Japanese
26
"Tanjou! SUPA Sonikku"
(Birth! Super Sonic)
9/28/03
English
26
"Countdown to Chaos"
3/27/04

This whole episode was pretty much ruined from bad voices, bad music, and bad lines.


- SCENE-SHORTENERS (second count per each)/(time of cut [original Japanese version; one episode is usually around 24:34 long]):

4/1:43 - The sun on the horizon before quickly rising
6/2:12 - The Eggfort II flying overhead Danny, Francis, and Helen
4/2:20 - Danny, Francis, and Helen looking backwards towards the Eggfort II before Sonic speeds by
1/2:48 - Shot of Lucky on some garbage holding the last Chaos Emerald
4/3:33 - Overhead view inside the President's office
4/3:52 - Forest below before the helicopters containing Rouge and Topaz fly into view
1/4:22 - Shot of Rouge's face after getting Topaz' gem
1/4:30 - Pan up Knuckles on the landing gear of a helicopter
1/4:53 - The robotic arm before it comes out of the Eggfort II to get the Chaos Emerald
1/4:57 - E-77 before the robotic arm appears onscreen
3/5:32 - E-77 giving the Emerald to Sonic before the Beetle appears
5/6:07 - The Beetle broadcasting their message to Sonic and Eggman
3/6:40 - Just plain white screen when all the Beetle fire upon the Eggfort II
1/7:58 - The Egg Beam of Light firing
2/8:10 - Burning residue from the Egg Beam of Light
2/8:18 - Bocoe talking
1/9:05 - Eggman talking to Decoe
4/9:55 - Sonic running, then jumping on the Beetle
5/10:59 - The Eggfort II before we see E-77 using his wings to fly away
2/12:06 - BaBaBango connecting with the Eggfort II
1/12:09 - BaBango connecting with the Eggfort II
7/12:24 - E-99 floating in mid air, this cut also cuts off Sonic saying "Is that even popular anymore?"
3/13:25 - Chris' face as Eggman "feeds" the six Chaos Emeralds to E-99
5/14:51 - E-99 before Sonic appears on camera limping toward it (then falling to his knees)
4/15:40 - Rouge talking aboard a helicopter as E-99 pummels Sonic
4/16:11 - Chris' face after Sonic is dropped and kicked by E-99, before Chris has those flashbacks
5/16:33 - Sonic falling towards the water after being kicked by E-99 is greatly sped up
3/17:05 - Chris talking as he holds the Emeralds he just took out of E-99's console, saying "They belong to me"
5/17:13 - Again, Chris talking as he holds the Emeralds he just took out of E-99's console, saying "He'll be with me forever!"
4/17:35 - Decoe in front of the place where Chris was strapped to the wall
3/17:57 - Knuckles having punched into E-99's floor, Decoe saying "He cares about him very much." Also cut is Rouge's "swoop" SFX as she flies down to catch Chris.
2/18:20 - Chris talking in Rouge's arms, saying "Please let me look for Sonic..."
4/18:54 - Knuckles looking down at the electrical sparks coming from E-99
4/19:11 - Water parting to make way for Super Sonic's yellow hue-ball [see note below]
3/19:22 - Super Sonic with his eyes closed [again, see note below]
3/19:49 - Closeup of Eggman's face when he's talking about Chaos Control
11/20:19-20:56 - Chaos Control expanding is either cut or sped up during these 37 seconds
5/21:18 - Shot of Super Sonic from Chris' point of view inside Chaos Control
5/21:22 - Shot of Chris' eye super-up-close
2/21:44 - Shot of Super Sonic with his eyes closed, talking
1/22:16 - Chris crying after Super Sonic vanishes
2/22:20 - A completely white screen
8/22:22 - Pan of mountains before the X-Tornado flies by
5/22:55 - Slow panout from a mysterious mountain off the shore (Mystic Ruins?)
1/23:18 - Knuckles looking at Angel Island, floating in mid-air
1/23:26 - Very slow pan across Knuckles' face
1/23:41 - The mist before Sonic's silhoutte is seen
1/24:00 - Sonic walking through the mist to Chris

- A 9 second flashback is extended into a 30-second flashback showing more of what happened in Episode 25. Oddly enough, this flashback shows one of the scenes from this episode.

- 4 second cut of a walk/don't walk sign, and another sign behind it.

- Originally, the NEXT sockpuppet is asking "Does Cream like me?" and Francis imitates, "Of course! I like you very much!". The dub doesn't mention Cream at all, but Francis does say "Look everybody, it's my favorite TV star!", making it look like she likes a show designed for small children.

- The word "GUN" is erased from the GUN vehicles.

- Originally as the Eggfort II moves in to get the last Chaos Emerald, Eggman says "Great! E-77 really IS a great robot! He's different from the other useless robots." Bocoe says "How do you explain this?", Decoe says "It goes back to his original saying...", and Eggman goes "Oh? Did I offend you?". The dub is talking about E-77 being clumsy.

- When E-77 lands on a soft mattress, Eggman originally says "Well that's good. I guess E-77 really is the master of being lucky!", while Dub Eggman goes "But...but...my...my emerald!"

- When the Beetle appear and Eggman asks where it came from, Decoe goes "How could we make such an ugly machine?", and Eggman goes "You're right." Dub Decoe goes "I do not get ideas Doctor", and Dub Eggman goes "Good boy."

- The dub adds "electricity" SFX when the first blast fired by a Beetle hits the Eggfort II (and we see electricity sparks)

- When all the Beetle fire on the Eggfort II, Sonic originally goes "CHRIS!", but in the dub he goes "WHARRRARAA!"

- Gunfire SFX from the Eggfort II is now laser SFX. =(

- Originally, after we see Sonic unscathed from the Egg Beam of Light (which is named the Egg Beam Cannonball in the dub), the dialogue is very different between the two versions. The original has them Eggman "hating this part about anime" because Sonic shouldn't have survived, worrying about about children trying to copy them. Decoe says can't copy firing missiles and the Egg Beam of Light. The dub has Eggman saying the Egg Beam will hit the bullseye every time, and Decoe says that Sonic is a hedgehog, not a bull...pretty odd, but yeah.

- Originally as Sonic runs then jumps on the Beetle, Eggman goes "If the X-Tornado isn't around, we can lose Sonic". There is no dialogue here in the dub.

- Originally when jumping to E-77, Eggman goes "Ahh! He jumped to E-77!" and Bocoe goes "He just noticed that?". The dub has Eggman going "What if he gets that Chaos Emerald away from Lucky?", and Bocoe going "That would be very UNlucky!"

- Originally when Sonic catches Lucky while falling, he asks Lucky politely for it back: "However, that Chaos Emerald is very precious. Would you like to give it to me?". In the dub, Sonic says the less polite "But that Chaos Emerald you found is very important to me and my friends, so I'm gonna take it off your hands."

- 13 second cut of a scene where Sonic and E-77 are falling toward the ocean, and E-77 gets hearts in his eyes, then a big heart background pops up (and Sonic goes "Wow..." in Engrish). Bocoe goes "He loves him..."

- In the dub, Eggman goes "What's wrong? Why isn't he using his wings to fly away?", and then we see E-77 flying. Originally, Eggman commented that they were falling toward the ocean and that "it's E-77's luck...", and then we see, out of the blue, E-77 flying. This change was probably to keep the little children from becoming confused, but it takes away from the funny.

- After we see E-77 flying, Bocoe, then Decoe, goes "Is this the strength of love?" "It's really unlucky to be turned against by luck". The dub has them talking about E-77 being unloyal.

- Before Eggman reveals E-99, he originally told the viewers at home that "everyone at school tomorrow" is going to be talking about the transformation, so don't change the channel. The Dub has Eggman saying that he was saving it for a special occasion but he "feels LUCKY" and wants to unleash it now.

- Originally, Eggman appeared in front of the second Eyecatcher when the commercial break ended, which is just a repeat of the first eyecatcher. Eggman says he's sorry (omatase; "omatase shimashita" means "sorry to keep you waiting") and initates the E-99 transformation. Because the dub cuts the Eyecatchers, the green background wall of the Eggfort II is drawn in its place.

- When the three segments combine, Eggman, Decoe and Bocoe originally say "Bango, combined mode!" "BaBango, combined mode!", "BaBaBango, combined mode!", respectively. In the dub, Eggman says "Merge mode number 1, merge mode number 2, merge mode number 3".

- On another note, the way Dub Eggman (Mike Pollock) says "Begin Eggfort II transformation!" just seems cool.

- Japanese text reading "EGG EMPEROR EGGMAN ROBO E-99" is removed when E-99 has finished transforming.

- As Eggman gives E-99 energy by using the Chaos Emeralds, the "light shining under the Emeralds" SFX is changed to a "one laser fire" SFX

- E-99 "Egg Emperor" has it's name changed to "Eggsterminator". Of note, the name "Egg Emperor" is never spoken in-episode, but its name is on the Eyecatcher and the cut Japanese text.

- In the original, Eggman just seemingly wants to "play around" with Sonic, he doesn't want to kill him. After Sonic gets blasted through buildings, Eggman tells Sonic to give up as he doesn't want to fight. In the dub, Eggman keeps saying how wonderful his Eggsterminator is.

- Horrible dub Decoe pun when him and Bocoe are talking about Sonic looking pretty bad after being smacked by E-99: "I don't get it, he ought to be EGGsterminated by now"

- As E-99 begins to go out of control, Eggman originally says "Don't be so quick tempered E-99! Please stay back!", but dub Eggman goes "Eggsterminator! Quit wasting power will you? We must conserve between battles!". In addition, when E-99 begins to glow red and flicker-disappear, the dub adds electricity SFX.

- 5 seconds cut when E-99 pounds Sonic into the ground for the first time. In the original, E-99 punches Sonic NINE more times, 5 times with his left arm, and 4 with his right.

- 10 second cut - The flashbacks after Sonic is dropped then kicked by E-99 are all messed up, and while the original has the "omg it's a flashback" border on their flashbacks, there is no border inserted for any of the flashbacks in the dub.

Original:
- Sonic crying to Chris aboard the boat in Episode 20
- Sonic crawling along the floor in Episode 20
- Sonic running in the grassfield whirlwind generated by Funfun, and then standing triumphantly in Episode 13
- Sonic powering up with the two Chaos Emeralds in Episode 13
- A Sonic-blur while smashing Eggman's tower in Episode 13
- Sonic holding the two emeralds at the end of Episode 13
- Sonic climbing behind the couch away from Bokkun in Episode 8
- Shot of the pool diving board, Sonic and Chris, and a closeup of Sonic talking from Episode 1

Dub:
- Shot of the pool and Sonic, but 4kids cuts it off before his lips can move
- Sonic standing triumphantly in that whirlwind generated by Funfun in Episode 13
- Sonic powering up with the two Chaos Emeralds in Episode 13
- A Sonic-blur while smashing Eggman's tower in Episode 13
- Sonic holding the two emeralds at the end of Episode 13

- The music really kills the mood all throughout this episode. A few things I want to point out is when E-99 kicks Sonic, the music becomes silent. Second, when the flashbacks come, there's one simple, soft song. In the dub, it's various good-mood songs. When Sonic falls toward the ocean, Kotoba ni Dekinai begins playing, but in the dub, there's falling music (sorta the whistle sound you would hear when a character is falling from a high place in Warner Brothers' cartoons). And finally, the 5:37-long insert song, Kotoba ni Dekinai, is axed, and replaced with 4kids' generic music. It just angers me.

- When it comes to emotional scenes that call for screaming and crying, somehow the 4kids VAs always manage to not sound as good at the original. Dub Chris doesn't sound so crazy-insane and sad as Japanese Chris, and when Rouge gets crunched by E-99's hand, her dub VA, although very good otherwise, does a pretty lousy scream.

- 3 second cut of Chris lowering his head and talking as he holds the Emeralds he just took out of E-99's console, saying "They belong to me...Sonic...".

- More horrible dialogue from Eggman and Decoe that just makes me want to cry after Chris has had his scene holding the Emeralds (E = Eggman, D = Decoe):

Original:
E: "He's really a foolish boy...If Decoe pulled out the main electrical source more slowly you would have died." [power overload/electrocution]
D: "You think so?"
E: "But how could he send out this kind of strength?"
D: "Wait a moment...If you pull the Chaos Emeralds out of E-99's main electrical source..."
E: "Why didn't you...!"

Dub:
E: "That feelymouth(?!) little CRYBABY shouldn't be so reckless. After all, those Emeralds are powering the Eggsterminator, and without them this thing would be sent plummeting into the sea!"
D : "It is interesting, Doctor!" <-- MAKES NO SENSE, why didn't they just cut this bit?
E: "As a matter of fact, we should be plummeting any moment now!" <-- Which never happens
D :"I am sorry Doctor, but did you just say PLUMMETING?"
E: "Don't just stand there!"

- 3 second ADDITION of a wideshot of E-99, right after snatching Rouge

- Originally, Eggman tells Knuckles that Chris destroyed his dreams, but Knuckles destroyed E-99 by punching it, and Knuckles said "It's my fault again?". In the dub, Eggman blames the malfunction on Chris, and Knuckles asks "Where's Chris?"

- When Dub Rouge is being crunched by E-99's hand, she says "You're awfully fresh!" for no reason at all. In the original, she said "This isn't a joke!" (in response to Knuckles' saying "It's my fault again?")

- During the "Super Sonic appears" scene, there are two scene shorteners that totally ruin the mood. One is 4 seconds long and occurs when the water is being parted to make way for a bright yellow ball; the yellow ball arrives quicker in the dub. The second one is 3 seconds long and occurs when we see Super Sonic with his eyes closed; he holds them closed longer in the original. Both of these scene shorteners remove the suspense and awe of the scene.

- A note about the tone of voices. In the original, Super Sonic's voice is cool, calm and collected. In the dub, he still has the tone of voice he had as normal Sonic, which doesn't fit. Also, in the original, Super Sonic tells Knuckles that he's going to destroy E-99, and not to be caught in the destruction/Chaos Control. Dub Super Sonic says something about Knuckles' wish coming true, and saying he has unfinished business, then "Take this Eggman!"

- 4 second cut of Chris' battered body, focusing on his face

- Later when Chris inside Chaos Control (I guess) with Super Sonic, Dub Chris' VA does a good job of crying.

- After Super Sonic vanishes, Chris originally shouts "Sonikku!" and it echoes six times. Dub Chris goes "You can't go!" with no echo.

- After we see the X-Tornado fly off, the Japanese credits with the song "The Shining Road" roll, and all the rest of the scenes are special ending credits. 4kids is obviously given a textless version and just shows the clips with their generic music and no vocals/dialogue to back it up.

- 4 second cut - A complete cut of a pandown of the trees before we see Sonic coming out of the mist. The dub starts where the pan stops.

- Originally as Sonic is walking toward Chris through the mist, the President goes "What's happening?", and his Secretary says "We can't be sure for now, but two huge islands have appeared. Perhaps they're from Sonic's world." None of this dialogue is present in the dub, except for a "Huh?" from Chris that wasn't in the original. Also, Sonic's final line of the episode was originally "Pleased to see you again!". In the dub, it's "Hey! Long time no see!", which could make viewers confused and think that a lot of time has passed since E-99 was destroyed.