To go along with the release of Sonic Mania Plus, Sonic the Hedgehog received a series of 5-minute shorts animated by Neko Productions and directed by Tyson Hesse. The original run consists of five of these shorts, with a sixth released later in the year.
Sonic Mania Adventures features the Classic designs for the Sonic characters. It stars Sonic alongside Tails, Knuckles, Mighty, and Ray.
The series can be seen in full here
. A sixth episode was released on Dec. 20, 2018 as a holiday special. It can be viewed here. The series in its entirety can be unlocked in the Compilation Re-release Sonic Origins.
Compare to the Team Sonic Racing Overdrive shorts which were made by the same team.
Sonic Mania Adventures provides examples of:
- Achievements in Ignorance: Dr. Eggman once again tricks Knuckles into thinking that Sonic is after the Master Emerald; this time by stealing the Tornado-1 and attaching the emerald to its rear. Knuckles goes to Eggman's base to confront Sonic and get the emerald back. By the time he gets there Metal is getting ready to charge himself up with the emerald's power. Knuckles, so blinded by rage, mistakes Metal for the real Sonic and decisively punches him off the emerald, leaving with his prize in tow. The others can only watch dumbfounded as Knuckles leaves.
- Alternate Continuity: Officially, the series isn't canon, but rather an alternate take on the events of Sonic Mania Plus. Granted, Tyson Hesse (the writer/director of these shorts) has stated his perspective that "if it needs to fit into any sort of timeline you could easily just say that it all happens during the time in that singular act in Angel Island and then Encore continues on from there for the rest of the game." Ian Flynn further suggests its Loose Canon status via the Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia that which one is canon is entirely up to you, with the non-canonical choice potentially being dismissed as just another Phantom Ruby illusion.
- Anti-Climax: Played for Laughs. In Episode 5, Metal Sonic prepares to charge himself up with the Master Emerald... Only for Knuckles to arrive and knock him off of it and Eggman with him out of the base, resolving most of the strife in the series in under a minute. Sonic, Tails, Ray, and Mighty then go out and have chili dogs.
- Art Shift: Considering this is coming off the CGI made Sonic Forces, it can come off like this, since the shorts are now back in traditional animation.
- Aside Glance: Metal Sonic gives a brief one in Episode 6 when he's put into an embarrassing situation.
- Battle Aura: Metal going Super is marked by him being enveloped by a golden aura (much like the Modern incarnations of Super Sonic) and his eyes changing from red to yellow.
- Beat Them at Their Own Game: After years of defeating Eggman using the Chaos Emeralds as Super Sonic, Sonic is on the beating end of a super form thanks to Metal Sonic.
- Big Damn Heroes:
- In Episode 4, Mighty steps in to save Ray from being killed by Metal Sonic.
- Played for Laughs. When Metal is about to power up with the Master Emerald, Knuckles suddenly rushes in at the last second and socks Metal in the face, sending him and Eggman flying. Knuckles hauls the Master Emerald away while Sonic, Tails, Mighty, and Ray stare in confusion.
- Blood Knight: Sonic gave an ecstatic look in Episode 5 before confronting the powered-up Metal Sonic, much to Tails chagrin.
- Bottle Episode: Episode 3 takes place in a small area in the forest, where Knuckles is trying to hide the Master Emerald.
- The Bus Came Back: The Christmas special is the first time in over 20 years where Classic Amy makes an appearance, being absent in all the other games that starred Classic Sonic.
- Cel Shading: Some objects, notably the Eggmobile hoisting the Capsule, were modeled in 3D and rendered in 2D-like cel shading.
- Chekhov's Gun:
- Eggman's device from the first episode, which ended up being used to depower Metal Sonic.
- At the very start of Episode 6, Eggman and Metal Sonic hit a tree before faceplanting in the middle of a grassy patch after being punched by Knuckles in Episode 5. When Amy discovers Metal Sonic a few months later, the tree, which was damaged on impact earlier, finally snaps under its own weight and threatens to crush Metal. Amy acts in the nick of time to save her nemesis.
- Christmas Episode: The sixth episode, which featured Amy Rose returning a barely-functioning Metal Sonic as a holiday gift for Eggman.
- Continuity Nod:
- Episode 1 starts out with Sonic returning from the events of Sonic Forces, making the same pose and expression as when he left.
- In Episode 2, Tails throws Sonic at Eggman in a spinning fashion, similar to the opening of the game.
- From the same episode, Tails could be seen fixing the tornado at the begining, which is pretty necessary after it being destroyed by Heavy Magician via disguising as Fang/Nack, Bean, or Bark at Mirage Saloon Zone in the main game.
- One of the people Knuckles thinks stole the Emerald is the Heavy King, since he did attempt to steal it in Mania in the Knuckles-only route.
- Tails and Ray shake their hands introducing themselves to each other for the first time.
- Considering after her experience of being kidnapped by Metal Sonic in Sonic CD, it's understandable that Amy is scared of him at first.
- While Amy drags Metal Sonic across Angel Island in Episode 6, she passes through Mushroom Hill and Ice Cap before finally reaching her destination. The flowers that she carries are same ones seen in Collision Chaos, adding to the Musical Nod mentioned below.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- Episode 3 is mostly centered around Knuckles.
- Episode 4 centers around Mighty and Ray.
- Episode 6 centers around Amy Rose and Metal Sonic.
- The Day the Music Lied:
- In Part 1, Level complete theme music playing after Sonic freed all the critters from the capsule, only to be interrupted when he got knocked over by it with a head-doll of Eggman.
- In Part 2, Sonic finds Eggman digging for the Red Chaos Emerald with a drilling machine. Sonic, in usual fashion, rushes Eggman while heroic music plays in the background... only for Eggman to effortlessly punt Sonic out of the way and continue his business.
- In Episode 5, the Sonic 3 & Knuckles final boss music begins again as Metal Sonic starts charging himself with the Master Emerald, only to be interrupted by Knuckles punching him away.
- Despair Event Horizon: Metal Sonic hits this in Episode 6 following his defeat in the previous episode and being abandoned by Eggman. When he's discovered in the same spot months later by Amy, he's completely lost the will to function and prefers to be left to rot. It's only after Amy returns him to Eggman that he stands on his feet again, showing he was too depressed to stand up on his own earlier, and has gotten better.
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: Mighty's attempt to meet Ray's fist bump sends the poor squirrel halfway across the forest, much to Mighty's immediate regret.
- Facepalm: Tails' reaction to Sonic attempting to pick a fight with the souped-up Metal Sonic.
- Food End: The series ends with Sonic, Tails, Mighty and Ray hanging out by the Tornado and eating chili dogs.
- Hoist by His Own Petard:
- In Part 1, Sonic baits Eggman into getting caught and blown up by his own trap.
- In Episode 5, Tails manages to hack into Eggman's computers and use the base's trap to strip Metal Sonic of the Chaos Emeralds.
- Hostage for MacGuffin: In Part 4, Metal Sonic threatens to hurt Ray unless Mighty gives him the last Chaos Emerald.
- Immediate Sequel: To Sonic Forces. The first episode has Sonic fading in in the same pose he was in when waving goodbye to Modern Tails and the others once the Phantom Ruby was destroyed. Finding himself back on Angel Island, he once more sees Eggman up to no good.
- Jerkass: Eggman is Laughably Evil at the best of times but his treatment of Metal Sonic in episode 6 takes the cake, leaving his prized robot broken and alone for no reason other than disappointment in its performance. If Amy didn't come along, he wouldn't have cared if Metal Sonic never returned (and even then, it took months for him to be found at all, with the seasons changing twice and seeing Metal Sonic get covered with snow). Even after Amy returns his metallic henchmen to him, he simply uses Metal as a foot rest while he sleeps.
- Knight of Cerebus: Metal Sonic is portrayed as a fairly serious threat in Episode 4, forgoing most of the humor in favor of a more straightforward fight, and threatening to, if not kill, then severely hurt Ray if Mighty didn't hand over the Chaos Emerald.
- Magic Countdown: When the time bomb in Episode 1 has 19 seconds remaining, it cuts to a long scene where Sonic realizes Eggman wants to play him for a fool. It then cuts back to the timer with 17 seconds remaining, showing only two seconds have passed in-universe. Sonic knocks on it out of spite and the countdown drops to 5.
- Megaton Punch: Knuckles' punch is strong enough to send Eggman and Metal Sonic flying out of the base in Episode 5.
- Mime and Music-Only Cartoon: None of the characters in the shorts ever talk. Their expressions and Mickey Mousing are what's used to tell the story.
- Mistaken Identity: When Eggman swipes the Master Emerald, Knuckles sees him flying away with it on the Tornado, which is emblazoned with Sonic's name, causing him to be enraged. Furthermore, according to Word of God, Knuckles was so blinded with rage over "Sonic" (actually Eggman) stealing the Master Emerald again that he mistook Metal Sonic for the actual Sonic when he punched him into next week.
- Musical Nod: Like the main game, several nods to previous games appear in the musical score.
- The main theme from Sonic Mania and Angel Island Zone's theme from Sonic 3 appear as recurring motifs across episodes. The traditional Chaos Emerald and Act Clear jingles also show up.
- Eggman's Leitmotif borrows the pizzicato strings and chord progression from his leitmotif in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, with snippets of "Havoc Prognosis" and "Ruby Delusions" also included.
- Bits of Sonic 2's special stage theme play in Episode 2 when Sonic & Tails are about to smash Eggman's machine with their Combination Attack.
- A snippet of "This Horizon", the title theme from Knuckles Chaotix, is associated with Knuckles in Episode 3.
- A rendition of Knuckles' theme from Sonic and Knuckles plays when Knuckles fights Eggman's badniks in Episodes 3 and 5.
- A rendition of "Run Run Run!" from SegaSonic the Hedgehog plays when Ray first appears in Episode 3.
- When Metal Sonic shows up in Episode 4, the music played is a medley of the Japanese themes for Stardust Speedway and Metallic Madness in Sonic CD.
- Mighty's appearance in Episode 4 is accompanied by a remix of "Trap Tower" from SegaSonic the Hedgehog.
- A remix of the final boss theme from Sonic 3 & Knuckles plays during the fight with the super-charged Metal Sonic in Episode 5.
- Amy's appearance in Episode 6 plays a small segment from the Japanese version of Collision Chaos from Sonic CD - her first appearance. After she finds Metal Sonic, a rendition of the the Good Future version of the song plays.
- Mythology Gag:
- The rope trap Eggman sets on Sonic is designed after a crusher trap from the obscure Sonic Ride video featured in Sonic Jam.
- Before that, the Eggman head on a spring that surprises Sonic is very similar to the one that appears in the cut-scenes following the Egg Albatross in Sonic Heroes.
- Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are introduced in the series in the same order as their respective entry games.
- Episode 3 is naturally titled "& Knuckles".
- The missing poster Ray takes out to show to Knuckles is the same one seen in the City Escape level from Sonic Generations.
- In Episode 4, Metal Sonic's eye glows in a very similar way to his appearance in Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie.
- In Episode 5, Eggman juggles his Chaos Emeralds the same way he did in the bad ending of Sonic 1.
- Also in Episode 5, Eggman throws a punch in the air when Metal Sonic gets the upper hand against Sonic. He did the same thing after he shot down Tails and the Tornado in The Movie. What's also a clear nod to the movie is that Tails stops Metal Sonic by hacking into him by using a small device that Eggman created.
- Metal Sonic (attempts to) use the Master Emerald to charge his power the same way Mecha Sonic did in Sonic & Knuckles.
- The gang are all gathered together after the battle in Episode 5 eating chili dogs, which is Sonic's favorite food from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and SatAM.
- Amy has her hammer, which was originally from Sonic the Fighters, which for a long time was the only time Classic Amy has been depicted with the hammer in a game, as all other appearances of the hammer come from her new design starting with Sonic Adventure. It wouldn't be until the Sonic Origins re-release collection and Sonic Superstars that Classic Amy would be a playable character that has her utilizing her hammer.
- Additionally, Amy take a pity to Metal Sonic bring in mind with how she feel bad for E-102 Gamma in Sonic Adventure despite both being Eggman's robot.
- In Episode 6, Eggman is wearing the pajamas he wore in the animated "Man of the Year" short from Sonic Jam.
- The rope trap Eggman sets on Sonic is designed after a crusher trap from the obscure Sonic Ride
- Nice Girl: While Amy does attack Metal Sonic at first (understandably due to the events of Sonic CD), she takes him back to Eggman with no strings attached, because he's in disrepair.
- Oh, Crap!: Eggman's expression after Tails defeats the powered-up Metal Sonic with his own base's trap.
- Pet the Dog: In Episode 6, Metal Sonic never tries to hurt Amy at any point and actually allows her to return him to Eggman. Justified in that he doesn't seem to have any orders or reason to engage her.
- Save the Villain:
- Subverted. At first, Sonic reluctantly takes pity on Eggman's Puppy-Dog Eyes face and walks over to free him from his trap. Then Eggman drops a device that shows his plans to kill him and acquire all the Chaos Emeralds while at it. Not surprised with the whole thing, Sonic simply speed up the time bomb countdown and leaves Eggman to be blown up again.
- In Episode 6, Amy saves Metal Sonic from being crushed by a falling tree, then returns him to Eggman's lair for repairs.
- Shout-Out: In Episode 5, listen carefully to the golden aura of Metal Sonic, who is empowered by the Chaos Emeralds. It has the same sound effect as a Super Saiyan.
- The Stinger:
- Part 1 ends with Metal Sonic looking at the various broken trees and foliage.
- Part 2 ends with Eggman discovering Knuckles transporting the Master Emerald, and getting an idea when he sees the Tornado unattended.
- Part 3 ends with Metal Sonic locating a Chaos Emerald and speeding to it.
- Part 4 ends with Eggman grinning maniacally as he witnesses all parties converging on his headquarters.
- Super Mode: In Episode 5, Metal Sonic used all of the Chaos Emeralds to give himself a Super Sonic-esque power boost, making him strong enough to fight Sonic, Tails, Mighty, and Ray all at once.
Word of God states that Metal did not actually go Super, although it would have happened if his Master Emerald backup plan went through. - Sympathy for the Devil: In Episode 6, while Amy does attack Metal Sonic at first, she stops when she realizes he's in no condition to fight after months of disrepair.
- A Twinkle in the Sky: In episode 3, Ray gets curious about the Master Emerald and tries to touch it. Knuckles responds by chucking him skyward.
- The Voiceless: Everyone in this mini-series is mute and lets their actions speak louder to follow the game canon. While it's justified with Classic Sonic, the classic version of Tails & Eggman also don't speak, unlike in Sonic Generations. The only pieces of "dialogue" are a snort by Sonic and a cough by Tails, both heard in Episode 5.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Essentially the answer to this in regards to Sonic Forces, as we see the continuation of Mania Sonic's story.
