"Toonami" News & Discussion Thread

[RunoMisaki573]

It feels bad that we never get shows similar to Black Lagoon and Michiko & Hatchin on Toonami often nowadays... Seems like they want to choose shows with little to no censoring and editing involved.

 

[Vampire_King]

It feels bad that we never get shows similar to Black Lagoon and Michiko & Hatchin on Toonami often nowadays... Seems like they want to choose shows with little to no censoring and editing involved.

They want to pick the most mainstream shows they can acquire it's less to do with not wanting to censor and edit anything

and more to do with "What will appeal to people who have no idea what anime is?" and trying to attract people who normally wouldn't care about anime at all

although I'm not really sure they can draw the attention of those people and make them toonami fans

 

[Light Lucario]

It feels bad that we never get shows similar to Black Lagoon and Michiko & Hatchin on Toonami often nowadays... Seems like they want to choose shows with little to no censoring and editing involved.

Considering that I really hated Black Lagoon, I'm not exactly heartbroken over the notion of Toonami not picking another show like that one again. Michiko and Hatchin was better and definitely had some good moments too, but I don't think it was particularly memorable among the shows Toonami has picked up either.

Going with shows that don't require them to make more edits or censors is probably a good thing though. It's less extra work for them to do. Plus, going for more shows that would appeal to both Toonami fans and the casual audience is still a good thing. Choosing shows that are different just for the shake of it isn't going to guarantee that they'll be successful either. As much as people complain about the number of shonen series on the lineup, they aren't all the same exact show. The Promised Neverland and Food Wars are both shonen series and they couldn't be any more different from each other.

 

[PicardMan]

It feels bad that we never get shows similar to Black Lagoon and Michiko & Hatchin on Toonami often nowadays... Seems like they want to choose shows with little to no censoring and editing involved.

Those shows aired with very little, if any violence censorship. I think just the F bombs and the necrophilia scene in Hellsing Ultimate were censored. That's a non issue.

I'm just realized that the narrative of shonen always being the biggest draw of the anime fan isn't quite true, even if it has been true for most of the fandom's existence. Gory anime was a huge fad of the first half of the 2010s and it just seems like there's been a backlash against that, considering the lack of Goblin Slayer ever coming. In the early 2010s, shonen wasn't a juggernaut, series like Toriko, can and actually did, fail. Nowadays, the idea of any battle shonen failing seems laughable as the genre seems too big to fail now (sure, shows like Promised Neverland season 2 and Seven Deadly Sins season 3 got massive backlash, but that backlash is because almost every anime fan saw those shows). In the early 2010s, there just seemed to be the big 4 (Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, and Fairy Tail) and not much else getting a massive fanbase. The fact that they chose stuff like Parasyte over Toriko shows that shonen wasn't always king. Shonen just seems to have been in a funk during that period and it's now getting a renaissance where we have a bazillion shonen shows. It's not just the quality of shonen, but the sheer quantity. I don't think shonen was ever this mass produced. Tokyo Ghoul was huge with hardcore anime fans when it streamed in 2014, but by the time it finally aired on Toonami in 2017, shonen retook the place of gory seinen and the gory seinen bubble burst. Maybe it's not that bad a thing that Toonami isn't relying on shock value violence anywhere near that early 2010s fad, but some of those edgy adult anime Toonami aired during the period were still thoughtful and had actual plot despite the violence, a la Parasyte, Casshern Sins, and Michiko and Hatchin. It is kind of sad we won't see many seinen outside the deathslot.

 

[Vampire_King]

does toonami need more shows that are just visual eye candy and have little to no story?

i ask because for a lot of people television is seen as something they don't wanna think about they wanna sit down shut off the brain and enjoy some entertainment

the more they have to think the less they enjoy a show

so stuff like attack on titan bores them as it requires them to do the one thing they try to avoid while watching tv

they spend all the time thinking and for once they don't wanna think

they just want to look at something and enjoy it without having to pay attention to every little detail

 

[VeiledHat]

I miss Swayzak. I've created an MCU level of lore surrounding him. Why can't he be brought back?

 

[PicardMan]

does toonami need more shows that are just visual eye candy and have little to no story?

I figured that Dragonball Super, MHA, and Food Wars would appeal to those who like fight scenes and boobs, yet tune out the story. The reason anime is niche is because there's still the expectation of American mainstream animation that it be Family Guy-esque comedy. Comedy can be smart and have social commentary, like South Park, but the expected vulgar humor is still there. Bear in mind that Toonami's dedicated audience didn't respond to the plotless Pop Team Epic as well as the heavier material, so Toonami is probably different. It just won't ever be as popular as the Adult Swim comedy.

Speaking of stuff that isn't super deep, anyone remember the classic Toonami show BoBoBo-Bo BoBo-Bo? 00s nostalgia review Billiam does. It's surprising that surrealist humor in American cartoons is really successful, yet this series, was one of the few surrealist comedy anime to really break out into America. Does anyone even remember Cromartie High School on G4's Anime Unleased?

​

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

I miss Swayzak. I've created an MCU level of lore surrounding him. Why can't he be brought back?

Because he's not a well known character.

 

[Vampire_King]

I figured that Dragonball Super, MHA, and Food Wars would appeal to those who like fight scenes and boobs, yet tune out the story. The reason anime is niche is because there's still the expectation of American mainstream animation that it be Family Guy-esque comedy. Comedy can be smart and have social commentary, like South Park, but the expected vulgar humor is still there. Bear in mind that Toonami's dedicated audience didn't respond to the plotless Pop Team Epic as well as the heavier material, so Toonami is probably different. It just won't ever be as popular as the Adult Swim comedy.

Speaking of stuff that isn't super deep, anyone remember the classic Toonami show BoBoBo-Bo BoBo-Bo? 00s nostalgia review Billiam does. It's surprising that surrealist humor in American cartoons is really successful, yet this series, was one of the few surrealist comedy anime to really break out into America. Does anyone even remember Cromartie High School on G4's Anime Unleased?

​

That really makes it sound like american audiences can't handle anything that isn't a wacky comedy and just see animation as something not to be taken seriously

that's just sad...

As For MHA that can work for the first two seasons then I'd see most people dropping it if they simply come for awesome fight scenes and a flimsy story you don't need to pay attention to

there are portions of time where there isn't a fight taking place and even when one is it's usually not gonna take multiple episodes to resolve like dragon ball

 

[RunoMisaki573]

That really makes it sound like american audiences can't handle anything that isn't a wacky comedy and just see animation as something not to be taken seriously

that's just sad...

As For MHA that can work for the first two seasons then I'd see most people dropping it if they simply come for awesome fight scenes and a flimsy story you don't need to pay attention to

there are portions of time where there isn't a fight taking place and even when one is it's usually not gonna take multiple episodes to resolve like dragon ball

I heard my brother stopped watching My Hero Academia after season 2. I was able to keep watching the series until season 4 happened and the movie was around the corner. I wanted Season 5 to be to my expectations (12 episodes and/or a 100th episode special), but I have a feeling it won't be that way and I plan on dropping MHA except for the next movie.

Speaking of October, I wonder if Toonami will pre-empt two weekends to play a set of two animated DC movies each. I heard a new DC fandome will happen then, and if all this occurs, Black Clover may end later than expected, right around November.

 

[veemonjosh]

I wanted Season 5 to be to my expectations (12 episodes and/or a 100th episode special), but I have a feeling it won't be that way and I plan on dropping MHA except for the next movie.

As someone who is caught up with the manga, I will say this about what season 5 is going to cover (spoilers for basic arc outlines):

Spoiler

The first arc is essentially a training arc disguised as a faux-tournament. IMO, a really weak arc and I had to put aside the manga for a time while it was going on because my interest wained.

But the second arc of the season, oh man, MY VILLAIN ACADEMIA (fan nickname, not the actual arc name). It's one of my favorite arcs of the series since it gives all the focus toward the villains for a change, and does a solid job at world-building. Plus, that arc really begins the domino effect that leads directly to what's been happening in the manga right now.

So I'm honestly glad season 5 won't be one cour.

 

[Vampire_King]

Honestly If Season 4 had been 12 episodes that would have really sucked....

they either would have ended the season in the middle of the raid or just rushed through the season entirely

neither option is a good idea

 

[PicardMan]

That really makes it sound like american audiences can't handle anything that isn't a wacky comedy and just see animation as something not to be taken seriously

that's just sad...

Weird thing is that children's action cartoons seem to get more respect than adult ones. Far more Americans have seen and respect Avatar: The Last Airbender than Cowboy Bebop. There seems to be an interesting and odd hierarchy of how America views animation in terms of preference. Comedy animation is at the top, followed by children's action animation, followed by anime, followed by European cartoons, followed by American adult action cartoons, followed by a tie between cartoons from any other part of the world not listed and any other genre besides action and comedy. As you can see, American adult action cartoons, like Primal, are very far towards the bottom of the hierarchy and it seems like most American adult action cartoons (specifically Netflix) seems to be trying to market them as anime to get an audience. Sure Primal has a cult following, but it's tiny. It's because of this hierarchy that hardly any American action cartoons are made and most of the Toonami's American cartoons were ones originally meant for kids (Star Wars: Clone Wars, Thundercats, etc).

The hierarchy also explains why nu Toonami came into being. As mentioned before, children's action cartoons are higher on the hierarchy than adult ones and that is why Adult Swim Action absorbed the name of a nostalgic children's block anime fans remembered and rebranded as such. Nu Toonami feels like a case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with Toonami being the tame shonen persona of Dr. Jekyll and Adult Swim Action with its edgier content having the persona of Mr. Hyde. It seems like the early years of nu Toonami, despite adopting the name of the tamer Toonami Mr. Hyde was the dominant personality, going even further in the gore and violence department than even Adult Swim Action, but the more gentle Dr. Jekyll seems to be more in control now (okay Food Wars is probably a Mr. Hyde show with all the boobs). It's so hard to please fans of a block with two separate personalities and identities and I kinda wish Adult Swim Action and Toonami were two separate entities than the confused mishmash dual identities of nu Toonami.

 

[Light Lucario]

I thought that it was already confirmed that My Hero Academia's season would be twenty five episodes anyway. I don't understand wanting to have the season be shorting just for it to end on one hundred episodes. It would most likely just make the season feel too short or getting to an odd stopping point much like what happened with season one.

 

[RunoMisaki573]

To answer your question, it's the COVID-19 times, and with such a strong pandemic happening, it would be less risky to make a shorter season. It was possible with Dr.Stone: Stone Wars and The Promised Neverland Season 2 (despite being one episode less than the previous); I just hope the animators and staff stay protected from the virus safely. I know MHA Season 5 will likely have 25 episodes, but this season is the time a 100th episode will be played, so why not make it something special? I wouldn't feel good if episode 100 is like any ordinary episode (however, if Season 5 were to be made as a 12-episode season, which I doubt, I could see #100 as a finale episode, which would be cool in a way).

Oh, and I noticed you didn't talk about possible animated DC movie marathons due to October's upcoming DC Fandome. I don't mind if they returned. I could picture the marathons being played right after MHA Season 5's conclusion in October, and that would give Toonami some time before deciding on an MHA replacement.

 

[Light Lucario]

To answer your question, it's the COVID-19 times, and with such a strong pandemic happening, it would be less risky to make a shorter season. It was possible with Dr.Stone: Stone Wars and The Promised Neverland Season 2 (despite being one episode less than the previous); I just hope the animators and staff stay protected from the virus safely. I know MHA Season 5 will likely have 25 episodes, but this season is the time a 100th episode will be played, so why not make it something special? I wouldn't feel good if episode 100 is like any ordinary episode (however, if Season 5 were to be made as a 12-episode season, which I doubt, I could see #100 as a finale episode, which would be cool in a way).

I'm not sure if the lengths of Dr. Stone or The Promised Neverland's seasons are the result of COVID though. It's possible, but given that other series have had longer seasons recently, I don't think that is necessarily the case with those series. I definitely want the production team to stay safe too. I believe that animators can still work remotely, so hopefully they're doing that and following other safety measures to keep everyone working on the series safe.

As for the one hundredth episode, I don't think Japan usually make a big deal about episode milestones compared to the U.S. They may mention it, but I'm not sure if they'll do anything more beyond that. Dropping the show because they aren't doing making the season shorter in order to make a bigger deal about the one hundredth episode seems kind of weak to me. You obviously can drop any series for any reason since it is your choice of course, but if not getting a twelve episodes season for an arbitrary reason is going to make you drop the series, then that just seems like a really weird reason to me.

 

[veemonjosh]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the reason Dr. Stone season 2 is only 11 episodes is because they wanted it to just cover the rest of the Stone Wars arc, which they technically already started in season 1 and only had 22 chapter left to adapt. It's like how Food Wars seasons 1 and 3 are two cours, but season 2 was only one cour.

Promised Neverland, I can't say for sure, but apparently (despite the manga's popularity) Japanese DVD/BD sales for the first season were very poor, so that may be why they crammed the rest of the series into a single cour.

Anyways, on a different note, there's an article by Variety that was published today about Tuca & Bertie season 2 (it's been linked to in the Tuca & Bertie thread if you want to read it, not posting it here since it's primarily off-topic). The last paragraph mentions Fena and Blade Runner, listing them as coming "later this year".

Other upcoming series on Adult Swim include the Japanese anime style “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “Fena: Pirate Princess,” which are co-productions between the network and Crunchyroll and will be apart of the Toonami lineup later this year.

My prediction: Fena arrives in July to replace Promised Neverland and runs until September, Uzumaki is shown over October, and then Blade Runner in November.

 

[PicardMan]

My prediction: Fena arrives in July to replace Promised Neverland and runs until September, Uzumaki is shown over October, and then Blade Runner in November.

Still predicting Assassination Classroom or Megalobox Nomad as Promised Neverland's replacement, as there has been no news yet. I wonder if we'll have a Crunchyroll High Guardian Spice situation where a show is delayed by years (that show was supposed to come out 2019 and still isn't out yet).

 

[Daikun]

Fena: Pirate Princess will be shown off at Annecy.

 

[RunoMisaki573]

Still predicting Assassination Classroom or Megalobox Nomad as Promised Neverland's replacement, as there has been no news yet. I wonder if we'll have a Crunchyroll High Guardian Spice situation where a show is delayed by years (that show was supposed to come out 2019 and still isn't out yet).

I'd be down to watch the former. Megalo Box was one of my last favorite Toonami shows of 2018 (before Toonami started to go on "auto pilot" mode the following year by picking mostly the wrong shows), so I am more than glad to watch Megalo Box: Nomad when the dub premieres.

However, I don't want any more innocent people (including hospitalized ones) getting seizure deaths, so I am against Assassination Classroom Season 2 airing. That's completely off-limits. However, Megalo Box: Nomad is perfectly fine.

Speaking of upcoming Toonami programming, I was expecting the latter or they air a "wild card" program to take place of The Promised Neverland Season 2. As for Toonami originals, I could picture Fena: Pirate Princess getting a head start, but I think Uzumaki is better off as an August or October premiere due to being a horror series and all.
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As it turns out, this year's adult swim April Fool's stunt isn't my dream stunt. They played adult swim junior, but they could've done it better. My dream stunt is that they'd finally play a Special Toonami Edition with stealth premieres in Japanese with English subtitles, featuring Mob Psycho 100 II's premiere episode, Your Name (or A Silent Voice), then the rest of the week's scheduled Toonami programs, and (possibly) Scavengers if there's enough run time left before signing off.