Espio coming in with that low self esteem and high self confidence and perfectionism. Knowing he's skilled but not actually valuing himself and thinking his worth is determined by his talent and getting upset over the smallest of failures as he is so focused on his skills he believes that if he was no longer good at being a ninja there would be nothing for him to offer and therefore he would have no worth as if he can't provide help, he believes he isn't worthy. He has been this way since Heroes and he definitely has mental health problems lmao.
I love how Espio was technically the first person to actually try to understand and put trust in Silver canonically (since Sonic 06 isn’t canon to the timeline and basically retconned itself) (Sonic Rivals 2 and IDW Sonic the Hedgehog annual 2022 spoilers ahead) (This post is tagged Espilver however this is more of an analysis on their canon dynamic instead of how I think they would work as a couple. This post can be taken platonically and romantically.)
Espio is very analytical, opinionated, and intelligent, but also very quiet, calm, patient, observant, and understanding. He’s good at assessing information and tends to think before acting, not letting his emotions guide him or get in the way of his analysis based on logical observations, and because of this has the ability to understand situations in a way a lot of others may not. He is driven by his strong sense of justice and desire to make the world better most of all, which allows him to give a logical perspective on things and give his full opinion. He is very kind due to his calm and understanding personality, never making judgements before understanding things completely.
Silver is kind of the opposite of that but also parallels a lot of Espio’s traits. He can be seen as brash and stubborn by most, which makes people not get along the best with him and think he’s crazy. Silver, being the very no-nonsense and goal focused person he is, doesn’t like when people call him crazy or don’t understand his motives, and can get irritated easily by people misunderstanding him. However, he also has a strong sense of justice and hope driven personality, determined to make the world a better place for everyone no matter what.
Now, based on these descriptions, you might be wondering how these two could ever get along. However, I can explain it pretty easily.
Espio was the first one to actually try to understand Silver.
While the two originally get off on a bad foot, Espio realizes that Silver has good intentions and isn’t a bad person through his observations. Even if they didn’t get along at first, Espio was able to understand Silver’s motives in a way that a lot of people wouldn’t be able to do. Espio ends up asking Silver what he means by “saving the world”, which Silver tells him his motives and why he’s doing the thing he’s doing. Espio, although he finds Silver’s story a bit unbelievable, trusts in it because of the observations he made about Silver. After they team up, Silver starts being calmer around Espio, even if still a bit blunt. Espio actually understood him and he doesn’t have any reason to be upset at him. Throughout the remaining parts of the story, the more they help eachother the more they understand eachother. It all leads up to the end where Silver seems to be very appreciative and kind because of Espio showing trust towards him, and they leave on a good note, becoming friends.
Espio can understand Silver in ways others wouldn’t be able to, and because of his patience and logic, was able to see Silver’s personality past his aggressive demeanor, seeing his kind heart and ambition and understanding why Silver acted like that. All because instead of immediately getting mad because of Silver’s initial behavior and letting his anger stick to him, he tried to actually understand the full situation and figure out Silver’s motives. Silver is in turn, very appreciative of this since someone actually tried to understand him for once and didn’t just assume he was crazy or rude.
Throughout a lot of media they are in, Espio is seen understanding Silver in a way others struggle to do, like in Future Growth where he is the only one who notices that Silver is upset and tries to comfort him, using his observations to help Silver feel better. Silver is shown to be very appreciative of this again, hugging Espio, showing his reciprocal trust towards Espio since he isn’t the most affectionate towards people he isn’t very close to. If anything, he doesn’t really like to give or receive physical affection from most people, often being shown to be annoyed or uncomfortable. So, this shows how close and appreciative they are of eachother.
Silver is a very kind person when you actually try to understand him and don’t immediately doubt him. He is way more calmer around Espio than he is with a lot of other characters. Espio, luckily, can offer that. That’s truly what makes their dynamic so special in my opinion. Espio’s ability to be so patient and logic focused gives him an advantage when trying to understand others, whether it be how they are thinking or feeling.
Espio, even if more stoic and introverted, is a calm person who doesn’t jump to anger easily, and because of that is very understanding and kind towards others. A part of me wants to explore Espio and Silver’s dynamic in a way that also shows how Silver’s optimistic and outspoken behavior could help Espio with some of his issues, showing how they both can help eachother.
If you like this ramble, please donate me some Espio and/or Silver knowledge of your own. Thanks.
Sonic and Espio’s dynamic is actually so interesting and one of the most interesting to me, so I made an analysis on it.
Metal Virus, Archie, and The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog spoilers under the cut.
Also yes I do ship them but this can also be taken platonically. This isn’t an analysis on how I think a relationship between them would work, but this is an analysis of their interactions so far.
Their worldviews go against eachother, Sonic is an optimistic nihilist, he doesn’t believe in one set meaning and believes everyone should be able to choose their own destiny. He believes, even if every world has it’s end, you should live in that world to its fullest. Espio however, he’s a pessimistic idealist, he doesn’t really push through because he sees hope at the end, but because he feels he has to. He pushes through, but kind of just anticipates the worst possible outcome. On top of that, Sonic likes to believe anyone can improve if they put in the effort, while Espio who is more on the side of logic and thinks in a rather black and white fashion, doesn’t believe that as easily. Sonic usually does what he does because of his love for adventure and the fun he has doing it, while Espio does it because he wants to bring justice, he wants to rid the world of evil, he wants to improve, which is arguably a more focused goal. Their worldviews go against eachother, but they still have similar goals, both valuing freedom and justice.
This page proves it the most, in my opinion. I analyzed it in my GF’s dms, but basically, Espio doesn’t have the best mindset towards the subject of priority. His priorities are very straight forward. He values solving the bigger issues and just ignores the smaller ones if they seem minuscule enough, such as his emotions. He’s not that observant over his own emotions as he usually focuses on bigger issues or solving issues that affect others. He’s doesn’t view his emotions as that important and has the tendency to compare his issues with other issues and devalue them. His viewpoint is more objective and centered on logic, usually trying to view things from the most objective viewpoint possible, even if it’s way more nuanced than that, often finding logical fixes for stuff that isn’t that simple. Which is why I believe he is fine with killing people he sees as objectively evil, if they are gone, nobody will suffer anymore. However, the subject is more nuanced than that. He usually pushes away, bottles up, and ignores his emotions by trying to intellectualize them and view them as logically as possible, only acknowledging them briefly before ignoring them again because there are bigger issues. He doesn’t know his own emotions through and through unlike how others might, and because of him bottling up and ignoring his emotions, and wanting to always be the calm person who knows what to do in every scenario, he’s stoic, quiet, and rather opinionated. He’s blunt with his opinions, not his emotions. He’s confident in his capabilities, not himself. He doesn’t value himself as much as he values everyone else. He isn’t as emotionally mature towards himself as he is everyone else, because he doesn’t analyze himself as he does others.
Meanwhile Sonic’s view of the world is much more nuanced, often believing that if they put in the effort and want to, anyone can be redeemed. He doesn’t see things as logically as Espio, and because of that can be a bit more emotionally mature. He believes that even if everything is going to disappear one day, or become forgotten, you should still live a life of freedom and happiness rather than be shackled to the beliefs of others. He believes anything can happen, and anyone has the freedom of choice. That’s why he believes so strongly that anyone, even Eggman, can be redeemed if they put in the effort. He’s optimistic, even if nihilistic. Nihilism doesn’t mean being in despair, it means not believing in a specific meaning and deciding what you want to do with that mindset. It’s all agency and choice. However, he can still be a bit prideful, even if he is emotionally mature and has a genuine heart of gold, he has an ego and sarcastic attitude. He can make quips and be a bit rude, he can be sassy, he can be just as blunt as the likes of Shadow or Espio. He just goes about it differently. However, his pride can also have the best of him sometimes, but instead of wallowing, he just continues. He chooses to not linger on the past and just accept it. Even if he fails, he keeps going. His mindset has faults though, such as the fact that nobody can know if anyone is actually going to commit to change, or if people will stay good. His mindset can lead him to just blindly trust someone can change as long as they seem like they are, even if they aren’t. It can cause him to make stupid decisions, such as whatever happened in Sonic Prime. He may have a more nuanced stance, but he is more impulsive than Espio and is more prone to making bad decisions.
Their worldviews directly contradict each other’s, and this is shown here excellently. Espio was dealing with the loss of both of his teammates, and thus was under emotions he couldn’t even label objectively. It was all more nuanced and extreme, so messy he couldn’t ignore it just like the other times. So, his emotions just bursted out, as if the bottle he placed them in completely bursted under pressure. He didn’t know how to deal with it, how to deal with the guilt, how to deal with his own self loathing and self blame. He couldn’t push it away, he couldn’t comprehend it. So, he tries to push the blame on Sonic as a way to cope with the fact that he felt he completely messed up, for the guilt of not just getting rid of Eggman there, for the guilt of letting Vector bring Charmy, who was infected, back to the Restoration HQ. He snapped at Sonic because of his anger towards himself that he projected onto him. His phrasing is important here.
“Just like I shouldn’t have let you convince me to leave Eggman in Windmill Village.”
Let’s dissect this line a bit. Espio said that *he* shouldn’t have let Sonic convince him. If he was genuinely mad at Sonic, he wouldn’t blame himself at all. He didn’t do that all the other times he called people out. He clearly blames himself here, but is trying to push blame onto Sonic since he just didn’t know how to cope with it otherwise. He’s not used to this level of emotion, or having to actually acknowledge that he’s not doing well. He’s obviously blaming Sonic so he wouldn’t have to realize how much he blamed himself, how much pain he thought he caused. He probably doesn’t genuinely even blame Sonic, he’s clearly more emotional here. He doesn’t hate Sonic, while he may be genuinely upset at him. He seems here he is slightly upset at Sonic, but comes off as more angry than he is. Something I noticed is that the background is kind of the color of his eyes, but also seems more hot, as if his emotions just exploded out. One other thing I will point out is how he doesn’t have any spark in his eyes here, which indicates how upset he truly is.
Sonic seems surprised at Espio’s response here. It’s not like him to be this angry, or this emotional.
The next panel has Sonic trying to defend himself, his eyes also lose their spark. He seems to be genuinely upset at the fact that Espio placed blame on him. Espio in the previous panel was attacking Espio’s view of the world, so in this panel he seems to be getting annoyed with Espio. Not because of him being emotional, not because his emotions bursted out, but because of Espio’s approach to responding to Sonic. Sonic here argues back by saying that nobody knew that Mr. Tinker would get his memories back and become Dr. Eggman again. This is not a good argument in my opinion, but Sonic seems to be just as emotional as Espio is right now. He doesn’t want to believe that his actions may have caused this effect, that his worldview may have caused more harm than good. He seems to blame himself just as much as Espio is, and just like him, doesn’t really want to acknowledge how much he blames himself. This was very clearly an argument Sonic made on the whim rather than a well thought out one, which makes sense with the current circumstances in mind. While he usually can just continue moving forward, he struggles to keep that attitude here.
Espio argues back with saying this wouldn’t happen if they had dealt with him then. Espio still is blaming himself here, but continues to push blame onto Sonic. He’s not good with admitting his failures, even if he does acknowledge them. He’s a perfectionist at heart. However, Espio’s argument is also not very good. It lacks the true nuances of the situation in mind. Just like Sonic, he couldn’t have known what would happen. He doesn’t believe in change like Sonic does.
The next panel shows Sonic arguing back again, attacking Espio’s worldview. He asks Espio if they should really just assume the worst in everyone and everything and believe that people couldn’t change. The background is green, which is the color of Sonic’s eyes. I believe that the colors in the back are supposed to symbolize them sharing their worldviews and attacking eachother’s.
The next panels have Sonic and Espio looking at eachother, the light returning to their eyes as they comprehend everything that just happened. Espio with his more tense and upset expression, and Sonic with a more softened expression. Espio is still clearly angry, but is choosing to bottle it up because he realized he made things worse, all because he let his emotions out. Even if not stated, I believe this implies that this interaction kind of solidified the toxic parts of how Espio thinks. Sonic seems to be coming to some sort of realization as well, as if he realized that Espio may be right with his statements. However, they weren’t even true to Espio.
The final panel has Espio telling Sonic that there are people to save, clearly trying to be the bigger person here. Trying to remain being the calm one. He realized how emotional he was acting, and blamed him being emotional rather than the stuff he said. Doing what he does again and again and overcompensating for a single mistake, blaming himself for more than he should, but he still doesn’t outright acknowledge it. He goes back to bottling up and hiding his emotions, which basically confirms my analysis on the previous panels. He’s clearly still upset, but is trying to stay calm since there are better things to worry about, going back to kind of devaluing how he feels because there are bigger problems. Even if he should sort out his own feelings first, or should try to. He can do both at the same time, but chooses not to, choosing to focus on a singular task. Sonic just agrees with Espio saying that there are bigger issues right now, and says he will see him at the shuttle. They are probably trying to ignore what just happened instead of acknowledging it, which is kind of what unites their worldviews. Espio ignores his issues, while Sonic just tries to continue forward, no matter if it’s unhealthy in the situation. Both don’t want to acknowledge what happened, choosing to just act as if it never happened.
I’m going to choose some other things to analyze. Hopefully more lighthearted stuff.
I already did a gigantic analysis on the other pages, so I will just run down my thoughts on these ones.
Although both are different contexts and from different continuities, it shows my next point very well.
Espio and Sonic can both get rather full of themselves, but for different reasons and in different ways. Sonic is more prideful in his personality and achievements, while Espio focuses on his abilities and achievements rather than his own personality. They both have no issue calling eachother out, as they are both very blunt with their opinions. It’s pretty obvious how Espio does it, being more stoic and less likely to deal with Sonic’s crap. However these pages show how Sonic sees through Espio. He calls out and teases Espio whenever he feels like he is getting too full of himself or being too serious, which Espio usually gets annoyed with. Outside of Vector and Charmy, nobody else really sees through Espio like Sonic does. Even Shadow doesn’t really see through Espio as much as Sonic. Sonic is very good at being emotionally mature, and because of that, kind of just knows that Espio’s getting too over his head or being too serious, and doesn’t really take him seriously. Neither really encourage eachother’s egos, and often humble eachother, but they are always kind of playful and friendly about it, doing it because they want to see eachother improve.
This shows that even if Sonic and Espio have their differences, they also try to get along even if their relationship is a bit complicated and strained. They trust each other, but aren’t afraid to call eachother out. Also, kind of irrelevant since Pre Genesis Wave Archie isn’t canon to the games at all, but when Espio betrays Sonic, even going as far as to punch him, Sonic still stands up for him. They trust eachother, and this fact has been true in most continuities even if they have their differences.
The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog also has some neat interactions. It shows more of their dynamic and how Sonic doesn’t really hold much against Espio even when Espio poisoned him. He doesn’t hold it against Espio, but still kind of teases him a bit. He doesn’t take Espio seriously, and doesn’t get along with him the best, but still obviously cares about Espio. Which I believe is also true for Espio.
I don’t know what else I can bring up, but they genuinely have such a complex relationship and genuinely have so much chemistry, whether as friends or lovers or really any kind of relationship. They have so many more interactions, and while not as many as what they may have with others, still have a lot.
I love it when people characterize Espio as a badass who is very skilled and talented in multiple fields, most importantly ninjutsu. As well as a perfectionist, almost pretentious loser who kind of appears full of himself but takes every loss too seriously and can have a hard time admitting that he lost due to his perfectionism and pride and also his low self esteem. However also being a quiet person who doesn’t focus on his emotions too much, but is still mature and wise when it comes to giving others advice. As he has no issues observing how others act and behave, and analyzing what they may be feeling.
However, he doesn’t do the same for himself because he really just doesn’t think his issues are as important as other issues and thus always tries to be as calm as he can, even if he feels like breaking, even if he has to bottle everything up and push away his emotions, even if he has to ignore how he feels for the sake of focusing on an issue that seems more important. Never thinking about the nuance of the priority of issues and perceiving it in the most intellectual and logical way he can, as if he is ranking the issues on a scale based on how important they are. Although not the best at showing affection towards others, tries his best in his own way, even if unconventional, through compliments of their skill, or through doing things for them. He isn’t the most social, but he’s still kind and focuses on others, a perfectionist who can be a bit hard of himself, having the confidence in his ability but not seeing enough worth within himself, even if subconsciously. Maybe a bit competitive, maybe a bit sarcastic, maybe makes a few quips, but still rather logical, calm, and stoic. Seeing himself as only what he can do, what he can do to bring justice, or help people, and not exactly as if he’s someone whose emotions are just as valuable. Still, he’s persistent, even if not the most optimistic, just for the sake of feeling like he has to, but still having enthusiasm regardless. Loving to help others, willing to give advice, enthusiastic about learning Ninjutsu and other skills, even if he may be a bit hard on himself over mistakes. He may overcompensate for mistakes, or try to ignore them or deny they happened out of shame, even if it’s nothing to be shameful about, always taking on new challenges and skills to improve at ninjutsu, to become as skilled as he can be, but he still persists regardless and his skill shows that, and he is fully aware of his skill, but holds high expectations for himself, most likely because of that skill he achieved. A person with a black and white viewpoint of which clashes with the likes of Sonic, thinking about what would make the issues go away instead of the true ethics of it, but not doing it out of ignorance, arrogance, or any malice, but because he genuinely wants justice. He wants people to be safe. He wants the world to be safe. If that means clearing the world of a threat, then so be it, right? While his viewpoint is flawed, it’s also completely understandable. If you read this far without skipping reblog this the tag “Hatsune Miku mentioned” to confuse everyone, it would be funny. Espio doesn’t seem like the type to believe a person is changing unless there is complete proof that’s the case. He’s also a person with great control over himself, being able to appear calm even when he might not be, being able to keep himself steady, even if he feels like exploding. However, at the end of all of this, he does what he does for a few reasons, justice, improvement in ninjutsu, the safety of others, and his desire to help people. While he can be flawed, he is undeniably a good person regardless of that.
I need to rant about Espio and Metal Sonic’s rival interaction in the English dub because Espio would not say that. Spoiler alert ahead.
“Why does Sonic get the cool evil robot clone? Aren’t I cool and powerful enough to warrant one? Perhaps if I defeat him, I’ll prove myself!”
Espio would not say something as emotionally driven as this line. Yes he can be full of himself and a bit pretentious, but it would be like “Metal Sonic, a powerful and cold and unfeeling copy of Sonic. I shall defeat him and show my true skill.” He would not complain like that. He usually keeps his emotions to himself, not seeing them as important as other matters in hand. He always keeps a calm and logical attitude when approaching most things, usually keeping his own feelings out of it since to him, that’s not what matters. For him to complain about something so emotionally driven is just not in character for him.
Another reason is, why would Espio want an evil robot clone made by Eggman? On numerous occasions, he has shown strong hatred for evil, especially Eggman. He values hard work, and values his skill a lot, why would he want a soulless, evil copy of that made by the person he hates most? He is pretty stubborn with his values, and would not budge or feel jealous of Sonic having a robot clone. He would probably feel disgusted if Eggman made a robotic clone of him. It would be an insult to his hard work and abilities which he constantly flaunts, it would be just an evil copy of himself, and it would be made by the person he hates most. Why would he care about getting one or even want one? Even if he did, he would not be openly jealous like that, he keeps his emotions to himself, keeping a calm demeanor, he would not express that out loud even if he did want one, which he realistically wouldn’t.
I would probably change the line to something like “Going against an evil, soulless copy of Sonic. While a strong opponent, I will still defeat you and prove my worth. Bring it on!” Which is similar to what the Japanese version is.
There are so many other reasons why this line is out of character, such as Espio is not that egotistical, while he can be full of himself sometimes, he’s not that egotistical and pretentious, and doesn’t value himself like that. He may value his skill and abilities, but he doesn’t really care about himself compared to others, seeing himself as inherently less valuable outside of his skill. He doesn’t outright hate himself, but he doesn’t value himself like that. He values his skill, not himself.
Anyway, bye. I hope you enjoyed my rant about my hyperfixation.
Espio has his own ways of expressing affection towards the people he cares about, he isn’t physically affectionate or directly verbally affectionate, which is often a trait seen in people with autism. He isn’t good with telling people how much he loves or cares for them, but he shows his appreciation verbally through praising them for their skills and accomplishments, as well as giving a blunt opinion when needed. His verbal affection is praising people and encouraging people, but also being blunt when he sees fit.
Another way he shows affection is through acts of service, he often does things to help the people around him, always being open to help. He may not be the best with direct verbal affection or physical affection, but he still shows care for the people around him in his own ways. He is affectionate, just not in a conventional way. Also another trait of autism he has in my opinion. Along with the struggles with social cues, enthusiasm in talking about his interests, his more quiet and reserved nature, and his strictly logical and black and white view point. However, I am just autistic, adhd, depressed, and anxious, not a psychologist.
