Hello, Internet, and welcome to Behind The Meme, where we take a look at
the meaning and the origin of your favorite memes.
Today we have a look at Sanic.
Sanic Hegehog, which is a purposefully mispelled variation
of the well-known video game character Sonic the Hedgehog,
is a popular meme on the Internet in which various artists have created drawings for.
The drawings of Sanic are noteworthy for their crude representation of the original
Sonic character.
Although there are numerous variations of Sanic drawings, one version has
become the most popular.
I would say this version was the original version of Sanic, but the Gotta Go Fast meme
was created first. But more on that later.
Back to this Sanic. This Sanic was created in March of 2010 when a YouTuber
named 0nyxheart uploaded a video titled, "How 2 Draw Sanic Hegehog".
In the video, he shows the step-by-step process in which he took
to create the original Microsoft Paint image that has now become so popular.
For some reason, he decided to remove the original video from YouTube.
But due to the popularity of the meme, the video has been reuploaded multiple times
by various channels.
In the following years, the image was shared and used in many different ways.
One of the notable uses came in 2011 when a YouTuber released a video
claiming it was leaked video game footage for the upcoming
Sonic the Hedgehog game, "Sonic Generations".
In the video, both Sanic and Gotta Go Fast illustrations are used
prominently.
Many people were excited for a new Sonic game to come out, so
thousands clicked on the video, some being exposed to Sanic for the first time.
The image of Sanic gained even more attention when in 2012, a YouTuber
named "MixMastaCopyCat" uploaded a video in which he yells in excitement
as he plays a strange game which features the image of Sanic on the walls.
[MixMastaCopyCat yells incoherently]
Within two years, that video gained upwards of 500,000 views and today
sits at nearly 1,000,000.
I gotta say, that guy was pretty excited about Sanic.
Now by this point in the video, you've heard me mention the Gotta Go Fast variation
of Sanic a few times.
Gotta Go Fast was actually created prior to Sanic.
It was first drawn around 2008, compared to the 2010 creation of Sanic.
For this reason, many believe Sanic was inspired by the Gotta Go Fast drawing.
Both Sanic and Gotta Go Fast are very similar because both are crude
fan drawings of Sonic the Hedgehog.
But the Gotta Go Fast drawing is typically always accompanied with the phrase, "Gotta Go Fast",
which is a reference to the real Sonic the Hedgehog video game character's speed ability.
In case you were unaware, he runs really fast.
The character in the Sanic drawing looks a bit more long and lanky,
But the Gotta Go Slow character is round and short.
That's what she said! [laughs]
But both have helped each other gain popularity due to their relation to the other.
Over the years, the original drawing of Sanic has taken many forms and has
been featured in many different drawings.
Some of which, should be hanging in museums. But that's just my opinion.
Sanic has continued to spread and become so popular simply because people
enjoy seeing the numerous ways others incorporate the drawing into images or videos.
People also enjoy creating their own wacky variations of the drawing.
Here's mine I created just for this video.
You guys, the scary part is I actually tried to draw it good.
Fun Fact: I suck at drawing.
Just like the Sonic the Hedgehog character he was inspired by, Sanic has appeared in numerous
fan-made video games over the years.
In recent years, Sanic's popularity has continued to rise, due to his prominent
usage in MOG videos here on YouTube.
He has become one of the iconic images that influenced this genre of video.
But hey, that's the Internet for you, and on the Internet,
memes are king.
Thank you all so very much for watching. Make sure to Subscribe
so you can catch my next video and stay up-to-date on all your favorite memes.
Who knows, you may learn about a meme you never knew about before.
I'll catch you guys next time.