Somebody has lit a fire deep within the inner confines of Cartoon Network.
Somebody has made the icon and mascot of the Toonami action block speak up for the first time in ages to the Toonami faithful, the ones that have been a part of the block with the constant belief that the block will get better (though there are still stragglers that believe that it is dead).
Somebody has convienced TOM to speak up about the up-and-coming action animation blocks like Fox Box and Nickelodeon SLAM (and in a way, Adult Swim's Action block), though, understandably, not by name.
Somebody has made TOM tell the faithful about the good that they have brought to the land, from Dragon Ball Z and Gundam to old-school faves like Thundercats and G.I. Joe. Over 40 shows and specials have premiered on Toonami in the past five years, three of which were online exclusives. Cynics would jump at that statement and foolishly attack him, talking about the bad that Toonami has brought in recent years like Hamtaro (not a BAD show, it just didn't belong on Toonami) and Transformers Armada (which IS a really, really BAD show), but their cries will not be heard today.
Somebody has rekindled the spark within the heart of Toonami, which has been dwindling in fandom as of late. This spark will definitely cause a great upheaval somewhere down the line, hopefully sooner rather than later. The DBZami Zone will hopefully be gone on December 30. New shows will premiere in 2003, which should be a given. After that, who knows, but the conditions couldn't have been better.
Somebody has attacked the street cred of Toonami, and Toonami's ready to fight back. Could it be the webmaster behind this site? Probably, but I doubt it. Why would they want to listen to me now? It's much bigger than this little old site. ADV Films' announcement of The Anime Network has struck the inner core of Toonami. Nobody nor any entity has done that. Not Fox Kids. Not Saban. Not Disney. Not even the Corporate Smirk and his favorite son, which has done more damage to Cartoon Network than anyone ever realized (well, it's unapparent to the stockholders of the parent company of CN).
And trust me, this fire is a very, very good thing. Toonami has awakened thanks to The Anime Network. It's about to get very interesting around these parts right now.
Until we are one, later.
Jeff Harris
CNX Creator/Webmaster
November 13, 2002
