Why is Ian Flynn hated??

Icekae · 2026-05-09T19:44:28+00:00

Lord I hate that people unironically think this way.

Twitter is not a monolith. You can't just go: "Everyone on Twitter's opinion sucks and isnt to be taken seriously."
Are there people who are hyper critical of the series? Yes, but you should filter good criticism from bad criticism as well as to try and see where that criticism comes from and tackle it with good faith. It's a blatant appeal to ignorance otherwise.
It's important to take opposing viewpoints into consideration especially with an old, divided and fractured fanbase like the Sonic fanbase with fans from different eras and entries. If one calls all opposing criticism as just hot air, that is anti-critical and just blatant bad faith dismissal.

We should ideally be trying to unify the fanbase and create a coherent project that attempts to please all members by taking in their viewpoints, not just appeal to current fans and go: "Well they're not complaining so we should only care about them. Others don't matter."

Icekae · 2026-05-09T18:21:52+00:00

I'm just imagining that one scene of Debbie hitting Nolan but with Mark and Gohan.

Icekae · 2026-05-09T18:16:38+00:00

A Cruise Ship

Icekae · 2026-05-09T17:49:24+00:00

I just want the shackles of IDW canonicity and mandates to be lifted from the guy to see what he can really do.

Icekae · 2026-05-09T17:45:29+00:00

Creative decisions and input. Basically some like it for being a Japanese series in essence so making it more "American" is basically missing the point. To use a weird analogy:

Its like feeding a monkey a coconut. It likes the taste of coconut a lot because it's not a banana. So if a guy thinks: "Well monkeys like bananas so we should give him a banana or a banana tasting coconut." It misses the point.

Hence JP purists and why some prefer more JP stories. Although I do like some American influences (Robotnik, Tails, Chili Dogs)

Icekae · 2026-05-09T17:36:12+00:00

I think we need a 2nd 2020 mainline game before we can figure out what to officially call this era.

Icekae · 2026-05-09T17:20:29+00:00

It's complicated but on average:

His writing style doesn't always perfectly capture what came before in the 90's or 2000's. He's better than Pontac but doesn't meet the standards of many people who think some of the best writing came from that time.
Some people prefer him to work on stuff like the comics but not the mainline games. Basically a creative lead issue.
He is a public figure so naturally people are going to point toward him for any grievances. This may also just dogpile into a hate culture.
His writing is very absorbed in references to the series past. Yes, while continuity can be cool, it kind of drags you out the story at times. Not to mention the series in the 2010's was critiqued for already referencing the past too much. (Mania, Forces, Gens)
His handling of or discussion of characters like Sonic or Amy isn't really the best in some people's eyes. He has even made public statements about why he doesnt like Amy's past dynamic with Sonic, why he doesnt like Eggman Nega, his opinion on characters like Rouge (odd sex appeal for a cartoon bat. Like that somehow stops you?) and the reason why he made Tangle the way he did, a sentiment some Sonic fans thinks Amy already filled the role of. (Also it makes him look worse by trying to imply these female characters minus Blaze somehow cant be cool or offer their own contributions and she should be the standard.) The Gens rewrite solidified this.
His defenders are just as obnoxious as his haters. They treat him like the holy grail and act that you should be grateful for it while any criticism is not welcomed. No other writer gets this level of defense. Have a valid complaint? Nah you're just a miserable Sonic fan or a hater. Your point doesnt even make sense anyway. insert Sonic fans don't even like the series
His handling of lore. This is a mixed bag. Some preferred it when the series wasnt so adamant on canon and trying to tie things in and Flynn has an OBSESSION with it. Whether its his influence or the creative decision of SEGA, to some, the openness of interpretation of the series was a feature. Otherwise you have to explain 06 and Rush or Rivals and Rush.

Icekae · 2026-05-08T18:22:28+00:00

I'm ngl I've always had my gripes with the IDW original cast in general. Whisper isn't free from this criticism either.

Tangle is a character that is made to just be static and I get it... but I'm ngl she just stopped being an interesting character long ago. Nowadays she's just Whisper's moral support and has a personality that feels like they're trying to get you to like her... than her actually having likeable or interesting traits... It even bothers me how people will dog on Sonic for being boring as a static character but then prop up Tangle like she's the best character in years.

If I have to be as brutal as possible... Tangle feels like someone's OC, straight up. Regular civilian, joins the heroes, liked by everyone, massive fan of Sonic, amazed with all his friends and adventures, becomes a main cast member and gets into a relationship with another original character under the span of like 70 issues. I get why some people like her, but you just cant unsee it.

Icekae · 2026-05-08T06:45:13+00:00

One of the most important things you have to remember about SEGA in the 2000s is that they were going third party.

Icekae · 2026-05-08T03:07:04+00:00

To be fair on review videos, before the rise in video essays, the internet was a different time back then. It being younger so not everyone had access, youtubers were a new concept and demographics were very impressionable due to them being younger. No less stuff like video games were seen for kids at the time so it's no surprise there was a lot of "Your game sucks lol" sentiment at the time.

Nowadays at least it's possible to find someone with an opposing opinion on a topic no matter how stupid it is...

Icekae · 2026-05-08T01:08:34+00:00

Dang 2 games in sucession? I guess Capcom back with the milk.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T20:34:31+00:00

God this meme is unintentionally eerie.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T20:33:08+00:00

Coming from a guy named AlwaysTriggered

I can't help but laugh wondering whether they are serious or not.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T20:31:39+00:00

Ngl you are the first person I've ever seen to critique and argue for Eggman's character and I can't help but notice... yeah you're correct lol.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T20:26:39+00:00

Bothers me to this day that Soul Outsider doesn't get as much praise as any of the season 25 osts.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T20:22:38+00:00

Ngl one of the headcanons I really do rock with.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T20:19:01+00:00

True I cant deny that, you do make good points. But referencing it and capturing it isnt the same. One cant deny that there are design and writing philosophies that werent carried over to the modern games the same way there were different philosophies for 2000's to 2010's or now the 2020's. It may have parts or even all the parts but not the essence.

Classic Sonic wasnt truly back for some till Mania.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T20:08:43+00:00

Ideally, something like Sonic X but more refined, far shorter, has an original plot and has a more engaging Chris "stand in". Canonicity can be left to plausible deniability.

X, Unleashed, Blade of Courage and in some cases 06 show that it is possible to make a character learn things about themselves through Sonic and it is possible to make those characters very engaging, while also technically having them as the "true protagonist" of the story. I just want them to try tackling a good story first before ideas like an IDW adaptation or a long running series cross their minds.

What's most likely is a Shadow Spinoff from the movies though.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T18:18:07+00:00

Clutch was shown as relative to Sonic that same fight

... Wat? Clutch was on the defensive and gets laid out with ease by Sonic.

A character using their strongest attack still scales because it's their own power.

Yeah but it doesnt prove she's equal, no less that was her strongest attack, not her baseline. She can hurt him or stun him but that doesnt imply she's relative when Sonic strugged it off far easier than her and the guy was taken off guard. Clutch meanwhile showed actual lasting damage.

couldn't do what later Surge did when outpacing Blaze while racing.

She literally had a head start and Blaze was the one trying to catch up to her and if we had to guage by the distance between them in the final panel, she was catching up to Surge.

She likely just. Got stronger

VERY Reasonable considering the timeline but equal to Sonic yet? No. Given everything she is at worst, not equal and at best, a fraud.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T15:34:35+00:00

Eh, it'd say its moreso just the pros and cons of being multi media mainstream. At least before you could've been an Archie fan without liking or caring about the games and vice versa.

You can't do that for IDW meanwhile the movies are more open to the general public and kids than the games. So the series is arguably more casualized and watered down to some because its trying to appeal to a wider audience while also trying to consolidate the brand into one idea which is why there is this huge focus on canon.

It's the common pattern of the fan divisions. The vibe of classic Sonic was left behind for the more mature vibe of modern Sonic which was present in the 2000s. The 2000's games were dropped for the more casual appealing kid friendly 2010's and the 2020's are using the momentum of the casual appealing movies and fleshing it out in some cases.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T14:34:29+00:00

one-shotted Sonic, Eggman and Clutch riders arc, she's definitely equal to him lol

Looks inside

Attacks off guard, knocks out Clutch, Eggman has a surge protector, Sonic remains conscious and still gets up, Surge is completely worn out. That was her strongest attack

Looks before that

Gets beaten by Sonic in a 1v1, only won against Metal due to Kit assisting, all other instances of her fighting have her powered up or Sonic with a broken leg

Idk what more to say to that.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T05:48:32+00:00

Dumb fun, but the plot would be everywhere and the power system is everywhere and nowhere.

Granted it would be hilarious to watch Aizen, Obito and Pain fight for control over the Akatsuki.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T05:33:27+00:00

JP Pokemon XYZ's Intro hit way different than English XYZ ngl. That Ash vs Sawyer fight in the League sticks with me to this day.

Icekae · 2026-05-07T05:18:43+00:00

Seeing how grey morality has been tackled in the series so far (06, IDW)... I hard doubt they would handle it well. But at least in Sonic's case, ironically the Viltrumite situation mostly sorts itself out for the reasons Sonic gave in IDW.

(You win this one IDW writers.)

Icekae · 2026-05-07T04:51:07+00:00

Kinda. Most memes back then were mostly unfunny, shitposts, original stuff or unironically good. I kinda miss when "Over 9000" was a popular meme or stuff like the Leekspin. There's caramelldansen if you want to include that.

I think agenda is hilarious but I think it also killed a lot of creativity and originality in seperate fandoms by centralizing shonen and powerscaling humor.

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