Cartoon Network brings back Toonami for April Fools

[amalgamfan]

I kind of agree. That being said though, Toonami could be brought back for a new generation if they wanted to, they would just have to use their current action shows. Although I'm wondering why they took Toonami off in the first place as they never gave a vailid reason IMO or mentioned they were getting rid of it until the day it went off the air. And then, Adult Swim lost most of their anime series making me wonder did they have some kind of falling out with Funimation as well as the other companies they were getting anime from? Sidenote I was shocked when they showed that specific episode of Tenchi Muyo as that's from the final OVA that was done by Funimation.

[Len Ikari145]

I kind of agree. That being said though, Toonami could be brought back for a new generation if they wanted to, they would just have to use their current action shows. Although I'm wondering why they took Toonami off in the first place as they never gave a vailid reason IMO or mentioned they were getting rid of it until the day it went off the air. And then, Adult Swim lost most of their anime series making me wonder did they have some kind of falling out with Funimation as well as the other companies they were getting anime from? Sidenote I was shocked when they showed that specific episode of Tenchi Muyo as that's from the final OVA that was done by Funimation.

According to VAs like Steve Blum, there was an undercurrent of discontent towards anime among some of the leading CEOs at CN. They felt that anime was detracting attention away from their own programs and was one of the reasons Toonami got the axe (and why AS, at one point in time, stopped hosting anime in general).

[Yun Lao]

Not to mention how CN wanted to be more like Disney and Nickelodeon by having live-action shows, which proceeded to all crash and burn.

[davidn15]

I kind of agree. That being said though, Toonami could be brought back for a new generation if they wanted to, they would just have to use their current action shows. Although I'm wondering why they took Toonami off in the first place as they never gave a vailid reason IMO or mentioned they were getting rid of it until the day it went off the air. And then, Adult Swim lost most of their anime series making me wonder did they have some kind of falling out with Funimation as well as the other companies they were getting anime from? Sidenote I was shocked when they showed that specific episode of Tenchi Muyo as that's from the final OVA that was done by Funimation.

On top of the possible discontent higherup with anime, there was also the ratings issue. Toonami did pretty badly that last year or two. The same applies with Adult Swim. Anime doesn't do all that great anymore. Family Guy and American Dad get double or triple the ratings of the anime AS airs. Technically they'd be better axing anime from their lineup entirely, but someone there must like it.

[Manga4life]

Sorry kids, this was just a one time thing that will probably never be done again but it's funny to read peoples posts on various different websites about how CN is going to bring back Toonami and start airing anime like it once did, it's kind of cute really. Actually, Toonami was more of an action block than an anime block and aired plenty of U.S made cartoons alongside the anime it aired, it's funny how people forget that....

Anyhow, Adult Swim asked on their Twitter whether or not fans wanted Toonami back or not, if anything Toonami would return (if ever) as the packaging for Adult Swim's Saturday night anime airings seeing as how Toonami was controlled by Williams Street when it was on CN, but I seriously don't think we will ever see it return full-time.

[Nayrman]

I missed this! GAH! On April 1st I just assume everything is a hoax. Oh well. I can find clips on YT or something. Nice to see it's not COMPLETELY forgotten. I still miss the days a few of the popular anime could still be shown on tv.

[immortality]

Cartoon Network just needs to stop making live-action shows. They all have been horrible and the most recent one Level-up is so bad.

[Manga4life]

At first the live action programming was tanking left and right, but then Dude What Would Happen started to pull in some decent numbers and Level Up is actually doing quite well in prime time, all CN needed was a reason and now we're going to see more. CN can balance it in if they wan't, but I don't see why they should have abandoned the non-toyetic anime, there is plenty of time during the day to appease the live action crowd, anime crowd, action-adventure crowd, and comedy crowd.

[Manga4life]

So.....

All in all, what do you guys think the chances really are of Williams Street/Adult Swim/Cartoon Network actually going through with it and bringing Toonami back to the airwaves with a Saturday night run? It wouldn't be hard, they already have the programming and all they would need to do is create new packaging and bumpers.....which could get expensive. I don't know, I mean, I loved Toonami back in the day and I would love to see it come back, but a part of me just wants to leave the past buried and if people are willing to tune into a block that is airing the same programming just because a robot is talking before the commercial break than I kind of see that as sad in a way. I do want it back, but I don't know if the trade-off would be worth it.

Toonami fanboy's can be quite annoying, afterall.

[Angilas-Man]

At first the live action programming was tanking left and right, but then Dude What Would Happen started to pull in some decent numbers and Level Up is actually doing quite well in prime time, all CN needed was a reason and now we're going to see more. CN can balance it in if they wan't, but I don't see why they should have abandoned the non-toyetic anime, there is plenty of time during the day to appease the live action crowd, anime crowd, action-adventure crowd, and comedy crowd.

I feel Cartoon Network spent the better part of a decade trying to be Nick and Disney, and while they finally have live action stuff that's doing well for them (which is what they were looking for for so long) the general feel of the channel has turned back to the late '90s, early '00s period I loved. What distinguished it back then was the their shows were legitimately for both kids and adults, starting with Space Ghost C2C then leading to Dexter's Lab and Johnny Bravo and Powerpuff Girls and Courage, not to mention the classic theatrical cartoons and network cast-offs like Freakazoid. For most of the aughts CN eschewed to the young and delivered what I thought was mostly limp programming designed only for kiddies, though there were bright spots here and there. I feel like once they made Adult Swim they felt they could ignore the older demographic as it had (theoretically) moved there. AS may continue to be profitable, but I think that after the first few years of generally high quality they followed the downward trajectory of their network (again, still with a few bright spots, especially Venture Bros). Now it seems creative, creator driven shows with an appeal to kids and adults have become the norm of the network once again and in doing so given CN back it's identity. Adventure Time, their flagship show, has done what I though impossible and replaced Dexter's Lab as my favorite "Cartoon Cartoon." Also, they're showing an hour and a half of classic Looney Tunes every day! That's awesome!

The only blotch I can think of is the action cartoons and their reliance on toy sales over quality or ratings... but then again, in it's golden age all of CN's western action programming were reruns (like Batman TAS and Reboot) or shared with other Turner Networks (like the '90s Johnny Quest reboot or Swat Katz). I may be personally disappointed over something like Sym-Bionic Titan being canceled and Thundercats' future looking bleak, but I do suppose actually producing a quality action cartoon is quite an investment, as the quality of animation tends to need to be very high in order to carry the tone. I might like a cartoon where Batman and company are drawn like the simplified characters in Adventure Time, but I imagine it would be oft-putting to others. With Toonami at its best the shows weren't produced, only acquired, and getting people to actually watch the block was the only goal.

What I'm saying is that it was a combination the skewing for younger viewers and the goal to produced only Toyetic action shows (which could be self produced or co-produced so that CN could get a bigger cut of the pie) that lead to CN's several year-long creative slump, but now the trends seem to be reversing and the old ways that we fans like being reverted too. Two years ago I'd say Toonami coming back would be an impossibility, but over the last years Cartoon Network has done some cool stuff that I've found very interesting, and bringing back Toonami seems like something that just might happen.

[1505627]

So.....

All in all, what do you guys think the chances really are of Williams Street/Adult Swim/Cartoon Network actually going through with it and bringing Toonami back to the airwaves with a Saturday night run? It wouldn't be hard, they already have the programming and all they would need to do is create new packaging and bumpers.....which could get expensive. I don't know, I mean, I loved Toonami back in the day and I would love to see it come back, but a part of me just wants to leave the past buried and if people are willing to tune into a block that is airing the same programming just because a robot is talking before the commercial break than I kind of see that as sad in a way. I do want it back, but I don't know if the trade-off would be worth it.

Toonami fanboy's can be quite annoying, afterall.

well Toonami apparently got double the ratings adultswim normally does at that time, so...

[davidn15]

well Toonami apparently got double the ratings adultswim normally does at that time, so...

Can you link me to those numbers? I'm rather interested in seeing them.

[DrakoBell]

It´s obvious that toonami is better, a lot of people love to see action, and adultswim (for me) was kinda boring sometimes, but (as everything in this world) it has pros and cons

[davidn15]

It´s obvious that toonami is better, a lot of people love to see action, and adultswim (for me) was kinda boring sometimes, but (as everything in this world) it has pros and cons

Better is subjective not fact. Truth is most of Adult Swim's viewers were tuning in for the comedy not the anime.

[1505627]

Can you link me to those numbers? I'm rather interested in seeing them.

i only got them second hand from another poster.