Sonic X, Episode 3.13: Mission: Match Up

Sonic X, Episode 3.13: Mission: Match Up

Japanese Title: The Chaotix's Great Shocking Lovey-Dovey Operation

U.S. Air Date: December 3rd, 2005

Japanese Air Date: April 13th, 2020

The crew of the Blue Typhoon continues to move through space, on their way towards their next goal. A normal day is interrupted by an approaching space ship. After some initial concern, it's discovered it's just the Chaotix, who have been drifting through space aimlessly since their last appearance. They board the Typhoon, while Tails makes upgrades to their ship. Vector is determined to pay the fox back. He soon realizes that Tails and Cosmo are developing feelings for each other. The crocodile concocts a series of contrived schemes to get the two together, all of which go horribly awry. 

After several fairly serious, plot heavy episode, I like that "Sonic X" is kicking back with a goofy, light-hearted installment like this one. And yet "Mission: March Up" is not a disposable, season one style filler episode. First off, the development of Tails and Cosmo's relationship is obviously an important plot thread going forward. Secondly, this episode gives us an update on Eggman and Shadow. Apparently, Shadow Chaos Controlling near a black hole during the previous episode zapped them to a different universe or something. Eggman theorizes that the Metarex use black holes to travel across the galaxy, which would at least explain why the hell one appeared in the last episode. There's also this concern that Shadow is going to regain his memories and fuck up Eggman's plans, so I guess that tiresome plot point is not resolved yet. 

This episode also introduces the rest of Black Oak's commanders, who will presumably be important villains going forward. These color-coded baddies are all named after trees, ranging from mildly threatening titles like Yellow Zelkova or Black Narcissus to the mildly goofy Pale Bayleaf. I'm betting the naming convention is foreshadowing a big reveal and I don't think it has anything to do with nuns. Either way, I like that these guys seemingly have a rivalry among themselves and that each one fits into a standard anime villain type. With Yellow Zelkova being the big aggressive guy and Black Narcissus being the evil bishounen. Hopefully they aren't all pushovers like Red Pine was. 

The scenes concerned with the epic sci-fi plot are not focus here though. Instead, this episode is largely about furthering the connection Tails and Cosmo started two episodes ago. Tails is attracted to Cosmo and says as much, though she doesn't hear him. There's quite a lot of blushing as these two stare romantically into each other eyes. You can debate the ethics of putting two literal children into a romance like this. But this is still clearly within the realm of grade school crush, not teenage lust. (And it's not like Tails has been written like he's eight in years anyway...) I think it's pretty cute. I can't wait for tragedy to befall these two.

Vector obviously thinks it's cute too. In fact, this episode reveals that Vector isn't too different from internet shippers. His schemes to get Tails and Cosmo closer all seem born from romance manga cliches. They involve Tails rescuing Cosmo from an attack, the two becoming physically close to each other while stumbling through the dark, and Tails returning something to Cosmo that she lost. Obviously, all of Vector's plans are guaranteed to fail... Except they don't, not really, because all of these things happen to Tails and Cosmo independently. Tails lifts Cosmo out of the way of a rogue disco ball, the two awkwardly being face-to-face afterwards. (Combining the first and second scenarios.) Tails later returns a charm that Cosmo dropped earlier in the episode. It's a sweet bit of narrative symmetry that everything Vector hopes to engineer happens anyway, just outside the context of his ridiculous schemes. 

"Sonic X," having the goofy sense of humor it does, plays that ridiculousness for as many oddball laughs as possible. Vector imagines each of his plans as elaborately illustrated romance manga panels, with shots of Tails and Cosmo dressed in those styles. The second plan results in broad slapstick, as Vector and Espio are the ones that collide in the dark. (Resulting in the unexpected sight of the "Sonic X" logo appearing as fireworks.) The third scenario goes dryer, with Tails focusing more on how filthy Vector's handkerchief is. The first scheme is the most bizarre, as it involves knocking Knuckles unconscious, drawing an angry beard on his face, and having a cloaked Espio puppeteer his limp body. All of this shit made me chuckle, especially the weirdness of Knuckles unknowingly being used as a prop. I continue to admire the inspired wackiness of this show, whose humor is simultaneously more sophisticated and stranger than the manic shenanigans that pass for comedy in past "Sonic" cartoons.

Part of why this show can get away with such an absurd episode, in the middle of a serious story arc, is because of its setting. Once again, "Sonic X" emphasizes that life on this spaceship is pretty cozy. We get a montage showing that everyone aboard chips in. Tails and Chris do technical shit. Knuckles helps with repairs. Cosmo cooks. Amy smashes lumpy chunks of metal into smooth rectangles. Our heroes may be facing an uphill battle against a powerful enemy that arguably has them outsmarted and outmatched... But they still can have peace in their tiny corner of the universe. The episode even answers why the Blue Typhoon has palm trees on its launch deck. (Because Grandpa Chuck thinks they're cool.) It doesn't answer whether they are artificial trees or if the "Sonic X" version of palm trees are also unaffected by the harshness of outer space. 

The mixture of character-building interactions, just a little bit of serialized storytelling, and goofball humor makes this one a winner. Even Eggman's crew get involved in the comic relief this time. There's an inexplainable scene of Bokkun bragging to Decoe and Bocoe that he's grown longer limbs, which results in a fourth wall break. I don't know if this is a sight gag that's going to be explained or become relevant later or if it's just another example of the show's random access humor. Either way, tall and skinny Bokkun is a disturbing sight and I don't like it. Anyway, I'm giving "The Chaotix's Great Shocking Love-y Dove-y Operation" a pass. [7/10]