Toonami 2005: Show of the Year
After a year when domestic programming made a strong foothold on Toonami, anime once again took dominance over the better cartoon show. With the addition of forgettable fare like D.I.C.E, Rave Master, and Yu Gi Oh, the lost episodes of Dragon Ball GT, the return of Duel Masters and Dragon Ball Z, and the new premieres on the block Zatch Bell, One Piece, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, and, of course, the superpopular franchise Naruto, Toonami has returned to the top of the anime ladder. In fact, IGPX, the first Toonami original series was a co-production of two anime powerhouses, Production I.G. and Bandai, and Cartoon Network.
However, many fans endured themselves with the DC Comics-based series Teen Titans, The Batman, and Justice League Unlimited, earning critical acclaim and praise from the fans. While The Batman came and left just as it was getting better, Teen Titans and JLU remained on the block for most of the year taking similar paths in story direction, both with great creative success.
There could be an argument for four shows to be considered Show of the Year, and those shows are Naruto, Justice League Unlimited, IGPX, and Zatch Bell. I would have considered One Piece, but that show was comprised of nothing but repeats, as was The Batman. Zatch Bell is a great, underappreciated show, but it hasn't made that instant coolness nor had any truly memorable moments. Same for IGPX, which is a beautiful series and a noble first endeavor of many from Toonami, but c'mon, who really expected the first Toonami original to be a robot racing series?
Which leaves just Naruto and Justice League Unlimited. Both series have memorable characters, great battles, and memorable moments. However, while one show was just beginning, the other was winding down to an explosive crescendo, blending chaos, conspiracy, and action in the truest sense of the word. And yet, while both shows are fan favorites, The Network wants to focus more on the property whose destiny they didn't control. And while Naruto will be around in the foreseeable future on Toonami, Justice League Unlimited won't. Because it went out on a high note and truly represented the best of what Toonami had to offer despite The Network's insistance that it remain out of sight in the final months of 2005, the Toonami Show of the Year of 2005 is Justice League Unlimited
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