Amy VA Cindy Robinson Coming to Sonic Revolution

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1. I actually met her last year at Fanime Con 2015 in San Jose, CA. She’s a really nice person and has a pretty bright personality. She gave a lot of insight into the world of voice acting at one of her panels and even voiced her thoughts about voicing Amy between the show and the games. She unsurprisingly really loved the time she got to spend with the other actors on recording for the show, since they would usually voice them together rather than separately like they do with video games, and she really loved the freedom and flexibility they gave her with Amy’s character in the show, in contrast to how Sega wanted her to fit a very conservative mold of what they wanted to keep Amy as, a high-pitched girly-girl who only talks about Sonic. I really liked hearing how she actually liked getting to voice as Amy, so I really hope that among the other changes we might be getting they might consider taking a bit more liberties with how they allow their cast to do their characters, because I honestly wouldn’t mind a bit of Boom-Amy leaking into Sega-Amy’s personality a little. It would at least be nice to hear them have the same sass. X3″

   1. ^THIS. There was nothing wrong with Cindy’s voice, just her delivery. She had the same issue in RoL as well, went Amy went to the other extreme and became a lazy action girl. Once she got a chance to actually play with the character, Cindy owned Amy and even improved on her character, creating a happy medium between competent female role model and girly romantic.

      Like all things in life, every other problem could be traced back to SEGA 😛

   2. Now if only Kirk Thorton could improve his Shadow voice XP

      1. It’s weird, there’s some times where he does have it, but then the show really confused me with his delivery. Like the games he’s been solid in so far, and even in Rise of Lyric, though granted he only got in a few phoned-in scenes to really analyze. I know he can do a good role with this character, considering how well he’s done distant characters like Saix from Kingdom Hearts. This is practically a match made in heaven, but if they could just direct the guy better and give him enough room to try and sound deeper and more menacing they could churn out something really great, he could even be the best Shadow! Sega seriously just needs to have an English division in charge of the English voice acting process who’s much looser on things like this, or somebody had to make some kind of decision that will as a result let the voice cast do a better job instead of having to be reigned in most of the time. >3<"

         1. Doubt it.

         2. I dunno. As you mentioned, Kirk Thorton has no consistency regarding Shadow. I feel like Boom TV demonstrates this well– he gets total creative freedom regarding how Shadow gets voiced and he picks… knock-off Vegeta. Seriously though, that was tolerable, unlike his voice in Shadow’s other appearances, but still not that great. Perhaps he can do a good Shadow voice sometimes, but I can tell that it just doesn’t come naturally to the guy and is thus doomed to inconsistency.

            He shouldn’t be kicked off voicing Sonic characters for good– he’s always done a good job with Orbot. But I just don’t think he makes a very good Shadow.

            1. But…but…I’ve SEEN him do good! If somebody literally told him to “voice Shadow like you would Saix”, then he would hit it on the mark! The potential is there, it’s just….I don’t know, I want to see him use that talent that I know he has, it’s been fine and serviceable at least for Sonic Free Riders and Sonic Generations, it’s only Boom where I feel really conflicted with (plus, I kind of thought being a Vegeta rip-off was the whole point). I KNOW he can do a good Shadow, I’ve heard him do it a few times in the games. I guess in his case instead of looser direction he just needs better direction overall. But I will say this with his inclusion in Boom. The cast had a whole season to mess around with and iron out their characters. By the end of the season, they were pretty much solid. Shadow had not been used right up until that final episode, and the last thing Kirk voiced Shadow for literally only gave him a handful of lines. He’s still on day-one mode because he hasn’t yet been given anything to really play around with long enough to flesh out the tone that works best for Shadow. This is the problem I have with them just changing the whole voice cast without even using most of the characters that they’re voicing, you’re letting talent go to waste, and by the time they actually do use them for a bit, it’s very minimalist and as a result doesn’t leave enough room for them to leave a lasting impression on you. I feel like if Shadow were given more exposure in either a full game or at least became a reoccurring character in a season of Boom he’d at least get enough mileage to nail down a Shadow delivery that’s fitting of the character. Like I’ve said, I’ve seen him hit gold before, I believe that potential is still there. The stars just haven’t been aligned correctly yet, or something…I don’t know… T.T”””

            2. I think you nailed it right there: Maybe Kirk (like any sane rational person) doesn’t take Shadow seriously, and just sees the surface details of the Vegeta parody that .

               To be fair to SEGA, it’s not like they’re doing anything else with Shadow. I think in order for Kirk to change the way he’s doing the role, they have to change Shadow himself…or at least Boom Shadow. I think as a spin-off, Sonic Boom is a place that can let the writers and voice actors play around with the characters and introduce elements that can change people’s perceptions on video game characters that have only existed as arch types (even if it means using another arch types, like in the case with Knuckles).

               If SEGA and the fans didn’t scare the writers and actors into keeping Shadow as a static individual for the sake of character/branding, I think Kirk could take Shadow in an interesting direction. We know he can do it through his other roles. Or just take the easy route and find a VA who is interested in voicing Shadow.

            3. If that meant that Jason would be up for voicing Shadow again, I’d love to see that, but at the same time I just want Kirk to be given more opportunities to really nail his Shadow role. I mean lately it’s the only other big name franchise I’m aware of that he’s in that he’s voiced anything new for. You know, cause in my universe the only two things that exist are Kingdom Hearts and Sonic, so if he’s not doing one, clearly the other is all he has to make money off of. X)” JK, but seriously it’s the only other role I’m highly aware of, so I’d love to see him do a good job with a character type I have seen him excel with before. I’m always the kind of guy that wants to see things get better instead of worse, even with Boom, so if there’s a chance that Kirk can do an awesome job with Shadow, I want to see that happen.

               (Like seriously man, just a broodier grumpier Saix, and you’ve got it, don’t let me down! T3T)

   3. Ugh! Sorry but I rather have Lisa Ortiz Amy that portrayed her as a force to be wreckon with, unlike Cindy’s Soccer mom portrayal of Amy. I’m sure Cindy is a nice girl and she’s only doing what Sega is telling her to do but her voice still doesn’t fit as Amy. I want her to sound like a persistant teenager that’ll crush anyone that gets in her way.

      1. Well we haven’t really been given a chance to hear her try that out, now have we? So far the only roles in Sega games Amy has had is Minnie Mouse-light fan girl who occasionally just offers emotional support from the sidelines. I like how she’s portrayed in Boom, and while I grant that’s different, I’m not going to say that she “can’t do persistent teenager” when she really hasn’t been given any material so far that requires her to sound like a “persistent teenager”.

         Besides, I’d still prefer it if Sonic still sounded like that passionate wise-cracking anime-style hero that we got with Jason Griffith, but clearly they’re trying to take him in a different direction too. It’s still serviceable when used right, but it’s mainly because of the writers’ dialogue in the games that it falls short half the time. That’s why the show has been probably the best use of these actors, the writing at least knows how to portray the personalities they’re going for a bit better. And given how much more snarky, sarcastic, and smart-mouthed Sonic tends to be nowadays, it makes more sense for Amy to now be a level-headed diplomatic who’s willing to put up with Sonic’s BS half the time and actually smack some sense into him. It’s an improvement on her previous bossiness in that it is actually justified, Sonic acts like an ass half the time so its up to her to provide common sense. I’m not saying I don’t miss the persistent teenager thing, I just think that there’s value to be had with this current interpretation of Amy as well. If they could ever find a way to meld the best of the two into something a little more pleasing that would be terrific. With how it stands now however, it’s nothing terrible.

2. It’s actually funny how Cindy Robinson turned from my most disliked actress for Amy into my most favorite voice actress for Amy.

   1. Funny how a change in voice direction can affect how an actor can portray a character. It’s almost as if, *GASP*, they WANT to give their all most of the time! OoO”

   2. Can you give me a link that shows Cindy as her best Amy?

      1. All of Sonic Boom.

         1. This. ^^

3. Oh my god I want Roger Crag Smith in Sonic Revolution 2016 to be conifmed because Roger Crag Smith is my second favorite Sonic voice acter!!! Please conifmed this men Sega in Sonic Revolution 2016!

   1. My god, if Roger and Cindy are in the same panel together…LET THE SHIPPING Q&A COMMENCE!! ALL SONAMY QUESTIONS ALL DAY LONG!! Knuckles? Tails? Who are they!? I MUST KNOW ABOUT TEH SHIIIIIP!!!!! O3O

      But seriously, that would be awesome to see, and I’d honestly love to hear what their thoughts are on how Sega handles Sonic and Amy’s relationship (“romantic” or otherwise) in the games and compare it to how the writers for the Boom cartoon handle it. Among other questions I’d have for both of them individually (if only they were at Fanime this year… T3T”””), that would definitely be one I’d love to ask them. X3″

4. Cindy Robinson has improved voicing Amy ever since Sonic Boom started up, I liked and she fits Amy well

5. Okay……can I please ask WHY its so wrong for Amy to like Sonic? You know, to REALLY like him a lot? Amy always had a personality. She was sassy, hard headed, and determined in both her love for Sonic and……well when she wasn’t saying she’d choose Sonic over the world, FIGHTING for the world and for her friends. I’d like it if people would stop getting so defensive and sensitive over girl characters adn how they SHOULD be represented in a video game. There’s nothing wrong with having a romantic arctype within a character. I usually liked Amy for that, loved it even when it was done right. Just no Sonic 06 Amy and more Sonic Advance Amy. An Amy that can run and jump like Sonic, but have the general personality of Amy.

   1. She’s still the same character, it’s just that the crush on Sonic isn’t as heavily emphasized in Boom. Since we’re still getting the same Amy with the Sega games I feel that it’s refreshing to see a slightly more subtle about her feelings Amy at the same time. Really the only issue I have with Sega Amy is that once they recasted everyone, they seemed to take a few steps back with Amy rather than forward. Like with Adventure to Unleashed you could kind of get the sense of a slow kind of progression of her character where she still fawned over Sonic and chased after him, she was getting slightly less overbearing with each appearance. That and Sonic was kind of letting down a few defenses a little bit over time as well, I mean it was kind of heartbreaking seeing how he reacted to Amy not recognizing him in Werehog form. This, coupled with the option to promise a date with her in-game, and possibly said date being referenced in The Black Knight, would seem to suggest that some kind of progress was being made between the two characters’ relationship, Amy being slightly less exaggerated than she used to be and Sonic being slightly less uncomfortable around her (I mean, he still showed some discomfort, but that was usually because he did something to set her off rather than just running away at the sight of her like in the old days). I really liked the direction they were going with that.

      But then when they decided to recast everyone, for some reason they also wanted to rewrite everyone too. They took everything back to basics, with Sonic’s shtick being that he’s a sassy cocky hip dude, Tails is a talkative Jimmy Neutron, Knuckles is…well, Knuckles I guess (the stupidity thing was really more of a product of Boom than anything Sega side), Shadow is now just kind of a chaotic neutral wild card loner-type now (so far no reference as to whether he’s still in GUN or not), and Amy is back to being a girl who is into Sonic and can only seem to express it in ways that annoy both Sonic and the viewer. It’s almost like they rebooted the cast, and yet we’re still supposed to buy that they are the same characters we’ve watched before. So as a result, we’ve had Amy and Sonic kind of showing signs of softening up around each other, only to seemingly go back to square one. I mean, unless they did do some kind of reboot and made Amy’s crush on Sonic a “secret” in the Sega series too? I mean, that scene in Lost World REALLY confused me, but then again the writers have barely even seen Sonic anyway, so I shouldn’t be surprised with any inconsistencies these days.

      I like how Amy is forward with her feelings towards Sonic, it’s her established trait and when it’s used well, it really works and can be both super funny and super cute to watch. The problem is that since the recasting in 2010 it has hardly been used in any such way that it is fun to watch, mostly in part due to how little Graff and Pontac actually understand the character, let alone ANY of the characters. If your writers have to look up cutscenes of your product just to be able to get some idea of how they should write them, then that’s a clear sign that they might not be a good choice for the job Sega! XP

      At the very least, Amy’s Boom persona (in the show and comics anyway) is being written by writers who actually DO know what they’re doing, so even though she’s slightly different in some ways, she’s still fun and enjoyable to watch and listen to. It’s kind of like what an older more mature Sega Amy would be like once her Sonic-obsessed hormones mellow out a little. Honestly, if there was some way to make the Sega Amy a tiny bit more like the Boom one, at least in terms of overall attitude and level-headedness, it would make for an even more enjoyable Amy (those are really the only huge differences other than how they handle their feelings for Sonic. Sega Amy used to be pretty careless with a lot of things, like dragging her friends into her own Sonic-focused missions or even working herself to the point of fatigue. Boom Amy seems to be a little more mindful when it comes to others feelings, though she still occasionally has her little funny outbursts once in a while, and is a little more cautious and calculated when it comes to how she does things. If nothing else, she’s gotten a lot more graceful. Otherwise they still retain a lot of the same traits, just to somewhat different degrees in intensity).

      1. I pretty much agree with everything you said. I just don’t understand why people write off the simple charm of a girl that wants to get with a guy that is either too afraid to commit to someone or is just too put off to do anything about it. I don’t know a character arc that is like that other than Sonic and Amy. It was charming, simple, nothing to complain about. I didn’t think much of it. Amy now is a bit……well too weird for my taste. I don’t even know if I like her outfit too much. The way she looked back in Advance was pretty cool.

         1. Well the only other media source I can think of that regularly uses that trope in a charming, funny, or whimsical manner is anime. Which is kind of another reason where I was actually fine with the Sonic series feeling “anime-ish”, despite some older fans’ opinions.

            A bit of a tangent, it’s kind of funny that aside from terms of “classic”, “Adventure”, and “modern”, you could also divide the series into periods of cultural influences. Like the 1991-1997 years kind of felt like a bit of a balanced mix of American and Japanese influences, then the 1998-2004 years felt a little more of an American flavor of “cool” while still mostly remaining balanced between US and Japanese influences, then the 2005-2009 years were a little more heavy on the Japanese influences in terms of drama and gags (thus the “anime-ness”), and now in the 2010-present years there seems to be a bit more of an American heavy influence in terms of the comedic focus and style of dry wit and sarcasm. It almost seems like the series is in constant flux of either looking Japanese and sounding American or looking American and sounding Japanese. The only thing that seems to remain regionless is the gameplay itself…well except for Boom, that had a very apparent American Adventure-game feeling about it.

            Anyway, I feel that Sega’s use of Amy as a character could really benefit if they combined what they used with her in the past (particularly during the 2005-2009 years) with what they have used with her in Boom, making her a sort of more interesting interpretation of the character that either side can enjoy. Like she could still be easily put off and be given reason to chase Sonic around out of anger or frustration (I honestly kind of found those moments slightly more funny than just chasing him out of infatuation, cause cartoon characters angrily chasing each other with mallets never gets old XD ), could still clearly show signs of liking Sonic, but just being a little more subtle or even awkward about them. I’m not saying that I don’t want the original way to ever come back, it’s just that rather than returning to an old way right away, I’d like to see something new and interesting be tried using aspects of the old and new way that have worked best so far. I mean, I’d like an Amy that took charge a little more and showed the grace and skill to actually back that attitude up, but of course I still want those funny moments of anger and charm thrown in there.

            But maybe it’s just a difference in taste I guess. I just happen to like both interpretations pretty well and just want to see the best of both more often. Again, the only aspect of Amy I don’t like is how much they have dulled and simplified her on the Sega side of things in the 2010-present years, somehow they made her less interesting and funny than she was before, and that frustrates me because it was happening right after a consistent period of seeing her become more funny and interesting. It’s like with the recasting Sega became very Nintendo-like in terms of how conservative they wanted to be with their characters, only instead of trying to stay in one familiar zone of personality they took several steps backward, and hiring unfamiliar incompetent writers certainly didn’t help matters either. XP

         2. Geez I talk a lot. 😛

            1. Yeah, you a regular motormouth man.

               Also I have to disagree with you, I think the anime influence started earlier than 2005, right around when SA1 began development. After all, Sonic Adventure was the game that solidified the Japanese game canon as the main continuity and changed Sonic’s personality from the one many westerners were used to from the comics and the cartoons to a more heroic version that is similar to Goku or other Shonen protagonists. Even WITH the English dubs (or precisely because of the poor english dubbing) and the localization, it never felt like I was watching an American or British Saturday morning cartoon ,but a syndicated dub of a Japanese kids show. It was the mannerisms, the camera angles, the faux melodrama. It didn’t got as bad until SA2 (or arguably Heroes), but the origins lie in SA1.

               I do wish SEGA (and most Japnese publishers in general) stop worrying so much about conservative with their brand if their brand is going to go stale and be wasted. Just be more judgmental on which western creative developers you choose (whether it be a writing team, art team, game developers or marketing) and keep on eye on them, don’t just tell them to think outside the box and then put a bigger box on top of them.

            2. Well I was more speaking of the general timeframe where they were already established. You could argue that there was lots of overlaps in between. I mean, Sonic CD is probably the most Japanese of the classic titles out there, and yeah, Sonic Adventure would still take it a step further, but it still had a heavy American influence, they still had to travel to areas like Central and South America and took plenty of reference from big cities like New York City for the various areas in the game. It wasn’t so much the content or words and drama that defined the American influence, but rather the setting and atmosphere it was in. The only Japanese-feeling level in there is arguably Speed Highway.

               Regardless though, yes, the blending of American and Japanese influences did have it’s roots in SA1, but it didn’t really cement itself as what Sonic “was” until the recast in 2005. The main reason I argue this is because not only are the writers continuing the more anime-esque trend that they were slowly building upon already, but they’re also backed up by a cast who already typically do English dubs for other anime anyway, so the way they pick it up and the way they come off just adds to and completes that feeling. That’s why the 2005-2009 era was most notably anime-like in terms of mannerisms, it was it’s firmly established identity by that point.

               I only generalized and left out overlap points just to make my point simpler to get across.

            3. But yeah, they really should be looser on things like that. 😛

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