Why is Sonic so unpopular in Japan? Like, seriously, he’s got only two non-canon anime—X and OVA—and that’s it. Not even counting the recent Shadow mini-anime. What’s the deal? Is it just a cultural thing, or did SEGA drop the ball that hard over there?

I mean, Sonic’s huge in the West, but in Japan, he’s like... barely a blip. No big anime series, no mainstream appeal, nothing. Even his games don’t sell as well there. What gives? Is it the design? The tone? The fact that Mario absolutely dominates?

Discuss.