Gephyrophillia | Page One #13

Originally Posted on 06/28/2002 by Jeff Harris

In the beginning, Cartoon Network gave us Toonami with classic 80s icons like Thundercats, Voltron, and Robotech. And all was good.

Then, in June '98, the pretty soldier Sailor Moon kind of smashed the 80s nostalgia that many people thought Toonami was going to be and brought on the age of the otaku, which brought on Dragonball Z, Gundam, Tenchi, Outlaw Star, Pilot Candid - - - whoops, that went to Adult Swim, and others. Fans of 80s cartoons felt that this age was going to be permanent, and they left the block in droves. Meanwhile, anime fans came to Toonami in droves over the last few years, thinking that Toonami must be an anime block.

By the summer of 2001, something came into the air. Comic artists started developing projects based on 80s cartoons like Voltron and G.I. Joe as well as envisioned their own versions of icons like Optimus Prime and Lion-O in magazines, and toy companies unleashed new versions of popular toy franchises like Transformers and Masters of the Universe. Two 80s-based animated revivals premiered that fall, Transformers: Robots in Disguise on Fox Kids and Zoids (based on the classic model toy line) on Cartoon Network. In the middle of all the chaos in the world around us, it seems like the spirit of the 80s have taken over, and somebody must have paid attention.

Starting on July 1, 2002, Cartoon Network will go old-school in a big way.

On that date, G.I. Joe, the classic animated series about a military group taking on a group of domestic terrorists known as Cobra, is premiering on the network right after Toonami Midnight Run. In August, two revamped versions of 80s icons, Transformers and He-Man, are coming to Toonami courtesy of Transformers: Armada and He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. For the first time in a long time, high-profile domestic projects instead of acquired anime are becoming a prominent part of Toonami. Some otakus are frustrated that other new shows like G Gundam (which is premiering in August) are being pushed aside for the new stuff, but you got to realize one vital thing. This is new stuff. From January to June, the block's been pretty dorment, and anything new is welcome. Well, almost anything. But Armada and MotU on Toonami and G.I. Joe on Cartoon Network for six weeks are three new shows that will bring about a new enlightment on Toonami.

One that will be personified even further with September's latest Absolution adventure, Trapped in Hyperspace, on the week of September 16. What is this all about? And why wasn't it hyped in the press conference back in April? This whole project's wrapped in secrecy, but as soon as I find out more, I'll let you know.

And all is right with the world again.

Almost. I'd like to see the original Turtles on the air one more time. The alignment is right for the taking.

I'm looking at this site, and I'm realizing that it's looking a little funky. I've been working on Satellite for a while now, but I'm starting to realize that's not enough. So, once I'm finished with Satellite, I'm going to touch up a few things around the site, so be on the look out for that. Stay tuned.

Until we are one, later.

Jeff Harris
Webmaster
June 28, 2002