Sonic is a boring character

[Vertekins]

I think though that Sonic could be classed as a freedom fighter because he's literally fighting for freedom. He's fighting to prevent a technocratical dictatorship that, whilst it could provide for all of their needs, takes away their personal liberties in the process. And if Sonic CD would be anything to go by and Sonic did indeed canonically visit a bad future during his time on Little Planet then he has seen first-hand what an Eggman-dominated world could lead to - A world of mechanical horrors where even robots find it hard to thrive considering that all of them are broken down in the Bad Future.

If such conditions led to that then imagine what such conditions would do to typical humans and anthropes? THAT'S what Sonic is fighting to prevent.

[DC111]

...Why do I always miss the good stuff?

Anyway, I saw the topic title and was all set to rage, but then I decided: you know what? I don't really care if other people think Sonic is boring. If not regularly expressing sadness or discouragement makes him boring, then I'd RATHER him be boring. I don't want realistic. I don't need a 'relatable' character. In fact, part of why I like Sonic so much is BECAUSE he's so unbreakably upbeat. I like personalities that make me smile. I sit down and play a Sonic game and the messed up, complicated world we live in suddenly seems so simple and easygoing. I don't want him to have more sad or angsty moments; then it wouldn't be Sonic anymore, and besides, when I play a Sonic game, those are the LAST kinds of feelings I'm after.

That aside, I can genuinely say I don't think I was bored at one point throughout the Storybook series. And most other Sonic games, come to think of it. Happy, actiony, determined, and upbeat don't automatically equal bland. Nor do sadness and anger equal not bland. 'Sides, he gets upset at things. Like when Shahra was killed, and when Amy didn't recognize him as Werehog, and I daresay he seemed hurt by Merlina's betrayal. What else do you want? Should he get upset easier when things go wrong, for the sake of an 'interesting' character? Or doubt his abilities to stop Eggman? Or have more conflicts with his friends? I'm not saying they couldn't do a bit more with the circumstances to provide more opportunities for us to see different aspects of his personality (...Black Knight?) but beyond a certain point, it just wouldn't be Sonic anymore.

Boring? Bland? Maybe to you. But I wouldn't have him any other way.

It makes me wonder does this series have an identity crisis, theres themes of death, revenge and even grimdark and philosophical messages in this franchise and yet the protagonists acts like he comes from a Looney Tunes cartoon.

That's the whole point. It's intentional and self-aware. Sonic's like an obnoxiously bright light that shines in a dark room. I daresay that right there makes him interesting; he doesn't react to all this grimdark stuff in the grimdark way most main characters do lately.

(M'kay, so I raged a little.)

I help in the writing-up and updating of the profiles/Additions to them and I also write Game Relations. Quite a lot of what you read is those profiles was actually written by both me and Ryan, we massively expanded upon what was left by the previous Webmaster.

Wait, seriously?

...

No wonder they're so good.

Edited September 8, 2011 by DC111

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Are people just now realizing that Verte was an admin on Concept Mobius? lol

Christ, you guys make me feel old.

[DC111]

Are people just now realizing that Verte was an admin on Concept Mobius? lol

Christ, you guys make me feel old.

I was a fan of Concept-Mobius from back when Nuclear Envoy was around, but I guess I never went on it enough to keep up with the changes.

Edited September 8, 2011 by DC111

[Soniman]

Sonic's whole phhilosophy is against boringess!!

BLASHPHEMY I SAY!!

[Kuzu]

Are people just now realizing that Verte was an admin on Concept Mobius? lol

Christ, you guys make me feel old.

To be fair, I wasn't a member yet when I first read Concept Mobius, so I have an excuse.

[Indigo Rush]

I remember Concept Mobius back when I was 15. Dang, now I feel old.

[Kuzu]

I remember Concept Mobius back when I was 15. Dang, now I feel old.

How old are you?

I discovered Concept Mobius when I was 16, and that was 2 years ago.

[Emmett L. Brown]

I love a cheerful hero, optimistic that they'll get the job done and save the day. And I love a superhero who actually enjoys having powers and abilities beyond the average person. And I hate the notion that depth equals being gloomy gus. And I shamelessly start a sentence with the word "and", and come into a thread way too late to make a meaningful contribution.

[Indigo Rush]

How old are you?

I discovered Concept Mobius when I was 16, and that was 2 years ago.

21 as of this past month.

Wait.

How old is that site?

[Kuzu]

21 as of this past month.

Wait.

How old is that site?

I'd say about 3 years old considering that not that many articles don't go past 2008.

[Indigo Rush]

I'd say about 3 years old considering that not that many articles don't go past 2008.

Read the first article.

http://concept-mobius.technoguild.com/index.php?start=25

That's like saying SSMB didn't exist before 2009; the site had a server wipe before that.

[TheDanimator]

Sonic has seemed empty in allot of games to me...

Only most of the ones that had the 4kids cast to be honest though.

The voice acting and writing wasnt as good during that period in my opinion.

But in Colors and the Adventure games I think he has a ton of personality... and Sonic OVA and SATAM.

I wouldnt want them to change that.

[DarkLight]

^I always say a character depends more heavily on writing than voice-acting personally. Voice-acting does help, but not as much as how they're written.

[Diogenes]

That's the whole point. It's intentional and self-aware. Sonic's like an obnoxiously bright light that shines in a dark room. I daresay that right there makes him interesting; he doesn't react to all this grimdark stuff in the grimdark way most main characters do lately.

Honestly I think that's giving them a little too much credit. Most likely they just added the grimdark because that's what the kids are into, and were smart enough not to force it on Sonic himself, instead creating an angsty little clone to dump it on.

[Chaos Nightmare Moon]

How complected a character is and how developed they are is important. Why? Because that makes the way they react to events interesting. An interesting character isn't interesting until said interesting character does interesting things in an interesting way. A character could be extremely complex but the plot of the showcasing story could be non-excistant, thus the character is boring. The reverse can be said and an extremely static, lackluster character could do extraordinary things, making the character interesting and enjoyable, albeit not good.

That arguement would be perfect is Sonic was a static, lackluster character. Good freaking thing he's an extremely complex, not to mention unique, character. Plenty of heroes save the world out of the goodness of their heart. But he just does it because "it's gotta be done?" Who else does that again?

Thats the thing, Sonic is pure in heart, he's the light apparently.

[DarkLight]

^And how is this bad or complicated to understand again?

[Vertekins]

^I always say a character depends more heavily on writing than voice-acting personally. Voice-acting does help, but not as much as how they're written.

If writing and characterization is the cake and filling then voice acting is the icing.[/lolfoodeuphemism]

IMO voice can lend a massive amount of 'feel' to a characters words and therefore their personality and believability more than words can do alone. This is why Sonic has to talk because if he didn't, there'd be no other satisfactory way to get across his character and pretty much all of it's attributes. Sonic is such an example of this that this is why I have reservations regarding C Sonic's muteness in Generations. I can only hope that his body language and expressions get across his character adequately instead of overly relying on C Tails to get across what he's thinking.

Jason's lending a tone of wonderment to Sonic's voice in cutscenes like this one expertly put across his contemplative demeanor, the fact that he's thinking aloud as said in the scenes description in the Special Book "Sonic in one of his rare soliloquy scenes"

Voice makes a character as much as writing does really. Still doesn't justify the absolutely pathetic and embarrassing ways in which much of the fandom have voiced their disgust at voice actor changes however.

I'd say about 3 years old considering that not that many articles don't go past 2008.

The site is actually over 6 years old. Most of the articles have a much later date credited to them because they had to be put back up after the server move.

Edited September 8, 2011 by Verte

[Kuzu]

Thats the thing, Sonic is pure in heart, he's the light apparently.

And this is bad because?

[Scar]

Thats the thing, Sonic is pure in heart, he's the light apparently.

Why is this bad?

In fact, it isn't true at all...

It certainly wasn't true in Black Knight, where he explicity states, that he isn't above becoming the bad guy in order to do what he believes to be right.

I believe the line was:

Heh, I guess you can't be the hero all the time.

[Kuzu]

Exactly, Sonic's not even all that pure, he's got no problem doing what he thinks is right, fuck what society thinks.

[Nepenthe]

I never thought that line suggested Sonic himself possesses the personal ability to do inherently evil acts. I mean, is Robin Hood a villain because he stole money?

Regardless of your answer, it doesn't matter. There's nothing wrong with Sonic being a good guy, so there's no use in defending it beyond that.

[Indigo Rush]

Boredom is in the eye of the beholder.

I happen to enjoy sitting down and having a cup of coffee or tea while I mellow out to jazz music. Some people find that boring. I find it relaxing.

I happen to find reading to be a cumbersome endeavor. Some people find it relaxing. I find it boring.

I happen to think Sonic's I-don't-care-what-you-think attitude and smug optimism is pretty interesting. Some people find that to be stale and boring. I find it to be unique and indicative of Sonic's character.

We have enough fictional brooding anti-heroes in the world. Can we at least have one hero like Sonic?

Edited September 8, 2011 by Indigo Rush

[Kuzu]

I never thought that line suggested Sonic himself possesses the personal ability to do inherently evil acts. I mean, is Robin Hood a villain because he stole money?

I think he meant that Sonic has no problem doing things that would be perceived as bad if he thought it was right. Such as breaking out of prison, slaying the king of a nation who oppresses his people,

I doubt he would do bad things for what he thought was right, that's more down Shadow's territory. Like killing a little girl because she was an unwilling spy.

[Nepenthe]

I think he meant that Sonic has no problem doing things that would be perceived as bad if he thought it was right. Such as breaking out of prison, slaying the king of a nation who oppresses his people,

I doubt he would do bad things for what he thought was right, that's more down Shadow's territory. Like killing a little girl because she was an unwilling spy.

Well, I understand that; he broke out of prison in SA2, after all, which is illegal no matter what. But it seems this was only made some real moral conundrum with SatBK, and because people champion that characterization, it feels more overstated than it should be. That little bit doesn't suggest Sonic isn't pure of heart. The fact that he sticks only to his natural inclinations of right and wrong regardless of authority actually favors the opposite. Bad deeds aren't inherently bad in a vacuum, (which is why you can argue the morality of X Shadow's actions in that episode).