Sonic★the★Hedgehog

Living in the wreckage of a rusty old airplane on the shimmering shores of South Island, Sonic the Hedgehog and his buddy Miles "Tails" Prower have not a care in the world. The president of Planet Freedom urgently summons the duo, but trouble is afoot when Sonic and Tails instead find the good-for-nothing Dr. Eggman lounging about his office as if it were his own.

While Sonic would prefer to scramble Eggman and move on with his day, the doctor claims not to have new plans for world domination. He instead pleads for help: the generator powering Eggman's home city of Eggmanland has been hijacked and overloaded by a mysterious menace. If left unattended, it will explode, taking both Eggman and Sonic's homes with it.

Reluctantly agreeing on the off chance Eggman is telling the truth, Sonic and Tails set out into the abyss—where an unknown yet uncannily familiar enemy lies in wait.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Sonic the Hedgehog Main

Kikuchi, Masami Japanese

Knuckles the Echidna Main

Matsumoto, Yasunori Japanese

Robotnik, Ivo Main

Takiguchi, Junpei Japanese

Metal Sonic Main

Kikuchi, Masami Japanese

Prower, Miles Supporting

Shiina, Hekiru Japanese

Sara Supporting

Kanai, Mika Japanese

Fujiyama, Fusanobu Sound Director

Campbell, Charles ADR Director, Recording Engineer

Naka, Yuuji Production Assistant

Muroi, Fumie Key Animation, Assistant Animation Director

Reviews

Jun 14, 2025

DaeDude

Recommended

In the current year, Sonic the Hedgehog is mostly known for a slew of modern-day game titles as well as a trilogy of live-action films. While releases such as the 2017 game "Sonic Mania" have sought to honor the decades-long legacy of the blue blur, they fall short due to emphasizing the content of Sonic rather than its spirit. It is for this reason the 1996 Sonic OVA, created by anime studio Pierrot, is an essential piece of Sonic media. In a brisk 54 minutes, it gives its viewers a crash-course on the essence of Sonic while telling a story barely tied to the game ... series.

When Sonic the Hedgehog and his buddy Tails are called in to defuse a hostage situation initiated by the egomaniacal Dr. Robotnik, they discover their world, Planet Freedom, is on the verge of catastrophe. Thanks to the arrival of a new threat that has ousted Robotnik from his home, less than a day stands between our heroes and total armageddon. It's up to a reluctant Sonic and a resolute Tails to plunge into the heart of darkness that is Robotnik's mechanical metropolis and save the planet from disaster. A premise straight from the series' halcyon days is bolstered with a few extra surprises down the line. They will not be shared here, but they're always a total treat.

The Sonic OVA is at its best when the zaniness inherent to its star characters shines through in actions both great and small - which is another way of saying the Sonic OVA is nearly always at its best. Perfectly in line with the series' most successful games, the story zigzags from a sunbathed beach to a stuffy government office to the eerily familiar ruins of a city, constantly escalating and rarely stumbling while doing so. With a runtime of less than an hour, it's genuinely impressive how well Pierrot was able to render a globe-trotting adventure starring the world's coolest hedgehog. The OVA repeatedly capitalizes on its animated nature by injecting a level of life and personality in its characters even blast processing couldn't muster.

Perhaps even more impressive than Pierrot's understanding of its source material is its ability to have its newly-created characters keep pace. Freedom Planet's President's daughter, Seira, is a special standout. Paired with Robotnik for most of the film, her outspoken and sometimes bratty nature allows her to match and check his hilarious outbursts. This is no small feat - Robotnik steals every scene he's in, and their dueling attitudes make up a great deal of the film's comedy. It's a shame that so many characters like Seira have fallen to the wayside in the franchise's recent years - they do a great deal to give Sonic media like the OVA a distinct personality and flavor.

There's really not much else to say: The Sonic OVA is a must-watch. It stands as a perfect artifact of Sonic The Hedgehog at its best - bouncy, playful, and energetic, while still leaving room for reflection and depth. It harnesses its youthful energy to deliver a completely unforgettable iteration on what has become one of gaming's most successful series, and never compromises along the way. A standout product of the classic Sonic era, and a perfect thematic compliment to the games that made Sonic famous.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Sep 6, 2025

VenusDeluxe

Mixed Feelings

I mean, it's not good. The english voice acting is pretty bad, the story is the most paper thin thing you've ever seen. It barely registers as a coherent narrative, makes me wonder what context the OVA was made in. There's not much reason to watch this for anyone other than Sonic fans, I really don't know how else you'd get anything out of it. I'd say if you're a big Sonic fan it's worth a watch. It's really short and you get some pretty good Sonic animation goodness out of it, Metal Sonic is great and you get to see the origin of stuff ... like Knuckles' cowboy hat. Metal's final scene was also referenced in a really great moment from the Scrapnik Island comic (which you should also totally read). And of course you get to witness that Iconic™️ line read from Martin Burke's Sonic. There's still value in revisiting this today, I had fun.




Who did the president fuck

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Jan 2, 2023

Noahboy

Not Recommended

I watched the English Dub film version of this and found it to be pretty disappointing overall. There are some things I like about it, like the 90s anime aesthetic and Hyper-Metal-Sonic, but those are bogged down by what feels like a lot of filler and lack of focus on its main plot. It constantly cuts to the president's daughter, Sara, who gets really annoying. I swear to god, she gets more screen time than Metal-Sonic, and they of course try to sexualize her for laughs, which comes across as gross and unfunny. I just wanted to see Sonic and Metal-Sonic duke it out, so ... the parts when they actually fight are cool, but they should've gotten more screen-time and development for these sections. All the good parts are over too soon and all the uninteresting crap lasts for what feels like an eternity. I also felt like they didn't do Sonic's character justice, because he's kind of an asshole in this, he treats Tails like an idiot and falls asleep during a hostage situation. I know Sonic is supposed to have attitude, but he doesn't seem like the hero he is in the games. I also really liked the music, it was catchy, fit with the mood, and felt in line with what you might find in a Sonic game. It's only really worth watching for a select few scenes and for those interested in the history of Sonic the Hedgehog media, otherwise it's just kinda boring.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Controversy

by AngelAngel124

44 Entries · 63 Restacks

That game has an anime?!?

by AngelAngel124

50 Entries · 37 Restacks

Sonic the Hedgehog (All Anime)

by SHIZA_KAISER

6 Entries · 5 Restacks

	Who else saw this movie as a child? iwjwammfa - Mar 9, 2016	8 replies	by Monkadude15 »» Jul 20, 4:32 PM
	Poll: What Sonic anime is the best and why? Camoboi1 - Feb 22	4 replies	by Notshane »» Feb 25, 10:00 AM
	Poll: What is the best sonic character in this anime and why? Camoboi1 - Feb 22	2 replies	by Angel-99 »» Feb 23, 6:19 AM
	Poll: Sonic the Hedgehog Episode 2 Discussion RafaelDeJongh - May 12, 2015	10 replies	by Magicmist »» Jan 19, 4:13 AM
	Poll: Which dub of Sonic is worse: OVA or Sonic X? funtime43_tr - Oct 26, 2023	3 replies	by RcAges »» Oct 27, 2023 11:22 PM

Top 10 Video Games That Are Screaming For Anime Adaptations

Plenty of games are sitting on store shelves, download sites, and your personal game collection that have yet to receive the anime treatment. We're going to look at some of them and find out why they're just begging for anime adaptations!

by MisterD98

27,526 views