TV Toonami (General Discussion)

[Firaga 5,947]

 

"We won't be intimidated by criminal threats!"

 

Since there's no real thread on here just to talk about Toonami for the sake of Toonami in general... well, here we are.

 

For those of you who aren't in the know, I'll give you a brief summary of Toonami, because believe me, the history is long and vast:

 

Toonami started off as a animated programming block on Cartoon Network, showcasing a multitude of action cartoons like Johnny Quest, ThunderCats, and Voltron. Eventually, it morphed into what its more commonly known as today: a block of "east meets west animation": American action cartoons, like it showed in the past and with new editions like Superfriends and Beast Wars; Transformers, but also showcasing English dubbed, action-oriented anime as well. Toonami has helped piqued interest in many current fans of anime, action or just in general, here in the West. Some of the classic anime Toonami showcased include DragonBall Z, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors, G Gundam, Yu Yu Hakusho, Ruroni Kenshin, and many, many more.

 

The block ran consecutively from 1997-2008, showcasing an entire channel's worth of cartoons and anime, various format, theme, and bumper design changes with the fictional robot host TOM, and some movies, special airings, contests, events, online video services such as Toonami Reactor and Toonami Jetstream, and general quality entertainment thrown into the mix during.

 

Sadly, the block was cancelled in 2008, with Jetstream, its latest streaming service ending a year later, and wouldn't see light on television for four years... that is, until one night, on April Fools 2012, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network's regular nightly block that plays adult theme cartoons and television shows, pulled a stunt where they re-aired various programs from Toonami, along with the bumpers, visuals, and TOM from its third incarnation, one of its more well known themes. This sparked the interest of all Toonami fans to bring back the block for real. Fortunately, this was exactly what Adult Swim had in mind.

 

One month later, after gaining massive support from fans through Twitter, Adult Swim re-launched Toonami once more on May 26. Since then, it has been airing consecutively just like it did in its first eleven year run, without skipping a beat, and it seems to be gaining its original stride from all those years ago, slowly but surely, airing shows both old and new.

 

I am one of those anime fans that Toonami help built. My favorite anime of all time, I first watched on Toonami. Heck, I used to be one of those people who didn't even understand anime at all, and yet, my interest was piqued, and eventually, that interest would help me grow into the anime fan I am today. Some of my own personal favorites from Toonami include DragonBall Z, Yu Yu Hakusho, Ruroni Kenshin, Naruto, Zatch Bell, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, and Hamtaro of all things. Toonami also gave me my first taste of a anime film, that being Spirited Away. I admit, I didn't actually watch too many action cartoons on Toonami at all. In retrospect, it wasn't that the block did have any I was interested in, its just that I was already watching some of them on the regular Cartoon Network. lol

 

So now that I've spilled all my guts, I can finally give you guys a chance to say something. lol (That "brief summary wasn't brief at all...)

 

What are your Toonami memories? What shows did you watch? How are you enjoying Toonami's current run? And if you want to make up your own "dream schedule" as well, that's cool too. I'd make one myself but quite frankly, I think I've said enough in this post and I'm more curious to see what you guys come up with first. lol

Edited December 4, 2014 by Firaga Sensei

[HeyMouseSayCheese 1,133]

I remember back when it was Moltar hosting, and that blew my 5 year old mind given how much I loved Space Ghost: Coast to Coast as a kid. Pretty sure Toonami was also what got me into Beast Wars and DBZ, both of which are still some of my favorite things ever, so that's pretty cool. It was also the first place I ever saw a Miyazaki film, particularly Castle in the Sky ( still my fav). Oh, and I remember just before Revenge of the Sith came out, they played that super awesome Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars cartoon on Toonami, and I have incredibly fond memories of watching that with my brother in our old house. It's some damn good times that I remember fondly.

 

Plus, let us never forget SD Gundam.

Edited December 4, 2014 by HeyMouseSayCheese

[FerroAxel7 237]

I remember how it introduced me to Dragonball Z and I was obsessed with it. I made fake DBZ fights on the playground with my friend and everyone thought I was weird but I didn't care at all. I still love the show and Toonami introduced me and I'll always be grateful.  

[Shulk 8,623]

I never really paid attention to it until shortly before it was canceled, so I don't have a lot of memories. I remember watching Naruto once before I got into the series, then watching a few episodes on the Jetstream before it went down. Same goes for Pokemon. I have Toonami to thank for getting me into my favorite show, so there's that.

 

Also, ready for people to get pissed off at me: New Toonami is handled pretty poorly in my opinion. They screwed over everyone who doesn't have access to Cartoon Network. I miss the Hexagram.

[VisitJoan 2,713]

If you ask me, Toonanmi was at it's best ten years ago.

[Soul Eater Evans 4,045]

I first saw Naruto from Toonami on CN.

[Firaga 5,947]

Also, ready for people to get pissed off at me: New Toonami is handled pretty poorly in my opinion. They screwed over everyone who doesn't have access to Cartoon Network. I miss the Hexagram.

 

"Screwed over" isn't a good way of putting it. Toonami did not make the decision to not host their shows on another online streaming service. That comes down to two things: a) Adult Swim, who owns them now and b) their budget, which is very low at the moment.

 

Here's the deal: Adult Swim has chosen not to allow Toonami another online streaming site/service because they prefer to use their services through their own website, and regardless of how you feel about that, it is currently the only way to access Toonami's content other than just tuning in on television. Also, Toonami, at this point, definitely does not have a big enough budget to do so as they would need more followers and support behind them, including a list of properties to use on said service. It's estimated that the price of obtaining a license for an anime or cartoon show for them is now like obtaining said license for a movie. I'm sure you can imagine the price range.

 

it's only been more than three years since Toonami began again, and frankly, it hasn't warranted enough success to start placing itself into the position and power that it used to be when it was a cable television juggernaut. They still have a budget, and unfortunately, it is still low and they have to stick to it.

 

I'm not trying to put you down or anything, but this is the current state of things and they'll only change if Toonami receives more support. It doesn't have anything to do with them "screwing over" anybody.

[Shulk 8,623]

"Screwed over" isn't a good way of putting it. Toonami did not make the decision to not host their shows on another online streaming service. That comes down to two things: a) Adult Swim, who owns them now and b) their budget, which is very low at the moment.

 

Here's the deal: Adult Swim has chosen not to allow Toonami another online streaming site/service because they prefer to use their services through their own website, and regardless of how you feel about that, it is currently the only way to access Toonami's content other than just tuning in on television. Also, Toonami, at this point, definitely does not have a big enough budget to do so as they would need more followers and support behind them, including a list of properties to use on said service. It's estimated that the price of obtaining a license for an anime or cartoon show for them is now like obtaining said license for a movie. I'm sure you can imagine the price range.

 

it's only been more than three years since Toonami began again, and frankly, it hasn't warranted enough success to start placing itself into the position and power that it used to be when it was a cable television juggernaut. They still have a budget, and unfortunately, it is still low and they have to stick to it.

 

I'm not trying to put you down or anything, but this is the current state of things and they'll only change if Toonami receives more support. It doesn't have anything to do with them "screwing over" anybody.

In that case, Adult Swim needs to get their crap together and make a decent video player that doesn't require an account/TV provider information to work. Or Toonami can get something up. If they can get the rights to Naruto, DBZ, and One Piece, I doubt it would be too hard to make an online streaming site. Sorry, but I can't praise them until they actually reach out to a broader audience for once. You think they'd figure this out after 3 years.

[Firaga 5,947]

In that case, Adult Swim needs to get their crap together and make a decent video player that doesn't require an account/TV provider information to work. Or Toonami can get something up. If they can get the rights to Naruto, DBZ, and One Piece, I doubt it would be too hard to make an online streaming site. Sorry, but I can't praise them until they actually reach out to a broader audience for once. You think they'd figure this out after 3 years.

 

Like I said, they have a budget. And they can only hold onto the licenses they have for so long. I doubt that would sit well with other people who want to use their service considering they could go to a variety of other services to see the shows that they want.

 

That's the thing really: Toonami is most likely being overshadowed by online streaming services that can give people their instant gratification. Most people nowadays don't want to wait for anything, they want to watch whatever they want, whatever they want to. That makes it hard for Toonami to gain followers considering they're are starting from the ground up. That and people are in general slow to really get with the program. Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr isn't enough either. They have to bring in ratings from their blocks each week; the better ratings from the shows they broadcast, the better for Toonami to gain recognition and have more privileges from Adult Swim. After all, Toonami just got their chance to start selling T-shirts a few weeks ago and there's still the Intruder II film in the works.

 

The two key words here are "patience" and "support". Meaning, the more patience and support Toonami receives, the better it will get.

 

Also, I'm not asking you to praise it still, I'm just dishing out the facts.

Edited December 5, 2014 by Firaga Sensei

[Shulk 8,623]

Like I said, they have a budget. And they can only hold onto the licenses they have for so long. I doubt that would sit well with other people who want to use their service considering they could go to a variety of other services to see the shows that they want.

 

That's the thing really: Toonami is most likely being overshadowed by online streaming services that can give people their instant gratification. Most people nowadays don't want to wait for anything, they want to watch whatever they want, whatever they want to. That makes it hard for Toonami to gain followers considering they're are starting from the ground up. That and people are in general slow to really get with the program. Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr isn't enough either. They have to bring in ratings from their blocks each week; the better ratings from the shows they broadcast, the better for Toonami to gain recognition and have more privileges from Adult Swim. After all, Toonami just got their chance to start selling T-shirts a few weeks ago and there's still the Intruder II film in the works.

 

The two key words here are "patience" and "support". Meaning, the more patience and support Toonami receives, the better it will get.

 

Also, I'm not asking you to praise it still, I'm just dishing out the facts.

Well, I can't support it when I can't even watch it, so they wouldn't be able to get that from me even if they wanted to.

[Firaga 5,947]

Well, I can't support it when I can't even watch it, so they wouldn't be able to get that from me even if they wanted to.

 

I know you're a special case, but that's just how things are right now. Toonami still needs the fans that can give them the support it needs.

[Shulk 8,623]

I know you're a special case, but that's just how things are right now. Toonami still needs the fans that can give them the support it needs.

Right. In other words, screw those of us who can't watch it, we don't matter.

[Firaga 5,947]

Right. In other words, screw those of us who can't watch it, we don't matter.

 

That's not what I'm saying at all. You're not being fair about this. There are other ways to support Toonami in your situation, like say, buying the merchandise or spreading the word about Toonami by itself.

[Shulk 8,623]

That's not what I'm saying at all. You're not being fair about this. There are other ways to support Toonami in your situation, like say, buying the merchandise or spreading the word about Toonami by itself.

I don't have the money to buy the merchandise (I don't even know if it's stuff I'd be interested in), and I don't have a way to spread the word. Even then, the one or two people I'd actually convince wouldn't help at all.

 

Look, I know that Toonami isn't in the best position to make these fixes. That doesn't mean that I have to praise them and can't be frustrated about it, though.

[Firaga 5,947]

I don't have the money to buy the merchandise (I don't even know if it's stuff I'd be interested in), and I don't have a way to spread the word. Even then, the one or two people I'd actually convince wouldn't help at all.

 

Look, I know that Toonami isn't in the best position to make these fixes. That doesn't mean that I have to praise them and can't be frustrated about it, though.

 

And where did I say, in any part of this conversation, that you have to praise Toonami for what it is right now? Really, I'm just laying down their current situation for you. I know it's not exactly great, but this is just how things are and the only way to move forward is do what I've already said more than once now. Alright?

Edited December 5, 2014 by Firaga Sensei