If anybody been following my site, especially after what I posted last year, you're probably wondering why I would even consider a campaign like Revolution 11.

I did turn my back on Toonami because I felt the block was changing into something not worth watching, and the moment it happened, the block changed into something that is probably best left forgotten. No era in the history of Toonami has ever seen the block in the shape it's in now. Not the SVES era when Toonami was only seen as a second-class block compared to the third-class status it has at Cartoon Network now. Not the much-aligned Kellner era, which had diluted the brand. Compared to now, I kind of wish we did have Kellner-era mandates for Toonami. At least they gave a damn about the block.

So why do I feel the need to create a campaign now?

Because I truly believe that Toonami is the heart of Cartoon Network.

It is. Cartoon Network has been unraveling at the seams since 2004, right around the time the makeover was being planned, and Toonami has been a vital part of the network's success. Toonami had been the home of some of Cartoon Network's biggest properties, major events, and highest rated programming. As the years progressed, something happened. Instead of trying to be a home of the best animation on the planet, the powers that be want to change it into a third-rate Nickelodeon/Disney Channel clone. Meanwhile, since mid-2005, Cartoon Network's ratings have been plummetting, more than 25% in the last two years alone. Toonami had been the only thing on Cartoon Network that made sense and even resembled itself in the changing face of the channel.

In 2007, which was supposed to be the block's shining moment, Toonami was at its lowest moment. If it wasn't for Toonami Jetstream, it would have been a truly abysmal year. Instead, it was just an awful year. Forget the kiddfied transformation of the hosts. It began without a single acknowledgement of the block's name on-air. There was little interaction with the viewers, an element that made it so successful. When the block lost an hour in the summer, viewers were upset but not really vocal about it. When Toonami relaunched as a weekly two-hour block in October 2007, the writing seemed to be on the wall that Toonami was ending and viewers should only care about the shows on Toonami, not the elements that made so many people care about Toonami in the first place. It's a dark day when Cartoon Network's premiere action block is an afterthought when it comes to being a home of Blue Dragon, a series that will likely air only in repeats on Saturday nights, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars, a franchise that is poised to be one of the biggest animated action series to air in a long, long time.

Toonami is the heart of Cartoon Network, and if the heart dies, the body will follow. We've already seen that [adult swim] is becoming irrelevant to Cartoon Network. Not only is it no longer a part of Cartoon Network businesswise, but the blockwork is becoming redundant on weekdays since their biggest property, Family Guy, is reran weeklong in multiple airings on TBS, a network that could easily become [adult swim]'s home down the line. Anime doesn't have the same kind of clout it had on Cartoon Network because the channel is swerving towards a kid-based channel. With FUNimation's own channel and syndicated block, ADV's video-on-demand network, and Starz Media's deals with parent company Starz and Sci-Fi, there's no need for anime to be on an outlet that no longer respects them. Viz could break away from Cartoon Network and keep Jetstream going without them. No one would know otherwise.

Oh, and if you think that if Toonami is gone, Jetstream will remain will have another thing coming. The action shows on Jetstream could be sent over to Cartoon Network Video in an action channel.

Viz could also take Naruto, Cartoon Network's biggest series, to another outlet, maybe even Jetix, where it's doing pretty well outside the country. Truth is, Cartoon Network needs anime distributors, not the other way around. They came to Cartoon Network because of Toonami, and if Toonami goes, so will they.

Some say they might as well start over with a brand new action franchise without the Toonami name? They did that once. Remember Miguzi? It replaced Toonami on weekdays, and it barely had a fraction of the viewers Toonami had. Even when they put in Toonami shows on the block, viewers didn't come, so it was dropped in the summer of 2007. Saturday was an anomaly because it didn't replace Toonami. Toonami still existed and got interesting in its last year on weekdays.

Why replace a brand with worldwide recognition when you failed to acknowledge it in its last year? If anything, Cartoon Network is only arguing the point that individual programming brands are pointless. Cartoon Network should run as Cartoon Network all day long. No Fried Dynamite. No Funny For Your Face or whatever the hell they're calling the weekday afternoon lineup. No Dynamite Action Squad.

No [adult swim].

Cartoon Network doesn't believe that brands don't matter, but Toonami will be the proof that hypothesis is false. Toonami would be the brand most likely to be gone by the end of the year while everything else stays as is.

It's not too late to save Toonami. Toonami needs some work, but it's not beyond salvation. If Cartoon Network actually acted like they gave a damn about it, then there wouldn't be a need for Revolution 11. We, the fans, are the last voice Toonami has. We're not doing what we're doing just to save Toonami. We're also doing it to save Cartoon Network from itself. Toonami is worth saving, and those that don't believe otherwise can go elsewhere.

I would hate to imagine a world truly without Toonami. But if there is a world without Toonami, prepare for a world without Cartoon Network.