02.06
“Well, this is the end, beautiful friends. After more than 11 years, this is Toonami’s final broadcast. It’s been a lot of fun, and we’d like to thank each and every one of you who have made this journey with us. Toonami wouldn’t be the same without you. Hopefully, we’ve left you with some good memories. So, until we meet again, stay gold. Bang.”
And with that, the greatest action block in the world has just ended it’s run and it‘s leading show runner has drifted off to the rising sun. Thousands of fan boys all over the US are crying as their gateway to one of Japan’s most well-beloved-yet-most-niche exports closes it’s doors for future otakus to worship, and fans of great action cartoons are perplexed on whether or not if You Are Here will live up to the block name. You know, with the fans being there? Get it? It’s a joke.
Sorry…
I shouldn’t be joking right now. Although I stopped paying attention to Toonami once Justice League left and I realized that we’re never getting a good interpretation of the Fantastic Four outside of the comics, I kind of stopped caring. Caught a Samurai Jack every now and then when they brought it back, but never made a habit out of it. I was kind of done with generic Shonen around the time Naruto started airing, so I never could get into it. So, after hearing the news that Toonami was showing it’s final broadcast, I decided that it was worth checking into, at least for Jack. After watching TOM’s powerful closing, and adored the Cowboy Bebop reference, I remembered all of the good times the block gave me.
Earlier today, I watched an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, which is easily my favorite show to ever air on the block, as well as an episode of Dragon Ball Z, which… I can‘t say I‘m still into. I also want to watch some Sailor Moon and Tenchi Muyo!, but never got around to it. I had to rewatch what made Toonami so grand for me and the kids of my generation back in the day. Toonami was more than just an action bock, it was a way of life, and a step into the future of animation. Without it, there wouldn’t be anywhere near as big of an anime market in the US, or anywhere outside of Japan, for that matter. There’s a lot for me to share, and I’ll give you some of my favorite memories.
- The promotion. Seriously, this is what made not just Toonami, but Cartoon Network in general back in the day. Why does Toonami in general stand out? Peter. Fucking. Cullen. Tell me you don’t fawn over his epic Gundam Wing promo, in addition to Rurouni Kenshin’s and Outlaw Star’s, or his classic spot for Batman. “Good guys wear black.” Indeed. And how about those videos, with Daft Punk and Gorillaz set to clips of shows like Outlaw Star. These are what basically introduced the world to AMVs, which still flood YouTube, and are still untouched by the masters themselves.
- In addition to the promotion, how about them bumpers? You know, with TOM and Sara. Although Moltar predated him, to most everyone, TOM is where their ’Nami days come from, and you can thank Steven J. Blum’s brilliant voice acting for that. TOM and his lovely companion Sara interacting with each other between shows added depth to the blocks, kind of like there’s more to the block than just the cartoons.
One thing that stands out in the minds of everyone is the Intruder, which is still one of the coolest things the network has ever done. In it, TOM has to deal with an Intruder on the ship. What it was, he had no clue, but as the series continued, the Intruder became more and more involving, until it turned out to be a form of plasma that sucks him up. During this process, we get a new TOM who’s now out to take care of this Intruder once and for all. Ring a bell? This proves how the block and the network in general was ahead of it’s time, how the network wasn‘t afraid to add more to itself and not pull punches. You’d never see something like this on Nickelodeon. We eventually got more events like these with Lockdown and Trapped in Hyperspace, and while they’re both equally epic, I’d believe the Intruder to remain high above all else.
- Movies. Remember on Fridays when they’d show those cool action movies? You had the many Dragon Ball Z, Batman, and Sailor Moon flicks to catch, as well as Gundam Wing’s Endless Waltz and some weren’t that bad(Mask of the Phantasm in my opinion is a true classic, and Dead Zone was pretty good, if memory serves right, and I also remember Waltz to fucking rule.), as well as the masterpiece that is The Iron Giant. Remember when CN would give the movie a day-long marathon? When’s the last time they aired it, now? But I think the best thing they did out of recent memory was the Month of Miyazaki, where they aired what are probably some of the best animated films to of ever been made. Actually, thinking about it now, when Howl’s Moving Castle aired on a Sunday earlier this year, I think this was a sign of the block ending…
- Oh, and above else, THE SHOWS. The Dragon Ball saga is the Japanese equivalent to Action Comics, and seems to of built a legacy that could just match it, Sailor Moon was a girl’s show that guys could watch without attempting to do anything with a tampon, the Gundams brought space-age war and politics to kids without Jar Jar, Outlaw Star helped build up audiences to the other two western-themed anime classics of 1998 that’d later air on [adult swim], the DCAU brought stories and themes over from the US better than most other Japanese animators could ever dream of, ReBoot was epic, Tenchi! was an involving riot, Thundercats and Voltron came from the days of big hair and headbands on big hair, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest took the dark side of the classic Hanna-Barbera show and added the marvels of technology today to it, and Yu Yu Hakusho is one of the greatest things to of come out of Japan, end of story. Never got into Big O or Rurouni Kenshin, but I think they’re great for the fans, too. I remember Giant Robot Week, how they aired the first couple of episodes of various mecha shows, including what would later become my favorite anime of all time, Neon Genesis Evangelion. I missed it all, but I’d bet then I’d have no idea how much the show would impact on me later on in life. And to think I was too stubborn to give any of it a chance.
Looking on now, Toonami gave me and many geeks a lot of great memories, and built us up on how we are now. While at this point I prefer Western cartoons to Japanese, I’ll never forget the time I had with the block and how it helped me to respect not just anime, but geeks all over the world.
Gentlemen, it’s been an honor.
Avaitor out.
Originally posted on Sunday, September 21, 2008.