Toonami Article | Assassination of the Block

Originally Posted 02/04 by Jeff Harris

A wounded programming block lies on a hospital bed, living through artificial means. A group of assailants are grinning from ear to ear. They never liked the presentation of Toonami. They didn't like the glossy CGI nor the so-called "big brother" robot that controlled all and did nothing in their minds. Meanwhile, another group of assailants have tears in their eyes wondering what they have done. They did enjoy Toonami, but they decided that something new had to be installed to increase viewership as well as keep potential clients happy. A busy group of watchers, who knew and raised the block as their own, couldn't do anything to prevent the would-be murder, though in Toonami's eyes, they might as well have been providing the daggers mean but they obviously have no love for Toonami. And now, all that's left to do is to pull the plug on Toonami, unless some new doctors can recover it in the time that's remaining.

In 2003, love for Toonami was very limited, at least in the United States. Network executives created a brand new showcase for action franchises on Saturday nights in December 2002 that they officially branded as Saturday in March 2003 (the "Video Entertainment System" was added by the graphics creators to signify the graphics for the block, not the name of the block). Williams Street, the creators and producers of the Toonami block, had become involved in another block, Adult Swim, which blew up in 2003 with major acquisitions in both comedy and action. Adult Swim was the most talked about programming block on Cartoon Network in 2003. Because of that, attention to Toonami was very limited.

The Saturday block grew as the year went on. By airing both Kids' WB acquisitions as well as former Toonami franchises, Saturday became hated by a lot of Toonami fans, understandably. When shows that helped create an image of what Toonami should be disappeared to a block that seems to be syphoning everything that aired on Toonami, loyal fans of Toonami would be furious and upset. Many people feel that Toonami is an aging block that is only now showing its age. The block that built itself up on Gundam and Dragonball Z was coming to a crossroads with no major Gundam franchise coming out in '03 with the final episodes of both Dragon Ball and DBZ that calendar year. A rebuilding process would be hindered by competition with the Saturday block. As I mentioned before, most of the programs that aired on the Saturday block orginally aired on Toonami, and most of those acquisitions took place halfway in the series run on Toonami. The reason why programmers decided to move the shows from Toonami to Saturday was universal every time: the ratings were bad, and they wanted to put it in a place where the ratings would be better.

That may have been true, but in most cases, the show ratings on Saturdays were either lower or remained constant to the Toonami ratings.

The Saturday block has made Toonami fans ponder about the future of the block. Fans feel that every new show that Toonami gets will eventually end up on the Saturday block. It happened to just about every show on the lineup in 2003 with the exception of SD Gundam. It'll probably end up happening to the first new shows of 2004, which are Nelvana's DuelMasters (which will premiere on Toonami and later move exclusively to the Saturday block) and TOKYOPOP's Rave Master (which hasn't been scheduled yet) and any other non-adult properties the network will snag in the 2004 calendar year. The constant removal of those brands causes uneasiness in the fanbase, and with the fans slowly going elsewhere for their entertainment like TechTV's Anime Unleashed (which is going to move to the 10 PM EST hour in March), Disney's Jetix block (which airs on two networks and destined to be the first true competitor of the Toonami block outside of the network), and, of course Adult Swim (which will take over the 11 PM - 2 AM slot on Saturday nights), the odds of Toonami surviving beyond 2004 is decreasing.

Toonami, as we know it, is going to end. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. Sooner than you think. Its death may have been a premeditated one, but it's one that had to be done. Does death mean the end of the Toonami name? No, not by any means. The name lives on globally as the names of action blocks and, in the UK, a 24-hour network. In the United States, the block will probably end up undergoing a much-needed revamping. Not frosting over the stale cake, but a real revamp from the top of the head to the tip of the toe. They need to find a better way to present the show as well as learn not to overrely on certain franchises. Not to mention learn to interact with the viewers. So, the plug may be pulled on Toonami as we know it, but in the right hands, the block can be saved.