Why I Dislike 90s American Sonic 

I should clarify something with this video. The thing I was mostly referring to here is Sega of America's decision to create a different Sonic for the west. That comes off as a purely corporate choice, disrespecting the work of Sonic's creators. It obscured what Sonic was originally supposed to be, and created this mess of a franchise where most fans don't even know the personality of the main character. However, that is separate from the external Sonic media. The cartoons and comics were made by people that were handed this westernized Sonic. They likely had no idea about any of this. As far as they knew, what they were given was Sonic. So they ran with that. And it's clear many of those creators did care about their work, and I have a lot more respect for those works because of that. They're still not really my cup of tea, but my disgust is not pointed to any of those individually. It's the entire movement of making this different branch of Sonic that I dislike. I hate how the manual of CD attempts to claim that Amy is Princess Sally. I hate that the games called him Robotnik, despite the name Eggman be written on his own machines. I hate that the stories and scenes written in the Japanese manuals were deleted and replaced with something else. I hate that those kinds of things were done and then presented as what Sonic is. I hate being lied to. On their own, I have no problems with any of the cartoons or comics on principal. But since they come from a place so separate from the original idea of Sonic, I don't want them mixing. I don't want those cynical decisions from back then influencing the direction of the main series. Let them be their own thing. And let game Sonic be its own thing. A lot of this was originally going to be said, but I honestly did not intend to make this video. This was going to be a part of a video discussing the Sonic cartoons. But this section got so long I decided to split it off. And I probably should have put this whole thing at the end of this video instead of the start of that one. Whoops.

90's American Sonic is about to release a video called "Why I dislike Pariah695"

I agree with alot of stuff here, but 1: there was clearly love and passion put into alot of American Sonic media even if its playing off ideas from executives 2: the chilidog thing I think actually works very well, chillidogs are a NY street food, Sonic is a character constantly going from place to place, ofc his favorite food would be something sold at a vender

I don't mind it when they take some elements from old American Sonic and put them into the games when they add meaning to them. The two examples I can think of: -Robotnik becoming his real surname allowed them to expand into his family with Gerald and Maria Robotnik. -Chili Dogs being Sonic's favorite food let them add that really nice quirk in Sonic Unleashed where he goes around trying all the chili dogs from various cultures. I think that's really cute and charming and adds to Sonic's character in a minor but fun way.

The reason US Sonic likes chili dogs is because they "give him the runs."

Pariah to 90s Sonic: “I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk, I hate the way that you dress.”

There's a catch with that final comparison: The American Zelda stuff may be remembered, but only to laugh at (dancing Triforce, anyone?) With Sonic, there's a different kind of fondness, if not appreciation for it.

Okay there are quite a few peaces of misinformation here that I feel are critical to address. 1) Sega of American didn't change things "just because" they did because they were given almost no material from Sega of Japan like they didn't have access to the Sonic Technical Files. 2) The pilot origin story is not even the definitive one its just the one Oshima came up with that was included in the promo manga as a short peace. The Main meal and add for Sonic 1 was just like the American story one from an in-universe point of view with the story being that Eggman wants to boil the biggest Egg ever and cause mischief so get steals the Chaos Emeralds for the former and invades South Island, bust Sonic's concert and kidnaps his groupies...ah sorry Bodyguard Platoon for the latter. Not a lot of deep thematic lore here ether now is there? 3) While yes the Ace Attorney games were localized heavily so was this done for a very good reason. Every name in the original Japanese version is already a pun of some kind that aludes to a characters role or personality. As such would these important character informing gags have been lost in translation if they keep the name the same as in the Japanese version but because deduction is this games core gameplay was the decision made that creating English pun names that fulfill the same role there original ones did to a Japanese audience for an English one. The series actually had to much such changes more than ones like Case 2 game 2 would have been impossible without a alteration to the translation and no one in the US would ever have known that Japanese cars have there car wheel on the left as that is just not the common knowledge in the US that it is in Japan. So yes Ace Attorney very bad example for what you try to say here. 4) You keep talking about "American Sonic" as if it was even remotely just 1 think. Following that logic is Japanese Sonic just as soulless as Naka was foaming with rage over Sega of Japan making Sonic cute when he was very clear in his stance of "do not do cute Hello Kitty will eat us alife" which was one of the main reasons we ended up with the Sonic Adventure redesigns to re-invoke the "Badass" Sonic he envisioned. 5) There for now lets quickly use just 1 example of a Sega of America green lit project that has integrity. Sonic the Hedgehog the Saturday morning TV show (short SatAm) has a clear cut message, a mostly fleshed out character roaster with many character troupes we would latter get in the games. A strong art direction to the point were Naoto Oshima to this day still has a peace of SatAm concept art the team of that TV show send him. And to grap a bit ahead. Why does Sonic have shoes he does? Because there are a gift from his beloved Uncle he lost to Robotnik that he thoughtfully made to aid Sonic's fully use his inherent super speed. 6) Sonic is from Chrismas Island because its named after a real world island named Chrismas Island which was a nuclear Testing side, the idea came form Yuji Naka and has as far as we know nothing to do with Oshima's want to being Sega's Santa. 7) And prove that the Tornado comes from Oshima? I mean the Tornado was first added for Sonic 2 while he was working on Sonic CD a Pacific Ocean far away. 8) So what if DIC decided to give Sonic a favorite food? Tails and Knuckles since incept by there Japanese creators have canon favorite foods too and mind you Oshima even gave Sonic a favorite car for no reason. You are grossly wrong in just seeing corporate flags everywhere if that is how it roles you better hate Amy she only exist because Sega Japan marketing demanded Oshima to great a girl for Marketing stuff because it worked so well for Micky Mouse with Minny Mouse. Point being the suits will always not give a shit about artistic integrity they are here for the money and only the money so using the logic you give US Sonic as a whole ignoring what ever the people actually creating these things had in mind in favor of just looking at the mandates executives handed down is all corporate created art US, Japan or everywhere else soulless. The Truth is the part of US lore that stood the test of time were the ones that were given meaning by creators of TV shows and Comics that gave a shit and not the cold corporate things. Sally was an invention by DIC for there Sonic SatAm Cartoon as were Chilly Dogs, Sonic's attitude people reference is also the one from SatAm, AoStH and Archie and never what was written in the American Manuals, No one is ever saying Sonic is fast because of his shoes as the media that gave a damn never went that route and always had Sonic inherently fast. And this also explains your final question. "Why does no one do it with Zelda?" Because the Zelda cartoon was bad and its writers clearly didn't care for anything but there next Pay check. Good luck arguing that for SatAm were one of the original writers of the series tried to give it a proper conclusion all the way to his death bed because he cared that much.

Nothing wrong with having a bias for or against something, but I think your reasonings here are kinda shallow and bad faith, like you're taking the most cynical, corporate look at western Sonic writers and some seriously innocuous things, like Sonic liking chili dogs. You don't even really go into the Archie comics or DiC cartoons, both of which had no shortage of the passionate staff you apparently feel is missing from various western projects. Instead, you mention things like a dead-end promo comic, something that's largely irrelevant to American Sonic, even taking into account the era it was produced in.

I always find the “you can tell they cared” argument to strange . While it’s cool to learn that the people making the art are as if not more passionate about it than I am, I don’t know why it matters? Avatar the last airbender is a show that I adore and has touched the lives of so many, yet when looking into some of the cast members who many were kids when working on the show, we find out they didn’t see avatar as this special thing they connected to, it was just a job. Something they did for money while in college. Sure they had fun it seems. But did the voice of Aang or Sokka think they were giving life to a story that mattered? According to them it would seem not. It was a job they were directed and talented enough to sell in a way that emotionally connected. Likewise, does it really matter if the name “Robotnik” was made cynically if Jim Cummings and John Baldrey sold those performances and gave them life? Maybe the reason people still remember Mobius and Robotnik and Chili dogs is simply because the people who made those products just did a good job at making them something worth caring about. I’m sure many people working on Sonic 06 or Forces or lost world cared about it. It doesn’t make me enjoy them even slightly more because the execution doesn’t inspire that same love. I never knew that Oshima loved Christmas, that’s cool! But does it make Christmas Nights more charming to me? No, because the music, and aesthetic made by probably really tired and underpayed Japanese game designers payed off. Whether they enjoyed doing it or not. The art speaks for itself. And I think that quality will always transcend the motives of the creator. It also just kind of seems unlikely that nobody working on satam, or ASOTH, thought sonic liking chili dogs was fun. Or that robotnik was a cool name. Or that mobius was a cool idea. How much do they need to care, who needs to care? All that said I love this video cause I like hearing you rant haha I’d love to hear your thoughts on my comment as maybe I missed your overall point.

For what it’s worth, I don’t know anybody who liked Kintobor. Even DIC and Archie refused to acknowledge Kintobor and just wrote their own elaborate backstories instead.

Wow. All that Christmas theming that went into Sonic's lore, specifically the design of his shoes, actually makes the scene where he gets his shoes in the movie that much more heartfelt. Jojo hands them to him, and he's touched, saying "No one's ever given me a gift before." It was probably unintentional, but it's a sweet coincidence all the same.

Sonic is a celebration of Western attitude from an Eastern perspective. The franchise is an American painting in a Japanese frame, an American dish on a Japanese plate. Take away the Eastern perspective, you lose the vibe. Take away the Western attitude, you lose the soul.

8:05 It’s funny you say this, because some Sega of Japan executive (edit: It was Iizuka) actually confirmed that the change from Eggman to Robotnik was made without Japan’s permission.

Pariah: I don't like American Sonic, it's cynical Oshima: I feel sorry that they changed some things, but I love the way they draw his legs, and the Freedom fighters are great

Yes, but when you consider what the German fans got instead: A very lame trilogy of cassette plays written for little children, where Sonic just had two friends called Bobby Bear and Hunny Bunny, where Sonic could swim, where animals get turned into badniks by sending them through iron pipes, where Robotnik himself is a badnik who originally was a giant dragon... yeah, I'll take the American origin story over that any day (or the Fleetway version, preferrably).

Crash had the opposite effect of sonic where the japanese localization eventually had an influence in the games. The crash dance was created for the japanese ads for the first game, naughty dig liked it enough for them to put it in the games starting with crash 2. Megumi from ctr was named after the creator of the crash dance. Penta Penguin from ctr originated in the manga Dance De Jump No Daibouken Crash Bandicoot Plus Tawna's breakup with crash in the manga almost became canon twice, it was first mentioned in a strategy guide for TWOC and was then considered for Crash 4. Sony of Japan also had influence in the creation of Coco as some of the earliest concepr art for her was made by them.

I really don't understand why there's a big debate on what Sonic SHOULD be. He's evolved over time from multiple interpretations. It's fair to not like all interpretations, but it's just weird to dismiss a whole category as "not TRUE Sonic" and not just a moment in time. Hating Sonic liking Chili Dogs is the dumbest argument when you compare it to a character Mario. Mario cartoons incorporated him LOVING random ass Italian food. To the point that Mario 64 incorporates him dreaming about pasta, and OFFICIAL artwork has him eating Pizza. So why does Mario get a pass, but Sonic doesn't? These characters evolve with their interpretations, some ideas stick some don't. How many of the Japanese ideas had their staying power for modern Sonic? The same arguments here of "America ruined Japanese Sonic" could be made for like "Why did Japan make Crash 'cute'?" Plus it felt like nobody really understood what to do with 80's-90's characters anyway.

link saying "well excuse me princess" in a game would be wild

One of these designs helped Sonic usurp Mario in popularity during the 90s, the other was pretty much a dud to the point that a vast majority of people in its respective region didn't even recognize the character. The latter was *not* the original design. You can say whatever you want about American Sonic nowadays, 30 years removed from its creation, but the results speak for itself. Sonic is a cultural icon in the US, and even Naka himself has attributed a big part of Sonic's success in the US to his changes. I can't even imagine a version of Sonic without his signature attitude and love of chili dogs.

the reason why this sonic exists is because of soa and soj's miscommunications and power struggle back then

I definitely understand why you'd dislike those ideas' inception, and how they're handled in the old 90s cartoons, but I personally disagree in disliking their influences on the main series as well. Just because an element has a bad origin doesn't mean it can't be implemented into the actual Sonic of the games with grace while pleasing the fans that grew up with that older version. For example: Eggman's name change wasn't anything cool or deep in its inception, but it has become now. I find the idea of Eggman taking this nickname and making his whole brand around it to one-up Sonic, and to go as far as to have a whole song about it (E.G.G.M.A.N) a rly freaking cool story element that informs his character! Plus, "Maria Eggman" would be sort of silly.

I guess I’m too cynical, but early American localization for Japanese anime and video games was a necessary evil. Social media renders this tactic obsolete now, the world is too connected for that old method to work anymore. I believe the American Sonic backstory was beneficial in making the series popular. I also have a bias for Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog for how absurdly stupid it is, so I can appreciate it for what it was.

Look. Your Japanese Sonic doesn't turn into a killer buzzsaw when he spindashes. You lose. Bye bye.

This video just strikes me as kinda...bad faith and maybe a little poorly researched. A few points: - I'm nearly 100% sure when people talk about liking "'90s American Sonic" they're talking less about Kintobor or anything in the manuals and more about AOSTH, SatAM, and Archie, which do not use the Kintobor origin story (which I will agree is bad.) And while you do address a few cartoon things at the end, you lack an argument for why they're "bad," you make it as if they're the same when they're really not. Frankly, I'd argue you'd have to do a lot more work to dismiss AOSTH, SatAM, or Archie Sonic in a similar manner beyond personal distaste, and I can even provide a few specific points against AOSTH and Archie Sonic having no authorial intent (AOSTH's animators being told to go off model if it'd make a joke funnier and describing it's version of Robotnik as "the world's sexiest fat man," and...well, if Penders didn't at least care about at least his characters the legal issues wouldn't have happened, won't comment on Flynn since he's still on Sega's payroll and has to appear to care as a result whether he does or not.) - Sega of Japan didn't provide info on Sonic's lore to the American branches. I don't think that stuff about the pilot would've flied in America, but I do think all the stuff in the original manuals would've been fine. - "The West made Sonic out to have tude" um....no. Read the Shogakukan manga and watch the OVA, Sonic media that was ABSOLUTELY designed for primarily a Japanese audience, one of which only ever officially reached a Japanese audience. Basically EVERY version of Sonic was supposed to have 'tude in some form, because the character was always designed to appeal to an audience of '90s American children, and that was what was "in" at the time. Hell, '90s Japan-only Sonic media often plays up the AMERICAN aspect. Even the Santa Claus aspect had to do with them wanting to incorporate elements that would scream "America" to them (Micheal Jackson and Bill Clinton also being inspirations for Sonic's design.) And anecdotally, as someone who grew up in the '00s with internet access, AOSTH, OVA, X, and Game Sonics (the ones I had personal familiarity with) never really felt like different characters to me the way DiC Link or DiC Mario did (though DiC Mario actually is closer to the original intent of a somewhat disgruntled working class man than the happy-go-lucky Mario of today.) They obviously existed in different universes, in different works with different writing styles, but they struck me as the same character. Believe me I'm no '90s American Sonic fanboy; I was born after they unified the canon to be "the Japanese one with a few references to American stuff here and there," I prefer game canon over all other Sonics, my first exposure to Sonic was Heroes, the OVA is my favorite form of Sonic multimedia, while I like AOSTH I've never really taken the time to watch SatAM or read Archie or Fleetway (I want to though,) and I didn't mention Underground because it sucks. But this just feels dismissive.

I genuinely think the name Robotnik makes sense in the way it has been incorperated into the japanese lore by SA2. I like the implication that the ARK was a russian-american space station, it brings a bit of flavor into the world, even if we never actually explore the details.

Okay, so while I get where you're coming from.. one thing was bothering me from the beginning of the video... The consistent emphasis on these being "changes from the original Japanese" (you even compare it to the edits made to Pokemon and Ace Attorney). Except that's not how it worked in Sonic's case. When the US side of Sega was asked to come up with stuff for Sonic, there WASN'T an "original Japanese" outside of a few character designs. They literally had to come up with something out of the whole cloth because there was NO pre-existing story (outside of vague concepts still in consideration) to work with. It's a completely different case from something like Ace Attorney where there was an actual finished game to work with, and the US people just had to localize it. It's the difference between "translate this into English" and "I've got this character but no story to go with him, make something up." In effect, my whole problem with this video is its entire thesis is based on a false premise and makes many apples-to-oranges comparisons. EDIT: Just to be clear, "I prefer the Japanese story" is a fine enough take. My problem was this video acting like there was already some extensive Japanese Sonic lore that Sega of America was just ignoring when... there wasn't. Japanese Sonic lore wasn't even fully developed when the first game released.

2:35 one funny thing about the egg in some versions he was holding specifically a rotten egg ,and because it’s rotten he became coRruPT as rotten as an egg,is it stupid and unnecessary ?yes but it’s stupid enough to laugh at and interesting tho it’s for the better it was never brought back

Local weeb hates American localisation, film at eleven. Your complaints about having no origin for Tails, Amy, Knuckles etc. makes no sense, when the singular comic you're looking at is from late 1991/early 1992, before Tails, Amy or Knuckles even existed. Of course it doesn't have an origin for characters who do not exist at the time of it's creation. Furthermore, the Kintobor origin story is basically discarded from American Sonic after the one comic you're complaining about. American Sonic quickly becomes based off SatAM which doesn't have an origin story for anyone. Meanwhile, across the pond, in the UK, that origin story became the root of everything, and is given much more depth for it. Yes, the original promotional comics are throwaway stuff designed to promote a videogame, but real care was made to expand on that and develop further lore in Fleetway. Of course, you'd hate it because it's not made by Japanese people, and isn't authentic to the intentions of it's original creator, and adaptational/localisation changes are bad to you. Localisation isn't bad. Without it, Sonic wouldn't still be going. You're completely free to not like it, but your take on it is incredibly stupid and stinks purely of "thing, but Japan is just better because Japan".

I mean at least with Ace Attorney changing the names makes sense to keep the wordplay/puns from the japanese original.

The idea that Oshima wanted to be the "Santa of Sega" is an interesting contrast to Yuji Naka's insider trading scandal.

Something i find interesting is that american media really wants to explain sonic's speed as some super cool special power The kintobor origin story turning sonic blue and fast back then, and the sonic movie making it a special thing that he has speed powers and it's a plot point people want to get his power, i'm also pretty sure the arhcie comics had something that made sonic special and is the reason for his powers too. Meanwhile the japanese media never acutally explains why eh's so fast, he just is. The alternative continuities (X or the OVA) don't dwelve into it, and the games make it acutally seen like some saitama situation where he just likes to run and does it so often he became superhumanly good at it. The only time i recall japanese-made sonic material try to explain sonic's speed in some way is the old manga where he's the alter ego of nick, and even then it feels like western media is alot more preoccupied with giving a reason sonic is so fast than japanese one.

I think the perfect Sonic was how he was written in SA2, The Secret Rings, The Black Knight and Unleashed: a bit overconfident but predominantly heroic, he would actualy be an inspiration in those games.

Ironically enough the official catchphrase the Sonic has been associated in modern day is "gotta go fast" which is a phrase from a English dub opening from a Japanese Sonic product that's very catchy and stuck all these years with everyone heck it's even in the Sega offices, Sonic never said it once in a Mainline game

The kintobbor stuff was always the dumbest part to me Like, Eggman's supposed to be a satire of industrialism and reckless expansion. Making him simply be a human scientist whose hungry for power makes him use his science for his own selfish goals, without a care for the consequences it has for the enviroment or other people, is already a perfect motivation for that concept. But feeling the need to add the whole 'he was a good scientist who did good things but then an experiment went wrong and drove him insane and now he's evil' sthich is not just unecessary, it's also really damn cliche and just plain ol' childish. also making him involved in giving sonic his super speed like he's tim burton's batman that had to make joker into the wayne's murderer to force a connection between the two, come on

I can’t help but feel that the love for American Sonic is more the stories told with American Sonic themselves. I think something like the early Archie run and SatAM are as loved as they are for being good works that happen to have the trappings of Sonic the Hedgehog put over them, their lifting of recognizable imagery from the games, and filling in the lack of general backstory in the US version with what a 1990s child would expect for an anti-authority, go your own way-type of character based off the culture of the time and Sega’s advertising. The kids fell for the character Sega of America gave them for a good reason. On the topic of localization, I agree for the most part. Anime and manga localization, at least for children’s media, was pretty much exactly that way back then. Frankly, at times I’m astonished he’s as *accurate* to the Japanese original as he is, given how drastic some localization decisions from back then could be. That being said, I don’t think Americanization of Japanese franchises is inherently a bad thing, even if it directly ignores what the original creators intended. The prime (lel) example of this would be the Transformers franchise. The original 1984-85 toyline of the Transformers consisted of a massive array of imported toys from Takara’s Microman and Diaclone toylines, which already had their own pre-set story scenarios about miniature robots hiding out in your house as normal house-hold items and piloted robots fighting against invading bug alien robots. Those lines did okay at Japanese retail, but when Hasbro was introduced to the toys at a toy fair, they immediately cooked up a plan for marketing them successfully in the West after Takara’s first attempt fell hard like a rock. They brought onboard writers from Marvel Comics to develop new personalities and backstories for the toys and developed a comic and cartoon to go with the new franchise launch. It didn’t make sense why the 40 ft tall Megatron could turn into a human-sized handgun (besides the fact that his original toy was mean to be a 1:1 scale handgun to robot toy) or why Optimus Prime has a cockpit for human drivers despite not having any drivers. It ignored a lot of the ideas that went into the original toys, which were designed by many well-known mecha designers of the era. But because of how radically different the changes were, the franchise **exploded** across the world, even being relaunched in Japan as Transformers and doing mad well, to the point that Japan got numerous Japan-only franchise entries. These days, Transformers has been telling stories far beyond the cynical money-driven stories of the 1980s, with some real heart and drama to them that takes them beyond that early money-driven era. I’m not saying mohawk-head Sonic would somehow make Sonic’s popularity in Japan explode overnight or anything, but my point is that Sonic survived and thrived *because* of his popularity outside of Japan. Sonic has never done super bad in Japan, but he also is not known for being as brain-shatteringly popular there compared to outside Japan in the 1990s. Had those changes not been made, however unique his story was, it would not have afforded Sonic as long of a lifespan as he’s enjoyed. It’s a bit sad to think about, since I agree that original authorial intent for Sonic is very overlooked in the Sonic fandom (along with Japanese Sonic as a whole), and as a Diaclone fan in the Transformers fandom trust me I get it, but I can’t help but feel that the decision was for the best overall. If something like Sonic Adventure 2 or Colors didn’t rope in new fans today, how many people would even know about Japanese Sonic?

As someone who was a big fan of the Archie Comics, people are often confused as to why I don't like calling game Sonic's Planet Mobius or why I'm so opposed to these ideas crossing over. It really comes down to the fact that I just never wanted them to touch. I didn't want either one to infect the other I wanted them to stay their own continuities. Both Sonics are fundamentally different people. Archie Sonic being an overt hero and freedom fighter is part of his core identity where as game Sonic is a nomad and has more of a Goku approach to helping those he comes across. Back then I always told people that trying to merge them together would be disastrous and that we shouldn't try to make everything Canon because it would just create a mess. Well now here we are...

To be fair with chili dogs it wasn't just "ripping off the TMNT with Pizza" since a whole lot of cartoony characters had their signature foods. Like Bugs Bunny had Carrots, Garfield had Blazonia, Mario had Spaghetti(which was in the movie too), Homer Simpson had Donuts, Popeye had Spinach, Spongebob with Krabby Patties, and Scooby Doo with Scooby Snacks(even though no real food resembled them) so giving Sonic this kind of food to be recognized with makes sense and Sonic's world has food us real people would now unlike some fantasy/post apocolyistic world like Splatoon, Chowder or LOTR where it's either medieval with cooked fictional creatures or just fictional magical ingrediants for a recipe for a nonexistent mystical food.

I always felt Shiro Maekawa's version of Sonic was the perfect blend of Sonic's original characterization with just a little amount of American Sonic's cocky attitude and wit without compromising who he is.

Sonic's Japanese creators originally had him shagging a human woman. (A theme they would revisit in Sonic '06.) It was an American woman from SoA who said "no, that's weird and gross, stop it". When I got into Sonic fandom in the mid-90s, I was coming at it mainly from the games. I liked the character designs, how cute Sonic and "Tails" were, the abstract geometry of the levels, the jazz, funk, and city pop-influenced soundtrack, the Memphis style graphic design. Game Sonic was a vibe, as they say. But when I got into the fandom, the focus was almost exclusively on the serialized animated series ("SatAM") and the Archie comics. You may not like these things, you may find them a corruption of like the true Japanese version of Sonic or whatever, but they were PROFOUNDLY influential. SatAM was like an anime. Very few Western animated productions were as committed to slowly unfolding a narrative. So when they reference the cartoons in his later games, they're tapping into lore that resonates with fans of the character, even if those fans aren't you. Some aspects of that lore, like Sonic liking chili dogs, was incorporated into the game version of the character. So really Sonic, as we know him, is the result of this interplay between the Japanese and Western sides of Sega. Yes, the origin story with Kintobor was cheesy, but no one references it anymore and no one has since the original comic first issue. Another interesting aspect is that Sonic's shoes and his blue color complete the trifecta of red, white, and blue -- the colors of the American flag. Sonic is *American* -- that's why he blurts out English catchphrases in Japanese media. That's why he's rebellious and optimistic and kinda lazy. He's a Japanese pastiche of the American spirit. Even Santa Claus is an American character (though influenced by the Dutch). The fighter pilot guy is also a very American image, especially from a Japanese perspective: the Americans Japanese are most familiar with are military personnel. Mario, by the way, is neither Italian nor American. Mario is Japanese. Look at Mario in Japanese media, they show him wearing kimono and eating curry rice and celebrating Japanese festivals. He turns into a tanuki, for God's sake.

What i find really funny about the old American Sonic origin, is that they bothered to explain why Sonic was blue, but not how he gained his super speed, like that's what i'd expect from an origin story, and it's just not there. They explained it in the Sonic 1 manual but in the actual origin Sonic was super fast before even turning blue or getting his shoes, so what was the point of any of this? Another thing is Pariah said that Sonic's attitude was exaggerated in the west for marketing purposes, but when you pay attention to it they actually Toned him DOWN a bit, like American Sonic was quippy, but was ultimately really nice to his friends, Classic Japanese Sonic was straight up a prick, like how he'd tap his foot at the ground and look at you angrily if you made him wait for a FEW seconds, or how in the jp manual of Sonic 2, when Tails started following him Sonic payed no mind to him at all and just let Tails follow him while making sure he was safe, it took the whole game of Sonic 2 for the two to actually become friends. And then that carried over to the Sonic OVA where now you can see Sonic being a prick now in animated form with dialogue! Really Sonic already had a 90's cool attitude, all Sega of America did was make it so it would outdate itself more easily. When you think about it Fleetway Sonic was actually the MOST accurate Sonic at the time, not 1 to 1, but clearly they took the original vision of Sonic into consideration when making their own take, the only thing they took from American Sonic was the origin story, but it actually works really well in that comic as that whole story had a theme about how power corrupts and that theme carries on for the entire run, the more power Robotnik has the more evil he is and the less power Super Sonic has the kinder he is. But even though early American Sonic was pretty bad, we can't ignore its legacy, if it wasn't for it there wouldn't be Archie and if it wasn't for Archie there wouldn't be Tysson Hesse and if it wasn't for Tysson Hesse there wouldn't be anyone competent enough to redesign Movie Sonic, and speaking of, both movies take a great deal of inspiration from early American Sonic and Archie, people may not like it, but that is a HUGE part of Sonic's legacy.

1) The few things you have seen and felt need to talk about are stupid 2) The apparent design process behind it is not one very appealing. Okay. Fair. I can tell you have not actually read Archie, though. Especially from the point it actually became good.

If you dislike American Sonic then you hate British Sonic

Ken penders gave some good insight on basically how it’s SEGA of japans fault because they wouldn’t give them any material to work with

Dang, I wish sega Japan cared as much about sonic as Pariah does 😮‍💨

It's weird how he never brings up the cartoons or comics because I can assure when people say they like american sonic there not talking about the fucking instruction manuals or the lore bible they're talking about the Archie comics, SATam, AoSTH or sonic the comic(which I know is British not American but the point still stands) because those WERE made by people who cared even if you look at Ken penders dispute how weird or bad his writing and ideas were there's no possible way you could argue the didn't have passion, nobody would go so far as to try and sue Sega to get they could get there ownership to their characters if the had no passion for it

Sega did take these complaints to heart in the past. Jeff Fowler said in movie commentary tracks that Sega banned Sonic from having an origin story so that’s why he had to be adopted by an owl with no hint to why or how.

I like how this basically boiled down to “Japan was passionate and pure in their intent and vision and then those DIRTY, BAD Americans touched and ruined their glorious, pure nippon vision for corporate greed!”. As if SEGA didn’t make Sonic purely as a mascot rival for Mario in order to dominate the gaming market at the time after Alex Kidd failed constantly. I’m sure every single person who worked on the Japanese side of things put 100% of their soul into it, while every single person who worked on the American side of things did the exact opposite. Surely. Totally. Everything Japan has ever done with Sonic is good and comes from a place of purity, goodness, love and passion, something the west lacks! Riddle me this, Batman: If JP Sonic is so perfect, why didn’t it do as well in Japan as it did in the US and Europe? Would JP Sonic have done as well as “Corrupted Western” Sonic did in the west if it was unchanged?

Mfw a different rendition of a character exists

American Sonic was a more marketable character, but Japanese Sonic is a more meaningful character

Robotnik is a badass name, I HAVE to stick with it. Makes more sense to why eggman is just his nickname.

Average “Sonic” fan: Pariah695 Average “Sonic” enjoyer: us

For a franchise whose main villain is a genius/scientist and is not a wizard, it’s always bizarre to hear someone in the fan base say “Why are you explaining stuff?!”

If you think it well, the moddern Sonic we have now is kinda like another American Sonic

I agree with most of this and your pinned comic about respecting the actual creators and artists beyond the corporate entities made me be even more on the same page with you. The ONE thing I'll call out as being blatantly imprecise is the questioning of "Why didn't SoA apply any backstory for Knuckles and Tails?" That's because the American "Sonic bible" was made only for the development of Sonic 1 and was dropped by SoA by before the game even came out. I don't think the American bible origin was considered by any department of Sega, even America, by the time Sonic 2 came out. Sonic the Comic used it as their origin, but that was in the UK and was a comic publishing company separate from Sega.

I think both American sonic and japanese sonic blended together perfectly when they started to combine them in the dreamcast era. Both versions of sonic felt a little too simple. the Japanese version felt too simple in a overly happy sort of way while the US versions felt too dated and boring by trying to be "cool" they both were the right decision for the demographic at the time. However them blending together worked so well from a character standpoint. Sonics carefree attitude blended well with his snarky attitude because it shows that he stands for freedom so whoever stands in the way of that is obviously criticized by him. Its obvious you don't seem to understand the many good things that came from the US localizations and you have this odd bias against it that ignores the fact that that the localization is part of what made the OG sonic games sell and gave this series so many good things.

Personally, I like both versions. They're appealing in they're own unique ways. I don't think of the two as being the same thing. Yes, they're both called Sonic. Yes, they're both blue hedgehogs. They may technically be the same character but I don't think of them as such. I like the setting of Mobius and I like the setting of Earth. But I like them separate from one another. The character doesn't have to be bound to the creative decisions of people overseas from one another and I think that's okay.

mario is actually another series that had some of its localization stick around, bowser is still called bowser in the west instead of koopa in japan, peach's last name toadstool became canon and mario's love of spaghetti came from the dic cartoons also mega man is still called mega man in the west instead of rockman

even as a kid in like 2006/07 when I was really getting into Sonic and wanted to know everything about all the backstories and lore, I thought this stuff was some of the lamest and most unfitting shit ever, lmfao. I basically said “nah” and ignored its existence

Don't like 90s American sonic? THAT NO GOOD

NGL I really don’t have problems with the US version of sonic I just enjoyed it! And let’s not forget his infamous sonic says line “That’s no good!”

Ocarina of Time was a game changer for the Zelda franchise. It not only introduced what was, for the time, a stunning 3D environment and immersive world to explore, but it also successfully encapsulated the essence of what makes Zelda special. You could get lost and immersed in the land of Hyrule and feel it all around you as you explored its various places. It was a coherent and beautiful setting. Ocarina of Time also effectively showcased the true character of Link. A silent, stoic, courageous, and determined hero with an interesting background, a Hylian raised among the Kokiri, on a quest to save Princess Zelda and the kingdom of Hyrule. Even the annoying fairy, Navi, is beloved for her dynamic with him and her role in the story. A superfluous, random tutorial character like Omochao she is not. The atmosphere was phenomenal, the worldbuilding was intricate and fun, and the storyline was captivating. It's because this portrayal was so vastly superior to the Western cartoon’s depiction, the franchise could very easily distance itself from its legacy. On the other hand, Sonic... Had a rough transition into 3D. The franchise has struggled to produce a game that definitively and consistently portrays a well-designed world that's emblematic of the series' key strengths and influences. Every major 3D game, while I like many of them, always comes with major concessions on almost every level of design. The themes and atmospheres that define Sonic at its core are powerful, but they're always overshadowed by the concessions, the limitations, and the scatterbrained, misguided ideas they've thrown to the wall to see if they stick. That's why it seems necessary to look so closely and come up with thousands of hours of analysis to elucidate the complete essence of Sonic. For Zelda, you just need to play OoT, and you get it. No major 3D game has made the essence of Sonic as clear and distinct as Ocarina of Time did for Zelda. The closest it got was SA, SA2, maybe Heroes, but of course they too came with heavy concessions, and are arguably as defined by their limitations, missteps, and fumbles as they are their strengths, marred by poor execution in world building and storytelling in some areas as well. You could consider 90s American Sonic to be a mistake, and that's a fair opinion that I personally would agree with. Mostly due to Sega of Japan's complete failure to provide adequate guidance to the Western creators. But regardless, you can't deny that it at least attempted to commit to some sense of coherent worldbuilding, particularly in SatAM and the Archie comics. These kinds of things have a tendency to stick with people, especially when nothing better has taken their place in those regards. I'm not even sure what Sonic's equivalent to OoT would be, but I am sure it would be a massive undertaking of a project, a game that MUST nail every aspect of Sonic game design, atmosphere, and storytelling very well, a game that defines Sonic's setting as a living world, perhaps to a greater extent than Sega would even be willing to, or are currently capable of. Maybe in this fantasy Sonic game, you can explore an entire island, with each of its Zones being a destination in need of saving, with lots of areas between them full of characters and fun things to do. Maybe you can fly around in the tornado, maybe Christmas Island is nearby, and you can go visit Sonic's family. It would take me weeks of hard work to come up with an adequate pitch for this kind of game. But Sega, as it stands, in my opinion, can't get the gameplay right, can't get the world design right, can't get the atmosphere right, and definitely can't reach the level of polish Sonic needs.

I think the problem stems from the fact that 2 cartoon adaptations of Sonic the Hedgehog were airing at the same time; both of which share similar portrayal of the blue blur, but put him in tones opposites of each other. This is what I believed, in the long run, cause a conflict of interpretation of the hedgehog, especially when two culture conflict with each other. Remember, he was design with the Japanese “Interpretation” of American Culture; like Earthbound and such. As for the SoA’s interpretation of the character, I think it was more than just TMNT; several late 80’s/early 90’s was rife with attitude punks like with Bart Simpsons for example. Plus the AoStH’s portrayal of him was more or less remanence of Warner bros. Cartoons; namely Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner. Hell, the chili dogs were more or less the Carrots of Sonic.

Aosth is high art

Top 90 reasons to dislike western media. Number 85 will surprise you

Listen man there was still passion put into the American side of things. Like even if it's not the original creator of Sonic the people doing their own thing with the character. Like you can't just have the original creator work on one creation for eternity. No matter what others will do stuff with that thing and come up with their own ideas. For example, the TMNT franchise has so many different incarnations and versions and are literally nothing like what the original creator wanted. Does that make all those versions terrible and the worst thing ever? No, those incarnations are still valid. The American side of things weren't just inserting things for the sake of the western audience but things they thought made more sense or wanted to see. Like Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog is clearly not what the original creator intended BUT the people working on the show clearly had fun with it. Clearly wanted to make something THEY would have found entertaining. We have even seen the opposite happen before with Western Properties being more edgy and "cool" but than being turned into something cuter for Japanese markets. Like Crash Bandicoot, Spyro or even Gex. When you make a franchise your bound to have other people come in and do their own takes on it. Thats what helps inspire people and creativity. Imagine where the franchise would be without those American influences. I assume it would probably still be popular, but I doubt as popular as it is because it wouldn't have the western market. the 90s in America was a VERY, VERY different time compared to the 90s in Japan. Like there was so much development when making a show like SATAM. Like a lot, literally look at the concept art for the show and its vastly different than what it became, Sally was originally a human than a lion creature before finally becoming a Chipmunk. Even the shows concept had a lot of figuring out to do. Like tell me this, what the hell where they thinking when making a character like Wes Weasley, a character based off a comedian from a 1955 tv show. Like maybe parents new about the guy but considering the target audience was kids I doubt they were like "oh kids are big fans of the Phil Silvers Show," Like no, they clearly where fans of that show and Phil Silvers himself and where like "hey you know that guy from that show was pretty funny, I think it would be cool if we made a character based off him." I mean even Top Cat did the same dam thing, but like clearly it wasn't the popular thing at the time. For example, Ben Hurst one of the main writers for SATAM clearly loved the characters and Sonic as a character, ya it was a different version, but he had a passion for the SATAM cast and the others not from the show. Man was determined to work with Sega and those characters again before his untimely demise. All I'm trying say is that if this stuff bothers you this much than just move to Japan, or just ignore it. Like ill be honest most of it just seems like really petty stuff and like someone who hasn't done their research or isn't interested in that side of the franchise. Because the Japanese has similar problems to. Like yes it had a lot of passion but at the end of the day Sonic was still created to be a franchise, he was still created with a bit of cynicism in mind. Even in Japanese he was still catering to the Japanese market with the colorful box art and not needing a deep backstory. Japan can still be cynical don't get me wrong but as a culture they are much more about cute and fun things which that version of Sonic did cater to. Things can still be made with passion even if they have a specific audience in mind or are made to cater to specific people.

Couldn’t disagree with you more, I think it gives the character more personality and fits with the era.

I wont lie, i was raising an eyebrow for most of this video

To be fair though if Japan had their way, sonic would have been a punk rocker with fangs and a busty human girlfriend named Madonna... Which was meant to appeal to American audiences According to Consol Wars at least it's Tom Kalinski that told them that it was a bad idea and wouldn't work.

Am I the only one who gets annoyed when people say Sonic runs at the Speed of Light,when in reality, he runs at the Speed of Sound?

It has come to my attention that ken penders has seen this video and has began posting about it on his twitter.

This video just looks like all you did was watch a certain youtubers videos and decided to rant about it because you think American sonic is wrong. The truth is that Sonic is allowed to have different interpretations and culture as a fictional character, who cares what you think Sonic should look or be like when everyone can have their own opinion and preference.

Apparently in one of the fleet way comics does explain why Amy is pink because of a chemical plant explosion or something

My personal headcanon is that any of the not-so important details from the American versions can still remain as long as they don't contradict the "lore" of any main games and comic series'. For example, the planet Sonic is on can still be called Mobius while the island he lives on is Christmas Island, Eggman's full name being Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, and Sonic's favorite food still being chili dogs to name a few. If they aren't overwriting what the original games in Japan already established before then it's fair game in my eyes. I think the Archie comics did something similar, but it has been so long since I read any of those that I could be wrong. I do know that they tried to pretty much fit all of the classic and "modern" stuff into one timeline though.

also 'american' sonic, as in a actual character, doesn't even exist, it's ambiguous if those other adaptions of the character, are even 'american' at all, satam/aosth were designed by a black person with animation outsourced to canadian/voiced by them

I don't really mind the chili dogs but it's whatever.

Just saw Ken Penders' thread of all people's on the realities of working under the 90s SoA/SoJ Sonic lore split (how's it feel knowing he's at least tried to watch your videos?), and it put some pretty interesting things about this whole mess into context for me. Things that extend even beyond just the comics themselves and have implications on creating for the Western side of Sonic IN GENERAL. -The context of aforementioned Sega of Japan v Sega of America feud across the 90s that ultimately destroyed the company. I genuinely don't know how it didn't occur to me that of course something like this would involve deliberate refusal to communicate. Cynical corporate "who cares dude? It's not in the videogames so why follow it." attitudes were not STARTED at the American team, even if I am confident that there were absolutely executives trying to tailor-make a version of Sonic that fit with 80s/90s US mascot sensibilities and pass those mandates down to their writers. Even then, anecdotes of even Sega of America themselves having to fight to get material even post-merge and when Sega itself had barely survived its own BS tanking the company casts doubt on the American side being purely cynical even at the corporate level, even if I'm not naive enough to say every SoA suit was passionate. -Even the oddest of eras of the series by some of the most controversial of writers were still, ultimately, able to atomize down to people doing what they did trying to make something work with genuine love and passion. Even a lot of that mascot-drivenness probably just came from that being what other contemporary creators were doing, the style of the time, and having to absolutely wing it. It still ultimately came around to people passionate enough that, by the Adventure Era, they would go and seek out Jp material for themselves that by all means they should have just been supplied with for free. None of this I think takes away the fact that the American Sonic lore, bar the saving graces that were incorporated at the end of the decade, is super inferior, but it provides a far more human context to it all that I think continues making the story of the franchise more textured and interesting. I absolutely can't imagine a world without the 90s lore and think that even if what was lost in the merge is often best left there, that past is still extremely worth taking seriously and studying and not treating any lingering remnants of it that get nods in the modern day like some blemish on the franchise.

You look like Hayao Miyazaki when you are talking about these stuffs lmao

90s Sonic and to a lesser extent Movie Sonic read like how that mess of an early dub for DBZ just turned Goku into Superman

I'm not the biggest fan of 90's American Sonic but I feel you are not really giving it credit enough. That origin they made is dumb, the only time it was ever relevant in any media was in Fleetway, but even then, saying that nobody working behind these adaptations didn't care doesn't sound fair when people behind AOSTH did show appreciation to the work when designed the characters like Robotnik, and Ben Hurst really wanted to give SatAM a proper conclusion before he sadly passed. The thing that you are mentioning about Sonic is not unique tho, other franchises also take inspiration from materials even made from a different creative team, you even see this in Dragon Ball that introduced material from the non canon movies into Toriyama later work like Broly, and taking inspiration from the American division is not exclusive to recent time either, as Maria and Gerald had Robotnik as their second name even in the Japanese version of Adventure 2.

15:59 What are you talking about? Most people know about the main series than they do about the spin-off media. At most, no one would know any catch phrase aside from “You’re too slow!”

While you make very good points there, and I certainly agree with you on it, I gotta be honest and say that I’m half grateful the localisation did happen as it spawned Sonic The Comic ( From Britain ), AOSTH and, of course, SatAM. Without Sega of America doing what they did,we wouldn’t of had such cool versions of Sonic that, while not accurate to the Japanese source material, was still charming in their own special way

Couldn't disagree more. The 90's cartoons and comics brought Sonic to life and gave him personality and character. Also, there was nothing wrong with Sonic eating chilli Dogs, in fact they're a food in Sonic Unleashed.

Wait, do you like sally and antoine and bunnie etc.? You didnt go even further. Yoy don't like American Sonic origins but do you LIKE the cartoon and the comics?

I feel like you're nitpicking a bit. Yes, some American Sonic stuff was dumb, like the weird backstory of his blue color, Emeralds and Robotnik, having his shoes to be the source of his power, having his quills to be more of a mohawk, and having him be in 85 different relationship and love triangles even though he seems to be asexual in the games. But I feel like having him have a catchphrase, a favorite food, and a sarcastic attitude, I feel like that adds to his character, not take away. Adding those things doesn't take away Sonic from being the spiritual embodiment of good and the unstoppable forces of nature. And feel like calling his planet "Mobius" also add some details to Sonic's world, instead of everyone in the game calling it "Sonic's World" even though they live on that planet too, so it's weird when they call it "Sonic's World"

I find it funny how they put an egg in Robotnik's origin yet didn’t call him Eggman

To be fair, it's probably just how any long running series slowly start to incorporate different canons into a single work. For example, I can't call sonic's love for chilli dogs soulless anymore, not when so much work went into it in say Unleashed ect. Same thing with Robotnik. It's probably just something that got absorbed through osmosis when a series has so many writers ect. I mean, it's not like the Japanese side of things haven't been cynical before. "Shadow the hedgehog creation was legit just wanting to have sonic with a gun." But I guess this is coming from a fan of long running series, like dragon ball and Devil May cry, where ideas from non-canon gets reinterpitated/reused for later.

Wow, I never knew that actually but you learn something new everyday now.

I actually first learned about Sonic through Sonic Underground, and I still have a fondness to it. Despite this, my opinion about 90s American Sonic is very similar to yours. Perhaps its because im an artist myself and have a strong opinion regarding integrity of the artists when it comes to media, but even deeper than that, to me, Japanese Sonic, imperfect or not, had a clearer intention and spirit behind it where American Sonic felt very much more like a cynical corporate "hello fellow kids" focus tested thing by comparison. Things like "Robitnik's" head shape and porportions being changed because it was just kind of an industry practice to make villains morw angular and pointy, so they made his head more cone-like, or Tails being made brown rather than orange/yellow and most of his tinkering and intellect going unmentioned, the aformentioned "token fave dood for cartoon animal mascot" thing that the TMNT started, and the "Jaleel white-isms" as i like to call them regardingnhia vernacular just screems hello fellow kids to me in a way that frustrates me asnto this day it has resulted in Sonic having this stigma as a dated 90s relic he cant andnstill hasnt completely shaken even today, when the original Sonic Team version was clearly trying tk be something inherently more universal and timeless, and the influences from Santa Claus and Christmas is a very clear example of that to me. Like, to me, the creators were much more concerned with making a timeless icon infused with a love for things they loved by comparison to how onnthe west, he is left being seen as just a 90s poochie character that just exists to be anti-mario and little to nothing else. Its very much at the core of what i feel fuels the idea the Sonic is just "blue rat that runs dast and beats fat scientist and likes chilidogs" which is just really demoralizing to me, and the perpetuatio of the idea "Sonic wasnt made to be anything in particular" that some....people in the community, try to perpetuate is even kind of insulting to my inteligence. Like, its okay if you like American western Sonic. We dont have to pretend it wasn't a classic case of 90s game companies in the west paving over a work for corporate reasons. It was just a common thing at the time in general. Sonic is hardly unique in this beyond it not having been shaken. I personally dont even hate or am intolerant of Sonic liking chilidogs as just a factoid in his bio or something, even though I dont see it as meaningfully reflecting anything about him as a character, but good god am I tired of it being treated as this core borderline personality trait of him they constantly have to flash in your face or have him mention out of nowhere for no reason. Like, imagine if Tails constantly mentioned mint candy *all the time* As for the old Western Sonic Bible story, I find it telling that most of the American material doesn't really use it. Also, NICE drop with Pacific Rim. I agree you can feel the vibes from the media people produce when they feel strongly about it and are driven by inspiration and feelings as sillly as it probably sounds to some people, and it's something you can also feel the absence of in media that lacks it. In regard to Sonic's shoes being like Santa, i also like how Tails is further connected to this Christmas influence because he himself loves Christmas, which ties him and sonic together visually and conceptually, as if Tails likes Christmas, it makes sense that a kid like him would like Sonic and think he is cool as he is meant to evoke a similar vibe. Part of Sonic's original bio emphasizes how kids around the world adore him. I'm conflicted if the American Sonic stuff truly was necesarily. I personally think the agressive adversarial nintendo marketing and bundling with the console alone would have been more than enough, because I feel most of the attachment to the western stuff is largely circumstancial rather than causal. But maybe that's just me. I very much could continue, but I dont wanna be late for work, LOL. Dunno if you are gonna touch anything else onnthe subject in the future, but I would like to hear your thoughts on individual pieces of western Sonic media such as the cartoons, comics, etc.

I like some of the Americanized Sonic, but I will admit, the old cartoons don't feel like what Sonic is supposed to be, or was supposed to be. I get the feeling that since he looked like a looney tunes type character, the American team thought he was meant to be a looney tunes type character, just with a 90s "ah yeah!" attitude. At least that's how it feels with the old cartoons. (No dis to Looney Tunes, btw, I love the old shorts). I know people love the old American Sonic stuff and I'm not gonna say they're "wrong" for liking and/or preferring that version of Sonic. Heck, like i said; i like some of the old American Sonic stuff. But i will admit that Japanese Sonic is the true Sonic and is usually better.

As someone who wants to make my own game in the future, I think I have some perspective to offer. I think it's unfair to say that every decision that goes into crafting a story/world/etc is (or isn't) made out of passion and love. Sure the US backstory that they gave Sonic and Eggman is dumb and corporate, I can't say the same for SatAM and AOStH. I don't believe that the people making those shows had no love for what they were doing. SatAM on its own was a cool 90s cartoon and the version of Eggman in AOStH still makes me laugh. (Although to be fair, no one likes Underground.) I don't fault you for not liking them, but it isn't fair to say it's _just_ corporate meddling.

Alternate title: pariah completely dismisses the western Sonic canon and the people who like and grew up with it for 17 minutes. If you ever decide to cover Archie or fleetway. Just don't.

Honestly while I do like the OG Japanese Sonic, If you grew up emotionally attached to his SATAM, Archie or Fleetway selves, I can't blame anyone from preferring it. A normal franchise would just accept they have this different demographics and cater to them individually rather than merging. Transformers for example- some prefer the Japanese G1 canon, while others consider Marvel or IDW to be the definitive takes, or one of the western cartoons like Animated or Prime. Of course this is from the perspective of someone who grew up with a fucked up first impression of Sonic- first a demo of SADX, then the first few episodes of Sonic X re-dubbed from 4kids in Spain, and then Sonic Underground on RU-vid lmao.

Pariah my good sir just because an idea comes from a place of apathy doesn't mean it physically cannot be good by sheer coincidence. Your emotions are getting the better of you. The Robotnik family shenanigans are critical to SA2's franchise peaking story. The name is just also cool. Chili Dogs are delicious, so Sonic is allowed to like them in my personal opinion (hot dogs were also historically very much on the go food when they first dropped so it can make at least an amount of sense) Everything else kind of stinks and I even knew this as a kid but Sonic without "robotnik" just doesn't feel right to me just as much as making fun of him being fat and egg shaped is important. Growing up with games and shows that called him by both names regularly it just feels natural to me. American Sonic absolutely has some critical foundational aspects hidden amongst the slop. There's good reasons they adapted all of this. And at worst it's Chili Dogs and they're inconsequential. And at best it was actively beneficial when Robotnik and Eggman were allowed to co exist. Of course my opinions and emotions heavily weigh into these claims, but I can see where you are coming from and politely say, that you are tweaking on main my good and usually well spoken and informed sir. Edit: Not only was SAT AM negatively consequential to the franchise it was also a catalyst of many many not good things, in and outside of the franchise. This is not the place to go into detail about that but american sonic and it's consequences have been disaster to western society. Truthful joking aside yeah Sega should do something about this ordeal.

I know Eggman was always Eggman, but part of me will always think of him as Robotnik. It's cheesy, but I can't help loving it.

American Sonic is why Sonic became popular. Also its been confirmed Robotnik is Eggman's real name.

I've seen recently people saying that SEGA of Japan was super overprotective over their stuff, there are some writters who said that when they tried to do research or ask things from SEGA of Japan they straight up refused being paranoid it would leak somehow or things like that, I don't know how much of that is true, but I still agree that regardless of it being because the info wasn't shared or if America wanted to change to appeal for the american audience (as you said, they could've completly disregarded what was Sonic from Japan or just could've not have known), it still sucks and it's a disrespect for what Sonic originally was But I think that things such as chilli dogs is a bit extreme to hate, I bet there was thought when Sonic Team decided to include that as part of Sonic's character in the games, Sonic was always ALREADY supposed to represent and be inspired by many things from the US, or at least a mix beetween both continents, even on his original japanese idea, his main inspirations are Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus after all, I wouldn't be surprised if that was added to further emphasize that idea, I think the only thing that must be intact is his traits and personality

5:15 "None of this stuff actually adds any meaningful substance to sonic whatsoever, it's just explanations that were not necessary to things that don't actually matter" is exactly the way i would describe the american-written storytelling of a certain "Open Zone" videogame that came out a while ago

His design has meme potential

The part where you bring up TMNT kind of made me realize you've got a bit of a Raphael voice going on.