Class of 2002
First Original Series on Toonami
First Major Fantasy Series to air on Toonami*
First Old-School Revival Series to air on Toonami**

A myriad of colorful heroes. A menagerie of ruthless villians. A power only one man can handle. A power one warlord craves.

Masters of the Universe, a very popular toyline from Mattel, has been around since 1982. It has entertained and inspired a generation of fans for years, and many of those fans kept the memories of both the toyline and the classic Filmation series alive online so those that don't know them will know about them.

When Mattel revived the Masters of the Universe franchise, many people anticipated that a new series would follow. Sure enough, Cartoon Network announced the acquisition of a brand new Masters of the Universe series in the summer of 2002. With that announcement, Masters of the Universe became the first original series to premiere on the Toonami block. For years, Toonami was the home of shows that were either originally made in Japan (airing there first) or off-network acquisitions. Masters of the Universe was the first series to make its worldwide premiere on Toonami. Many people failed to realize how big that fact was. Toonami is now in a position to produce original shows both here and abroad, and MOTU was one of the first productions to be at least partially financed by Cartoon Network for Cartoon Network, and it's far from the last. Shows like Transformers Armada, Superior Defender, and the second series of The Big O (the former two are on Toonami US and the latter is on Toonami Japan) have been financed in some capacity by Cartoon Network. And to think an American show like Masters of the Universe was the first to pave the way.

Masters of the Universe is also the first major fantasy show to air on Toonami. Strangely, fantasy had been the only element missing from the action-oriented block, and they could have easily filled that void with shows like Escaflowne, Record of Lodoss War, or Slayers. MOTU was the first to bring swords and sorcery to the popular lineup, and hopefully, it won't be our last chance to see fantasy on the block.

Go on to the next show.

*Postscript One: Technically, Record of Lodoss War was the first fantasy series to be considered a Toonami series. However, RLW never aired on the actual Toonami and was limited to the late, great Toonami Reactor. MOTU is the first fantasy series that actually aired on Toonami on-air.

**Postscript Two: Technically, Zoids, based on a toy line popular in both the US and Japan, is the first major old-school property to premiere with new episodes on Cartoon Network. However, Zoids didn't have a television series like Masters of the Universe did in the '80s. MOTU is the first old-school series to be revamped for television consumption.