Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic's appearance

**Sonic the Hedgehog** (ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ *Sonikku za Hejjihoggu*?, born 23 June) is the titular main protagonist of the *Sonic the Hedgehog* series and Sega's mascot. He is an anthropomorphic hedgehog born with the ability to run faster than the speed of sound, hence his name, and possesses lightning-fast reflexes to match his speed. As his species implies, Sonic can also roll up into a concussive ball, primarily to attack enemies.

Ever since stepping into the battle against iniquity, Sonic has been the champion of peace and is renowned all over the world for saving it countless times. During his many adventures, Sonic has traveled from the ends of the world to the far reaches of space and time, facing countless trials that have tested him to the fullest, earning him many titles, allies, and the scorns of several foes. Well-known for his legendary cocky attitude, easy-going demeanor, and somewhat short temper, yet strong sense of justice, compassion, and love for freedom and adventure, Sonic uses his abilities to protect the innocent from his world and those beyond from the forces of evil, especially his arch-nemesis, Dr. Eggman, and his empire.

## Appearance

Sonic is a slim anthropomorphic hedgehog with blue fur that covers most of his body, and peach skin that covers his arms, muzzle, insides of his ears and front torso. He has small, triangular ears on top of his head, six long quills on the back of his head, two spines protruding from his back behind his shoulders, and a short tail.

Back when he was younger, up until the Chaos incident, Sonic was shorter and stubbier, had a round head and an equally round torso, and black eyes. Since the Chaos incident, he has grown taller and thinner, and developed green eyes. Prior to the Neo Metal Sonic incident, he was also often shown to have peach-skinned eyelids, until they eventually were portrayed as blue as well.

For attire, Sonic wears light-weight, hyper friction-resistant red sneakers with white cuffs around the ankles, gray metallic soles, and white straps across the top; the latter of which are held down by a golden buckle on each foot. He also wears a pair of white gloves with sock-like cuffs on his hands.

For Extreme Gear riding, Sonic wears green sunglasses on his head, black metal cuffs around each wrist, and a pair of red and white shoes.

## Personality

Sonic is said to be "like the wind," a drifter that is always on the move and is noted for being free-spirited and adventurous. Described as a cool dude who goes wherever the flow takes him, he values freedom above all else and strives to live his life according to his own rules and whims rather than the standards of those around him or for the sake of heroism and duty, never thinking twice about what other people say or think. As such, Sonic is not a "do-gooding" hero. Owning to his love of freedom, Sonic is also a very independent guy who is mostly interested in doing his own thing, being willing to live and die by his own rules.

Born to run, Sonic enjoys nothing more than traveling the world. Endowed with a strong passion for enjoying life, he is never in one place for long and always moves forward to look for his next challenge, viewing his life as a never-ending series of adventures. Because of his need for freedom, Sonic loathes the idea of being constrained; being cooped up or being forced to stay in one place tends to make him very uneasy and restless. By the time of the Phantom Ruby incident, however, Sonic appears to have somewhat overcome his stir-craziness, remaining calm and snarky even after being imprisoned aboard the Death Egg for six months. His primary passion, however, is for speed and he likes anything fast. Two things he also does not do under normal circumstances are swimming (as he cannot swim) and driving around in vehicles (as he can run faster than all of them). However, he willing to compromise these standpoints when they involve competitions where they require that he will be squaring off opponents on equal grounds.

Sonic's demeanor is normally easygoing, calm, and carefree, no matter the crisis. However, he is generally impatient as he likes to get things done quickly, hates boredom, and can possess a short temper. Because of his impulsive nature and since he is not detail-oriented due to a short attention span, Sonic can be reckless and quick to act before thinking, throwing himself into trouble without a second thought and regards for others' warnings. Nevertheless, he is honest, fearless, and always keeps his promises.

Sonic's personality is a juxtaposition of kindness and ferocity. He is extremely benevolent, driven by his own strong sense of justice and fair play, and firmly stands for truth and freedom. However, he is never the one to rest in the face of injustice or oppression, and he always protects and fights for the underdog. He hates lies, unfairness, and evil in all its forms, exploding with anger when witnessing anything unjust and doing all he can to snuff it out, throwing his life on the line without hesitation. However, he usually sees his heroics as an opportunity to have fun, making him a thrill-seeker. To Sonic, saving the world is no big feat and just another thrilling episode in his life. When he finds himself in a pinch, he acts as though nothing can stop him. In times of crisis, though, he is aggressive and focuses intensely on the task at hand as if his personality has undergone an astonishing change. At the same time, Sonic has a big and kind heart and is fully committed to helping out anyone in need at any time when they are in trouble, even if it means getting himself into trouble or being despised by others.

Sonic has a lot of self-confidence, making him sassy, cocky, occasionally overconfident, and as quick-witted as he is fast-footed. Sonic’s signature positive attitude is where his massive internal ego comes from; he thinks he and his friends will always find a way out of any situation, but this attitude sometimes leads to him underestimating his enemies and the task at hand. However, this ego is not to be confused with pride or narcissism, as Sonic does not see himself as more important than others. No matter the threat or how dangerous, he always remains cool under pressure. He also fancies himself as a bit of a ladies man, but he does not like to be chased by girls.

In the original Japanese version, Sonic omits honorifics and speaks informally (if not rudely), using "*ore*" instead of "*I*" when addressing himself or others ("*ore*" is a boastful way to say "*I*" in Japanese). However, he will still occasionally use honorifics when addressing close friends or acquaintances. Possessing a narcissistic tongue and a notable attitude, he often jokes around to light the mood and will also take any opportunity to taunt his opponents. Being so smug, he has developed a habit of talking to mindless robots, even when he knows they cannot hear him. Despite this, he can be more of a gentleman when he wants to and be modest with fancy titles. Additionally, while Sonic generally assumes he can deal with things on his own, he also realizes he has friends to back him up in situations too big for himself and believes strongly in teamwork and the bonds he has made, having noted that he would not have come as far as he has today without his friends and allies. In keeping with his smugness and confidence, he often engages in playful banter with his enemies; examples include asking Infinite "optional" questions to glean into what the secret behind the latter's powers were, what his favorite color was and whether he liked long, romantic walks on the beach, as well as "asking" a Zavok Phantom Copy if he would let Sonic join a party occurring on the Death Egg (referring to the commotion resulting from the Resistance's infiltration of the area). Sonic is likewise very competitive; while he takes no interest in challenges he knows he can win easily, Sonic always welcomes a good competition that has him squaring off against others on even ground. Sonic likewise never holds back when pitted against others in a test of skills and abilities, and is not above trash-talking his opponents.

In keeping with his footloose lifestyle, Sonic never dwells on the past or allows his painful experiences to weigh him down. Instead, he lives in the present and always looks forward to his next adventure, holding no regrets for what has transpired. It is only in the moments of greatest loss that his macho and carefree appearance falls away, like the apparent death of Elise. Similarly, Sonic always does what he thinks is right and never second-guesses what he does, remaining steadfast to the end. Together, these qualities give Sonic an incredibly strong character and will; no matter the situation, he never doubts himself or gives up, never once submitting to the darkness in his heart.

While he enjoys his independence, Sonic is also extremely loyal to his friends and will risk his life for them without any due consideration. While he can leave them hanging, act rude towards them, or endanger them due to his fast-paced nature, Sonic never intends to make his friends unhappy and values them above all else, treating each of them as the most important person in his life. He will likewise always accept help from his friends and show great trust in them. Irreverent to authority, Sonic places everyone one on the same level as him and does not show interest in treating anyone differently because of a supposed superiority. Because of this, he can come across as rude to figures of authority by speaking to them informally, which often lands him in trouble.

Regardless of the many foes he has faced, Sonic rarely considers them true enemies and instead tends to admire them for how powerful some of them are and how much fun they can provide him. Likewise, he is shown to have a remarkable capacity to forgive; the most notable example of this is when he forgave Silver and worked with him after the latter had tried to kill him twice.

As his outward demeanor implies, Sonic is not book smart, but he is very street smart. Despite this, Sonic has proven himself to be much more insightful than he usually lets on, capable of seeing things others would have overlooked and see through deception. Notably, he has been able to figure out the schemes of even the intelligent and manipulative Rouge. He can likewise give valuable and comforting advice that drastically changes the outlook of others, such as in the case of Elise, Merlina, and Blaze. This insight, combined with a charismatic personality, allows Sonic to get along with virtually anyone he meets, even if they were his enemies at one point. However, while Sonic is able to change those around him for the better, he himself has not really changed over the course of his adventures; he sticks firmly to his beliefs and does not let anything but himself define him.

Sonic has a fondness of beauty and nature and he stands as a protector of both aspects. As seen during the Wisp incident, he appreciates scenic views, and was incensed to find out that Eggman was polluting Planet Wisp's beautiful and lush environment. During the Solaris incident, Sonic is also shown to have a fondness for locations that are filled with flowers, trees, and other kinds of plants. Ironically, despite his inability to swim, Sonic also loves going to the ocean.

Sonic has been shown to enjoy cool music, but seems to have a special interest in rock music. Furthermore, it was displayed during the Sol Emerald incident that Sonic also enjoys break dancing, which is reflected in his Trick Actions. His battle moves seen during the Emerl incident are also based on break dancing as mentioned in the attack descriptions. He also break dances in numerous games, usually when he is victorious.

Sonic tends to get irritated when his enemies often misidentify his species, namely by calling him a rat, making him correct them and state his actual species is a hedgehog. This was best demonstrated with his encounters with Erazor Djinn, and to a lesser extent with his encounter with Infinite at Mystic Jungle.