NOTE: This review covers the original Japanese version. I think the 4Kids English dub speaks for itself.<br /><br />Sonic the Hedgehog was a good game, I'm glad you're all in agreement there. But Sega's really been pounding the series into the ground since the late 90's, introducing more characters than necessary and cranking out games in a fashion and speed that would have Paul J. Smith kneeling before Yuji Uekawa's feet and worshipping him. So not long after Sonic Adventure 2 came out, Sonic X began making the rounds in Japan, and internationally soon after. On paper, it seemed like a good idea; an animated Sonic series produced in Japan, with all the important characters from the games carried over, and a plot replicating Sonic Adventure's style. But then, a lot of things look good on paper.<br /><br />So how does it start? Well, it's not unlike the games in the first episode; Sonic attempts to rescue a random character (in this case, Cream) from Eggman's clutches, dodging robots and generally filling up time with heart-pounding action sequences. After being transported to another dimension, we meet Chris Thorndyke, and things plummet downhill. The second episode is the last really notable one; Sonic infiltrates a military base and rescues Cream from the clutches of the government, who find the concept of an anthropomorphic rabbit girl to be ludicrously intriguing. But then after the rescue occurs, the series proceeds to grind itself stupid.<br /><br />One of the main problems with Sonic X is that the characters do nothing but talk, talk, talk. I lost track of the amount of scenes we have to endure where characters introduce themselves to other characters after a few episodes (in the second episode alone, Chris introduces himself to Sonic, then the next day introduces himself to Tails and Cream, who introduce themselves to Chris, who introduces them to his grandfather), and the lack of action the setting forces upon us (Sonic and company moves into Chris' household, and have to hide from everyone else for a few more episodes, then get the attention of the outside world after that) forces the writers to hammer out awkward "Komedy" (like the excruciating seventh episode, where Cream spends most of the time hiding from the household while a party is being hosted and generally gets into all sorts of wacky hijinks) to try and make the complete lack of action more tolerable, but are really just making the show even less dignified than the fourth Home Alone movie (you know, the made for TV one with French Stewart as Marv).<br /><br />And the dramatic scenes are even worse. All of them-- and I mean ALL of them-- consist of characters wailing in a fashion (complete with tears streaming down said characters' faces) that would cause Fran Drescher (already a third-rate Lucille Ball to begin with) to bleed out of her ears. Cream in particular deserves some kind of award for being the biggest baby I've ever seen in an animated series (like The Powerpuff Girls' Bubbles with even more saccharine cuteness tacked on to compensate for the complete lack of likability), in that she does the most crying of any other character in the series. The other characters are just as they are in the games; Tails is the mechanic who idolizes Sonic, Amy lets anger get in the way of reason, Knuckles is the cynic, Rouge has large breasts, and Shadow still makes me want to bash my own skull against a brick wall with his ridiculous "badass" attitude.<br /><br />And there's also the fact that the series, in its original format, is only slightly less internationally appealing than Doraemon. So much of the dialogue is specific to the Japanese language and hard to translate without ruining the effect (like how Cream refers to everyone as {insert name}-san), and it's not uncommon for other clichés of Japanese culture to find their way into the show as well. Oh, and Sonic spouts a ridiculous amount of Engrish phrases throughout the show (but other characters get the chance to do the same; Tails greets people with a big "Hi!" and Cream comments on a game of catch in such an awkward, mangled fashion I was on the floor laughing), often for no reason, but that actually makes things entertaining, as you never know when he's going to do it next.<br /><br />So, is Sonic X worth watching? Maybe if you're among the most hardcore of fans, but newbies and casual viewers should stay away and stick to SatAM. It moves slower than an Ingmar Bergman film played at quarter-speed, the attempts at drama (particularly those in episodes 26, 50, 52, 68, 77 and 78) are laughable, and it is also afflicted with a problem not uncommon in anime: it's mostly made for the fans. So no, it isn't really worth watching.