Sonic Anime Review part 2 "Sonic vs. Metal Sonic" written by: Alessandro Sanasi (tyro@deco.franken.de) with help from Maringa J. Mikic and Seiji Hattori Our heroes have arrived at the entrance to Eggman's headquarters. Tails is astonished that the doctor lives in such a magnificent building, of which Knuckles replies that this isn't anything special, and they wouldn't have time to admire it anyway. Sonic agrees and gives the signal to set out. While they run downward into the building, Tails monitors their route with his wrist navigation device. At first Knuckles is delighted because he finds all this really thrilling, but Sonic calls to him that he shouldn't be, since you never know what lies ahead. Knuckles admits that Sonic is right, especially when they get shot at from every direction a few seconds later. Knuckles tells Sonic to run ahead while he will take care of the problem at hand. At this point we see the title of the second episode: "Sonic vs. Metal Sonic". Sonic runs as fast as he can toward the Egg-Generator (which looks like a giant metal version of Eggman's head), but can't reach it because the conveyor belt that leads to the generator runs in the opposite direction. He commands Tails to fly to the turn-off lever, but the fox isn't strong enough to pull it alone, since it is at least three times his size. At the last moment Knuckles breaks through the wall, glides toward Sonic and gives him the decisive push that lets him reach the lever. The machine stops exactly one second before meltdown (which is shown on the display above the lever), and all the lights in EggmanLand go off again, leaving the city shrouded in darkness. But the whole thing seems to have been a setup, because suddenly Sonic is trapped in some kind of forcefield. Knuckles calls to the hedgehog that he is going to save him, while desperately trying to run to him on the still moving conveyor belt. At this moment the Egg-Generator literally breaks apart and Sonic falls into the void below. Luckily Knuckles can catch him just in time before he hits the ground. But something is still there... a strange-looking purple engergy egg. Knuckles looks over to it and notes that there is something moving inside, something that looks like Sonic. Then the egg goes off in a flash, and when the clouds part, Sonic stands face to face with his metallic counterpart. Tails cries out that this robot looks exactly like Sonic, while Knuckles wants to know what's going on here. But the robot just stands there. Then Eggman's laughter is heard, and the whole room is filled with strange lights. Knuckles asks what this is, of which Tails replies that he doesn't know eighter, but that he thinks the lights are pretty. The lights turn into blue flames and head off into the distance, from where moments later Dark-Eggman emerges, the robot they fought in the first episode (Tails: "This is the ghost of Dark-Eggman!"). But as fast as the robot appears it goes to pieces again - obviously the damage Sonic inflicted in part one was too much for it to take. Sera and Eggman appear in all the scrap metal (Sera pulling the doctor out by his mustache). When Sera notices that they are being watched, she turns around and smiles innocently. Sonic and Tails are more than aghast, while Knuckles suspects that Sera makes common cause with the doctor. Sera starts to cry, tears literally flowing like waterfalls from her eyes. She apologizes and defends herself. She says that Eggman tricked her, that she didn't know of Eggman's true intentions, and that she is still worn out by all the incidents. While she confesses, Eggman lowers his head more and more. Sonic asks the doctor what he's aiming at with all this ruse. The doctor sticks out his tongue and taunts Sonic that he walked right into the trap he has set for him. Sonic gets disgusted and races toward Eggman - but at the same moment Metal Sonic's eyes flash red, and he is in front of Eggman in an instant, stopping Sonic's attack. Tails can't believe it that anyone could be faster than Sonic, after which Eggman proudly presents them his newest weapon - "HyperMetalSonic" - and tells the friends that he incorporated all of Sonic's attributes and data in the robot, which is destined to get rid of Sonic permanently. Sera does not actually agree with this plan, but the other robot-minions prevent her from releasing her anger on Eggman. Sonic demands Sera's release, but Eggman replies with glee that Sonic should first defeat his counterpart, let's see if he is still so inquisitive after that... Metal Sonic scans his target, and Sonic commands his friends to stay out of this - that's something between him and the robot. Metal Sonic starts his turbo engine, and the fight begins. When the robot grabs Sonic, Tails follows to help his friend, but Knuckles grabs Tails' leg and stops him, well knowing that it's impossible to keep up with the two. Eggman follows the fighting pair in his Egg-O-Matic, with a tied and gagged Sera on the sideseat. Sonic and Mecha Sonic continue fighting, until Sonic stops on a high peak, wondering where his opponent disappeared to. The latter appears promptly and gives Sonic a kick that sends him falling to the far-away ground below. Mecha Sonic watches Sonic's fall, until he is convinced that the hedgehog is dead. In his Egg-O-Matic, Robotnik and Sera monitor the progress of the fight on a display, which shows the life signs of both Metal Sonic and Sonic. Finally Sonic's life signs drop to zero, and the display changes to show the stylized figure of Mecha Sonic jumping with joy and the stylized figures of Sonic with a halo and Tails crying. Eggman can't believe his good fortune. Finally the hedgehog has bit the dust. Meanwhile Tails flies with Knuckles in tow toward the warpgate (through which they entered the city in the first episode). Knuckles wants to know what Tails is up to, and the fox replies with a tear in his eye that he intends to return to the Tornado (his plane) and repair it. Knuckles' question what they should do about Sonic isn't answered because they are entering the warpgate. At Sonic's headquarter Ojisan has made himself comfortable on the beach (in Sonic's beach-chair) and is pretty surprised to suddenly see Sonic appear in front of him (which is actually Metal Sonic, but the owl is too short-sighted to notice). He greets the new arrival a bit embarrased and wants to know what happened. He doesn't get a reply, and the owl notices his mistake - NOT! The last we hear is Ojisan's scream that Sonic should stop... Meanwhile Sonic awakens in the middle of a beautiful forest in a huge bush (which probably eased off his fall) and wonders what happened. He remembers his journey to EggmanLand and how Metalla (some kind of Japanese nickname for Metal Sonic - "Metaru" in the Japanese transliteration) hit him. He sure hopes that... - at this point the sencence ends and we return to Knuckles and Tails who have reached the headquarter with the damaged Tornado. Suddenly the fox jumps up with a yelp because it just came to his mind that Ojisan was here all the time - hopefully nothing happened to him. They enter the Boeing, and Tails calls for the owl, but doesn't get a reply. Knuckles already thinks that Ojisan isn't here anymore when the owl appears right behind them. The fox wants to know why Ojisan is wearing Sonic's belongings, and Ojisan replies that Sonic himself gave them to him yesterday evening. Yesterday evening? But that could have been only one: "Metalla!" Tails and Knuckles blurt out in unison. Meanwhile Eggman apologizes on Sera for his behavior, of which Sera still reacts very annoyed, until the doctor presents her a dress. She can't believe her eyes, and immediately laughs again (this girl really seems to be pleased easily). Back at Sonic's base, Tails has started to make some alterations in the navigation device Eggman gave him. Knuckles asks why the fox is doing this, and Tails explains that he is trying to adjust the device on Sonic's brainwaves, and at the same time at Metalla's, since the robot not only seems to have Sonic's abilities and speed, but also his personality - and his 'heart'. Strictly speaking, the two are 'twins'. Knuckles doesn't believe what he is hearing, but it's the only explanation why the robot didn't kill Ojisan. At the president's palace, the president is worried about the whereabouts of his daughter, and is horrified about the pictures of destruction he gets from various places of the city, and the outlines of a well-known hedgehog who seems to wreak havoc there. Sonic is responsible for all this? It can't be. At once he gives order to make contact Tails. Knuckles hears the signal and reacts pretty indignant about it, since he is busy repairing the Tornado. Therefore only Ojisan appears on the screen, dancing to the music from Sonic's stereo, and the president wants to know what's going on here. Knuckles pushes the owl to the side, and is then asked by the president who he is. The echidna introduces himself as Knuckles, Sonic's "Tatchi" (which means "friend", although "Tatchi" is a very colloquial word) and asks what the other one wants. The president is a bit surprised about the rude stranger and Knuckles only learns from Ojisan's interruption that he is actually talking to the president. By now, Sera has tried on her dress and is really delighted. She asks Eggman if she is looking good in it. Eggman, who is now wearing a green tux, confirms this and suggests at the same time that now, since Sonic is history, they could start to get a bit more intimate. But Sera is not pleased at all about the idea to marry the doctor and become the mother of a dozen crying egg-babies, which she makes clear by grabbing Eggman by the throat and shaking him like mad (BTW, the song Eggman sings in Sera's flashforward that shows her in housewife clothing with a bunch of babies is a japanese lullaby). She screams that she won't marry the doctor, never ever. Meanwhile Tails has filled in the president about the whole story, and the president asks what Eggman is up to. It's impossible to destroy the whole planet this way. Knuckles interrupts and says that this would surely be possible. During his journeys he has visited many continents, and found out that the Earth of the Sky is held by ice bridges on the North Pole. Magma flows through these bridges like blood flows through veins, and if someone destroys those bridges, the magma would flow out and melt the ice. As a consequence, all the continents would break apart and be thrown into space, where they would turn into cosmic dust, leaving only the planet itself... Everyone is horror-stricken about this revelation, and Tails asks the president not to tell Sonic anything about this. But the hedgehog, who has made his way back to the city by now, already overheard the last part of the conversation from a high railing behind the president. He wants to know what they want to withhold from him and why. Tails tries to apologize, but just at this moment a message arrives that Metalla is heading for the North Pole. Before the president can react, the hedgehog has already left at top speed. So he turns to Tails and Knuckles again and asks them to help Sonic. Elsewhere Eggman is also on his way to the pole, and with a screaming and raging Sera beside him he flies his Egg-O-Matic into a warpgate. Knuckles and Tails head in the same direction with the repaired Tornado (Knuckles standing on top of its wings as Sonic usually does). Tails has finished his work on Eggman's tracking device, which now scans for Sonic's and Metalla's brainwaves. Meanwhile Metalla has reached the North Pole and starts to break apart the ice to free the magma, but the arrival of Sonic stops him. The hedgehog is angry that he came too late and wonders where his metal twin could be, until Metalla comes out of the ice right underneath him. Both contrahents face each other. Sonic says that this planet would be too small for two Sonic's, and that they should fight it to the death. Metalla nods, and both attack. Sonic and Metalla zip across the whole ice continent during their fight, until they face each other forehead-to-forehead, both running like mad and pushing against each other. Sonic admits that the robot can read his thoughts, but in the following clause he can do the same, and finally they shoot straight upward. At this very moment, the Egg-O-Matic appears from the warpzone, and both collide with it (Sonic landing on the front part, Metalla crashing right through the bottom, his head coming out inside. Sera kicks against Metalla's head because she thinks it's Sonic who wants to peek under her dress. Eggman can't believe it that his arch-enemy is still alive, and wonders how this is possible and what's wrong with Sonic, who prances about wildly. I don't want to make wrong conclusions here, but to me it looks that when Sonic happened to come down straddling the ship's nose, he made contact with a part of his body where he, um, doesn't have a whole lot of quills. To put it another way, a few more landings like that and Sonic would have a higher voice than Tails. Japanese broadcasting standards may be more liberal than those in the United States, but they apparently could exercise SOME restraint. Eggman tries to grab the hedgehog, but Sonic is faster and zips away, re-appearing under the Egg-O-Matic and holding onto Metalla's legs. Eggman stumbles and falls at the 'nose' of his ship with all his weight, which causes it to tilt to the side. Sera falls out but is caught by Knuckles who was gliding along close above the icy ground, with the comment that this was indeed a close one. Again Sonic and Metalla are engaged in a fight, when suddenly Tails' plane is coming right at them, separating the two. Eggman then sends two missiles after Tails (one looking like a hare, the other one like a Turtloid - probably a reference to a japanese tale about a speed contest between a hare and a turtle). The hare-missile speeds away and hits the plain clear, causing it to explode in a cloud that is shaped like Eggman's head. However, the Turtloid-missile only starts to 'walk' through the air at an extremely slow pace, much to the dislike of the doctor. Meanwhile Knuckles is about to loose his balance while trying to land on the slippery ice, which doesn't seem to bother Sera much - she is just happy about her 'attraction to men'. When she finally gives Knuckles a kiss, he slumps to the ground and is knocked out, eyes wide. Tails managed to jump out of his plane in time, and now rolls down a snowy hill, while getting covered with snow until he looks like a giant snowball with two tails. Eggman tries to re-capture Sera, but Tails rolls right into her and Knuckles, involuntarly preventing it. The three roll on until they are stopped by a wall of ice. When the snow clears Tails realizes that he is hugging Sera's breasts, of which he is very embarrassed. Knuckles states that he thinks this is an inexcusable behavior, but their attention soon turns back to Sonic's and Metalla's fight, and the magma that is pouring out. The fox calls to Knuckles to do something, before the ice bridges melt away completely and the planet is lost. Knuckles is a bit indecisive at first, but Sera's remark that she would trust him - after all, he is a 'real man' - and the kiss she gives him soon make him leap into action. He digs several holes into the ground that lets the magma flow off, although the Australian Outback hat he wears catches fire in the process. Tails and Sera cheer at Knuckles' success. Then they see Sonic appear in the distance, who immediately falls to the ground, drained from his fight with Metalla. The robot appears right behind him and kicks him in the back, sending the hedgehog straight toward Tails and Sera. Metalla grabs Sonic at the throat with one hand, lifts him up easily and literally tries to strangle him in the air. Sera's concern however is not so much about Sonic than about the fact that she might have to marry Eggman if Sonic dies, which is the reason why she attacks the robot, biting, kicking and punching away at it like mad. Sure enough, Metalla is totally unimpressed by all this and doesn't budge. Tails tries to use his modified tracking device to transfer Sonic's brainwaves to the robot, and succeeds. This seems to be too much for Metalla. He lets go of Sonic and has some kind of short circuit. With his last bit of strength Sonic goes into a Spin Attack and gives Metalla a hit that sends him flying away into the distance. Sera helps Sonic up, and the hedgehog thanks the fox and praises him for his clever plan. Just then they hear a crash, and see that something got stuck in the ice bridge above them. Tails first thinks that it's Eggman's ship which got stuck there, but Sera screams that it belongs to her father. In the burning ship they see the president and Ojisan, but they obviously can't break the glass of the cockpit to get out. Immediately Sonic orders Tails to carry him to the ship, before its occupants suffocate or burn to death. The fox takes off at once, but is stopped by Metalla, who is still alive and kicking. Sonic shouts at the robot, asking if it still hasn't got enough and to just leave them alone. Tails tries to use his tracking device again, but it is blasted to bits by a well-aimed shot from Eggman. The doctor congratulates the fox for his wits, but also tells him that now their end has come. Then he commands Metalla to attack and finish the hedgehog once and for all. Again a wild chase begins between Sonic and Metalla, during which Sonic lands on Knuckles head (which he accidentally stuck out of the ground when Sonic was passing by), causing a large swelling, and Knuckles gives Sonic a 'thumb down' for it. At the end Sonic throws Metalla directly at the cockpit of the president's ship, which finally breaks the glass. A few seconds later, the ship explodes. Everything seems lost, but then Metalla appears in the smoke, carrying the president and Ojisan to safety. Sonic can't believe it. But right after Metalla has dropped the two (the owl landing on Tails and the overweight president on Knuckles), a large piece of the exploded ship hits the robot and Metalla falls down into a deep crater. Sonic jumps right after him, but the heat of the magma prevents him to get any closer. Metalla slowly crawls upward toward Sonic. Suddenly Knuckles comes digging out of one of the crater's walls, grabs Sonic and yells at him that Metalla only wants to pull him down into the magma, but Sonic refuses to listen. Then as Metalla is just close enough to grab Sonic's outstretched hand, he slaps it away. As Metalla slowly sinks into the magma, he says, "There can only be one Sonic..." ("Sonikku-wa, hitori dake..."), which probably is a reference to Sonic's earlier statement that the planet is too small for two of them. Sonic's scream "Metalla!!" echoes through the icy grave as he sees his 'brother' dissolve, and Knuckles nearly can't hold him back. Finally, we see our heroes stand on an ice cliff overlooking the destruction. Sera tries to cheer Sonic up and wants him not to look so fierce - after all, they have won the battle. Tails is convinced that his friend will feel better soon. But again Eggman appears in his Egg-O- Matic, as if to have the final word. Proudly he presents a CD on which Metal Sonic's data is stored, and he threatens to build a new robot, this time without emotions. But Eggman's triumph is interrupted by the Turtloid-rocket, which slowly walks past our astonished friends toward the doctor. The Turtloid snatches the CD (although Eggman immediately points out that it belongs to _him_), and promptly detonates. Everyone laughs, and the president states that now everything should be back to normal again. However, Knuckles doesn't agree. He walks over to Sonic and gives him a good thump on the head, saying that they are now even again. (Sonic hit Knuckles during the fight with Metalla, remember?) The hedgehog feels innocent and wants to know why Knuckles did this to him. Instead of replying, the echidna sticks out his tongue and runs away. Sonic gives chase, followed by Tails. Eggman vows to have his revenge on Sonic, but is cut short when the president, Ojisan and Sera jump to him into his Egg-O-Matic and order him to follow the others, which he does, although under protest... While Sonic and Knuckles quarrel about whether the hedgehog has really hit the echidna or not, the Egg-O-Matic appears behind them. Sonic looks back and now decides that it's better to take his leave. Knuckles' "Wait up, Sonic!" is ignored completely. THE END