Sonic X (WBC dub and revival) (Johnsonverse)

From 2013 to 2015, 4K Entertainment prepared a new dub of Sonic X. The dub aired on WBC. In 2018, the series received a revival, produced in celebration of the series' fifteenth anniversary, which is still ongoing. The dub is part of the Johnson Aligned Universe.

Background
Upon buying 4Kids Entertainment (later 4K Entertainment), Sheldon Johnson, Jr. was unsatisfied with the 4Kids dubs of some of their shows (much of which had been forced upon by FCC and network regulations), believing that the changes ruined the dubs for anime fans like the Johnson Twins, Tim and Chloe. Once Sheldon retired to run for Governor of California, Tim sought to make more accurate dubs of their shows under the newly-renamed 4K Entertainment. One of the first new dubs 4K produced was Sonic X, which was dubbed by 4Kids and originally aired in the Japanese isles between 2003 and 2005 in Japanese and in the mainland United States in English, with the remaining 26 episodes airing in English in the mainland United States from 2005 to 2006. With full knowledge of the Japanese language, Johnson personally translated all 78 episodes himself, and translated the opening and closing themes.

Casting
The voice cast of the video games reprised their roles, many of them also reprising their roles from the 4Kids version due to 4Kids also having signed a contract with Sega in 2004 to use their voice actors in the video games, an arrangement that still continues to this day, even after the Johnson acquisition in 2008 and the rebrand to 4K in 2010. Several big names were brought in to dub the human characters, such as Michael Douglas as Chris' father Nelson, and James Woods as Alfred Butler. Johnson himself voices Sonic's human companion Chris Thorndyke in both his teenage and adult forms. Jaleel White, who voiced Sonic in the three DiC-produced Sonic cartoons (Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, which ran in 1993, Sonic the Hedgehog, which ran from 1993 to 2004 and again since 2010, and Sonic Underground, which ran in 1999) voices Elmer Johnson. Ryan Drummond, who voiced Sonic from 1999 to 2004 and again since 2010 after having been hired by 4K's Los Angeles branch in 2009, also reprises his role.

Theme music
"Sonic Drive", "Future (Mi-Ra-I)", and "T.O.P." were all performed by Johnny Gioeli and Jun Senoue of Crush 40, while "The Shining Road" was performed by Nikki Gregoroff (who performed "My Sweet Passion" in both Sonic Adventure games). "Sonic Drive" and "The Shining Road" are both used in the revival.

Cast

 * Ryan Drummond as Sonic
 * Tim Johnson as Chris Thorndyke
 * Lacey Chabert as Tatiana Chandler (Season 4 onward)
 * Amy Palant as Tails
 * Dan Green as Knuckles
 * Mike Pollock as Dr. Eggman, Ella, and Professor Gerald Robotnik
 * Lisa Ortiz as Amy
 * Jason Griffith as Shadow and Dark Super Sonic
 * Rebecca Honig as Cream and Cream’s mom
 * Vic Migonogna as E-123 Omega (Season 4 onward)
 * Cree Summer as Christina Cooper
 * Will Ferrell as Sam Speed
 * Phil Hartman as President Al Leonard (Seasons 1 and 2)
 * Laura Bailey as President Michelle O'Neill (Season 4 onward)
 * Andrew Rannells as Decoe, Bokkun, and E-102 Gamma
 * Darren Dunstan as Bocoe and Mr. Tanaka
 * Karen Strassman as Rouge
 * David Willis as Espio
 * Amy Birmbaum as Charmy and Cosmo
 * Oliver Wyman as Big
 * Christopher Lloyd as Chuck Thorndyke
 * Michael Douglas as Nelson Thorndyke
 * Mila Kunis as Lindsey Thorndyke
 * Mark Hamill as Mister Stewart
 * Meredith Vieira as Scarlet Garcia
 * Tom Wilson as Jerome Wise (Seasons 1 and 2)
 * Jane Lynch as Topaz
 * Kweski Boakye as Danny
 * Sara Paxton as Frances
 * Anndi McAfee as Helen
 * James Yaegashi as Hawk
 * Moriah Angeline as Maria Robotnik
 * James Woods as Alfred Butler
 * Jaleel White as Elmer Johnson
 * William Shatner as Dark Oak
 * Tara Strong as Daisy
 * Keith David as Landar
 * Stephanie Lemelin as Galaxina
 * Jodi Benson as Earthia
 * Michael Bell as Lucas
 * Chloe Johnson as Molly

Changes from the 4Kids dub

 * The series is completely uncut, lacking the censorship imposed by regulations.
 * The original music and themes are all retained.
 * Several voice actors are different.
 * All eyecatch cards are intact.

Changes from the original version

 * Chris is made from Sonic's surrogate to his personal brother outside of Tails. This was used to justify his clinging on to Sonic in the first two seasons.

Reception
The 4K dub was praised for staying true to the original Japanese-language version, and is widely regarded as the definitive English-dubbed version of the series. The 2018 revival was critically acclaimed.

Music
All credit to the channels that made them, the original writers and musicians, and Sega/TMS.
 * Sonic Drive
 * Mi-Ra-I
 * The Shining Road