Sonix X Season 1 review by Chris4150

[Gypsy]

This review was written by Chris4150 and approved by Gypsy

Sonic X Season One Full Review

Authors Note: This review only covers the first 13 episodes of Sonic X. Instead of reviewing the entire show at once, I am going by individual seasons. This review is NOT for the English dub of the show made by 4Kids. This review covers the unedited Japanese version using the official Japanese DVD’s. While this reviews the Japanese version, the English dub is ALMOST the same thing, and can be used as a review for the dub as well, however, please note that things in the Japanese version may be different than the American version. The official Japanese DVD’s may be purchased at: http://www.cdjapan.co.jp Please take note that the official Japanese DVD’s do not have subtitles.

General Information:
English Title: Sonic X
Japanese Title: Sonic X
Distributor: Victor Entertainment Inc.
Author: Chris 4150
Genre: Action, Comedy, Video Game Based Anime

Quick Info: (On a 1-10 scale, 1 being the lowest, 10 being the highest)
Score: 7/10
Suitable for ages 7 and up.
Violence: 2/10
Objectionable Language: 1/10
Nudity: 0/10
Sexual Situations: 0/10
Objectionable Religious Material: 0/10

Expanded Information:

Violence: Very mild. The only real violence is when Eggman’s robots get smashed to pieces. However, there are some episodes where Sonic takes quite a beating from a few of Eggman’s robots before destroying them. In one episode, Sonic and Knuckles duke it out. Towards the end of the season, the army launches a full attack on Eggman’s base.

Objectionable Language: Yep, this anime gets a 1 out of 10 for language. Sonic uses various English phrases in the show on a regular basis, and in the second episode, he uses the ‘S’ word. This only applies to the Japanese version. The rest of the show is clean language wise. It should be noted that if you are watching this show using fansubs though, you may run into other language in the subtitle translations.

Nudity: None

Sexual Situations: None, though it should be noted that Rouge the Bat has a slightly seductive personality similar to Faye from Cowboy Bebop.

Religious Stuff: None

Plot: Inspired by the best selling video game series! Sonic’s Arch Nemesis, the mad scientist Dr. Eggman has kidnapped Cream the Rabbit and gotten his hands on the Chaos Emeralds! Sonic and friends attempt a rescue mission at Eggman’s base, but an accident involving Chaos Control (a time space warp created by the Chaos Emeralds) sends the heroes through time and space to another world! There, the heroes find each other again only to realize that Dr. Eggman is also on Earth, and so are the Chaos Emeralds! Joined by a whole new cast of human characters (including a young boy named Chris who saves Sonic’s life), Sonic and friends race to get the Emeralds before Eggman, who has his sights set on world domination!

Additional Comments: Sonic is my number one favorite video game series ever. And finally there’s an anime that’s actually based on the characters and events of the games. (The American cartoons and OAV do not count) I have to say, when I first heard about this series, I didn’t really expect much. But when I finally saw the first episode (in Japanese), I really enjoyed it. I’ve been following the series ever since. Some people might get turned off by the lightheartedness of this series, but for anyone who likes Sonic, it’s a pretty enjoyable ride. There’s a whole slew of new human characters that are introduced in Sonic X, Chris, the human boy that befriends Sonic, Sam Speed, leader of the High Speed Party S Team, who is a bit full of himself, Mr. Tanaka, the sometimes strict butler who is skilled in martial arts, Ella, the maid with the thick accent, and Chuck, Chris’ slightly eccentric grandfather. While I really like the new ensemble of human characters, they really weren’t all that needed, and I think the show could have done fine without them. The show doesn’t contain any ‘groundbreaking complex storylines’ or ‘incredibly deep emotional characters’, but it’s a nice break from more serious themed anime. I had a lot of fun watching this series. This is one series any Sonic fan should definitely check out.

Music: Author’s Note: The Japanese version and the English dub have completely different background music. The one I am referring to is the music for the Japanese version. I really like the music in this show. The music follows an upbeat techno theme, which is fun to listen to, and it flows along well with the show. The opening theme song was written by Kageyama Hironobu, also responsible for Dragon Balls’ ‘Cha-La-Head-Cha-La’, and is real catchy. I also really liked the closing theme, done by the Japanese band ‘RUN&GUN’.

Dub Comments: I really do not care much for the English dub of this series. It’s not the character voices I dislike, but the music. I really do not like the BGM used in the dub. They took out the original BGM and replaced it with a heavily orchestrated BGM selection. Now, I really liked the opening theme, ‘Gotta Run Fast’, but that’s it. The rest of the music often sounds more suited for a medieval style setting rather than Sonic. There were some spots were the BGM changed the entire mood of some particular scenes in my opinion. Another odd thing about the dub, is that some English text that was in the Japanese version has been removed. I find this type of edit particularly odd since it was already in English and there was no real reason for removing it in the first place. Some scenes in the dub have either been shortened or removed. Still, even with these flaws, the dub is watchable, and most people probably wouldn’t care much for watching it in Japanese without subtitles anyway. (Excluding the fansubs and HK DVD’s.)

Manga: None

Related Movies: None (At the time of writing this review)

[brantelg]

Yeah! Go Sonic X! Sonic is my favorite character in all medias. Comics, Animes, Games, Cruddy American Cartoons, Yup, I love 'em all. I have only seen the English Dub version of Sonic X, but from you review, I will definately check out the Japanese.

[Fsiphskilm]

Uhmm just to let you know the japanese version says

[Azier the Swordsman]

The S*** word was used once. D*** is not present. If you are watching a fansub, words like 'shimatta' and 'kuso' are sometimes translated as D*** or S***.

[Solid Ronin]

Ive seen a sonic movie in Suncoast

[Azier the Swordsman]

Are you talking about Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie? It's a seperate OAV series spliced into a movie. (Set in a different universe).

[Solid Ronin]

Are you talking about Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie? It's a seperate OAV series spliced into a movie. (Set in a different universe).

Im not sure I saw it there but didnt watch it

[AsianBlossom]

Yeah...I'd still like to see some of the episodes in Japanese though, like "Cruise Blues", as it was called in English.

I wonder if any more of the seasons will be reviewed?