Well, Erin's undersea adventures have come to an end, and the weird aquatic creatures of Miguzi will be forever a memory. On Valentine's Day 2007, Cartoon Network has announced that the afterschool lineup belongs to a new franchise called Master Control, which will let viewers pick the programming every day. Think of it like an animated version of TRL. In short, kids (Cartoon Network) will pick more of the same old scat they already air in abundance on the network, thus ending 15 years of action in the afternoons (well, there was that brief actionless period in fall 1996 that came between the cancellation of Power Zone and the premiere of Toonami).
It is unfortunate but the announcement of the cancellation does give some credence to the theory I had that Toonami and Miguzi was so intermingled that it was getting hard to tell them apart. However, that didn't mean I wasn't a fan of Miguzi. The opposite was true. I felt that Miguzi had a lot of potential right out of the gate with newer properties like Code Lyoko and the Cartoon Network premiere of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now that Miguzi is gone, one can wonder where a quality show like Code Lyoko will end up, if anywhere, on Cartoon Network. Code Lyoko might end up being a part of Kabillion, Moonscoop's VOD and broadband network that also has shows like Bobby's World, The Invisible Man, and others.
On the plus side, Toonami is the only action franchise on Cartoon Network. On the negative side, Toonami is the only action franchise on Cartoon Network.
There's absolutely no limits as to what kind of action can and can't air on Toonami anymore (well, aside from TV-14 rated programming for now). And shows can no longer be deemed "good for Miguzi but not for Toonami." People, mostly otaku who don't want anything that isn't Japanese on the block, felt that Miguzi existed to hosted the non-anime action acquisitions of Cartoon Network. Miguzi was the home of shows like Code Lyoko, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Totally Spies, Team Galaxy, and others. However, once the infusion of shows already seen on Toonami like One Piece, Zatch Bell, and Teen Titans (though to be fair, Teen Titans was seen at launch on both Toonami and Miguzi), the line of what could and couldn't be seen on Miguzi became oblitherated.
When Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! GX became prominent on both Miguzi and Toonami, perhaps the powers that be realized that perhaps the existance of Miguzi was no longer necessary. So, while the announcement of Mission Control may have caught folks by surprise, the perceived cancellation of Miguzi didn't.
It's almost a certainty that Toonami will be THE action franchise of Cartoon Network now, meaning that any major action acquisition will likely air on the block. If they pick up something like Class of the Titans or Di-Gata Warriors, it'll likely air on Toonami. Of course, that also means that shows like Pokemon will air on Toonami as well. I know that the Santos project and The Secret Saturdays will likely be on Saturday mornings, which could have easily been rebranded Miguzi, not unlike how YTV in Canada brands their Saturday morning lineup. Because anything's better than . . . um . . . Cartoon Network Saturday morning lineup.
So, I wave adieu to Miguzi come the summer. It will be missed.
