 Japanese title card · “Speed Match! Sonic vs Sam” | |
| Series | Sonic X (ソニックX), TMS Entertainment |
| Season | Season 1 (2003–2004) |
| Episode | Season 1, episode 21 · no. 21 of 78 |
| English title | “Fast Friends” (4Kids) |
| Japanese title | スピード勝負！ソニックｖｓサム (Supīdo Shōbu! Sonikku Bāsazu Samu, “Speed Match! Sonic vs Sam”) |
| First aired (Japan) | 24 August 2003 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 21 February 2004 · Fox Box (Fox) |
| Directed by | Yukio Okazaki |
| Written by | Yoshio Urasawa |
| Storyboard | Toshihiko Masuda |
| Previous episode | Cruise Blues (S01E20) |
| Next episode | Little Chao Lost (S01E22) |
RaceSonic vs Sam
Fast Friends is episode 21 of Season 1 of Sonic X and the 21st of the anime’s 78 episodes. In Japan it is called “Speed Match! Sonic vs Sam” (スピード勝負！ソニックｖｓサム). It premiered on TV Tokyo on 24 August 2003, and the 4Kids English version followed on Fox Box (Fox) on 21 February 2004. It was directed by Yukio Okazaki and written by Yoshio Urasawa.
Synopsis
In the middle of the night Sam Speed roars up to the mansion in the SSIII, a rocket-powered racing car paid for by the government, and demands a road race with Sonic. Sonic says no. The President’s aide, Jerome Wise, who wants the race as a popularity boost before the election, gets Eggman to change Sonic’s mind – with a robot that threatens to kiss him if he refuses.
The race is on, though Eggman can’t resist crashing it with his robot Sumo-Man. Sam and Sonic stay neck and neck all the way to the stadium, and at first it looks like a tie – until the slow-motion replay shows Sonic got there first, posed for the cameras, then strolled back to cross the line alongside Sam.
With the President held up in a meeting, Wise steps forward to shake the winner’s hand in front of the photographers, hoping the pictures will one day carry him to the top job. Then his phone rings: his dealings with Eggman have been found out, and the cameras record his downfall instead.
Key Moments
- Sonic and Sam Speed race for real.
- E-45 Sumo-Man tries to spoil the race.
- Jerome Wise’s scheme collapses when his dealings with Eggman come out.
Trivia
- Yoshio Urasawa also wrote the earlier Jerome Wise episode, “That’s What Friends Are For”, and “Techno-Teacher”.
- On home video: Japanese DVD/VHS volume 5 (Victor Entertainment, 21 November 2003); 4Kids/FUNimation volume 5, Sonic’s Scream Test (25 January 2005); the Chaos Emerald Chaos DVD set (2008); and Discotek’s Sonic X Collection 1 (2016) and complete-series Blu-rays.
Watch the Episode
The full 4Kids English episode, uploaded by TMS Entertainment’s official “Anime! on TMS” YouTube channel (checked 6 November 2026).
Part of our Sonic X Season 1 guide. See the Sonic X series page for the cast, theme songs and home video.
Sources: titles, credits and air dates from Wikipedia’s list of Sonic X episodes and Sonic Wiki Zone, cross-checked with each other and with Luke’s original Sonic Scene episode table; synopsis written for Sonic Scene from the episode, Wikipedia’s summary and Sonic Wiki Zone’s plot notes; title card and screenshots via Sonic Wiki Zone, copied to our media library.