Two months later as part of the celebration of the ninth anniversary of Toonami, Cartoon Network dedicated four weeks to the films of Hayao Miyazaki. Princess Mononoke (which had more promotion time on Toonami for its theatrical run than Disney had promoted it nationwide), Spirited Away, Nausicca, and Castle in the Sky (which made its English-language debut at the 2000 New York International Children's Festival, which was sponsored by Toonami) all made their Cartoon Network debuts on Toonami. This was the highest-profile event the block had ever hosted before or since and truly a milestone as one of the greatest moments for Cartoon Network as well as for Toonami.

#3 - The Intruder

This project was The Intruder, a multimedia event that had never been seen before anywhere on the planet at the time, so it was truly revolutionary in 2000. It was presented as a computer-animated miniseries, a vector-based internet comic, and an interactive flash presentation. It expanded the universe of Toonami's host TOM and told his origins for the first time ever. It introduced SARA, TOM's best friend and companion, and revamped the hero from a small hero into a taller robot with a deeper voice courtesy of Steve Blum. This TOM became the icon of the block for a number of years until his third upgrade in March 2003 and his newer look in March 2007.

The Intruder was just a stepping stone in the direction of the block. Although Lockdown and Trapped in Hyperspace didn't outshine the success of The Intruder, Williams Street continued to evolve the world of TOM and SARA throughout the years, including the 2003 upgrade, the 2004 move to Saturday nights, the 2005 Summer Preview sequences (the second time Toonami was allowed to be a part of Cartoon Network's reindeer games), and the 10th anniversary upgrade in 2007.

The Intruder is one of the brightest moments in the history of Toonami.

#2 - Gundam Wing: Uncut

It wasn't the first profanity heard on Toonami. Race Bannon, who also uttered the first two words in the history of Toonami ("Right here."), said "hell" on The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest. When Toonami announced that Gundam Wing was going to have two airings of Gundam Wing every weekday, fans were hyped. However, everyone was shocked when Toonami aired the second episode of Gundam Wing almost completeIy uncut and with a TV-PG rating, which in 2000 was unheard of. When Heero Yuy uttered the word "damn" for the very first time, everything you knew about Toonami changed.

For the first time, Americans would see Japanese animation in an almost raw state. No glaring, glittery effects. No hiding of death. No clear cut good guy and bad guy. No Americanized soundtrack nor hammy dubbed voices. And this was just the edited version, the first time Williams Street handled editing for a series.

The uncut version had all of those and kept in the blood and profanity which had been taboo on Cartoon Network since it was created. It was a history-making series for Toonami and helped create what we see as Toonami to this date.

While Dragon Ball Z was the marquee show of the block and the reason people watched Toonami, Gundam Wing was the show that made you stay. It was the second punch of a one-two punch that helped Toonami remain the number one programming block on Cartoon Network. The show also set a standard that was embraced by future shows like Tenchi Muyo, Outlaw Star, Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, and Naruto and continues to be a model of a perfect Toonami show even seven years after it debuted.