Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the most iconic and easily recognizable video games characters out there, making his transition into a Vtuber not too farfetched. With his friend Tails the Fox joining him as a Vtuber, the gates for appearances by other Sonic the Hedgehog characters have seemingly been opened.
Streamers are constantly coming up with new ways to entertain their audiences, and Vtubing has been very successful in the last few years. Using facial recognition and body mapping, "Virtual Tubers" (or Vtubers) can portray themselves as fictional characters, so that as they talk and move around, it is the character that their audience sees and not them themselves. Sonic the Hedgehog became a Vtuber earlier this year, being rendered as a 3D model but appearing flat and with minimal shading, almost like a drawing. Not much has been done with this though within the United States, as Vtuber Sonic has primarily been for Japanese audiences.
In a new post from the official Japanese Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter account, Miles "Tails" Prower makes his Vtuber debut. Tails appears in the same clear art style as Sonic that provides a clear look at their facial features so that they can emote and speak expressively. As Tails looks from the camera to Sonic and back, fans can see some slight physics at work, with his hair bobbing in place and the shadows changing on his forehead, like how Sonic's spines move with him too. It is generally reminiscent of the Sonic: Rise of the Wisps animated series in terms of coloration, but is quite different animation-wise.
As for the post itself, Sonic and Tails have a quick message for fans regarding recent developments in the franchise. According to a Twitter translation by kohane01, it first starts with Sonic asking if fans watched the latest Sonic Station Live broadcast, to which Tails says he did, and heard something about "the Sonic Frontiers," obviously referring to the recently announced game. They go on to express their excitement over the start of a new adventure, the both of them shouting in unison, "Can't wait!"
Seeing Sonic and Tails interact with one another in this very candid way will be a treat for many Sonic fans, even for those who do not speak Japanese. The technology does a solid job at capturing the characters' liveliness, as Sonic and Tails glance back and force between each other, blink, and sway. It would be awesome to see this technology makes its way to the United States, as the Sonic Twitter team already does character conversations in a still format. One can imagine the potential hilarity of four-or-five Sonic the Hedgehog Vtubers on one stream.