Sonic X, Episode 3.23: Agent of Mischief

Sonic X, Episode 3.23: Agent of Mischief

Japanese Title: The Day of the Plantations

U.S. Air Date: April 15th, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 27th, 2020

Once again, I have to open a "Sonic X" review by talking about the differences between the original Japanese title and the dub title. There's some confusion over the Japanese title, which some sources translating it as "The Day of the Plantations" – which sounds the Metarex are going to do some Paula Deen cosplay – and other sources translating it as "The Day of the Forestation." Which is a fairly straightforward description of the episode's events. For some reason, 4Kids looked at all this and decided to call the episode "Agent of Mischief." Who is the agent of mischief and what does it have to do with the plot? Bokkun is in the first couple of minutes of this episode being goofy and I can only assume that's all the people who make the titles watched. 

Anyway, yes, the episode does start with Bokkun informing the Sonic Team that Eggman has been captured. Before being attacked, Eggman overheard that the Metarex are headed for the coordinates of the Planet Aquarius. This will be the site of a once-a-millennium alignment that will spread throughout the universe. Dark Oak plants to use this to spread the forestation everywhere. And that's where the Blue Typhoon heads to make its final stand. Unexpected allies will appear to help while our heroes face their greatest challenge yet. 

At the very least, this episode clarifies some of the questions I have about Dark Oak's master plan. Yes, it seems his final goal really is to turn the entire universe into a massive forest, with no life but trees in it anywhere. That's a very literal interpretation of "bringing peace and tranquility to the universe." But it's also the kind of insane objective you can imagine zealots getting sucked into. I just wish the mechanics were a little less convoluted. Dark Oak had to get all the Chaos Emeralds, go to this specific point during a specific time, and then instantly spread the forestation everywhere. There's also something significant about Aquarius being a water planet and the role of light. Very specific stuff. Kind of makes you wonder why he was going around collecting random Planet Eggs separately, if an instantaneous transformation of the entire universe was always the plan. I suspect the writers made some of this up as they went along. 

If the last episode was surprisingly character focused, this one does sort of the same thing in a much simpler way. As the Sonic Team flies into combat and faces off with their enemies, all the regular cast members are reduced their own basic characteristics. Sonic has a never-say-die attitude, fighting to the last breath. Knuckles is dumb and strong and angry. Rouge is flirty and vain. Amy is obsessed with loving Sonic. Eggman is only watching out for himself. (Cream, hilariously, just gets to fire missiles at Black Narcissus while yelling at him.) This even extends to the bad guys, as the self-absorbed Black Narcissus carries a huge mirror into battle, so he can admire himself even in the heat of combat. All of these tiny character beats occur between space ship fights, fisticuffs, and explosions. It's reductive, perhaps, but does add a little more flavor to an otherwise standard fight sequence.

Shadow shows up too. He said he wasn't going to run headlong into a suicide mission. When the Chaotix show up on the planet – they followed Bokkun there, believing it could be a lead – he changes his mind. So why did Shadow change his mind about wanting to fight the Metarex? The episode doesn't provide an actual answer but I can guess: He's still pissed at them for killing Molly. Because avenging the murder of pretty little anime girls at the hands of nebulous evil organizations is Shadow's primary defining characteristics. I don't know what they did in the English dub. Probably just have him be angry at the Metarex empire because they're assholes. 

The last third of this episode also justifies all that bullshit last time about Mover Mode. In order to facilitate the Forestation, Dark Oak and the two surviving Metarex bosses all change into Mover Mode. They combine into one massive monster that the Sonic wiki informs me is called "Final Mova." It's a tree-like three-headed dragon thing that looks a little bit like King Ghidorah. (Which, knowing this show, is probably a deliberate reference.) In other words: To save the world, Sonic has to defeat a giant eldritch abomination. Just like the final boss battle of a "Sonic" video game, you guys! This all but guarantees that Super Sonic will be appearing soon. But I've got to give "Sonic X" points for fidelity to the source material. 

Despite being an episode that brings the entire fucking universe to the brink of annihilation, there's a lot of comedy here. The opening scene with Bokkun is pretty goofy, as you'd expect. Even though he's delivering an important message, his TV monitor still explodes. (Necessitating a very unnecessary scene where Tails reveals there's a second deck below the main deck on the Typhoon.) At one point, Bocoe and Decoe combine to form a wacky cannon, which is an amusing gag. The Chaotix showing up, naturally, allow for multiple fourth wall leaning gags, where the detective acknowledge that they are semi-reoccurring characters. Shadow doesn't pay attention to any of this, which is pretty funny. Even though their lives are at stake, Rouge continues to tease Knuckles throughout. The other guys even get in on the fun, Knuckles yelling at everyone after it's implied he likes Rouge. I'm starting to feel sorry for the poor echidna. His friends are so mean to him. 

I wish Cosmo was given a little more to do here. She has only one real scene, where she gets typically self-loath-y about her role in the final battle. Tails assures her that she does matter. He also asks her to live on his home world with him after all this is over, essentially the fox's form of a proposal. Aww, how friggin' cute is that? The episode ends in a fairly dark place. The Blue Typhoon has seemingly been destroyed and Sonic is swallowed by the Final Mova, which has filled itself with water. So, yes, it's an important plot point in this episode that hedgehogs can't swim. One presumes this is the darkest night before the dawn and it makes for a strong cliffhanger. Things continue to ramp up as "Sonic X" races towards its action-packed conclusion and it's pretty entertaining. [7/10]

Sonic X, 3.21: The Cosmo Conspiracy

Sonic X, 3.21: The Cosmo Conspiracy 

Japanese Title: Assassin Shadow!

U.S. Air Date: April 1st, 2006

Japanese Air Date: April 23rd, 2020

Once again, I've got to talk a little bit about the U.S. dub title of a "Sonic X" episode versus its original Japanese title. I actually don't dislike the 4Kids title for this one. I'm partial to alteration in titles and "The Cosmo Conspiracy" has a nice ring to it. It also does a decent job of reflecting the contents and main point of the episode, at least after the fact. But "Assassin Shadow!" has a blunt, propulsive power to it that is hard to shake. It really tells you everything you need to know: Shadow is in this episode and he's out to fucking kill someone. That exclamation point really just seals that you're supposed to shout the title as a startled shout. 

So who is Shadow trying to murder? The English title gives us his answer. The so-called Ultimate Lifeform sneaks aboard the Blue Typhoon, gets into Cosmo's room, and threatens her life. The fearless crew immediately get to work protecting the girl. Tails grabs her hand and they go running through the ship. Sonic, Knuckles, and Chris stand in Shadow's way but none can deter the determined hedgehog. Rouge then informs Knuckles of what they discovered in the last episode. This sets up an even more drastic conclusion. 

Part of why "Assassin Shadow!" works is because it's simple. This is essentially one long chase scene. Cosmo is on the run from Shadow, Tails and everyone else try to stop him, but he just keeps coming. In that sense, it reminds me of horror films like "Halloween," "The Terminator," and many other slasher flicks. We've got a vulnerable female being endlessly pursued by a seemingly unstoppable killer. He can't be reasoned with and nothing will convince him to stop coming. When you combine this set-up with repeated shots of Tails and Cosmo running through closing blast doors, which Shadow easily rips through, and you've got a surprisingly tense half-hour. 

And it certainly helps that, at least in the unaltered Japanese version, Shadow is in an unambiguously murderous mood. The very first word he says to Cosmo is simply "Die!" He repeatedly references his homicidal desires throughout the episode that follows. There's no getting around it. Shadow intends on murdering Cosmo. He even seems to think he's doing her a favor, at one point. That kind of grim determination absolutely helps raise the tension. If Shadow catches her, it's over. So that makes you really invested in making sure she doesn't get caught. (Unsurprisingly, all this kill-y, die-y language was softened considerably in the 4Kids version.) 

While "Sonic X" has sometimes struggled with getting viewers to give a shit about its non-Sega characters, I think this episode being as good as it is proves that we care about Cosmo. Tails certainly cares about her. All throughout this episode, he mentions again and again that he's sworn to protect her. At one point, he clamps himself around Shadow's leg, trying to hold him back. Tails is willing to put himself directly in harm's way to protect this girl. As if this wasn't tensely romantic enough, there's an earlier, rather subtle moment that works really well. As they go on the run, Tails grabs Cosmo's hands. She looks at him meaningfully and grips harder. Going into this season, I never would've guessed that these two would develop into one of the show's best written relationships. 

Watching Shadow chase Tails and Cosmo from point-A to point-B might've been a bit dull but this episode smartly throws in a lot of rather dramatic events. Tails gets in the X-Tornado at one point and attempts to run the hedgehog down, to no avail. There's a confrontation between Shadow and Knuckles, which gives the kids some extra time. The best of this moments occurs when Tails lures Shadow into the inner chamber of the Sonic Driver and uses it to shoot him into outer space. That would work on a mere xenomorph but Shadow just Chaos Controls back onto the Blue Typhoon, which is itself a dramatic reveal. The only writing choice in this episode that strikes me as mildly bullshitty is Shadow collapsing from exerting himself without his inhibitor rings. 

The most dramatic moment in the episode comes at the end. Just as Shadow is about to strike Cosmo dead, the glass separating the bridge of the ship from the cold reaches of space is shattered. There's a moment of all the air being sucked out of the room – another inconsistency in this show's wildly inconsistent depiction of outer space – before the hole is patched by mysterious forces. Its then revealed why Cosmo didn't respond at all to Yellow Zelkova being one of her species last time: It seems Cosmo has been an unwilling sleeper agent of the Metarex the entire time. She's pretty shocked about it and it's a hell of a cliffhanger to end on. How the next episode handles this particular plot point will determine whether this twist really works for me but, within the context of this episode, it's a success. 

I think the showrunners knew this was a better-than-average episode too, as there's a couple of brief splurges of improved animation. When Tails is escaping from the collapsing X-Tornado or trying to hold onto Cosmo at the end, everything's a little more fluid and expressive. (Also, Knuckles spiky knuckles are back, so they either regrew or he just put on a new glove.) Tense thrillers like this really appeal to me so I'm feeling the need to rate this one a [8/10]. I'm betting, in the future when I think back to my favorite "Sonic X" episodes, this one will probably be somewhere near the top. 

Sonic X, Episode 3.18: Terror on the Typhoon

Sonic X, Episode 3.18: Terror on the Typhoon

Japanese Title: The Eggman Fleet Appears

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

Japanese Air Date: April 20th, 2020

You know this episode of "Sonic X" is going to be a serious one because it starts in medias res. The Blue Typhoon is within a warp zone or something and fighting off a Metarex fleet. Tails reflects on how they got in this sticky situation: They caught the signal of a Chaos Emerald, emanating from a small but fast-moving shuttle. They followed the ship into the warp zone only to be ambushed by the Metarex... And a fleet of autonomous robot ships built by Eggman. Yes, the Sonic Team's two biggest enemies have joined forces and trapped them in a deadly situation.

I have to give the "Sonic X" writers' room more credit than I expected. The recent episode where Eggman helped Sonic out struck me as a genuine heroic moment for the villain. Even though the mad scientist has devoted his life to destroying the hedgehog, I totally bought it that he would object to the Metarex's plans for conquest for one reason or another. This episode reveals that the doctor is working with the evil empire. It's a reveal that shouldn't be surprising. When Tails accuses Eggman of betraying them, he points out that he's always wanted to kill them. Yet the show pulled a convincing swerve here, making me think Sonic and his nemesis has found a common enemy. Instead, the ever-calculating Eggman had the logical conclusion that his goals and the Metarex's line up, at least as far as exterminating blue hedgehogs go. There's even a scene where Eggman taunts the heroes, saying suicide is an option if they don't want to die at the bad guys' hands. Brutal. 

This is, by the standards of a children's cartoon, a brutal episode. Throughout "Sonic X's" history, there aren't very many incidents were the good guys loose. In fact, I'm having trouble thinking of any previous episode where Sonic wasn't victorious in some form. Here, the heroes soundly get their asses kicked. Half-way through the episode, Sonic and Knuckles are both left bruised and bandaged. The echidna is even left hobbling around on crutches at one point. The Blue Typhoon is not victorious against their enemies in this episode. The heroes are merely lucky to escape with their lives, a last-ditch effort to escape the warp zone barely working. They don't win, they just survive. Considering the first season featured multiple episodes where Sonic just bulldozed through whatever stupid thing Eggman built that week, it's surprising to see this one end with our heroes so unambiguously defeated. 

Considering how ruthless the Metarex are supposed to be – they fire on their own ships in this episode – I'm honestly surprised it took them this long to reach this point. Eggman builds a pentagram-shaped shield specifically design to counter the Sonic Driver, the sole trump card the good guys have against the Metarex. Honestly, the villains probably should've thought of that a lot sooner. The Sonic Driver takes extensive preparation time to activate and the heroes have repeatedly used it to win battles. You'd think they would've thought to directly counteract the big giant cannon a lot sooner. The Sonic Driver is not the only deus ex machina that starts to fail the Blue Typhoon crew this time, as the Master Emerald is also beginning to falter. It seems the weird effects of the Metarex universe is causing its power to fade.

In other words, both the times and measures are starting to get pretty darn desperate. It's a lot of pressure for a gang of teenagers and children to handle. Which is why Tails' confidence starts to slip in this episode. Half-way through the battle, he feels like he's already failed. As the captain of the ship, he blames himself. His friends are going to die and it's all his fault. Cosmo talks the fox out of this crisis and he manages to scrap together a solution at the last minute. Yet it's still effective writing. It builds on the insecurities about being captain that Tails has felt all season and it continues to bring him closer to Cosmo. The way all his friends come around to support him at the end is awfully sweet too. 

It's a well written episode, with compelling conflicts of both the external and internal variety. Though maybe the external conflict could've used a little work. Not so much on the writing front. Our protagonists being caught in a tight spot by the baddies is good stuff. But the action is a little uninspired. There's lots of shots of laser beams being fired and little ships blowing up, which aren't a lot of fun to watch. Chris builds Sonic another gimmicky set of special shoes again. This time they are sneakers that generate a little ball of energy, that Sonic can kick at his enemies. Deadly soccer cleats, in other words. Goofy shit. In general, the animation remains a little too stiff to make the action really dynamic. 

Considering the stakes in this episode, there's not too much room for comedy. But this is still "Sonic X," so some wackiness ensues. Mostly when Tails and Knuckles having a stress induced argument is dissolved by the fox making a hat pun. This is so groan worthy that even Knuckles comments on it. A little later, there's a brief gag where Decoe, Bocoe, and Bokkun are caught off-guard by their boss' commands. (Bokkun is back to his normal size again, by the way. I guess that teenage body joke a while back really was as big of a non sequitur as it appeared.) Not too much room for jokes when the heroes are on the verge of dying. 

It's not a perfect episode. The mechanics of the method Tails uses to escape the wormhole raises a few questions. Especially when it causes a massive explosion to backfire on the Metarex ships. I didn't understand entirely what was happening there. The show doesn't have time to think too hard about the science – not that it ever thinks about science – when the good guys are stuck in such a dramatic scenario. Yet it's still a pretty compelling half-hour that managed to catch me off-guard in some nice ways and obviously cares about its characters. Works for me! [7/10]

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]

Sonic X, Episode 3.08: Trick Sand

Sonic X, Episode 3.08: Trick Sand

Japanese Title: Shadow Rebirth

U.S. Air Date: October 29th, 2005

Japanese Air Date: April 6th, 2020

From the moment he "died" at the end of "Sonic Adventure 2," fans were eagerly anticipating the return of Shadow the Hedgehog. In the time between the release of "Adventure 2" and Shadow's official return in "Sonic Heroes," there was sooo much fanfiction devoted to bringing the black hedgehog back to life. Usually involving amnesia or Shadow coming back as a hero. Obviously, Sega suspected the edgy anti-hero would be the game's breakout character, which is why they wrote a "death" that could be so easily weaseled out of. Unsurprisingly, Shadow's inevitable resurrection would follow a path not dissimilar to a lot of those fanfics. 

Since season three of "Sonic X" would air after Shadow's return would became a foregone conclusion, but still felt the need to faithfully adapt the game, the show also had to deal with Shadow's return. The eighth episode of season three would finally return the fan favorite to the show. The Japanese title would be upfront with this, naming the episode "Shadow Rebirth," while the U.S. title went with a goofy pun revolving around the Metarex villain of the week. 

Since "Sonic X" has gone off on its own weird tangent at this point, it does not adapt "Sonic Heroes." Instead, this episode starts with the Blue Typhoon detecting a Chaos Emerald on a distant planet called Hobidon. They immediately warp there and discover a dead world, with a crashed space station embedded in the ground. While Chris and Cosmo try and figure out what happened here, Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles search for the emerald. What they find is a house filled with traps and a villain with an insidious power. Meanwhile, Rouge makes a shocking discovery of her own aboard Eggman's ship: Turns out the doctor has (an unconscious) Shadow on-ice aboard his craft and has been working unsuccessfully to revive him. 

The episode begins by recapping Shadow's sacrifice during season two, which is then revealed to be a dream Chris Thorndyke is having. Chris has held into Shadow's inhibitor ring all these years. He's still attached to Shadow and thinks of him often. Ya know, this is an idea "Sonic X" has run with that I've never bought. Chris' fixation on Sonic makes sense, because of his fucked-up relationships with authority figures. Chris' longing for Shadow never made much sense to me, considering he tried to kill the kid a few times before his heel-face turn. Unlike his attachment to Sonic, the show has never really delved into Chris' crush on Shadow. It's something we just have to accept, to make these plot points plausible. It's a pivotal part of this episode. Maybe Chris just has a hedgehog fetish... 

But that's not really what I want to talk about. As a lifelong horror nerd, I've repeatedly bemoaned the lack of creepy "Sonic" media. "Sonic X" dipped its toes into the spooky side of things during an infamous season one episode but has mostly played things pretty straight... Until now! (Which is maybe not surprising considering how much darker season three is anyway.) "Trick Sand," at least for its first half, is essentially a haunted house episode. Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles step into a spooky abandoned building. They discover traps and secret passageways. They are cornered and attacked by an otherworldly villain. The episode repeatedly returns to the image of a creepy, giant starring eye. This Halloween-y tone is set up early, as even Sonic is off-put by the setting. An early scene has him freaking out while crossing a rickety bridge over a stagnate body of water. 

If this episode has an "old dark house movie in space" premise, it definitely pays homage to the greatest "old dark house movie in space." Outside the spooky old castle is that crashed space station. It's circular design obviously recalls a number of fictional space station but the episode lingers on its rusty, ruined curves. Chris and Cosmo step inside and discover a remnant of a dead civilization. In the form of a rickety old recording – itself a common horror trope – depicting a strange alien warning anyone watching this about the Metarex and explaining what happened. The alien on the footage looks more like Kimba the White Lion than the space jockey but "Alien" still seems to be a pretty obvious influence here. No Xenomorphs appear in this episode but the villain does take the form of a set of ravenous jaws at one point. 

Let's talk about that villain. Instead of just being another blocky giant robot with a new superpower, this week's Metarex baddy has a more interesting gimmick. Metarex Deserd is, in fact, made up of a collection of nanobots. He's a shape-shifting grey goo that can take on any number of forms. The Metarex are already harder to kill than most of the adversaries Sonic has faced on this show. Such an implacable power makes Deserd – whose name is presumably a mangled translation of "Desert"–  one of the more interesting one-off villains to appear in this season. I even like the way he speaks in a booming voice, mocking his enemies as he lashes out at them. 

Unfortunately, "Trick Sand's" appeal dissolves the minute it shifts from trying to be spooky to trying to be action-packed. It looked like this was going to be another episode where Chris zaps a new pair of fancy shoes at Sonic and he saves the day with them. This time, it's a pair of rocket shoes that can travel along a "bridge" of Power Rings. This leads to a very goofy looking image of Sonic rocketing through a golden tunnel. This does not save the day though and instead it's up to the recently resurrected Shadow to resolve things. That is even less satisfying than Sonic's doozy new sneakers saving the day, as Shadow has nothing to do with most of the episode! It doesn't help that the animation in the action scene is kind of wonky. The second half of this episode feels "off" in a number of ways. 

This episode also builds on another lingering plot point. After Rouge finds Shadow in a stasis tube inside Eggman's ship, the doctor walks in on her. He reveals that he's known she's been on the ship the entire time and even tries to integrate her into his plan. I, personally, don't believe this. Eggman got so fucked up by Rouge's last few plans that I think he's just trying to save face by saying "uh yeah, I, uh, totally knew the whole time." The show has been humiliating Eggman so relentlessly here of late that it's hard to buy him as some sort of devious schemer. Which the weirdly serious scene of him talking with Rouge seems designed to do. But at least that goofy subplot is resolved and Rouge will no longer have to make Bokkun uncomfortable. Unless she wants to, as Rouge can do whatever she wants. 

By the way, the scene of Chris and Cosmo discovering the footage of the planet's precious residents really has no effect on the plot! It's just there for ambiance. The Tezuka-inspired alien – referred to as a Hobidon in the info card – is pretty memorable though. I'm not surprised there's a decent amount of fan-art out there of this character. Even though he's only on-screen for a minute and is, in fact, dead long before the events of the story happen. Anyway, this episode starts off really strong before falling apart at the end. I still enjoyed those haunted house vibes though. [6/10]

Sonic X, Episode 3.05: A Chilling Discovery

Sonic X, Episode 3.05: A Chilling Discovery

Japanese Title: The Battle on the Ice Palace

U.S. Air Date: October 8th, 2005

Japanese Air Date: April 1st, 2020

The quest to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds before the Metarex continues in the fifth episode of season three. Chris has developed a machine that can detect Chaos Emerald energy, leading the Blue Typhoon to the frozen planet of Breezy. They immediately encounter Metarex forces and the ship is damaged, forcing Tails to do repairs while everyone else seeks out the emerald. They soon discover the gem is encased within impenetrable ice and guarded by a fierce Metarex warrior named Crystal. Meanwhile, Eggman and Rouge both have schemes of their own. 

If you ever wanted to know what a "Sonic" version of "Star Trek" would be like, this gives you a pretty good idea. (I'm really surprised Ken Penders never wrote a parody like that, since we all know he's a huge nerd.) There's an elaborate sequence where the Blue Typhoon activates its warp drive, which includes generating a portal and passing through it via sparkly rainbow colors. Eggman gets one of those two, though his warp drive involves the amusing visual pun of wrapping his ship in a CGI egg. Later, after the ship is damaged after arriving on Breezy, there's a few scenes of Tails pulling off some Geordi La Forge shit and doing repairs. I'm curious if the show was lightly poking fun at sci-fi tropes like this, as Tails laments that he doesn't get to act like your usual starship captain very often. 

But intergalactic work place drama is not the main focus of this episode. Instead, “A Chilling Discovery” focuses mostly on the novelty of the ice planet setting. There’s a long tradition of ice levels in the "Sonic" series, starting with the third game and continuing onward. This episode even includes a scene of Sonic riding a board across the slippery surface and through spiraling icy structures. (Though his board here looks and acts more like the Extreme Gear hoverboards, that wouldn’t premiere until the next year’s “Sonic Riders.”) The episode even manages to play this series tradition for some comedy, such as when Sonic drops up to his nose into snow. I guess he likes solidified water particles as much as he likes regular water. 

While the Arctic shenanigans are mildly distracting, “A Chilling Discovery” eventually turns it’s focus to less interesting action sequences. The Metarex is seemingly waiting for Sonic and the gang and have prepared a small army of floating, crustacean-like troopers. Unlike previous Metarex threats, which were impervious to all the typical Sonic Team attacks, these guys are pushovers. A long, repetitive action scene is devoted to our heroes wrecking, exploding, and twirling Metarex Troopers around like they’re nothing. It’s quickly revealed these guys are leading the heroes into a trap but they are still super easy to destroy. 

At least the Metarex generals are still creditable threats. Metarex Crystal is not as girly as his name implies. Instead, the machine is encased in indestructible ice crystals. He’s also the size of a kaiju and able to launch further crystals as a projectile weapon, essentially making him the “Sonic” version of Space Godzilla. As unstoppable as Metarex Crystal seems at first, it turns out he has a weak sauce weakness. It is, in fact, the same weakness all ice has: Heat. A blast from a super hot laser beam cleaves off Crystal’s arm and another, more direct blast leads to a shockingly graphic scene of him melting alive. In other words, this week’s Metarex villain is defeated the same way as almost all of them have been so far. The good guys just shoot a big-ass gun at them. It makes a climax that starts out as exciting melt into a big nothing, like ice under a heat lamp itself. 

But there are a couple of moments in this episode that stand out. Not long after arriving on Planet Breezy, our heroes wander across the planet’s bitter surface. (Chris wears winter gear but all the Mobians are buck-ass nude, which raises some interesting questions.) Cosmo soon comes across a tree standing in the snow. She has an empathetic connection with this plant life, dismayed that it seems dead and hopeful that it can be restored to life someday. At the episode’s conclusion, after the Planet Egg is restored, Cosmo spots some blades of grass poking through the snow. It’s a nice visual summation of her personality, of holding out hope that life goes on and that dark times are not the end. 

This episode also continues the rehabilitation of Chris Thorndyke… But now I’m wondering if the show isn’t overcorrecting with that character. In the opening scene, Chris casually reveals that he’s invented a device that can detect Chaos Emeralds across the span of the universe. The Blue Typhoon has to warp to Planet Breezy, so something Chris cooked up in his spare time can locate a faint signal across hundreds of millions of miles of open space. It strains believably and that’s before Chris sends Sonic a hover board he also invented. Having Chris mature from being a mentally ill child is nice but turning him into this improbably brilliant inventor pushes too far in the opposite direction. (Not to mention it sidelines Tails as the smart one, reducing the fox to simply a pilot.)

And what about Eggman? He’s yet to do anything actually useful in this season thus far. He follows the Sonic and gang to Breezy. Rouge continues to fuck up his plan, this time by having Bokkun bring sake and rice cakes to the igloo, shaped like his head, that the doctor is hanging out in. Eggman immediately downs the booze and passes the fuck out. (Decoe and Bocoe do too, which raises some real questions.) Considering the mere sight of a rice ball was enough to send 4Kids censors into a blind panic, it is unsurprising to read that this entire sequence was cut from the dub. But it amuses me to know there’s an officially endorsed-by-Sega cartoon where Eggman gets blackout drunk.  

This episode also seems to confirm that Rouge is just doing this shit because she wants to own the shiny, shiny emeralds. This reveal sets up a last minute plot twist that pissed me off. While taking a bath — a scene that was not cut from the dub, presumably because she’s wearing her gloves the whole time for some reason — Rouge realizes the Chaos Emerald is a fake. It turns out this entire episode was a wild goose chase, a massive waste of time. Why the Metarex created a fake Chaos Emerald, which apparently put off a convincing enough energy signature to fool Chris’ super-duper machine, may or may not be important later. But it does reveal this entire episode as superfluous filler. 

And that’s disappointing, especially when most of the rest of the episode is underwhelming. I guess the season would be over too quickly if Sonic and the gang immediately found the other planets containing the Chaos Emeralds. But the show has to find better ways to occupy its time than with lame filler episodes like this. [5/10]

Sonic X, Episode 2.23: The Beginning of the End

Sonic X, Episode 2.23: The Beginning of the End 

Japanese Title: The Day the World Stood Still

Japanese Air Date: March 7th, 2004

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

After saving the world from the ignition of the Earth's Bellybutton, Sonic and friends have returned to what they do best: Mooching off their rich friend! Sonic is running around the world, performing random acts of heroism, while his friends just chill at Chris' mansion. But an ominous threat lurks on the horizon: The merger of Earth and Sonic's world is going to cause an apocalypse. The only solution is to use Chaos Control to separate the worlds again. Chris, who realizes this means he'll never see Sonic again, is sent into a panic. He hunts down Eggman, who he is convinced is responsible for this latest impending disaster. 

Before we go any further into this review, I have to unpack the completely nonsensical threat this episode presents. The idea that Earth and Sonic's world being Chaos Controlled together would have unforeseen, disastrous consequences seems reasonable enough. Even if Sonic just teleported a big chunk of land into the water around Station Square, that would probably wreak havoc on the local ecosystem. If he really did fuse the two worlds, all sorts of crazy shit can be expected to happen. But this is not the approach the episode takes. Instead, a scientist named Chaco Bankissy – who has the slightly less insane name of Kim Bickley in the dub – delivers a rambling explanation that the separate time frames the two planets existed in will cancel each other out and will cause time to "die." I don't really understand what any of that means but I'm pretty sure physics doesn't back it up. 

Moreover, nobody really explains what time "dying" means. Does it mean the Earth will stop rotating around the sun? Does it mean our progression into the future will freeze, and we'll be stuck living the same day, like "Groundhog Day?" Does it mean all movement across the universe will slowly come to a stop? And how will two worlds being fused do that? No answer is provided. Instead, the threat of time "dying" is just an excuse for the show to be forced to separate the two worlds. It's a way for the series to build towards a series finale, of Sonic and his friends being returned home. But I think the writers probably could've cooked up something less inexplicable and vague than this. 

The upcoming apocalypse is really just a plot device, to set up what this episode is really about: Chris Thorndyke being forced to reckon with the fact that Sonic will be going home soon. In an early scene, the boy is writing some sort of school essay, asking him to envision what he wants for his future. All he can think of is being with Sonic. Chris has built his entire personality around his (largely one-sided) friendship with Sonic. Just the idea of Sonic leaving Earth forever sends the boy into an ego death spiral that causes him to do something reckless: Walk right into the base of a villain that has tried to kill him multiple times. 

I knew Chris' attachment to Sonic was unhealthy but this episode shows that it's much worse than I previously thought. Chris has pinned his entire self-worth on his friendship with Sonic. If the hedgehog is gone, the boy might as well not exist. This is how badly his absentee parents have fucked him up. Chris knows his parents don't love him, because they're never around. (Ella notes, at the cook-out early in the episode, that this is the first time the entire family has been together in a year.) Sonic is also never around – he's barely in this episode – but at least he occasionally nods in Chris' general direction. That acknowledgement is the only thing keeping Chris going. This is a kid with no confidence or sense of self at all, unless Sonic is with him. What a supremely fucked-up human being and he's not even a teenager yet. I feel bad for him.

And what is the solution to Chris's mental breakdown? After Eggman left them for dead last time, Decoe and Bocoe have turned their backs on their creator. Now they work for the Thorndykes, as some form of community service in response to the crimes they presumably committed while employed by Eggman. (This causes me to imagine hilarious meetings between the robots and their parole officers.) Chris finds the bots, they perform a wacky transformation to summon Bukkon, who leads them to the hut Eggman now lives in. After the villain tells the boy he's not responsible for the upcoming disaster, he tells him he's being selfish and threatens to beat him with a ruler. Somehow, this causes Chris to return home, hug his parents, and decide everything will be alright. I really feel like Eggman's advice would make things worst though! Like I said, this kid is going to be in therapy for the rest of his life. 

I've spent almost this whole review talking about Chris' deeply troubling neurosis but other things happen in this episode. We already know, from a previous episode, that Sonic has inspired people to make lifestyle changes. To work less and pursue what makes them happy. This trend now has a name: The Freedom Movement. And it's sweeping Station Square. This seems to amount to people wearing shirts that say "FREEDOM" and calling off work. So many of Nelson's employees have not been coming into work that he's put everyone on vacation for a whole month... Everybody except for Mr. Tanaka and Ella, I guess. But I suppose they do everything in the Thorndyke Mansion because they love the family, right? 

And good for a Bezosian billionaire like Nelson Thorndyke to give everyone in his company a month of paid vacation. He can probably afford it. Not that a ruthless capitalist, who demands constant growth, would ever do this in real life. A month where no one works means a month of no profit generated, a concept that would probably turn Elon Musk grey. Mostly, I'm thinking of the workers who can't afford to just not work whenever they don't want to. What about Helen's dad, who worked himself to the bone to pay his daughter's medical bills? What does Amy, who is now working as a waitress in a cafe, think of this? Unless Sonic's free-wheeling attitude caused a massive change in society and government, from the top down, that puts the happiness of the individual human above corporate greed, the Freedom Movement is bullshit. It's just a bunch of rich folks on vacation, wearing t-shirts that were probably made in sweatshops. 

Anyway, sorry for the socialist rant. I do that sometimes. Hey, want to know a weird bit of trivia? According to this episode, Station Square is in Arizona. We know this because, during a scene starring Sam Speed, we see a freeway sign informing us that Station Square is ten miles outside of Flagstaff, 150 miles from Phoenix, and 265 miles away from Tucson. How this correlates with Station Square also being on a bay, as depicted in previous episodes, I don't know. Maybe, on the wacky "Sonic X" version of Earth, Arizona stretches all the way to the west coast. Or maybe someone built a massive man made lake out in the middle of the desert. Or maybe Sam Speed, the star of this scene, moved several states away from his sister when no one was looking and this scene isn't meant to take place in Station Square. Until we get some other proof, I'm going with the "enormous made made lake" theory.

That Sam Speed scene, by the way, is the sole action sequence in the episode. It involves the race car driver pursuing a Freedom Movement guy who is ignoring speed limits, which suggest there's more to this philosophy than what we see here. Anyway, Sonic swoops in to pluck the guy out of his sports car after he drives it off a bridge. Otherwise, this is a character-driven episode with lots of scenes of people just hanging out. Such as when Eggman attempts to prepare a meal – which looks like a burnt miniature tree trunk full of grape jello – for Bukkon. Why does a robot need to eat? Anyway, I enjoyed this one because I like to deconstruct Chris Thorndyke's psychological trauma but it's definitely kind of a weird one. [6/10]

Sonic X, Episode 2.22: The Volcanic Venture

Sonic X, Episode 2.22: The Volcanic Venture

Japanese Title: Sonic Versus the Underground Monster

Japanese Air Date: February 29th, 2004

U.S. Air Date: March 15th, 2005

"The Volcanic Venture" picks up right where "Sonic X" left off, with Sonic and the gang hanging out on the island above the Earth's Bellybutton. (A very silly phrase they use every two minutes in this episode.) Eggman and his robots have travelled inside the island's volcano. After Mr. Tanaka accidentally uncovers some Murasian treasure, the Sonic team becomes certain Murasia is inside the island. They take chase after Eggman and soon uncover an underground world. The place is full of danger, such as giant monsters and an impending volcanic explosion. 

The first half of this two-parter definitely felt like it stuck Sonic and friends into a story that didn't have much to do with them. This disconnect became really obvious in the second half, when the show turned into an extended fight between two sci-fi super-ships. "The Volcanic Venture" still feels like weird fanfiction, that randomly drops Sonic and the gang into an otherwise unrelated plot. Yet it does a slightly better job of blending the Sega crew with a traditional "lost world" story line. The usual "Sonic X" cast members are foreground more, even if the episode still largely plays like a wacky fusion of "Atragon" and "Journey to the Center of the Earth."

In fact, I suspect the hardcore "Sonic" video game fans probably really enjoy this episode. Largely because Sonic, Knuckles, and Rouge are the main characters in this time. A long portion of this episode is devoted to the three of them digging through the volcanic caverns to the hidden civilization underneath. We get some fun character interactions here. Like Sonic spin-dashing into a wall, only to be told that he really shouldn't do that in a volcanic. Or Knuckles impressing everyone by knowing what glow-in-the-dark moss is... Before the other two wander off in disinterest. Naturally, there's a lot of Rouge teasing and flirting with Knuckles too, which is always fun to watch. I especially like how Rouge has no plans to journey under the island before someone discovers a massive gemstone, after which she quickly changes her mind. That gag pays off in a funny way too, at the end. 

Also in my last review, I expressed some disappointment that "Sonic X" did a Toho homage without throwing in a kaiju. Well, I spoke too soon because this episode has two kaiju... Though maybe not the ones you are expecting. The "Atragon" homage does not extend to a Manda lookalike appearing. Nor does a Godzilla facsimile show up, though Bokkun does shatter a statue of a T-Rex at one point. Instead, TMS just straight-up put Mothra and Moguera (the giant robot from "The Mysterians") into this cartoon. They've been slightly redesigned but the similarities are blatant. Mothra — the data card calls her "Mothmacin" — only chases Decoe and Bocoe around but Moguera — renamed "Mongroun" — gets a complete action scene at the end. As a fellow monster movie nerd, it's fun when totally unexpected references like these crop up.

You'd think a giant, fire-breathing robot covered in drills — this show really likes drills — would be enough to raise the stakes here. Yet "Sonic Versus the Underground Monster" also builds a time limit into its story. Ya see, the volcano nearly the entire episode takes place inside of is about to go off any minute now. The heroes have to stop Eggman's plot to trigger a chain reaction that will destroy the world, fight off Toho's 17th most popular monster, and get out this place before the entire thing explodes. Normally, a set-up like this would create a hell of a lot of suspense...

But this is "Sonic X" we're watching, so most of the episode is played for goofy comedy. Eggman does clarifies that he does indeed intend to destroy the surface world but he seems pretty casual about it. At one point, he calmly asks his robot minions to get him some lunch, while just typing away on this laptop. That leads to a goofy scene of Becoe and Docoe foraging for food, considering eating a slug, and mistaking Mothra's antenna for a massive apple. The robotic duo gets most of the laughs here, such as an inspired gag when they attempt to combine into a giant super-robot. Or their seemingly final deaths at the end being quickly retconned. There's also a bizarre moment where Tanaka attempts to have some alone time with Topaz, before he karate chops a rock in two for no apparent reason. I'm going with the theory that Tanaka has an unrequited crush on Topaz and she's just too nice to tell him that busty bats are more her type.

Once again, the focus on silly comedy may have an ulterior motive as well. The previous episode featured some pretty smooth animation but I guess TMS couldn't scrounge up some extra money for this one. The fight with Moguera is pretty underwhelming. The robot is given a tiny mouth that he shoots fire out of, which looks seriously silly. In general, the robot moves in a loose, awkward fashion. Sonic and Rouge mostly spin-dash and screw kick the giant machine, resulting in repetitive scenes of spinning blurs colliding with the threat. There's also an odd scene, of Chris falling down a tunnel, that is animated in CGI for some reason. 

Still, despite some pretty apparent flaws, I enjoyed this one. I'm too much of a nerd not to get a kick out of an episode where Sonic fights a C-list giant monster. Again, it's funny and unexpected that "Sonic X" would go in this direction eventually. But why not? It's not like any of the previous "Sonic" cartoons didn't go in weird digressions that had nothing to do with the source material as well. It's pretty much a tradition at this point! This doesn't rank among the show's most entertaining half-hours but it's far from bad too. [6/10]

Sonic X, Episode 2.21: Map of Mayhem

Sonic X, Episode 2.21: Map of Mayhem

Japanese Title: The Great Decisive Battle at Latitude 0!

Japanese Air Date: February 22nd, 2004

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

Season two of "Sonic X" was mostly preoccupied with adapting several of the video games. With their version of the "Adventure" duo and "Sonic Battle" behind them, the show could've moved on to adapting "Sonic Heroes" or maybe the "Advance" games. (The third of which was about to come out a few months after this episode.) Instead, "Sonic X" decided to conclude season two by getting back to its true calling: Screwing around and sticking Sonic and friends into wacky adventures that don't have much to do with their usual antics. 

"Map of Mayhem" begins with a marine research vessel disappearing in a mysterious stretch of ocean called the Gran Pacific. Topaz is on the ship, because the vessel had some sort of connection with government documents. This causes the President to send Rouge to investigate. At the same time, Eggman has Decoe and Bocoe steal an ancient map from an archeologist called Dr. Atsumi. The map is connected to the lost continent of Murasia, who supposedly rearranged the world's continents millions of years ago by attacking a volcanic hotspot known as "the Earth's bellybutton." Sonic and friends investigate, teaming up with Atsumi and Knuckles. They soon uncover that Eggman is behind the disappearance and hopes to "stimulates the Earth's bellybutton." A huge, three-way battle between Eggman's new ship, Sonic and the gang, and a government super weapon reverse engineered from Eggman technology ensues over this pivotal location. 

"Map of Mayhem" is an unusually plot-heavy episode of "Sonic X," if you couldn't tell. That's because the writers are paying homage to some older media here. Not just to the "lost continent" subgenre, which has a long history of its own, but specifically to the sci-if films made by Toho in the 1960s. The plot most recalls the 1963 film, "Atragon." That film is about the surface world being attacked by a long lost, sunken civilization known as Mu. In America, "Atragon" is best known as the debut appearance of kaiju Manda. In Japan, the film seems better known for the Gotengo, its flying submarine outfitted with an enormous drill. This show already paid homage to the Gotengo, in the design of the Egg Fort. That design is brought back with the G.U.N. built third iteration. 

This is the most obvious callback but far from the only one. Dr. Atsumi is voiced by Kenji Sahara, who previously played a different character named Dr. Atsumi in Toho's 1957 alien invasion flick, "The Mysterians." The episode's Japanese title is presumably a shout-out to "Atragon's" quasi-sequel, "Latitude Zero." The shots of a group of cool dudes in matching, color-coordinated uniforms inside the GUN Fort's cockpit recalls both that film and any number of other tokusatsu shows. As a life-long Godzilla nerd, I immediately caught onto this because the episode's title card is based on the distinctive Toho production logo. Sonic doesn't fight a giant monster, not in this episode anyway, but there are a few other minor Toho in-jokes sprinkled throughout. 

Why "Sonic X" decided to pay homage to a bunch of movies that were forty years old at the time, I can only guess at. Presumably because the show runners like them. It's fair to say that old sci-fi movies don't have much to do with what we typically expect from the "Sonic" franchise though. The second half of the episode is devoted to a battle between Eggman's Giant-Makan, a high-tech vessel patterned after a pirate ship, and G.U.N.'s Gotengo knock-off. There's lots of lovingly animated scenes of the ships' various weaponry, like the laser cannons oars or a missile launcher shaped like the cylinder of a revolver. (This stands in contrast to some other, character-based scenes, which feature some janky, off-model animation.) The X-Tornado is prominently featured in several scenes as well. Once again, you get the impression that the people making this cartoon really wished they were working on a mecha show instead. 

As for what Sonic and the gang get to do among all the pyrotechnics, it's not much. Sonic's fear of water is referenced throughout, with Chris even jumping overboard to save him at one point. Later, Sonic does a special combo move with Knuckles, which seems a little weird and out of place. Topaz is in the episode strictly so Rouge can save her later on. The shock and surprise she displays upon learning Topaz is being held captive – which results in a guy holding her at gun point and Rouge launching herself out of the torpedo bay – once again supports the idea that these two are a little more than just work buddies. In fact, I think this subplot was included strictly to counteract that bit where Mr. Tanaka gave Topaz a necklace two episodes ago. Rouge and Topaz are gay lovers and you're never going to convince me otherwise.

Here's another episode that contrasts Eggman's wacky antics with an utterly apocalyptic scheme. His plot this week, after all, is to stimulate the Earth's g-spot "bellybutton," in order to cause massive squirting volcanic activity. This will presumably rearrange the continents again and kill millions of people. Oh, that wacky Eggman! Always plotting mass murder! This convoluted plot does reveal some interesting things about "Sonic X's" setting. Ya know, I've been saying all along that this show is set on Earth and I guess it is... But it's definitely not our Earth. Not just because everything's goofy and places like Station Square and Murasia exist. Throughout this episode, we repeatedly see a map of the planet and the continents do not begin to match the ones that actually exist. I'm sure no one really thought it through but this does seem to be an explicit admission that the show takes place in an alternate universe fantasy world

Despite some grim implications to the bad guy's machinations, there's lots of oddball comedy in this episode. Eggman impersonates Dr. Atsumi, including his hair. There's a couple of casual forth wall breaks and some Japanese word play. After Chris leaps into the water, Tanaka takes his shirt off, ties it to his head, and tries to follow suit. Bocoe and Decoe dress up as mummies for steal Atsumi's map. They then encounter Knuckles and only loose him after running into... Well, I guess it's a night club or something. But the front of the building is shaped liked a woman's face and it's full of busty ladies in belly dancing outfits, so something sexy is happening here. The next scene has Bocoe and Decoe covered in kisses, so I can only assume these two robots got laid. (It should not surprise you to learn this gag was cut from the dub.) 

It is, if nothing else, a memorable episode. Dropping these characters into a plot stolen from an old sci-if movies results in a story that doesn't feel especially "Sonic"-y. (Though I guess it's no more or less out-of-left-field than every other piece of "Sonic" tie-in media that existed up to this point.) Unlike the best episodes of "Sonic X," it doesn't explore the unexpected ramifications of the blue hedgehog and his buddies crash-landing on a planet similar to our Earth. Yet it's still a reasonably entertaining half-hour of animated nonsense. [7/10]