|
Information in this article is about real-life people, companies, and objects, which do not relate to the in-universe Sonic series. |
|
Although this article is based on official information, the actual name of the article's subject is pure conjecture, meaning the name is made by the community members instead of the original creators.
|
The current restored state of the statue, in Iga, Mie Prefecture, Japan.
The mysterious Sonic statue, also known as the Sega World Kadoma Sonic statue, is a statue built off of Sonic the Hedgehog that is located in Iga, Mie Prefecture, Japan. It was originally used at Sega World Kadoma prior its closure. It is known for standing aside the road of Iga, Mie Prefecture, Japan, close to the forest. It is also known by people by said name due to its rather strange location and then-questionable origins.
After laying around after a decade and a few years in the exposure of the sun, as well as weather changes and being close to the trees, the statue degraded slightly to the point where it gained its popular appearance. It wasn't until mid-2020 that the statue was restored to look fresh and new.
Description[]
The statue itself is 2 meters tall, with the snowboard itself being 3 meters long.[1] It depicts Sonic the Hedgehog on a snowboard. Originally, the snowboard was orange and had "SegaSonic" titled in yellow under it, with a sticker of Sonic & Knuckles. Additionally, it had the copyright symbol listed aside Sega. It also has gray iron bars for the purpose of sticking the statue somewhere above.
After the Sega World was closed and as of the following years, the statue itself slightly changed appearance due to exposure to the weather, giving the statue its well-known state; the Sonic & Knuckles sticker was peeling off from the snowboard, Sonic's nose was broken, the paint color on the statue slowly degrading over time, a few moss had appeared, a few rust were behind the quills, and a few cracks were present such as under the right arm.
The current appearance of the statue restored a nose to Sonic, albeit shorter than the original, new paint job was done for the fur, skin and shoe parts. Additionally, the snowboard has been fully repainted red, with the sticker fully removed, as well as the copyright logo. The buckles on Sonic's shoes, however, have been repainted white instead of given a new coat of yellow. The bars were oddly given a new paint job; the one connected to the head is blue, whereas the one connected to the shoe is white.
History[]
Origins[]
The statue was originally used for the Sega World Kadoma amusement center during the late 90s. When the location closed, equipment and decorations were going to be thrown out. Ryoji Kotera, a former late owner of a villa, decided to save the statue by taking it to his villa, becoming the owner of the statue afterwards. He decided to place it aside a signpost so that people could find his residence easily. In 2017, when Kotera had passed away, the statue had fallen in the hands and responsibility of his family, including his son; Masahiro Kotera.[2][1]
Legacy[]
Discovery[]
In 2009, an picture of the statue was seen online in a website, though it did not circulate much until 20 December 2015, when a bike enthusiast was traveling around parts of Japan to test his new bike. During his journey, he saw the statue lying around and took a picture of it, since he had already documenting his trip before this encounter. Despite not knowing where the exact location was, the picture taken by him, as well as a few others, became relatively well known online afterwards.[3][4]
Another traveller, in summer of 2016, also encountered and took a picture of the statue, which the photo itself being discovered in January 2017. It temporarily caused curiosity amongst fans. However, like the previous person, they did not remember the exact location of the statue.[4]
| This section requires an expansion. |  |
Acknowledgement[]
During the first episode of the third season of Sonic Official, Aaron Webber said that Sega was interested in restoring the statue.[5]
Restoration[]
In July 2020, Kotera's family asked a contractor to repair it before the Obon festival.[1] Restoration of the statue had started on August 8 and ended on August 10.[1] At the beginning of the restoration, Twitter user "Yuuken81" posted an image of the statue getting a new coat of paint, with the old and decayed paint being entirely covered by a new layer of white paint.[6] 2 days later, once the restoration had finished, a user called "Sagara7791" posted an image of the statue in its new and pristine state.[7]
Additionally, Sega themselves has sent a tweet about their acknowledgement of its restoration, giving them respect.[8]
Trivia[]
- The statue itself appeared as a PokéStop in Pokémon Go.[4]
- Another Sonic statue, from Sega World London, was also left in a rough state. It was eventually restored and is currently located in Sega Europe's HQ.[9]
- Interestingly, in the description of the video, that statue was called the "Sega World London Sonic statue".
Gallery[]
Degraded[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Picture of the statue after 2015, where the statue gained its well-known degraded state.  Close-up picture of the statue, where cracks were present under the right arm.  Close-up picture of the statue, where moss were located on the snowboard. .png "MSS - Under Snowboard (Degraded).png (496 KB)") Close-up picture of the statue from under the snowboard, where the Sonic & Knuckles sticker was peeling off. |
Restored[]
| Gallery |
|---|
 Picture of the restoration process, where the statue was fully painted white.  Picture of the restoration process, where the statue was given a new coat of blue paint.  Picture of the statue in 2020, after the restoration.  Close-up picture of the statue, showing no visible cracks. .png "MSS - Under Snowboard (Restored).png (984 KB)") Close-up picture of the statue from under the snowboard. .png "MSS - BackView (Restored).png (145 KB)") Picture of the statue from the back side. |
Miscellaneous[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 海外も注目「謎のソニック像」 設置者遺族が補修 伊賀市高尾 (Japanese). 【伊賀タウン情報YOU】 (August 11, 2020). Retrieved on September 8, 2023.
- ↑ 三重の山奥にある「謎のソニック像」 設置主の遺族が、すべての真相を語った (Japanese). Jタウン研究所 (April 3, 2019). Retrieved on September 7, 2023.
- ↑ GIANT SONIC STATUE FOUND IN THE WOODS OF JAPAN!. Sonic Stadium (March 30, 2018). Archived from the original on September 17, 2018. Retrieved on September 8, 2023.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mystery behind remote Sonic Statue finally unfolds. Otaquest. Petrit Elshani (April 25, 2019). Retrieved on September 8, 2023.
- ↑ Sonic Official - Season 3 Episode 1. YouTube. Sonic the Hedgehog (March 28, 2019). Retrieved on September 7, 2023.
- ↑ Yuuken81 on Twitter (Japanese). Twitter. Yuuken81 (August 8, 2020). Retrieved on September 7, 2023.
- ↑ Sagara7791 on Twitter (Japanese). Twitter. Sagara7791 (August 8, 2020). Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved on September 7, 2023.
- ↑ Treasured by fans, Sonic statue in Japanese woods gets restored. Tails' Channel (August 10, 2020). Retrieved on April 2, 2024.
- ↑ Lost and found: The SEGAWORLD Sonic statue!. YouTube. SEGA (August 21, 2023). Retrieved on April 2, 2024.