Gephyrophillia | Watch This Space #167

Originally Posted onn 03/17/2008 by Jeff Harris

Eleven years ago today, Toonami made its world premiere on Cartoon Network. Yes, my hands are raised.

Five years ago today, Toonami introduced the third incarnation of TOM and premiered a series that was just a prelude for the new direction of Toonami that took place a year later.

One year ago today, Toonami introduced the fourth incarnation of TOM, who led the block in a direction that caused many to wonder if there would even be a Toonami beyond today.

Eleven years ago today, an institution was born. Now, many people look at me with strange looks when I comment that Toonami is an institution as if I belong in one. It's true that there were many action programming blocks before Toonami, most notably CBS Action Zone, Fox Action Theater, Sci Fi Channel's Animation Station, and Cartoon Network's own trio of previous action franchises, Super Adventures, Afternoon Adventures, and Power Zone. What Toonami did that those other blocks didn't was to create a marketable legacy brand as well as virtually create an entire industry. Toonami didn't seem like a part of Cartoon Network on day one. It was more of an autonomous creation, still evolving, still experimental, and totally unconnected with the rest of the channel. And that was a good thing! Cartoon Network allowed Toonami to grow and develop while keeping its uniqueness. While many of the elements introduced on the block as well as some of its programming did become a part of Cartoon Network, the uniqueness of Toonami has made it a fan favorite for over a decade.

That's not to say that the shiny paint was starting to fade. The uniqueness of Toonami was slowly going away. Williams Street was focused on Adult Swim while Cartoon Network created Saturday, an action block built around many elements found on Toonami and other action properties from the combined libraries of Cartoon Network and Kids' WB. Needless to say, when Cartoon Network revamped Toonami one more time five years ago today, it opened a lot of eyes. That was good and bad to the network. It was good because it proved that Toonami was still relevant to their advertisers. It was bad because more older teens and adults were watching Toonami than children, a demographic the new management of CN started to crave more of around this time. A lot of teen/adult-friendly properties like Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, and Cyborg 009 premiered on the block while familiar shows and specials were based on older properties like Justice League, G.I. Joe, Dragon Ball, and Gundam (though SD Gundam was aimed more towards the younger viewers, the older ones got the in-jokes on the first Gundam series to premiere outside of Japan). In the end though, the older audiences were the reason Cartoon Network was displeased with Toonami, and the success of those shows were the reason why the block was moved to Saturday nights. The Saturday block was only a testing ground to see if action would thrive on a weekly basis, and it proved successful. With older viewers.

Not kids.

A year ago today, Cartoon Network reintroduced Toonami. However, the environment seemed more kid-friendly than previous incarnations, and some felt that was no accident. Yes, the high-octane TV-PG programming was still present, but by the end of the year, the block was half-gone and mostly comprised of Naruto. Yes, Toonami still had Jetstream, but even that became nothing more than a rerun zone by the end of the year. The uniqueness of Toonami was gone as other blocks, most notably Toon Disney's Jetix and Sci-Fi's anime blocks, has taken much of the thunder out of the presentation.

A lot of long-time fans grew angry at the direction of the block. Some of us even called for a revolution. It appeared that by today, the block would be a memory from here on out. However, something happened over the weekend.

There was a heartbeat.

A sign of life. A glimmer of hope. An acknowledgement to the Uncounted Majority. While this is in no means an excuse to put down arms and fly a "Mission Accomplished" banner in the background (heaven knows what happened the last time somebody did that), it proved that there is still some life within Toonami. It can still be saved. Phase One continues until the end of the month. Phase Two will be officially announced on the Monday after the Upfronts depending on their actions on that date.

Continue fighting and reminisce about what happened 11, five, and one year ago today.

Happy birthday Toonami.

*end transmission*

Jeff Harris,
The X Bridge Creator/Webmaster
March 17, 2008