Cell vs Metal Sonic “Review” (Goodbye DevilArtemis)

I have to confess something guys. I didn’t really want to do this. Honestly I wasn’t sure if I was going to review it. I’m working on another much larger review at the same time, and I was actually going to a Carpenter’s show tonight, so I didn’t think I’d get the chance to do it. But that got pushed back, so I was free to do it.

But scheduling wasn’t the only reason holding me back. The big reason is because I wasn’t looking forward to this. It wasn’t simple apathy for the matchup like it usually is with this stuff, it’s for something else entirely. I was dreading this because it involves Sonic the Hedgehog powerscaling, and I fucking hate Sonic powerscaling.

I know that might seem odd considering Bowser vs Eggman is my favourite episode, and for a time was my most wanted episode. But Bowser vs Eggman was an episode that didn’t really delve into the absolute stupidity that is Sonic powerscaling. It kept things relatively grounded and avoided a lot of the greater nonsense that makes me hate it so much.

That was not going to be the case here. We’re going deep into the bullshit with this one and it will not be pretty. Suffice to say this is an episode that I knew was going to piss me the fuck off. So I was tempted to just ignore this one.

But that wouldn’t be right. Not just to you guys, but also to DevilArtemis. This is the last episode of Death Battle he’s working on, and I would be remiss if I didn’t take a look at it. Because DA has done some really good episodes on the show. Some of the most fun fight in the series history are down to his work.

Yes, they weren’t always great. He had some fights that were weaker than others, but I blame that more on the writing and direction than on him. Hell, for all the shit Kratos vs Ashura gets, DevilArtemis is the reason it’s not complete garbage. Without him stepping in to correct some major mischaracterisations, it would have been so much worse.

Seriously, this man got shit for like no reason. One of the reasons he’s leaving, besides wanting to work on his own stuff, is because he got harassed for results and choices that were not his call. And can I say to those that did that, fuck you! This is just a dumb internet show. It is absolutely not something to get this angry about. Yes, I have disagreed with Death Battle before. I have written several reviews where I voiced clearly my disagreements, but I don’t get mad about it. I just say my piece and move on with my life.

This is vs debating. It’s just supposed to be a fun past time where we shoot the shit and discuss who would win a fight. There’s no objective right or wrong here, except for Omni-man vs Homelander, it’s all just bullshit at the end of the day. And yet some people take this so seriously that if you say their favourite character loses, even if it’s for completely legitimate reasons that you can clearly explain, they will take it as a personal attack and throw a fit. This is the shit that gives powerscaling a bad name. So to all those that bugged DA over the years, do us all a favour and take a deep breath, go outside and touch some grass, and grow the fuck up.

But yeah, I’m definitely going to miss DA. I know he’s doing his own thing, and I do still watch his other stuff, but Death Battle just won’t be the same without him. So I’m doing this purely out of respect for his work. Not for me, definitely not for me, but for him.

Analysis

I don’t have a lot to say on this analysis. It gets the job done when talking about the characters and their abilities, but there’s nothing really stand out about it either. I do like how it manages to incorporate the characters story into things. Cells overconfidence and Metals need to prove himself are both integrated into the analysis quite well.

I also like that they incorporated some of the memes related to the characters into this. I especially loved the small call out to the Devil Artemis Cell series with Cell liking Kermit. That was a cute touch especially given the circumstances of the episode.

But I just don’t have anything to say. It’s a fine analysis. It’s edited well, paced well, and goes through all the information it needed to, it just doesn’t have anything particularly great about it either. There just isn’t much to comment on. So, I guess I’ll move on.

Fight Animation

Ok, this is the reason I watched the episode, and it’s the best part about it. DevilArtemis went out with a fucking bang with this one. This is some of his best work on the show. I hesitate to call it the very best, because obviously only time will tell which of his work is that, but right now I loved the fight.

He really went all out with this. He even voiced both combatants. I loved that they let him do Cell, given what he’s known for it would be wrong not to, but seeing him do Metal too was a nice surprise. He did a great job as both, showing that he can be a really good voice actor even in non-comedic situations. Plus one benefit is that no matter who won he technically voiced the winner. A literal win-win situation.

There is so much to love about this fight. They threw in so many references. Like it felt like there was a reference every second just so they could cram in as much as they could in the short time span they had, and it all felt natural. None of it felt forced or out of place. They were all integrated in ways that made sense for both the fight and the characters. It really felt like a love letter to both combatants.

They even threw in Little Planet which I didn’t expect to see. Loved that they threw in a callback to Metal’s first appearance on the show. Which also served as a neat visual reference to Frieza vs Megatron. Probably the best episode DevilArtemis worked on, at least that’s the consensus from what I can see. Made for an awesome visual.

Also glad to see Metal Overlord involved. If for nothing else then to shut people up about it not being included. Have you guys been to the Bowser vs Eggman comment section? Because this shit keeps getting brought up. Even if it was brief, at least they had it there.

One thing I found interesting about this fight was how it was paced. Cell basically dominated the entire first half of the fight, but once Metal went Super the dynamic changes and he started to dominate the fight. Not only does that make sense given the result, but it also makes sense for Cell as a character. His entire arc is basically him just shit stomping everyone, until Gohan powers up and then he starts to get shit on. So the way the entire episode is laid out is a reference to Cells arc.

Speaking of character, they nailed Cell in this. His cockiness and smug demeanour are captured perfectly in this and it led to some fun banter. I can’t say the same for Metal Sonic though. He came across as more of a boring all-powerful villain, but in the episodes, defence there really wasn’t much they could do.

Metal doesn’t actually have a personality. He’s just a stereotypical robot clone who acts all powerful. He doesn’t talk at all in the games, so there wasn’t much they could pull from for this, and the IDW comics didn’t give him all that much either. Although to be fair I don’t think many people have actually read the IDW books. Even the “I’ll crush you” line at the end, which was badass and a nice call back to both his previous Death Battle appearances and Super Mario Bros Z, came from Meta Cooler. It’s probably his most famous line, and it’s not even from him.

Honestly I wish Metal didn’t talk. It would be more in character and actually make him more intimidating. By that same token, I don’t like that he stayed in Neo throughout the whole fight. I wish we saw more of his classic design. I know why they did it since it’s the only way he stands a chance and it’s the form everyone loves, but I have to be honest, the more I see of Neo the more I actually kind of hate it.

I just think it looks too extra now. It’s the try hard version of Metal Sonic. It is not as sleek or cool as his original design. There’s a reason they never really bring it back in the games. Hell, even Sonic Heroes didn’t use it that much. Honestly the only time I think it looked cool, was in Bowser vs Eggman. Which only serves as further proof that Metal Sonic is only cool in fan works. Because in the actual series he is the biggest fucking fraud. But that’s enough slander from me.

But I’m nitpicking now. Honestly, I don’t have much to complain about in the fight. It’s fast paced, filled with a ton of references that show a clear love of the source material, and it plays into DA’s strengths as an animator. He’s better at fights that throw in a lot of moves and have more expression and personality than ones that need more elaborate choreography. He’s kind of the inverse of Torian in that regard. This episode definitely plays into those strengths.

I’m also glad that it had some escalation, without going too over the top. If anything, it peaked in the middle and remained relatively grounded throughout. I even liked the fight track “Metal as Cell”. For one it’s nice to not have a vocal track, but it also integrated motif’s from that made it sound like a perfect track for both.

This was a great send off from DevilArtemis. It’s not perfect, I don’t like how Metal was characterised, and it had so much going on it was hard to keep track of it all, but it was fun. A nice fun little fight that showed off the animator’s talent and let him leave on a high note. So thank you DevilArtemis, it was a great ride.

Result

Ok, I was going to have a long rant about this. I even had a general idea of what I wanted to say. But now that I’m at this point I kind of realise, I can’t really do it. For one I need more time to properly get my thoughts out because it’s complicated. My thoughts on Sonic powerscaling and why it pisses me off are too numerous. It would eat up most of this review.

That doesn’t seem fair in this instance. It’s probably best if I just save it for another day. Maybe do an entire post on it, because it is something I’m going to need to confront sooner or later. But in this instance where I’m doing this largely to say goodbye to an animator I respect, it just wouldn’t be right.

All I will say is, the result is correct, but it feels wrong. The idea that Metal beats Cell just doesn’t sit right with me, and the reason he does win is largely because of how poorly constructed Sonic’s world building is. Sonic powerscaling is a double-edged sword where it shows how powerful the characters are, but it also highlights all the major flaws in the series writing and canon. But I will leave it at that. I’ll go into more detail another time, for now it’s simply a good bye.

Conclusion

This wasn’t an ordinary review was it, but that’s because this isn’t ordinary circumstances. I never even wanted to look at this due to the fact that the results piss me off. It represents the worst aspects of two things I love. I honestly would have skipped this episode entirely if it wasn’t for DevilArtemis leaving.

And yeah, he’s the only reason to watch this episode. it really felt like they did it just for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if he picked the MU. He clearly put a lot of love into this and it shows. The animation is great and serves a reminder of what a good animator he is, and we will sorely miss his work. So good luck DA, I’m looking forward to what you have in store in the future.

No score this time. It wouldn’t be right to do that. I will say I don’t like the actual episode that much. It’s perfectly fine but it’s largely carried by the animation. But again, this was meant as a goodbye. Not really meant to be a review. But at least next time is… oh you have got to be fucking kidding me! Yeah no review next time. Fuck that shit.