 Japanese title card · “The Mystery of Project Shadow” | |
| Series | Sonic X (ソニックX), TMS Entertainment |
| Season | Season 2 (2003–2005) |
| Episode | Season 2, episode 7 · no. 33 of 78 |
| English title | “Project: Shadow” (4Kids) |
| Japanese title | プロジェクトシャドウの謎 (Purojekuto Shadō no Nazo, “The Mystery of Project Shadow”) |
| First aired (Japan) | 16 November 2003 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 30 October 2004 · Fox Box / 4Kids TV (Fox) |
| Directed by | Keiko Oyamada & Eom Sang-yong |
| Written by | Hiro Masaki |
| Storyboard | Toshihiko Masuda |
| Previous episode | Flood Fight (S02E06) |
| Next episode | Shadow Knows (S02E08) |
Shadow SagaSonic Adventure 2Shadow debut
Project: Shadow is episode 7 of Season 2 of Sonic X and the 33rd of the anime’s 78 episodes. In Japan it is called “The Mystery of Project Shadow” (プロジェクトシャドウの謎). It premiered on TV Tokyo on 16 November 2003, and the 4Kids English version followed on Fox Box / 4Kids TV (Fox) on 30 October 2004. It was directed by Keiko Oyamada & Eom Sang-yong and written by Hiro Masaki.
Synopsis
Station Square is digging itself out of the flood, and G.U.N., the Guardian Units of Nations, is mass-producing robots to counter Eggman – copies of his designs, the doctor sniffs as he spies on them. Hacking into G.U.N.’s computers, he finds a file on his late grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, and realises he was born on Earth: his world and Sonic’s must be parallel universes.
Deeper in the files lie Gerald’s diary and a fifty-year-old secret, Project Shadow. The download gives Eggman away, so the President sets Rouge and Topaz to watch him; for bait they take a Chaos Emerald and, despite Knuckles’ protests, the Master Emerald too. Mr. Stewart, meanwhile, offers to help the reporter Scarlet Garcia dig into the project.
On Prison Island, Eggman blasts his way through G.U.N.’s defences to a sealed capsule. Cold mist pours out as it opens, and standing inside is a black hedgehog: Shadow is awake.
Key Moments
- Gerald Robotnik and Project Shadow are revealed.
- Eggman releases Shadow the Hedgehog.
- Mr. Stewart and Scarlet Garcia start investigating.
Trivia
- Begins the adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2 (2001), which runs to episode 38.
- 4Kids’ Project Shadow DVD (episodes 33–38) was timed to the November 2005 release of Shadow the Hedgehog.
- On home video: Japanese DVD/VHS volume 8 (Victor Entertainment, 21 February 2004); 4Kids/FUNimation volume 8, Project Shadow (15 November 2005); the Chaos & Shadow Sagas 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 2 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.