Complimenting Sonic X

The more time passes the more I don't like Sonic X.

Buuuuut, the intro and ending songs are cool though. Still listen to them to this day.

 

I like the art style.

I didn't watch enough of it back in the day to say much else. Maybe I'll watch the whole thing someday.

Wait, no I won't, I'm a lazy fuck.

 

I binge-watched the first 52 episodes of X properly for the first time this year. Yes, 4Kids dubbed it with a dreadful script and soundtrack. Yes, the animation was terrible. Yes, Chris and the human characters took far too much of the spotlight. And yes, the direct game-plot adaptations of Adventure, Adventure 2 and Battle were painfully rushed. But all that didn't stop the program from being an entertaining watch. Unlike all the other Sonic TV shows out there, X actually felt like the Sonic series I know and love. The characters... Good lord the characters were such good fun. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses and contributed to the story. There was actually a story. The nay-sayers of the 2000s who were constantly prattling on about "Sonic doesn't need a story" were always wrong. Whilst it seems like SEGA is now, unfortunately, taking the series in that direction, the over-arching plots absolutely made X and the early/mid 2000s games.

Honestly, my favourite thing about X was that the three main protagonists were Sonic (of course), Knuckles and Rouge. Sonic normally took centre-stage with Tails, Amy and Chris to confront Eggman's plot of the week. Knuckles was a rival hero who had his own motivations and usually worked with Sonic whenever he needed to, but the two didn't get along all that well. It was a great dynamic and showed the storyline from a different perspective. And then you have Rouge and GUN... What a brilliant use of Rouge as a character. She's a true anti-hero, but she's made to work for Sonic and Eggman's mutual adversaries and has great chemistry with Topaz. Sonic, Knuckles and Rouge all come together on occasion to tackle Eggman or because they all want the same prize and goddammit it just works. Rouge has always been shackled to Shadow in the games, apart from SA2 kinda and Rivals 2. She's great as her own character and doing her own thing. The three of them together make a great set of leads.

 

The 4Kids version is terrible, especially the noisy replacement BGM that never stops.

The Japanese version is very inconsistent, but overall a decent kids' anime. The characters act in character and it was fun to see actual adaptations of the game stories. The first episode was great, possibly the best of the whole series. If it was all as strong as that one, I think it would be remembered a lot more fondly than it is.

 

Sonic X was my introduction to the series, along the with the myriads of Sonic flash games you could find online (Ultimate Flash Sonic and FF Sonic, among others). I discovered both around... 2005 I think? The show was airing on Jetix at the time.
I have huge, huge, HUGE nostalgia for it. It's what made me a Sonic fan and shaped my shaped my perspectives of the characters and the world of Sonic. A cheesy anime plot, a world with humans, serious and goofy moments in equal measure... I all learned to love it with Sonic X.
I haven't rewatched it since 2013 or so, and I should absolutely get back on it soon. But what I remember of the show wasn't bad at all, nostalgia aside. I loved the animation, the characters were consistently written and the music was super cool. I don't remember being annoyed by Chris... in fact most of the human supporting cast was pretty great. Not a masterpiece, but a cool anime and a great time for an Adventure era Sonic fan.

Also, Sonic says "Shit" at one point in the Japanese dub. It's cool.

 

I grew up with the show, so a lot of fond memories (I especially remember hating Cosmo and cheering when she died at the end :p). When I eventually got the chance to watch the show in Japanese, I definitely found a new appreciation for it (and didn't entirely hate Cosmo or Chris!). Lots of good moments in there, and I love Sonic's portrayal. Very on point to his proper personality most of the time. His laid back tendencies and general indifference to things may have been best exemplified here.

The animation is cheap digital garbage, but it's watchable and manages to look nice when it needs to. Still waiting for a Blu-ray set of the Japanese version.

 

When I watched it, it was jetix and it had a repetitive opening that only said "Sonic X" constantly, so I guess I watched that infamous 4kids version, but if I did, I didn't mind it at all. That run didn't show up the Chaotix or the space, so I also guess it didn't got past episode 52. I downloaded the whole series later, but never took the time to watch those extra episodes I was missing as that happened a lot later than I watched the show on TV. That means I haven't had a look at that show since 2005. Since I don't see why anyone would bash this show enough for it to have a "complimenting" thread, I'll just say why I thought then, good enough or not.

I think it was the first good Sonic show, SatAM being a good enough show at its moment but not a really good show in Sonic terms. I still prefer Sonic Boom as it's the one I've had most laughs with, but that's a comedic show, while Sonic X was something you directly identified as the same thing as the main Sonic games (plus Chris, but it's not that bad Sonic adopted a human pet). I had a lot of fun with this show, they did a great job with it. My only real complaint would be it was aimed at kids and I was already 24 or 25 when I watched it, so there was too much family friendly stuff at times (remember when Amy played with chao? So cute it disabled brains), but there were plenty of occasions when it got quite far for a kids' show too, so there was balance and something interesting for more grown-up viewers.

 

Despite my gripes with the 4kids music, voice-acting, and a certain young boy, I think it's the best Sonic cartoon. It's certainly the most faithful to the games.

 

I remember so well trying to download this one MOV file of the first episode in Japanese. Lol I was super hyped for this show, but eventually lost interest. Never been much of a TV watcher. Last year or so I binged Sonic X on Netflix. Very family friendly. *thumbs up*

 

It gave us Mike Pollock as Eggman.

 

It's not just the music though. I personally find the dialogue changes to be just as objectionable. There many ways in which 4Kids ruined the show, and I find it surprising that people still watch the dub over the original.

Batman: The Animated Series?

 

But SatAM has literally nothing to do with BTAS. They have nothing in common. I'm struggling to even comprehend this comparison.

 

Neither show has a bleak tone though. SatAM has a bleak setting, but the tone of the show is more just taking itself seriously for the most part. It's still pretty goofy all things considered. BTAS also has a serious tone, and dark visuals, but I think the similarities end there, if those vague descriptions even count as "similarities". I must've missed the Batman episode where Gotham City is turned into a mechanized industrial wasteland ruled by an evil dictator who sends robots into the bordering forests to weed out the secret base of an animal rebellion.

Sonic X is still the closest to the games as far as any of the series' go, though I think a series inspired by the OVA could be better.