Sonic the Hedgehog has lent his name to so many different projects across multiple mediums that keeping track of new ideas for the franchise is a fool's errand. Despite that, the franchise's many animated series have innovated on the simple idea in many ways that are still important today.
The hit Sonic the Hedgehog live-action adaptation became so immensely powerful that it has already spawned a hotly anticipated follow-up, a standalone series, and an unnamed third entry. The film made some huge changes to the Sonic canon, which has been loose at the best of times, but its big change was placing the character on Earth. That idea has been done before, most notably in the rarely discussed animated series Sonic X.
Sonic X dropped in 2003 in its native Japan but came to the rest of the world over the following three years. It ran for 78 episodes, divided amongst three seasons. It's the first and only anime adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog, as the previous two animated series were handled by noted video game cartoon moguls DIC Entertainment. The series was animated by TMS Entertainment, one of the oldest and most storied studios with titles like Akira, Lupin the Third, and D. Gray-man under its belt.
The American release of the show was handled by the much-maligned 4Kids Entertainment, which is known for butchering anime to more easily sell them to kids. Sonic X is actually one of the most faithful translations they've created, barring a couple of characters who "disappear" rather than die. The series wasn't particularly popular in its native Japan, but American audiences absolutely loved the new Sonic series, so the latter 26 episodes went straight to US TV.
Sonic X is a familiar tale; Sonic and friends are teleported from their mystical homeworld to Earth, where they do battle with Eggman and multiple greater foes. Though the circumstances are different, this is the first work in which Sonic is canonically appearing on Earth. Sonic and his accompanying anthropomorphic entourage have always kept their previous adventures within their home reality. Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and the rest are aliens to Earth, and their appearance must be carefully kept under wraps.
Of course, that plays out a bit like a superhero's alternate identity and most characters stop caring after a while, but it's an interesting detail. Instead of a small-town cop, Sonic is discovered by a kid named Chris and his scientist grandfather Chuck. In short order, Sonic's entire group is embraced by Chris's family and gradually become worldwide sensations. It's a strange show for a number of reasons, but the ongoing plot borders on impressive.
The narrative of Sonic X manages to directly adapt the storylines of multiple games while retrofitting the premise of others into shorter stories. The first season follows a classic monster of the week format, with the heroes doing battle with Eggman's latest creation for the Chaos Emeralds. The heroes seek those powerful gems to get themselves home. An early episode introduces Knuckles in the traditional way; Eggman tricks him into attacking Sonic, but he realizes that he's being deceived and joins Sonic's team. Sonic Heroes had just been released, so the series gets to include minor characters like the Chaotix and Big the Cat. In a franchise where every character is someone's favorite, this series shows off some underappreciated faces.
The second season of Sonic X is, somehow, a full adaptation of the narrative of Sonic Adventureand Sonic Adventure 2, a tournament arc, and a satisfying ending to the series. They breeze through both games, while including all the fan-favorite moments and fun Easter eggs, and tell the stories as well as the source material if not better. The pacing is the biggest weak point throughout season one, the show certainly wasn't meant for the age of binge-watching, but season two pulls off some feats of efficiency. This season was meant to be the end of the series, and it would've ended on a fairly strong note for a kid's show. Sonic teaches Chris to be strong on his own and leaves him behind, confident that he'll live his life as a better man. The show would've been just fine if it'd ended there, but the third season took some different directions.
The third season of Sonic X is a wholly original story that sees Sonic and his friends battle a race of evil aliens. It's fine, strange, and often absurd, but it feels like the plot of any given Sonic game. There's a lot to like about Sonic X. The films probably didn't take the idea of bringing the Blue Blur to Earth from this series, it's a common trick of live-action adaptations. But there are a few interesting things that the film series could take from Sonic X. As adaptations of Sonic the Hedgehog go, the characters are note-perfect, the action is the best it's ever been, and the stories are often better than they are in the games. Hopefully future films and series can learn from its successes and its failures.