In Memoriam: Toonami, 1997-2008

R.I.P. - Toonami: 1997-2008

Ah, the good old days when you can watch anime on weekday afternoons. Toonami was the leading the way in decent anime you can see without staying up late at night on a Friday night to see the SciFi Channel’s anime lineup--provided your parents could let you see them at the time where anime was considered “Too Hot for TV”.

Sadly, those days of watching anime in the daytime is gone. The longest running action cartoon block on the Cartoon Network said its last goodbye in September 2008. While it’s a little late to mention this, I would like to share my memories of the one block that changed the lives of many anime fans new and old in the US.

Tom of Toonami: A Childhood Icon

I had just turned 8 when Toonami first aired, I didn’t take notice of it right away until one day I decided to check it out to see what the hype was about. I started watching Dragonball Z in the midst of the Saiyan Saga (now known as the “Vegeta Saga”). The episodes shown was where Gohan tells Nappa he “smelled like toenails!”. I’m sure everyone will agree that while it was a very corny line to say, it will remain in our hearts as one of the best quotes ever for a heavily (and badly) edited dub.

There was also Sailor Moon, which also received the same editing treatment as DBZ. I watched it in the middle of the series--and the only part of the series I’ve ever watched. It was the “Heart Snatcher” and “Dream Snatcher” arcs; Unfortunately, I can’t recall which arc came first… These were the only two arcs of Sailor Moon I took interest in--after that, it was completely unwatchable for my tastes.

Later was another rare classic, Ronin Warriors. This aired on Toonami’s Midnight Run block on Saturday nights. But just as Ronin Warriors was getting very good, the Midnight Run on Saturday nights were no more. I never got to finish Ronin Warriors, but Dragonball Z and Sailor Moon were still around for the masses.

I’d long gotten sick of Sailor Moon and was deeply infatuated with DBZ. It was around this time a new season of Dragonball Z was about to begin, and Toonami ran an all-day marathon (which was actually Toonami’s allowed time slot of 3 hours) of the previous episodes of the Ginyu Saga--leading up to the episodes where FUNimation made their mark with new voice actors that we now all know and ~~hate~~ love, and slightly better editing, with a couple of slip-ups (“Don’t piss off the God of Love!” -- Dende).

A few years later, Dragonball Z, and its counterparts, Dragonball and Dragonball GT aired as well. But Dragonball Z was the most important to us all. After DBZ ended, DBGT was there to fill the void, but for some, it wasn’t quite the same…

The majority of this post is all about that Dragonball, but it’s the sole reason I became an anime fan. There’s also Gundam Wing to thank for getting me into the series that started it all. The last few years of Toonami has given converted normal kids into Otaku, all thanks to Naruto. Naruto was the only anime that saved Toonami long after all traces of Dragonball were no where to be found.

As of 2008, Toonami is finally put to rest. Naruto is still on the air, but it can make it without Tom…the Space Cowboy. On September 20th, 2008, Toonami said goodbye for the final time. I did not learn about this until a few days ago. I wish I’d known about this sooner, but now I know…and everyone else who has drifted away from the network that we embraced for the one block that was close to becoming an anime channel will now know about it.

Thank you, Tom, for all you have given us. Until we meet again…

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Written by: Sanjo-chan (504 Posts)

Posted on: November 6, 2008 4:57 (Anime & Manga)
Tag(s): anime, cartoon network, toonami
Website: http://centakume.info/

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Jamaipanese

Commented on: November 6, 2008 at 11:10 am
Website: http://www.jamaipanese.com

I hadn’t watched in a while but i have fond memories of Toonami

Check out Jamaipanese´s recent blog post: Obama City Japan riding on the Barack Obama Victory

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Chuck Gaffney

Commented on: November 10, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Website: http://chucksanimeshrine.com/animeblog/

I was in the 7th grade when Toonami started in 1997. I remember Moltar was the first host of it and I saw it up until about a year or two ago. If it wasn’t for the combination of Toonami with my then introduction to Final Fantasy VII, I might have never become an otaku and would have never started my website thus I would have never met my soon-to-be wife Danielle nor would I have this thriving anime business I have now. I owe alot to Toonami. When I heard it was gone i was very saddened. Hopefully in the near future I could maybe be a part of a movement that will bring back daytime, weekday anime. Anime.fm is one of the sites I own and I might actually be building the site up with the help of Danny Choo. I can’t guarantee anything but if I can bring back something like Toonami, I’d gladly do it ^_^

Check out Chuck Gaffney´s recent blog post: Creators’ Labo #012: Shunya Yamashita – Arisa PVC Figure

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Invital

Commented on: September 10, 2009 at 2:58 am
Website:

Offcourse Toonami started in March 12 1997 I believe.Just 3 days before my birthday.It wasnt until the summer when I came to visit my granny for vacation that I was watching cartoon network on cable and I first took notice to what I saw was toonami.I use to wait until it was over so I could watch batman that would come on after the cartoon block.At first glance I sorta watch sailor moon that would come on then dragonball z would follow.But I only would catch a preview of the end of dbz.Until finally one day it was like 2 minutes or so until toonami was almost over and then bat man was about to come on that I turned on the television to cartoon network and suddenly like magicit seemd,the end credits to dbz and the ending theme was going and I saw a man with big wacky black hair in a red karate suit (a gi ) and a little boy with the same look where surfing on a flying cloud that we know as Flying Nimbus.Goku and Gohan.At that moment a nine year old boy became a otaku and was inspired by the awesome but brilliant animation of anime that Toonami had brought to its adiance..I am now 21 and still to this day am inspired at what toonami has brought to all that watched and embraced from then to the end of its run.I would be more than honored to bring it back with its original creators and material but continue it with new material for future generations to capture that magic like myself and others like yourselves did from those golden glory days.Thank you Tom and Sarah for giving those a dream to become future animators,mangeka,game designers and other multi media entertainment..I stuck with Toonami to the end and still watch Adult Swim and its anime tho it will never be the king of cartoon programing that hit gold from everything it touched.Thanks cartoon network for those precious memories.I wish they would take that cn real of because its cartoon network not real network but I a, not one to complain much.Lol! Heres to you Toonami!Bonzai!

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