic Japanese anime and sci-fi movies to be noticeable. The Egg Fort bares more than a passing resembles to the Gotengo, the flying submarine with a giant drill tip from Toho's 1963 tokusatsu flick "Atragon." While in a toy store, Chris picks up a model kit for a cartoon robot called Pandam, a show-out to both Gundam and Mazinger Z. (Which predates "Panda-Z" by a whole year.) The same scene also features a quick shot of a Godzilla/Gorgo-like toy kaiju. The Japanese title also sort of reminds me a little of "Super Dimension Fortress Macross." Considering the X-Tornado confirms the mechanical designers were "Robotech" nerds, it seems likely to be an intentional nod. The same goes for the bipedal designs of the E-42 Torole, which vaguely resemble the same show's battle pods. 

Fifteen episodes in and I think I'm fully won over by "Sonic X's" mix of hedgehog-on-robot action, patently absurd humor, and a human cast that are slowly becoming lovable losers. If nothing else, the show is really capitalizing on its "Sonic and friends are transported to Earth" premise while still including the stuff you actually expect from this era of the franchise. More often than not anyway. [7/10]