Megathread MT | Sonic Prime (Netflix, TV Series) - General Discussion

[LegoFedora]

5 hours ago, MetalSkulkBane said:

But also he pulls about a rattle, Sonic questions how's that dangerous and then gets his with OTHER fist. Come on, how do you mess simple set up like this?

I think that's the point of it. Something that shouldn't really be that distracting at first glance, but is clearly effective considering it works often enough to be kept around as a weapon. Causing the viewer/opponent to be slightly caught off guard with a "you think I'd fall for that?" mentality, only to then immediately fall for that.

Basically, treating the opponent like a child will actually yield results. Who better to know this than an actual child?

[Austroid]

My Chaos Council ranking so far:

-Mr. Dr. Eggman (he's the closest to regular Eggman, so automatic lead)

-Dr. Babble (Fun little guy. He has a neat mech design too.)

-Dr. Done-it (old man tropes aside... he's pretty okay.)

-Dr. Don't (a bland, zoomer-type teen. Meh.)

-Dr. Deep (a weird, hipster take on Eggman? Pass...)

[MetalSkulkBane]

1 hour ago, Austroid said:

My Chaos Council ranking so far:

-Mr. Dr. Eggman (he's the closest to regular Eggman, so automatic lead)

-Dr. Babble (Fun little guy. He has a neat mech design too.)

-Dr. Done-it (old man tropes aside... he's pretty okay.)

-Dr. Don't (a bland, zoomer-type teen. Meh.)

-Dr. Deep (a weird, hipster take on Eggman? Pass...)

I would put Don't higher. His saving grace is that despite his "don't care" attitude he's clearly the one doing most tech stuff. So if he's the smartest one, I can buy that he's bored. It's not much, but it gives him layers, even if it's 2.

Also "done, deep, don't", what's with the letter D everywhere? And why the baby isn't "Dr. Diaper" or "Dr. Dinky"? (Still better name than "Mr. Dr. Eggman")

[caitash]

I quite like Dr Deep. He’s a bit of a tryhard-weeb and I find that more entertaining than Dr Babble who is more annoying than entertaining to me (the baby voice especially grates on my ears a lot). I noticed each time Sonic faceplants back into New Yoke City he ends up in a different district represented by one of the Eggmen council. We’ve had Babble and Deep, wonder if we’ll get Don’t and Done-It before we end up in Mr Dr Eggman’s district at or close to the finale.

[Austroid]

On 12/31/2022 at 3:50 AM, MetalSkulkBane said:

Also "done, deep, don't", what's with the letter D everywhere? And why the baby isn't "Dr. Diaper" or "Dr. Dinky"? (Still better name than "Mr. Dr. Eggman")

With Mr. Dr. Eggman I take it as his actual first name being "Doctor" and last as "Eggman," but who knows lol.

On 12/31/2022 at 7:02 AM, caitash said:

 (the baby voice especially grates on my ears a lot). 

I get that. Its weird how sometimes he sounds like a real baby, and other times a guy trying to sound like one.

[Duelistic Nature]

Binged the whole series a second time just now (and this time without interruptions). Sooooo... In the words of Deadpool: "so let's Pro/con this superhero thing"

Pros:

• The animation is stunning, from facial animations to body language it's really hitting the notes.
• I like the "what if" take to the shatterspaces, which leaves room for creative tinkering.
• They actively tried to have each variant of the main cast shine in a distinct realm. (Nine in New Yolk, Thorne Rose in Jungle, Knuckles in flooded Green hills (green oceans?))
• The voice actors are picked really well and really sound like they're having fun.
• Whenever the comedy wasn't forced onto the nose it was at times subtle enough to get a chuckle out of me (did we really get a weed joke commenting about the big green?)
• I liked Sonic's drip, not talking about functionality though, especially in the flooded Green hills (Shadow wants his air shoes back).
• Rouge is gracefully handled, she's not great, but she's not offensive. She plays along just fine.
• Pirate Knuckles is at the same time menacing and funny.

Cons:

• Sonic feels like a bit of an airhead, he's fun-going, joking, and quippy sure but everything he does so far is setting him up as being a huge airhead. There's a story progression/writing reason for this I'm sure, but it makes the character come off as incompetent. is it the "This is a Goku" thing again?
• The action scenes/ moves could be a little less sped up... they feel too quick to emphasize speed, but it makes certain tricks, flips, and kicks hard to read and even fight scenes to read. Just take a close look at Sonic vs Shadow or Sonic vs Thorne Rose with Prism shard. Or fight scenes like the stairway fight in New Yolk, yes it's a staircase fight, but swinging the camera flights up and down doesn't help me understand if they're either fighting UP or DOWN.
• The show doesn't emphasize Sonic's speed enough. While the action scenes are sped up... I really feel that when Sonic is running his figure-8 speed he feels actually quite slow.
• dr. Babble, while I don't hate babble (I sorta like the twisted reality of a baby being the most sadistic of the chaos council), I dislike babble owning so much of the screen time and that's probably because I really don't like a baby's crying. My niece is around 9 months now and her crying is manageable, but when they turn around 2 to 3 years old... boy oh boy... nails on a chalkboard.
• How good Knucks is (the New Yolk version), it really frustrates me to see a competent rebel 'commander' compared to the Sonic Forces knuckles we got. Although seeing Knuckles go all 'Spartan Rage' at seeing Nine high tail it out of there with the Prism Shard felt a little ridiculous.
• Shadow. I dig his intro theme (reminds me of Sturm's theme in Advance Wars 2 for the GBA, same opening riff), his VA is a good fit, and his look is good, but mister grouch has for some reason got some SERIOUS beef with Sonic, ALL the time. Sonic doesn't help by dancing around the subject all the time whenever Shadow wants a straight answer, but whenever Sonic actually shows a different priority rather than catering to the catfight with Shadow (I.E. the explosion on top of the hill where his friends are busy busting Egg bots), the rival simply decks Sonic in the face for losing focus and feels mighty enough to comment on it.
  Yeah I know I know next season will be better, but thus far he's an angry Sonic with 1 goal in mind, hate Sonic's guts at every turn, and find every opportunity to punish Sonic's mistake with a knucklechillidog.

 

Tons more I could comment on, but I'll try to narrow it down so people can digest this piecemeal. Looking forward to season 2 definitely!

[Scritch the Cat]

I can't decide whether "Batten Rouge" is clever or the sort of pun that only an ignorant child would make.

[Amy2023]

I've watched the first episode and thought It wasn't bad. Then when I started watching the rest of the episode's I started to really enjoyed watching It and understanding the story plot as well. I'm looking forward to Season 2 coming up.

[batson]

I've watched the first two episodes. So far I'm not really enjoying it. It has way too much action in comparasion to the scenes that furthers the story or explores the characters. I know it's an action cartoon and all, but geez some of those action scenes that drag on and on without being all that fantastic, and are then followed almost instantly by another action scene that drags on and on without being being all that fantastic.

Also I'm just gonna say it; I see way more of an influence from live-action movie Sonic on this Sonic than I'm willing to stomach. He's not insecure and lame like movie Sonic, so that's good, but he has the same hyperactive "I'm the shit" attitude going on (with movie Sonic being a noxious mix of lame insecurity and trying-too-hard attitude). It's like a modern day upgrade of SatAM Sonic who I never liked either. I don't want to watch Sonic content where I'm annoyed by Sonic himself.

I dunno, I guess maybe it'll pick up, but I don't really feel much incitement to keep watching.

[Rabbitearsblog]

15 hours ago, MikeTheHedgehog said:

I've watched the first episode and thought It wasn't bad. Then when I started watching the rest of the episode's I started to really enjoyed watching It and understanding the story plot as well. I'm looking forward to Season 2 coming up.

I do wonder when Season 2 is coming?

[The Famous Sonic]

45 minutes ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

I do wonder when Season 2 is coming?

Most likely May. 

[Amy2023]

2 hours ago, The Famous Sonic said:

Most likely May. 

That seems to be a good time frame for Season 2.

[Shiny Gems]

I am worried. Will the same thing happen to Sonic Prime?

[Rabbitearsblog]

10 minutes ago, ShinyGems said:

I am worried. Will the same thing happen to Sonic Prime?

Netflix is cancelling another animated program?  I knew they were having problems with their animated content, but now I'm worried for the other animated shows.

[Blue Blood]

16 minutes ago, ShinyGems said:

I am worried. Will the same thing happen to Sonic Prime?

As far as we can tell, Sonic Prime has been a hit with its audience by way of charting globally on Netflix, and it got positive critical reception too. Inside Job is an original IP adult animation, a relative niche that didn't take off in the way that something like Rick and Morty or Big Mouth did. It also doesn't have the existing evergreen young fanbase of a franchise like Sonic. Prime was announced in late 2020 probably exists in part due to the fact that there's a successful Sonic movie series going on. 

Netflix is infamous for now for its unpredictable cancellation and I'm not nearly well versed enough in the industry to begin to offer any real insight, but I certainly don't see Sonic Prime going anywhere anytime soon. It's got everything going for it. 

[Shiny Gems]

Just now, Blue Blood said:

As far as we can tell, Sonic Prime has been a hit with its audience by way of charting globally on Netflix, and it got positive critical reception too. Inside Job is an original IP adult animation, a relative niche that didn't take off in the way that something like Rick and Morty or Big Mouth did. It also doesn't have the existing evergreen young fanbase of a franchise like Sonic. Prime was announced in late 2020 probably exists in part due to the fact that there's a successful Sonic movie series going on. 

Netflix is infamous for now for its unpredictable cancellation and I'm not nearly well versed enough in the industry to begin to offer any real insight, but I certainly don't see Sonic Prime going anywhere anytime soon.

Thanks for all that. I really did need that. I hope you turn out right on this.

[Blue Blood]

8 minutes ago, ShinyGems said:

Thanks for all that. I really did need that. I hope you turn out right on this.

Netflix cancels stuff all the time. TV shows in general get cancelled all the told. You just got to accept that. Prime looks set to stay if you ask me, but I'm uneducated on the matter. 

[Razule]

49 minutes ago, ShinyGems said:

I am worried. Will the same thing happen to Sonic Prime?

No, because the "seasons" are just a one season show split into three. 

[Sega DogTagz]

2 hours ago, Razule said:

No, because the "seasons" are just a one season show split into three. 

 

^This.

 

Inside Job was in a different space. It was flagged for renewal half a year ago. Which means the season that just got nixed would have been very early in production - making ripping that band-aid significantly less painful due to the lack of sunk costs. If you were to turn around and nix Prime, you'd be axing 16 episodes that are already in production (most of them likely done, or close to it). Even if you wanted to cut the series, that's a bitter pill to swallow.

And that's to say nothing of Prime actually seeming to be performing well. You can even double down on Prime knowing sometime in 2023 you've got a Knuckles TV show, and probably another Sonic game to keep the IP relevant. Right when interest starts to wane, you've got a free shot in the arm due to IP synergy.

 

TV shows are fickle and get canned and renewed all the time. But if you read the tea leaves - Prime is in a very safe space right now. NetFlix isn't going to scrap their piece of the pie. Its comes with built in free advertising. Its a safe and savvy investment.

[The Famous Sonic]

1899 performed well but still got cancelled. 

[Red Hot Jack]

Yeah Netflix is hard to please with ratings and top 10 charting, they cancelled a lot of stuff especially during the first season, even stuff with little budget so I can't imagine what they are gonna do with Prime which has top quality animation.

Prime is in kids category so that might be different because while it didn't last more than a week in the global chart, I think it stayed more time in the kids top 10?

Also, I originally thought Prime was developed by Netflix because they saw the success of the movie but then the devs mentioned it was greenlit way earlier so maybe not after all. Development started 5 years ago.

[Rabbitearsblog]

3 hours ago, Sega DogTagz said:

^This.

Inside Job was in a different space. It was flagged for renewal half a year ago. Which means the season that just got nixed would have been very early in production - making ripping that band-aid significantly less painful due to the lack of sunk costs. If you were to turn around and nix Prime, you'd be axing 16 episodes that are already in production (most of them likely done, or close to it). Even if you wanted to cut the series, that's a bitter pill to swallow.

And that's to say nothing of Prime actually seeming to be performing well. You can even double down on Prime knowing sometime in 2023 you've got a Knuckles TV show, and probably another Sonic game to keep the IP relevant. Right when interest starts to wane, you've got a free shot in the arm due to IP synergy.

TV shows are fickle and get canned and renewed all the time. But if you read the tea leaves - Prime is in a very safe space right now. NetFlix isn't going to scrap their piece of the pie. Its comes with built in free advertising. Its a safe and savvy investment.

Do kid's shows have better luck on Netflix than adult cartoons, that are not "Big Mouth?"

[Sega DogTagz]

4 hours ago, Red Hot Jack said:

Also, I originally thought Prime was developed by Netflix because they saw the success of the movie but then the devs mentioned it was greenlit way earlier so maybe not after all. Development started 5 years ago.

It doesn't really matter why the show was originally pitched, or its intentions at the time, you have to deal with the current reality.

And that current reality is that Prime offers Netflix a free foothold into a resurgent IP that will have another theatrical installment soon, free advertising in the form or a TV series, and a continued presence in the videogame marketplace. 

 

If harvesting that free Synergy wasn't in the plans at conception, it certainly is now. Frontiers just sold better than any Sonic game in 2 decades. The Hedgehog is more relevant now since any time post 90s. That kind of influence isn't lost on decision makers.

 

4 hours ago, Rabbitearsblog said:

Do kid's shows have better luck on Netflix than adult cartoons, that are not "Big Mouth?"

 

Kids shows face an easier market to break into, with significantly more upside. Adult cartoons in general face a much more critical audience, and you really only see the cream of the crop break through to have lasting appeal.

 

But honestly its apples to oranges. Most Kids shows almost solely exist to push brand awareness and sell toys. Adult shows mostly seek only to entertain and create buzz. There are a few exceptions, buy by and large the metric by which either is successful is so different that its not really worth comparing.

[Red Hot Jack]

There is also the fact IIRC Sega mentioned they won't profit from Prime, that money goes entirely to Netflix, because Sega just wanted to promote the series in order to get people to buy Frontiers (and merch).

[Rabbitearsblog]

7 hours ago, Red Hot Jack said:

There is also the fact IIRC Sega mentioned they won't profit from Prime, that money goes entirely to Netflix, because Sega just wanted to promote the series in order to get people to buy Frontiers (and merch).

I do wonder what happens if Sonic Prime eventually gets more episodes from Netflix.  What would SEGA do about that?