Sonic Rebound – Episode 1: The Aftermath – A Solid Start

Let’s be real—Sonic the Hedgehog has been around forever. The blue blur’s fanbase is massive and very creative. Fan games are the usual go-to for that creativity, but in recent years, fan series have started making waves too. One that really caught my eye is Sonic Rebound, an animated fan series by YouTuber GamerGuyd7Aces. It’s kind of a retelling of the Sonic IDW comics but with some twists that actually raise the stakes instead of just rehashing stuff we already know.

Now, I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again—I’m a Sonic fan through and through. So when Sonic Rebound dropped on YouTube back in the summer of 2019, of course I was there. And it’s still going strong. Episode 7 drops Saturday, May 24, and I figured now’s the perfect time to do a little rewind. All week, I’ll be reviewing each episode leading up to that big release. Let’s start at the top—Episode 1: The Aftermath.

If you’ve read the IDW comics, then you know they had a decent run (I tapped out around issue 50). The first issue was… fine. It did just enough to get the ball rolling—Sonic, Tails, some random village—but nothing that made me sit up. It tried to drop hints about the bigger arc, but eh, it didn’t really stick the landing.

Sonic Rebound’s first episode follows that same path, pretty closely. Honestly, it’s almost a panel-for-panel recreation of that first comic—same dialogue, same scenes. It’s basically the comic, but animated. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though. Like with most pilots, it’s all about setting the stage. You meet the characters, see where things are headed. It’s a slow burn, but there’s a spark there.

The setup? Post–Sonic Forces, Sonic’s poking around after a surprise attack on a village by some leftover Egg Pawns. Tails joins him, and together they realize something’s not adding up. Turns out, there’s a bigger force pulling the strings. Dun-dun-dunnn.

Voice acting? Mixed bag. BobbyDubs as Sonic is solid. He’s got a slightly higher pitch than Roger Craig Smith, but the vibe is spot on. I could close my eyes and hear Roger in there somewhere. KennyVoices handles Tails, and he nails it too—sounds similar to other fan vids I’ve seen, but that’s not a knock. He’s got the tone, the delivery, everything. Some of the other voices though? Not bad, just… a little too normal. Like, I shouldn’t be picturing the cashier at Walgreens when a Resistance member speaks.

Now for the rough stuff. The art quality jumps around a lot. Some scenes? Super clean, really impressive. Others? Kinda rough—like a sketchbook that got color dropped in. Same thing with the animation: some parts move fluidly, others feel like a still image slideshow. Audio also bounces between crisp and YouTuber-who-just-got-their-first-mic. The inconsistency doesn’t ruin the experience, but it does remind you this is a fan project.

But hey—when it works, it works. It’s not action-heavy, but it sets the tone for what’s coming. And even with my complaints, it’s not a bad episode. Not even close. It’s a solid foundation, and it only gets better from here.

Episode 2: Fallout review drops tomorrow. See you then.