Toonami

[LumRanmaYasha]

That's too bad. Though I can't really get worked up about something being on or off Toonami because it doesn't really mean anything these days. MHA is by far one of the most popular series in current anime fandom, so not being on Toonami doesn't hurt it - if anything, it just hurts Toonami. Their loss.

Also, want to see an interesting throwback? I was reminded of this viewer's choice New Years marathon not too long ago, where fans could vote for their favorite Toonami villains. It's interesting to see what viewers thought of at the time. Majin Buu and Cell dominated; Frieza didn't even rank; The Joker is last in the ranking. Not to mention how Kagato looks like he's only there since Tenchi was still particularly popular at this point. Sailor Moon's peak had come and gone- two or three years ago, and Queen Beryl might have ranked.

Considering Buu is the most contentious of DBZ's main villains, it's interesting to see that he was ridiculously more popular than any other villain on that list - Cell coming in a whopping 13,000 points behind. How come those kids had good taste back then but consider Cell better now? 

Also, it's hilarious that RADITZ of all people beat out the likes of Char and Joker (seriously, almost 10,000 votes more than the Joker? wtf?) and apparently Freeza. Sure, he's memorable, but why did people like him that much?  It's interesting to see Char made the cut considering original MSG wasn't very popular during its Toonami run, but I guess audiences back then still knew a great villain when they saw one. Though that wouldn't explain Raditz.

I really wish Toonami would try to be more playful with their marathons these days. A gimmick like New Year's Eve-il is way more fun and interesting than a typical marathon of one show, and it shouldn't require that much more time and effort to do.

[Lord Dalek]

Also important to note that DeMarco finally flat out admitted One Piece got cancelled for failing to build an audience over the 4 years it was on the block. That might be bad news for Shippuden's future.

[Rynnec]

Bad news for Shippuden, good news for us.

[Avaitor]

It makes sense. I haven't paid attention to it as well, but from what I can tell, Naruto has a reverse Dragon Ball thing going on stateside, where the pre-time jump run is much more popular than post. Not to mention that they're WAY behind on Shippuden's DVD releases.

Also, want to see an interesting throwback? I was reminded of this viewer's choice New Years marathon not too long ago, where fans could vote for their favorite Toonami villains. It's interesting to see what viewers thought of at the time. Majin Buu and Cell dominated; Frieza didn't even rank; The Joker is last in the ranking. Not to mention how Kagato looks like he's only there since Tenchi was still particularly popular at this point. Sailor Moon's peak had come and gone- two or three years ago, and Queen Beryl might have ranked.

Considering Buu is the most contentious of DBZ's main villains, it's interesting to see that he was ridiculously more popular than any other villain on that list - Cell coming in a whopping 13,000 points behind. How come those kids had good taste back then but consider Cell better now? 

Also, it's hilarious that RADITZ of all people beat out the likes of Char and Joker (seriously, almost 10,000 votes more than the Joker? wtf?) and apparently Freeza. Sure, he's memorable, but why did people like him that much?  It's interesting to see Char made the cut considering original MSG wasn't very popular during its Toonami run, but I guess audiences back then still knew a great villain when they saw one. Though that wouldn't explain Raditz.

I really wish Toonami would try to be more playful with their marathons these days. A gimmick like New Year's Eve-il is way more fun and interesting than a typical marathon of one show, and it shouldn't require that much more time and effort to do.

No clue for Raditz, either. He was definitely memorable, but I thought that most people tuned into DBZ on Toonami around when Funi's dub hit. And while the original Gundam was never that big of a hit here, Char is still a very iconic villain, and probably still stood out even when the original didn't finish its run. Joker's low ranking does still surprise me, but I don't think Batman and his villains were as popular around that point- come back when TDK came out, or when B:TAS nostalgia started to become a thing, and he'd be much higher. If anything, I'm surprised that Luthor didn't make it at all, since he was much more prominent in Justice League.

Bringing something like this back would be a lot of fun, but I wonder how many series Toonami could get the rights to use. Even beyond the classics and recent anime series, are the DC shows still off-limits?

[Dreamer2]

Bringing something like this back would be a lot of fun, but I wonder how many series Toonami could get the rights to use. Even beyond the classics and recent anime series, are the DC shows still off-limits?

Probably, which is too bad, since it would be pretty cool if they could air something like BTAS in one of the later "rerun" spots. But, it would probably be way too expensive for a 2:30 or 3:00 spot. And there's also the aforementioned likely problem of them being able to acquire anything DC. Oh well.

[Avaitor]

So Lupin's replacement is... NOTHING!

Seriously, they're going to replace it with Space Dandy repeats, and move Shipudden up a half hour.

10:30p – Dragon Ball Super
11:00p – Dragon Ball Z Kai
11:30p – Black Clover
12:00a – JoJo: Stardust Crusaders
12:30a – Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
1:00a – Hunter x Hunter
1:30am – Naruto: Shippuden
2:00am – Outlaw Star
2:30am – Space Dandy
3:00am – Cowboy Bebop
3:30am – GITS 2nd GIG

[Rynnec]

This block continues to find new ways to disappoint.

[Painted Outlaw]

According to Demarco's twitter, they "had a different show ready but unforeseen events have caused us to have to push that one back a bit (don't worry, it'll be here eventually!). Luckily, Dandy was waiting in the wings! "

I'd like to claim that makes things better but knowing Demarco...

[Avaitor]

Interesting.

In other news, the Golden Kamuy anime is looking good, and it's coming in April. I wonder if it has a shot on the block.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I somehow totally forgot about that. I really enjoy what I've read of Golden Kamuy so far and need to catch up with it....in addition to like, fifty other manga that I read part of and ended up forgetting to come back to....

And yeah, along with that, MHA, FMP, and various other stuff coming out, I'm really excited for Spring's anime releases this year. In general I haven't really been interested in that much anime that was output over the past year (I barely watched any new shows, at that), but this year definitely looks more promising to me.

[Spark Of Spirit]

2018 is looking pretty solid for anime.

Not sure what Toonami is going to get, though, since it can't even get shows like MHA or Ushio & Tora.

[Lord Dalek]

Its not that Adult Swim can't get Ushio and Tora. Its just nobody cares about it but you Desen.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I wouldn't say that Desensitized/Spark is the only one who cares. It has fans (myself included), it's just not as high profile as other battle shonen series that are guaranteed to get better ratings, hence why it's not likely to get aired on a mainstream block like Toonami.

[Rynnec]

Out of all the shounenshit that can air, Ushio & Tora is among the least offensive and sleep-inducing. I'd much rather have seinen like Garo and Drifters myself, but almost anything would be preferable to fucking Black Clover.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Ushio and Tora works for me, personally, because it takes the best aspects of a shonen series but uses them to tell a clear and concise story that's well-plotted and ties up all of its loose ends in three cours worth of content. No dawdling around with pointless filler, no plot points left annoyingly unresolved by the end, and no dragging the story out well past its prime.

I mean, I actually enjoy a lot of shonen manga and anime myself, but even I find that most series eventually outstay their welcome more often than not, so it's refreshing to see one that actually knows when to call it quits and is all the better for it.

As for Seinen anime, Garo would definitely be pretty awesome. I must admit that Kouta Hirano's lack of ability to actually write a cohesive story kind of got me bored of Drifters after the novelty of the concept wore off for me, but it would still be entertaining for those viewing it for the first time. Blood Blockade Battlefront would probably be Toonmi's best current option in this regard, though, IMO.

And while on the subject, if we ever get a re-adaptation of Blade of the Immortal, except actually good this time (though I hear the live-action film is pretty decent), or some studio finally manages to adapt either Vagabond or Vinland Saga, we could be in for a new modern classic.