Sonic X

Sonic X (ソニックX) is an animated television series, featuring video game hero Sonic the Hedgehog based on the storylines of the Sonic Adventure series. Its rated genres are: action, adventure, sci-fi and comedy. It was animated and produced in Japan by TMS Entertainment with the partnership of Sega and the Sonic Team. In 2003, 4Kids Entertainment licensed Sonic X for American U.S. licensing in a joint effort between 4Kids and VIZ Media (it was formerly with ShoPro Entertainment before ShoPro and VIZ, LLC merged into VIZ Media) & distributed by FUNimation. It is also shown in Europe, Australia, Brazil and Latin America by Jetix, and in Canada by YTV. Originally planned as a 52 episode series which would be inspired by the storylines of the Sonic Adventure series, Sonic X has now expanded to 78 episodes which were shown in Thailand, and France in February and March of 2005. A season 4 may currently be in production. In the 4kids dub, blood, profanity, and sexually suggestive references were removed, as America is supposedly a more conservative country than Japan.

Plot Synopsis
There has been minor debate as to whether or not the first two seasons of Sonic X take place on Earth. Episode 8 showed a map of the planet, which did not look much like Earth, but episode 38 showed a view of the planet, in which Texas and Africa are noticeable.

The design of the map in episode 8 could be described as laziness to draw Earth properly, as seen in many other cartoons.

Series 1 (Season 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 grandfather, Chuck. 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 mental disorder caused by having parents that are too busy to bother taking care of him. When Grandpa Chuck invents a dimensional portal to send Sonic home, Chris kidnaps Sonic, 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.

Series 2 (Season 3)
"Series 2" does not adapt episodes from any of the games and rather than focusing on miniature "sagas" and sub-plots, the majority of "Series 2" focuses on one single plot.

It is 6 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, and he 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.

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; 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 the Metarex destroyed, Eggman builds an invention that sends Chris home, and Chris accepts. While in Eggman's teleporter capsule, on his way into his home dimension, he sees Sonic running below the teleporter. Chris begins crying, and then the machine disappears. Chris was apparently sent home. Dr. Eggman revives his previous rivalry with Sonic; however, this rivalry is more light-hearted in tone, as if he was simply reviving it for excitement's sake.

Series 3 (Season 4)
Rumors have begun to circulate about a possible fourth season of Sonic X being in development, for instance, according to SonicHQ TMS is listing Sonic X among the anime they are producing, (although this may be because the third season has not yet been broadcast in Japan. The ending of episode 78 has also fueled speculation. There were many cliffhangers such as what happened to Chris. In the very end after Sonic and the gang take off in the X-Tornado, a pot is shown with a small plant in it which could supposedly be one of Cosmo's seeds. In addition, Shadow is shown to be alive, him having put a rose next to Molly's grave. This scene is excluded from the English version, although he is certainly still alive.

Major

 * Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Miles "Tails" Prower
 * Knuckles the Echidna
 * Amy Rose
 * Cream the Rabbit
 * Shadow the Hedgehog
 * Rouge the Bat
 * Dr. Eggman

Minor

 * Big the Cat
 * Chaotix:
 * Vector the Crocodile
 * '''Espio the Chameleon
 * Charmy Bee
 * Vanilla the Rabbit
 * Zero
 * E-101 Beta
 * E-102 Gamma
 * E-103 Delta
 * E-104 Epsilon
 * E-105 Zeta
 * Chaos
 * Tikal
 * Emerl
 * Maria Robotnik

Exclusive characters
''See also: Minor Sonic X Characters
 * Chris Thorndyke
 * Danny
 * Bokkun
 * Decoe and Bocoe
 * E-Series
 * Chuck Thorndyke
 * Ella
 * Mr. Tanaka
 * Topaz
 * Nelson and Lindsey Thorndyke
 * Sam Speed
 * Francis
 * Helen
 * Jerome Wise
 * Hawk

Season 3 (Season 2)

 * Cosmo
 * Dark Oak
 * Metarex
 * Molly
 * "Dark" Sonic

Who is Nazo?
When Sonic X was first announced, the original pilot to promote the show showed a lot of concepts that ended up being changed or left unused by the time the series began to air in Japan. One of the more interesting concepts left on the cutting room floor was near the end of the pilot - a glowing gray Hedgehog. The only reference people were given to this Hedgehog's name, came from a file name displayed on Sega of Japan's website - Nazo_x.jpg. "Nazo" translates to "Mystery" in Japanese. Since then, Nazo has become the subject of much debate and discussion among Sonic X fans. While some are quick to assume that Nazo is simply what the Sonic X version of Super Sonic appeared to be, Super Sonic himself appears earlier in the pilot, ruling him out. Others assume that he is a Sonic Adventure era Hyper Sonic. Others claim he is a fusion of Super Sonic and Super Shadow. In Series 2/Season 3 of Sonic X, Sonic transforms into what has been dubbed "Dark Sonic" - which resembles Nazo, but is completely black. With the advent of Sonic the Hedgehog for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, questions have also been raised about Silver the Hedgehog being related to Nazo in some way, as they too share similar design traits. However, all of this is purely speculation, as everything known about the mysterious Nazo can be learned by seeing him on the mini-movie The Power of Nazo.

Series 2 (Season 3) notes
In late 2004, Production Sketches, model sheets, storyboards and episode scripts of a supposed, 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 wasn't 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; in fact, currently, the only way to view "Series 2" in its original native language (Japanese) is to purchase the Chinese Video CDs, which feature Japanese dialogue with Chinese subtitles. This Video CD uses the second version of the Japanese opening theme, "Sonic Drive", and the second version of the Japanese ending theme, "The Shining Road".

Thematic Differences
One major difference between "Series 1" and "Series 2" is the fact that "Series 2" is considerably darker and more mature in tone. Many characters sustain serious, nearly-fatal injuries, and several characters even die; such as Cosmo's death during the final episodes of "Series 2". In the end, Tails himself, overcome with emotion, is ultimately forced to kill her at her own request. 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) having placed a pink rose by it. There is no indication that any of the deaths in the series were ever reversed or negated.

The quality of the English version of "Series 2" is highly disputed. Many fans dislike the removal of some of the darkness. An example of this removal can be found with a comparison between the English and foreign versions of episode 77, the second to last episode of the series so far. Near the end of the episode when Tails is forced to kill Cosmo, it is apparent that the foreign episodes retained far more emotional depth, seen when Tails, on the verge of pressing the fire button of the Sonic Driver, instead slams his head on the control panel and begins sobbing in despair. This scene is substantially cut down in the English version for unknown reasons. Not only that, when Tails finally manages to press the button, the foreign version portrays him in a deep state of distress and sadness, epitomized when he screams in horror when the Sonic Driver beam strikes the Meterex planet. Nearly all these scenes are cut from the English version. The English version shows him in a more relaxed and accepting composure, even going so far as to say a calm "goodbye" to Cosmo as he presses the button. Lastly, the musical composition during this scene varies in the english and foreign episodes. The foreign episode contains a musical backround that is strikingly more emotional and saddening, while the English version replaces it with a more action oriented, upbeat backround. While the subtle plot changes remain controversial, some fans like the retaining of the more visible science fiction elements that were not present in "Series 1".

Comic Book Series
In September 2005, Archie Comics, publishers 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. After this, the stories' chronological positions will vary for some time, although in progressively later points in the series. The series is based off the English version, though fits the continuity established in the original Japanese version.

Toy line
The 4Kids version of the show was backed up by a toyline. The early figures in this line were in fact re-releases of an earlier Sonic Adventure toyline, criticised by many for awkward poses and poor sculpting. 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 5 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 the first wave with the addition of a special keychain, the Space Fighters collection and the Chaos Emeralds collection.

Trivia

 * Agent Topaz resembles Janet Marshall from Virtua Cop 2 and Virtua Cop 3.
 * The voice actor from the Sonic games, Ryan Drummond, offered to voice Sonic for the dub - but was refused by 4Kids for not living in New York (it has also been said that Drummond even offered to re-locate to New York, and was still refused). This eventually lead to Drummond being removed (without notification) as the voice actor for the Sonic games, after Sega of America decided to replace the entire voice cast for the games with the 4Kids cast following the death of Deem Bristow, the original voice actor for Dr. Eggman. The biggest complaint with this decision was that Ryan was not notified, and allegedly only told when he asked if he would be needed for voice recordings in Shadow the Hedgehog. This conflicts with the original Japanese series, where the voice actors from the games were used from the beginning.
 * When the first thirteen episodes of Series 2/Season 3 were released on DVD in the US, they were packaged as the The Complete 5th Season (with thirteen episodes being a "season", and those episodes being the fifth division of thirteen episodes); also, the cover art to the DVD resembles the poster for the movie Firefox, with the Blue Typhoon in the same space as the MiG-31, the movie's titular jet fighter.
 * In addition to direct adaptations of Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, there is a reference to the games in episode 58, in which Sonic uses his Soap shoes from Sonic Adventure 2 to grind a mutant plant.

Others Credited

 * Jimmy Zoppi
 * Madeleine Blaustein
 * Jeff Woodlock
 * Veronica Taylor
 * Karen Neil
 * Nappy

Episode guide
List of Sonic X episodes

Theme songs
For the United Kingdom, much of Europe and Brazil the Opening Intro was changed to a female singer repeating the show's title over numerous times, the US ending theme was kept however.

U.S.

 * Opening
 * 1) "Gotta Go Fast" by Norman J. Grossfeld and Russell Velazquez
 * Ending
 * 1) "Gotta Go Fast" (shortened version) by Norman J. Grossfeld and Russell Velazquez

Japan

 * Opening
 * 1) "SONIC DRIVE" by Hironobu Kageyama & Hideaki Takatori
 * Intro Version 1 (eps. 1-26)
 * 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)

Australia/UK

 * Opening
 * 1) "Sonic X" by Jetix
 * Ending
 * 1) "Gotta Go Fast" (shortened version) by Norman J. Grossfeld and Russell Velazquez

Official English sites

 * SONIC CENTRAL Sonic X  website
 * 4Kids TV Sonic X website
 * JETIX UK Sonic X website
 * YTV Sonic X website

Official Japanese sites

 * Sonic Team Sonic X website
 * TV Tokyo Sonic X website

Other links

 * VIZ Media
 * teamARTAIL (Sonic X) - Sonic X Release information and Episode screenshots.
 * Sonic X: Uncensored A Japanese/English comparison site, covering Seasons 1, 2, and 3.
 * Sonic X Japanese/English Comparisons Covers Seasons 1 and 2.
 * Sonic X entry; Internet Movie Database