Sonic X

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This article is about Sonic X, an animated series. For the comic book series about this show, see Sonic X (comics).
For other uses, see Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic X

The main characters of Sonic X.
ソニックX
(Sonikku Ekkusu)
Genre Adventure, Science fiction
TV anime
Director Hajime Kamegaki
Studio Flag of Japan Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Network Flag of Japan Kids Station, TV Tokyo
Flag of the United Kingdom ITV
Flag of Australia Seven Network, Nine Network, Network Ten
Original run 2003-04-06 – 2004-03-28
Episodes 78
Common rating
Australia G 9NET
Canada C8 YTV
United States TV-Y7 FV 4KIDSTV
TV-G Toon Disney

Sonic X (ソニックX Sonikku Ekkusu?) is an anime that is adapted from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series. It was produced in Japan by TMS Entertainment with the partnership of Sonic Team.

Contents

[edit] Plot synopsis

Main article: List of Sonic X episodes

[edit] Series 1 (Seasons 1 and 2)

During what seems to be a routine attack on Dr. Eggman's headquarters to rescue Cream the Rabbit and Cheese the Chao, Sonic and his friends are caught in a massive and mysterious explosion that transports them to what, at first, appears to be another dimension. Separated from his friends, Sonic eventually finds himself in custody of a boy named Christopher Thorndyke, who saves Sonic's life after he nearly drowns in his pool. Chris lives in a lavish mansion, funded by his two celebrity parents, with his inventor grandfather. Chris aids Sonic in locating his friends, and it is not long before Dr. Eggman makes his presence known. As Sonic and Eggman race to collect all the Chaos Emeralds (Sonic wants to use them to get home to his own dimension, and Eggman wants to use them to conquer this new universe), Chris must deal with the stress caused by having parents that are too busy to bother taking care of him. The first 26 episodes focus on Sonic and the other's adjustments to Earth and eventually, all of the Chaos Emeralds are retrieved and the chaos power warped parts of their home planet to Earth (like Angel Island). On the second half, the show focuses on the plots of Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, and a bit of Sonic Battle. In the end, Chris' grandfather invents a dimensional portal to send Sonic and everything else from his world but before Sonic leaves, Chris kidnaps him because he does not want Sonic to abandon him as he feels his parents did. Eventually, with the help of Sonic, Chris comes to terms with his feelings and Sonic returns to his own dimension. However, Chris vows that one day, he will see Sonic again.

[edit] Series 2 (Season 3)

It is six years since Chris let Sonic return to his own dimension. Chris is now nearly an adult, and even seems to have a relationship with Helen. He has been working on repairing his grandfather's dimensional portal. In Sonic's world, a new girl named Cosmo arrives on Sonic's planet, looking for the legendary one who can wield the powers of the seven Chaos Emeralds. Sonic, having been nearly defeated in outer space by a new enemy called Dark Oak, scatters the Chaos Emeralds across the galaxy, in order to prevent Dark Oak from using their power. When Chris uses the dimensional portal, he suddenly finds himself in Sonic's world. His age has regressed all the way back to the age he was when he first met Sonic; however, Chris still has all his memories of the years he spent repairing the dimensional portal.

Chris learns that to Sonic, only six months had passed. During their reunion, Dark Oak and his Metarex Army attack Sonic's planet and steal the "Planet Egg" from it. Without the Planet Egg, all the trees and plants on Sonic's planet wither and die. Sonic and his friends decide that Dark Oak must be stopped, and they venture into space to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds.

This series is similar to Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog such as Shadow surviving and being released with memory loss for the former and the common Metarex looking like the common Black Arms for the latter. After many run-ins with Dr. Eggman, and the pursuing Metarex Army, Cosmo's dark secret is eventually unveiled: She has been an unwilling spy for the Metarex all along, and the Metarex themselves are actually part of the same race of autonomous, anthropomorphic plants that Cosmo is of, having twisted and modified their bodies for combat after war overtook their planet. They now must depend on the energy of the Planet Eggs to stay alive. When the Metarex enact a plan that could destroy the entire Universe, Cosmo sacrifices herself in order to save everybody with the help of Super Sonic and Super Shadow; much to the grief of Tails, who had fallen in love with Cosmo during the course of their adventure. It is Tails himself who must kill Cosmo in order to release her power, which would halt the advance of Dark Oak and return him to his benevolent form. Her essence is manifested in the form of a seed, which Tails later cultivates.

With Metarex destroyed, Eggman builds an invention that sends Chris home and Chris accepts, willing to leave all his friends to return home. Soon thereafter, Dr. Eggman revives his previous rivalry with Sonic, albeit a light-hearted one. The series ends with unresolved cliffhangers, such as the whereabouts of Chris and Shadow.

[edit] Series 2 production notes

Left to right: Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Sonic, Cosmo, Cream and Cheese.
Left to right: Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Sonic, Cosmo, Cream and Cheese.

In late 2004, production sketches, model sheets, storyboards and episode scripts of a supposed Series 2 began surfacing. Many dismissed them as a fan-made hoax as neither Sega nor TMS has officially announced continuing Sonic X beyond the original 52 episodes. It was not until early 2005 that Jetix France began to air the 26-episode "Series 2" shortly followed by a Taiwanese station and on September 10, 2005, 4Kids Entertainment began to air "Series 2" calling it "Season 3". Despite being made in Japan and dubbed into Japanese the show has not yet been aired there.

[edit] Thematic differences

"Dark" Super Sonic in Sonic X.
"Dark" Super Sonic in Sonic X.

One major difference between "Series 1" and "Series 2" is the fact that "Series 2" is considerably darker and more mature in tone, but still retained the light-hearted elements. Several of the characters sustain serious, nearly-fatal injuries, and several characters even die; such as Cosmo and Molly's deaths during the final episodes of "Series 2." In addition, in the final episode, Shadow disappeared as well, and no one was sure of what happened to him. In the Japanese version, however, he is seen as a shadow by Molly's grave (a scene cut out in the 4Kids dub because it referred rather heavily to the subject of death) having placed a pink rose by it. There is no indication that any of the deaths in the series were ever reversed or negated.


[edit] Speculation of revival

TMS Entertainment had apparently intended to produce a third season,[2] according to the company's English website.[3] Due to its unresolved cliffhangers, 4Kids TV had advertised episode 78 as a "season finale".[citation needed] Recently, Poland's Polsat channel had episode 79 and additional episodes to start airing on June 1, 2008.[4] However, when the episode came to air, a different program had aired in it's place, rather than what was scheduled. It is unknown whether or not the episode were initially a schedule error or the episodes were pulled at the last minute.

As reported by TMS on SonicAnime.net in the forum TMS' response to SonikuUK's e-mail, there are no episodes beyond the original 78, even though TMS' english site reported 79+ episodes.

[edit] List of characters

[edit] Major

Sonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic the Hedgehog.

[edit] Minor

[edit] Exclusive characters

For the full list of characters exclusive to Sonic X, see List of characters in Sonic X.

[edit] Cast

Main article: Cast in Sonic X

[edit] Theme songs

For the United Kingdom, Australia, Latin America, much of Europe, and Brazil, the opening song was performed by a female singer repeating the show's title numerous times, the U.S. ending theme was kept, however, and all of the inserts were edited out of the English version.

[edit] U.S.

  • Opening
  1. "Gotta Go Fast" by Norman J. Grossfeld, Joseph Garrity, and Russell Velázquez
  • Ending
  1. "Gotta Go Fast" (shortened version) by Norman J. Grossfeld, Joseph Garrity, and Russell Velázquez

[edit] Japan

  • Opening
  1. "SONIC DRIVE" by Hironobu Kageyama & Hideaki Takatori
  1. Intro Version 1 (eps. 1-26)
  2. Intro Version 2 (eps. 27-78)
  • Endings
  1. "Mi-Ra-I" by:RUN&GUN(English translation: "Future") (eps. 1–13)
  2. "Hikaru Michi" by Aya Hiroshige (English translation: "The Shining Road") (eps. 14–39 and 53–78)
  3. "T.O.P" by KP & URU (eps. 40–52)
  • Inserts
  1. "Kotoba ni Dekinai" by OFF COURSE (Episode 26) (TV-Tokyo Broadcast Only)
  2. "Live & Learn" by Crush 40 (Episode 38) (From Sonic Adventure 2)
  3. "Natsu no Hi" by OFF COURSE (Episode 52) (International and TV-Tokyo Broadcast Only)
  4. "Midori no Hibi" by OFF COURSE (Episode 52) (TV-Tokyo Broadcast Only)
  5. "Event: The Last Scene" by Fumie Kumatani (Episode 52) (From Sonic Adventure 2) (Japanese DVD and International Broadcasts Only)
  6. "Event : Defeat of the Ultimate Lifeform" by Jun Senoue and Fumie Kumatani (Episode 68) (From Sonic Adventure 2)
  7. "Event : Keeping my promises" (Episode 68) (From Sonic Adventure 2)
  8. "Radical Highway" by Jun Senoue (Episode 72) (From Sonic Adventure 2)
  9. "3 Black Noises" by Jun Senoue (Episode 72) (From Sonic Adventure 2)
  10. "SONIC DRIVE" by Hironobu Kageyama & Hideaki Takatori (Episodes 1, 42, 48, 52 [Hironobu Kageyama only/instrumental], 72)

[edit] Europe/Australia

  • Opening
  1. "Sonic X" by Jetix
  • Ending
  1. "Gotta Go Fast" (shortened version) by Norman J. Grossfeld, Joseph Garrity, and Russell Velázquez

[edit] France

  • Opening of TF1
  1. "SONIC DRIVE" by Hironobu Kageyama & Hideaki Takatori; sung in French by Claude Vallois (Lyrics completely modified but same music)
  • Intro Version 1 (eps. 1-26) First Season
  • Intro Version 2 only seen in episode 39, also eps. 67-74
  • Opening of Jetix
  1. "Sonic X" by Jetix
  • Endings
  1. "Mi-Ra-I" by:RUN&GUN (English translation: "Future") (eps. 1–13) instrumental version
  2. "Hikaru Michi" by Aya Hiroshige (English translation: "The Shining Road") (eps. 14–39 and 53–78) instrumental version
  3. "T.O.P" by KP & URU (eps. 40–52) instrumental version
  • Inserts
  1. "Live & Learn" by Crush 40 (Episode 38) (From Sonic Adventure 2)
  2. "Natsu no Hi" by OFF COURSE (Episode 52)
  3. "Event: The Last Scene" by Fumie Kumatani (Episode 52) (From Sonic Adventure 2)

[edit] Latin America

  • Opening
  1. "Sonic X" by Jetix (Seasons 1 and 2)
  2. "Gotta Go Fast" Spanish version by Jetix (Season 3, only on some episodes)
  • Ending
  1. "Gotta Go Fast" (shortened version) by Norman J. Grossfeld and Russell Velázquez (English and Spanish versions by Jetix. English version was shown on seasons 1 and 2, Spanish version on season 3)

[edit] DVD releases

All Season 1 episodes and nine Season 2 episodes were released in Australia.[5] It is currently unknown if any more episodes will be released. In 2005, four volumes were released in the UK, which featured two episodes per disc. After complaints about confusion among which volumes were which 4kids intends on releasing seasons 1, 2, and 3 on 16 disc collectors edition box set. Which is set for release in the fall of 2008 coinciding with the release of Sonic Chronicles The Dark Brotherhood.[citation needed]

In the US, the first season of the series (episodes 1-52) was released in 10 single-disc releases:

Sonic X: Vol. 1: A Super Sonic Hero

  • Episodes (1-3 & 27): "Chaos Control Freaks," "Sonic to the Rescue" "Missile Wrist Rampage" and "Pure Chaos"

Sonic X: Vol. 2: The Chaos Factor

  • Episodes (4-7): "Chaos Emerald Chaos," "Cracking Knuckles," "Techno-Teacher" and "Party Hardly."

Sonic X: Vol. 3: Satellite Swindle

  • Episodes (8-11): "Satellite Swindle," "The Last Resort," "Unfair Ball" and "Fly Spy."

Sonic X: Vol. 4: Beating Eggman

  • Episodes (12-16): "Beating Eggman (Part 1)," "Beating Eggman (Part 2)," "That's What Friends are For," "Skirmish in the Sky" and "Depths of Danger."

Sonic X: Vol. 5: Sonic's Scream Test

  • Episodes (17-21): "The Adventures of Knuckles and Hawk," "The Dam Scam," "Sonic's Scream Test," "Cruise Blues" and "Fast Friends."

Sonic X: Vol. 6: Countdown to Chaos

  • Episodes (22-26): "Little Chaos Lost," "Emerald Anniversary," "How to Catch a Hedgehog," "A Dastardly Deed" and "Countdown to Chaos."

Sonic X: Vol. 7: Revenge of the Robot

  • Episodes (28-32): "A Chaotic Day," "A Robot Rebels," "Heads Up, Tails!," "Revenge of the Robot," and "Flood Fight."

Sonic X: Vol. 8: Project Shadow

  • Episodes (33-38): "Project: Shadow," "Shadow Knows," "Sonic's Big Break," "Shadow World," "Robotnik's Revenge," and "Showdown in Space."

Sonic X: Vol. 9: Into the Darkness

  • Episodes (39-44) : "Defective Detectives," "Sunblock Solution," "Eggman For President," "A Date to Forget," "Mean Machines," and "Sewer Search."

Sonic X: Vol. 10: The Beginning of the End

  • Episodes (45-52) : "Prize Fight," "A Wild Win," "Map of Mayhem," "The Volcanic Venture," "The Beginning of the End," "Running out of Time," "Friends 'Till the End" and "A New Start."


The second Sonic X series made its way to the US in two 2 13-episode box sets:

Sonic X: Season 5 "Season 5"

  • Episodes (53-65) : "The Cosmic Call", "Cosmic Crisis", "H2Whoa", "An Enemy in Need", "A Chilling Discovery", "Desperately Seeking Sonic", "Galactic Gumshoes", "Trick Sand", "Ship of Doom", "An Underground Odyssey", "Station Break-In", "A Metarex Melee", and "Mission: Match-Up"

Sonic X: Season 6 "So Long, Sonic"

  • Episodes (66-78): "Clash in the Cloister," "Testing Time," "A Revolutionary Tale," "The Planet of Misfortune," "Terror on the Typhoon," "Hedgehog Hunt", "Zelkova Strikes Back", "The Cosmo Conspiracy," "Eye Spy," "Agent of Mischief," "The Light in the Darkness," "A Fearless Friend" and "So Long Sonic."

Currently, the first 52 episodes are being re-released in new "Saga" sets:

Sonic X: New World Saga

  • Episodes 1-13

Sonic X: Chaos Emerald Saga

  • Episodes 14-26

[edit] American version

Further information: 4Kids Entertainment#Editorial practices and controversy

In 2003, 4Kids Entertainment and VIZ Media co-licensed Sonic X for the United States, with the series being distributed by FUNimation. The episodes were then localized for the intended demographic. Aside from edits that included the replacement of sounds and the orchestral score, as well as removing suggestive content, the fate of several characters were changed. For example, Maria Robotnik is originally killed aboard the Space Colony ARK, while in the edited version, she is merely captured.[6] Her death remained intact in the video games where the series originated from.[7] Other continuity errors include mislabelling the term Chaos Control as the name of Doctor Eggman's base. While English and Japanese characters were removed or replaced with incoherent symbols, Chinese characters remained intact in The Adventures of Knuckles and Hawk.

4Kids decided not to cast the voice actors from the Sonic games and went with their in-house VAs. Mike Pollock, the current voice actor for Doctor Eggman, stated during an interview that he was provided samples of the game's voice-overs as a reference.[8] However, when a producer for the series was asked about his prior experience with the Sonic franchise, he replied, "I've never played the game, seen the series or read the comics."[9] After the passing of Deem Bristow, the voice actor for Eggman in the previous games, the 4Kids VAs were cast for Shadow the Hedgehog and subsequent Sonicgames.

[edit] Tie-ins

[edit] Comic book series

In September 2005, Archie Comics, publisher of the North American Sonic the Hedgehog comics started a Sonic X comic book series based on Sonic X. According to writer Joe Edkin, the first nine issues will take place in the TV continuity between episodes 32 and 33, which falls between the Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2 story lines.[citation needed] After this, the stories' chronological positions will vary for some time, although in progressively later points in the series. The series is based on the English-language version, though for the most part fits the continuity established in the original Japanese version.

[edit] Toy line

The 4Kids version of the show was backed up by a toy line. The early figures in this line were in fact re-releases of an earlier Sonic Adventure toy line, criticized by many for awkward poses and poor sculpting.[citation needed] The line has currently moved onto more accurate and updated figures. Taking a concept from the popular Marvel Legends toys, one wave presents each of the five characters in it with part of a generic E-Series robot. Fans who buy the whole wave can complete the robot as a 'bonus' figure. Further waves include the re-release of the first wave with the addition of a special keychain, the Space Fighters collection (depicting the characters in science fiction-style armour), the Metal Force collection(depicting the characters in glowing armour), and the Chaos Emeralds collection. Recently McDonald's had released a set of Sonic X disk launchers one with Sonic, one with Tails and one with Knuckles on the launchers and the disk themselves.[citation needed]

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ www.igma.tv/schedule.php?day=2. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
  2. ^ www.tms-e.co.jp/index2.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
  3. ^ SpinDash.de "More than 78 Episodes". Retrieved on 2007-05-24.
  4. ^ Polsat (Polish). RareFilmFinder (2008-06-01). Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  5. ^ Search results for "sonic x". EzyDVD. Retrieved on 2008-02-25.
  6. ^ Character Profile: Maria Robotnik. Absolute Anime. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  7. ^ Gerald's Bio. Shadows HQ. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
  8. ^ Episode 42 - The Doctor Is In. Wha-CHOW!. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.
  9. ^ Rasmussen, David (2006-02-12). Mr. Michael Haigney Interview (4Kids). Anime Boredom. Retrieved on 2008-01-30.

[edit] External links

[edit] Official English sites

[edit] Official Japanese sites

[edit] Latin America

[edit] Other links

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Sonic the Hedgehog features
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