2. The subplot involving the GUN soldier and Maria's death. This is the one that feels more like censorship and it's a pity due to what it is. Taking Maria's death and framing it from the regretful soldier who shot her adds more depth to the whole tragedy. The fact that it was a whole subplot instead of just one episode added more to the weight of it.
The whole thing with 4Kids censoring as much as this did is the same reason Saban censored so much in their own anime dubs: FOX's broadcast standards and practices were really strict when it came to children's television, ever since soccer moms reacted negatively to Batman, X-Men, and Power Rangers upping the levels of violence that could be shown on children's TV.
The GUN soldier's story was very deep and emotional, but his direct role in Maria's death (that being the murder of a child gunned down by a pseudo-U.S. soldier) was something that FOX was never gonna allow to be depicted.
Had Sonic X been dubbed instead for, say, Toonami, or any other cable TV network, the soldier's tragic role in Maria's death could have had a better chance of being maintained in the dub. But instead, 4Kids had to abide by the stricter rules of a broadcast network instead of a cable network.
Although, it has been a while since I last watched Sonic X. What was it exactly that 4Kids changed about the GUN soldier's story? I do remember the dub keeping his sadness and remorse over what happened, but what did 4Kids alter about it?