CXCV: "Sonic X"

I can't believe I still consider this an anime, but it seems most places on the net does so as well. Sonic X is almost self explanatory to those who know of the titular hedgehog, but for the sake of this blog, I will of course review it and give my take on the matter. Released as part of FoxBox, this title has seen airtime as well as its share of bashings. And I say bashings loosely, given primarily of those came from the Sonic "Fanbase", if I must say. This was supposedly made in a linked continuity with the games, having the game companies work in partnership with an animation studio to make it, though it was through the 4Kids licensing that the show came to be here in the states.

Sonic the Hedgehog is seen raiding the HQ of Dr. Ivo Robotnik/Eggman (much like nearly every single game made) on a mission to rescue Cream the Rabbit and her tiny Chao, Cheese. However, when all 7 Chaos Emeralds come together, a strange phenomenon occurs which flings Sonic. Cream, Eggman, as well as the other characters from their dimension to another with humans. In a way, they have flung to Earth, and during a getaway from the police, he is saved from drowning by a kid named (here comes the fan rage...) Chris Thorndyke, whose pool Sonic ends up in before meeting. Trapped in this world of humans, Sonic and Co. must lay low under Chris' home, with only Chris, his grandfather, the maid Ella, and the butler Tanaka knowing of their existence. While they do, they must also find the Chaos Emeralds should they wish to return, but with Eggman in this world as well, it will not be such a simple task. Then again, with Sonic up against Eggman, it's never simple, is it?

Spanning 3 seasons, Sonic X ran for a total of 78 episodes, its run finished, and the premier season available by internet means (not that people bother to watch.) I mentioned earlier that this has some tied continuity with the games, supposedly this is declared so (can't say for sure.) What I CAN say, though, is that mostly in the second season, you'll see plots of Sonic Adventure and Sonic Adventure 2, as well as Sonic Battle. To those who don't know, Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 are games that were for Sega Dreamcast, and remade for Nintendo Gamecube, with the first Adventure (remade as Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut) being remade as a downloadable full game, via Sony's Playstation Network, and Microsoft's Xbox Live. Sonic Battle is a Game Boy Advance title that was a fighting game. Before I stray off focal point, the anime was created by Sonic Project and game creator Sonic Team, being produced in a joint partnership between Tokyo Movie Shinsha, or TMS Entertainment, and Sega. Like any anime, to keep it towards a kid-friendly audience (as it was on FoxBox, and is still around today as part of Toonzai), censorship came into play. And I mentioned this before in my Mega Man NT Warrior review on post XXXII, but this is one of the handful of titles I've seen that features different tones in dubbing, and part of the backlash stems from this.

Better yet, let's get into why it gets the reception that it does. I feel this may waste some otherwise useful time, but I feel as though I must get this out of the way, unless I want this to eat away at me.

1. Americanizing -
   While I have almost nothing against censorship in anime at times, the tweakings made in anime, or what is called Americanizing, can and will get overboard. In Sonic X, the dialogue is one such instance. In the games, it is known that Sonic tends to make a few puns every now and then, but they kind of go overboard here, which heavily offsets the mature theme the original script featured. I saw fans get irked by this, and I can see why. there is a time and a place, even in anime, for humor, but when dubbing, it appears 4Kids omitted the serious tone, adding a lot more humor in the dialogue to keep it tamed.
2. Adaptations -
   Any media that can reference their book or game counterparts is fine by me. In fact, I more or less expected some games to make it as plot devices, seeing as how the group Archie Comics have long done so in their Sonic the Hedgehog comic books. My concern is HOW they were adapted. Call it being a fanboy and what not, but in spite of him being one of the two main characters, I didn't feel it was necessary to actually place Chris in the very reenactments of the story's key moments, like before Shadow's battle against the prototype. And some battles were shortened greatly, mainly referring to Perfect Chaos.
3. Character -
   Now granted some may think so, I have nothing against Chris Thorndyke, but he has been the target of the bashing of Sonic X. Naturally, I could only imagine how people reacted to seeing his face on a sign in Sonic Adventure DX. I can't say I like him, but to wish for him to die or be removed from there... that was harsh. Believe it or not, this is generally the type of feedback I see when this title comes up. Granted, almost half of these people most likely also had a fit with Sonic The Hedgehog (2006 game), and if it wasn't for the load times or gameplay, then it would be about... another human, Princess Elise. Back to the topic though, Chris Thorndyke shares the same spot as Relena Peacecraft of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: as in being the most hated character in an anime, despite being a MAJOR character. At least, it's like this due to the fan reactions.

Chris Thorndyke is voiced by Suzanne Goldish as a child, his adult voice being done by Michael Sinterniklaas. Jason Griffith provided Sonic's voice in the dub, as well as that of Shadow (he also voiced those two in the games for a time, as well as Sonic Riders' Jet the Hawk), before both roles were ultimately passed on to Roger Craig Smith and Kirk Thorton respectively. From the 4Kids Voice Actor cast, the only one retaining their role today would be Mike Pollock, who since then has been the voice of mainstay antagonist Dr. Eggman. Aside from the anime, comics and trading cards were made of the series, and the voices heard in the anime has served the games between 2005-2010, among which Sonic Riders and Sonic '06 was included.

Sonic X had some hits and misses. Overall, not a bad anime, but it was received somewhat poorly in America. Grading, I'll leave it as a 6 of 10. Some parts in there did have me a tad annoyed, but not worth dragging to the dirt. Besides, in the end, it's just another TV anime dealing with my favorite hedgehog, so despite how bad they tend to mess up, I can't run it into the ground as a fan (which is saying a lot compared to other "fans"...)