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#10 - Lockdown and Trapped in Hyperspace
In 2000, Toonami introduced the concept of the Total Immersion Event. The very first event, The Intruder, was a microseries that strengthened the backstory behind the then-new host TOM as well as introduced a new co-host in SARA. It was also the first time that Williams Street created original programming for the Toonami block. Overall, it was well-received by critics and viewers alike. So, it would come as no surprise that Williams Street would launch a second TIE in 2001. With weeks of promotion all over the television scape and in the print media, Lockdown created a fan frenzy. Cartoon Network promised more fan interaction with a group of team-based missions throughout the week on the official site. The first day of Lockdown was actually pretty good, not to mention very well-written and well-performed. However, as the week progressed, those that watched Lockdown on-air only were disappointed since the subsequent episodes were nothing more than recaps of the game's progress and a brief statement about the new assignment. It was disappointing to say the least, though the game was generally well-received.
The following year, Cartoon Network didn't even make an announcement about Trapped in Hyperspace, the third TIE, until mid-July 2002, which led many fans to wonder if the event would actually occur and what it was all about. In fact, when the actual event did air in September 2002, viewers still didn't know what to make of it. Storywise, it seemed like it was haphazardly written with a plot that made little to no sense. The main villian, believed by long-time fans to be a fiery virus implanted by Moltar, had an M on his head, and yet, was known as Swayzak online and later on-air. As bad as Lockdown was, Trapped in Hyperspace was much worse. The reason many viewers believed that Trapped in Hyperspace was so lackluster was because Toonami was a competitor to Kids' WB, which was the broadcast home of the block less than a year prior.
Lockdown and Trapped in Hyperspace were the last two major adventures involving TOM and SARA. In 2003, Toonami went another route with the Total Immersion Event when they partnered with Production I.G. to produce an original microseries IGPX, which was later developed into a dramatically different series two years later. IGPX returned the annual event to a greatness not seen since The Intruder in 2000. As a result, Lockdown and Trapped in Hyperspace are seen by fans of the block as disappointments.
#9 - The final episode of Dragon Ball Z
Son Goku, the iconic hero of the Dragon Ball saga, transformed a lot over the course of the three series, from a monsterous ape-like creature to a blond-haired demigod to a half-ape/half-human hybrid. So, why did it seem like Goku made his most shocking transformation into Michael Jackson by the end of Dragon Ball Z?
Don't believe me? Let me show you the ways. In the third-to-last episode, Goku shared a bath with his young son Goten and Goten's best friend (and Vegeta's son) Trunks and spent the last moments running around naked with them (you didn't see that on Toonami, thank the stars). In the final episode, Goku began to fight a young Indian boy named Uub, who was the reincarnation of the evil Kid Buu, who died nearly a decade before this episode took place. Sensing the great power within the young boy and the challenge of unleashing that raw power, Goku does what any normal guy with a wife, kids, friends, and a granddaughter would do and flies off with Uub into the sunset to train the young boy for some years.
Wait, what?!?
Akira Toriyama is a genius and everything he has become involved with has become successful. However, the end of one of the greatest comic book series ever written (and this was the second ending . . . but that's details for another conversation) was an awkward one at best when it was on the printed page. This was the end of Dragon Ball, and it didn't end with a bang, but rather a pediaphilic moment of sorts with the manchild Goku leaving everything behind with a new powerful kid at his side. Of course, this wasn't the end of the animated adventures of Goku and his friends, as the series evolved into Dragon Ball GT months later on Toonami and it had a much better ending than the last episode of Dragon Ball Z. For those that didn't see it the first time, DBGT's ending was more of a conclusion of the entire franchise with a reflection of what has occurred in all three of the series. The final minutes of Dragon Ball GT was some of the best minutes of Toonami ever seen.
The final episode of Dragon Ball Z was one of the most disappointing moments of the block.
#8 - New Year's Evil 2001
2000 was one of the greatest years in Toonami history. It's the year that saw Gundam finally invade the North American shores, a young teen named Tenchi Masaki meet beautiful alien women, Sailors Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto making a mark on the other pretty soldiers, Goku meeting his death (again) at the hands of Cell, a creature that personifies evolution, the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel finding a place on the premiere action block, members of a submarine crew take on a modern version of Dr. Moreau, and TOM having a phoenix moment of death and resurrection. It was also the first time Toonami took over a 24-hour lineup, something it wouldn't do in the United States ever again.
How does Toonami begin 2001? With a marathon of The Garlic Jr. Saga, one of the most pointless filler sagas ever created. Garlic Jr., who was last seen imprisoned in Dead Zone, has been release and decides he wants to unleash hell on Earth by releasing a mist that will transform anybody with a little evil in them into a soul-sucking demon. This was a terrible set of episodes and was truly evil. The name New Year's Evil truly set the tone for 2001, which was one of the block's darkest, and this harbinger was one of the most disappointing moments. Of course, a year later, New Year's Evil was truly great featuring a countdown of the baddest guys to ever set foot on Toonami, but that's another conversation.
Let's continue.
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