Sonic X, Episode 3.19: Hedgehog Hunt

Sonic X, Episode 3.19: Hedgehog Hunt

Japanese Title: Cafe Chaotix

With the Blue Typhoon on the run, the Metarex empire is focusing their military campaign on finding and eliminating Sonic and his friends. Eggman is officially made the fourth Metarex boss and immediately begins bickering with the other villains. Meanwhile, the Chaotix have opened a café on an alien world, hoping to make enough money to repair their damaged ship. Sonic and the gang soon arrive on this world and wonder how they can safely escape with the Metarex and Eggman breathing down their necks. 

Eggman is, surprisingly, emerging as one of season three's most compelling characters. Lately, the show has really been playing with the idea of whether or not the villain is as bad as the Metarex. After joining up with the evil robot empire last episode, it seemed to confirm that the doctor is that ruthless. But maybe not. Black Narcissus confronts Eggman shortly after he's announced to be the new boss. It seems the encounter they had recently, where the doctor chastised Narcissus for his sadism, was totally sincere, creating tension among the evildoers. More than anything else, Eggman's ego is bruised by being part of the team. He doesn't like taking orders, needed to be accepted by the other bosses, or his abilities not being appreciated. The Metarex bosses point out – rightly – that Eggman has never succeeded in killing Sonic. Eggman, of course, believes himself to be a master genius who is the only person who can defeat Sonic. 

This builds towards an interesting conclusion. Eggman single-handedly saves the day but not because he wants to save the universe. He just can't handle the idea of Pale Bayleaf defeating Sonic. He would rather have his enemy escape, have the Metarex believe the Blue Typhoon is destroyed, than have anyone else claim victory over Sonic. He did the right thing for the wrong reasons but it clearly weighs on him. He ends the episode in a bar, drinking away his sorrows like they're a hangover. I figured Eggman would align with Sonic against the Metarex because he realizes they're a threat to both of them. Instead, the rotund one is working both with and against the Metarex, undermining them to prop up his own ego. That's an interesting dynamic and I hope the show milks it more. 

Despite that fairly serious set-up, this is an episode of "Sonic X" co-starring the Chaotix. So you know what that means: It's a goofy one. There's a lot of humor here and it seems to be split into two categories. Sometimes the jokes are almost subtle. Like when Eggman and his henchmen bust into the Chaotix bar, asking to put up wanted posters of Sonic. Since Vector isn't interested in this, they compromise by pasting the posters to the bottom of the tables. When the Sonic Team asks the Chaotix if they want to leave the planet with them, Vector dryly responds that he "doesn't want to die." Of course there's some fourth wall breaking. Vector talks directly to the audience, brags about his piano skills, and Charmy mentions something that just happened in a flashback. Naturally, the setting brings with it a few direct shout-outs to "Casablanca."

But, this being the show that it is, there's still plenty of wacky goofiness to be had here. Vector yells at the weird aliens in the bar that want to set up a tab. The Chaotix ended up in this scenario because they very stupidly piloted their spaceship into a random black hole. The broadest, and funniest, gag occurs early on. Bocoe tells Eggman he's going to have to suck up to the other Metarex bosses if he hopes to be accepted by them. This leads to a deliriously silly montage where Eggman imagines himself complimenting Yellow Zakova on his golf game, gifting Black Narcissus a present, and giving Pale Bayleaf a sensual back massage. I love that the Japanese can include random absurdity like that in an otherwise serious scenario. 

Make no mistake, this is a serious scenario. Sonic and the gang suffered a major defeat at the hands of their enemies, barely surviving. They are now being hunted across the galaxy, with the villains closer to eliminating them then they'd like to realize. Yet the heroes don't seem too bothered by this. In fact, Sonic is particularly jovial in this episode. He laughs at Eggman as he chats with Vector and happily zips around the planet, just under the Metarex drones' noses and swiping food from a grocery store. I guess, since the last episode was fairly grim, the show runners figured we needed a light-weight one this time. But I would've liked to have seen more acknowledgment of how deep into the shit our heroes are at this point. 

It's not a great episode but it's got enough goofy laughs in it to keep me entertained. Mostly, I like the complexity Eggman is showing here of late. It seems that last bit really bugged the 4Kids censors. Most of the scenes of Black Narcissus being suspicious of Eggman, and of the villain wondering if he can handle this, we're cut down or removed in the dub. The circumstances of the ending were changed, even inserting footage from a previous episode to sell the illusion. I guess 4Kids didn't want children emulating, uh, the behavior of the show's antagonist. It's not as severe as rewriting Molly from being dead to alive but it's still a strange episode to change so much. Also, since this episode is largely set in a bar, that was a problem. All the wine bottles were changed to soda. What's weird about this is Eggman never asks to drink anything other than water or vinegar. Meanwhile, the obvious hangover cure reference at the end – Eggman dumping a raw egg into his drink – was maintained. I guess they figured the four to seven-year-olds in the audience wouldn't catch that one. 

Anyway, none of that is really relevant. For an episode where Sonic and the other heroes barely do anything, I still found this one pretty compelling. I never expected to be invested in the "Sonic X" version of Eggman, since I'm very particular about how Sonic's archenemy is portrayed. Then again, I never expected to like "Sonic X" in general and here we are. [6/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.14: Clash in the Cloister

Sonic X, Episode 3.14: Clash in the Cloister

Japanese Title: Cross the Galaxy Corridor!

U.S. Air Date: February 4th, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 14th, 2020

Here's another episode where the Japanese title is far better than the English title. Both accurately describe the episode's contents. Yet crossing the galaxy corridor sounds way more excited than clashing in the cloister. I mean, I get the value in alliteration. But "cloister" is an inherently goofy word. And it's also not a word that feels very action-y. A cloister is mostly a place where you hide and a clash inside one would be more awkward than exciting. A corridor connects two separate areas, which is ultimately the true point of this episode. I'm just saying, the 4Kids dub team maybe should have just kept the Japanese title this one time. 

You know, it's never a good sign when I start my review off with a meandering digression about the title... Anyway, the episode begins with the Blue Typhoon hovering before a black hole. They realize the Metarex base resides in an alternate dimension and these black holes are how they traverse to our galaxy. The crew reluctantly decide to enter the rift. Inside, they discover a bizarre, cave-like area that is too small for the Blue Typhoon to traverse through, where root like growths grip the engine and huge stones block the path. Things get grimmer when Yellow Zelkova, the most physically powerful of Dark Oak's Metarex commanders, appears to ambush them.

I know this is a children's cartoon about a blue hedgehog that runs fast, so getting bent out of shape about the science here is pointless... But it's becoming increasingly clear that the writers of this show made no attempt to replicate the actual rules of outer space. The script seems to use the phrases "black hole" – a crushing singularity of gravity –  and "wormhole" – a theoretical structure that links two places in space and time – interchangeably. Whether the Metarex reside in an alternate universe versus just another corner of our universe seems unclear as well. Tails building a ship that can survive the pressure of a black hole seems improbable. This is about the understanding if science I'd expect from a show that depicts its heroes traipsing around outer space totally naked and suffering no ill effects from that. 

This plot point also directly contradicts the events of an earlier episode. Previously, Red Pine's ship was sucked into a similar hole and destroyed. Here, there doesn't seem to be any vacuum effects around the hole. Apparently, the Metarex routinely use them to travel! Moreover, the decision to depict the interior of the cloister – or corridor or whatever you want to call it – as a subterranean-like tunnel full of physical hazards is hilariously literal. It's like the writers heard the phrase "wormhole," pictured a hole in the dirt a worm dug through, and decided to stick that in outer space. I'm choosing to intercept the corridor as a Special Zone-like pocket dimension that links two galaxies, because that's an explanation that doesn't give me brain cancer. 

Obviously, we are not meant to think about any of this shit too much. And that's why I'm choosing to mostly laugh at the weird, stupid shit that happens in this episode. When the Blue Typhoon enters the wormhole, a bunch of psychedelic visual distortions occur. Everyone swirls around in a trippy fashion, which is pretty funny. After the ship is entangled in space weeds or whatever, we see that Tails has invented a laser rake to clear the roots. If that wasn't goofy enough, we are next presented with Sonic wearing a pair of shearing shoes Chris as designed. Those would be sneakers with twirling blades inside designed to slice through vegetation. Sonic glides along the outside of the Blue Typhoon with them, looking doofy as fuck. I'm so glad Chris had those sneakers built with an extremely specific scenario in mind at the ready. 

In fact, comedy may be the main goal of this episode. Yellow Zelkova is, in some ways, a fearsome enemy. He's incredibly strong and neigh invulnerable. He's also a complete idiot. His introductory moment has him scarfing down spicy curry and bragging about it. He doesn't seem to notice when Sonic and Knuckles start to use his headbutts to push the Blue Typhoon through the corridor. (How this doesn't totally fuck up the ship, I don't know.) There's also a funny moment when Yellow Zelkova calls Knuckles a "red hedgehog." This enraged the echidna so much, he's able to toss a huge chunk of the corridor's matter – previously depicted as so dense, he couldn't punch through it – at the robot. 

In general, this fight is just full of moments that look silly. At one point, Yellow Zelkova is swinging around the stalactite-like structures inside the corridor. Sonic is balanced atop one such pillar and just hangs out there for a minute. I'm really not sure what was happening in that scene! Once again, the baddy of this episode is defeated –  though not destroyed – when Sonic is launched out of the Sonic Driver cannon and turned into a big spinning CGI ball. This moment goes on longer than usual, which just draws attention to how goofy it all looks. Really, I'm starting to wonder why using himself as a massive projectile has no negative side effects on Sonic. Here, after he stops spinning, he just says "he's pooped." How many concussions has this special move given Sonic by now? I feel like it should be a lot. 

This episode is full of elements that just made me pause and go "that doesn't make sense." And here's another one, a nitpick that is increasingly starting to bug me: Why doesn't the Metarex empire want the Master Emerald? They've been chasing after the little Chaos Emeralds with a fanatical fervor. Meanwhile, the Blue Typhoon has routinely been using the big emerald to perform all sorts of ridiculous, impossible task. In "Sonic X," the Master Emerald really doesn't seem to be treated as anything but a mundane power source. Yet it clearly puts out a massive amount of power! Why aren't the bad guys interested in that? The heroes are just carrying this infinite source of impossible energy with them and the villains, who are seeking power-granting magical plot devices, never seem to notice. Maybe I'm just used to the Archie Comics version of the Master Emerald, whose importance and power clearly outstrips the individual Chaos Emeralds. It's still starting to feel like a plot hole.

Also, when Yellow Zelkova is getting ready to attack the Sonic Team, Sonic instructs Amy to get inside and hide. She wants to fight but Sonic thinks this threat is too serious for her. Considering Amy is capable of wrecking shit with her hammer, especially when her love is endangered, this feels really short-sighted of Sonic. And more than a little sexist. He might as well have said "Go run and hide, little lady! This fight is only for the men!" This show has proven, over and over again, that Amy is a powerful warrior. So let her fight! She can summon indestructible hammers out of thin air and loves to smash shit with them. Use that to your advantage!

If this entire review was composed mostly of me seizing on minor details and getting disproportionately annoyed about them, I apologize. The story here is simple and boring, no more complicated than "the heroes need to get from Point A to Point B but a bad guy is in their way." The characters aren't given many chances to show much depth. The action scenes are mostly uninspired. The repeated instances of unfunny humor and inexplicable gaps in narrative logic suggests the writers didn't expend on this episode. I hate to write a review that's nothing but petty whining but that's all I had to work with. I apologize. But also I don't because this episode just kind of sucked. [5/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.11: Station Break-In

Sonic X, Episode 3.11: Station Break-In

Japanese Title: Space Station Metal Plant

U.S. Air Date: November 19th, 2005

Japanese Air Date: April 9th, 2020

The tenth episode of "Sonic X's" third season begins with a dramatic image. Eggman comes to the Metarex Space Fortress, a moon sized battle ship that contains the last two Chaos Emeralds. He realizes the station's defenses are impenetrable and also that the Blue Typhoon has arrived at the same time. Eggman and Sonic decide to form an unsteady truce, the heroes' waiting for the villain's inevitable betrayal. Shadow Chaos Controls himself, Rouge, and Chris aboard the ship. Eggman, Sonic and Knuckles, Amy and Cosmo enter in smaller ships. Eggman makes his move then, leading to an action-packed shuffle within the bowels of the space station. 

I'll admit, scenarios where heroes and villains are forced to team-up are always compelling to me. Obviously, Sonic and Eggman don't trust each other. The minute Eggman presents them with a proposal, the good guys admit it has to be a trap. Yet their mutual enemy is so powerful that they are forced into this uneasy situation. A degree of suspense forms as you wait for the betrayal to come, as you wonder if the heroes will notice in time. It adds a lot more drama and tension to what would otherwise be a very basic premise: Sonic and the gang fighting their way into a Metarex strong-hold.

There's also some fun in watching Eggman's forthcoming treachery. He places devices on the X-Tornado and Amy's personal cruiser. (Something she acquired at some point, presumably because this show loves to shove in spaceships.) I would've assumed they were just bombs but Eggman has something more villainous in mind. The devices allow him to control the other ships, giving him a chance to grab the Chaos Emeralds. Because "Sonic X" is the kind of show it is, this duplicity takes the form of goofy comedy and not him running the ships into walls afterwards. Decoe and Bocoe grab the Emeralds with fishing rods and much ridiculous cackling ensues. But it's still fun to watch. 

Obviously, Eggman grabbing the emeralds while flying through the innards of a giant space fortress results in Sonic superheroically snatching them back. TMS ponied up the cash to make sure this sequence looks as cool as it sounds. Sonic leaping around the tight corridors move a little more fluidly than is typical. There's a lot more detail in the scenes of characters talking or interacting. Eggman dangling from a robotic arm or Amy giving Sonic a big hug look really nice. The entire sequence is also more dramatically lit than this show normally. The dark, sparsely lit interiors of the space station lead to lots of cool shadows. 

And the scenes devoted to the other cool Shadow features some nice animation too. Shadow and Rouge rip through some Metarex sentries that look like dinosaurs with vice grips for heads. Yet Shadow's scenes are a little more character-centric than the rest of the episode. Chris tags along on this mission specifically because he wants to get closer to his most broody hedgehog bro. He presents Shadow with his limiter rings, which seems to stir some memories in him. Later, a mention of the name Maria really jogs Shadow. I'm glad the show isn't going to belabor this idea of Shadow's amnesia too much longer. He's much more interesting when he knows his past and it informs his current actions. 

But like I said, this is mostly an action centric episode. There's not too much room for character moments. Tails spends the entire twenty minutes on the Blue Typhoon and Cosmo does little beside sit in the back of Amy's ship. There are two minor, cute little moments involving some of the show's ladies. Amy bursting through the ship's walls, specifically so she can be with Sonic, is adorable. I've seen some people complain about Amy's characterization in season three. She's definitely a little bitchier – and that's not a flaw, that's flavor – but her obsessive pursuit of Sonic has been consistent. Rouge, meanwhile, barely thanks Shadow after he saves her from those pincher dinos. I guess when she doesn't have a hot girlfriend to be her moral compass, Rouge really does hyper-focus on her desire to acquire pretty jewels. But Rouge's moral ambiguity is why we love her. It's why I love her anyway. 

Considering this is the space opera season of "Sonic X," it was really only a matter of time before an episode paid homage to "Star Wars." The Metarex Space Fortress is explicitly described as being the size of a moon, which already brings the Death Star to mind. The scenes of our heroes flying fighter jet-like ships through the tunnels and corridors of the station recall the iconic ending of "A New Hope." The episode ends by setting up a battle between Sonic and a big, imposing villain in dark armor, a distinctive helmet, and a flowing cape who wields a glowing sword. The fight looks like it'll take place on a platform above a space station's glowing interior, which brings "The Empire Strikes Back" to mind. Also, someone inside a jet tries spinning and it's a good trick. Whether these count as rip-offs or intentional homages is a matter of opinion but it all feels pretty deliberate to me. 

It's a pretty good episode! The action is above average and the narrative unfolds in a compelling way. By ending on such an exciting cliffhanger, it leaves the viewer wanting to see more. It also feels like the season is really done screwing around and moving towards the big deal events now. I guess we'll see but this one worked for me. [7/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.09: Ship of Doom

Sonic X, Episode 3.09: Ship of Doom

Japanese Title: Metarex Battleship Attack!

U.S. Air Date: November 5th, 2005

Japanese Air Date: April 7th, 2020

At the end of the previous episode, Shadow teleported back onto Eggman's ship and collapsed. In this episode, we learn that the so-called Ultimate Lifeform has amnesia, which Eggman decides to use to his advantage. All villainous plans are put on hold when Metarex Hellship, a living battleship, is specifically ordered by Black Oak to murder Sonic and Eggman. After seemingly destroying Eggman's ship, the living vessel goes after the Blue Typhoon. Upon seeing the machine, Cosmo realizes that Hellship is the same Metarex responsible for the death of her family. 

I don't know who decided this was the way it had to be but, somehow, it became a foregone conclusion that Shadow's brush with death at the end of "Sonic Adventure 2" left him with memory loss. That's how it was in a hundred fanfics. That's how it was in "Sonic Heroes." And that's how it is in "Sonic X." This is weird to me, as having a mysterious past and being manipulated by Eggman already happened in his first appearance. Why would you want to repeat that storyline? Maybe Sega demanded Shadow's origins be kept vague, until his own video game revealed the truth about his half-alien heritage. (Though that doesn't explained why fans adopted this idea so readily.) The Archie Comics skipped this and was better for it. Either way, I guess we're just stuck with amnesiac Shadow again for a little while longer. 

Shadow is definitely back. But it goes to show how committed "X" is to depicting the Metarex as imposing foes that even Shadow's supposed ultimate superiority is little match for them. Hellship – unsurprisingly bowdlerized in the English dub to the still pretty metal Scarship – is still more-or-less impervious to Shadow's attack. The talking battleship also has slightly more personality than most of the other Metarex warriors we've met so far. He rambles on again about bringing order to the universe and is undyingly loyal to Black Oak. I wish the show would dig into this a little more. Does the Metarex empire interpret "order" as "the complete death of all life?" Or are they more about subjugating lifeform to their rule and massive casualties are just the easiest way to do that? If the former, it makes sense that their ranks would be filled largely with extremist true believers. 

Of course, another reason Hellship is only allowed to show so much personality is because... He's a ship. You don't really expect much charisma from a talking spaceship, even one that has a big angry face built into his hull like this guy. I suspect this character exists largely so the mechanical designer can, once again, indulge his fetish for flying battleships. It seems there have been a much higher number of battleship-like space vessels on this show than you'd expect from a "Sonic" adaptation. Hellship isn't even the only one in this episode, as he's introduced massacring a fleet of ships built out of asteroids. (That look more like potatoes.) I have not been exposed to too much of Yasuhiro Moriki's other work, so I don't know if this is a reoccurring trademark of his. But I'm still going to guess that "Battleship Yamato" was a big deal for this dude. 

Shadow's defeat at the hands hull of the Hellship is not the only sign the ship is a serious threat. Immediately afterwards, the vessel bombards Eggman's ship with missiles and laser weapons until it finally explodes. Of course, there's no way in hell that this cartoon was going to actually murder Eggman, even if that would've been a hell of a way to raise the stakes. Not even our heroes seem to take the idea very seriously, assuming Shadow at the very least must've survived the blast. Inevitably, it's revealed that Eggman did survive. The method of his escape, like it always is in situations like these, is incredibly underwhelming. I was going to make an Annie Wilkes joke about how Eggman didn't avoid the cockadoodie missile but apparently I've made that same reference three times prior so I'll restrain myself. But my point stands.

Recently, I was bitching about how “Sonic X” isn't just fast-and-loose with the rules of space but outright ignores them, at least for the furries. That continues in this episode. Shadow, Sonic, and Knuckles continue to survive in the vacuum of space without any sort of protection. Even Amy feels fine out in the endless void. I know this is the pickiest of nitpicks to have with a cartoon show about a blue hedgehog who runs fast. But it really becomes really noticeable when are heroes are spin-dashing around the Hellship like it's not problem at all. The battle gets even more implausible when Shadow uses Chaos Control to straight-up freeze the Hellship in time for ninety seconds. (Allowing the heroes to push it through a wormhole just as it's about to self-destruct.) I guess that's an established ability of his by now but it sure feels like a cheat. 

Probably the most interesting element of this episode is the one that gets the least attention. Upon realizing that the Hellship is pursuing them, Cosmo decides she's going to destroy it as revenge for her family and species. I really wouldn't expect someone like Cosmo to swear vengeance upon anybody but, considering what she's lived through, I'm not shocked. However, Cosmo has the least to do in this episode. She suggests the Blue Typhoon flees when the Hellship first comes it way. Otherwise, all her thoughts on the matter occur through simple dialogue exchange. After the ship's destruction, she talks briefly about the hollowness of revenge. How this doesn't bring her family or planet back. But that's the sole line on the topic. This episode really half-assed the frequently well-trotted moral about the futility of revenge. If they wanted to explore that idea more, they shouldn't have made the Hellship just another disposable Baddie of the Week.

Overall, it's a pretty middle-of-the-road episode. It's got a cool villain but the action is kind of goofy, the narrative holds few surprises, and all the characters are just sort of in a holding pattern until the story can really start to move forward. About the only truly memorable element here is the absurd way the Sonic Team bests Hellship, which I won't describe for anyone who wants to be surprised by that. Otherwise, it already feels like season three is starting to spin its wheels a little bit. [6/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.04: An Enemy in Need

Sonic X, Episode 3.04: An Enemy in Need

Japanese Title: Dr. Eggman Joins the War!

U.S. Air Date: October 1st, 2005

Japanese Air Date: March 31st, 2020

I guess I was wrong when I supposed season three of "Sonic X" was going to have a "planet of the week" structure, as the next episode lingers on Planet Hydo a little longer. The grateful citizens of the world throw a celebratory parade for Sonic and the gang. Unbeknownst to our heroes, Dr. Eggman has arrived on the planet. Rouge — also on this journey — blackmails Bokkun into hatching a scheme for the doctor. He asks Knuckles to bring him the Chaos Emerald, promising that he only has good intentions. The gullible echidna falls for it and, when he tells his plan to Sonic, they point out it's an obviously terrible idea. A fight between Sonic and Knuckles ensues, with Eggman planning to steal the emerald while they're distracted... But Bokkun alerts everyone to the doctor's position, ruining his scheme. Before Rouge can perform her part of the plan, a Metarex machine attacks. Eggman attempts to fight the alien robot but is quickly defeated, forcing Sonic and the gang to save the day once again. 

If "Sonic X" is going to build an entire season around intergalactic adventures, they're going to have to show a little more imagination than what's on display in this episode. What we see of Hydo society —  which doesn't seem nearly as effected by their entire planet being flooded as they should — is uninspired. They throw a parade with floats based on very European looking boats. The only real insight we get into their culture is an obsession with tossing people into the air and some repetitive shots of them dancing. The Hydolians are not the only alien culture that seems very Earthly. The Metarex minion in this episode is Jumpee, a giant mechanical frog. How does the Metarex empire know what frogs are? 

Then again, the entire episode is pretty uninspired. "Sonic X," for the third goddamn time, returns to the idea of Eggman tricking Knuckles. The fandom perception of Knuckles started to shift during the "Adventure" era. With Shadow now filling the tough, shoot-first-ask-questions-later rival role that Knuckles occupied in the classic era, a different characterization of the echidna emerged: That of a strong but extremely dumb idiot. (This characterization would see its ultimate Flanderization in "Sonic Boom.") As someone used to the more complex Knuckles from the comics, I've always hated this. I assumed the first "Adventure" game revisiting Eggman fooling Knuckles again was responsible for this idea taking root. Now I'm starting to think "Sonic X" is the guilty party. Because Knuckles should really, really know better than to take Eggman at his word by now. Hard to like or root for this guy if he's so chronically a dumbass. 

The show returning to this well once more seems largely to be set-up for another idea the franchise has repeatedly hammered: Sonic and Knuckles fighting. I'm not opposed to these two homoerotically sparring with each other every once in a while. It's even pretty funny that the rest of the gang's reaction to this fight is to shrug and sit back and watch. They know Sonic and Knuckles just gotta work this out of their systems. But even the early Archie Comics found different reasons for Sonic and Knuckles to periodically bash each other's heads in. It doesn't help that the Sonic/Knuckles fight here is pretty listlessly animated, as is the entire episode. The movement is stiff and there's lots of reused animation. 

Something I was right about is Eggman largely becoming comic relief in a season with a more dangerous antagonist. Aside from the handful of times he's threaten to kill somebody or unleashed an eldritch abomination on a city, "Sonic X" has largely treated Eggman as a joke. That definitely continues here. There's a long sequence where he comically chases Bocoe and Decoe around the interior of his space ship with a big mallet. The quipping droids and their rotund boss also make several fourth wall breaks, joking about how their reoccurring characters on this show. By the end, when they're launched into the sky by the Metarex minion-of-the-week, I was getting serious Team Rocket vibes. These types of japes are not my favorite interpretation of Robotnik, as you've probably guessed. 

About the only cool thing Eggman does in this episode is climb inside a giant robot Bocoe and Decoe pilot when Jumpee attacks. The machine is human-shaped but boxy, with multiple special weapons (including a sword), and distinctive markings and colorations. That alone was giving me "Voltron" vibes, so I was not surprised to read the robot is another one of those homages "Sonic X" loves. The "Egg Mars" is a tribute to eighties super robot anime "Godmars," another show featuring heroes in colorful suits who pilot giant robots that then combine to form an even bigger robot. This nerdy reference is brief but still probably the most interesting thing about an uninspired action sequence, which features the Metarex goon once again being defeated by the Sonic Hammer. 

The sole bright spot of an underwhelming episode is, once again, Rouge. I don't know if Rouge wants the Chaos Emeralds just because they're shiny jewels or if she's working for someone else. Either way, her plan to play Sonic and Eggman against each other, while she sneaks in and furthers her own goals, is some real "Yojimbo" shit. I would gladly watch a whole series of Rouge just tricking being people and being a femme fatale, all in service of her own capricious needs. Though the specific way she blackmails Bokkun — by threatening to reveal the contents of a locket the little robot carries — is a little odd. I'm guessing there's, like, a picture of Ella or a pie or something in there. (For the furries reading this: That scene does feature a lingering shot of Rouge's mammalian cleavage, that 4Kids deemed Too Hot for the FoxBox and cut out of the dub.)

Season three started strong but hits its first roadblock with this one. I'm considering declaring this one a filler episode, though I guess Eggman revealing his presence to Sonic and the gang makes it important to the overall story. There's also a little more character development for Cosmo and Chris. Cosmo is shown to have a strong dislike for any conflict and Chris displays his growing ingenuity by thinking up a scheme to distract the bad guy.  The episode also has Amy repeatedly reference how much her butt hurts and even asking Cream to look at it, and that's pretty funny/weird/inappropriate. Aside from that, you could probably safely skip this one. [5/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.03: H2 Whoa

Sonic X, Episode 3.03: H2 Whoa

Japanese Title: The Water Planet Hydo

U.S. Air Date: September 24th, 2005

Japanese Air Date: March 27th, 2020

"Sonic X's" intergalactic voyage truly begins with the third episode of season three. Using the Master Emerald as a tracking device, Knuckles determines that the near-by planet of Hydo is home to a Chaos Emerald. Sonic is appalled to find what was advertised as a world full of flat, runnable terrain is actually almost entirely covered by water. This is a result of the Metarex army already stealing Hydo's Planet Egg. While Knuckles, Cosmo, and Cream search for the Blue Chaos Emerald, Sonic attempts to battle the local Metarex. When his hydrophobia inevitably gets the best of him, Amy and Chris swing in to save the hedgehog. 

It's still early in the season, so who's to say, but I can suspect the direction "Sonic X" may be going in from here on out. In this episode, Sonic and the gang's search for the Chaos Emeralds brings them to a planet defined by a singular gimmick. While there, they fight the Metarex army and restore the world by the end. This is an easy enough premise to repeat every week, changing the gimmick of the new planets accordingly. I'm sure the show will mix it up but I bet we have quite a few more of what TVTropes calls "Planet of Hats" episodes to come. 

I actually have no issue with this set-up. I like "Star Trek" after all and there's lots of fun that can be had with this idea. "H2 Whoa" does indeed amuse me with its variation on the "water planet" premise. That means lots of blue and some beaches. The Metarex minions on this world wear bipedal fish-like armor. This makes them resemble the Deep Ones of Lovecraftian lore a little bit and I can dig that. The info cards even inform us that these guys are called "Metarex Gilman," making the horror connection even more obvious. What we see of native Hydolians shows them to be batfaced humanoids. Which makes it funny that they named their world after the Latin word for "water." 

Aside from giving our heroes a chance to tango with some fish men, this episode's premise works for another reason: It brings up Sonic's fear of water once more. The "Sonic X" version of our hero has already gotten a big downgrade this season, no longer blasting through enemies with ease. The hedgehog is challenged even more by once again encountering his fear of the deep. I support this, as a hero that has the odds stacked against him is more compelling than a hero who can bulldoze through any threat. The episode mostly plays this for humor, as Sonic gets seasick inside the little personal submersibles Tails builds for everybody. He still gets to fight off some Gillmen, so Sonic isn't a total joke in this one either. 

Sadly, humor and mixing up the expected story beats a little is all the hydrophobia angle is really used for. Sonic does not face and conquer his fear of deep water in this episode. Instead, it ends with him plummeting to his doom when Chris shoots a new pair of sneakers at him. With these shoes, Sonic can run on water. He uses his new ability to kick some Metarex ass and that's pretty much where we wrap up. This reminds me a lot of the early episodes of the show, where the plot essentially ended with Sonic grabbing a Power Ring and becoming an even more unstoppable bad-ass than usual. 

Sonic doesn't get any character development but another member of the cast does. Chris Thorndyke continues to undergo a serious redemption arc. We learn that, in the last six years, Mr. Tanaka trained him in karate. He learned to drive multiple kinds of vehicles. (Which explains why he’s such a casual pilot now.) He patented several inventions and even had a part-time job at McDonald’s at one point. Good on the rich kid for pretending to be normal. Despite all he’s accomplished, he’s still stuck in his childhood body now — which is amusingly demonstrated when he tries to karate chop some fish men — and Sonic still perceives him as a child. While young Chris would’ve just moped about this, mature Chris decides to do what he can with the skills available to him currently. Which is when he builds those cool shoes for Sonic. Honestly amazed and impressed Chris grew up to be this functional!

While Chris is the only cast member to really grow here, others do get some fun stuff to do. Sonic is captured by the Gilman Boss — the official name for the big blue leader of the Gillmen, though I don’t know if the comparisons to a video game boss we’re intentional — after he falls in the water and freaks out. Amy sees this as an opportunity to, once again, earn Sonic’s love. She goes running into the Metarex base, swinging her hammer, and knocked lots of fish folks aside. I always like it when Amy displays her considerable superpowers and action hero capabilities. I especially like it when that is balanced with her girlishness, such as when she has an extended fantasy here about Sonic admitting his love for her after she saves him. 

Previously, I characterized the set-up for this season as rather bleak. The Metarex have been waging a campaign of destruction and conquest across the universe, seemingly wiping out the entire populations of whole planets. In this episode, we learn that things aren’t quite that hopeless. If a plant’s egg is retrieved and returned, the world will return to its previously fertile status. One assumes that millions of lives were ended when Hydo was flooded but I guess there’s still hope to rebuild and repopulate… At least for the worlds were everybody hasn’t already starved to death, I guess. The impression I got is that the Metarex have been at this for quite a while, so presumably their collective body count is still way higher than you’d expect for “Sonic” bad guys. 

I wish the supporting cast got a little more to do in this episode. Knuckles is reduced to a joke scene involving his shovel claws. Tails gets a largely superfluous (though admittedly nicely animated) sequence where he flies the X-Tornado. Cosmo spends most of the episode napping in a hill. There’s a brief scene set back on Earth, showing Chris’ friends and family pretty freaked out by his departure. (And also shows that his parents and grandfather have aged in no discernible way.) Still, this is a relatively fun one. It’s obvious that the change in premise has reenergized “Sonic X.” [7/10]

Sonic X, Episode 2.20: A Wild Win

Sonic X, Episode 2.20: A Wild Win

Japanese Title: Sonic Battle: Finale!!

Japanese Air Date: February 15th, 2004

U.S. Air Date: February 26th, 2005

Instead of picking up the far more exciting plot point of Sonic chasing after Eggman, the last part of the "Sonic Battle" story arc begins by focusing on the martial arts tournament. The episode quickly progress through a series of matches before coming to the final fight: Knuckles vs. Emerl. The robot's abilities to copy his opponent's moves makes him an ideal match for Knuckles, who quickly relents to the beating he receives. As Emerl is handed the red Chaos Emerald, his electronic brain is overwhelmed. The formally kind robot gains red eyes and proceeds to attack everyone violently. Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge can't stop him and he's soon tearing the city apart. That's when a very unexpected hero emerges with the perfect strategy to stop the rampaging machine. 

As I've mentioned in the past, tournament arcs are often done to pad out the episode counts of long-running shonen fighting anime. (Usually so the manga can produce more material for the show to adapt.) This means the story lines usually go on for a decent number of episodes. "Sonic X," meanwhile, squeezes an entire fighting tournament into two episodes. "A Wild Win" crams six matches into its opening minutes, before a relatively short final battle occurs.

Admittedly, I have to admire the show for speeding through the match-ups, as I really didn't want to watch an endless series of fight scenes anyway. Yet I mostly came away from the first half of this episode thinking how disappointing a tournament this must have been for audiences to watch. Has there ever been a martial arts tournament before where so many matches end without actual fighting? Or where one opponent just randomly decides to give up? In this episode alone, Chris decides he doesn't want to fight Amy or Rouge in the finals, so he fakes a belly ache against Knuckles. Mr. Stewart forfeits his fight against Lucky, when Scarlet Garcia recognizes him from the "Sonic Adventure 2" subplot. When Lucky is suppose to fight Emerl, the bell-shaped robot just collapses from a sprained ankle or something. I guess Emerl learned to copy Lucky's luckiness? How the hell is that suppose to work? This follows the previous episode, where half the fights ended in boring forfeits or ring-outs.

The semi-final fight is one of the few actual showdowns the tournament presents us with. But the audience in the stadium is denied even the satisfaction of getting to see that. Perhaps remembering that Knuckles beat her the last time they fought, Rouge demands a handicap. (She uses the excuse of being a delicate female, which I can't believe anybody bought considering they've all seen Rouge tear robots to pieces.) Knuckles agrees to fight Rouge in a black-out tent, where the night vision equipped bat will have an advantage... Which means the people watching live see none of the actual fight! They just hear Knuckles and Rouge tumbling around in the dark, grunting at each other. They could be having rough sex in there, for all we know. Considering Rouge emerges, battered and bruised but feeling confident before collapsing from exhaustion, I'm choosing to believe that is exactly what happened. Honestly, if I had paid an exorbitant ticket price to watch this fight, I'd be asking for a refund. 

Of course, there's a reason "Sonic X" rushes through all of this shit: The episode isn't actually about the fighting tournament. Instead, Emerl holding the Chaos Emerald, going insane, and attacking the city is much more important. Not that this plot point is especially well done either. Emerl's ability to copy fighting techniques is believable enough to make him a match for Knuckles, who is not a master tactician anyway. Yet the machine immediately reducing Station Square to rubble is a little hard to believe. We see buildings devastated and the streets inundated with rubble. One little robot did all that?! Nobody thought to call in the military or anything? Station Square just got destroyed by Perfect Chaos not that long ago, so it really feels like the show seriously inflates Emerl's destructive capabilities in a desperate attempt to make the little guy seem like a serious threat. 

Actually, I'm not sure if the show runners wanted us to take Emerl seriously as a villain or not. Because he's defeated by a pre-schooler. Yes, Cream summons the strength to stand up to her former robotic friend. And she doesn't do it by making a declaration of love or an emotional plea from the heart. It looks like it's going to go in that direction but, nope, Cream just beats the shit out of him. There is no "crayon breaky Willow" speech. Instead, Cream touches on the strategy of having Cheese leap in front of Emerl's face whenever he's ready to copy Cream's ability, interrupting the process. The other characters interpret this as "Emerl can't copy more than one person at a time," even though he did exactly that earlier in the episode. 

It's a pretty ridiculous ending for a number of reasons. Sure, Cream and Cheese destroyed countless Eggman machines in "Sonic Advance 2." But this cartoon has portrayed her as nothing but a harmless, even petulant little child. Having her suddenly swing into action hero mode – defeating a foe in a few minutes that Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge all struggled with – strains believability. I also can't believe that literally no one besides the tiny child thought of disrupting Emerl's scanning abilities before this point. It seems like a fairly obvious solution to me! Or, like, Tails and Chuck could've designed a computer virus and infected Emerl from afar with a drone. Or the government could've just dropped a bomb on him. How are you going to copy a bomb's special move? Anything would've been better than having a cute little bunny punch the murder-bot in the face until he fell into the ocean.

Or, maybe, Emerl's love for Cream could've overpowered whatever ancient mayhem protocol the Chaos Emerald activates. (Rouge crudely wonders if this is the case, by asking if Emerl "likes little girl." I can't tell if that's a pedo joke or just an unfortunate translation choice.) But I don't think this would've been dramatically satisfying either. Because we don't actually care about Cream and Emerl's relationship. Emerl has done almost nothing since being introduced a few episodes ago. His bond with Cream has been talked about more than it's actually been shown. How many scenes have they even had together before this episode? "Sonic Battle: Finale!!" certainly packs in the melodramatic emotion. Emerl cries motor oil as he sinks into the ocean and Cream weeps after he explodes. Yet I have zero emotional investment in these two's relationship, so none of this stuff hits home at all.

There might have been another reason why most of the fight scenes in this episode either occur off-screen or conclude without actual violence: The animator had neither the time, resources, budget, ability, or interest in making the fight scenes look decent. In the back half of the episode, there's far too many scenes of Emerl turning into a spinning tornado and rushing at our heroes. There's in general quite a lot of repetition, frames of people rushing back and forth around their opponent being repeated. A shot later, of Sonic balancing on his toes as he stands at the dock, looks especially shitty. I guess this show isn't like "Dragon Ball Z," when they can just save money in fight scenes by spending three episodes on someone charging up an attack.

By the way, Eggman – who has almost nothing to do in this episode – casually mentions that Emerl is made from ancient technology. This is a callback to the "Sonic Battle" video game, where Emerl was built by some mysterious, long-since-gone civilization. Yet it's definitely pretty sloppy that they mention his origins in an off-hand manner like this instead of, ya know, actually depicting it on-screen. I'm sure, "Sonic" fans being the particularly passionate people they are, that Emerl is someone's favorite character. But I've never thought he was that interesting and this pretty half-assed episode reinforces that belief. After a fun start, the "Sonic Battle" two-parter ends in spectacularly shitty fashion. [4/10]

Sonic X, Episode 2.19: Prize Fights

Sonic X, Episode 2.19: Prize Fights

Japanese Title: Sonic Battle: Opening!!

Japanese Air Date: February 8th, 2004

U.S. Air Date: February 19th, 2005

After a bit of build-up, we have finally arrived at the official adaptation of "Sonic Battle." Sort of. "Sonic X" completely abandons the game's plot in favor of its own wacky premise. The government is concerned about Eggman, now out of prison and up to no good. They decide to hold a public martial arts tournament, with Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge all being forced to participate. The prize is an honest-to-god Chaos Emerald. It's all a ploy to lure the mad scientist out into the open. The tournament is opened to the public, with most of Sonic's friends successfully entering into the competition. Much shenanigans ensue. 

In the history of action anime, there's no story more commonplace than the tournament arc. Since so many shonen shows revolve around fighting or competition, it's natural and almost obligatory to include a tournament eventually. It's a simple premise that allows the writers to take it easy for a bit, putting pure plot aside in favor of bouncing colorful characters off of each other. It gives an excuse to let good guys grapple it out or to showcase the skills of supporting characters. It's also often used as filler for this exact same reason. Whether you find this more-fighting, less-story set-up entertaining or tedious is entirely a matter of personal taste. 

"Sonic X," being the show it is, completely refuses to play by the usual rules of the tournament arc. Instead of showcasing popular "Sonic" cast members, like the Chaotix or Shadow, most of the fights are made up of random side characters. Was anyone begging to see Sam Speed and Mr. Stewart fight it out? Characters I had forgotten about, like Lucky and Hawk, are reintroduced here. Unsurprisingly, this show plays this premise less for action and more for absurdist comedy. Many of the fights are totally farcical. Ella chases Big the Cat around the ring, a scene so silly even 4Kids decided it had to be cut. Sam gets disqualified for tackling Mr. Stewart before the bell rings. Bocoe and Decoe are ready to have an epic judo match when the cops show up and declare them wanted fugitives. 

The show lacks so much commitment to the fight-driven premise that most of the showdowns end with someone nonviolently conceding. Ella refuses to fight Emerl. Mr. Tanaka charms Topaz into surrendering with some jewelry. (Which is bullshit, as we all know Topaz only has eyes for Rouge.) Rouge rings-out Tails by stunning him with a peck on the cheek. Chuck doesn't even get a chance to fight Lucky, because his back goes out while training. Which is pretty funny. In fact, I laughed a lot during this episode. Such as when everyone plays on an otherwise uninterested Knuckles' fragile masculine ego to convince him to enter the competition, essentially guilting him into fighting. Or when Amy debates whether it's right for a young lady like her to show-off her violent side before absolutely annihilating Bokkun with her hammer. 

Of course, I really have to question how any of this is legal. There doesn't seem to be any rules determining who could enter this tournament, or what equipment they could use. Looking at the contestants, you could've potentially had ordinary citizens – including an elderly man or a rotund middle-age woman – fighting against alien superheroes or robots. One of the contestants wears a full suit of armor and Amy uses her hammer, while everyone else is unarmed. Was there any guidelines preventing someone from just bringing a machine gun into the ring and gunning down their opponent? And then we have to consider that several of the fighters are literal children. Having someone like Tails – a fox from another planet with various special abilities – fight an adult like Hawk is one thing. But forcing Chris and Danny, grade schoolers, to wrestle for the public's entertainment or Chris to grapple his own father is unethical, at best, and completely sadistic at worst. 

Yeah, that's right, Chris fights his own dad here. The show plays the match-up for comedy, obviously. Chris defeats his father in minutes and largely off-screen, seemingly pinning him with a leg lock. I suspect Nelson let the boy win. Yet I can't help but imagine how this match-up will further exacerbate the kid's growing Daddy Issues. You can easily imagine him, years later, telling a therapist about the time it sure seemed like his dad was willing to beat his ass in front of millions of people. Then again, Chris' psychological issues are already manifesting. He tricks Danny by acting like he's unwilling to fight a friend, before pinning the other boy quickly. Later, Chris confesses to Sonic that he's tired of being perceived as a child and a "good kid." Obviously, Chris' abandonment issues have left him unable to trust people and questioning his own identity. He's a good thing he's rich and will be able to afford the years of therapy it's going to take to unravel all this shit. 

There are certain political ramifications to consider here, as well. And I'm not even talking about the U.S. government sponsoring a prepubescent fight club in an elaborate, poorly thought out scheme to catch a wanted fugitive. The very first match of the tournament features the President of the United States boxing a regular citizen. Absolutely any outcome to this scenario is going to be a P.R. disaster. Since the President is a doughy old white guy in boxing gloves and trunks and his opponent is someone wearing a suit of medieval armor, Christina Cooper throws in the towel before the leader of the free world is beaten to death. Such a display of cowardice and weakness is definitely not going to play well in the red states! I'm just going to assume President Michael K. is a Republican, because I sure as fuck can't imagine a Democrat ever stripping down and stepping into the ring for some fisticuffs. He's pretty annoyed that he doesn't get to fight. Which seems all too probable in a post-Trump world, where childish macho dumb-assery was a regular event in the Oval Office. (By the way, the Black Knight – nary a flesh wound in sight – turns out to be someone with a personal grudge against the President. I feel like the Secret Service wouldn't have allowed any of this to happen!)

Man, I'm trying to imagine the intense disappointment seven-year-old "Sonic" fans watching this for the first time in 2005 must have felt. The premise makes it seem like we're going to get awesome brawls between Sonic and Knuckles. Instead, the only fight that isn't a massive joke is Tails flailing Hawk, a fat guy with a salad bowl haircut, around the ring. I can see why the U.S. dub didn't include the "Sonic Battle" connection that's in the Japanese title. Not only is this nothing like the game but Gemerl does very little in this episode. The robot continues to have no personality at all and the show has done little of the work needed to make us invested in its bond with Cream. 

The only thing here that I can imagine really pleasing fans is some more gratuitous SonAmy ship-teasing. Sonic and Amy are scheduled to fight. Both are obviously reluctant to do anything and debate how this is going to go... Before Eggman swoops in, fires a laser, and Sonic saves Amy's life. He leaps after the villain, leaving the ring and forfeiting the match. Amy, of course, takes all of this as a sign of the hedgehog's undying love for her. It plays off the opening scene, where she was going through some existential angst over whether or not Sonic would ever acknowledge his feelings for her. The "X" version of Sonic definitely has feelings for Amy but her increasingly maudlin obsession with him is starting to get tiring. Can she go back to being crazy? That's more fun. 

This is definitely a very dumb episode of "Sonic X" but it's so weird and messed-up that I still really enjoyed it. The combination of Japan's surreal sense of humor and these cutesy characters has led to so much unexpected shit. I hope the rest of this story arc is just as demented as this episode was. [7/10]

Sonic X, Episode 2.18: Sewer Search

Sonic X, Episode 2.18: Sewer Search

Japanese Title: The Ridiculous Epic Spy Operation

Japanese Air Date: February 1st, 2004

U.S. Air Date: February 12th, 2005

"Sonic X" continues to be in a goofy mood with the eighteenth episode of season two. The President is concerned about Eggman having escaped prison. He sends Rouge and Topaz on a special mission to find him. Mr. Stewart has also been deployed on this mission. Chris and his friends randomly meet Cream, Cheese, and Emerl at school. Upon seeing Mr. Stewart, all the kids decide to follow him around. The group soon stumbled across Eggman, who is literally buying books in a used book store. They follow him to his sewer lair and shenanigans ensue. Meanwhile, Chuck assigns Sonic to go find Chris, who didn't arrive at school today. 

Yes, this has to rank among the sillier episodes of this very silly television program. I guess it technically moves the overall plot forward: Emerl continues to lurk around in the background, the show periodically reminding us of his ability to copy special moves. All in preparation of that forthcoming "Sonic Battles" adaptation. It's also established that Eggman has set up a new base below the streets of Station Square, like he's a Ninja Turtle or something. Also, that he's planning some new evil deed. But otherwise, this is a loose, screwball installment devoted to the characters shirking responsibilities and going on wacky adventures that have little impact on the rest of the series. 

The thing that is most amusing about this episode is the reveal that... Mr. Stewart is actually a good spy? Let me explain. The kids come across their former teacher pressing a stethoscope to a tree. He suspects Bocoe and Decoe are hiding inside, which seems ridiculous. Except he's totally right. Later, he uses the same device to uncover the location of Eggman's new hideout. When he's captured by the bad guy, and they dump his briefcase full of spy shit on the floor, Eggman dismisses it. Surely, nobody as unassuming and buffoonish as this guy could be an actual intelligence agent. Being unassuming and unsuspected are, in fact, the qualities that make a good spy. (And not so much transforming robot cars, though he has one of those too.) Mr. Stewart is still kind of a dumb-ass — he drives his car down a flight of stairs and imperils the children in his backseat — but in this show's goofy world, he's still pretty good at his job. 

Another thing I like about this episode is that there are multiple scenes of characters just hanging out together and being silly. After Stewart's hideous compact car turns into a boat and cruises into the sewers, a lizard jumps into the backseat. This freaks out Danny, who has an apparent phobia of all things creepy and crawly. Helen thinks the lizard is cool though. In fact, she loves animals like that and is even seen, in flashback, cuddling a spiny caterpillar. He insists that's weird, she fires back that he's unmanly, and I come away thinking both of these kids are more interesting than I previously did. I like it when characters, especially children, are given specific personality quirks. 

This is also an episode strangely fixated on desserts. Maybe because most of it takes place in a sewer, which presumably stinks of human feces. After an extensive recap of the last episode, we are greeted to a very serious scene of the President giving Rouge and Topaz their mission. This comically contrasts with Rouge and Topaz deciding to, instead, spend the afternoon at a fancy restaurant, enjoying some gourmet ice cream. Later, multiple characters tempt and confuse Bokkun by mentioning Ella's apple pie and strawberry cake. Later, the heroes catch the explosion-obsessed robot in their house, eating said desserts. Maybe Ella is just really chill when someone asks to cook for them, maybe she distracted herself from being worried about Chris by baking, or maybe Bokkun threatened to blow her up if she didn't serve him. 

Even though it's a light-hearted episode that isn't that important to the lore, TMS still decided to include some of that super smooth action animation they occasionally toss our way. After successfully making it though one giant gate, Eggman attacks Chris and friends with the Egg Spider. That's a giant arachnid-themed mech of his. Sonic appears just in time to fight the machine. We are then treated to some nice shots of the hedgehog running towards the machine, spin-dashing some limbs, and head butting it. It looks great. I wish the whole show looked this good. 

Despite the spiffy animation, it's notable that Sonic does almost nothing in this episode. He spends most of it off-screen, aimlessly running the city in search of Chris. Immediately after attacking the Egg Spider, he's pinned to the wall. Maybe his most notable action occurs in flashback, when Chris asks himself what he thinks of Eggman and Sonic says he doesn't care. Rouge saves him and it's up to Emerl to finish off Eggman's newest weapon. Again, I just think it's funny that the first season depicted Sonic as this neigh unstoppable hero that could bulldoze pretty much any of Eggman's robots, unless they were powered by a Chaos Emerald. Season two, meanwhile, has shown him repeatedly getting defeated by far less powerful threats. Has Eggman gotten better or is Sonic just worn out? Or is the show just trying to convince us that Emerl is a total bad-ass and sacrificing Sonic's skill level for it? You decide! 

Anyway, it's a pretty dumb episode. After defeating Eggman, everyone just leaves his new lair without exploring further. But I still enjoyed this because, I guess, I'm wrapped up in this show's stupid sense of humor. I did not expect "Sonic X" to be endearingly quirky but here we are. [6/10]