Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #144

Originally Posted on 06/28/2006 by Jeff Harris

Where does the distinction between Miguzi and Toonami separate, because I'm really trying to understand the original gameplan Cartoon Network planned way back in 2004. I mean, the public (that is, the advertisers who pay for the eyeballs of potential consumers) were told these two inalienable facts:

- Toonami was aimed towards "tweeners" and young teens between the ages of 9 and 14 on Saturday nights.

- Miguzi was aimed towards young girls and boys between the ages of 6 and 11 who gravitate towards "comedic action."

Now, I could understand why the blocks had to be designated this way. One's the blue show and the other's the red show, much like Smackdown and Raw if you look at this at a wrestling metaphor (for those that didn't know, I am a fan of professional wrestling. Miguzi is the "blue" show, like Smackdown, with a slightly wider viewership and high-quality, yet slightly toned down action. Meanwhile, Toonami is the "red" show, like Raw, with the bigger names and the biggest fanfare, plus the latitude to take more risks that couldn't be seen on the "blue" show.

However, Cartoon Network seems to want to find a way to make Toonami and Miguzi interchangable and as similar as they can be. Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! are Miguzi franchises, and yet, both made appearances on Toonami within the last 12 months. One Piece and Zatch Bell both made their first appearances on Toonami, and yet, both made appearances on Miguzi within the last 12 months. One could make the argument that One Piece and Zatch Bell fit in on Miguzi with ease. One Piece the way 4Kids produced it is more of a daytime series than a nighttime series. Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! are the antithesis of what Toonami is supposed to represent. You know, the whole "tweeners/young teens" demo they claimed the block was aimed towards.

If Cartoon Network could air shows like that on both Toonami and Miguzi as well as the network premieres of Superman: Brainiac Attacks (a discredit to the look of the DCAU), why did they decide to create Miguzi to replace Toonami on weekdays in the first place? I mean, the only times Toonami felt like a truly unique block was during A Month of Miyazaki and, of course, the TV-PG Naruto and IGPX. Of course A Month of Miyazaki couldn't last forever, and Naruto is now repeating on Mondays through Thursdays. Miguzi stalwarts like Code Lyoko, Totally Spies, and Teen Titans are now the major shows of Saturday mornings, succeeding where the former block that included Ben 10, Robot Boy, and Zixx failed (notice I didn't say Dragon Hunters, because I think the network just didn't know what to do with this excellent show that didn't belong on Saturday mornings alone with no promotion at all).

Like I mentioned, Naruto is on in primetime on weekdays except Fridays, which is where a show of such power and popularity belongs, outside of its traditional block. However, where are daily airings of Justice League/Unlimited? In case you didn't know, Superman Returns opened up this weekend, and don't you think showing a series (not that terrible Brainiac Attacks movie) that features the iconic Man of Steel as a prominent player should be somewhere in an outlet that people have. Justice League Unlimited isn't on the air anywhere and will likely never rerun on Cartoon Network just like the other 10:30 PM Toonami series, IGPX. That's right. Toonami's first original series will probably be one of the few shows to remain a Toonami exclusive, but it'd be kind of nice for it to get a daily run after the series ends. I don't really have a problem with the shows on in primetime. I just have a problem with shows that don't belong on Toonami airing on the block, and I feel that Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh are shows like that.

There needs to be a distinction between Toonami and Miguzi. Perhaps there should be at least two shows that are exclusive to each block. By exclusive, I mean that the show won't be seen anywhere else on the network. Not in the morning, not on each other's block, not even on primetime throughout the week. Miguzi should get two exclusive shows while Toonami should get three minimum. Toonami could have all the premieres they can get. Just let some of those shows be exclusive to Toonami and only Toonami (I know that phrase from somewhere, but I can't put my finger on where). Otherwise, there's going to continue being an identity crisis on Tooguzi and Minami. Um, Miguzi and Toonami.

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris,
The X Bridge Creator/Webmaster
June 28, 2006