Sonic X (ソニックX Sonikku Ekkessu) is an anime television series based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series published by Sega. It was created by Sonic Team and produced in Japan by TMS Entertainment. The series originally aired in Japan between April 6, 2003 and April 18, 2005, consisting of 78 episodes. The series aired in the United States between August 23, 2003 and May 6, 2006.
Dubbing History[]
4Kids Entertainment handled the show's American localization. The episodes were heavily edited for content and length; 4Kids has been described by Destructoid as being "infamous" among anime fans for this type of overzealous editing. 4Kids removed alcohol consumption, coarse language, instances of breaking the fourth wall, and numerous sexual innuendos. Unlike some other series that 4Kids translated around the time, Sonic X suffered no full episodes being cut. Producer Michael J. Haigney personally disliked realistic violence in children's programs, but had not intended to make massive changes himself. Instead, he was bound by Fox Broadcasting Company's strict guidelines, which forbid content such as smoking and strong violence.
4Kids found new voice actors rather than using those from the games, with auditions beginning in early 2003. Beginning with Shadow the Hedgehog, the cast of Sonic X would assume their respective voice roles in all Sonic games released between 2005 and 2010, at which point all the roles were recast with the exception of Mike Pollock as Eggman.
Cast[]
| Image | Character | Seiyū | Dub Actor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Characters | |||
|
Sonic the Hedgehog | Jun'ichi Kanemaru | Jason Griffith |
|
Chris Thorndyke | Sanae Kobayashi (young) |
Suzanne Goldish |
|
Masakazu Morita (adult) |
Michael Sinterniklaas | |
|
Tails | Ryō Hirohashi | Amy Palant |
|
Knuckles | Nobutoshi Canna | Dan Green |
|
Cream | Sayaka Aoki | Rebecca Honig |
|
Cheese | Ryō Hirohashi | |
|
Amy Rose | Taeko Kawata | Lisa Ortiz |
|
Shadow | Koji Yusa | Jason Griffith |
|
Rouge | Rumi Ochiai | Kathleen Delaney |
|
Cosmo | Etsuko Kozakura | Amy Birnbaum |
| Villains | |||
|
Dr. Eggman | Chikao Ōtsuka | Mike Pollock |
|
Bocoe | Bin Shimada | Darren Dunstan |
|
Decoe | Ken Yamaguchi | Andrew Rannells |
|
Bokkun | Yumiko Kobayashi | |
|
Dark Oak | Jōji Nakata | Matt Hoverman |
|
Black Narcissus | Ken Narita | Sean Schemmel |
|
Red Pine | Hōchū Ōtsuka | Jonathan Todd Ross |
|
Pale Bay Leaf | Jūrōta Kosugi | Jim Napolitano |
|
Yellow Zelkova | Takeshi Watabe | Ted Lewis |
| Secondary Characters | |||
|
Chuck Thorndyke | Bin Shimada | Jack Quevas |
|
Ella | Kujira | Mike Pollock |
|
Mr. Tanaka | Naoki Imamura | Darren Dunstan |
|
Nelson Thorndyke | Ken Yamaguchi | Ted Lewis |
|
Lindsay Thorndyke | Naomi Shindō | Veronica Taylor |
|
Sam Speed | Soichirō Tanaka | Greg Abbey |
|
President | Tomohisa Asō | Ted Lewis |
|
Christine Cooper | Kumiko Izumi | Lisa Ortiz |
|
Jerome Wise | Kōji Haramaki | David Lapkin |
|
Mr. Stewart | Michio Nakao | Andrew Rannells |
|
Topaz | Yukari Hikida | Jennifer C. Johnson |
|
Scarlet Garcia | Yuka Shioyama | Megan Hollingshead |
|
Frances | Kerry Williams | |
|
Danny | Naomi Shindō | Rachael Lillis |
|
Helen | Noriko Hidaka | Amy Birnbaum |
|
Principal | Yasuhiko Tokuyama | Maddie Blaustein |
|
Vector | Kenta Miyake | James Carter Cathcart |
|
Charmy | Yōko Teppouzuka | Amy Birnbaum |
|
Espio | Yūki Masuda | David Wills |
|
Big | Takashi Nagasako | Oliver Wyman |
|
Vanilla | Sayaka Aoki | Rebecca Honig |
| Other Characters | |||
|
Maria Robotnik | Yuri Shiratori | Rebecca Honig |
|
Professor Gerald Robotnik | Chikao Ōtsuka | Mike Pollock |
|
Tikal | Kaori Asō | Rebecca Honig |
|
Pachacamac | Toshihiko Nakajima | Oliver Wyman |
|
Gamma | Taiten Kusunoki | Andrew Rannells |
|
Hawk | Takeharu Ōnishi | Oliver Wyman |
|
Galaxina | Michiko Neya | Erica Schroeder |
|
Lucas | Katsuyuki Konishi | Matt Hoverman |
|
Molly | Hōko Kuwashima | Erica Schroeder |
|
Leon | Yūki Taki | Greg Abbey |
| Others | |||
| Narrator | Andrew Rannells | ||
Additional Voices[]
Music[]
- Opening/Closing: "Gotta Go Fast"
- Produced by: Joe Garrity, Norman J. Grossfeld, Russell Velázquez
- Written by: Russell Velázquez
- Vocals: Russell Velázquez
Notes[]
- The voice actor for Sonic at the time, Ryan Drummond, offered to voice Sonic for the dub, but was rejected by 4Kids for not living in New York. Eventually, Drummond was removed 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 shortly before the death of Deem Bristow, the previous voice actor for Dr. Eggman. Allegedly, he was only told when he asked if he would be needed for voice recordings in Shadow the Hedgehog from the beginning. Even though Drummond wanted to continue voicing Sonic, he was declined to voicing him for Shadow the Hedgehog, which resulted in many complaints from fans of the previous voice cast.
- Months after the series began dubbing, Sonic Battle, Sonic Heroes, and Sonic Advance 3 would be sent to dub in San Diego, so by that time four Sega projects were being carried out in two different dubbing studios.
- The popularity of the series in the United States and France resulted in a third season being produced. In Japan, the series suffered from poor ratings, and thus this season was never aired on TV or released on DVD, though was available through rental streaming services.
- The English and Japanese versions of the episodes were made available for viewing on YouTube by 4Kids, before their channel was taken down. Both versions of the episodes are currently available to watch on Hulu.
- Sonic X was added to Netflix on December 1, 2019. However, only season 1 and 2 are available without adding the Metarex saga, it is unknown if the third season will be added to Netflix soon, although it is available on Hulu, YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.
Transmission[]
| Date(s) | Channel | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003-2008 | FOX (FoxBox/4Kids TV) |
United States | 
|
| 2003-2006 | Cartoon Network | ||
| 2003-2008 | YTV | Canada | 
|
| 2003 | CBC | ||
| 2003-2004 | TVNZ | New Zealand | 
|
| 2004-2006 | CITV | United Kingdom | 
|
| 2004-2008 | Jetix | ||
| 2004-2005 | Network Ten | Australia | 
|
| 2005-2008 | Central | Singapore | 
|
| 2006-2007 | Seven Network | Australia |
|
| 2009-2014 | The CW (CW4Kids/Toonzai/Vortex) |
United States |
|
Video Releases[]
| Distributor | Year | Format | Contents | Region | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FUNimation Entertainment | 2004-2006 | 
|
Episodes 1-52 | 1 NTSC |
United States |
|
| 10 Volumes | ||||||
| 2006-2009 | The Complete Series | |||||
| 6 Volumes | ||||||
| Discotek Media | 2016 | The Complete Series | ||||
| 2 Volumes | ||||||
| 2019 | 
|
The Complete Series* | ||||
| 2 Discs | ||||||
*Standard Definition Blu-Ray
