Top 10 Most Censored Sonic X Moments

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#10: A Lover’s Quarrel

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Top 10 Moments from Sonic X

If a friend is possessed by an evil spirit, it seems a firm but loving smack from a blue hedgehog is all it takes to bring them back to their senses. However, if the English dub is to be believed, doing absolutely nothing works too. After Amy is taken over by the ghostly Boom, Sonic literally knocks some sense back into her with a quick chop to the back of the neck. But, his gentle wake-up nudge was omitted altogether in the American release, and instead, Boom just inexplicably decides to leave Amy as soon as Sonic races over. Maybe he just smells or something?

Say what you will about Dr. Robotnik, but at least he’s patriotic. When his robots demolish a building to make room for an amusement park, he celebrates by erecting a faux-Statue of Liberty with his own face on it. It’s not the most respectful portrayal of Lady Liberty, but it’s still a fun wink at a character who’s ego could totally fill out a statue. It seems the Western audiences didn’t find this gag as amusing, though, since it was entirely cut from the dubbed episode. As funny as it is, it’s understandable that Eggman’s hostile takeover doesn’t quite line up with the statue’s themes of peace and justice.

In a show about going fast, chase scenes are practically a must, but one that featured everyone’s favorite red echidna had to be completely removed from the English version. In words that seem antithetical to the series, Knuckles went too fast, and ended up pursuing Eggman’s robot henchman all the way into a brothel. It’d be one thing if he just ignored them and kept going, but he intentionally lingers and even blushes at the belly dancers. It was deemed too suggestive for Western audiences, and the scene was wholly skipped in the English episode. Next time, Knuckles should just leave the chasing to Sonic.

Since Cream is one of the most innocent cast members in “Sonic” lore, it feels right in character when she earnestly asks for a soft pitch in a game of baseball. What doesn’t quite hit a homerun is the extended version of the segment in the original broadcast, where she follows up her request with some suggestive comments that leave the pitcher flushed. Nevermind she’s an anthropomorphic rabbit trying to flirt with a robot, she’s also canonically just seven years old. While this was clearly meant as a joke, the weird dialogue and creepier implications mean it was probably better left on the bench.

While most of her character remained in-tact during translation, some notable aspects of this iconic femme-fatale, both physically and verbally, didn’t quite cross the border. The series’ English dub touched up many of Rouge’s scenes to reduce her cleavage and rewrite risque dialogue, with alterations occurring as early as her very first appearance. In one of her earliest lines in the whole show, she originally makes an S&M joke as she’s being handcuffed by cops. Naturally, this was changed to a teasing insult in the dub. To be fair, these changes aren’t totally unexpected. If any character was destined to need some toning down, it’s the consistently less-than-PG exploits of this batty antihero.

Despite the bright colors and breezy humor, the series' final arc admirably acknowledged the fact that even Sonic characters can’t outrun death forever. When Cosmo must sacrifice herself to save the universe, Tails is overcome with grief until Eggman of all people delivers a genuinely affecting speech about acceptance and moving on. Unfortunately, the localized episode trims this pivotal scene down to its barest bones. Sonic is supposed to go fast, but the rapid pace and needless edits butcher the emotional weight of this life-and-death decision. Without Tails’ outburst, Eggman’s consolation, or any time to process the choice, the dubbed version leaves the completely wrong impression that the team really didn’t care about Cosmo at all.

It’s not too surprising that the Western version left out the implied execution of Gerald Robotnik, but what is bizarre is the embarrassingly half-baked way they did it. In the original, his final words are interrupted by a firing squad’s offscreen gunshot. When the dub gave him extra dialogue to leave his fate ambiguous, they neglected to remove the gun’s sound effect. So, while the exact context is abandoned, it instead seems like he just kept talking through getting shot. It’s a laughable mistake, but at least the bonkers connotation makes it seem like nothing would get between Gerald and his last words, which is honestly kind of funnier, anyways.

Anyone who’s played “Sonic Adventure 2,” or is even tangentially familiar with Shadow’s backstory, knows that Maria’s death is paramount to his character and the story overall. But instead of an empowering demise after freeing Shadow from captivity, the English dub cuts it out and adds in a lazy line about her being “taken away.” Not only does it thoroughly ruin one of the most iconic moments of the “Adventure” storyline, but it’s also full of plot holes. After all, if Maria was half as important to Shadow as he says, it’s ridiculous he wouldn’t ever try to rescue her. But, I guess we’re just supposed to believe she was coincidentally never seen or heard from again.

While we’re on the topic of the dubs’ not-so-subtle workaround to killing off characters, this scene is somehow even more absurdly nonsensical. Molly’s initial demise saw her hopelessly fly her jet into enemy lines, which emotionally ties into the arc’s themes of war and sacrifice. The localization, of course, fumbled this poignant scene by stripping any shred of dignity from Molly’s character. As opposed to honorably dying in battle, she inexplicably flies off into space never to be seen again. It’s a careless change that makes no sense for the character, and even worse, utterly misses the point of what the story is trying to say.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Stranger Danger
The English Version Cut Out the Very Creepy Vibes From Chris’ Teacher

Live & Learn
The Dub Removed the Iconic “Sonic Adventure 2” Insert Song

Sober Sonic
All Mentions and Appearances of Alcohol Were Redone

“Pew” over “Bang”
Gunshots & Missiles Were Bizarrely Changed to Sound Like Lasers

Potty Mouth Hedgehog
This Blue Blur Says a Curse Word in the Original

The whole shtick of this conflicted antihero is that he’s more brooding than his blue lookalike, but that didn’t stop the Western localization from tempering his best moments. Scenes, like his impactful brawl with Tails, had their scuff marks removed to tone down the violence, but at least those instances retained the actual combat. Infamously, Shadow’s bout with Chris in the dub removed any and all fighting to the point it barely functions as a coherent scene anymore. If they don’t clash, how does Chris get roughed up? Or end up at the other side of the room? Or convince Shadow to help save the world? Don’t ask us, because this version surely doesn’t answer any of those questions.