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TICA: The Toonami Inner Circle Alliance
(C) and TM 1998 - 2008 Toonami Inner Circle Alliance.
Toonami
and all related elements (C), (R), and TM 1997 - 2008 Cartoon Network, a unit of Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc, a TimeWarner company.
This site is unofficial and not affiliated with Cartoon Network, Turner, and TimeWarner.
All other characters, series, and elements (C) and TM their established companies.
The X Bridge (C) and TM 1998 - 2008 Jeff Harris DBA Nami49 Productions.
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We want Toonami to be the premiere action-animation franchise on Cartoon Network once again.
Since it was created, Toonami had been considered the premiere action-animation franchise on Cartoon Network. Nearly every major action series that aired on the channel had a home on Toonami. Whether it was a first-run home like ThunderCats, Voltron, Robotech, Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Gundam, ReBoot, Tenchi, Rurouni Kenshin, or Naruto or a second-run like Powerpuff Girls, Batman (all three incarnations), Superman, Samurai Jack, Yu Yu Hakusho, Justice League, or Teen Titans, if it was action-animation, it found a home on Toonami. However, in recent years, Toonami has been seen as a third-class block when it comes to newer action/adventure properties. Shows like Ben 10, Dragon Hunters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers: Animated, and Storm Hawks should have been at least considered as Toonami premieres first. Dragon Hunters didn't have an audience at all due to lack of promotion (though one would imagine if Peter Cullen had created a classic Toonami promo for the series), and Storm Hawks was largely seen as an afterthought. The reedited Dragon Ball Z season, which should have been a weekly year-long Toonami event, was only on weeknights before it ended. When it aired on Toonami, they returned to the original, "shouldn't these be atomized" Saban-guided season episodes rather quickly. The original Clone Wars microseries was also an afterthought despite the fact that it was an action cartoon. The Clone Wars series is coming, but the fact that Toonami is nowhere in the conversation should be cause for alarm. Even the much-anticipated Blue Dragon is an afterthought.
Toonami should be the home for every major action animation premiere on Cartoon Network. Even if it's just a one-time appearance, at least the show could premiere on Toonami first before moving elsewhere. Who knows? It could find a home there later on.
Four Hours of Toonami Every Saturday Night.
Nevermind weeknight airings of Toonami. If Toonami doesn't have the full four-hour lineup to play around with on Saturdays, then the battle is already over.
The whole reason more people went for the initial move to Saturday nights was because it was a four-hour block aimed towards the older viewers. The reduction by six-hours per week wasn't a problem since Toonami now had four hours of unique programming (eight different series) every week as opposed to just four shows. Needless to say, when the block was reduced by two hours in October 2007, viewers, particularly the Uncounted Majority of Viewers, were noticably upset. The viewers were largely upset that the once-venerable Toonami block because a block comprised of only three shows, harkening back to the Kellner-era Toonami block. The difference between then and now is that Toonami came on daily back when the block was only four shows in three hours. Today's Toonami is only weekly.
Toonami should be restored to four hours EVERY WEEK. Not a movie then the block, mind you. The entire four-hour lineup should be restored with, at minimum, seven individual shows per week. Yes, that includes back-to-back Naruto episodes that CN craves. However, there should an even mix of lighter kid-friendly action properties in the early evening and darker, more mature properties in the second half. It worked in 2004, so why can't it work in 2008?
Even a three-hour block would work, because otherwise, Toonami is a depowered, uninfluential block otherwise.
We Want ALL Toonami Shows To Be Promoted As Much As Naruto on Cartoon Network.
We get it. Naruto is the biggest show on Cartoon Network, let alone Toonami. But the other shows that make up Toonami should get just as much promotion as the knuckleheaded ninja. We know and acknowledge people watch Naruto, but as a block, even one with little guidance as Toonami should at least acknowledge the other shows making up the block. That's why viewership has been down. Cartoon Network would only advertise Naruto during the week and no other show would be mentioned, as if they didn't exist.
Heed the words of Cartoon Network's founder Ted Turner. "Work like hell and advertise."
Advertise Toonami On AND Outside Cartoon Network
One of the strangest things about Cartoon Network is that while people watch the shows on Toonami, people in this country don't really know WHAT Toonami is. The Alex Ross interview from a few years back was, while an interesting look at a talented artist, illustrative of the problem Toonami had in recent years. He flatly stated that he didn't know what Toonami was, though many of his favorite shows were on Toonami. When Justice League Unlimited was on Toonami, people only knew it was on Cartoon Network, not specifically Toonami. It's the same problem Cartoon Network has with [adult swim]. The Boston Mooninite Scare of 2007 barely acknowledged [adult swim] as reporters kept on referring to the show Aqua Teen Hunger Force airing on Cartoon Network.
If people don't know what Toonami is, how can you expect them to watch? Toonami and the shows on Toonami need to be promoted beyond the block's timeslot and Cartoon Network. Advertise where audiences are, including ad-space on Kids' WB, The CW, even competing networks like Spike, Nickelodeon, and ABC Family.
Reinvent Toonami One More Time
The 2007 relaunch was a disaster from the start. Without explaining how the muscular host of Toonami evolved (and I use the term very loosely) into a smaller child-like robot was proof that perhaps the TOM universe should be retired. However, that doesn't mean Toonami has to end with the absence of TOM. Perhaps a reevaluation of what Toonami should be is what's needed. Perhaps it's time for a hostless Toonami format to be introduced. Not entirely hostless, but rather one guided by the disembodied voice of Steven Blum with weekly introductions and continuity for the block, including the promos.
Want an example of this?
Click here. It's a perfect example of what Toonami visually should be. Toonami doesn't need robot hosts who push buttons that don't do anything. We've seen this over the last decade, and the viewers moved on. We'd rather have no host than a host that people can't stand to look at.
Also, look at the shows within the promo. Guardians of Luna. Wolverine and the X-Men. Time Jam. Three dramatically different series with various degrees of action sharing space with familiar brands like One Piece and Naruto. If we can't get a full four-hour Toonami, viewers would enjoy watching a block with this much variety instead of more of the same. A block with diverse exclusives would not only bring back the audiences, but would also bring in new viewers, young and old, male and female.
It would be a better cartoon show.
Now, here's what you can do to help restore Toonami to its glory.
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