Toonami
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Toonami (a pun on tsunami, suggesting a "tidal wave" of animated cartoons) is a trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on the US and UK Cartoon Network television channels, among other countries. The name was subsequently used in the United Kingdom as the title of a UK channel in its own right in 2003, a year after the network launched as CNX.
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United States
Toonami is Cartoon Network's Saturday evening action animation block, airing Saturdays at 7-11 PM EST/PST. The block, which made its world premiere on Monday, March 17, 1997, replacing Power Zone, Cartoon Network's most recent incarnation of the Super Adventure block which had been a staple on the network since October 1, 1992. Toonami was originally a weekday afternoon cartoon block hosted by Space Ghost villain Moltar at the Ghost Planet Productions building from 1997 to July 9, 1999. On Saturday, July 10, 1999, Cartoon Network relaunched Toonami with a new environment, the spacecraft Absolution, and a new host, TOM (an acronym for Toonami Operations Module), both of which have evolved and continues to be a staple for the block. The introduction of SARA, the Absolution's artificial intelligence unit, in 2000 added additional popularity to the show. Toonami has aired older North American properties like Thundercats, Batman, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, and ReBoot, older anime franchises like Voltron and Robotech, reintroduced Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z, and introduced Gundam, Tenchi Muyo, Rurouni Kenshin, and countless other anime properties to the US. Toonami was also the exclusive US home of the most recent incarnation of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Transformers, Armada when they premiered in 2002.
Starting in September 2000, Toonami presented special interactive events known as Total Immersion Events or TIEs. These TIEs took place both on-air during Toonami and online at the official site, Toonami.com. The very first TIE (and most popular one according to the fans of the block) was The Intruder, which introduced TOM's companion, an AI matrix known as SARA, who played an intrigual part in the rebirth of TOM, who was upgraded from a short Bomberman-esque character to a taller, darker, deeper-voiced incarnation temporarily dubbed as TOM 2.0, though it was the same TOM who still hosted the block. The following two TIEs, Lockdown and Trapped in Hyperspace, continued the adventures of TOM and SARA, but really didn't offer much storywise. The most recent TIE in September 2003 was a diversion from the TOM and SARA adventures and introduced a new, 2D universe. IGPX, created by Toonami producers Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by anime studio Production I.G., aired in five short installments and served as a pilot for the first Toonami original series, which will premiere in November 2005. The Intruder and Lockdown were aired in the UK, but with very little success.
From July 2001 to June 2002, Kids WB aired a Toonami block that was, more or less, the Kids' WB lineup with the Toonami name. It was critically panned by industry observers who noticed the action branding of the block didn't translate contentwise, which had added shows like Scooby-Doo and a live-action series created by Goosebumps author R.L. Stine, The Nightmare Room. In spring 2002, Kids' WB announced that they would drop the Toonami name from their weekday lineup, once again making the Toonami brand exclusive to Cartoon Network.
0n April 17, 2004, Cartoon Network moved Toonami from weekday afternoons to Saturday evenings with a new demographic of tween and teen audiences while adding a new lighter-toned action franchise, Miguzi, to weekdays in its place. Toonami continues to showcase anime and North American productions like Duel Masters, Dragon Ball GT, Teen Titans, Justice League Unlimited, Megas XLR, and Zatch Bell, among others.
Toonami had always been a haven for techno/electronica music throughout its history, using original compositions by an Atlanta-based composer Joe Boyd Vigil from 1997 to 2004, many of which were compiled in the CD 'Toonami: Deep Space Bass in 2001. From 2004 to today, Toonami has relied on original and library tracks from various artists from publisher Ninja Tune. On rare occasions, tracks from musicians like Daft Punk, The White Stripes, and Gorillaz aired on the block.
Times for U.S. Cartoon Network Toonami block
All times are (E/P). As of Saturday, April 23, 2005, the Saturday Toonami programming schedule is as follows:
- 7:00 - Duel Masters
- 7:30 - Teen Titans
- 8:00 - Teen Titans
- 8:30 - The Batman
- 9:00 - Justice League Unlimited
- 9:30 - Zatch Bell!
- 10:00 - One Piece
- 10:30 - One Piece
United Kingdom and Europe
In the UK, Toonami was also a programming block on Cartoon Network. It was later became a key component of CNX, a new channel launched in October 2002 and managed by Cartoon Network UK (the first Cartoon Network spinoff to launch overseas), which also broadcasted martial arts movies, adult-oriented animation like the Adult Swim originals, and dramas like The Shield and Birds of Prey at night. The network's audience was the young adult male demos that's currently catered by the UK's Bravo and the US's Spike TV. Almost a year later, CNX relaunched as the world's first and only Toonami channel targeted towards a much younger audience.
Throughout Europe and many international Cartoon Network channels, however, Toonami remains a block on Cartoon Network.
Shows broadcasted (or previously broadcasted) on Toonami in Europe (shows not currently broadcast in bold)
- Batman of the Future
- B-Daman
- Beyblade
- Chris Colorado
- Code Lyoko
- Dragon Ball
- Dragon Ball GT
- Dragon Ball Z
- Duel Masters
- Gundam Wing
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002 version)
- Justice League
- Justice League Unlimited
- Megas XLR
- One Piece
- Outlaw Star
- Pokémon (Kanto+Orange Islands)
- Pokémon Chronicles (World Premiere)
- Rave Master
- Samurai Jack
- Static Shock
- Star Wars: Clone Wars
- Teen Titans
- Tenchi Muyo
- The Big O
- The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
- Transformers Energon
- Ultimate Muscle
- X-Men: Evolution
Shows Broadcasted, Previously Broadcasted, or SFR on "Toonami" in the US (Recent Shows in BOLD)
- .hack//sign (.hack//LEGEND currently airs 1:30AM Friday nights)
- Astro Boy (2004)
- Batman
- The Batman
- Batman Beyond
- Big O
- Blue Sub 6
- CardCaptors
- Cartoon Roulette
- Cyborg 009
- D.I.C.E.
- Dragon Ball
- Dragonball GT (Currently on primetime 10:30 on weekdays)
- Dragon Ball Z
- Duel Masters (Scheduled for exchange with Transformers: Cybertron in the near future)
- G Gundam
- G-Force
- G.I. Joe
- Gundam 0080
- Gundam SEED (Currently airs at 1:00AM Friday nights)
- Gundam Wing
- Hamtaro
- He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (2002)
- Hot Wheels Highway 35
- Jackie Chan Adventures
- Jonny Quest
- Justice League
- Justice League Unlimited
- Megas XLR
- Mobile Suit Gundam: 08th MS Team
- Naruto (Scheduled for air on Toonami in Q3; timeslot 10:30)
- One Piece
- Outlaw Star
- Powerpuff Girls
- Rave Master
- ReBoot
- Robotech
- Ronin Warriors
- Rurouni Kenshin
- Sailor Moon
- Samurai Jack
- SD Gundam Force
- Superfriends
- Superman
- Teen Titans
- Tenchi Muyo!
- Thundercats
- Transformers: Armada
- Voltron
- Yu Yu Hakusho
- Zatch Bell
- Zoids
- Zoids Zero
External links
- Toonami (http://www.toonami.com/) - Official website for US Toonami block
- Toonami UK (http://www.toonami.co.uk) - Official website for the UK Toonami Channel
- Toonami Infolink (http://www.toonamiinfolink.com/) - (Unofficial) US Toonami news and forums
- Toonami Digital Arsenal (http://www.toonamiarsenal.com/) - (Unofficial) Downloads of US Toonami promos, intros, interstitials, and music