#SWDifferenceBetweenJP&West

[sonadowwiki]

The Differences Between SEGA of Japan and SEGA of America/Europe (Part 1)

On this page, we will talk about the difference between SEGA of Japan and SEGA of America/Europe; the difference between Japanese SEGA and English SEGA. Please be sure to read through all the text for a complete understanding of the topic.

An often misconception made throughout the whole Sonic the Hedgehog community is that Japan and Western SEGA are the same or share the same views. Although both are SEGA, SEGA America and SEGA Europe are international branches of SEGA Japan. They do not inherently own the Sonic the Hedgehog series. SEGA Japan (or SEGA Sammy), who is the main branch, owns them. SEGA Japan and SEGA West can share very different opinions on the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Because of this, not all material from the English/West side of SEGA are canon or official and can't be seen to reflect the current outlook on things due to not being fully approved by the Japanese side of SEGA (the ones who truly own the series). Western SEGA is known to make decisions without Japan's full consent or with only Japan's initial consent on multiple occasions. Some examples of this are: Archie Comics, IDW Comics, Mobile Apps, Sonic Speed Simulator on Roblox and even posts on the official American Twitter accounts. For the mobile apps, they are looked over by HARDlight in Europe; they are part of the Western Europe branch of SEGA. Although Sonic Forces: Speed Battle was initially approved for creation by Takashi Iizuka, he did not overlook its development after approving its creation and he does not represent SEGA Japan's wishes. Therefore, it has been under the supervision of Western SEGA and does not always have the approval of both the Western and Japanese side of SEGA when decisions are made.

When responding to a fan about why the Japanese and English versions of the Sonic the Hedgehog content were so different from each other, Eitaro Toyoda of Sonic Team hinted that the Western side of SEGA has an agenda when translating or handling their content.

SEGA West often portrays the Sonic the Hedgehog characters very differently than SEGA Japan. One such major difference is in how they handle Shadow the Hedgehog. In English medias, Shadow is often portrayed in a very mean manner where he doesn't care about anyone but himself. Such examples of this are English created series like Sonic Boom and the IDW Comic series. English medias often portray Shadow more mean than usual on purpose to give the impression that Shadow is the type of person to be completely alone, someone who doesn't want to help anyone but himself, someone who hates everyone completely and someone who wants to kill people all the time. This can also be seen in the translations of things like the video games from Japanese to English.

Japan, on the other hand, makes Shadow more stoic and cold, but not completely mean. He is more robotic than the very angry person English medias portray him as. Though, even though Shadow is seen as a bit stand-offish, Sonic Team themselves have said that Shadow is kind and sweet. Eitaro Toyoda even mentioned that, "Shadow is not a bad guy by any means, but he's not completely good either… At any rate, I trust he will not act in a way that discourages us! :)" The reason for this can be derived from Shadow being a Tsundere type of person. Meaning, he is the type of person to deny anything nice he has done. An example of this behavior can be seen in the Sonic x Shadow July Calendar Story where he denies helping the people in the town for a good cause. Shadow is not the type to want credit for doing something good, but he is still an Anti-Hero who will do what he thinks is right if it means doing the right thing or creating the right results. This is often not portrayed correctly in English medias due to them making Shadow seem like a reckless person who will fight for what he thinks is right, even if it's completely wrong to do. Shadow has more morals than that and will not cross certain lines like hurting innocent people for no reason. In Sonic Battle, he even states that his desire is to bring hope to humanity. And since it is his desire to bring hope to humanity, him hurting humanity for no reason or for the fun of it doesn't make sense. Therefore, that characterization of Shadow is incorrect. Though an Anti-Hero, Shadow is still a hero and Japan often portrays that in their medias or when they have some control over some American medias like Sonic Prime's Season 2 Episode 1 and 8.

Another character that is often portrayed differently by SEGA West is Sonic the Hedgehog himself. There are many instances where Sonic is portrayed differently than what the Japanese originally portray him as. One such prime example is how Boom Sonic is shown to have complete fear of water compared to Modern Sonic who has a dislike for water, but doesn't fear it in Japanese medias. Another difference that can be easily seen is how Sonic is shown to be apathetic in most situations in English medias compared in Japanese medias. An example of this is how in Sonic Frontiers Sonic showed to not care about SAGE's death. This is not a normal occurrence for Sonic as he has shown to care about other character's deaths or similar like Chip going back to sleep in Sonic Unleashed, Shadow being thought to have died at the end of Sonic Adventure 2 and other emotional situations. Though despite this, Sonic has been shown to be quite apathetic in English medias or only care in sudden bursts of emotion for his friends at random points in time. Other differences are like how Prime Sonic is shown to be less smart and more touchy (physically wise) than Modern Sonic. Though the movie is from the English, the movie was overlooked heavily by Japanese officials for Movie Sonic to be more accurate to their view of Sonic or to how they want Movie Sonic to be in movies 1, 2 and Knuckles' TV Show. Because of this, even Movie Sonic shows some traits that Modern Sonic from Japanese medias show. One such trait is how Sonic doesn't like to be touched by people he is not comfortable with. In Movie Sonic's case, this would have been Movie Tails. At the time he first met Movie Tails, he wasn't comfortable with him hugging him. But Movie Sonic was comfortable with his family hugging him because he was more comfortable around them since he knew them longer and finds them family. This trait of Sonic being more physically touchy is usually seen in English medias like the IDW Comics, Sonic Prime and even Sonic Frontiers.

[Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Movie) - Movie Tails hugs Movie Sonic]

In Japanese content such as Sonic Unleashed and Sonic Generations, you can see Sonic push away physical contact or see him feel very uncomfortable from the contact. It's a very stark difference between mostly English medias and Japanese medias. Though there are individuals that Modern Sonic is comfortable touching. Such examples are Tails, Knuckles and even Shadow back in Sonic Adventure 2 when they clasped hands after defeating the BioLizard/Final Hazard. For Tails and Knuckles, you can see him freely touch them in several medias. One such prime example is the calendar story pictures from 2021 where Sonic holds hands with Tails and sits on top of Knuckles' head. There's also Sonic Heroes where they often touch each other to move through the stages. He is also not bothered in touching people when it is necessary to save them, help them in some manner or make things go by quicker.

[Sonic x Tails 2021 Calendar Image from Sonic Team]

[Sonic x Knuckles Calendar Image from Sonic Team]

[Sonic Adventure 2 - Sonic and Shadow claps hands in victory after defeating the Final Hazard]

Though, there is one Japanese media that is exempted from this and that's Sonic X. The reason why this one has Sonic touching others a lot compared to other Japanese medias is due to who was in charge of Sonic Team at the time. The one in charge at the time was Yuji Naka. Yuji Naka can also be included in as one of the individuals who had an agenda while he was working for SEGA because his views are vastly different than the main Japan company today. He has left SEGA a long time ago in 2006 and was even said to be a criminal in 2023 by admitting to participating in inside trading (JP news article) while working in Square Enix. Also, one of his policies in working with people was to dangle people's dreams in front of them to make them work well, but never allowing them to have it. Because of all of this, it is best not to take what he thought or says as anything official/canon anymore. This should especially be the case because Sonic Team's views have been shown to be very different and has changed drastically since Yuji Naka has been the head of Sonic Team.

Inside trading is the trading of a company’s securities by individuals with access to confidential or material non-public information about the company. Taking advantage of this privileged access is considered a breach of the individual’s fiduciary duty. [Cornell Law School]

Inside trading is an illegal offence that is more widely known as Leaks or Rumors to the general public. It is basically stealing confidential data within a company and giving it to others without permission. Many game companies go through this, including SEGA. Those who participate in leaks/rumors/inside trading are criminals who are stealing data from companies and are giving it to others illegally. What they are doing is against the law and can be punished by the law. The reasons why people do this vary, but most do this to invest in stocks to gain a profit from projects they believe will do well like Yuji Naka did in Square Enix. Other reasons can be to invest fans into something to make them buy the game to make more profit on it or not buy it to make less profit on it or to gain power and fame by giving out information before it is released for clout.

[Part 2]

[sonadowwiki]

The Differences Between SEGA of Japan and SEGA of America/Europe Master List

To read all about The Differences Between SEGA of Japan and SEGA of America/Europe, please refer to the links below.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

[sonadowwiki]

The Differences Between SEGA of Japan and SEGA of America/Europe (Part 4)

One of the main reasons as to why many English medias tend to portray the Sonic the Hedgehog characters very differently is due to them looking at only English medias, employees being hired even though they don't know anything about the Sonic the Hedgehog series (and since they don't know, they take from what they see from fans instead of asking an actual superior employee. So, if a fan says that Shadow is a certain way even though he isn't, they believe them), unprofessional employees putting their or fans' own desired interpretations on the characters, only asking English SEGA/Sonic Team USA on how to portray the characters (the ones who are said to have an agenda) or from looking at manipulated fan medias/sites like the Sonic Wiki Zone Fandom Wiki Site. This is one reason why English made content cannot be taken completely canon as they usually implement certain fan's views and conceptions into their medias and because they don't always consult the Japanese/SEGA Japan in their decisions. Some English made medias may say that they have worked with Sonic Team or that they talked with Sonic Team, but they show otherwise by making content that is very different than how the Japanese portray their medias. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that they've only worked with Sonic Team USA who is said to have an agenda and often does things without permission and behind Japan's back. But the reason why they don't clarify this is because they want the audience to be tricked into believing that all of SEGA is on the same page in what is made or promoted.

Another main reason why English medias are so different is due to decisions being made by the lore team that was created with mostly English employees. This team has not been approved of by SEGA Japan and they are making decisions about the series based on their own perspectives or personal desires. You can see this with how different Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, Silver and Amy are portrayed compared to past materials or Japanese content. There are even people on this team that are not affiliated with SEGA, meaning that they don't work for them. Yet even if that's the case, they apparently have a say in Sonic related projects, which is unprofessional since they are an outside voice that should not have a say in what a company does when they don't even work for them directly. This is not the only time they have shown to be unprofessional. This lore team has done a lot of Sonic related things that are not based off of the true lore, despite their team name. Taking a look at the past medias on the characters pointed out before can prove this. They also have members in this lore team that have lied to the audience and stolen art from an artist they later ghosted after promising to reply to the artist. This stolen art was even used in a game that they created without Japan SEGA's knowledge, which can be proven by how the new sprites, packaging art and 3D model (that was stolen) was all from English sources. In short, anything the lore team says or makes would be considered fake and "illegal" due to them doing these things without the permission from the parent company, SEGA Sammy. (To read more on this topic, read The Hidden Truth About SEGA and Observations page. Also take a look at the games to see the difference between medias from mostly English influenced things and past medias that were more influenced by the Japanese.)

Because of such differences between the English and Japanese medias, you can say that the medias they produce are of two completely different Sonics/worlds like mentioned before. It has also been hinted that what the English produce are part of a parallel world that is not part of the canon/main world. Such examples are Sonic Team's bio for Sonic on their website Sonic Channel and in Sonic Frontiers when Tails says that he saw another version of himself while trapped that was mad at him. (To read more about this, go to Observations.)

Vandalize Lyric Analysis

Vandalize

Sound the alarm Shatter me like glass Covered in scars But roses are coming through the cracks

Time that you killed You promised to help me rebuild It caught me off guard Sound the alarm

Said you'd keep me safe, now you're tearing me down Am I laid to waste, now that you're not around? Come and leave your mark Vandalize my heart

Fight the pain away, my head is in ruins Need you in my veins, don't know how you do it Come and leave your mark Vandalize my heart

Did we make a work of art just so you could deface it? Did you let it fall apart just so you could replace it? Had your name on the side of a burning bridge Watch it fade when the smoke rolls in

Time that you killed You promised to help me rebuild Feels like you planned it Took us for granted, oh

Said you'd keep me safe, now you're tearing me down Am I laid to waste, now that you're not around? Come and leave your mark Vandalize my heart

Fight the pain away, my head is in ruins Need you in my veins, don't know how you do it Come and leave your mark (come and leave your mark) Vandalize my heart

Oh, you're freaking crazy Hate me, love you, breaking bottles on the pavement Just to watch it crash

Said you'd keep me safe, now you're tearing me down Am I laid to waste, now that you're not around? Come and leave your mark Vandalize my heart

Fight the pain away, my head is in ruins Need you in my veins, don't know how you do it Come and leave your mark (come and leave your mark) Vandalize my heart

Said you'd keep me safe, now you're tearing me down Am I laid to waste, now that you're not around? Come and leave your mark (come and leave your mark) Vandalize my heart

If we take a closer look at certain lyrics, we can break down what the song means and what it is saying to those who have made the true company suffer for so long.

Shatter me like glass

Covered in scars

But roses are coming through the cracks

From these first few lyrics, we can see that someone broke the true company like glass, but from those broken pieces, they tried to put themselves back together. Though from those damages, scars remained and made them covered in scars. After that, they mention how even though they tried to fix things with scars as proof of that, the "Roses" still got through to them through cracks in the scars left from trying to fix things.

Time that you killed

You promised to help me rebuild

It caught me off guard

In these next lines, it talks about how the people, or person, wasted time and lied to the true company about wanting to help them. It also states that this threw them off guard because they trusted the individual, or individuals, who said that they would do what they can to help the true company.

Said you'd keep me safe, now you're tearing me down

Am I laid to waste, now that you're not around?

Come and leave your mark

Vandalize my heart

In the next lyrics, it continues on the thought of trusting the individuals who said that they would help the true company by saying that they said that they would keep them safe, but now they're trying to destroy them. Again, mentioning that they lied to them. It then questions that if they get rid of them, would that make things harder? But then the song states that it wants to see what these corrupt employees are like so that they can understand why they do the things they do. So they tell them to do what they want and hurt him. This can be seen as the true company gave a lot of leeway to the Americans in the creation of Sonic Frontiers.

Fight the pain away, my head is in ruins

Need you in my veins, don't know how you do it

Come and leave your mark

Vandalize my heart

Continuing on from the last lyrics, it states that the true company is trying to fight back the painful things the corrupt employees do and that it's making them in shambles. It also continues on with the last thought saying that they are letting the corrupt employees do their corruption in order to understand them.

Did we make a work of art just so you could deface it?

Did you let it fall apart just so you could replace it?

Had your name on the side of a burning bridge

Watch it fade when the smoke rolls in

In these lyrics, the true company is asking the corrupt employees and fans that if they made something just for them to desecrate, disrespect and deface it. This refers to any of their creations such as video games, stories, characters and so on. They continue to ask them if they let things get ruined so that they could replace him or replace their works with their own. One can take this as them saying that the corrupt people made their creations do poorly on purpose so that the corrupt employees can replace them with themselves; replace their works with their own. Examples of this is like having their "fans" say that Sonic Forces is horrible so that the English had more of a say in the next game, Sonic Frontiers. This can also apply to characters where the corrupt employees have the fans who are working with them say that certain characters are horrible while others are better in order to make an excuse for the corrupt employees to do certain actions since "fans are asking for it." The main example for this would be the "fans" saying that Shadow is a horrible character or is written horribly while saying that Amy Rose is a great character and should be around more. The corrupt employees can then come up with the excuse that Shadow should not be shown around more because "fans" complain about him, while on the other hand, they also say that Amy should be around more because "fans" demand for her. Therefore, in this case, "replace" would refer to replacing Shadow with Amy; to replacing Shadow content with Amy Rose content as well as Amy replacing Sonic as the mascot. It goes on to say that whoever is doing this has their name on a bridge that is burning. In the end, the name will burn away. This refers to the corrupt people doing actions that would cut the connections between the true company and the corrupt employees; that they're doing actions that would cut their relationship with each other. In the end, the corrupt employees are the ones who will disappear or lose.

Time that you killed

You promised to help me rebuild

Feels like you planned it

Took us for granted, oh

Some lyrics are repeated here, but the new lyrics say that the true company is saying that the corrupt people's actions feel like everything was planned. In the next lyric, is states that they were taken for granted by the corrupt people, therefore also confirming that they know that their actions were planned on purpose in order to bring them down. The true company believed in the corrupt people, but because they did, they ended up getting taken for granted by them. These lyrics are solidifying more that the true company knows that they were lied to and betrayed by the corrupt people who made them believe that they could trust them, until now.

Oh, you're freaking crazy

Hate me, love you, breaking bottles on the pavement

Just to watch it crash

These lyrics are then the true company speaking to the corrupt people. After knowing everything and how they are, they say that they are extremely crazy. They go on to say that the corrupt fans who work with them makes everyone hate him, but love the corrupt employees. They continue with saying that these corrupt people love chaos and to cause chaos just for their own personal benefit; that they cause chaos for no good reason. The only reason they do this, is for sick pleasure or sick benefits to themselves. The corrupt people make others suffer because they enjoy it and because they love being praised for it. That's why they manipulate the public opinion with their corrupt fans so that the corrupt employees are loved while the true company is hated unjustly.

The rest of the lyrics are repeated, but what we can get from this song is that the true company is very distressed and angry at those who planned their demise on purpose. They know who are the ones who are the cause and they are very angry at what they've done to them for years. They are very angry that they manipulated things to stunt his growth for years, just for their own pleasures and personal benefits. They're upset at being used by them and lied to by them. They trusted them, only to get betrayed in the worst way possible. And this was all done so that these corrupt employees can steal the company and series from them. Everything was fabricated against them to lead up to them taking everything from the true company. And now that they know this, they are not happy and are not going to just let it happen.

[sonadowwiki]

The Difference Between SEGA of Japan and SEGA of America/Europe (Part 3)

Even though Sonic Frontiers was worked on by Americans mostly for the characterization and story, Sonic America incorrectly portrayed SAGE in medias after Sonic Frontiers' release. She was also portrayed incorrectly before Sonic Frontiers' release with the CGI advertisements for the game. They often make SAGE villainous due to being created by Eggman, but SAGE hasn't shown to be villainous in Sonic Frontiers. SAGE's goal in Sonic Frontiers was to find a way to save the world from "The End" and to protect Eggman. To keep individuals safe or out of the way, she tried to keep everyone in the Cyberspace. Sonic was the only one able to escape due to his speed and memories, and from that, SAGE couldn't keep Sonic from doing all the damages he made as she tried to find a solution to the world ending. In response to this, SAGE tried to reason with Sonic to stop destroying things and to leave the Starfall Islands. Sonic stayed stubborn and continued to destroy things in his sight and stayed to free his friends from Cyberspace. Because of this, SAGE tried to use force to make Sonic leave, which lead to her using what robots were in her control against Sonic. Since small robots weren't working, she tried to use the Titans against Sonic since she knew they were too strong for Sonic to handle. She was confident that the Titans could stop Sonic since they were created by the Ancients to stop "The End." She even let the first Titan Giganto throw Sonic across the map to display its power, but she did not let it kill him and instead left Sonic collapsed on the floor. But Sonic stayed stubborn and found a way to destroy the Titans despite all the warnings by using his Super Form. Even though he did all of this and often still got in the way by destroying things that were meant to be used to protect the world, SAGE often just watched Sonic and occasionally tried to stop him time and time again. From watching Sonic interact with his friends, especially Tails, she started to learn what love was. This shows on the last island where SAGE's memory tokens were also the pink hearts to represent her having a heart and learning about love. At the end of the game when you go fight the last boss, the loading circle at the corner of the screen showed as a complete and round circle. Morio Kishimoto said on his Twitter that this was to represent SAGE gaining a soul. So, at the end of the game, SAGE became a being with a soul despite being a robot created by Eggman. And with that love, heart and soul, she sacrificed her life to save the world from disaster, which Sonic almost made happen due to not listening to SAGE sooner. SAGE's personal song called ''Dear Father'' also mentions how she learned love during her journey in the Starfall Islands. In Sonic Frontiers' 3rd update side story, SAGE's personal song "I'm With You" w/vocals also talks about how she was taught love.

Despite all of this, SAGE was often portrayed as someone who wishes harm on others and wants to see others suffer. In the case of the advertisement, it made SAGE almost try to kill a Koko, when in reality, she never tried to harm one in the game ever. For Sonic America's posts, in one post they made it say that SAGE secretly likes to watch the world burn. Sonic America also made a game called The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog where they had SAGE be portrayed as someone who likes to toys with people's lives as they suffer. SAGE being portrayed this way despite how she is portrayed in Sonic Frontiers shows that they don't wish to portray her correctly. Reasons for this might be because she learned how to love, which could be seen as trying to upstage other characters that are supposed to be about love.

Dear Father

Father, I just wanna tell you Thank you for all that you've given me I'm really going to miss you I hope you're not mad at me Took me time to realize My heart is for what data can't do Feelings growing deep inside Taught me what it means to love you I know now that love is beautiful I know now the reason why these tears fall from my eyes This is goodbye I'm happy to have been your creation, to have been your child Father, I wanted to make you proud Father, I will keep you safe I wish I could have found a way to stay with you forever Then maybe wе could be a family born of love Be a family born of lovе Be a family born of love Be a family born of love ♪ Hope that you feel the same 'Til we meet again Hope that you feel the same 'Til we meet again Thank you for everything

I'm With You (Vocal w/Lyrics)

Now, I'm not alone, a family of my own I, get to go home, with you Feelings deep inside, come flowing from my eyes I, get to go home, with you

All the lights, up in the sky All the times, that I spent by your side Taught me love, and taught me pain Things that I, could never have explained

Now, I'm not alone, a family of my own I, get to go home, with you Feelings deep inside, come flowing from my eyes I, get to go home, with you

Watching you, go through all that you do I never knew, until I felt it too But now I know, that love is beautiful There's so much more that I, want to find, out with you

Now, I'm not alone, a family of my own I, get to go home, with you Feelings deep inside, come flowing from my eyes I, get to go home, with you

Memories, I always remember Sceneries, have yet to discover Would it be, too much if I ask to stay forever Everything, is warmer and safer Anything, we can get through together Now that I'm, with you

Home, Sweet, Home Home with you Home, Sweet, Home I'm with you Home, Sweet, Home Home with you Home, Sweet, Home I'm, with you

[Part 4]

[sonadowwiki]

The Differences Between SEGA of Japan and SEGA of America/Europe (Part 2)

Another thing to remember about Sonic's character is that he is based off of Japanese culture and is from Japan. So to understand Sonic's character or personality, one would have to understand the true Japanese social culture. And to understand the Japanese culture properly, one would have to look at more than just their fictional medias to understand how the Japanese culture really is in both the good and bad parts of it. Japanese medias, like Anime and Manga, usually are made in a manner for people's escapism, so the medias will only highlight the good parts of their culture or make things seem more happy than they really are the majority of the time. But even in their medias, this sort of social behavior can be seen in the characters of nearly every series. In reality, there are many in Japan who feel oppressed due to their social structure. They are often told to reproduce while also being told to glorify women as if they are better than men and should be served or given everything because women are necessary to reproduce a pure bloodline for Japanese people. This made many men in the country afraid of women because there are women who act mean, rude, disrespectful, violent and pushy with men because they are taught growing up that they should be catered to no matter how they are as a person while the men are brought up to be okay with the horrible treatment, that they should always take the blame (even if the woman is actually at fault) and to just take the horrible treatment silently. Japanese men also tend to be afraid to speak up out of thinking they have to conform to society in order not to get judged, outcasted or ridiculed by their fellow Japanese people. This is why many Japanese people don't speak up and tend to just follow the social structure of things since they are in fear of being rejected by their peers or being alone. This social behavior from them is also seen in Sonic when he is faced with women like Amy Rose. Despite Sonic being free spirited and carefree most of the time, he has shown to be uncomfortable or has shown distaste towards Amy Rose's pushy, violent and overbearing behavior. Letting her get her way with him sometimes, like forcing him on dates or allowing her to touch him, does not mean that he likes being treated that way or is okay with it, but rather that he believes he has to deal with it or just let it happen because that's how the Japanese men were raised in their culture. This is also why instead of Sonic voicing out his displeasure about Amy's actions and violent, pushy and overbearing behaviors towards him, Sonic instead runs away or tries to avoid her. He does not do this out of being shy or embarrassed. He does it out of thinking it's out of obligation or that he has no choice in the matter, but he does try to have some say by running away or leaving her in others' care. This also explains why Sonic would call Amy a "friend" despite how uncomfortable she makes him with her actions towards him. And this culture difference is not translated into English medias since the Westerners who made content for Sonic don't understand the Japanese culture or why Sonic behaves the way he does with Amy. Out of not understanding, they instead change Sonic's personality into what they want and incorrectly interpret Sonic to be like (like an arrogant know-it-all who's also aloof and doesn't take things seriously). This also extends to fans who claim that Sonic doesn't mind Amy's presence or her chasing him because they also don't understand the true Japanese social culture.

Sonic is so different from English and Japanese content that it can be said that there are two completely different parallel Sonics that look the same, but act very differently. To read more about this, check the Observations page.

One other character we can look at that is very different from English and Japanese medias is Silver the Hedgehog. In English medias, Silver is portrayed as more dumb, incompetent and like a fanboy (concerning how he is portrayed in the IDW Sonic comics with Whisper). In Japanese medias, Silver is more of a character that is too serious, and from that seriousness, he misses the point in conversations a lot. An example of this can be when a joke is mentioned and he doesn't get it due to taking it literally. That doesn't make him dumb, it only makes him ignorant, which is completely different from being dumb. It is the same with how Knuckles is very gullible, but being gullible doesn't make him dumb, he is only easy to trick on occasion with certain situations. Silver is also very capable and is able to do things on his own, but the English do not portray him that way all the time due to making him fawn over others in an excessive manner. Also, in Japanese medias, Silver is often portrayed as a cool type of character. It is portrayed in how he acts and how he is shown/drawn. In English medias, when Silver is portrayed, they often soften his looks and make him less sharp.

Though Sonic Frontiers is a joint effort between America and Japan, Ian Flynn (who is a third party hired by the English side of SEGA), mostly wrote the script for the dialogue and story included in the game. (Ian Flynn was hired from the IDW Comics, which is a mostly American project and is licensed by SEGA of America.) He also mentions on his podcast that he is the one who did the characterization for the characters in Sonic Frontiers. Meaning, the way the characters were portrayed were not made in Sonic Team's interpretation of the characters. It was characterized by a third party American writer who is not in Sonic Team or affiliated with SEGA Japan. Another thing to take note of is, though the script was written by an English third party person, Japan changed the script they got from America quite a bit when putting it in Japanese. Ian Flynn was apparently not aware of this fact until it was brought to light later when demo footage of Sonic Frontiers in Japanese was shown. Though, due to it coming from the English side, the Japanese script should also be taken with a grain of salt and not be seen as Japan's complete stance on their series. Morio Kishimoto, the director for Sonic Frontiers, even stated that he thought the story was not good and that the character development was shallow. You can see a big difference in Sonic's character in Sonic Frontiers where he is more reckless/less reasonable, less caring of others/more apathetic, more snarky and cocky to a rude degree and less bothered by being touched. Examples of this is how Sonic didn't care about SAGE's death, even though she helped save the world from ending at the cost of her life, how Sonic didn't want to listen to SAGE when she told him to stop destroying the Titans, even when she hinted that his actions are causing harm, and how Sonic was more close-minded in finding another solution or in figuring out the truth sooner (which caused the world to almost end due to him helping the enemy get free to destroy the world by defeating the Titans) before he was alone with SAGE on the 5th island. Because of these factors, it is best to take Sonic Frontier's story with a grain of salt like the other game that had mostly English people work on it, Lost World. Like Sonic Frontiers, Lost World is also part of the mainline video game series, but has been mostly worked on by English people for the story and other dialogue. Due to this, Sonic is portrayed very differently than video games where mostly Japanese worked on it. Both Sonic Frontiers and Lost World are the English's interpretation on the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and is not the Japanese's interpretation.

[Part 3]