Toonami

[Daxdiv]

It helps that I play Dota 2 or Team Fortress 2 when those two are on. But that's just me.

[Dr. Insomniac]

It helps that I play Dota 2 or Team Fortress 2 when those two are on. But that's just me.

I don't know. If you have to keep yourself busy in order to watch a show, then is it really worth it to watch the show to begin with?

[Daxdiv]

It helps that I play Dota 2 or Team Fortress 2 when those two are on. But that's just me.

I don't know. If you have to keep yourself busy in order to watch a show, then is it really worth it to watch the show to begin with?

That's... kind of the point really. I'm not watching the show per se. Well I'm not going to lie to myself, it's more like not giving a crap about Bleach since I always saw it as the inferior one back when Bleach was in the Big 3 and only paying attention to Naruto before the fillers kick in. I'm just saying do something else during that time.

As for Sym-bionic Titan, good luck waiting until 3:30 AM or something like that. Though I might have to look at the schedule again since I do think GXP is ending next week and with One Piece joining the line up, taking 1 AM and moving Soul Eater to 1:30, I can see a few shuffles here and there.

[Avaitor]

I should probably try to see where they're at with this run of SBT and try it again. I gave up last time because I kept on forgetting to record episodes.

It really isn't a bad show, even if it's no Gargoyles. I'd gladly take it over the rest of the block, tired repeats of Bebop and GITS aside.

[LumRanmaYasha]

What I can't wrap my head around is how people could sit through an hour of Bleach and Naruto.

Easy. Some people actually enjoy Bleach and Naruto. I don't know why they like them, whether they enjoy them for legitimate reasons or not. But those shows have fans whether we like them or not, and even though I can't stand those shows personally I can accept and respect that people like them. Live and let live, as the saying goes.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Alright, so I'm way out of the loop on this, but being that I hardly watch TV anymore, does Digimon still air on any of the Disney channels? I remember hearing some recent news (at least I think it was recent, and presumably legit), that the rights to the franchise's license got returned to Saban (hopefully in full). Honestly, if through whatever circumstances they actually do have the full North American distribution rights to the franchise and any series within it, I feel like Digimon Tamers would be the perfect fit for a show to air on Toonami. Its technically a kids-show so it could have easily been one of the types of shows that you would find on an old-school Toonami block if it weren't already airing on Fox Kids. However, its themes are mature enough where it would fit in with the more adult-oriented Toonami that we have now (except unlike stuff like Bleach and Naruto, its not merely pseudo-adult-oriented material as far as its themes and concepts go).

Now, before anyone says anything, I know that I'm probably completely misinformed about Saban, and I'd never expect something like this to happen even for a second on the off chance that I was right. I'm just speaking my mind about what I would consider an ideal addition to the current Toonami's line-up in order to give the block a bit more variety and good flavor. Of course this would never happen in anything other than a perfect dream world of mine (along with stuff like HXH getting licensed and being aired on Toonami), but I figured it was worth expressing that I think Toonami should at least be trying harder to acquire well-received shows like this. Its fine that they keep airing Naruto and Bleach. I get it: quality or not, those shows get great ratings compared to everything else on the block. That said, while those shows can be used to hook people, they can still follow them up with genuinely good material rather than finding other cheap crap to fill the block's entire time-space up with.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Alright, so I'm way out of the loop on this, but being that I hardly watch TV anymore, does Digimon still air on any of the Disney channels? I remember hearing some recent news (at least I think it was recent, and presumably legit), that the rights to the franchise's license got returned to Saban (hopefully in full). Honestly, if through whatever circumstances they actually do have the full North American distribution rights to the franchise and any series within it, I feel like Digimon Tamers would be the perfect fit for a show to air on Toonami. Its technically a kids-show so it could have easily been one of the types of shows that you would find on an old-school Toonami block if it weren't already airing on Fox Kids. However, its themes are mature enough where it would fit in with the more adult-oriented Toonami that we have now (except unlike stuff like Bleach and Naruto, its not merely pseudo-adult-oriented material as far as its themes and concepts go).

Now, before anyone says anything, I know that I'm probably completely misinformed about Saban, and I'd never expect something like this to happen even for a second on the off chance that I was right. I'm just speaking my mind about what I would consider an ideal addition to the current Toonami's line-up in order to give the block a bit more variety and good flavor. Of course this would never happen in anything other than a perfect dream world of mine (along with stuff like HXH getting licensed and being aired on Toonami), but I figured it was worth expressing that I think Toonami should at least be trying harder to acquire well-received shows like this. Its fine that they keep airing Naruto and Bleach. I get it: quality or not, those shows get great ratings compared to everything else on the block. That said, while those shows can be used to hook people, they can still follow them up with genuinely good material rather than finding other cheap crap to fill the block's entire time-space up with.

The newest Digimon series will be going to Nickelodeon. Considering that Nicktoons has begun airing shows like Yu-Gi-Oh!, I think it's a safe bet that older Digimon shows will rerun on Nicktoons, or at the very least Vortexx.

Toonami probably wouldn't pick up a Digimon series anyway, even if it was Tamers, because the series is not just seen as a "kids show" to the casual audience but also has a toyline and merchandising geared towards children. Not to mention Saban would probably see it as a conflict of interest to have a Digimon show, meant and promoted for children, to be on a network next to not safe for children programming. This has nothing to do with the quality of Tamers and how much adults will enjoy it, mind you, but Saban would not want parents complaining if their kids tune in to watch Digimon on Toonami and catch a show like The Boondocks as well. They have a kid-friendly image to uphold for the franchise, you know.

You can't say Toonami isn't trying to get better shows. People wanted Naruto, so they got it, Soul Eater was a well-received series for many years stateside despite it's flaws, and IGPX has always had it's fans and people wanted to see it again as early as before the block came back last year. People have been asking for One Piece since last year, and it's one of DeMarco's favorite animes as well, so they probably worked very hard in order to make it's return to television happen. So they are trying, and really it comes down to whether you personally enjoy the shows they get or not. Personally, I don't feel I can fault the block for airing something I personally dont like. I won't and don't watch shows I don't like, but at the same time I think the block as a whole is doing just fine for itself even if it isn't the perfect experience I want it to be. That said, I only outright hate three shows on the block, so I probably like it better than most people here do regardless.

What I would personally like to see on Toonami next is not another long-running, more light-heated series but a shorter, more serious title that has the right amount of badass but also real depth to it as well. Black Lagoon or Gun X Sword would fit the bill perfectly. Of course I'd love for a newer title, preferably something I haven't seen like Fate/Zero or Mitchiko to Hachin. Those are the kinds or series I feel Toonami really needs now, for emotionally and genre diversity rather than specializing in the long-running shounen niche. I love One Piece, but I'll need more than that to devote more than an hour of my time to the block each week.

[Daikun]

The last thing Toonami needs are shows involving fighting pet monsters or card games. That stuff should be on the kiddie networks like Vortexx, Nicktoons, or Disney XD. All those shows that Toonami aired during their final years on CN would feel very out of place on Adult Swim, yet they would fit right at home on those other networks.

Zatch Bell would make a great addition to Vortexx. Duel Masters could air on the Hub (they're airing that Kaijudo spinoff, after all). Digimon could air on any of them. Adult Swim...?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Personally I'd take the pet monster show over at least half of what Toonami is currently airing, but then again I'm no longer Toonami's demographic audience. It'd still be a shit-ton more interesting to see them take a risk like that rather than relying on old reruns of Naruto and Bleach, though.

That said I did clearly say that it was just my personal preference, so there's really no reason for you guys to go out of your way to convince me otherwise when I already clearly stated that it would never happen, regardless of whether people accepted it or not.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Zatch Bell! isn't really a pet monster/card game show, although in a basic sense I can see how it's sorta like one. Anyway, I think Viz stopped distributing the series long ago, so it's not going anywhere, much less Toonami (and even if it could air on it, I wouldn't want it on Toonami. I like the show a lot and all, but especially with the Viz dub it wouldn't fit on an adult-oriented block).

I don't know what the situation is with the Duel Masters anime (which is best watched dubbed because the gag-dub not only makes it actually worthwhile, but hilariously enjoyable), but I doubt it'll ever air on U.S. television again either.

I don't know how old you are Ensatsu-ken, but if you are male and over 18 and under 34 then you are apart of Toonami's target demographic, just saying.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece are shonen series that were aimed at children, with two of the three airing on US child-friendly slots at previous years. How is that 18-34?

[Foggle]

The current lineup:
    12:00AM - Bleach
    12:30AM - Naruto (Uncut)
    1:00AM - Soul Eater
    1:30AM - ThunderCats
    2:00AM - IGPX
    2:30AM - Eureka Seven
    3:00AM - Tenchi Muyo! GXP
    3:30AM - Sym-Bionic Titan
    4:00AM - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
    4:30AM - Cowboy Bebop
    5:00AM - Inuyasha
    5:30AM - Inuyasha

Only one of those shows is actually aimed at people over 18.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I don't know how old you are Ensatsu-ken, but if you are male and over 18 and under 34 then you are apart of Toonami's target demographic, just saying.

Well, I'm 23, and if shows like Bleach and Soul Eater are meant for my demographic then they just don't appeal to me I suppose.

[Daxdiv]

If Animal Land is anything to go by, Kodansha is the one that can publish anything Zatch/Gash Bell now. One of the main reasons as to why Viz stopped publishing it was due to how Makoto Raiku cut his ties with Shuiesha/Shogakuken, which you know, is where VIZ gets their most of their Manga series from. He was able to make a small side story for Zatch Bell after he switched his publisher to Kodansha, as they thought that it would be a good way to promote them republishing Zatch Bell in Japan.

As a side note.... still waiting on you to release the rest of the Zatch Bell manga over here Kodansha USA. The money can be yours.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece are shonen series that were aimed at children, with two of the three airing on US child-friendly slots at previous years. How is that 18-34?

Well to be fair, Naruto and One Piece generally attract a lot of older readers/watchers in Japan as well. However that has more to do with the fact that they both started serialization over 10 years ago, so a lot of the fans who started reading those series as kids are a lot older now.