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Toonami

Toonami logos

Cartoon Network Block

Network

Cartoon Network

Launched

March 17, 1997

Cancelled

September 20, 2008

Runtime

1 hour (2000-2003 Midnight Run)
2 hours (1997-2000, 2002-2004, 2007-2008)
3 hours (2000-2002) (2000 Rising Sun) (2001-2003 Toonami Super Saturday)
4 hours (2004-2007)
5 hours (1999-2000 Midnight Run)

Kids' WB Block

Network

Kids' WB

Launched

July 30, 2001

Cancelled

June 30, 2002

Runtime

2 hours (2001-2002)

Adult Swim Block

Network

Adult Swim

Launched

May 26, 2012

Runtime

6 hours (2012-2013)
6 1/2 hours (2014-2015)
3 1/2 hours (2015-present)

Toonami is an animated programming block formerly on Cartoon Network, and currently on Adult Swim, geared toward action-oriented programming, mostly consisting of American cartoons and Japanese anime. The name is a combination of the words cartoon and tsunami, suggesting that the block is a "tidal wave" of animated shows. The block originated in the US on March 17, 1997 and ended its run on September 20, 2008. It was revived on Saturday May 26, 2012, as a more mature-geared incarnation on Adult Swim.

History

Pre-Launch

In 1996, Sean Akins was asked by Cartoon Network executive, Mike Lazzo to create a new action animation block for the network. Akins enlisted his friend Jason DeMarco to help him and together, with the help of several other individuals, they created what eventually became the Toonami block.

The weekend before the launch of Toonami (March 15-16), Cartoon Network held a two day marathon of action cartoons and titled the weekend, Superheroes Weekend. The weekend featured the Super Friends, a show that would eventually wind up on the Toonami block, and SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron, a show that never appeared on Toonami. During the weekend there were also several sneak peeks of the Toonami block.

Early Years

Toonami made its world premiere on Monday, March 17, 1997, initially replacing Power Zone, Cartoon Network's most recent action block incarnation. Toonami was originally a weekday afternoon (4-6 PM) action cartoon block hosted by Space Ghost villain-turned-producer Moltar from the Ghost Planet Industries building from 1997 to July 9, 1999.

In the animated world, Moltar began the program by sending his mobile satellite probe, Clyde 49, to earth to retrieve data and transmit it through the Ghost Planet Studio, where Space Ghost: Coast to Coast was broadcast.

Expansion

In 1999, Moltar was replaced as the host of Toonami by an A.I. named TOM, who was given the Ghost Planet vessel, GPS Absolution Mk. I, to travel through the universe and continue Moltar's work. TOM's first appearance as host actually came during Toonami's very first Midnight Run broadcast, which started at 11:55 p.m. ET on July 10, 1999.

With TOM in the driver's seat, Toonami began reaching out in new and unexpected programming and added several additional programming blocks (Midnight Run, Rising Sun, Super Saturday). In 2000, Toonami premiered the first Total Immersion Event, The Intruder, in which an Intruder ate into the Absolution and killed TOM, leaving his successor, TOM 2 to take over and rid the vessel of the intruder. TOM's faithful companion, SARA, was also introduced during the event. On July 3, 2000 Toonami expanded by an additional hour, running for 3 hours from 4-7 PM.

On May 14, 2001, the Toonami block lost the 4-5 PM hour in preparation for the premiere of the Toonami block on Kids' WB on July 30, 2001.[1]

Kids' WB Toonami

From July 30, 2001 until June 30, 2002 Kids' WB aired a Toonami block that was, more or less, the Kids' WB lineup with the Toonami name. It was critically panned by industry observers and fans, who noticed the action branding of the block did not translate content wise, which had added shows like Scooby-Doo and The Nightmare Room, a live-action series created by Goosebumps author R. L. Stine. In Spring 2002, Kids' WB announced that they would drop the Toonami name from their weekday lineup, once again making the Toonami brand exclusive to Cartoon Network.

Post Kids' WB Toonami

On June 3, 2002 Toonami regained the 4-5 PM hour.[2] From August to the middle of September, Toonami hosted Hyper Space Movies on Fridays, but the Absolution got Trapped in Hyperspace due to a computer virus named Swayzak.

In March 2003, an online Toonami comic titled Endgame was released. In the comic, the Absolution was destroyed and SARA taken from it. TOM was also destroyed, but was rebuilt into a new body (referred to as TOM 3) and rescued SARA, building a new ship from scrap, dubbed the GPS Absolution Mk. II. On March 17, 2003 TOM 3 began hosting Toonami and the block was shortened once again, losing the 4-5 PM hour.[3]

Toonami Rules Saturday Nights

On April 17, 2004, Cartoon Network moved Toonami from weekday afternoons to Saturday evenings, airing from 7-11 PM, aimed at a preteen and teen audience. Cartoon Network also added a new lighter-toned action/comedy hybrid block, Miguzi, to weekday afternoons in place of Toonami.

Toonami also replaced the block known as Saturday Video Entertainment System. One big reason for the move from weekdays to Saturday nights was the fact that some of the shows on the weekday lineup (such as Yu Yu Hakusho, Cyborg 009, and Rurouni Kenshin) became too violent for a weekday afternoon broadcast on the network.

3.17.07 (Toonami's 10th anniversary)

On January 27, 2007, a teaser commercial aired during the Xiaolin Showdown marathon on Cartoon Network featuring close up shots of larger Clydes (the remote robot explorers that have been a fixture of Toonami since the beginning) along with the date 3/17/07 and TOM's chest emblem glowing blue.

On March 17, 2007, Toonami celebrated its 10th anniversary with the introduction of TOM 4, and the jungle control room called Flowus 3 with a trio of new robots- Flash, D and a new Clyde. There were also numerous montages celebrating the block's history.

The montages included a look at past hosts, former logos, and a decade's worth of clips and voiceovers from shows that aired on Toonami. There were a total of 4 montages, all of them having different clips.

As part of the anniversary (and to coincide with Cartoon Network's March Movie Madness event), Toonami planned a month of movies:

  • March 3 - The Invincible Iron Man
  • March 10 - Stan Lee Presents: Mosaic
  • March 17 - Hellboy: Blood and Iron
  • March 24 - Stan Lee Presents: The Condor
  • March 31 - Spirited Away and Teen Titans: Trouble In Tokyo

On October 13, 2007, Toonami was shortened from 4 hours to just 2 hours, airing from 9-11 PM.

Cancellation

On Saturday morning, September 20, 2008, at the Anime Weekend Atlanta convention in Atlanta, Georgia, Cartoon Network announced that they had canceled the Toonami block due to low ratings. Toonami then aired its final transmission that same evening. Employees who worked on the block moved to other parts of the Cartoon Network or Adult Swim. Anime was mostly handled by Adult Swim, which on that same day, was deemed by Cartoon Network to be the new "main source for anime." Action cartoons were mostly handled by a then-new programming block titled "You Are Here", and a then-new block titled "Action Flicks" replaced Toonami on Saturday nights. Toonami Jetstream remained without the Toonami name until January 2009. At the end of Toonami's final airing, the host, voiced by Steve Blum, ended the block with a final monologue simply reading:

"Well this is the end beautiful friends, after more than 11 years this is Toonami's final broadcast. It's been a lot of fun. And we'd like to thank each and every one of you who made this journey with us. Toonami wouldn't have been anything without you. Hopefully, we've left you with some good memories. So, until we meet again, stay gold...Bang."

The last part echoed the final words of the character Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop, who was also voiced by Steve Blum in the English dub of the anime. After that, all traces of Toonami, including the Toonami name and mascot were all but completely phased out from mainstream television airwaves and online websites from 2008 until 2012.

April Fools 2012 - Toonami Revival on Adult Swim

On midnight of April 1, 2012, just past Toonami's 15th anniversary, Adult Swim, which generally changes its programming for April Fools' Day, began to play The Room (as they had done the past several years). The scene then switched to TOM (in an updated version of his third incarnation) aboard the Absolution, greeting the viewers while commenting on April Fools' Day, before introducing that week's scheduled episode of Bleach. The Toonami-related programming and bumpers continued throughout the night, featuring Dragon Ball Z, Gundam Wing, Tenchi Muyo!, Outlaw Star, The Big O, Yu Yu Hakusho, Blue Submarine No. 6, and Gigantor. Trigun and Astro Boy, two series that were never shown on the original Toonami, were also shown. TOM also presented a review of "Mass Effect 3" and promoted the recent DVD releases of the series shown that night.

Toonami Relaunch

On May 16, 2012, Adult Swim posted a message on Facebook announcing that Toonami would return on May 26, with a similar message on Twitter, ending with #ToonamisBackBitches. The network issued a press release later that day confirming the block's revival as a Saturday late night block. Toonami made its return on May 26, 2012, after a four-year hiatus from mainstream television airwaves, with all new bumpers, game reviews and an updated animation of TOM. This midnight timeslot block features more mature programming than any of its predecessors. The initial lineup continued some of the Adult Swim Saturday anime block programs and premiered two new shows, Deadman Wonderland and Casshern Sins.

On September 26, it was announced that the 3-6AM time period formerly used to repeat the Toonami block would be replaced with two episodes (1 hour) each of Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. This new schedule began on October 6, 2012.

On January 6, 2013, Toonami changed its color scheme from dark red to blue after using the blue scheme to introduce Inuyasha on November 3.

During Momocon 2013, the Toonami staff unveiled designs for a TOM 5 and a new Absolution, and announced a look overhaul (New logo, schedule bumps, etc.) which will all debut in april. Toonami also announced that they would air Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone on the block's anniversary March 17, and One Piece would be added to the lineup some time in 2013. The color scheme changed to green on March 17, for one day, for Toonami's birthday celebration (and St. Patrick's Day), though on the official Toonami Tumblr, they said the change to green had nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day.

On March 26, on the official Toonami Tumblr, it was announced that TOM 5, the GPS Absolution Mk. III, and the new look of the block, will premiere on April 27. It was also announced that the formerly written off Toonami original series IGPX has been brought back to Toonami.

TOM 5 Era

On April 27, 2013, IGPX, TOM 5, The GPS Absolution Mk. III, and the new look of the block (logo, bumps, etc.) made their scheduled premiere along with the surprise return of the Absolution's A.I. Matrix, SARA, redesigned and now voiced by Dana Swanson.

On June 27, 2013, it was announced on the official Toonami Tumblr that after July 20th Toonami will no longer hold the rights to Thundercats (2011), so it will not be coming back to the block.

On October 25, 2013, on the official Toonami Tumblr, it was announced that Toonami would be expanded by half an hour, making it a 6 1/2 hour block and would start at 11:30 PM on January 4, 2014. It was also announced that Space Dandy would be making its world television premiere on Toonami on January 4, 2014 at 11:30 PM.

On November 15, 2013, on the official Toonami Tumblr, it was announced that December would be a month of movies, with Toonami airing 4 movies over 4 weeks.
The scheduled movies were:

  • Akira - December 7, 2013
  • Summer Wars - December 14, 2013
  • Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of Shamballa - December 21, 2013
  • Trigun: Badlands Rumble - December 28, 2013

On February 5, 2014, on the official Toonami Tumblr, it was announced that The Intruder II, the sequel to the original Toonami Total Immersion Event, The Intruder, was in development for a 2015 premiere.

On April 5, 2014, the block received a surprise look (logo, font, bumps, etc.) upgrade.

On August 15, 2014, on the official Toonami Tumblr it was announced that there would be an Attack on Titan marathon on August 30th from 12-6 AM.

On September 22, 2014, on the official Toonami Tumbler it was announced that Beware the Batman and Sym-Bionic Titan had been written off by Cartoon Network and will never appear on Toonami again. It was also announced that the final 7 episodes of Beware the Batman would air on September 27th from 2:30-6:00 AM.

On November 8, 2014 on the official Toonami Tumblr, it was announced that December would be another month of movies, with Toonami airing 6 movies over 4 weeks as well as the final 2 episodes of Hellsing Ultimate.
The scheduled movies were:

  • Hellsing Ultimate (Episode 9) - December 6, 2014
  • Summer Wars - December 6, 2014
  • Hellsing Ultimate (Episode 10) - December 13, 2014
  • Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos - December 13, 2014
  • Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan - December 20, 2014
  • Akira - December 20, 2014
  • Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone - December 27, 2014
  • Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance - December 27, 2014

Toonami Staff

Current Toonami Staff

  • Jason Demarco (1997-2008; 2012-present)
  • Gill Austin (1997-2008; 2012-present)
  • Mike Lazzo (1997-2008; 2012-present)
  • Jonny Ray (1998-2008; 2012-present)
  • Steve Blum (2000-2008; 2012-present)
  • Dennis Moloney (2000-2008; 2012-present)
  • Sara Hardy (2002-2008; 2012-present)
  • Brent Busby (2005-2008; 2012-present)
  • Chris Hartley (2012-present)
  • Howard Parker (2012-present)
  • Kim Manning (2012-present)
  • Dana Swanson (2013-present)
  • Shawn Moore (2014-present)

Former Toonami Staff

  • Sean Akins (1997-2008)
  • Michael Cahill (1997-2002)
  • C. Martin Croker (1997-1999)
  • Randall Lane (1997-1998)
  • Tommy Guerrero (1997-1999)
  • Joe Boyd Vigil (1997-2002)
  • Peter Cullen (1999-2008)
  • Sonny Strait (1999-2000)
  • Sally Timms (2000-2007)
  • Mike Terrell (2004-2008)
  • Julia Merrill (2005-2008)
  • Tom Kenny (2007-2008)
  • Dave Wittenberg (2007-2008)

Toonami Programming

Toonami Series (1997-2008)

The series that appeared on Cartoon Network's Toonami block from March 17, 1997 to September 20, 2008.

Note: The dates under "End Date" are the last time the series appeared on Toonami, Toonami's Midnight Run, or Toonami Super Saturday. Some series had multiple runs that were not always consecutive.

No.

Name

Premiere Date

End Date

No. of Episodes

1 ThunderCats March 17, 1997 May 31, 2002 130
2 Cartoon Roulette March 17, 1997 March 5, 2000
3 Voltron March 17, 1997 February 28, 2000 124 (only 104 shown)
4 The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest March 17, 1997 September 26, 1999 52
5 Robotech January 12, 1998 December 26, 1999 85 (only 60 shown)
6 Transformers: Beast Wars March 9, 1998 March 13, 1998 52 (only 5 shown)
7 Sailor Moon June 1, 1998 May 4, 2001 200 (only 166 shown)
8 Dragon Ball Z August 31, 1998 March 22, 2008 291
9 Super Friends October 5, 1998 January 22, 1999 109
10 ReBoot March 15, 1999 November 30, 2001 48
11 The Powerpuff Girls July 10, 1999 April 16, 2004 78
12 Ronin Warriors September 27, 1999 March 9, 2001 39
13 G-Force: Guardians of Space January 1, 2000 March 5, 2000 85 (only 10 shown)
14 Gundam Wing March 6, 2000 May 11, 2001 49
15 Tenchi Muyo! July 3, 2000 January 16, 2002 21 (only 14 shown)
16 Batman: The Animated Series July 3, 2000 February 16, 2001 109
17 Tenchi Universe July 24, 2000 February 21, 2002 26
18 Tenchi in Tokyo August 28, 2000 April 12, 2002 26
19 Blue Submarine No. 6 November 6, 2000 November 10, 2000 4
20 Superman: The Animated Series November 13, 2000 June 1, 2001 54
21 Outlaw Star January 13, 2001 February 6, 2002 26 (only 25 shown)
22 The Big O April 2, 2001 July 13, 2001 26 (only 13 shown)
23 Cardcaptors June 4, 2001 June 22, 2001 70 (only 39 shown)
24 Mobile Suit Gundam July 23, 2001 September 12, 2001 43 (only 38 shown)
25 Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team July 23, 2001 November 2, 2001 12
26 Dragon Ball August 20, 2001 April 16, 2004 153
27 Batman Beyond October 1, 2001 March 14, 2003 52
28 Zoids: New Century November 5, 2001 July 26, 2002 26
29 Gundam 0080 November 6, 2001 December 1, 2001 6
30 Hamtaro June 3, 2002 October 4, 2002 296 (only 52 shown)
31 Zoids: Chaotic Century July 29, 2002 May 30, 2003 67
32 G Gundam August 5, 2002 April 25, 2003 49
33 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe August 16, 2002 January 10, 2004 39
34 Transformers: Armada August 23, 2002 January 2, 2004 52
35 G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero November 4, 2002 January 11, 2003 100 (only 40 shown)
36 .hack//SIGN February 1, 2003 February 22, 2003 29 (only 4 shown)
37 Yu Yu Hakusho March 17, 2003 February 26, 2005 112 (only 88 shown)
38 Rurouni Kenshin March 17, 2003 March 12, 2005 95 (only 62 shown)
39 Justice League June 2, 2003 May 29, 2004 52
40 Cyborg 009 June 30, 2003 September 26, 2003 52 (only 26 shown)
41 SD Gundam September 1, 2003 March 5, 2004 52 (only 26 shown)
42 Dragon Ball GT September 5, 2003 April 16, 2005 64
43 Samurai Jack September 29, 2003 September 20, 2008 52
44 Star Wars: Clone Wars December 1, 2003 November 26, 2005 25
45 Duel Masters February 27, 2004 May 13, 2006 65
46 Astro Boy (2003 Series) March 8, 2004 July 3, 2004 52 (only 17 shown)
47 Transformers: Energon April 9, 2004 April 9, 2004 51 (only 4 shown)
48 Jackie Chan Adventures April 17, 2004 July 17, 2004 95 (only 9 shown)
49 Gundam SEED April 17, 2004 October 16, 2004 50 (only 26 shown)
50 Megas XLR May 1, 2004 March 19, 2005 26
51 Rave Master June 5, 2004 June 4, 2005 51 (only 31 shown)
52 Teen Titans July 10, 2004 October 6, 2007 65
53 Justice League Unlimited July 31, 2004 October 14, 2006 39
54 D.I.C.E. January 22, 2005 April 2, 2005 40 (only 10 shown)
55 Zatch Bell! March 5, 2005 January 20, 2007 150 (only 77 shown)
56 The Batman April 2, 2005 December 23, 2006 65 (only 26 shown)
57 One Piece April 23, 2005 March 15, 2008 ongoing
58 Transformers: Cybertron July 2, 2005 June 30, 2007 52 (only 22 shown)
59 Yu-Gi-Oh! August 6, 2005 September 10, 2005 224 (only 6 shown)
50 Naruto September 10, 2005 September 20, 2008 220 (only 199 shown)
61 Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo October 1, 2005 October 13, 2007 76
62 IGPX November 5, 2005 July 1, 2006 26 (only 20 shown)
63 Wulin Warriors February 4, 2006 February 11, 2006 13 (only 2 shown)
64 Pokemon Chronicles June 3, 2006 October 21, 2006 22 (only 21 shown)
65 Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes Septeber 2, 2006 July 14, 2007 26 (only 15 shown)
66 Pokemon Battle Frontier October 28, 2006 February 24, 2007 47 (only 14 shown)
67 Yu-Gi-Oh! GX October 28, 2006 August 4, 2007 180 (only 30 shown)
68 MAR December 23, 2006 May 26, 2007 102 (only 18 shown)
69 The Prince of Tennis December 23, 2006 May 26, 2007 178 (only 18 shown)
70 Storm Hawks July 21, 2007 October 6, 2007 52 (only 9 shown)
71 Megaman Star Force August 25, 2007 August 25, 2007 26 (only a special shown)
72 Bakugan Battle Brawlers March 22, 2008 March 29, 2008 52 (only 1 shown)
73 Blue Dragon March 29, 2008 May 17, 2008 51 (only 8 shown)
74 Ben 10: Alien Force June 21, 2008 September 20, 2008 46 (only 7 shown)

Toonami Series (2012-Present)

The series that have appeared on Adult Swim's Toonami block from May 26, 2012 to the present.

No.

Name

Premiere Date

End Date

No. of Episodes

1 Bleach May 26, 2012 January 31, 2015 366
2 Deadman Wonderland May 26, 2012 March 21, 2015 12
3 Casshern Sins May 26, 2012 November 3, 2012 24
4 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood May 26, 2012 December 13, 2014 64
5 Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG May 26, 2012 January 31, 2015 26
6 Cowboy Bebop May 26, 2012 January 31, 2015 26
7 Samurai 7 August 18, 2012 February 9, 2013 26
8 Eureka 7 August 18, 2012 August 10, 2013 50
9 Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex August 18, 2012 May 3, 2014 26
10 Sym-Bionic Titan October 6, 2012 July 20, 2014 20
11 ThunderCats (2011 Series) October 6, 2012 July 20, 2013 26
12 InuYasha November 3, 2012 March 1, 2014 167 (only 127 shown)
13 Tenchi Muyo! GXP November 10, 2012 May 11, 2013 26
14 Naruto December 1, 2012 September 6, 2014 220
15 Soul Eater February 16, 2013 March 15, 2014 51
16 IGPX April 27, 2013 January 31, 2015 26
17 One Piece May 18, 2013 Present Ongoing
18 Sword Art Online July 27, 2013 February 15, 2014 25
19 The Big O: Season 2 July 27, 2013 December 27, 2014 13
20 Star Wars: The Clone Wars August 17, 2013 September 20, 2014 108 (only 56 shown)
21 FLCL October 26, 2013 January 25, 2014 6
22 King Star King November 2, 2013 November 2, 2013 7
23 Korgoth of Barbaria November 2, 2013 November 2, 2013 1
24 Space Dandy January 4, 2014 January 31, 2015 26
25 Naruto Shippuden January 4, 2014 Present Ongoing
26 Samurai Jack February 1, 2014 January 24, 2015 52
27 Blue Exorcist February 22, 2014 August 9, 2014 25
28 Black Lagoon March 22, 2014 September 6, 2014 24
29 Attack on Titan May 3, 2014 September 26, 2015 25.5
30 Beware the Batman May 10, 2014 September 27, 2014 26
31 Gurren Lagann August 16, 2014 March 21, 2015 27
32 Hellsing Ultimate September 13, 2014 November 8, 2014 10
33 Dragon Ball Z Kai November 8, 2014 Present 159
34 InuYasha: The Final Act November 15, 2014 June 13, 2015 26
35 Kill la Kill February 7, 2015 Present 24
36 Sword Art Online II March 28, 2015 September 26, 2015 24.5
37 Michiko & Hatchin June 20, 2015 Present 22
38 Akame Ga Kill! August 8, 2015 Present 24
39 Parasyte -the maxim- October 3, 2015 Present 24

Toonami Movies (1997-2008)

The movies that appeared on Cartoon Network's Toonami block from March 17, 1997 to September 20, 2008.

No.

Name

Premiere Date

1 Batman: Mask of the Phantasm January 8, 1999
2 Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero January 15, 1999
3 Jonny Quest VS. The Cyber Insects January 22, 1999
4 Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might May 29, 1999
5 Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest May 29, 1999
6 Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone May 29, 1999
7 Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz November 10, 2000
8 World's Finest November 17, 2000
9 Sailor Moon R: The Movie November 2, 2001
10 Sailor Moon S: The Movie November 9, 2001
11 Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie November 16, 2001
12 Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker August 9, 2002
13 The Iron Giant September 20, 2002
14 Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku September 5, 2003
15 Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks September 12, 2003
16 Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge September 19, 2003
17 Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler September 26, 2003
18 Hot Wheels: World Race October 3, 2003
19 G.I. Joe: Spy Troops January 9, 2004
20 The Powerpuff Girls Movie March 5, 2004
21 Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back March 26, 2004
22 Pokémon The Movie 2000: The Power of One April 2, 2004
23 Pokémon 3: The Movie: The Spell of the Unown April 16, 2004
24 Bionicle: Mask of Light April 17, 2004
25 Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug April 24, 2004
26 Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman May 1, 2004
27 Justice League: Starcrossed May 29, 2004
28 G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom November 27, 2004
29 Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui December 18, 2004
30 Hot Wheels: Acceleracers - Ignition January 8, 2005
31 Hot Wheels: Acceleracers - The Speed of Silence March 19, 2005
32 Hot Wheels: Acceleracers - Breaking Point June 25, 2005
33 Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light July 30, 2005
34 Zatch Bell!: Zatch and Kiyo's Odyssey September 3, 2005
35 Hot Wheels: Acceleracers - The Ultimate Race October 1, 2005
36 The Batman VS Dracula October 22, 2005
37 Batman (1989 Film) November 19, 2005
38 Spirited Away March 18, 2006
39 Princess Mononoke March 25, 2006
40 Castle in the Sky April 1, 2006
41 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind April 8, 2006
42 Ultimate Avengers April 22, 2006
43 Zatch Bell!: Friends Getting Stronger! May 20, 2006
44 Superman: Brainiac Attacks June 17, 2006
45 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters out of the Gate! September 9, 2006
46 Teen Titans: Trouble In Tokyo September 16, 2006
47 Naruto: The Adventures of Naruto!…Oh, And Everyone Else
Too! / One on One: Every Genin For Themselves!
September 23, 2006
48 Ultimate Avengers 2: Rise of the Panther October 21, 2006
49 Hellboy: Sword of Storms October 28, 2006
50 Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn November 11, 2006
51 Tony Hawk in Boom Boom Sabotage November 25, 2006
52 Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon December 2, 2006
53 The Invincible Iron Man March 3, 2007
54 Stan Lee Presents: Mosaic March 10, 2007
55 Hellboy: Blood & Iron March 17, 2007
56 Stan Lee Presents: The Condor March 24, 2007
57 Spider-Man April 28, 2007
58 Naruto - Mission: Protect the Waterfall Village! May 19, 2007
59 Ben 10: Secret of the Omnitrix August 11, 2007
60 Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow September 8, 2007
61 Superman: Doomsday July 12, 2008
62 Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel July 26, 2008

Toonami Movies (2012-Present)

The movies that have appeared on Adult Swim's Toonami block from May 26, 2012 to the present.

No.

Name

Premiere Date

1 Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone March 17, 2013
2 Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance August 31, 2013
3 Kick-Heart August 31, 2013
4 Akira December 7, 2013
5 Summer Wars December 14, 2013
6 Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of Shamballa December 21, 2013
7 Trigun: Badlands Rumble December 28, 2013

Toonami Reactor Exclusive Series

No.

Name

Premiere Date

End Date

No. of Episodes

1 Star Blazers April 30, 2001 March 2002 77
2 Harlock Saga November 14, 2001 March 2002 6
3 Record of Lodoss War November 14, 2001 March 2002 13
4 Patlabor February 18, 2002 March 2002 47

Toonami Jetstream Exclusive Series

No.

Name

Premiere Date

End Date

No. of Episodes

1 Hikaru no Go July 14, 2006 January 30, 2009 75
2 Pokemon October 9, 2006 January 30, 2009 ongoing
3 Eyeshield 21 December 17, 2007 January 30, 2009 145
4 Transformers: Animated February 15, 2008 January 30, 2009 42
5 Kiba July 14, 2008 January 30, 2009 51

Toonami Programming Blocks

Midnight Run

The Midnight Run was a Toonami Programming Block that ran from 1999-2003. Initially from 12:00 AM to 5:00 AM on Saturdays from 1999 to 2000. It was then moved to weekdays and ran from 12:00 AM to 1:00 AM until 2003. It consisted of series such as Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing, Outlaw Star, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, among others. Midnight Run tended to have slightly more blood and violence than its day-time counterpart, at one point even running an uncut version of Gundam Wing.

Rising Sun

The Rising Sun was a Saturday morning Toonami Programming Block that started and ended in 2000, Toonami's Rising Sun initially ran from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, but later was changed to run from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. It consisted of series such as Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing, Batman: The Animated Series, and Ronin Warriors, among others. The Rising Sun was somewhat hampered to avoid competing with sister network Kids WB.

Super Saturday

Super Saturday is a Toonami Programming Block that ran on Saturdays initially from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, then from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. It consisted of series such as Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002 TV series), Transformers: Armada, and .hack//SIGN. The final 4 episodes of Zoids: Chaotic Century were shown for the first and last time on any Toonami block on January 4, 2003 as part of Toonami Super Saturday. The block premiered in 2001 and was cancelled in 2003, replaced by SVES, a Non-Toonami action oriented cartoon block.

Total Immersion Events

Starting in September 2000, Toonami presented special interactive events known as Total Immersion Events or TIEs. These TIEs took place both on-air during Toonami and online at the official site, Toonami.com, and always occurred the week that the block's most popular series, Dragon Ball Z, returned for a new season.

The very first TIE was The Intruder, which introduced TOM's companion, an AI matrix known as SARA. The Intruder was an eight part mini-series that aired during Toonami from September 18, 2000 to September 27, 2000. It resulted in the rebirth of TOM, upgrading his appearance from a short Bomberman-esque character (voiced by Sonny Strait) to a taller, darker, deeper-voiced incarnation dubbed TOM 2.0 (voiced by Steve Blum).

The following TIE, Lockdown, aired between September 17–21, 2001, and included the introduction of CartoonNetwork.com's first MORPG as well as a record-breaking amount of page views and ratings for the network. During Lockdown TOM fights to save the Absolution from an attack by a giant trash compactor.

Trapped in Hyperspace, the next TIE, ran for a week from September 16–20, 2002. The ship's computer, SARA was infected by a computer virus and TOM became trapped in hyperspace. TOM eventually destroys the virus before the absolution hits Earth. The Intruder and Lockdown aired in the UK, but did not achieve the same amount of success as their American airings.

The TIE in September 2003 was a diversion from the TOM and SARA adventures and introduced a new, 2D universe. Immortal Grand Prix (IGPX), created by Toonami producers Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by anime studio Production I.G. It aired in five short installments and served as a pilot for the first Toonami original series, which premiered in November 2005.

Online Video Services

Toonami Reactor

On April 30, 2001, Cartoon Network launched Toonami Reactor, their first online streaming video service. The three-month service featured streaming episodes from Dragon Ball Z and Star Blazers, the latter of which was an online-exclusive series. Editorial content was provided by the now-defunct Animerica Magazine, published by VIZ Media. After the three-month "trial run" was over, Cartoon Network took it offline and completely revamped it.

On November 14, 2001, Cartoon Network relaunched Toonami Reactor with all online-exclusive programs such as Star Blazers, Patlabor, Harlock Saga, and Record of Lodoss War, as well as videos from Daft Punk and Toonami-themed games. In the summer of 2002, Toonami Reactor was revamped again under the Adult Swim brand and, with a joint venture with VIZ's Weekly Shonen Jump, programmed it as "Adult Swim Pipeline."

Toonami Jetstream

On April 25, 2006, a little over five years since the launch of the now-defunct Toonami Reactor, Cartoon Network and VIZ Media announced plans to launch Toonami Jetstream, a new ad-supported streaming video service featuring Toonami series like Naruto, Samurai Jack, Megas XLR, and IGPX. As well as the U.S. internet stream premieres of Hikaru no Go, MÄR, Eyeshield 21, The Prince of Tennis, Megaman Star Force, and Kiba. MegaMan NT Warriors and Zoids: Genesis were scheduled to be part of Toonami Jetstream but never ended up being streamed.

Toonami Jetstream launched on July 17, 2006 (after a brief unofficial sneak preview that began on July 14), and offered episodes of Naruto, Hikaru no Go, MAR, Zatch Bell!, Pokémon, Blue Dragon, Samurai Jack, Kiba, Storm Hawks, and Transformers: Animated. On January 30, 2009, Toonami Jetstream ended it's run. After Jetstream's end, many of the shows aired until their cancellation on Cartoon Network Video on it's main web site, cartoonnetwork.com.

Adult Swim

In 2012, Adult Swim rebranded their action videos section on video.adultswim.com as "Toonami shows". The site features current Toonami shows such as Bleach, Naruto, and Soul Eater. As well as past Toonami shows such as Big O, Deadman Wonderland, and Samurai 7. The site also features a Non-Toonami, former Adult Swim Action show, Durarara!!, but all content from the show was removed from the site as of June 24th, 2013 and adult swim lost the rights to the show.

On July 3, 2013, Toonami got it's own section on video.adultswim.com, complete with full schedule, a tumblr feed from the official Toonami Tumblr, and links to show pages, also on video.adultswim.com, that host full episodes and clips from most of the current Toonami shows.

Music Releases

Toonami proved to be a haven for music throughout it's history, using original compositions; first by skater/artist Tommy Guerrero from 1997 to 1999, and then by Atlanta-based composer Joe Boyd Vigil from 1999 to 2002, many of which were compiled in the CD Toonami: Deep Space Bass in 2001, which is now out of print. In 2003, DJ Clarknova (the alias of Toonami co-founder Jason DeMarco) took Toonami's beats (both old and new) and mixed them with sound bites from recent Toonami and Adult Swim shows. This resulted in an hour-long compilation of Toonami remixes, called the Toonami: Black Hole Megamix, but for unknown reasons was never published. However, the Megamix recently was hosted by Toonami Digital Arsenal, a popular unofficial Toonami multimedia site. DJ Clarknova then released another Toonami album, entitled Toonami: Supernova Megamix, on Christmas Eve of 2012 as a free download through the official Toonami Tumblr webpage.

From 2003 through 2008, Toonami relied on original and library tracks from various artists from publisher Ninja Tune. On rare occasions, videos from musicians such as Daft Punk, Linkin Park, The White Stripes, Beck, and Gorillaz aired on the block.

Video Game Reviews

Frequently throughout it's history, Toonami aired Video Game Reviews, written by Jason DeMarco and/or Gill Austin. The reviews, delivered by TOM and occasionally SARA, were fairly short and ran during commercial breaks. The hosts scored the games on a 1 - 10 system: 10 signifying an excellent game, 1 signifying a very poor game. (The score system was originally 1 - 5 until 2001.)

Two games were given a "?" rating, Dropship: United Peace Force for the PlayStation 2 (because of many failed attempts to get past Level 6) and Slender by Marc "Parsec" Hadley of Parsec Productions (because of not finding all eight pages in time, and the fright of looking at the Slender Man).

Toonami Comics

Toonami has released multiple comics during it's history. The first comics were part of DC's Cartoon Network Presents series. The next two were online comics. Toonami Swarm (A flash comic) and Toonami Endgame, told overall plot-related stories about the origin of TOM 1 and the origin of TOM 3 respectivly. The fourth comic, that doesn't offically have a name but is refered to as the Lost Toonami Comic, was never released during Toonami's original run. The lost comic was released post Toonami revival via the Toonami Tumblr page. In the next couple of months the Toonami Staff will premiere an online comic that will tell the story of how TOM 3 became TOM 4, how TOM 4 became TOM 3.5, where Sara and the Clydes were, and how TOM 5 and the new Absolution came to be.

Toonami: Outside The U.S.

Latin America

On December 2, 2002, Toonami premiered on Cartoon Network Latin America, replacing a similarly themed block, Talisman. Toonami aired shows that were already on the lineup such as Dragon Ball Z, Gundam Wing, and Pokémon. It also served as the home of Inuyasha. Over the years, Toonami added shows like Yu Yu Hakusho and Knights of the Zodiac, as well as the revamped versions of Cyborg 009 and Astro Boy. However, the block had to move to the late-night slots on CN Latin America due to protests of violent scenes on the block. Mexico moved Toonami to midnight in October 2003 while the rest of Latin America moved the block in November 2004.

In 2005, Toonami had short-lived weekend schedules, which were later replaced by the premiere of Adult Swim in Latin America (October 7, 2005). In March 2006, Toonami revamped their lineup to include more adult-oriented series, such as Love Hina, taking advantage of the late schedule and the refusal of anime on Adult Swim, as well as to compete against the anime channel Animax (now Sony Spin) for new anime series. In June 2006, Toonami premiered anime movies in two monthly variations: Dragon Ball Theatricals (which had 17 different Dragon Ball movies), and Toonami Movies (generally animated action movies).

In 2007, CN Latin America cut Toonami completely and the movies were no longer aired, save those of Dragon Ball Z. After its cancellation in Latin America (March 26, 2007), the anime programming of the channel gradually vanished, currently the only anime which air on CN Latin America are Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z Kai.

In January 2010 the block Animaction was created, showing on Wednesday evenings. This block broadcasted both action programming and anime programming until it was removed in April 2011.

UK & Ireland

Toonami UK was a programming block on the Cartoon Network in the UK, until October 2002 when it became a key component of CNX, a new channel launched by Cartoon Network UK, the first Cartoon Network derivative to launch outside North America. CNX also broadcasted martial arts movies and dramas like The Shield and Birds of Prey at night. The network catered towards a young male audience. A year later, CNX was relaunched as Toonami and was then targeted at younger audience.

Toonami UK, throughout its existence, also aired cartoons based on DC Comics properties on the channel, such as Justice League Unlimited and the first two seasons of Batman Beyond (aired as Batman of the Future). Contractual disputes with Warner TV distribution prevented the channel from showing the third and final season of Batman Beyond and the whole of Superman: The Animated Series, forcing the channel to recycle through the first two seasons of Batman Beyond as a result.

In 2004, Toonami got rid of TOM and SARA and adopted a new look, featuring spinning and sliding red and black squares in different forms on a light blue background. From March 6, 2006, Toonami UK changed its focus from action cartoons to entertainment in general, as the channel moved to Sky 602 and began airing live-action shows such as Backyard Science, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and Life with Derek, Blue Water High. Additionally, the channel's graphics were redesigned, with the black, white and red logos replaced by a new blue background logo and giggling, blob-like mascots that are used in the channel's break bumpers, promos and idents which contrasted heavily with the original themes of the channel. Toonami and Cartoon Network Too merged into one channel on May 24, 2007, ending the run of Toonami UK.

Australia

Toonami launched on Cartoon Network Australia on 7 July 2001 as an outlet for action animation. Most of its lineup consisted of anime, including already popular shows such as Dragon Ball Z, as well as the Australian premiere of Cardcaptors and exclusives such as Gundam Wing and Yu Yu Hakusho. Occasionally it also broadcast action cartoons from the United States such as Batman Beyond.

On its launch, Toonami broadcast on Saturday evenings from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm and on Sunday afternoons from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Each day's programming was repeated in the Toonami "Late Run" from 11:00 pm to 1:00 am. Toonami soon expanded to weekdays, and for a number of years could be seen seven days a week. Although timeslots varied, the main Toonami block remained on weekday afternoons; in 2005 it was airing weeknights at 6.00pm, with mini-marathons playing on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

In September 2006, Toonami was dropped from the Cartoon Network Australia schedule. Former Toonami programming, and new programming that would have previously gone to Toonami is now spread out across the network's other timeslots.

Toonami Asia

Toonami Asia is a television channel that launched in Asia on December 1, 2012. It is operated and distributed in Asia by Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific Inc., a Time Warner company. Although the brand carries the same name as the programming block available in the US, they are in no way affiliated with each other, other than both being part of the Turner Broadcasting family. The Toonami channel in Asia is available 24 hours a day.

External Links

References

  1. "Toonami To Lose One Hour ". animenewsnetwork.com. April 25, 2001. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2001-04-25/toonami-to-lose-one-hour. Retrieved on April 4, 2015. 
  2. "Toonami Gets its 3rd Hour Back ". animenewsnetwork.com. April 18, 2002. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2002-04-18/toonami-gets-its-3rd-hour-back. Retrieved on April 4, 2015. 
  3. "Program Changeup at Cartoon Network ". animenewsnetwork.com. February 4, 2003. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2003-02-04/program-changeup-at-cartoon-network. Retrieved on April 4, 2015. 
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