According to ANN, Cartoon Network’s ‘Toonami’ block will reportedly cease to exist tonight after 11 years of existence. It was revealed at Anime Weekend Atlanta this morning that a special announcement regarding the cancellation will appear on CN during the 10:30-11 pm EST timeslot.
Insert big fanboy/fangirl “WHAAAAAAAAAAAT? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” here.
Though Toonami’s only current Asian animation is Naruto fillers, it has been home to at least 30 anime series over the years, including Dragonball and Sailor Moon. (ANN’s article has the full list of series.) Heck, I remember a very old-skool CG version of Tom, Toonami’s old mascot, popping up during Sailor Moon commercial breaks when I was a kid. (Yes, I’m that old young.)
Nostalgia aside, though, Naruto’s future is somewhat up in the air. While there are two episodes scheduled to air tonight, one of next week’s episodes has been replaced with Batman: Gotham Knight, and no further news has been released regarding Naruto’s future times or episodes. It’s unlikely that CN will outright cancel the airings of Naruto, however, I see at least some filler removal in its future. Perhaps skipping ahead to Shippuuden, the ’second season’ of sorts? Perhaps VIZ has some special plans for the uber-popular franchise’s adaptation.
Expect updates as AWA continues and New York Anime Fest rolls around next weekend.
~CJ
I miss those days when Tom would strut down into the pilot’s seat showing us clips of Dragonball, Yu Yu Hakusho, Tenchi Muyo and Rurouni Kenshin. Toonami was the gateway to anime for my generation, it’s sad that it’s going. Then again, i’m not too sure what happened to it after they changed it all up…
This news coming on the tails of the AS schedule shift are signs of the game continuing to change. I remember watching Kenshin, Big O, Samurai Jack and Hack Sign and being exposed to many other series I have not yet seen but really SHOULD watch (Outlaw Star, Tenchi). The announcer’s voice was unforgettable and so was the block’s impact in growing the American community.
Unfortunately, television advertising is slowly dying and using shows as promotion for potential DVD sales doesn’t seem to be worth it for a broadcaster’s perspective. I’ll definitely watch tonight to tape the special announcement for posterity and remember the good times.
And Yuyu Hakusho. Oh, Yuyu Hakusho…that show means so much to me.
Wow. Just wow. Though I’m kinda not surprised(my post earlier noting how CN seems to not be picking up anything)
And the good side, finally get to see the Gotham Knight…
And it’s over, permanent shutdown sequence engaged.
i am very sad about this.
Nooo! Without Toonami I wouldn’t even be the little crazy fangirl I am today.
Though, I guess I can’t be too upset since the Toonami of today is not the Toonami I remember. The one with Tom (who I completely forgot about until just now).
I mean the number of shows I used to watch on Toonami…I can’t even remember them all. *sigh* A sad day indeed.
blame fucking hannha montana and shit like that for ruining good tv like toonomi.
its like there caceling our chield hood!
fags
i dont know about you guys, but im pissed and i say we boycot Cartoon network all together!
whos with me?
No freakin way! toonami was the reason I got into the anime craze in the first place. I never knew before that what anime was. they opened my eyes in soooo many levels. I first watched tenchi muyo on toonami and I loved it. then I watched inuyasha,cowboy bebop and flcl. and then when I found out they were all anime. I researched on the internet and found ohayocon then animepunch back in 2004. If it wasn’t for toonami I would never Knew of this stuff! Cartoon network how could you!!!!!!!
Although, if you look at press releases, it doesn’t state they are canceling shows. It just seems to be a re-structure and time block shifting. Much like they did with some of the multi-season Anime, pushing them to a 2am time slot.
It’s not a shocker at all, seeing as to how Toonami was just used a various “junk drawer bin” for programming. Whatever didn’t fit with their kiddie programming, and didn’t fall under adult swim was just thrown in there.
This is just great – I was wondering what was happening. This past Saturday’s Toonami was wacked with what was airing. I agree with the “junk drawer bin” as I have not been happy with the later night offerings.
Oh well, I will have to actually spend time with the family now instead of being glued to the Toonami.
I erally cant beleive that cartoon network would do such a terrible thing to their veiwers? I loved yuyu hakusho so much! and the only time i got to see it was on cartoon nework. However, i heard that they are going to bring back a new seaon of it? There are commercial for it however.
This is just mean. I hate to sound like another fanboy, but wtf?
Batman, Johnny Test, Chowder, and this other crap (although Batman isn’t crap, it just doesnt belong where Toonami should still be) Cartoon Network is stupid. Naruto gets huge ratings, even the fillers. Adult Swim will never show Naruto if they cut it outright, and quite frankly, I’ll probably kill myself if they stop showing Naruto even when Shippuden should be here.
Cartoon Network. You can have your retarded “Har Har Tharsdays” and “Fried Dynamite” but you shouldn’t have f**ked with Toonami.
Yeah, they really werent thinking when they decided this. They were probably all high or something illeagal like that… Any way, this just goes to show how loyal they are to their veiwers. The more mature ones, anyway. Right now, the only thing that they’re entertaining are 8 year olds. Idiots.
I’m really sorry to see Toonami go. I remember being home at 5pm every evening for Gundam Wing (what was that… six, ten years ago?) and the like, and as another poster stated, Toonami was my gateway to a lot of other Anime. Toonami got me started on Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop, Rurouni Kenshin, Bleach, Naruto, Yu Yu Hakusho (!)… there’s really too many to list.
I actually feel sorry for the kids who actually are eight / nine. We all grew up with Toonami and Anime that had real plot, character development, and actual depth in-general to it. What are they stuck with… Flapjack? Chowder? And we wonder why the world seems to be becoming less intelligent…
I’ve heard some rumors that Adult Swim (run by Williams Street, the same group that effectively was Toonami) may be getting its own channel. At that point, I think Cartoon Network will simply die off for lack of good shows.
I also have to say that I’m disappointed that all they can do to follow in Toonami’s footsteps is air Batman. While Batman is by no means poor, it simply lacks the depth of all that Toonami brought. Sure, there are recurring villains and a few plot twists, but overall there is no character development or true depth to the stories at all- a random villain every episode or a random super-villain. Villain or super-villain escapes the first time, then Batman spends the rest of the episode finding them and catching them. Something so simple is not what viewers have come to expect from Toonami’s time block.
Oh well, with that I’ve had my say, and I bid you all ado.
OMG they replaced toonami with some gay cartoons here is a dumb ass quote from Chowder :Hey, you can’t talk that way about my dumb, ugly mama! Now u see what i mean As generations go on cartoons get more and more retarted i have noteced they can say words that are conciderd profain Like Bloody hell, You stupid as moron (he meant to say U r stupid as a moron) im done with cartooon network
well i remember when i waz like 5 years old i used love watching dbz,GUNDAM WING and i still watch it 2day and i loved tom how he pops up in shows but when i some1 told me about toonami was gone i was sad and i’l never 4get it R.I.P.
That sucks cartoon network shows little baby s**t and got rid of toonami just cus the content is
a little tiny step above there baby s**t on cn means they plot its down fall bull crap time. warner why did you sink so low? I blame them and the us censorship committee,fcc well get the idea.
awww man what the hell? what happend to good anime?