October 2, 2008 : The Revolution Will Be Televised
They say all good things must come to an end. Apparently that is also true about great things. Unfortunatley, after eleven years, Toonami has aired its final episode.
Even though this programming block on Cartoon Network has long since peaked, it was an incredibly innovative and successful franchise. It helped fuel the mainstream interest of anime in America and acted as a precursor to Adult Swim.
While it reminded people of cool shows from their past (Thundercats, Voltron, Batman: The Animated Series), Toonami extended beyond nostalgic programming by introducing a lot of incredible shows (Dragon Ball Z, ReBoot, Gundam Wing, Justice League…the list could go on).
During its peak, everything about it screamed quality:
- The 3D bumps were top notch. TOM and SARA always looked cool. They even had Moltar in it for a while.
- The Midnight Run was awesome – Gundam Wing Uncut? It didn’t get any better than that.
- The Rising Sun was a good way to go to bed (”Here’s your wake up call”).
- Their promos were amazing. ‘Pardon Our Dust’ was editing perfection.
- The In Flight Movies every Friday were a real joy – ranging from cool Batman/Superman crossovers to the Endless Waltz, how could you not love it?
- Kudos on airing ‘The Month of Miyazaki’. His movies definitely deserved their props.
Again, its cancellation was probably long overdue. Especially since lately the Toonami block was relegated to airing derivative shows only once a week. However, in its prime, it was simply incredible.
Ultimately, its footprint can be seen in many places - and not just on Cartoon Network. Toonami showed how programming and marketing should be done. They built a solid fan base, and then they expanded it…a lot. Plus, they spawned several programming blocks, some of which were on other networks.
Therefore, even though it’s gone, Toonami will not be forgotten. It was an accomplishment that people should be proud of – and thankful for.
So long, Tom.
posted by Pi Visuals at 10:26 am
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October 4th, 2008, at 3:34 am, Moridin said ...
Damn, Toonami was amazing back in the day. How did they get so many good shows (and why can’t they do it anymore)? That toonamiarsenal.com site is outstanding. I just watched “Dreams”, “Space”, and “Pardon Our Dust”. Brings me back to the days when I would be enthralled by the shows on Toonami, and then the Toonami commercials were works of art themselves! I’m going to end up spending hours on that site, watching old clips.
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August 11th, 2009, at 5:48 am, Limbus said ...
You right Toonami was the greatest thing ever and sad that it will not be airing on tv but i thank the interten for the hold of it fan….want to type more but dont have time later love to Toonami
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November 8th, 2009, at 5:59 pm, Toonami Lover said ...
Moltar, Clyde 50, Tom 2…Tom…Toonami…Adult Swim took it over…RIP Toonami..
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