With the 3rd movie having come out 6 weeks ago, I decided to revisit both Sonic X and Sonic Boom after not watching either of them at all since probably 2021. On this rewatch of Boom, with an “older” perspective on the show and more time passed since it ended, it’s safe to say I don’t have a lot of very strong feelings about it. It’s notorious for its blunt and unhinged comedic approach, which is inarguably the best part about it, but otherwise not anything special. Which is fine. When I was younger, first watching it on TV, it was Sonic and friends getting into the world’s dumbest situations, so it was funny; that’s all it was really meant to ever be, as a kids show, and it does that job just fine. It’s easy for kids to enjoy without being completely mindless and it is, overall, entertaining as well. But what age and better understanding of the franchise really changed about the show is just HOW funny the self-aware jokes poking fun at Sega, Sonic, and the fans actually are, not to mention the uncanny nature of everyone’s characterizations somewhat acknowledging the fact that the fans never hated Sonic MORE than they did while this show was actively airing on TV. The gall of the creative team for Boom to lean into the fact that Sonic was TANKING during the 2010s, knowing that their own show was hated by everyone over the age of 12, is retrospectively insane. The Boom games were some of Sonic’s biggest failures, yet the show never takes it personally, using Sega’s failures at the time to make it all funnier. And while the series does sometimes fall short in its bits, especially with Dave the intern and the Lightning Bolt Society being really weird and genuinely annoying placeholders for Eggman, - who is INFINITELY funnier - very rarely is it not at least IRONICALLY funny for how questionable it can actually be. Boom never once takes itself seriously, which, from a perspective of a fan desperate for Sonic to do SOMETHING good in 2016, is HORRENDOUS. It was outright cringe at times. Embarrassing at others. Sometimes frustrating for how dumb things got or how pointless the situations are in some episodes. But this show ages well for that fact. It’s a relic of a bygone age of atrocities, that somehow comes out towards the top of the list in the era for catering to Gen Z YTP-type humor that simply has that “stupidity” effect in sticking the landing. Yeah, it is stupid. But it’s FUNNY stupid. Nothing like Boom as a show has ever happened before and will never happen again, and you can really appreciate it for that. Because it was different. It’s unique. It still offers cool action, decent animation, and a plethora of exciting references from the games that are cool enough to draw attention. Meanwhile, it remains a breath of fresh air, something a little mindless, background noise full of the worst puns and goofiest conflicts ever known, that are entertaining for their simplicity. I think it’s a lesson in allowing something “bad” to keep going, at least for a little while, even if the reception never picks up. Because now, fans look back and they love it for how iconic some of its one-liners actually are. Some kids grew up with it. And ultimately, it’s not so bad because it never tried too hard; it never tried to convince you that it was good, it just wanted to make you laugh. You never would have gotten anything this intentionally asinine out of any of the games. Finishing this rewatch put a lot of that into a weird perspective for me. For all the inconsistencies and weirdly common lack of the main cast from time to time, it’s funny as hell. It cheers you up at a bad day. It’s sincere in its attempt to be weird. What more can I ask for from this?