Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #126

Originally Posted on 02/26/2005 by Jeff Harris

Well, after all the stuff announced yesterday for Toonami, I think that its safe to say that the confidence in the block by the network has increased many times over. New seasons of Teen Titans, Duel Masters, and Justice League Unlimited. The arrival of The Batman and the lost episodes of Dragon Ball GT. The announcement of 26 episodes of IGPX, premiering in November. Another new original series from some of the minds that brought you Teen Titans coming this fall. And the new anime acquisitions Zatch Bell, One Piece, Bobobo-bo-Bobobo, and the spiritual (no pun intended) heir apparent to the Dragon Ball Z legacy, Naruto, just hours after ShoPro/Viz announced they acquired all rights to the series.

I think the world of Toonami is going to continue to shake the foundation of Cartoon Network and the anime community as a whole. And otakus are pissed!

Yeah, you know that the fans of Toonami are more than thrilled that Cartoon Network is continuing to have faith in the block and willing to break boundaries to continue the block's success for years to come. 2004 was the greatest year since, say, 2000. Limited rerun airings, new episodes every week, and strong franchises made 2004 a Toonami fan's delight. 2005's going to be better. But you know that the bulk of otakus are just frothing at the mouth about how Cartoon Network's going to treat "their" shows. They openly questioned whether or not Cartoon Network knew what they were doing when they acquired Naruto and placed it in Toonami rather than Adult Swim, despite the fact that as a whole, Naruto isn't an adult-oriented show. Adult Swim has Samurai Champaloo and Paranoia Agent in the coming months and continuing to show new episodes of Full Metal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and the last cycle of new episodes of InuYasha and Super Milk Chan. And, contrary to what they believe, anime isn't a major part of the whole consciousness of Adult Swim, comedy is, which is why you see a lot of monies funding comedy franchises, both Williams Street-made properties and 30-minute sitcoms like Family Guy, American Dad, Stroker and Hoop, and Boondocks.

And what grates me is the response from otakus is that Cartoon Network doesn't know what they're talking about. When Bobobo-Bo-Bobobo was announced, people either doubted that Toonami was going to house the comedic actioner or that the network was just pulling a title out of the sky that they felt wasn't licenced yet. Well, the thing is, Cartoon Network isn't ran by idiots (well, there was this one time around mid-2001 until March 2003, but that's neither here nor there). When the network has solid proof that something's coming to Toonami, they're serious about it. I've seen networks in the past announce new shows and not even air them. Yup, I remember the days when Fox Famiky announced shows like Detective Conan and Slayers in March then premiere a totally different lineup months later.

I've seen much speculation about what the lineup's going to look like in the coming months. It is a bummer that Megas XLR wasn't officially announced for Toonami (even though that series may be Miguzi-bound in April) or that the remaining episodes of Yu Yu Hakusho wasn't announced (though that may be made in a few weeks). Heck, there's going to be a lot of great shows on Toonami this year and a surprising amount of originals. Some of the biggest shows on the block right now are Teen Titans and JLU, Cartoon Network originals that have made a significant splash on the belief that Toonami is an anime-exclusive franchise. IGPX is going to be the first of many original anime series coming in the next few years. It combines Western storytelling and Japanese visualization and animation. It's potentially the perfect show on Toonami. All the new shows on Toonami have the possibility of being great, and, at last, Toonami has found a series with the lasting power and storytelling of Dragon Ball Z with Naruto.

As someone who has followed Toonami since day one, I can say I'm very impressed with what Toonami has to offer in 2005. It'll give me and a whole lot of fans (and critics) something to talk about in the coming months. Well done, Cartoon Network.

I'll be watching.

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris,
Webmaster/EiC/Lead Writer, The X Bridge
February 26, 2005