Toonami

[Daikun]

Another night of Batman movies on October 16, plus a short.

Also, Black Clover concludes on October 9.

[Avaitor]

Hmm, I wonder what will replace Black Clover. Megalobox Nomad? Assassination Classroom season 2? Maybe, possibly, finally Mob Psycho 100 season 2?

I've heard good things about both of those Batman movies, and I'm especially interested in Ninja. That should be a fun night.

[Daikun]

Blade Runner: Black Lotus premieres November 13. Here's the trailer.

Also, Shenmue trailer.

[Daikun]

More Batman on October 23.
Also, a Fena marathon on October 30.

[Avaitor]

Blade Runner 2049 is going to air on the 26th.

A good call! And surprising to see [as] air something related to Toonami like this on an off-night.

[Daikun]

Will Demon Slayer S2 not air on Toonami?

[Avaitor]

... What can they air at this point?

[Dr. Insomniac]

Yeah, I struggle to see Toonami's purpose anymore. Most action animated shows make their way to streaming these days, and it should be embarrassing on Toonami's part that a League of Legends cartoon is receiving more acclaim and discussion than a Blade Runner cartoon. Anime's easier than ever to find as soon as it airs in Japan, and it's hard to think of a modern day scenario where a show that failed to succeed on original airing can find renewed success here like with Outlaw Star.

I've seen the argument that Toonami should become a place for experimental animated shows or cartoons from other countries in order to promote creative growth, but the days of finding creative growth on a late-night cable block are long gone. Creating and sustaining a Liquid Television was already hard enough in the 90s, and ultimately failed because MTV preferred making money over spending it, but doing it now is even more unfeasible since that costs significant time and money CN/AS aren't willing to give. After all, most of the weirder AS shows are made on shoestring budgets. The Eric Andre Show is $3 million per season for instance. And that's one of their bigger shows.

[Rynnec]

... What can they air at this point?

I suppose Sentai still has Ushio and Tora, Princess Principle, and the newest seasons of Food Wars and Lupin whenever those get dubbed.

There's also Shenmue and the other half-dozen originals down the pipeline, but after three misses with FLCL Prog, Fena, and Black Lotus (four if you count IGPX), it's safe to put any expectations at rock bottom. Below that, even.

[Daxdiv]

At this point, Toonami just feels like a waiting ground for people that want to see dubs & even then thanks to how most companies are putting out simuldubs on their streaming service people could just easily search that out if they don't want to listen to Japanese audio.

[Dr. Insomniac]

When was the last time a TV show got a fandom or a reinvigorated fandom from reruns? Maybe Columbo on MeTV because I've noticed a lot more people making Columbo references lately than they used to? But Toonami can't accomplish that since Columbo aired at a time where most people wouldn't be asleep. I doubt the scenario will happen again where Toonami licenses an anime that didn't get attention when it first premiered, and then enough people are awake at 1 AM watching it and going "Holy shit, this is the best show but I'm perfectly content just watching one episode a week at 1 AM instead of finding the whole series online!" Streaming, legal and illegal, made that avenue unappealing to modern viewers. And of course, even the localization wait time's gone due to simuldubs with every anime localizer buying the rights to as many new anime as they can before they air instead of waiting months or years like they did back in Toonami/ASA's peak. Because the internet wasn't that advanced yet so everybody could still take their time importing and dubbing shows over to America, and studios weren't making almost 50 new anime per season like we're getting now.

As for their original shows, they've all been either dull or awful.

[Avaitor]

In the earlier years of Toonami's revival, they've been able to help push some series from being merely pretty popular to blowing up through the stratosphere. I feel like Attack on Titan, One Punch Man, and even Hunter X Hunter got big boosts from their time on Toonami. I definitely didn't see HXH merch at Hot Topic before it hit Toonami, at least.

But over the past couple of years, it seems like this is harder to accomplish. They've needed MHA and Demon Slayer more than the other way around, and I don't think Food Wars or Assassination Classroom have received that AOT or HXH-level boost from their time on the block.

But their originals aren't cutting it. No one cared about the FLCL sequels, Fena turned out to be a massive disappointment, and Black Lotus isn't doing anything to eradicate Blade Runner's terrible track record with the mainstream. I don't see Shenmue breaking this streak, either- isn't it known for being kind of dull?. Maybe Uzumaki will break this streak. Even if it does turn out disappointing, Junji Ito is a big enough name that I can see it gain some attention.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Yeah, but AOT, OPM, and HxH already had significantly large fandoms in the US before they any of them reached Toonami. I don't think any of them really needed Toonami to find mainstream popularity, just that it was one among several avenues to watch those shows. While I don't remember Food Wars or Ass Class receiving the same level of attention AOT was getting when its first episode premiered in Japan. I'm sure Toonami in the last decade helped a couple shows find a handful of fans, but for the most part, I don't think any relatively recent anime specifically owes its popularity to airing there. It's not like 20 years ago where if you didn't have the International Channel or you couldn't go to a Suncoast and buy DVDs, Toonami was basically your only source to find DBZ episodes.

And it's not like it's impossible for Toonami to succeed at airing shit late at night and hoping enough people will take a gander. Disney+ somehow managed to convince tons of people to tune in at 3AM once a week to watch the latest episode of Mandalorian. That worked because it was an entertaining show connected to a huge IP so there was enough brand recognition for people to notice and get hooked to. Toonami's trying to do that with Black Lotus, but it's not working both because Blade Runner's not a huge blockbuster franchise and the show itself is trash.

Maybe they could ask Lana Wachowski to help produce a Matrix animated series for Toonami. Make something like the Animatrix again, but in series format. Unlike BR, The Matrix is a big enough IP that I could picture that working in the block's favor.

[Daikun]

Unlike BR, The Matrix is a big enough IP that I could picture that working in the block's favor.

I doubt it. The Matrix sequels have been rubbish. It's been close to 20 years since those movies were released, and I have very little hope that Resurrections could help the franchise in any way (although I will still watch it on HBO Max, regardless). As we've seen with several WB-owned properties for the last decade, they've been desperate for revitalizing their old shit without understanding what made the originals so great, coming off as shallow imitations of what came before.

The Matrix was a time capsule that exists in its own little corner of history. It has not aged well--especially since the countless clones and parodies that came out since then made it age faster--and it's not nearly as well-remembered as it was in its day.

[Avaitor]

I've actually seen The Matrix franchise have a resurgence in recent years, particularly among the trans community. Many consider the Wachowskis to be important and have reevaluated the sequels to be better than their earlier reputation.

But maybe I only see this in that weird subsection of Twitter. But most of those people were pushing for Dune, and that became a hit, so who knows, maybe Resurrections will do the trick.