Voice Actors

[TwoTailedFox]

I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!

This reminds me, did anyone ever figure out who was Sonic's voice in Sonic Schoolhouse?

Nice cat btw.

Thank you

Edited June 11, 2011 by TwoTailedFox

[Tobbii]

I'll do a check but I don't think so.

[Vertekins]

This reminds me, did anyone ever figure out who was Sonic's voice in Sonic Schoolhouse?

The sole voice credits to that piece of software go to a "Meg Inglima" so like Sonic CD, it appears that Sonic was voiced by a woman

[Tobbii]

The sole voice credits to that piece of software go to a "Meg Inglima" so like Sonic CD, it appears that Sonic was voiced by a woman

I was just about to write that, yeah Meg Inglima is the only voice actress listed. her voice was probably distorted to both Sonic and the Clock.

[Mega]

You guys are forgetting Sonic's voice as you truly imagined it!

EDIT: Fixed the link. Idk what it was before.

Edited June 11, 2011 by Mega

[TwoTailedFox]

The sole voice credits to that piece of software go to a "Meg Inglima" so like Sonic CD, it appears that Sonic was voiced by a woman

I was just about to write that, yeah Meg Inglima is the only voice actress listed. her voice was probably distorted to both Sonic and the Clock.

So, Sonic has been voiced by a woman twice? That's 2 more times than I ever expected And 3, if you count that one from Sonic Live in Sydney. (I think it was Paula Arundell?)

[Tobbii]

Obvioulsy we shoudln't forget the latest actor playing Sonic:

[Eternal EX]

You guys are forgetting Sonic's voice as you truly imagined it!

EDIT: Fixed the link. Idk what it was before.

Best commercial.....Wait I got one better. Oh the childhood.

"my bad"

[DC111]

So you prefer Drummond because of Nostalgia.

Why can't you just say that. Objectively, RCS is a far better actor. Drummond has value because he was Sonic's first voice actor, meaning he played part in your childhood. However, think about it this way. Jaleel White was somebody's childhood Sonic. Griffith was somebody's childhood Sonic and RCS undoubtedly will be somebody's childhood Sonic.

Also SA1 had some truely woeful acting in it. The abominable script didn't help things either.

Exactly what needed to be said. As much as I liked Drummond, just because he was the first main voice actor for game-Sonic doesn't mean he automatically has rights or precedence over the others.

Also the voice doesn't affect the series at all, because ALL of the cutscenes are skippable. If it bugs you SO much, then just don't watch the cutscenes.

Though I have to disagree with this. Skipping cutscenes doesn't solve the problem for people who actually want to know what's going on in the story.

[TheDanimator]

Wow, I actually REALLY like Sonics voice in that commercial... Am i weird?

Btw, yes, there is nostaglia with drummonds voice but that really isnt why i like it the best.

[Nepenthe]

That's what wiki sites are for, DC!

And I know the subject of dubbing is probably a dead horse, but I'm curious: Don't Japanese voice actors essentially dub their lines? As I understand it, the standard practice of creating a show over there is to actually finish the animation first, then have the voice actors try to time their dialogue as perfectly as possible. If that's true and we're going to devalue the talent of western anime/game voice actors because dubbing is easy as to warrant no effort, aren't you also saying that the entire Japanese voice acting industry is completely devoid of talent? Wouldn't this also be a slight against Ryan's performance as Sonic too? He didn't perform to western conventions where he had to do all of the acting first. He dubbed his lines over the cutscenes, so why does he get a free pass and Jason and Roger don't?

I don't know. This equation that dubbing is indicative of the talent of a voice actor is a huge slippery slope to me.

Edited June 12, 2011 by Nepenthe

[Ryusuke]

That's what wiki sites are for, DC!

And I know the subject of dubbing is probably a dead horse, but I'm curious: Don't Japanese voice actors essentially dub their lines? As I understand it, the standard practice of creating a show over there is to actually finish the animation first, then have the voice actors try to time their dialogue as perfectly as possible. If that's true and we're going to devalue the talent of western anime/game voice actors because dubbing is easy as to warrant no effort, aren't you also saying that the entire Japanese voice acting industry is completely devoid of talent? Wouldn't this also be a slight against Ryan's performance as Sonic too? He didn't perform to western conventions where he had to do all of the acting first. He dubbed his lines over the cutscenes, so why does he get a free pass and Jason and Roger don't?

I don't know. This equation that dubbing is indicative of the talent of a voice actor is a huge slippery slope to me.

It's true. That's pretty much a standard practice in most anime.

[-Mark-]

I prefer Sonic's Japanese voice first and foremost.

As for the English voices, I think that Roger is a better actor than both Ryan and Jason, and between Ryan and Jason I don't have much of a preference.

[Ferno]

That's what wiki sites are for, DC!

And I know the subject of dubbing is probably a dead horse, but I'm curious: Don't Japanese voice actors essentially dub their lines? As I understand it, the standard practice of creating a show over there is to actually finish the animation first, then have the voice actors try to time their dialogue as perfectly as possible. If that's true and we're going to devalue the talent of western anime/game voice actors because dubbing is easy as to warrant no effort, aren't you also saying that the entire Japanese voice acting industry is completely devoid of talent? Wouldn't this also be a slight against Ryan's performance as Sonic too? He didn't perform to western conventions where he had to do all of the acting first. He dubbed his lines over the cutscenes, so why does he get a free pass and Jason and Roger don't?

I don't know. This equation that dubbing is indicative of the talent of a voice actor is a huge slippery slope to me.

I forgot about this...

Yeah, this is pretty much what they do. Animation's pretty much completed, and they usually dub over it afterwards. Another thing to mention is they all do it together at the same time. Must be quicker.

Edited June 12, 2011 by Inferno

[Phos]

I just noticed something: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese voice of the Werehog, if you weren't paying attention) is the Japanese voice of Ezio, who is voiced by Roger Craig Smith in English.

[Kuzu]

I just noticed something: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese voice of the Werehog, if you weren't paying attention) is the Japanese voice of Ezio, who is voiced by Roger Craig Smith in English.

Holy shit, really?

[TwoTailedFox]

Holy shit, really?

According to Wikipedia, yes, yes he is. Although, maybe I'm just weird, but I don't find what's so strange? If RCS had voiced the Werehog, yeah, I would find that interesting. But he didn't.

[Nepenthe]

The interesting thing about it is that both Tomokazu and Roger have voiced both Sonic and Ezio during their careers, which is enough of a weird set of roles to play that one must wonder what the odds of that having happened even were. Overall though, the voice acting industry seems to be a small world anyways, and certain role connections can be found all the time if you're willing to look into that sort of thing. Or sometimes, certain actors are not only shoe-horned into certain roles, but constantly paired up with another actor that makes a good foil. It's just a fun thing to follow.

[Sean]

Back in the days of my more incessant Sonic fanboyism, I once sent an email to Jun'ichi Kanemaru and got a response from him, and an autograph.

So yeah I'm more attached to him than any other VA in the series, but I still like how Takeshi Kusao was involved once upon a time.

[Kuzu]

Back in the days of my more incessant Sonic fanboyism, I once sent an email to Jun'ichi Kanemaru and got a response from him, and an autograph.

So yeah I'm more attached to him than any other VA in the series, but I still like how Takeshi Kusao was involved once upon a time.

Dude that's amazing, I didn't know Junichi was so involved in the fanbase, he just earned my respect.

Really I like actors who are both good at their job, and are in touch with their fanbase and so far Smith has done both, not that Griffith had a reason to be involved with the fanbase at the time(Jesus), but he and Drummond wern't exactly vocal with their fans.

Smith usually has a few remarks about his role, and even takes a few pics like when he went to E3.

[sonfan1984]

Ryan Drummond used to be my favorite voice actor for Sonic before Roger C Smith came along. I think he does a much better job and I loved his performance in Colors and I'm looking forward to hearing more of what he can do in Generations and future games. I also love the "low" voice that he had in Colors. It makes Sonic sound more confident and cool. Ryan Drummond had giving Sonic a low voice in SA1 and it's the reason why I liked him in the first place so I was disappointed when he heighten his pitch in SA2 and Heroes.

[SonikkuJeneshisu89]

Let's see there's a lot of Sonic voices that I've liked over time. My absolute favorite now and forever voice for Sonic is Junichi Kanemaru he's just amazing, very talented man. He's very good at portraying Sonic and his personality. He can make Sonic sound adorable and funny and also very serious and intense. His voice is deep but not so deep that he makes Sonic sound like he's in his 20's. He to me sounds like the perfect Sonic and the voice suits the character and the characters age perfectly. As for American voice acting I really love Ryan Drummond as Sonic, back in the Dreamcast Era he gave Sonic the attitude and personality that matched his new look.

He really made Sonic sound like a badass teenager with attitude. He got into his lines and everything was believable and good, the only downfall was making things cheesy every now and then. I think his highest peak at voicing Sonic was Sonic Adventure 2. He sounded absolutely fantastic in that game, he got so into his lines that while watching the cutscenes his voice made everything that was happening more believable. He got so into the part that you really felt this was something coming out of Sonic's mouth. In Heroes though his performance wasn't as great in my opinion I don't know how to really explain it but at times he just sounded a little different or off in someway and the cheesy lines did not help. I loved him in Adventure 1 as well. When Jason Griffith replaced him when it first happened I was so damn mad.

I really till this day can't stand Jason's voice as Sonic and felt like he killed my childhood hero in a way. I've always held a huge grudge against Jason as Sonic. He just sounds off, his voice just doesn't suit Sonic at all to me and his poor acting and laughter in Sonic 06 and Sonic X did not help. To be fair I agree he has gotten much better over time, he was great in Sonic Unleashed, I just don't feel his voice suited Sonic's character like at all. I also hate how he over emphasis's certain phrases. I'll admit I really liked him as Shadow however I liked David Humphrey much more. He was able to voice Shadow really well although making him sound really angsty I thought he did a good job. Jet the Hawk though was extremely annoying for me and I hated the character completely until I played Zero Gravity and played the game with the Japanese voices.

Jet sounds really awesome and cool minded in the Japanese Dub. I'll admit Jet's new American voice sucks and I'd gladly take Jason back. I like Jason I think he has the potential to be a great actor and just needs more practice and experience. But I just didn't like him as Sonic I really didn't. I didn't feel he portrayed Sonic very well and I felt like the Sonic I knew and loved was a different person. This has nothing to do with Ryan though just to make that clear its just how I hear and interpret the voice altogether it just didn't sound like Sonic to me. Jaleel White is an amazingly talented actor and voice actor and I grew up with his voice as Sonic since I was two years old so of course I love his voice as Sonic.

He did a great job at making Sonic sound like a young fun loving 15 year old boy and also was good at voicing Sonic feeling sad in sad moments in AOSTH and Satam. His voice is very fitting and believable as Sonic to me and I'd love to see him voice Sonic again. Hearing him in the upcoming Sonic Fan Film made me all excited like a little kid, because he still has it and heck now he sounds even more like a young teenage Sonic. I really enjoy his voice he's good at making Sonic goofy, or sad and serious. Martin Burke had really good potential with voicing Sonic in the OVA but the downfall was the extremely nasal sounding voice he was using. I don't know why they had all the American voices sound so nasal like they had a cold in that movie but if Martin lost the nasal he probably would've sounded really good as Sonic.

I love Roger Craig Smith's voice as Sonic I think his voice also suits the character well. He's a talented actor with a lot of experience and range. I've heard him do more higher pitched voices along with lower pitched he can really go anywhere. A lot of people I know think he makes Sonic sound to old but I think he sounds great and in Generations from what I could hear from Modern's gameplay he's improved a lot as Sonic since Colours. It sounds like he made the voice a little bit more higher pitched and I think he hit the perfect spot where he makes Sonic sound like a young 15 year old boy while also still sounding mature. I really liked Masami Kikuchi in the Japanese Dub of Sonic OVA he's right there in 2nd place next to Junichi.

What's funny is they sound somewhat alike too. He also gave Sonic a certain attitude and the voice suited the character and his age quite well in my opinion. He was good at being serious and I loved his voice in goofy segments of the film such as them running from Black Eggman. I'm probably going to be the only person here who will say they love Keiko Utoku's voice as Sonic from Sonic CD. The small sound bits of voice we hear in CD "Yes!" "Yeah!" "Alright!" and "I'm outta here!" sounds like a really good and believable voice for Sonic to me. Sure its not much and obscure but the sound seems very fitting for Classic Sonic to me. I can totally hear a full sentence or conversation coming out of (Sonic CD Art Styled) Sonic's mouth and totally loving it.

[TheDanimator]

I still wonder if it was drummonds decision to make sonic higher pitched in adventure 2 and heroes.

Although I love higher pitched voices for sonic.

Both Roger and Ryan have pulled off lower pitces.

[Nepenthe]

I would imagine Ryan and co. were subject to a lot of voice direction considering they were dubbing for the Adventures, although since Heroes' animation was synced to English dialogue, they probably gave them all a bit of a longer leash.

But speaking of Heroes, remember that line Sonic says when they reach the Egg Fleet? Something like, "Alright Eggman. Let's get this party started." The way he says it is just so foreboding and badass, such a damn highlight that it makes the teamwork drivel that much more disappointing. And going back through those SA2 voice snippets you posted, I have to admit, his actual acting wasn't as bad as I began to believe it was....

*sighs* Once I get through Unleashed, I may have to revisit SA2.

[TheDanimator]

@SonikkuGenesis89

Your a man that knows what hes talking about.

I agree with 99% of what you said.

@Nepenthe

As I said, I really feel like Drummond is looked at as bad sometimes for totally unfair reasons...

In SA2 the game had REALLY BAD leveling issues, the music would constantly drown out the voices...

One person I talked to described Drummond as sounding Unemotional in this scene at the part where he says

"Ill slam dunk it in there!"

IMO drummond sounds GREAT, but its hard to hear him, which isnt his fault....

How can you hear the emotion put into the a line you can barely hear?

Thats just unfair to say.

I still say anyone who thought Jason did a great job as Sonic simply has some issues with who they think Sonic is.

Ive been a Sonic fan since the VERY BEGGINING, and I just dont see why ANYONE would think Jason captured Sonic. Im truly not insulting people who like Jason but yeah...

And too be fair he OCCASIONALLY captured Sonics personality, it was just rare.

I also hate it when im browsing through Sonic Colors comments and I see people saying...

"I hate it how Sonic is full of himself in this game"

Ive got news for you people, SONIC IS SUPPOSED TO BE FULL OF HIMSELF.

Its part of his personality.

Thats not to say he doesnt care about others though.

Also, based off my experience with people ive talked to, the MAJORITY of people who like Jason's Sonic played a game where Jason was sonic FIRST.

IT IS INCREDIBLY rare that I talk to someone who grew up with Sonic that prefers Jason, although I there are people out there like that. Its just rare.

There is a reason for this.