Recap: The Supersonic Hero Appears

Hello again. I thought I would write a piece to give a belated birthday present to Sonic the Hedgehog, who is celebrating his 25th anniversary this year. Sega and Sonic Team of course have a new game planned, and I certainly hope it’s good. While the early games are still held in high regard, the series has had a rollercoaster of quality since the transition to 3D. Even if not all of the recent entries have been classics; the Blue Blur still commands a sizable fanbase and remains Sega’s biggest name to this day. I’ve been a fan of the guy ever since I could hold a Genesis controller; having got one and a copy of Sonic 2 for Christmas in 1997.

The character was originally conceived as a replacement for Alex Kidd; who didn’t really have the same universal appeal that Mario did and didn’t fare well when he transitioned from the Master System to the Genesis. So, the character was made to be Mario’s polar opposite: his blue hair contrasted Mario’s mostly red color scheme; and Sonic had an attitude that offset Mario’s more friendly persona. His speed-based platforming gameplay also was the antithesis of Mario’s more exploration-based games. Most of all, his red shoes were a combination of the color of Santa Claus’ suit and Michael Jackson’s appearance in the “Bad” music video.

As with many video game anime I’ve covered; I thought it would be apropos to do the first episode of Sonic X for another installment of “From Humble Beginnings!” Let’s open up “The Supersonic Hero Appears!” 

For the sake of argument, I am basing this recap on the Japanese version of the episode; so we lead with the theme song, “Sonic Drive.” Have a listen for yourself.

We open on the base of Dr. Ivo “Robotnik” Eggman, where Sonic is attempting to rescue hostages held there and reclaim the last Chaos Emerald from the base. 

Sonic comes racing in; and as the first major Japanese Sonic show I was exposed to, the animation is pretty good for its time.

Amy Rose is concerned when the Tornado is almost shot down, but Miles “Tails” Prower ensures her they’ll be all right.

This thing has outlasted more criticism than Mighty No. 9! We'll be fine!

Sonic bursts through the walls of the base; and confronts Dr. Eggman, who has Cream the Rabbit held hostage. I’m just going on record that while I may not be a big fan of Cream; she does have a following of people that like her enough to draw numerous fan arts of her in unsavory positions.

Rouge the Bat looks on while Eggman is ready to activate his machine. Among the many things 4Kids tried to do; they tried to tone down the surprisingly sensual nature of her character. It didn’t exactly work; but that’s not the only thing they had a problem with in their handling of this anime. 

Sonic tries to destroy the machine; but Eggman activates it as his base explodes! 

Knuckles the Echidna looks on and notes that it’s Chaos Control; which 4Kids took to mean Eggman’s base rather than a method of traveling through space and through time with the Chaos Emeralds, due to a result of miscommunication. As this is the anime I started using this gag with; it’s once again time for “Shit CEOs say!”

"I've never played the [Sonic] games, watched the shows, or read the comics."-Michael Haigney

Again, to think the company no longer exists!

As a result; he goes on a great journey. Darkness washed over Sonic. Darker than a black steer’s tuchus on a moonless prairie night. There was no bottom. 

I want a fucking lawyer, man. The old counselor, or Ron Koopy.

He wakes up in the midst of Station square, where the police are aghast the sight of a blue hedgehog in their midst.

They try to catch Sonic; but are woefully underprepared for his speed and trickery! 

They try to chase him in their cruisers, but Sonic is so quick that he hitches a ride on their hood! 

So, it’s now a supersonic chase on the highway! Allow me to set the mood with my favorite classic remix of a modern Sonic tune from Generations!

As the usual police are outmatched and outrun; the chief, a former race car driver steps in with a modified Formula One car and a special bit of fuel referred to as “milk” to catch Sonic! 

The chief confronts Sonic on the highway and just casually says hi to the blue hedgehog. I love a hobby where I get to watch people say things like this.

He doesn’t get him to back down; but he really wanted a chase like this! So, away we go! 

Even at subsonic speeds; Sonic once again rides the car like it’s nothing! 

I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, and welcome to Jackass.

He then precedes to taunt the chief further by running backwards on the freeway!

What's the matter? Never seen a hedgehog running backwards before?

He manages to run so fast he leaps into the sky, but lands in someone’s swimming pool. I just hope he doesn’t run into to Nick Nolte from Down and Out in Beverly Hills there. 

He’s then rescued by Chris Thorndyke; and I already addressed what I thought of him in my first recap of this anime, so let’s wrap this up.

So, we close on Sonic the Hedgehog introducing himself to a new generation of fans.

“The Supersonic Hero Appears” is a solid pilot for Sonic X; and one of the better pieces of Sonic animation out there. While the US-made shows have been all over the map; this anime directly adapted many key storylines from the games at the time and put their own spin on them with some good animation and creative use of the characters at their disposal. Whatever happens with the next game: I’ve said before that I’m not one of those fans who’s against new ideas being implemented, so I like to give each entry a chance before I write it off (even if the speed and platforming elements tend to work the best). I would definitely recommend this anime for those reasons.

With this, the first half of 2016 is also drawing to a close. There will be much more to talk about over the second half of the year, including my look at Pokémon 4Ever for my Pokémon movie marathon! See you, space cowboy! 

Quick Update-6/29/2016

Hello again. Before you ask, I am working on some new recaps; including my look at Pokémon 4Ever as part of my Pokémon movie marathon.

I'm just going to keep this brief for now; as the weather has been warm lately and I'm going to be helping take care of my grandfather for the next few weeks. I have started My Hero Academy, and I enjoyed the pilot. My plan is to watch at least 3-5 episodes to make sure I do like it; as per usual. I also got some more DVDs for my collection, including the complete Pokémon: Johto League Champions.

Last but not least, I'm going to get to work on finishing this recap of the first episode of Sonic X for the 25th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog. I will keep you posted on anything else as it comes. See you space cowboy.

Recap: Pokémon 3

The animation doesn't display the kind of artistic advances that would compensate for the underdeveloped story. -Robert Koehler, Variety

The animation and script still look as crummy as ever.- Peter Bradshaw, Guardian

Even little trainer's pet Pikachu appears to have seen it all before.- Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/4

Nap time for adults.- Anita Gates, New York Times, 2.5/5

A 75-minute sensory assault.- Robin Rauzi, Los Angeles Times, 0.5/5

It's enjoyable only if you're under the age of 7 -- or the influence of psychedelic drugs.- Bruce Fretts, Entertainment Weekly, C-

Critics say that the third Pokemon movie has a better plot than its two predecessors. This is not enough, however, to recommend it to those not already fans of the franchise. -Rotten Tomatoes, 22%

These are yet again a small sample of the negative reviews given to Pokémon 3. That last one often has me think, “22%? Honestly? Worse than Green Lantern? Guess I forgot how cool Entei was in this movie.”

Even so, it’s necessary to put one in that timeframe. The year is 2001. As dark forces threaten to befall a land full of magical creatures, three young children will rise to face the challenges ahead and protect the world from evil; but enough about Harry Potter. Let’s open up another cinematic obsession of my 9-year-old self, Pokémon 3! 

Please note that I have not seen the Japanese version, and as such; will only be addressing one change that was made when the time comes to address it. My plan, as with previous films; will be to take the dub on its own merits. So, let’s get started.

We open on Professor Spencer Hale reading a story about Entei to his daughter Molly. He has been raising her alone; since his wife went missing two years prior. OK, right off I’ll have to address the Donphan in the room: Spencer is voiced by Dan Green, who tragically lost his wife in childbirth in late 2011. This has a very big effect on the film, but more on that later; so let’s continue.

As he and his daughter play, he gets an email from his associate Schuyler; and it can apparently play streaming video in 2001. Even in 2016, sometimes my streams don’t want to cooperate on my new source for videos.

Spencer and Schuyler then investigate the ruins for clues to the whereabouts of the Unown, a mysterious type of Pokémon.

He finds a box full of artifacts with symbols pertaining to the Unown, but then, is swept into their world! 

Needless to say, when Molly finds out, she’s heartbroken; and opts to use the artifacts to write herself a message: “Papa, Mama, they’re together, with me…” 

The Unown then turn her house into a crystal castle; trapping Schuyler and the servants outside!

As her pain shows through, Entei, also voiced by Dan Green; then shows up to take care of her! So, the premise of the movie is essentially that a young girl loses someone close to her and creates the world around her as a way of dealing with that pain, and has Entei fill the void left by her parents. That’s actually a pretty creative story, and a bit different than what one might expect from Pokémon.

The next day, Ash, Brock and Misty then come across a young woman named Lisa (no relation to the Simpson) who challenges Ash to a battle. Ash; ever eager for a challenge, accepts.

As the credits roll, we once again get a remix of the Johto theme suited for a movie; and since it’s 2001, it’s in a bubblegum pop style. Have a listen for yourself. 

I have to wonder, though: why does Lisa, or anyone in this area; for that matter just hang around waiting for a battle? Is it like in the games where they just sit around waiting for the off-chance that someone will walk by their line of sight and challenge them? I love this opening battle as much as ANYONE, but it’s still pretty small potatoes in the grand scheme of the movie’s plot.

As the group has lunch; Lisa tells them all about the area of Greenfield; and they all decide to head over there when they finish.

Lisa leads everyone to the Pokémon Center, but they’re taken aback by the landscape before them being totally crystallized!

Team Rocket of course, isn’t far behind; and they’re accompanied by their buffoonish companion, Wobuffet! Yeah, at the time I first saw this movie; I hadn’t seen the episode where Jessie got it yet. Long story, might think about recapping it later this year. Still, my primary emphasis will be on the movies rather than episodes of the anime from here on. You’ll still see some when I want to, though.

At that moment; the coincidental broadcast news starts up, showing once again how the TV always seems to be on at the right moment! Also, the TV station covering the crisis seems to be merely called “TV,” kind of like in Death Race 2000.

Delia Ketchum (Ash’s mother) then goes through a bunch of old photographs as she wonders aloud how much more the Professor can go through. I also have to wonder what happened with Ash’s dad in this picture. I won’t go into too much speculation right now; but how could anyone walk out on this adorable young Ashy’s face? Go on, I’m waiting! 

At Oak Labs, it turns out that Spencer was one of Oak’s best students; as Tracey concurs. Also, Tracey is now an assistant to the professor. I’m going to level with you about that: the official reason is that Tracey didn’t resonate with audiences the way people were expecting (I just think he’s bland), the in-universe reason is that’s what he always wanted. With that out of the way, let’s continue.

At that moment, Delia and Professor Oak then decide to go to Greenfield and investigate what’s going on there.

Apart from the fact that Greenfield is apparently within driving distance of Pallet Town, some of you may notice how… affectionate Pikachu is getting with Delia here. Get your mind out of the gutter!

Then, at Molly’s wishes; Entei swoops in and kidnaps Delia so quickly that Ash can’t do a thing!

Even so, rather than remain hopeless about it; Ash is willing to move heaven and earth to save her! Brock and Misty agree to help; and Lisa even lets Ash borrow her Poké Gear to keep in touch on his mission! Definitely prefer this to Alan saying he’ll do anything to see Maren smile again; failing to realize that her predicament is entirely his fault, as are a great many things going on in XYZ! Long story, we’ll talk later.

In the Charicific Valley, Ash’s Charizard sees what just happened on TV and flies off to help! At the time I saw this movie; I had not yet seen “Charizard’s Burning Ambitions;” and we’ll definitely get to that one later on down the line.

As they make their approach to the mansion; Misty remarks that “at least the water didn’t turn to crystal.”

Misty would be excellent at Cinema Sins.

With the aid of Noctowl, Bulbasaur and Chikorita, Ash manages to climb the waterfall and get inside! Isn’t that something? 

Ash is then called by Professor Oak about what he’s doing. While he’s disappointed, he still tells Ash that can wait until his mother is saved. Also, I find it weird the Poké Gear can get reception in the mansion’s crystallized state; when my phone barely works where I live right now.

Everyone starts climbing the stairs, and it starts turning into something out of Inception! I wonder what Ash’s totem would be? 

They reach the first stage of Molly’s dream world, and it’s a beautiful meadow!

Meanwhile, Team Rocket stumbles upon the Unown, and Meowth posits that “they look kind of like alphabet soup without the soup!”

James adds that he “hasn’t seen this many strange letters since the last time I placed a personal ad.” Well, what do you expect from using Match.com?

Molly then decides she wants to be a Pokémon trainer; and Entei grants her wish with a new form to act out this fantasy!

Brock then decides to engage Molly in battle while Ash and Misty continue to rescue Ash’s mother!

Molly agrees to a 3-on-3 battle as Brock leads with Zubat!

Molly counters with Flaafy! Oh man, I just love that evolutionary line! I may even compile my revised favorites lists for 2016 when it gets closer to Sun and Moon coming out.

Flaafy takes out Zubat, and Brock follows up with Vulpix! Molly counters with Teddiursa; and manages to pack quite a punch! 

As Team Rocket runs up the stairs, James likens the battlefield to “a storybook land invented by a 5-year-old!” That’s because it is, sunny Jim! Here’s another obvious tidbit for you: Bernie Sanders is idealistic! Topical humor, ha! 

Brock sends out Onix, saying that’s how he likes to rock and roll! Ha! 

Apologies to Little Onix for using this joke.

Ash and Misty reach the next stage of Molly’s dream world; and as Misty muses Brock didn’t win, she decides to engage Molly next! Ash then continues on his way to save his mother! 

Upon finding out Misty was a gym leader; Molly changes shape again and fills the land with water to do battle! 

A battle between Kingdra and Misty’s Goldeen ensues as Team Rocket swims on by.

James wonders how everyone can breathe underwater; and Meowth wonders “do you think we’ll get a bigger part in the next movie?” … We’ll talk another time.

Misty follows up with her old reliable Staryu, and Molly counters with Mantine! 

I must say, for a movie that came out 15 years ago; the animation has held up incredibly well over that time. Even more when you look at the Blu-Ray remasters they came out with a while ago. They did a really good job with them if you were able to get a copy like I was.

At last Ash reaches the chamber where his mother is being held; much to Delia’s great relief. He sure made good on that “save the world a little closer to home” promise from the last movie fairly quickly, didn’t he?

Yet, Molly won’t let her leave! She doesn’t want even her surrogate family to go! This is even more on the premise of the movie: how it deals with grief and loss is actually pretty intense for a film of its type; and that stands out at me from both the perspective of a 9-year-old and a 24-year-old.

Even so, Ash won’t leave without his mother; and even engages Entei in battle to save her!

He sends out Totodile to take him on; but despite a type advantage, he’s no match for the Legendary Pokémon! 

He follows up with Cyndaquil; but the force of Entei’s attacks force him off the balcony of the castle!

Then, just as things seem bleak; who should show up but Charizard!

Everyone returns as the real battle is about to begin!

Outraged, Entei unleashes his fury as Ash mounts Charizard to take him on!

Though Entei is a powerful adversary; Ash is determined to stop the entire land from being consumed by crystal and save his mother!

Once again, this animation is really good for how long it’s been since this movie came out. The angles, the lighting; the way the Pokémon move during this battle- I can see why so many others like this movie so much even if the second one is my favorite of the original three.

Entei readies for a finishing blow against Charizard, but Molly calls for the fighting to stop!

Everyone then encourage Molly to leave the dream world and come home; but the Unown won’t allow this! They start going mad and destroying everything!

Everyone tries to evacuate, but the Unown won’t let them leave! The crystallization reaches the Pokémon Center as everything goes completely crazy! 

Entei then decides to protect everyone from the Unown as they escape! All it takes is the last bit of Molly’s love for Entei in order to stop their rampage!

With Entei’s last ounce of strength; peace is restored to the land as Professor Hale and his wife return home.

Now comes the time to address that scene I mentioned earlier. It seems 4Kids moved up the scenes where Molly’s parents come back on the grounds that western audiences leave the theater during the credits. So, here are Michael Haigney and Norman J. Grossfeld’s comments from the DVD commentary in a special edition of “Shit CEOs Say!” (Thanks to Dogasu for these quotes)

"See now a lot of people are already getting up out of their seats.”

"Yeah because what happens in these movies is...there are many endings. So we wanted to move some of the endings into the movie to have a little closure."

"And the moms and dads are trying to get...three or four kids together..."

"...Get to the bathroom before all the other families so..."

"...Or the parking lot are wherever they are."

I can kind of see where they’re coming from; given how I mentioned how I was in previous recaps of these movies. Still, it’s quite a bit before a little company called Marvel had this crazy idea to make a cinematic universe of their comic book characters and deliberately put little tidbits in the credits to entice audiences to stay longer; whether it’s setting up a fight against a major super villain or just having everybody celebrating their victory over shawarma. 

I'm not going home, not really.

So, we close on the song “To Know the Unknown” by Innosense, which I totally forgot existed; to be honest. Still, good a time as any to wrap things up.

So that’s “Pokémon 3.” As edits go; 4Kids actually did a decent job keeping the main plot intact; which is saying something given how infamous they were as a dubbing company. So, among the other video game movies to come out that year (Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within); I have to say this one is easily my favorite, and one of the stronger film entries in the Pokémon canon even if my personal favorite of the original three is the second one.

I also want to thank all my readers for being so patient amid these technical difficulties. I definitely want to do more recaps to help closeout this month; and to continue doing these movies, so keep an eye out for my look at “Pokémon 4Ever!” See you space cowboy!

Pokémon VS Yo-Kai Watch: An Outsider's Perspective

So, another E3 is winding down. What did you all think of the show this year? This year still looks to be very big for gaming; as does the next. Things I'm looking forward to include Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Last Guardian, ReCore, the Telltale Batman series, Insomniac's Spider-Man game; Paper Mario Color Splash; and the NX (to say nothing of Sony and Microsoft's next consoles).

Of course, if you've been following this blog long enough this year; you know I'm very excited for Pokémon Sun and Moon. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of this long-running RPG series, Nintendo and Game Freak are pulling out all the stops to make it an entertaining experience for both longtime fans like me as well as appeal to a new generation of fans. With the presentation at E3 unveiling new Pokémon and the newly-minted 4-player "Battle Royal" mode; it looks to add more sales to more than 200 million units across the board (not to mention the app Pokémon Go launching in July).

On that note, (sighs); I must once again address relative newcomer Yo-Kai Watch. Despite the original game only selling around 400,000 units in the US; Level-5 and Akihiro Hino are staking much more with the sequels: Yo-Kai Watch 2: Bony Spirits and Fleshy Souls. They also want to continue with the anime and merchandise; despite the fact that both of those have been underperforming as well.

It's been about a year since I first started writing about the series; and have received both incentive to continue as well as requests to stop. I feel more compelled about the former than the latter; since I intend to finish what I started.

Why am I doing this when some unnamed parties say "if you don't like it, don't watch it?" Why continue when others feel I've made my point?

It's that kind of rationale that has convinced me to write this post to further illustrate my feelings on the matter; as well as offer some more counterpoints to some other feedback I've gotten and other articles I've read on the matter. However, I'm once again going to offer something that's been lacking since this whole debate started: an outsider's perspective. That's what I've been trying to convey for a while; but I thought it would be best to try this before I do any more of my planned recaps of the anime: to give my experience as a stranger in a strange land.


I started looking into the series when I found out the sequels outperformed Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire in Japan; as well as how the anime series was routinely going toe-to-toe with Pokémon in terms of popularity and played a large part in popularizing the series there.

Curious, I decided to see what the fuss was about. The results were... not what I was hoping for. Roughly 10 minutes into the pilot episode; I found myself confused by the goofy imagery, nonsensical jokes and standard character types. As it went on; I thought to myself, "my word, this is terrible." By that point; the XY series was building on the successes of prior Pokémon series with how it handled the story of the games; thus, I wasn't impressed with Yo-Kai Watch essentially being glorified fluff.

I kept watching just to make sure I wasn't "getting it," but at some point, I just said "to Hell with it" and decided to start turning my disappointment into content for my site.

As it turns out, I found out I wasn't alone in how I felt. Despite some fans being confident the two series could coexist, at that point; a great many people had no intention of coexisting. I used to be fairly confident in that mentality; now, I'm not so sure. Nor am I sure about the future of Yo-Kai Watch in the US.

While I am still confident that Pokémon will still be around in another 20 years; there's no guarantee the same thing can be said for Yo-Kai Watch at this time. Even though Nintendo, Disney XD and Hasbro intend to give the series a larger push for the sequels; there's no real indication that they'll have the same effect of kickstarting the franchise in America the way they did in Japan.

To be fair, the games don't release until September 30, which will allow breathing room for Sun and Moon as well as avoid repeating the mistake of launching against Call of Duty (even though Infinite Warfare is facing record-low preorder numbers). Still, my suggestion would actually be to not try to shotgun the whole thing into "the next Pokémon," which hasn't happened. It should be marketed as its own IP with its own identity; since that comparison did gain some converts, but also angered many Pokémon fans such as myself. While those who like both series do have some valid points on the matter, it doesn't change the fact that on a fundamental level; the US really hasn't taken to the series the way its fans might have you believe.

My point is, the idea of fanboyism is losing its impact. I represent a distracted and annoyed center.

I still plan to get a used copy of the game in light of this news; but I'm also in the process of watching some let's plays on the game from some lesser-known channels, because of how I wasn't interested in watching ones from YouTubers who were obsessed with the game. I just wanted a take from regular people like me who may not have known what to make of the demo.


It remains to be seen what future, if any; Yo-Kai Watch has in America, to say nothing of Japan planning a third game and movie for this year. I still have some episodes of Yo-Kai Watch I want to do, as well as the first movie; but you probably won't see them until after my recap of Pokémon 3 is done. I still don't think I was wrong, by any stretch of the imagination; but given how some people reacted; I guess I could have explained how I felt better, much as I'm doing now. So, I may be taking a different approach with any future Yo-Kai Watch recaps I write; including the ones I do after Pokémon 3. That's all for now. See you space cowboy.

More Pokemon Sun and Moon Information. Five months to go till launch!

So, I saw X-Men Apocalypse this past Memorial Day weekend; and I personally enjoyed it. It may not have been as good as Days of Future Past; but it was still enjoyable. I'd recommend seeing it at least once and deciding for yourself.

On another note, more information for Pokemon Sun and Moon just got revealed this morning at around 6AM PST on their official YouTube channel. In addition to more footage being shown off; the legendaries of each version have been confirmed to be called Solgaleo and Lunala, who resemble the mythical gryphon and a massive bat, respectively.

The laid-back Professor Kukui will be your guide; and some of your allies include the professor's assistant Lillie and a young man named Hau. Each of them have very nice designs and unique personalities to enjoy in your stay in the Alola region.

Another shakeup to the usual formula is the redesigned Pokedex. Not only does it resemble a tablet computer, it also can combine with Rotom to unlock new features and a new form for the shapeshifting electric Pokemon.

With much more hype to add to an already growing amount of anticipation; I will continue to make payments on my preorder copies so I can be ready to pick them up in November.

One last thing before I go: in addition to me going to see my father this month, I should hopefully have my computer up and running again soon. I'm sorry it's taken so long; but this refund I was expecting got used for something else. Plus, I'm going to see the new Ninja Turtles movie this weekend; so I'll be officially off for summer after today.

Once I have my computer fixed; most of my energy will be going to my oft-delayed recap of Pokemon 3 and my Pokemon movie marathon; but I do have other things I want to cover nonetheless. So, this will be the last update for a while. See you, space cowboy.