Toonami 2005: Show of the Year
Justice League Unlimited
 Why is the Justice League Unlimited the Toonami 2005 Show of the Year? Because it's one of the best Toonami series since Outlaw Star, one of my personal favorites. It has all the elements of what all Toonami shows should be. Action, adventure, humor, intrigue, mystery, conspiracy, and an edge that is somewhat missing from the rest of the block without resorting to toilet humor as some of the higher-profile shows and acquisitions. Honestly, if I wanted to see a show where a hero's or trio of heroes' superpower is passing noxious gas, I would have just watched one of the "fine" programming shows on MTV2 or G4.
What set this season of Justice League Unlimited apart from the others is the fact that the world is wondering why exactly does it need the Justice League. Afterall, these heroes act on their own freewill with no finances nor hazzard pay against villians that were, in part, not exactly sane. They have essentially taken over the duties of heroes like police officers, soldiers, and firefighters. The governments of the world can't control them, so they could eventually become a hostile terrorist vigilante force, unconnected with humanity and sitting high on their ivory tower, or in this case, floating above the Earth in the Watchtower. After the events of "Starcrossed" (and perhaps in place since the events of the final episode of Superman: The Animated Series), a clandestine government agency (is there any other kind?) known as The Cadmus Project was formed in light of these fears. Headed by Amanda Waller, Cadmus became involved in genetics (creating their own metahuman soldiers they could control), espionage (the so-called Suicide Squad was comprised of several known enemies of the Justice League to invade the Watchtower and complete several other tasks), and politics (Lex Luthor's presidential campaign was engineered and financed by Cadmus as a thank you for his financial and technical support of the project). And, in actuality, Cadmus felt that they weren't doing anything wrong. They had the public's interests at heart. Like Gundam Wing before it, the lines between hero and villian were kind of blurred at times on the series.
Justice League Unlimited also got into the personal side of the heroes in 2005. From the Vixen-Green Lantern-Shayera triangle to the romantic relationships of The Question with The Huntress and Green Arrow and Black Canary's flirtatious moments as well as the professional relationships with the core Leaguers with the new members, this series was one of the best written animated dramas in years. It's just a shame that Cartoon Network feels that they have to take it off the air in the US. Sure, the last cycle in September didn't do as well as the summer cycle, but that's because, without promotion outside the block, nobody knew it was on. I would hate to think that the show's fate would be decided based on that performance, but it unfortunately is.
Perhaps Cartoon Network feels that Justice League Unlimited is created using a tired template that isn't as flashy as the anime acquisitions the network has made in 2005. Yes, Naruto is a hit, but JLU is more mature than Bo^7 and makes for better television than, say, One Piece or Dragon Ball Z reruns. I feel that Justice League Unlimited is the best series Toonami has introduced in over four years, even better than the high-profile racing-oriented IGPX. Because it was the clearcut best series on the block in all of 2005, Justice League Unlimited is the best show of the year 2005.
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