"Toonami" News & Discussion Thread

[Conttactt]

So with SDCC behind us, it seems to have come and gone without any word regarding Get Jiro. And with Superman closing in on its finale, it’s looking less like Jiro will be its immediate replacement.

Id say there are two paths forward for the immediate future.

1. Superman runs a full season marathon on 8/22. Shoegaze and Grunge take the first 3 slots for the two following weeks of 8/29 and 9/5.

2. The Superman marathon is saved for 9/5, which is Labor Day weekend, and Shoegaze and Grunge take 8/22 and 8/29.

That leaves us with a lot of lingering questions for 9/12, which would have 4 open timeslots, the 3 lead ones, as well as the tail end one. If Get Jiro is finding its home here, promotion for it needs to start in the next 2.5 weeks or so.

The other hour is anyone’s guess. Bleach is strangely NOT running as a simuldub right now, despite being advertised as such. That could be a hiccup at the studio, or an early hint at something greater. If not Bleach, there aren’t really any other obvious picks right now.

 

[Yojimbo]

Bleach is strangely NOT running as a simuldub right now, despite being advertised as such. That could be a hiccup at the studio, or an early hint at something greater. If not Bleach, there aren’t really any other obvious picks right now.

That was likely a mistake. TWBW never had a simuldub. It's always been a month or so later though cour 3 took the longest for the dub to come out. (cour 1 was October 11/November 4, 2022, cour 2 July 5/August 5, 2023, cour 3 October 5/November 23, 2024).

 

[19MagiswordLane]

Season 4 of My Adventures with Superman is currently in limbo; it all rests on James Gunn making the call if he wants more episodes.

 

[Conttactt]

That was likely a mistake. TWBW never had a simuldub. It's always been a month or so later though cour 3 took the longest for the dub to come out. (cour 1 was October 11/November 4, 2022, cour 2 July 5/August 5, 2023, cour 3 October 5/November 23, 2024).

So we are looking at a 1-1.5 month gap for dub release from the sub. And now till 9/12 is right around 1.5 months.

It certainly makes you think of the possibility, doesn’t it?

 

[Yojimbo]

So we are looking at a 1-1.5 month gap for dub release from the sub. And now till 9/12 is right around 1.5 months.

It certainly makes you think of the possibility, doesn’t it?

We can all hope.

 

[Otakuninja2006]

Season 4 of My Adventures with Superman is currently in limbo; it all rests on James Gunn making the call if he wants more episodes.

Who wants to bet he doesn't renew it.

 

[ramblin]

So we are looking at a 1-1.5 month gap for dub release from the sub. And now till 9/12 is right around 1.5 months.

It certainly makes you think of the possibility, doesn’t it?

Exactly what I've been thinking.
Crazy hearing you say it, though.

 

[J'onn J'onzz]

What do we think of this possible August or September schedule?
12:00 Get Jiro
12:30 Bleach
1:00 One Punch Man
1:30 One Piece
2:00 Blue Exorcist
2:30 Blue Exorcist
Block loses 3-4 am.

 

[Conttactt]

Exactly what I've been thinking.
Crazy hearing you say it, though.

I don’t know if I believe it, but all the pieces are on the table at least. This is easily one of the top 5 most significant shows of 2026, getting to dub premier it would require them to call in some major favors with Viz, ones I question if they have available.

If it does happen, I would think Viz would start promoting it sooner rather than later since people will be itching for the dub date.

What do we think of this possible August or September schedule?
12:00 Get Jiro
12:30 Bleach
1:00 One Punch Man
1:30 One Piece
2:00 Blue Exorcist
2:30 Blue Exorcist
Block loses 3-4 am.

Losing 3am is great, would love to see that finally happen.

I don’t think AS is gonna budge on the late night original rerun, so a Get Jiro rerun would probably take 2:30. By that point, Blue Exorcist will have aired enough episodes for them to clear S1 before it expires in November so the urgency for the double up isn’t there anymore.

Blue Lock has taught me that something bad is not preferable just because it’s new. OPM S3 was an abomination, and I genuinely think it would be 2 steps backwards over just letting IGPX continue on. Only way I’d say otherwise is if Viz hands it over entirely for free, because it ain’t worth a penny more.

 

[ramblin]

This is easily one of the top 5 most significant shows of 2026, getting to dub premier it would require them to call in some major favors with Viz, ones I question if they have available.

I was thinking they manage to get a nearly-concurrent run. Hulu premieres it, but Toonami also gets to air it soon after. I've been crossing my fingers for such an arrangement since Bleach was back in our court, and this funny scheduling situation has my hopes up.

 

[Conttactt]

I was thinking they manage to get a nearly-concurrent run. Hulu premieres it, but Toonami also gets to air it soon after. I've been crossing my fingers for such an arrangement since Bleach was back in our court, and this funny scheduling situation has my hopes up.

In this day and age, that would be just as much of a slam dunk pickup. Bleach 2-3 weeks behind its dub release would be about as relevant as the block can ever hope to be. Especially coming off two shows that were 2-3 years behind their initial release.

My expectations are low, but still with a slight bit of hope.

 

[J'onn J'onzz]

I don’t know if I believe it, but all the pieces are on the table at least. This is easily one of the top 5 most significant shows of 2026, getting to dub premier it would require them to call in some major favors with Viz, ones I question if they have available.

If it does happen, I would think Viz would start promoting it sooner rather than later since people will be itching for the dub date.


Losing 3am is great, would love to see that finally happen.

I don’t think AS is gonna budge on the late night original rerun, so a Get Jiro rerun would probably take 2:30. By that point, Blue Exorcist will have aired enough episodes for them to clear S1 before it expires in November so the urgency for the double up isn’t there anymore.

Blue Lock has taught me that something bad is not preferable just because it’s new. OPM S3 was an abomination, and I genuinely think it would be 2 steps backwards over just letting IGPX continue on. Only way I’d say otherwise is if Viz hands it over entirely for free, because it ain’t worth a penny more.

True. OPM S3 is hated for its animation quality. I’ll have to find another Hulu anime. They may as well continue Tokyo Revengers. It beats continuing Blue Lock which isn’t even an action anime as much as a sports motion comic. Especially since I heard season 2 of BL is way worse animated even than season 1, which I already hated. That said I have so little confidence in Toonami licensing it that I watched season 2 of TR on streaming this week.
12:00 Get Jiro
12:30 Bleach
1:00 Tokyo Revengers season 2
1:30 One Piece
2:00 IGPX
2:30 Blue Exorcist
3:00 Blue Exorcist
3:30 Get Jiro

 

[Yojimbo]

I watched season 2 of TR on streaming this week.

In general, how was it compared to season 1?

 

[Conttactt]

Especially since I heard season 2 of BL is way worse animated even than season 1, which I already hated.

Blue Lock S2 is genuinely worse than OPM S3. But OPM got ragged on harder because it’s more popular and was seen by more people, and had a couple of clips that were just instant meme worthy like Garou sliding down the hill.

Blue Lock S2 makes OPM S3 look like it came from the Ufotable A team. It’s hard to even call Blue Lock S2 animation at all.

 

[SpecialColorfull]

Well, if Beatbreak isnt dark enough, maybe the next Digimon series might be. I normally woudnt insist on this but Toonami desperately NEEDS MORE NEW SHOWS. I would be ok with it simply closing down though.

 

[Conttactt]

Well, if Beatbreak isnt dark enough, maybe the next Digimon series might be. I normally woudnt insist on this but Toonami desperately NEEDS MORE NEW SHOWS. I would be ok with it simply closing down though.

If it has “Digimon” in the title, it’s the wrong fit for Toonami. Any series that is designed to sell toys or products to children is the wrong type of show for Toonami.

Yes, Toonami needs more new shows, but that doesn’t mean it should get off track on its identity either. Step one is block leadership needs to get off their laser focus on shonen and seasonal hits. The distributors who are still willing to work with them have viable options in their catalogs but they end up ignored because they would rather chase impossible dreams held by Crunchyroll.

 

[SpecialColorfull]

Yes, Toonami needs more new shows, but that doesn’t mean it should get off track on its identity either. Step one is block leadership needs to get off their laser focus on shonen and seasonal hits. The distributors who are still willing to work with them have viable options in their catalogs but they end up ignored because they would rather chase impossible dreams held by Crunchyroll.

Liiiiiiiiiiiiike Dragon Ball Kai? And Dragon Ball Super, and Daima? How about Sailor Moon? All those are for kids to buy toys.

 

[Light Lucario]

Well, if Beatbreak isnt dark enough, maybe the next Digimon series might be. I normally woudnt insist on this but Toonami desperately NEEDS MORE NEW SHOWS. I would be ok with it simply closing down though.

I don't know why you keep insisting that they should pick up a Digimon series. The problem with Beatbreak isn't that it isn't dark enough, but just that it wouldn't fit on Toonami. The last couple of arcs have been dark, but that doesn't necessarily mean it would fit right on a late night adult block. Beatbreak is a good show, but it's still a kid show. That's certainly not a bad thing. I just think you keep trying to hype it up too much and paint a pretty inaccurate picture of the series. Considering that the next Digimon series is to celebrate the franchise's 30th anniversary, it's pretty unlikely that it would be seriously dark.

I don't think Toonami is such a desperate need for new shows that they should pick up an entry of a toyetic franchise. Not only would that go against what Toonami typically airs, but I doubt that long time fans of the block and casual fans would be into seeing Digimon on Toonami. I would assume that they have more options than that. Saying that you'd be fine with the block shutting down just feels strange to me. Admittedly, I'm not one to talk since I haven't watched the block in years and I can't now that I don't have cable anyway, but I don't think that the lineup is bad enough to where shutting the block down would be preferable. I don't know why anyone would watch or follow Toonami if they were that fine with them closing down. At that point, what kind of investment do you have in the block anymore?

Liiiiiiiiiiiiike Dragon Ball Kai? And Dragon Ball Super, and Daima? How about Sailor Moon? All those are for kids to buy toys.

I would say that there's a bit of a difference between those franchises and franchises like Digimon. Digimon started out as toys and the series are means to promote merchandise. Admittedly, I don't know if there has been a lot of Beatbeak merchandise in Japan, but it's a moot point when the franchise is more known promoting toys to kids. Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon started off as manga with telling their own stories first and foremost. Toys obviously came in once they were hits and companies love getting merchandise from hit series in general, but I don't think you could consider Dragon Ball or Sailor Moon toyetic franchises like Pokemon and Digimon are. Even Yu-Gi-Oh! is a better example of a manga series becoming a toyetic franchise since all of the series after DM were made to promote the newest cards. DM was still a manga adaptation at the end of the day and a lot of cards featured in the series weren't releases until years later.

I know that Shonen series are typically aimed at kids/teenagers in Japan, but Japan has a different standard for what is and isn't allowed on kid shows than the U.S. does. Shows like One Piece or DBZ couldn't air without some serious edits on Cartoon Network proper and they've been marketed towards more young adult audiences for years.

 

[SpecialColorfull]

I don't think Toonami is such a desperate need for new shows that they should pick up an entry of a toyetic franchise. Not only would that go against what Toonami typically airs, but I doubt that long time fans of the block and casual fans would be into seeing Digimon on Toonami. I would assume that they have more options than that. Saying that you'd be fine with the block shutting down just feels strange to me. Admittedly, I'm not one to talk since I haven't watched the block in years and I can't now that I don't have cable anyway, but I don't think that the lineup is bad enough to where shutting the block down would be preferable. I don't know why anyone would watch or follow Toonami if they were that fine with them closing down. At that point, what kind of investment do you have in the block anymore?

Because at this point Toonami could use a new show. ANY new show. I'm not even hyping up anything. It might be mediocre even but at least its a NEW SHOW. Although at this point I'd settle for just a final night for Toonami. The state it is in is SAD.

You havent even watched the block itself by your own admission. And with a final night I meant a cool final night of movies or cool shows they could get for one night only. Like they could get Bleach for one night but pick that night to air the final episode of the anime.
I get the pushback for Digimon. I am not even suggesting it seriously, but I am insisting because at least it generates SOME discussion other than "There are no shows for Toonami to air."

Also closing down with a Bang is very important. It shows I care for a proper goodbye rather than just coasting.

Of course, if in the coming months Toonami DOES get new shows that arent Digimon to shut me up about this, I'd be extremely glad and hope it goes on for years and years. Again even I dont think it will ever air Digimon myself, but at least it beats the unconstructive doomsaying.

 

[PicardMan]

If Toonami has exhausted it's shonen options, why not go with isekai? Isekai is clearly the second biggest type of action anime out there besides shonen manga adaptations.

There are possible shonen series they could air, but it seems like 2026 has been an "off" year for new shonen IPs, at least in my opinion. Don't know if Kill Blue or Black Torch would bring many viewers in.

Besides, isn't the theory right now that they are stalling for Bleach? That seems like a reason to hold out hope.