Class of 2000

First Non-Syndicated Anime Series To Air On Toonami

First TV-PG Series To Air On Toonami (during Midnight Run)

First Toonami Series To Have Dual Versions Airing At Two Different Times

First Gundam Series To Air In The US

First Bandai Series To Air On American Television

Heero Yuy. Duo Maxwell. Trowa Barton. Quatre Winner. Chang Wufei.

Five terrorists have forever changed the face of Toonami. Or are they patriots? Depending on the perspectives you like the most, these individuals have changed the way we not only look at good and bad but also the way we look at Toonami. What we believed to be good could be seen by other eyes as evil, and what we perceived as evil may actually be good. Gundam Wing was the first series to air on Toonami to actually put the idea of looking at both perspectives into our heads.

Gundam Wing is also the first non-syndicated anime series to air on Toonami. When Bandai decided to introduce the Gundam franchise to America, they chose Cartoon Network to premiere the series to the masses in not one, but two formats - regular Toonami version and the mostly uncut Midnight Run version, the first time dual versions of a series aired on Cartoon Network. Of vital importance, the Midnight Run airings of Gundam Wing (which ran without a silly disclaimer) was the only TV-PG series ever advertised in the daytime on Cartoon Network.

Without Gundam Wing's premiere, many Americans would only know the Gundam name via the internet or "friends of friends." Also, Cartoon Network wouldn't have had much of a partnership with Bandai Entertainment. Since 2000, a number of Bandai-made series have made their home on Cartoon Network, including more Gundam series, Outlaw Star, Pilot Candidate, The Big O, and Cowboy Bebop. Bandai is also premiering the first Gundam series made for an American audience, SD Gundam. No other anime distributor has a comfortable relationship with the network than Bandai (although FUNimation comes mighty close), and it's all because of Gundam Wing's premiere on Toonami.