 Japanese title card · “Huge Home Electronics Panic!” | |
| Series | Sonic X (ソニックX), TMS Entertainment |
| Season | Season 2 (2003–2005) |
| Episode | Season 2, episode 17 · no. 43 of 78 |
| English title | “Mean Machines” (4Kids) |
| Japanese title | 家電大パニック！！ (Kaden Dai Panikku!!, “Huge Home Electronics Panic!”) |
| First aired (Japan) | 25 January 2004 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 5 February 2005 · Fox Box / 4Kids TV (Fox) |
| Directed by | Jōhei Matsuura |
| Written by | Hiro Masaki |
| Storyboard | Jōhei Matsuura |
| Previous episode | A Date to Forget (S02E16) |
| Next episode | Sewer Search (S02E18) |
EmerlThorndyke family
Mean Machines is episode 17 of Season 2 of Sonic X and the 43rd of the anime’s 78 episodes. In Japan it is called “Huge Home Electronics Panic!” (家電大パニック！！). It premiered on TV Tokyo on 25 January 2004, and the 4Kids English version followed on Fox Box / 4Kids TV (Fox) on 5 February 2005. It was directed by Jōhei Matsuura and written by Hiro Masaki.
Synopsis
Sonic’s carefree attitude has inspired a craze, the Freedom Movement, and workers at Thorndyke Industries are quitting to copy their hero. Nelson’s appliances come out faulty, and the ones sent back for repair end up in a prison workshop – where Eggman, Decoe and Bocoe fit each with a chip that turns it vicious.
Chris has caught a cold, so Nelson and Lindsey hurry home to look after him, just as the kitchen appliances come to life. In the chaos Emerl, who has lost his memory data, recognises Sonic and copies his Spin Attack, and the two rescue Chris. When a sprinkler soaks the machines, the answer is clear: water.
The appliances wreck the city’s water supply, so Tails, Amy, Nelson, Chuck and Mr. Tanaka set out to clear the blocked dam while Sonic and Knuckles hold off the machines in town. Chris, feeling better, joins in with his mother, and the flood shorts the appliances out – but in the confusion Bokkun has broken Eggman out of jail.
Key Moments
- The Freedom Movement sweeps Station Square.
- Emerl starts copying Sonic’s moves.
- Bokkun breaks Eggman out of prison.
Trivia
- Emerl’s knack for learning moves by watching comes straight from Sonic Battle.
- On home video: Japanese DVD/VHS volume 11 (Victor Entertainment, 21 May 2004); 4Kids/FUNimation volume 9, Into the Darkness (7 February 2006); the The Egg Moon, Emerl & Homebound Sagas DVD set (2009); 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.