Sonic X discussion

[stardust89]

Last time i watched it was 2 years ago, but I remember not really liking it. It just felt off. I mean Chris Thorndykes face plastered in every scene didnt raise my opinion. I didnt particularly care for the voice acting either and I didnt want to watch it in Japanese to avoid it. Ive seen most of the show with the exception of some episodes in season 3. As soon as Cosmo came in I started to lose patience. Chris Thorndyke ruined a lot of the show for me though. But even without Chris Thorndyke the show was pretty bland in my opinion.

[wolf4537]

Plus the background signage is great. And have you HEARD episode 52 in Japanese? Have you HEARD the random use of two 80's love-ballad-style Japanese songs? It's great! Man I'd love to see someone do a MegaDrive version of these, to use as credits themes in ROM Hacks like Sweet Dreams in Sonic 2.

 

Yep, Sonic X is still one of my all time favorite anime series because it was this series that got me into this particular music from this Folk group. I now pretty much have every CD that this group has ever made, and they are my most played music group too on my Last FM.

Have you heard of any of the other songs Off Course has made? Here's one I like, but it's hard to really link any songs since they usually get taken down for copyright issues:

Edited September 23, 2015 by wolf4537

[Paradoxal Gradient]

I only started watching anime around a year ago, and I'm thinking of giving Sonic X a chance. Dub or Sub? Soundtrack? Are the story arcs decent? Should I skip any arcs? 

 

[Failinhearts]

As a person who was introduced to the franchise via the English dub... I still wouldn't say you would go for it. The sub seems much better, especially in terms of the soundtrack in my opinion.

I haven't seen the show in a while, so I couldn't really give an expert opinion on the arcs.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Sub, for sure. And this is coming from a guy who usually only watches dubs if he has the option, but the 4kids version is a horribly watered down and just plain emotionless version of the show.

 

...that said, I wouldn't say that the best version of the show is necessarily great, either. The animation slowly causes the characters over it's run to melt into hard-to-recognize anomalies of Sonic characters, and the added characters (other than Cosmo and the Metarex and Seedrians, I don't mind them) are just plain annoying and I feel they don't add much to the plot other than being baggage for Sonic to carry about.

[Tailikku]

I really didn't expect a revival to this topic, but I do recall chatting with Mike on Facebook, comparing his "Even Evil has Standards" line as Eggman to how the late Chikao Ohtsuka breifly broke character and ranted about how the show has a low mortality rate.  I got a good chuckle out of him

[Tara]

4Kids is notorious for their abysmal dubs that overflow with pointless, stupid edits that completely change the narrative context and meaning of the show without offering anything even half as good to compromise.  With that said, the sub is definitely the better of the two products, but both versions have their share of oddities, to say the least.

[caseykz]

On 04/01/2016 at 9:51 AM, Paradoxal Gradient said:

I only started watching anime around a year ago, and I'm thinking of giving Sonic X a chance. Dub or Sub? Soundtrack? Are the story arcs decent? Should I skip any arcs? 

I dont know. Everyone said season 3 wasnt good. So i didnt watch all of it. Episode 65 was great though. 

[Toa Axis]

The only episode of this show that I remember in detail is when Shadow raided Sonic's ship and proceeded to kick everyone's ass.

Cool that we have a topic for it. I sort of feel compelled to rewatch some episodes.

[Cuz]

Season 3 is going to be divisive. It's a marked departure from the rest of the show, and if you've come to like the earthbound adventures the change is probably going to be jarring , but in doing so they knocked everyone's biggest complaints down a peg (Chris, and other original supporting characters, finally took a backseat to everyone else). Yeah there's Cosmo but she's generally more liked then Chris ever was.

On a personal note it had a good chunk of standout episodes. Shadow sieging the typhoon, and the Chaotix running a speak-easy are some of my favorites. Before this season Shadow went back on ice after the SA2 Arc and the Chaotix had... maybe one guest staring episode?

[E-122-Psi]

Some problems from the original seasons still remained. The Flanderization was still worse than ever. Amy was even more of an obnoxious psychopath, Knuckles was the team's punching bag who was always bullied into being wrong, Shadow and Rouge kept interchanging between being forgiven allies and borderline evil, and Sonic was even blander a figurehead than before, especially since Tails often took over as the main protagonist (and unfortunately wasn't much more colourful about it). The mood whiplash went into overdrive in that season as well, to the point it was kinda uneasy to watch.

I also felt most of the season was as formulaic as the others, just even worse since it was limited to the goings on inside a space ship most of the time.

To be honest am I the only one who I always thought the Meterax were overrated antagonists as well? They were like the games' alternatives, sure they were competent, but they rather boring compared to Eggman.

[Cuz]

Oh Knuckles Flanderization was indeed at its worst, don't recall Amy's psycho temper coming up much though, and I haven't heard many complaints regarding Rouge and Shadow. I would be interested in hearing more. I could see it with Rouge, most of X does an alright job developing her as a government agent undermining Robotnik so falling in with him at this point is pretty left field.

1 hour ago, E-122-Psi said:

To be honest am I the only one who I always thought the Meterax were overrated antagonists as well? They were like the games' alternatives, sure they were competent, but they rather boring compared to Eggman.

 

Have to agree. For most of the season they're generic though with a handful of horrific actions (no doubt attributing to the mood whiplash). Yellow Zelkova was the only one with any life to him, but he doesn't last long.

[DaddlerTheDalek]

My only real problems with Sonic X where too much Chris, Psycho Amy, Punchbag Knuckles & Chuck Norris Sonic.

[Bolt]

Sonic X was what really cemented my hate for the character of Sonic...

Yes, I was just a kid/young teen watching it on TV occasionally when nothing else was on, but damn, I can't recall Sonic doing anything in that show that make him likeable to me...

[Kuzu]

13 minutes ago, Bolt said:

Sonic X was what really cemented my hate for the character of Sonic...

Yes, I was just a kid/young teen watching it on TV occasionally when nothing else was on, but damn, I can't recall Sonic doing anything in that show that make him likeable to me...

He barely did anything at all to make you hate him either tho :V

[Bolt]

1 minute ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

He barely did anything at all to make you hate him either tho :V

A lot of people hate characters for no reason at all, let me have an excuse at least. ;P

[Kuzu]

Just now, Bolt said:

A lot of people hate characters for no reason at all, let me have an excuse at least. ;P

:\

I don't really agree with that because you don't just randomly dislike something without reason, but fine.

[Bolt]

14 minutes ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

:\

I don't really agree with that because you don't just randomly dislike something without reason, but fine.

No, I have plenty of reason. I always found him to be an arrogant asshole, and it felt like the universe worshipped him, just to name a couple. It's been several years since I have watched the series, so I can't recall any others or events in detail, but Sonic's massive ego has always been a negative towards him in my eyes. Yes, that's his character, but a lot of media inflates that a bit too extremely for my taste!

Sorry if I seem a bit jaded or something, just bad at explaining.

[Kuzu]

6 minutes ago, Bolt said:

No, I have plenty of reason. I always found him to be an arrogant asshole, and it felt like the universe worshipped him, just to name a couple. It's been several years since I have watched the series, so I can't recall any others or events in detail, but Sonic's massive ego has always been a negative towards him in my eyes. Yes, that's his character, but a lot of media inflates that a bit too extremely for my taste!

Sorry if I seem a bit jaded or something, just bad at explaining.

Well, at least you explained it. *shrug* I could understand if this was the comics where he is admittedly more of an asshole there, but Sonic in X is probably the least arrogant...if only because he really doesn't get much screentime to be arrogant lol. But eh, he's the main character, so the world will kind of bend for him to an extent. Guess not everybody likes that.

[Bolt]

11 minutes ago, Kuzu the Boloedge said:

Well, at least you explained it. *shrug* I could understand if this was the comics where he is admittedly more of an asshole there, but Sonic in X is probably the least arrogant...if only because he really doesn't get much screentime to be arrogant lol. But eh, he's the main character, so the world will kind of bend for him to an extent. Guess not everybody likes that.

Honestly I've always had a thing against a lot of main characters for the same reason, the universe bending to them and making them always the center of attention. Granted, I am aware this is more a feature of main characters versus a bug or something, but eh, opinions. I don't always dislike main characters, and some just get on my nerves more than others! I never watched all that much of Sonic X in the end as it always made me angry.

[E-122-Psi]

He is kinda insufferable in a passive sort of way I suppose. I mean you get he's a nice guy and the hero and deserves to come out on top and everything, but he doesn't really have much about him to elicit sympathy. He's so invincible and perfect and smugly aware of it that you almost find yourself rooting for any opposer to take him down a peg and make him fight for his perch for once (something that at least happens palpable times in the other continuities). It's sorta the same guilty feeling contempt you get with Bugs Bunny or the Road Runner, you're the hero, but you're too good at it, so you're no fun.

He did kinda ruin a lot of scenes with how unstoppable and Ace-ish he was at times. A lot of the game adaptations were ruined by far more anti climatic battles. He completely humiliated Perfect Chaos, and Eggman's brilliant near miss in SA2 was ruined by him being calm and already in control, you know he'd already figured a way out and it completely spoiled the drama. A shame because that was the nearest Eggman got to being completely ruthless ("What a pity!").

8 hours ago, Cuz said:

Oh Knuckles Flanderization was indeed at its worst, don't recall Amy's psycho temper coming up much though, and I haven't heard many complaints regarding Rouge and Shadow. I would be interested in hearing more. I could see it with Rouge, most of X does an alright job developing her as a government agent undermining Robotnik so falling in with him at this point is pretty left field.

They tended to do the whole abusive Tsundere gag with her more and more as the series went on, with EVERYONE being afraid to drop a pin around her. This happened from the start, but in more moderated doses, and at least she had a more palpable number of softer moments to balance it out. Even when she wasn't outright psychotic in Season Three, she was usually just loudmouthed and rude to everyone.

As for Shadow and Rouge, you have to admit it was skewed that the team HAPPILY asked them to join the team right after Shadow had tried to kill Cosmo in all but sadistic enjoyment. You'd think they'd be at least a tad wary.

[Kuzu]

Eeeeeehhhhh, I guess? I dunno. Maybe its because I feel like his arrogance is justified, because Sonic really is as good as he thinks he is but he doesn't really laud it over anyone...most of the time. That and he's chill and down to earth to kinda balance it out. I suppose that's just kind of the inherent problem when the entire supporting cast, including the villain, being pretty inferior to the main character. It makes you want to root for the underdog because you know the hero is already superior, so why bother getting behind them. 

I guess that's why the supporting cast tend to get all of the fleshing out and focus and whatnot.

[E-122-Psi]

My irritance with Sonic X Sonic is less a contempt for this sort of character, but more they took an already endearing character and reduced him to this blander archetype. There are versions of Sonic I find much worse.

I liked the comic adaptation because they made him more vibrant again (and thus more often the actual lead). He was like what the anime version could have been if they gave him more character focus.

[Kuzu]

My only real problem with Sonic is that we don't see enough of him lol. He really does feel like a plot device most of the time.

[E-122-Psi]

I feel they could have nerfed his power a bit, he made battles boring in how he could just charge through everything. I would have liked more times he was forced to outsmart a villain like in other medias (even the games make clear he requires actual strategy in how he uses his powers). Otherwise we just needed a bit of his flawed side shown more, like more cases not everything was going his way.

As said the comic of the show supplied a fair bit of both and he seemed more colourful as a result.