Highlights
- Sega's new Sonic & Friends trademark is not for a game, but for a chibi animated short series posted on Sega's TikTok page.
- The series features lighthearted shorts with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Dr. Eggman in a simplified chibi art style.
- Fans are excited about the series, finding the cast adorable and requesting other characters to be included.
The new Sonic& Friends trademark filed by Sega turned out to be not for a new game, but rather for a brand new chibi animated short series. The Sonic trademark was initially filed in July of this year.
The IDW comic series is still going strong five years into its lifespan; the first two Sonic the Hedgehog movies have been runaway hits that helped change the narrative about video game film adaptations; and the sixth and most recent animated tie-in series, Sonic Prime, has just wrapped up its second of three promised seasons. Now it seems Sonic isn't done with the side projects and is certainly not done with providing a packed 2023 for his fans.
As reported by Tails' Channel, a very prominent fan-run news outlet among the fandom, the trademark was actually referring to a new animated series. Unlike Sonic Prime which is a serialized multiversal action show that is reportedly canon to the mainline games, this one consists entirely of lighthearted shorts to be posted on Sega's official TikTok page, complete with an innocent-looking chibi art style. A 19-second sneak peek for the series was posted on TikTok, showcasing Sonic alongside his three closest pals Tails, Knuckles, and Amy as they take on their usual nemesis, Dr. Eggman. The character designs are heavily shrunken and simplified, reminiscent of the Classic era, but retain aspects of their modern looks such as Amy and Eggman's attire. The characters' once black eyes also contain slight accents of their modern coloration as well.
Fans in the comments appeared incredibly ecstatic at the reveal, finding the redesigned cast to be very cute and posting requests for which characters they would like to see in the series in addition to the confirmed five, such as Vector the Crocodile or Sonic's arch-rival Shadow the Hedgehog. A few even mistook the trailer as one for another game, perhaps a smaller, simpler title for mobile devices.
Sonic producing content specifically geared toward the online crowd is nothing new. Sega has hired fans to work on official game projects, released promotional material for its games onto YouTube and socials, and even produced an online series featuring its characters, complete with their voice actors reprising their roles. This looks to be yet another continuation to this trend, and it should be interesting to see where it goes, as well as for how long.