I don't listen to Japanese much outside of Pariah's videos and when watching console Colors' cutscenes (because I absolutely loathe the English script), but to this day Jason is still THE Sonic voice to me, as well as Shadow. Though it's probably because I think of his quotes rather than just his voice and I can't quite remember any Japanese quotes because, well, I don't speak Japanese so I don't exactly know what his Japanese actor is saying. Shame he left right after the 2 games he peaked.
No rain could douse the flames that burn within me!A voice "fitting" is usually first try wins...same for a person's first listen.
Unless it's a CGI animated movie.
Edited by randomness4 on Dec 10th 2022 at 10:25:09 AM
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.Early era Jason Griffith is the absolute worst english voice Sonic has ever had.
But late era Jason Griffith is still the best he's had overall.
Regardless, I really do think it's for the best that (unless a character's VA is just legitimately terrible with the character they're voicing) the same VA continues voicing the same character unless real life issues come up.
SOA didn't have to sign a deal with 4Kids to completely replace the English cast of the games with the 4Kids crew, and (with the exception of Mike Pollock as Eggman's previous VA had unfortunately died) it was a poor decision with literally every single character, even the ones who managed to sound largely the same.
Honestly?
I think Jason Griffith did fine.
If this video's accurate Sonic Riders and Rush he did fine. He just got the Dork Age of Sonic games. He's also got some range - it was a long time before I learned he voiced both Sonic and Shadow in the same games, and voiced Jet the Hawk.
As an aside, during the events of Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonic did all of that while dealing with a cold.
Edited by FOFD on Dec 11th 2022 at 7:25:45 AM
@TheMageofFire
Well, good thing we're burying you and not a god.
I've listened to English sonic voices for so long its kinda whiplashy to hear Japanese Sonic voices. But I love Kanemaru's English interjections when they show up, not to mention I hear two things about it that I can't really verify:
- Kanemaru's an English teacher
- Sonic saying english phrases in the Japanese audio track is a nod to him being an international superstar. Apparently.
I'd say the only well and truly bad English voice though...definitely 4Kids Rouge. Even in the most serious moments in 06 she was just pure unfiltered Dull Surprise, like she focused solely on sounding sexy instead of reading the room.
Are explosions science?Honestly, even if I am used to Sonic's many English voices, its still really jarring how often they change. Its like no wonder the fanbase get into constant debates about it or just opt to switch to the Japanese cast.
Edited by BlackYakuzu94 on Dec 11th 2022 at 8:52:34 AM
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.I just don't bother with them.
Sonic's voice acting in English, hm. I don't like Ryan at all, as all I can think of him is of a low-quality videogame acting, same as with many videogames of that era. Jason, I like him better, but don't like his perfomance in Sonic X. I like Roger, but he clearly struggled with the voice for a while, as he tried to sound very cartoony in Colors.
Jaleel is fine, but I can't take him seriously. Movie and Prime Sonic sound fine, but the latter sounds too much like the former despite being "game Sonic", so he clashes a bit for me.
To win, you need to adapt, and to adapt, you need to be able to laugh away all the restraints. Everything holding you back.Honestly there wasn't an actual Sonic performance that stood out to me until RCS. Jaleel and Burke were fine for their time, though the character with a high pitch/nasal quality never quite felt right. Ryan and Jason were solid actors, but most of the time their voices felt put upon. Roger basically was the combination of deep and naturalistic I'd been waiting for and I'm glad he's stuck around.
Schwartz pulls off depth with Movie Sonic, though I almost always think of Dewey when I hear him. I will say what I've heard from Mack on Prime does have me optimistic; its a distinct voice while still feeling pretty organic to the character.
Edited by BorneAgain on Dec 11th 2022 at 9:12:02 AM
I feel like Roger gets shit because he sounds almost nothing like Ryan or Griffith.
When you have a voice you're accustomed to and it just abruptly changes, it's gonna be jarring no matter how much you try to reconcile it in your head.
And some take the change worse than others...
I bet my ass had Griffith never got changed, he would still be just as divisive as Roger still is today. Griffith is gone so there's no reason to complain about him anymore.
Gotta say tho, Deven Mack is probably the voice actor who got it from the getgo. All of Prime's voice cast is good....except Knuckles...
They really can't decide if Knuckles is supposed to sound like a simpleton or not.
A lazy millennial who's good at what he does.Why would they want him to sound like an idiot?
Rules of the Internet 45. Rule 45 is a lie. Check out my art if you notice.Roger gets shit because he voiced Sonic in Generations, Boom, All-Stars Racing, Lost World, and Colors where the dialogue and character-writing were "less prioritized" to say it nicely.
I've vibed with all of the voices at one point or another. Drummond works, Griffith definitely works, and I got used to Smith after watching the Boom TV series. Even the movie VA does a pretty good job. Sonic is similar to Superman - he's never really had an outright bad voice because it changes every 5-6 years, he's only had a fanbase of people with volatile opinions on things changing from what they're used to.
Even Jaleel White is beloved and he was Sonic at his raddest and 90's-iest.
Edited by FOFD on Dec 11th 2022 at 12:38:02 PM

Don't fully expect Pariah to sing praises to Frontiers story tho, as besides the wonky translation the Japanese dub got, he isn't exactly fond of Ian Flynn that much. Since he hasn't played favoritism with any storyteller in the series (unless one counts Akinori Nishiyama, as he loves the Rush titles stories and half the narrative of Adventure), I expect a fair review in the future.
In one comment, he told me he will also check out Rise of the Wisps in his future Colors video, as he likes that animation.
I really wish to hear his "Sonic X" review video one day, as he told me in one comment he wanted to do a "things Sonic X did right in the adaptation" but he later dropped the idea. After watching Sonic X in Japanese and enjoying a lot of it, I wish to hear it.
Edited by Tomodachi on Dec 10th 2022 at 5:46:48 AM
To win, you need to adapt, and to adapt, you need to be able to laugh away all the restraints. Everything holding you back.