Toonami 2005: A Year In Review
Jeff Harris

Toonami 2005 began just as Toonami ended previous year. Much of the programming was intact, and yet, there seemed to be a bit of stability. The first premiere of the year was the M.A.S.K.-esque series D.I.C.E., Bandai's first non-Gundam television premiere in years. Sadly, it barely registered on the fan's consciouseness and quietly left the block. However, just as Dragon Ball GT started to wind down to its last episodes, they began advertising for the "lost episodes" of DBGT (the episodes that FUNimation purposely skipped because they wanted the US version to be better received than the Japanese version) to premiere on the date that the final episode was scheduled to air. Well, needless to say, a particular Toonami fansite spoke up about the decision in a well-worded argument. The block's producers noticed the posting and Cartoon Network rescheduled the premiere of the "lost episodes" for a week later.

In February, Cartoon Network announced the programming plans for the remainder of the year particularly focusing on Toonami. They announced the premiere of Zatch Bell for March, the Cartoon Network premieres of One Piece and The Batman, the premiere of IGPX, the first original program for the block, and a pair of acquisitions that caught many by surprise, the popular Japanese series Naruto (which had been officially acquired by Viz Media a day before Cartoon Network's announcements) and Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo, a series many otaku felt Cartoon Network was just lying about acquiring.

Starting in March, the first cycle of new shows and episodes began with Zatch Bell, a series that slowly became a fan favorite. The following month, reruns of One Piece and The Batman began. Though the episodes of The Batman did get better as the episodes evolved, One Piece was just the 4Kids reruns carried over in duplicate, much to the dismay of the Toonami faithful who wanted the series to be less "kiddy." The summer brought what some fans consider the best cycle of Teen Titans and Justice League Unlimited episodes as well as a sneak preview of the new shows coming to the block, including the first look at Naruto and IGPX. The summer also brought to the block the short-lived but well-produced Transformers Cybertron and a show that many Toonami fans never wanted to see on the block, Yu-Gi-Oh. Fortunately, Yu-Gi-Oh was replaced by fan-favorite Teen Titans and later the Toonami premiere of the "uncut" episodes of Dragon Ball Z.

September brought a pair of polar opposites. Naruto, the first TV-PG rated Toonami series since the uncut episodes of Gundam Wing, made its debut to high ratings and a growing fanbase while Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo, a show that is totally insane, was so strange, it actually made its Cartoon Network debut on Cartoon Network Fridays. Inbetween the premieres, Toonami quietly premiered four episodes of Justice League Unlimited that introduced a new element that would be echoed in Teen Titans when it made its fall debut a week later.

November brought a period of uncertainty and insanity on the network's part. Aside from the much anticipated debut of IGPX with Academy Award-nominated actor Haley Joel Osment in a lead role, the month also brought the Cartoon Network debut of a TV-14-rated, very edited version of Tim Burton's 1989 masterpiece Batman, the first live-action film to air on Toonami. To make matters worse, Cartoon Network has not scheduled the remaining Justice League Unlimited on the lineup. They also cancelled the network's highest-rated show, Teen Titans. As 2005 draws to a close with an all-day Narutoonami event, 2006 is looking like a good year for Toonami, though one cannot say the same for Cartoon Network, which is struggling to find a new identity while abandoning the fanbase that stayed by its side for almost 15 years.