Interest Stacks

sonic is literally, genuinely, unironically isekai'd from his home dimension to a loose approximation of the real world. he's saved from drowning in a rich kid's pool by said rich kid named chris, who later develops an unhealthy obsession with him (though this is portrayed as normal in-universe). other sonic alumni are progressively introduced, and they all join forces to find a way back home for upwards of 40 fluff-heavy episodes. the latter portion of the show takes place after sonic & co leave earth, turning into a space opera so mildly interesting you'll have to ask yourself why they didn't just do this for the whole thing.

sonic x may be the longest running sonic show currently released, but it's also terribly mid. most of it's admirable qualities are shelved in favor of being as kid-friendly and marketable as possible, a philosophy most clearly demonstrated by the infamous inclusion of chris thorndike and other human characters that ultimately don't hold a candle to the mobians. i'd still recommend it overall, as it's early episodes got a few unintended chuckles out of me and the writing randomly decides to git gud after cosmo is introduced in season 3. #savecosmo!

available for free: youtube, sling tv, roku channel, amazon prime video, plex, tubi
available with subscription: netflix, hulu, philo

plot is split into 2 parts. first part covers sonic and tails taking down a big robot at eggman's behest, as it's going to blow up the world via overheated robot generator otherwise. introduces three original supporting characters: old man owl, sara and... the president?? not the sa2 one, he's a totally different guy. knuckles also pulls up in a sick cowboy hat. irreverent shenanigans happen in-between with a side of lore implications that're unfortunately glossed over for lack of time.

the second part ramps up in quality and is probably the only reason a rookie sonic fan would've heard about this. after eggman tricks sonic into receiving an ambiguous 90s sci-fi scan, he's introduced to hyper metal sonic, a robotic clone of himself created to destroy him. the two then engage in both witty back-and-forth and a surprisingly well choreographed fight scene.

the ending, which i won't spoil because it's iconic and i want you to watch it for yourself, presents a sensitive take on metal sonic's character that sega hasn't been able to surpass, or even replicate, ever since.

despite it's middling mal score and glaring technical issues, this is a personal fav of mine that i still rewatch casually to this day. if you're partial to this quintessential 90s anime vibe/animation style, you'll probably like this even if you're unfamiliar with sonic.

available for free: youtube, internet archive

early test pilot for sonic x that manages to accomplish more for the series in 3 minutes than sonic forces did in 2 hours. ok that might be an exaggeration, but the final version of sonic x likely would've been better if it kept more ideas seen here intact.

for one, there are NO HUMANS!! all the background characters are mobian, so it takes place in sonic's dimension, which is already an instant upgrade imo. the animation is also much smoother and more expressive in general, and sonic x, despite presumably receiving a larger budget post-greenlighting, never really pulls off this level of quality again.

as mentioned, it's only a few minutes long, so i recommend checking it out if only to see a glimpse of an alternate timeline where sonic x wasn't mid.

available for free: youtube

promotional short made for sonic unleashed that takes place during that game's events. there are three other unnamed shorts released in the same vein as this, but they aren't listed on mal. said shorts were exclusively viewable in the xbox 360 version of unleashed after feeding chip various snacks and purchasing an in-game tv, but they've since been reuploaded to youtube.

sonic and chip seek shelter from a rainstorm in a spooky mansion inhabited by two megasimp ghosts and their meangirl waifu. she enjoys seeing people suffer through psychological turmoil, so the ghosts repeatedly jumpscare and gaslight chip to try and impress her. sonic makes up for not noticing any of this by beating up the ghosts in his werehog form and rejecting the cute ghost girl (massive L).

this one is short, simple and adorable, but stands out in how flawlessly the lighting, rendering and character animation has aged. marza animation never plays around, even for projects as disappointing as lost world and forces, but it's when they're finally given good material that they can really own their medium.

available for free: youtube

haven't actually seen this one yet, but mal doesn't let you upload stacks with less than 5 items and sonic cameos in it, so it totally counts. will update this section once i've gotten around to watching it!

available for free: tubi tv, internet archive