Tuesday, September 18, 2018

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 172

“No Rest for the Weary” Trouble in Paradise I -  Sonic Universe #17

This story is a little daunting, I won’t lie. I had to take a break for a week because there’s just so much to cover. 

So lets take this scene by scene. 
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Bunnie and Antoine are finally, after what must have been months now, going on their honeymoon. And Tails has offered to take them to his “private island”, a place he discovered while on his way back from Downunda during the Tails miniseries.

But turns out the island isn’t so secret as they’re being spied on.  
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In case it’s not clear, this is a comic adaptation of a Sega game called Tails Adventure. One of only two solo games for the character. 
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But since this is an Archie comic we also have Bunnie and Antoine along for the ride, and to be frank, theirs is the more interesting story IMHO. 

So upon landing they split up. With Tails going off on his own in order to give the newlyweds some privacy, and we get this little joke. 
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This is also the only real confirmation that we get that Bunnie and Antoine do have a physical relationship of some sort. However due to the fact this is a children’s comic, coupled with the fact we don’t fully know the extant of Bunnie’s cybernetics nor how they work, we therefore don’t know the exact nature of their physical intimacy nor what it might all entail. As such this panel raises a lot of questions about Bunnie’s physiology and how that effects her love life. 

It’s an interesting discussion and one that I feel is worth having, but it would take way too much time today and this review is already going to be very long. So therefore I plan to do a special NFSW entry in four weeks, after completing this story arc. 

The focus will mainly be on Bunnie’s cybernetics, how they might work, and the possible technical challenges they would pose. However some fun head-cannons both romantic and sexy in nature will no doubt work their way into the discussion. They’re may or may not be “visual aids” depending on how lazy I’m am my time frame. Also, and here’s the fun part, if you’re of legal age and have some head-cannons or theories of your own feel free to drop me a message and you’re idea might just make it into the review itself. Just remember that we’re talking about the pre-reboot versions of the characters as Bunnie’s robotics are different in the post-reboot and I’ll discuss that when we get to it. 

Now that’s out of the way, the comic spends some time just on fluff, but it’s fun fluff so I don’t mind. 
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(Ant wears his wedding ring even when swimming. Not the smartest idea ever but it’s cute none the less. )

After the fluff we get into the juicy bits. (No not that kind of juicy get your mind out of the gutter) 
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I’m of two minds regarding this scene. On the one hand it’s really sweet and showcases what makes Bunnie and Ant work as a couple. Their open and honest communication combined with their unconditional acceptance of one another is super refreshing to see in a world dominated by the “ Belligerent Sexual Tension” trope. (Note: I don’t hate this trope, it’s just overused. Especially in Sonic where over half the cast can’t ever commit due to mandates) 

However, it’s clear this particular discussion was thrown in to appease some dumb parent group or something. Like seriously, our modern day notions of love and romance and even the idea of a “legal age” is super insular to our current society. Most countries, even first world ones, have a lower legal age then the US. (Usually around 16, with certain obvious regulations)  And even just as far back as a few decades it wasn’t unheard of to get married right after or even during high school. My own parents were wed at 17 and 18 and that was the norm then. It’s only been during the past 30 or so years that the idea of waiting till you’re in you’re 30s to get married was considered the average. That’s not a long time in the span of human history. 

What I’m getting at is why would a completely alien culture, with even a different biology to our own, care about our very culturally specific hang-ups regarding romance? And as stated by the characters themselves, they’re living a life that has forced them to mature faster and doesn’t guarantee them a tomorrow. It’s overall a very silly and unnecessary conflict. Especially when both Bunnie and Ant are already considered of US legal age.  
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Anyways this sweet moment is interrupted when the bad guys finally make their move. 
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And Ant’s super pissed. Don’t cock block a guy on his honeymoon. Especially one that can and will kick your ass. 

Sadly though it’s not enough and both Bunnie and Ant are captured. 
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At least the mooks of the day recognize that they are seriously out classed. 
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It’s just nice when Antoine is recognized as the hard core bad ass that he is.  

Anyways the comic ends with Tails facing off against his rival for the comic. 
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I’ll see you when we cover part two next week.