8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb Anime Cartoon!, May 15, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Sonic X - A Super Sonic Hero (Vol. 1) (Edited) (DVD)
Sonic X is really Excellent and very faithful to the games. Perfect for any sonic fan young or old. It Starts out when Sonic goes to Dr. Eggman's base to rescue Cream and Cheese. when he arrives, he learns that Eggman has collected all 7 Chaos Emeralds and put them in a powerful machine. Eggman accidentally activates it causing it to malfunction and set off a blast of "Chaos Control" set off by the Emeralds,sending Sonic and his pals(even Eggman) to a Strange new world. while there Sonic meets a lonely boy named, Chris. he later gets reunited with his friends, Tails,Knuckles,Amy,Cream,and Cheese(and his enemy Eggman).together they try to collect the 7 Chaos Emeralds before Eggman does, so they can get home.(SPOILERS) But I here later stuff happens like adaptions to Sonic Adventure 1&2, Sonic Battle, and maybe Sonic Heroes. I'm excited about those.
PROS
They've got the all the characters in the right roles.
Great Animation and Effects.
NOT produced by DiC(shudder).It's all anime.
CONS
I'm not too fond of the English Version. 4kids gave it different voices,not the same actors from the games, and they put in a different music track(I liked the original Japanese version better). the editing hurts the show alot.
Overall it's good to watch. Nothing to hate about it, except for the cons I said.Anyway, To Heck with the comics and the other sonic cartoons! This is the one for you!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Review of the Series and the DVD, February 9, 2006
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Sonic X - A Super Sonic Hero (Vol. 1) (Edited) (DVD)
Sega's beloved Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has finally received the television treatment once again. After the simultanueously-running Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) and Adventures Of (AoStH) series in 1993, the incredibly alternate-universe Sonic Underground in 1998, and an underrated direct-to-video movie in 1999, Sonic triumphantly (cough) returns to the small screen. So, just how exactly does Sonic X stack up against the other shows?
Well, for starters, it's a whole lot more Japanese. True, while the actual Sonic characters look exactly like the Sonic Adventure promo art, everything else looks pretty much like the standard anime "every human must look just alike" junk (anime fans, go ahead and say this review isn't helpful). I greatly preferred the art style of previous Sonic animation ventures, especially the movie (even though it was an anime, it didn't have that normal crapime look).
Also, a potential T-Rex of a show has been stuffed to the brim with Barney dolls, had its teeth removed, and painted pink to make it "Saturday Morning Suitable!" Don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to glorify inappropriate content, it's just that something that older audiences would enjoy just as much would be great. In addition, the show contains some of most dull jokes ever cracked on television, such as the diving bell joke in later episodes. Please, people, can we have some real jokes?
Then there's the original characters. No, there's nothing wrong with original characters, but come on! Chris Thorndyke (like they couldn't have picked a better last name) often takes over main characters' roles entirely in adaptation episodes! You will be put to sleep by the two-dimensional original characters, including Chris (who has so much screen time compared to the actual Sonic characters that the show should probably be called Chris X), Danny, Helen (Chris's equally annoying friends), Ella, Tanaka (the Thorndykes' servants), and my personal least favorite, Grandpa Chuck, with his smarter-than-Tails-and-Eggman-combined-ness and irritating personality. Original characters like the above and Sally (StH), Sonia (SU), and Manic (SU) were okay "back in the day" when the games didn't have plots, but now, we want the REAL main characters. Also, there are so many plot inconsistancies with the games, such as Chaos Control being Eggman's tower base instead of the force that teleports the gang to earth in the beginning, and the fact that, in the games, Sonic and friends are earthlings, while they are aliens from another planet in X. While this is acceptable before Sega changed the setting from Mobius to Earth in 1999's Sonic Adventure game, it's simply confusing why they would do such a weird thing. Eggman is also portrayed as a bumbling idiot instead of an actual threat.
The one aspect where Sonic X stands tall is voice actors. All of the voice actors are about a hundred times better than the game actors. Amy's awful, constantly flat-toned VA in the games is replaced by a much better VA who can show a wide range of emotions. Jason Griffith (Sonic, Shadow) is about equal to Ryan Drummond (games) and the Shadow game voice actor. Dan Green (Knuckles) is most likely known for voicing Yugi, Yami, YamiYugi, Yu-Gi-Oh, YugiYami, or whatever the heck his name is on The WB's Yu-Gi-Oh. He is an excellent Knuckles. The only problems I have with the cast are Tails (sounds like a girl) and Rouge (stinky VA in both games and X). Fortunately, all the actors have been used in the recent Shadow the Hedgehog game, in which Jason Griffith is a much better Sonic and Dan Green seems to have his Yugi Motou voice turned on.
My ranting about the series over, I would simply like to say one thing and move on to the actual DVD review: Games > Movie > StH = the Archie Sonic comic series > Sonic X > AoStH. I don't know about Sonic Underground.
Now, the actual DVD review. Individual reviews for each of the episodes.
1.1: Chaos Control Freaks: The premiere episode. A weak episode on all fronts, it shows no promise for the rest of the series. Most of the episode is one non-stop action sequence with little story until the very end, where Sonic meets Chris and exchanges ridiculous banter with him, leading to a weak and abrupt ending. An episode only worth watching for its lack of Chris. 2/5.
1.2: Sonic to the Rescue: Too. Much. Chris. Who is this little idiot kid stealing all of Sonic's screen time? What is he doing to the series? Grandpa Chuck is supposed to be smart, but he instantly believes Chris about Sonic being a blue, bipedal, talking hedgehog? The DVD box promises a shocking last-minute surprise. Surprise? You're kidding. Gee, Eggman's here too! Well, DUH! More of the same "95% action, 5% story" formula that made the last one so "good." Oh well. At least it brought Cream and Tails in. If we're lucky, Chris will be gone by next episode. 2/5
1.3: Missile Wrist Rampage: Guess what? Chris is still here. But even with Chris, this is by far the best episode on the entire DVD. Missle Wrist Rampage delivers a heaping-helping of Amy and Knuckles, two of the more well-written characters on the show, and keeps the focus on the story for the most part, while still delivering a fast-paced action sequence near the end. This is also the first episode to imply any "more-than-friends" relationships with the characters, with some Sonic/Amy hints as well as what might be considered Knuckles/Amy in some places. Dan Green (Knuckles) delivers an excelllent performance, adding to the episode's greatness. While not Joss Whedon-esque (note to the uninformed: Joss Whedon is a television god) television gold, it's easily television bronze. 4/5.
Bonus Episode: Pure Chaos: Pure Chaos takes place some time at the beginning of Season 2. Guess what? CHRIS IS STILL HERE, and he's more annoying than ever. Eggman unleashes Chaos (a Chaos energy god in the games, but one of his creations here; most likely changed for the US to prevent religious groups from killing the show, although they haven't gone after Yu-Gi-Oh), a blue raspberry Jell-O monster on the city after much Chris screen time. A halfway decent episode that is loosely based on 1999's Sonic Adventure. 2.5/5.
DVD Content: The so-called extras include character bios and commercials. At least it's better than The Best of Tokyo Pig's non-existant extras. 1/5.
All in all, only purchase this if you are baby-sitting very young children or are an absolute die-hard Sonic fan like myself. Otherwise, stay away. Total Score: 3/5.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Sonic Show, June 1, 2004
A Kid's Review
This review is from: Sonic X - A Super Sonic Hero (Vol. 1) (Edited) (DVD)
Let me start by saying that this show is great! Perfect for any Sonic fans, young and old. The storyline is half decent, rarely seen in 4Kids's shows. If you love Sonic, you will absolutuley love this.
Episodes in Volume 1 include....
1. Chaos Control Freaks
2. Sonic to the Rescue
3. Missile Wrist Rampage
4. Pure Chaos (and episode that will kick of the new season of Sonic X this Fall. Let me tell you, this episode is based on Sonic Adventure)
Though, many things bring this down.
1. It's 4Kids, which means chessy puns and cruddy dialouge.
2. Voice acting gets annoying.
3. Most people don't know why they stuck Chris in the show.
4. Most people think the first season sucks. Though after the second season, they will show episodes based on Sonic Adventure (one included in volume 1), Sonic ADventure 2, A Team Chaotix Episode, and episodes based off Sonic Battle.
So if you like Sonic, get it. But if you aren't a big fan of Sonic, stay away from this.
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