Random: Sonic 2’s Trailer Gets An Anime Makeover

The first trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (the movie, not the Mega Drive game) debuted earlier in December at The Game Awards and for the most part it seems to have been enthusiastically received by fans — a far cry from the reaction to the first movie’s trailer.

One fan, Joe Zavaletta, has redrawn four stills from the trailer in an anime style, and we have to say they look pretty damn impressive! The artist, who goes by @tripplejaz on Twitter and is the creator of the Sonic fan project Sonic Freedom, captures the moment Sonic jumps off the skyscraper at the start of the trailer (above), Sonic and Tails on the Tornado, Robuttnik with his badnik drones, and Knuckles displaying the awesome power of his… er, knuckles. Behold:

The reimagined images follow on from similar drawings made of the first movie’s trailer and capture not only the anime look of Sonic as depicted in early game materials and his anime movie — not to mention the video intro to Sonic CD — but also the spirit of the ’90s cartoons featuring the blue bomber blur. Zavaletta’s Twitter feed features more animations of the hedgehog, too, specifically from the Sonic Freedom project, which look equally fantastic.

If you’re having trouble recalling the Sonic 2 movie trailer, which released earlier this month, we’ve put it at the bottom of the page to help jog your memory. However, here are some side-by-side comparison screens taken from our handy breakdown gallery that show the moments captured in these anime-style frames. We have to say, the 4:3 framing is a great touch, too:

Mightily impressive, no? It makes you wonder what an entire game that adopted this art style could be like. Don’t get us wrong, Sonic Frontiers has a ton of potential, but we can’t help but get all teary-eyed and nostalgic when we see an anime Sonic with a little round belly.

Check out our trailer breakdown gallery for more images, or (re)watch the entire trailer below if you like. It’s not ‘alf bad.

Are you a fan of this style? Go fast to the comments box below and let us know.