Yes, you read right. I don’t think toonami will survive more than 1-2 seasons at most due to a few factors that keep it from being the next best lineup on tv – or the best Toonami. This isn’t to say I don’t like the new Toonami, because I think the lineup is amazingly epic. Unfortunately though, I thinkAdult Swim’s “new” phoenix might smolder to ash rather than take off like we know it should. Let’s Begin.
1. Time Slot: Anime fans tend to be weird, making concessions for things they care about…namely, ecchi figures and anime shows. At the moment, I’m living with my dad because of a car accident I’m almost done healing from, so staying up “insanely” late isn’t really something I can count on doing…even for a Saturday. Luckily, I was able to catch the first three shows: Bleach, Deadman Wonderland, and Casshern Sins. The only show I actually paid attention to was Deadman Wonderland, but I’ll get to that later. If pretending I (or you) don’t have a dad to deal with, would you actually stay up past 3am to watch these shows??? I doubt I could, and even if I could, I wouldn’t. Don’t get me wrong, the 12 o’ clock time slot isn’t bad. It’s actually okay considering Toonami originally was an April Fools joke, but most people who can stay up late get tired around 3am. Granted, it is a Saturday, but that’s exactly my point: it’s a Saturday.
2. Social Life: Not all anime fans are hermits who stay in on the weekends. (For example) after an occasional night of hardcore clubbing, getting home around 2am-2:30am is typical, and depending on what you did earlier or you’re about to do later, watching anime is completely out the question. I sincerely think Toonami should have shelled out a little more money and procured a better time slot (if it was even possible). I suppose it isn’t the absolute worst, but it hurts. I don’t know if anyone remembers, but the famous anime block came on at 6pm (EST). Instead of tagging this string of shows as Toonami, I feel they should have just brought back the old intro clips of Adult Swim. That’d have been much more fitting. Adult Swim came on late with these type of shows, not Toonami. Again, not terribly bad, but it hurts.
3. Video Games: In addition, when some people aren’t out having a good time elsewhere hanging with friends, they’re online hanging with friends. I can confidently say I WILL be playing Blazblue Continuum Shift Extend a.k.a. BBCS:EX, Guild Wars 2, Skull Girls, Dead or Alive 5 (September), Tekken Tag 2 (unsure of release), and Borderlands 2 (September) as much as I can when I get away from my parents. Sleepless nights will definitely figure in, but not with Toonami.
4. Bleach As First Show:Tell me this: WHY did they have to kick it off with Bleach!? Seriously…Bleach!? I’m sure not many of you remember, but a couple years ago, I made a post about how Bleach was is a disgrace. I even made funny little pictures illustrating exactly why. Let me do a small recap. ICHIGO ALWAYS WINS…even if it takes THREE-HUNDRED episodes. The ENTIRE show’s about who’s is bigger. “Oh, wait, this isn’t my true form,” followed by, “oh yeah? Well this isn’t my real bankai!” I admit the “level up” aspect is was very exciting to watch, but that’s about it. It gets annoying when it seems a bad guy is getting served, then they “remember” they can power up. Seriously, what’s the point. Dragonball Z already took us on that trip (multiple times -_-”), so is it REALLY necessary to bring it back? I suppose at least one shounen for Toonami is consistent with their programming, but beginning with it? No. Needless to say, this is my opinion, but I know a myriad of anime fans who’ve moved on from Bleach. even those who like shounen. To say a 14 year-old ginger running around screaming is tired, is an understatement.
5. Once A Week: Unless you’ve been under a rock, you should have already seen 4 of the 6 shows. Personally, I’ve seen 5. Technically it’s not a bad thing because the shows are quite good, but it doesn’t negate the fact I (and many others) already seen them. Unless you, A) are an obsessed anime fan, B) have nothing better to do, C) don’t have an online connection D) can stay up late, and/or E) haven’t seen majority of these shows, then that’s fine. Fortunately my Internet connection isn’t connected by a really long piece of string, so I can watch them whenever I’d like. When I think about it, the only show people probably haven’t seen is Deadman Wonderland Btw, is the 2nd season even out yet…? Getting back on track though, I’d imagine after 3-4 weeks, watching Toonamiwill be an afterthought, and eventually a non-thought at all. I’m not so hot about it, but if a Sunday laced with sleepy regret is your thing, then shake n’ bake.
6. Deadman Wonderland:In short, this twisted (shounen?) show centers around a middle schooler framed for a murder…er murders he didnt commit and is sentenced to death for it. Yes. Middle schooler and death sentence in the same clause. Although, he isnt confined in a normal prison with a normal death sentence because thats not anime enough. Instead, he’s relegated to Deadman Wonderland, a theme park Disney would be like if they liked mopping up blood. I LOVED watching this show a couple seasons ago (winter?) along with a bunch of fellow twitterers, but I’m worried some people who like more “classical” shows won’t get this show at all. I would attribute it to all the moeblob around, but I don’t think that’s a solid reason.When Deadman Wonderland came on, my dad and sister (who also like anime) couldn’t sit still. My sister kept asking to turn it to a (good) movie called, Fresh, about an incredibly smart kid taking down drug dealers as though it were chess and my dad kept grimacing from the swearing, blood, and gigantically tasteful boobs. I didn’t get it. The show had plenty of action for a first episode and it didn’t spew it all in the last 10 minutes of the show. They kept complaining how the story was completely over the top and unrealistic. -_-” I swear, I don’t know how many times I had to remind them how “realistic” Dragonball Z, Cowboy Bebop, or Samurai Champloo was. As for others, why certain people who liked Elfen Lied, an opus of blood don’t like Deadman Wonderland? I have no clue.
If you read through majority of my rambling, you’ll come to find I genuinely liked Toonami/Adult Swim and like what it’s become, but nonetheless, I fear it’ll meet an Ill-fated end. Even with the 4-5 GREAT shows…with the schedule and time slot they have, I don’t see it going anywhere. I think Toonami is like an old girl or boyfriend you’ve gotten over: it was great while it lasted, but it will never be the same if you got back together. The only reason you’re thinking about her (proverbially) is because she gave you a random phone call on April Fools day leaving you wondering if things can work. You pine for the times you had, not the person they are now.
What I’m saying is, anime fans relished the feeling of witnessing brand new anime at a convenient time when DVDs were still kicking off and dial-up was all the rage. Things have changed and the way we devour our entertainment has and will continue to change. Let me preach for second. The truth is, no one wants Toonami even if they say they do. What they want is the feeling it gave them; the “this is why I LOVE anime” feeling. I predict eventually people will just make the small pilgrimage to a YouTube, Netflix, CrunchyRoll, or anime streaming site to get a fix – I know I will. It’s kind of hard to feel anything else other than heavy eyelids with the way things are going. Sweet dreams.
Do you love or hate the new Toonami? Will it stand the test of time with major streaming sites and online gaming? Say what YOU think!
... keep it up! } – 
Libertardian
There’s a business reason why Bleach (and then Naruto) lead Toonami: They get the highest ratings out of anything else they put on the lineup. They may be stupid shows but they also have built-in audiences that most other anime doesn’t really have.
Keep in mind too that Cartoon Network’s network executives (i.e. the ones that came in after the ATHF bomb scare made the old execs resign) have pretty much accepted the idea that animation is crap – these being the guys that approved CNreal and all those shitty [as] comedy live-action shows that had no business being on the network. They don’t ‘get’ animation, aside from what their Nielsen numbers are telling them. And their Nielsen numbers tell them that Bleach and Naruto are going to stay at 12 and 12:30 because they give the best numbers at those timeslots.
Keep in mind too that Bleach is a carryover from the [as] action era, and Cartoon Network most likely has a fairly long distribution contract with FUNimation which guarantees Bleach a spot anyway. I don’t think they could stop playing it if they wanted to (and again, they don’t want to stop playing it, it makes money).
Also, I would love it if the Toonami block ate an hour of [as] comedy. I don’t watch Bleach or Naruto, so if I want to watch the good stuff on Toonami I get to wait until 1am, whereas if this was pushed back I could start watching at 12. I don’t think anything more than an hour is plausible though: the stuff that plays an hour before Toonami starts gets about the same ratings as Toonami itself, but any further back and they wind up cutting out Family Guy or the Cleveland Show. Guess what shit gets the consistently highest ratings on [adult swim] any day of the week? Exactly those two shows. It’s why they kept playing them for years and years after they stopped being funny: there’s always a new crop of middle schoolers to laugh at pot jokes for an hour. So until we hit peak Family Guy or Naruto or Bleach suddenly become popular again, we’re stuck with the crap slots.
Also btw you just got tweeted by Jason DeMarco. He’s the guy that started Toonami and is currently running the block.
Nuu
Heyy! Thanks for the in-depth comment man. I really appreciate it. Been on an incredibly long lazy/busy break lol. But anyways,
And about the ratings, that’s a valid point. I hadn’t thought of that to be honest. Ratings is the one “ring” you could say. So if bleach is the one show to rule them all, then that’s cool. I’ve just had enough with the show. That’s all. And yeah waiting 1 hour isn’t terrible and we all typically stay up past that time anyways, but if a REALLY good show was fairly late, it’d kill the entire thing for me -_-”
But @ any rate, what’s the status of toonami now? How well is it and what’s the outlook?
P.S. like in the post, I love toonami, but just thought there were other peripheral factors getting in the way. Maybe ill make a follow-up post. I don’t hate it, but didn’t believe it’d see the light of (the second) day.
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Austin
Congratulation. You are the first person to ever have a wrong opinion
Nuu
Sorry? Lol
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Ryu Sheng
As has been said shows like Bleach and Naruto are cash cows, they rake in loads of cash because of the games, anime and manga. They’re huge iconic shows, even if they suck. Libertardian hit the nail on the head, it’s kid driven. If you look at the demographics for both bleach and naruto it’s all kids really. Eseentially they’re the new pokemon.
The problem a lot of people have with DW is that it’s on that border between shounen and seinen, so it’s slightly more than what they were expecting. Also it’s from a different age, so the appeals of an anime from say 5 years ago differe from those of today.
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Nuu
wow….lol I feel like when it came to the actual business aspect of things, i kind of missed it completely. I guess I’ve had in my head that AdultSwim/Toonami’s always been a niche thing and only a select amount of viewers tune in and that essentially there’s no “real” money to be had and that it was just a labor of love, moreso than a network caring about ratings.
But I suppose I was wrong. I’ll have to make an update or follow-up post on this or something. Definitely. But yeah another good point about the actual age group. I guess I’d liken it more to DBZ of late, but I get your drift for sure. I guess I forget about the kids because when i think about “TOONAMI,” I think about all the people who grew up with ME, and not anyone else.
The audience probably has changed a bit. I guess in my post I (still) felt like I was right about the shows subjectively in an objective way (if that makes ANY sense), but wrong regarding it in a COMPLETELY objective way, business-wise. I’ll definitely have to make a follow-up post on this after midterms this week.
Taruhi
I don’t know… It’s currently near a year later and it doesn’t seem much like Toonami’s suffering that much. Lemme break down your list in why I think your original post is off, partially based of how it is now.
1. As far as time slots go, I don’t think they COULD have gotten a better slot if they wanted to. A revival of something that died horribly long ago under CN’s new exec.s, especially since it died long enough ago that the younger viewers will have never even heard of it? Doesn’t seem like THAT much of a cash cow like bell bottom jeans were (and god, they better not come back.) Besides, every, EVERY TV service provides your with the ability to record shows. Can’t stay up for it? Record it.
Personally, the time slot’s perfect for me, since I am a legitimate insomniac and I’m at my peak around 2-3 AM at night.
2. Honestly, I’ve been an anime fan since I was real young, around 8. I’ve hung around the anime community for a very long time and I’ve met plenty of people. I, however, have very rarely, if ever, met someone that goes ‘hardcore clubbing’ on a weekly basis, especially on Saturdays. The few people I have met that do go clubbing regularly, usually do it on Friday so that they can get the stresses of their work out of their system and then spend Saturday regretting Friday and taking it slow, going well into the night with video games, anime, or other things they’re into.
So social life, here, isn’t exactly the problem, since the normal social life, anime viewer or otherwise, happens during the weekdays and weekend mornings/afternoons. Yeah, the night life is something people go for, but that’s for the mature crowd of say… 21-29.
As for the time block thing, again, I don’t think they had much choice in the matter, regardless of how much money they initially shelled out if the executives didn’t think they were going to continue getting that amount from month to month.
3. With video games, if you’d rather have your T.V. tuned to your Xbox or PlayStation during Toonami’s run, well, good for you, though you wouldn’t be one of the Toonami Faithfuls. Personally, I can set my controller to the side and mindlessly grind on Pokemon or play some MMO that doesn’t take much effort on my computer while Toonami’s on. Though, more often than not, I’m still doing college work during it.
Also, again, there’s that record button that everyone provides. Click it and you’re set until you decide to delete it.
4. I get it, Bleach isn’t such a big show on the storyline for some people. However, I think it’s fine. And it still gets viewings no matter what because I’m not the only that thinks so/people like seeing it’s fight scenes.
(BTW, the only person that really “evolves” in the entire show is Ichigo, that gradually unlocks access to his powers or is taught them by Urahara, the Vizards, his dad, and Yoruichi until he loses them in the fight against Aizen who had to power up using the Hogyokyu, meaning by some other means. There were people like Ulquiorra who didn’t feel it was necessary to pull out their full strength against anyone until they reached the point where someone was worth a damn or was limited to because their power would basically wreck the whole joint, but whatever. All in all, everyone’s set to their limits.)
Actually, it really just gets the job done to give the kids one last thing to watch before being shooed to bed by their older sibling or parent, while giving something the more grown-up person to somewhat enjoy and keep the ratings nice and high. Toonami isn’t all about keeping the ratings high, but they still do need money to keep the executives from pulling them off the air again.
(Also, the ICHIGO ALWAYS WINS part: Welcome to nearly every anime, game, and story ever. The good guys win.)
5. Why should I care about whether or not I’ve seen it? Most of the shows that have come onto Toonami thus far, I’ve already seen the Japanese version of it. I can’t financially support them through Japanese means though, so I give my views through the American releases. That’s the best I can do and with shows as great as Soul Eater, Full Metal Alchemist, and so on, I’ll gladly watch them several times through to paint a clearer picture to their makers that they made something I REALLY like. It’s not they somehow lose their magic a second time through. A good story is a good story and is worth going back through and seeing what you miss, especially if you really enjoyed it the first time. Kinda like playing the games you love over and over.
6. I don’t see how Deadman Wonderland, the short as hell anime is it, would have killed Toonami off in 1-2 seasons. Honestly, it was placed later in the night so that people like your little sister should’ve already turned out for the night, so it’s for grittier, gorier, more mature things. Deadman Wonderland isn’t as fantastical and unrealistic as it seems though. It’s more of… an exaggeration of the truth really. It’s really quite a deep showing off how even a kid isn’t safe from the unfairness life has (sentenced for death for allegedly massacring his entire class in the bloodiest, goriest scene the city had seen in years. Worth a death sentence? Maybe.), how people enjoy watching the pain of others, justifying it as ‘not being real’ (the amusement park and ‘shows’), living in prison and how it affects people (the poor kid snapping), accepting the cards your dealt and then playing them or fighting to get a new hand (him playing along and finding and joining a group of rebellious deadmen), and finding your own light in a place you consider Hell, even if that light turns out to be the greatest demon you’ve ever known (Shiro). Yeah, with all that going on, there’s going to be some swearing and blood. Sorry Pops, but that’s how it is.
Still, the show goes off once it’s done and it’s replaced by something else. Bim bam boom, it’s done. It’s simply about not watching that time slot because you don’t like that show, kinda like what I do with Tenchi right now.
Honestly, your entire list had no real reasoning for it dying out soon after it’s revival and it more sounds like you’re coming at it from the stand point of the immature brat that will turn away from something if they doesn’t like it. Not saying you are, that’s just how it came off. The one major and crucial argument you could’ve had that would legitimately contribute to Toonami’s downfall was 1 sentence in your closing statement: streaming websites. However, that’s untrue too. The Toonami Faithful is someone like me, someone who wants to support the show they love, but can’t do it through other means. Toonami grants the place for that and also provides the viewers with a place for them to talk (they have a forum). You consider all this other stuff like gaming and timing as being a crucial downfall, but fail to think about the simple development in watching TV that is recordings. Then saying all this stuff about it being a old boyfriend or girlfriend because it won’t be the same, but… I don’t know how many boyfriends or girlfriends you’ve had crawl out of the grave, but if it’s like Sankarea, he/she won’t be the same no matter what. That applies just as much for a television block, if not more. A dead show needs to show real, demanding support for it to even get back on the air at all. It’s amazing that it even DID come back, but now it’s a zombie.
For my final act, allow me to drive the proverbial nail through your ultimate truth: I want Toonami. It’s not because of the feel of “this is why I love anime” or anything like that. The old adult swim anime block was boring and tiresome. Toonami provides the anime, along with Tom who expresses his opinion on each anime and games like the charismatic radio DJ that’s putting on all the songs we may or may not like. It feels much more interactive than it is and with things like the Toonami community, the creator’s podcasts, and stuff like that, it allows the people that stayed up every Saturday night for Adult Swim’s isolated and cold, just airing of the shows, to feel more welcome and really part of a community. It’s like walking into a restaurant and always being welcomed at the door. Every Saturday night now, at 12 AM, Tom comes on and welcomes us to our late night indulgence. Like or not, party animal or not, gamer or not, a Toonami Faithful is faithful to Toonami and I’m proud to be one of them.
Do I think it’ll last the test of time that streaming websites provide? I think it’ll last a lot longer than the old block would have.
All that’s what I think, at the very least. I can’t go into depth about finances and stuff like the other posters though and I may’ve lost a bit of balance between emotion and brainpower around Bleach, but meh. I’m no L.
Nuu
Heyy Taruhi
wow, hopefully I don’t miss anything in my reply. Well here we go…but before I start, I want to preface this and my original post. The point of the post was to point out why fans of old (Toonami) wouldn’t return and why possibly it’d be hard for new fans or even others to get into it. It was not based of logical reasons why they did what they did for shows, times, or other things, but only why many I knew, know, and read think. I’m glad Toonami is still around and I’ve been trying to tweet the guy who headed the Toonami campaign to speak on its success. But anyways, on with the comments.
1. Although it looks like I left this out of the OP, I actually was thinking it was probably the only time-slot they could snatch up, so I definitely understand that. I just thought other things as well.
2. The “hardcore clubbing” was more of an example than anything else, but I mainly used i because at the time that’s what I myself did. I basically went clubbing a lot. LIKE A LOT. I know not everyone does it, but I do know there are many things people do in it’s place and I honestly thought (keyword: thought) that it wouldn’t quite stand up.
3. I guess that’s a matter of preference. Some of my Steam friends only are really on at night and I like to game late too. Obviously it wont apply to everyone, but you know, just more of a personal example.
4. Bleach I’m not discussing because I’ve already written a bash post about it, but unfortunately got deleted in re-designing the site…along with all the previous comments that were on this post. It really pains me because comments are basically a blogger’s currency and all mine got deleted
I honestly would cry. But anyways, Bleach….*sigh* I get it’s the new DBZ essentially and it’s moreso the gateway show. I get that. However, understand that my post wasn’t disecting the WHY (capitals for emphasis, not yelling), but instead the WHAT IS without delving into any statistics. I was naive of the fact Bleach racked up so many views indeed, but I bashed it because for the most part, majority of the “real” anime fans & bloggers I know have given up on Bleach. I could go on about this to solidify my point, but I won’t for the sake of time, so for now I’ll leave a couple holes to be filled in later.
5. I admit I have very different sentiments in regards to watching shows over again in a certain time period. Usually I can watch a movie once, then never watch it again in years. It’s why I don’t own any DVDs, except for an Azumanga Daioh Boxset. So maybe I’m not too good at judging this criteria. I know that it’s hard to get “current” shows on the air, and almost next to impossible, but again, this wasn’t about justifying why decisions were made, but how reaction would be.
6. Like I said in the OP, I loved Deadman Wonderland and actually I tried to convince my sister to watch it again and give it another chance and she watched the entire thing in one night, so it IS a wonderful show. I personally just wondered how people would respond to it since at the time, it seemed people were divided over it.
I can understand how you might think my reasoning might sound bratty or immature, but even in retrospect, I still mostly disagree. I admit I was wrong…but only partially. I admit I’m wrong that it wouldnt last, but what fans are watching Toonami now? was it the same 10-12 year olds who were first exposed to the new phenomenon…or is it new blood?
So I guess I messed up because I didn’t think about anyone else besides the Toonami “OGs” when in reality there’s always another viewer and another demographic. This isn’t to say a good number of the now-older Toonami fans haven’t stayed, but I still have a feeling many have left. Honestly, I’d like to see stats of the demographics.
But at any rate, I want to do a follow-up on this and it’d really help to get Clarknova1 over here to discuss the whole thing