Cartoon Network has sadly broke the news that as of today, the 20th of September, Toonami will end all scheduled programming, and die. This, in actuality, isn’t so sad seeing as the only anime to appear on this block currently is Naruto. What is sad is that this once great weekday block, which used to hold all of our favorite anime (at that time) was shoved into a Saturday evening retirement home to live out the rest of its life to entertain drunks, and grounded children.
Let’s not remember Toonami for what it is, but for what it was. It was our after school club, our after school sanctuary, a place for all of us to experience the final ten minutes of Namek for a few months of never-ending ecstasy. Don’t forget Gundam Wing, the first time any one of us have heard of Gundam, and yaoi. Toonami loved anime so much, that it decided to end its life like one of its most famous shows, Cowboy Bebop. Or perhaps its last utter (seen above) was made out of hate, since Cowboy Bebop was the first anime to appear on Adult Swim, which happened to be the gunman in Toonami’s execution.
Join me after the jump as we remember Toonami. See you, Space Cowboy!
Well we should have seen this coming. But what is there to say, a lineup of great show from the start and after that a down fall of trying to find the next big thing. Who fault is it anyways, well I’ll’ tell you now it WAS NOT the fansubers. I say it's CartoonNetwork; for their constant bastardizing and AdultSwims half ass comedy lineup (but hey I guess cocaine a hell of a drug). I know they have their good shows now and then which I love to watch but there unmotivated efforts to change and to meet the demand what brought them down. So Toonami although I have stayed with you for just a short time I was hoping one day you could offer more but I guess this is the end and that day will never come. Maybe it the companies, maybe it the market, or maybe it’s just me, but I see need to weep for long we need something that will give us what we really want and the few people that are meeting that need are not so much on the TV anymore.
Bebop never aired on Toonami, just so you know. There was an arugment about it on ANN and me and severla other ppl ended up looking it up..it premeried on CN on AS, but never on Toonami...I believe it was the same timeslot toonami use to be on tohugh
Toonami was a part of my childhood since the beginning. May it's pioneer spirit carry onwards to other networks and bring a whole new generation into the fold the way Toonami brought us in
That's what i said Kougeru, that they used cowboy bepop as an ending for toonami even though it was on adult swim, maybe because adult swim killed toonami in some sense.
For those of you interested, toonami arsenal (www.toonamiarsenal.com) keeps a record of all the old commercials for every show they ever aired (in slightly higher than youtube quality) and they also have a few streaming videos of the montage commercials of toonami through the years.
omg...this can't be serious...I loved toonami. I still remember their weird little astronaut mascot dude. There was this one commercial that had this mix I never found but the one line still sticks with me today "nothing good ever came from staying with normal people"...or something like that.
Wow I didn't realize Toonami was that popular. I only kown of it from an ad on the back of one of my magazines. I don't get Cartoon Netowrk but I did see a few of the shows when I was a kid on YTV in Canada.
Alas, poor Toonami! I knew it well: a program
of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: it hath
glued me to the TV a thousand times; and now, how
abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at
it. Here hung those shows that I have watched I know
not how oft. Where be your Sailor Moon now? your
DBZ? your Tenchi? your multitudes of Gundam,
that were wont to entertain me after school? Not one
now, save the memories of it all...
I can't say I've watched Toonami lately due to its...well....crappy programming, but I enjoyed it's earlier days. I used to love watching the Batman and Superman (and JL) animated series there. And I still remember when they used to have Voltron, the Dragonball and Gundam series, The Big O, and Kenshin.
Aww, I'm gonna miss Tom too. Wait, I think my favorite Tom died already. Still, I'ma miss thee, Toonami.
Thinking back, I was in the 5th grade in intermediate school when I first started watching it... I remember running off the bus as fast as I could down the hill so I could catch the next episode of DBZ or Gundam Wing and not miss a single minute...
And now I'm in my second year of college...it ran for a long time.
And it wasn't even like it was bad when it was Saturdays only (at first). I remember dropping whatever I was doing and making sure I was able to watch it at 10:30 for IGPX followed by Eureka Seven...
OMG! The good old Toonami is dead!.. well it died when they stuck shows like teen titans and that other show with the green dude on it...
I'm actually pretty sad about it... but it wasn't the same... i guess the ship will just float off into space... >_< what ever happened to our good old Cartoon network... >_<
Thank you Toonami.
Thanks for filling my childhood with really good shows.
Outlaw Star, Gundam Wing, DBZ, Tenchi...
All shows that bring back good memories.
I feel bad for kids today who dont have the toonami we used to have.
Its a product of "protecting" young minds against violence. So you end up with a bunch of stupid, pointless cartoons.
Feel fortunate guys. For Toonami is not dead. It is well alive in our hearts where it will remain with fond memories.
Later Tom.
*goes to find Toonami soundtrack cd that was bought more than 6 years ago. I know its around here somewhere...*
I'm sad... I'm really really sad right now. I remember when Toonami announced that Tenchi would be on the block and I was in total amazement. Or when DBZ finally continued and I got to see Goku go Super Saiyan. When they announced the lost episodes of Sailor Moon. When they played Gorillaz and Daft Punk music videos, because they were cool like that. This is what helped me love anime. I'll miss you Toonami. I hope that this isn't a final good bye, more of a "I'll see you in a bit" kind of thing. This is confusing though, with the Star Wars cartoon coming, wouldn't it be perfect for Toonami?!
God, I can't put into words how sad I am right now. A bit of childhood has just died.
sorry we parted ways toonami. . after the 3rd remake over of tom an the new roster of show coming (one piece,naruto, bobobboo)i knew it was the end for u and i. im nearly in tears which is odd i supposed its watching my childhood die... T_T
When I saw that video, I nearly broke down. Toonami was basically what got me (and most of us) hooked on anime. Seeing it go is like seeing part of my childhood just vanish. I honestly have died on the inside even more than usual...
This was easily the biggest influence getting me into anime at a young age, I even remember that first Toonami. Draagonball Z, Gundam, A bit of Sailor Moon when no-one was around to make fun of me.
Maybe it's a good thing that Toonami did and maybe it's a good thing that TRL did end also. The reason I said this is because Toonami used to be the gatway towards anime, and now, after so many years, we don't need it anymore. What people cannot access via On Demand, or DVDs, they can now look forward towards online. So maybe we're just going through the phoenix of the entertainment industry: the end of watching core content on the TV and the beginning of watching core content on the internet.
RIP Toonami. You will be missed but certainly not forgoten.
I remember seeing Dragonball for the first time on Toonami when I went to the USA. It hadn't aired in Canada yet so that was pretty cool.
And just recently I saw Blue Dragon for the first time..
I've been watching Toonami since I was 9 years old. It was the birthplace of my addiction to all things Anime and Manga. It led me to become a japanophile, an otaku..
I will never forget watching Gundam Wing for the first time becoming my first television obsession minus the Power Rangers which was only cool for like a year.
I even tuned in every Saturday now just to watch Toonami. It will be severely missed.
Wow, this sucks. I remember going to a friend's house (He had satellite and my cable provider didn't have CN) just to watch Mobile Suit Gundam and DBZ.
Were it not for CN and Toonami, I might not have developed an interest in Anime. Came for the DBZ, but stayed for Tenchi Muyo, Voltron, Mobile Suit Gundam, etc. Not to mention that, back when I watched it daily in high school at least, Toonami had some awesome music to go with their commercials/intro/etc.
I sure will miss Toonami as it was my Gateway Drug into Anime. And that Toonami anime commercial was easily one of the best original spots ever done by the Toonami crew.
Man, there goes my day. I'm going to be depressed now!
[quote] There was this one commercial that had this mix I never found but the one line still sticks with me today "nothing good ever came from staying with normal people"...or something like that.[/quote]
That line was Harry MacDougall from Outlaw Star. The first anime I've ever got addicted to when it came out on Toonami way back when...*sniffle* I still love that show...
Man... Toonami was what got me into anime in the first place... Gundam, Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Tenchi Muyo, Toonami, you will be missed. Luffy flies his flag at half mast today... "sniff"
A long time ago i never had cable so one day i was watching the kids wb week day shows and low and behold dbz was on the wb took a chance and aired toonami for a week. (did that happen or am i just senial in my old age lol at 19)
but i what i will remeber the most is outlaw star and when they showed the daft punk music videos o ya and the last ep of dbz.......
Man those vids take me back. I remember staying up to watch some of the midnight run. Good times, good times indeed. It's a sad day seeing Toonami go. It got me in to anime in the first place. Those were the golden years back then. Honestly though I’m sort of glad it ended now. It was, in a way, sad to see what the old Toonami block had become, a much faded glimmer of the once great and bright light that it had once been. Still though you will be missed by all Toonami.
I'll admit it - That anime commercial one always gets me. Maybe it's just that every single one of those shows is something that I watched as a kid. Maybe it's because the video is just plain awesome. Regardless, I'm gonna miss you, Tom. (Then again, I've been missing Toonami for years anyway... sigh.)
I forgot how much an impact Toonami had on me when I was young. Wow. The Tenchi add especailly takes me back. I remember the very first time I saw the teaser for Tenchi and how excited I was.... you will be missed Tom.
I'll still never understand how in retrospect they got away with showing an edited version of the Tenchi Muyo OVA. The two TV series are fine, but the OVA is a completely different beast.
*cue bebop's ending music since it fits o so well here*
....
o the pain... i nvr thought they would just axe it. maybe keep it going in the shell of it's former self at least. but never axe it... i thought it was over when meguzi showed up, but toonami kept on treking...
and now.... it's gone... and after all the striving of american anime culture. mostly because of toonami, now it leaves us with a wimper...no warning no nothing...
and now adult swim doesnt even have a dedicated anime block...where will we turn to my comrades for tv based anime....o shure sicfi has 2 anime shows...but tht's such a hard night to make, monday night...
i guess we're back to square one my comrades... long live tom. long live the absolution. long live toonami... for it was my best friend as well...
shed a tear for those who who died in the name of being different.
Sad to see, but probably overdue. I would say that it was Toonami airing DBZ that started me out watching anime in the first place. I probably didn't even know it was anime at first either. Now i've probably watched over 300 anime titles, read various manga, and have a general interest in a foreign country. Its sorta like a childhood friend dying...sorta.
I watched that yesterday, it's sad really, Toonami was amazing in every sense of the word. No one can deny that without Toonami, anime would not have had nearly as big of an impact on American culture today. I remember when I was just a kid, I'd rush home to make sure I could watch every minute of DBZ and Gundam Wing I could get my hands on.
I loved how they gave Tom, Sara, and the entire ship itself so much personality. Everything from their conversations to those special events like the robot virus that ate Tom 1.
Even during the Tom 3 era, was Toonami still a pushing force in the anime world. It's such a shame that Toonami had to go out as such a shadow of its former self.
Despite that though, I think Toonami has a legacy that should never be forgotten by anime fans. It just brought so much to us as kids. And even though Toonami's prime is long gone, its lasting impression will be sure to influence American anime fans for a very long time.
Well, it's true that anime has evolved from what it once was and that it's more streamlined. However, there is no longer some kid safe anime block that someone can stumble onto and get addicted to anymore. I mean if you were a kid and your parents saw you watching less than "kid safe" anime all the time problems would arise. That was the wonder of Toonami and now it's gone...
Through Toonami, I met my first bishi (Goku)
My first cosplay attempt (I used to wear my hair like Sailor Moon)
My first kawaii-overload moment (the bunny/ship/thing on Tenchi Muyo)
It lead to a lot of firsts.....
Toonami, you died in my heart many years ago, but now you have a decent burial.
You will be missed.
So it's finally come to this, my only gripe is that Tom and Toonami had to be dragged through the dirt for so long before finally being put to rest.
Toonami was the starting point for a generation of otaku that defined an era, stop any otaku at a convention, and 8/10, they'll answer "Toonami" being the place they first watched anime.
It seems that we all started down the road together, although we branched apart and went our seperate ways, Toonami cultured us, and began us on the road that we would traverse far into our adult lives, and for that we should always remember our roots.
It grieves me that the time finally came for Toonami to breathe its last breaths of air, alien as it was by the time this had to happen.
While I had been exposed to anime prior to Toonami, it was that programming block which cemented my place in anime/manga fandom. My interest in Japan wouldn't have been birthed in the absence of Toonami's guiding light.
More, Toonami showered me with some of my first influences and inspirations for my own creative work; this represents value I cannot possibly measure.
It is sad that this is happening. With this and Adult Swim messing with the schedule, I think I will probably start watching channel 296 less. Oh well, Sci Fi at least is doing well. They might be kinda slow to get new shows, but at least they care or seem kike it.
I Want to cry so bad.
Before I even realized what anime was...I religiously watched Toonami. Every weekday. Oh Man!...I'm gonna miss it. I shall make a shirt for it. R.I.P. Toonami.
See ya, Space Cowboy.
will miss it but was gone a long time ago. I will always remember the music and the 1st version of Tom and the chick and the whole crew. introduced me to Ronin Warriors and Wing. damn.
Farewell Toonami for getting a majority of us fixed on to anime. There aren't enough words to express my sorrow so to keep it short: See ya, Space Cowboy.
It's sad, but honestly, it's long past due. The Toonami we all knew and loved was gone long ago. So long, Tom and Toonami. See you in another dimension, next time on Dragonball Z.
Was sitting in bed last night using XBMC to watch Youtube on my LCD and came across the Toonami 'Farewell" video as being a top commented video for the week.
After getting into anime thanks to the local movie store, The next big push I got was in college thanks to Toonami. As much as the final line-up wasn't that impressive, I'm sad that kids younger than 18 aren't going to have that same gateway into anime.
yes it's my attempt to try and raise the banner the only way we know how. Unite my comrades! ROW,ROW, fight the power! let us join together and try to bring back our dear old friend.
I really miss Toonami: The Midnight Run, that was my favorite. That and watching DBZ on weeknights. Sailor Moon was the first time I ever had a geek crush xD good times, good times... "Now, arise dragon!" I might start tearing up here. Tom was a good friend and shall be missed, the real Tom that is. The one up there, I don't know who the hell the recent one really was.
@lalala1234
Me too. My life would have been waaaay different without Toonami.
UK Toonami fan here; compared to the US version of the block, we've gone from slightly worse (very basic idents and adverts), to equal (The Intruder and similar events), to FUCKAWESOME (when the teenager-orientated CNX channel launched), to STILLAWESOME (CNX downgraded to plain ol' Toonami, still it's own channel), to disappointing (childish redesign with no TOM/Absolution, introduction of shitty live-action shows, almost no anime or 'mature' cartoons left), to dead (name changed to Cartoon Network 'Too', becomes a dumping ground for reruns and stuff not good enough for the main CN channel but not bad/old enough for Boomerang). Having seen it spiritually die years ago, we're pretty much over the loss.
Even so, TOM 4's farewell speech wrenched my heart and my memories in a way I didn't expect; only now do I appreciate the things that Toonami introduced me to, and the desire to rush home to watch new episodes that I'll probably never know again.
As a tribute, I'd like to share some of the few good things about Toonami UK that those of you in America may not have seen.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6cif5Kc0GQ8&fmt=18
Most of Toonami UK's shows and resources in the early days were direct imports from the US block, but there were a few exceptions. We had a dub of Dragonball Z done by the Ocean group (in my opinion, superior to the US version), as well as a few unique intros, adverts and shows. Above is the UK's intro for Tenchi Muyo, while below is an advert that had such a lasting impact, there are still people searching for it (and its source music) to this day.
I was only around 11 when Toonami was born and I finally learned of the world of anime. Being Canadian it is hard to feed my addiction and Toonami was my haven everyday after school. I am truly saddened to hear that it is no longer with us.
Man, I hope cartoon network dies or re-opens toonami or cnx. I was viewing it when they shut down toonami and opened cartoon network too (IM IN THE UK)they never showed the space cowboy or watever the spaceman was dead in the dark user heero yuy posted it. Im 12 and i feel so old for some reason ever since i was 5 in 2001 i have loved anime and manga. R.I.P toonami thanks for turning my mobile suit online. THERE IS ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING ON ANYMORE NOW I HAVE TO BUY 1000,000's of dvds cartoon network lost half its fanbase all thanks to itself.
who remembers the 3 magic number ad toonami,boomerang and carton network?
LOL i remember watching bayblade and batman of the future in its later days
89 comments
