Sonic the Hedgehog (manga)

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This article is about the 1992 manga series. For other Sonic manga, see manga.

Amy with a red dress and Sonic on one of the covers

The Sonic the Hedgehog manga series was based off the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. The series, published in Shogakukan's Shogakukan no Gakushuuzasshi (a series of study books aimed at children of several school grades) was written by Kenji Terada and it was illustrated by Sango Norimoto. There are six editions, each targeting its specific elementary school grade, from grade 1 to 6. Sonic has made an appearance in all of these at some point between 1992-1993. Later on the basic story was used with different plotlines and with differently interpreted characters. The styles are of all kinds: some drawings are in black and white, some other are colored by computer and some present a water-color style.

Plot

The manga, which started in 1992, was about a hedgehog boy named Nicky Parlouzer who can turn into Sonic the Hedgehog who, along with Miles "Tails" Prower and Charmy, fights Dr. Eggman.

Nicky has several friends in the "real world", including Little John, his girlfriend Amy (a prototype/first incarnation of Amy Rose), and Charmy (a prototype/first incarnation of Charmy Bee). Nicky also encounters a lizard bully named Anton Brooke and his little brother, Matt. Nicky's family at home includes his mother, Brenda, his father, Paulie, and his little sister, Anita. Except for Tails, nobody knows that Nicky is actually Sonic the Hedgehog, not even himself.

The plot is quite simple and recurrent in every strip: Nicky is a peaceful boy that likes to spend time with his beloved girlfriend Amy, his sister Anita and his friend Little John; but his peace will be spoiled by one of Dr. Robotnik's plans or by the troublemaker Anton Brooke.

Nicky is unable to fight but Sonic always can

In any case Amy will encourage him to oppose himself at the bad guy, but Nicky, shy and a bit coward, will fail and most of the times Amy will become captive. But Nicky's desire to save Amy and be able to win will eventually transform him into the supersonic hero that in no time will save the day.

Few misunderstandings will be made by the figure of the heroic Sonic that succeeds there were Nicky fails, this will bring more than once Amy to sigh for Sonic than for Nicky, making him jealous of himself; eventually Dr. Robotnik and Anton Brooke will start suspecting that Nicky has something to do with Sonic, but Nicky will simply reply that he doesn't even know this blue hedgehog everybody's been talking about.

Characters

An image of the cast of the Sonic the Hedgehog manga

• Nicky: A sweet and even-tempered hedgehog. His biggest dream is to defeat the forces of evil and be considered a hero; unfortunately he is weak and a bit of a coward. Even if the people near him believe in him, he doesn't have the nerve to take action, which is why he is often bullied by Anton or Eggman. Romantic and reflexive, Nicky loves to spend time with his girlfriend and his friends. Even though Nicky doesn't have the strength to save the day, when his help is really required, he will eventually transform into his alter-ego Sonic.

• Sonic: Cocky and overconfident, Sonic seems to be the exact opposite of Nicky. Sonic arrives always just in the nick of time to save the day and he always knows what must be done. Sarcastic and heroic he appears to be perfect. The peculiar thing is he has a conscience and a memory of his own that seems to have nothing to do with Nicky's (explaining Nicky's obliviousness to Sonic's existence).

• Amy: She is known to be the girlfriend of Nicky and is one of the most recurrent characters to be seen in the stories. Sweet and innocent, In the story Amy seems to be the "damsel in distress" and the "fatal female" that makes not only Nicky but also Sonic and Anton Brooke (who is always trying to force himself on her at times even making her his captive) fall in love with her. She is shown to be very much in love with her boyfriend and is the one who believes most in him, anyhow it's not rare to see her falling for the brave Sonic, the one that actually saves her every now and then she is in danger. Nicky, on his side, would do everything to make Amy happy and proud of him; most of the times the transformation into Sonic is forced by the will of saving her. Amy would later serve as the name for one of the characters in the main games.

• Anita: A young little hedgehog with a tomboy attitude. She is usually seen along her brother, Nicky, and his friends. She is a good friend of Amy and at times acts like she's a little sister for her. Likes to make fun of people in an innocent way. Contrary of her brother, she seems to have more nerve. When in an episode she was captured by Eggman, not only she was not afraid but actually amused on how she could push around the villain's robots to do whatever she wanted.

• Anton Brooke: He claims himself to be the number one hooligan of the city. Spiteful and arrogant, he enjoys most of all to create trouble. His favorite target is poor little Nicky who is unable to protect himself and his friends from him. Without a doubt he is Nicky's first opponent: fiercely teases and embarrass the hedgehog whenever he tries to react. However he does seem to enjoy creating trouble to all the people dear to Nicky such as Little John and, most of all, Amy for which he shows to be attracted. His worst enemy is Sonic that is the only one that can defeat him without breaking a sweat. Often he swears revenge at the end of the story without being able to do anything against the supersonic hero. Nicky fears him and wishes often to be strong and old enough to beat him, he doesn't even dare to defy him, because he's too afraid, and when he tries to, he gets quickly knocked unconscious.

• Little John: Nicky's best friend and is a fat and gluttonous hedgehog, he spends most of his time eating.

• Brenda: Nicky's mother.

• Paulie: Nicky's father (rarely shown). Nicky has a great consideration for him and wishes to grow up strong and courageous just as him. Plus, in one story, Paulie tells his son about an event that happened 20 years before: he had lost control of his plane, and when he lost all hope, Sonic came to the rescue, not only saving his life, but also making it so that Paulie would meet his future wife, Brenda. For him, Sonic is a divine protector, the greatest hero that ever lived and, also, his cupid. This implies that Sonic the Hedgehog had something to do with Nicky's family even before that he became Nicky's counterpart.

Gallery

Preview Pages

Gallery

External links

• 1992 at The Green Hill Zone
• Japanese Manga page at the Sonic Scene

References

Sonic the Hedgehog manga publications

Shogakukan	Sonic the Hedgehog	Shogaku Ichinensei · Shogaku Ninensei (1, 5, 6) · Shogaku Sannensei · Shogaku Yonensei (The Adventures of SONIC the Hedgehog) · Shogaku Gonensei (Sonic Hurry to the Rescue???, Eggman Uses Sport's Day to Set Up a Trap...Don't Lose, Sonic!!) · Shogaku Rokunensei · Corocoro (Big Dreams Make Sonic Propel Forward!!, Big Dreams Are My Energy!, Come On, Guys! Let's Daaance!!, A New Buddy, Tails, Enters the Stage!!)
Dengeki Nintendo		Sonic World Adventure · Sonic and the Black Knight · Sonic Chronicles · Sonic Colors · Sonic Generations
SEGA		Sonic Superstars Start Book
Other		Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic (1, 2, 3) · Sonic the Hedgehog Book · Sonic the Hedgehog 2: Mega Drive Official Guide Book · Dash & Spin Super Fast Sonic (1, 2)