C&C - Toonami Talkback [4/1]

[Checkerboard]

Adult Swim/Toonami could get Bandai to finally release Outlaw Star on Blu-Ray and have the privilege of being the first station in the US (or even in the world) to air the series in HD. I doubt that'll happen though as Bandai are a piece of [insert word here].

 

[veemonjosh]

Taking into account that Adult swim might want to keep around some of the series it has currently running and want to limit how many new shows they add; i might think that the schedule might look something like this:

I'm pretty sure there's a rule against fantasy schedules on this board...

 

[ChibiGoku]

I'm pretty sure there's a rule against fantasy schedules on this board...

If I recall, I believe the rule is specific to fantasy schedule threads, which this is not.

 

[AndrewSP]

Adult Swim/Toonami could get Bandai to finally release Outlaw Star on Blu-Ray and have the privilege of being the first station in the US (or even in the world) to air the series in HD. I doubt that'll happen though as Bandai are a piece of [insert word here].

Well, seeing as Bandai's no longer releasing any new DVDs, Blu-rays, or manga over here, I don't think there's any chance of that happening.

Not that it would have happened if they still were releasing new stuff, but whatever.

And besides, Bleach has been chugging away at 1-2 episodes a week for over five years now and it still gets above-average ratings. Plus, we are eventually going to need a replacement for Bleach since the dub has only about 100 episodes left.

Eventually, yes, but I don't think they're too worried yet. I don't know how many episodes have been dubbed, but if they aired one episode a week from now on without skipping any weeks or taking any breaks, the earliest Bleach would end on AS would be in July 2014.

Aniplex said there are still no plans to dub Blue Exorcist and made it sound like there was no interest for a Madoka broadcast..

It's a shame that Aniplex isn't adamant about releasing Madoka Magica for broadcast. That would be perfect for a Saturday night block. Yeah I know it isn't typical Toonami fare, but it has an amazing feeling of suspense to it that would fit right in. Oh well, anything can still happen I suppose.

I'm actually a bit confused. Did Andrew mean Aniplex isn't interested in a broadcast, or were they saying the broadcasters (Adult Swim) aren't interested? I would hope since it's been dubbed, that Aniplex would have to be at least slightly interested in getting a broadcast.

It might show up on AS after the DVDs have finished releasing (like they did with Durarara!!), or more likely, AS isn't interested. Which would be a shame.

Anyway, good to see Adult Swim acknowledge the movement on the air. More positive signs that we may see Toonami return. I'm keeping the faith.

 

[Sketch]

I meant broadcasters were not going for Madoka. I'm sure Aniplex wants it on TV.

I'm seeing a few people suggest AST should have shows to appeal to teens under 18. That is not their concern, it is still Adult Swim. But many shounen have appealed to and been marketed to adults here.

 

[firecrouch]

As long as Toonami's return isn't announced as a reality, everyone and their mother has to still keep bugging adult swim and Cartoon Network.

And it goes without saying that the most obvious thing to predict for a new Toonami would be a replacement for the adult swim action block, just with more effort put into in terms of the lineup, bumpers, and marketing. I think a friend mentioned to me that in general the 9-12 slots are not so hot; if that's true do you think it's possible that Toonami could take up those timeslots?

Also here's my ideal list of shows I'd like to see for a reboot of Toonami. It's not necessarily the best lineup in terms of what's realistically going to get the most people interested in watching, but just what I'd like to see. Then again most of the ideas I'm seeing here are pretty subjective, but anyway, in no particular order assuming it gets 5 hours of airtime plus reruns following right after:


One Piece
Naruto Shippuden
Sgt. Frog (probably the most unrealistic but it seemingly has some older audience appeal)
Fairy Tail
Tiger and Bunny
Inuyash:Final Act
Bleach cotinuing to air
Nura:Rise of the Yokai Clan (I'm just assuming even though VIZ hasn't said it that they'll dub it even if it doesn't air on TV)
Soul Eater
Gurren Lagann (it may have already had its run but it's the most popular mecha show I can think of that's more recent and a relaunch could use a giant robot show)


Also, movie nights would be cool occasionally. Here's my picks for movies to air:

Redline
Gurren Lagann movies (if they ever get dubbed or CN/AS ever considers airing subtitled content)
Evangelion movies (the new ones)
Summer Wars
Trigun:BadLands Rumble
Movies based on the popualr long-running titles (Naruto, Bleach, etc.)
the Gintama movie (it's getting a dub and I think it could work even if they don't air it on TV, though if the TV show gets a dub it would work on Jetstream at least)
Mardock Scramble

 

[The Man in Black]

I really don't want another D.Grayman, SGT Frog or Shin Chan deals on our hands where dubbing is stopped indefinitely.

I was pretty sure they started dubbing more Shin Chan. Replace that with Case Closed and I'll agree with you.

That being said, I still wish Shin Chan had done better on AS and opened the way for more comedy anime.

 

[Monte]

I'm seeing a few people suggest AST should have shows to appeal to teens under 18. That is not their concern, it is still Adult Swim. But many shounen have appealed to and been marketed to adults here.

Well the thing is that when it comes to adult swim, Teens watch the block too. God knows that when i was under 18 i would stay up late to watch; Adult swim knows that teens make up its audience just as much as adults to. This is even scene in their programming choices.

King of the Hill, Family guy, American dad? These are the kind of shows that are on in the first few hours of adult swim and they happen to be on at times when high schoolers might still be awake. Even saturday night reflects this... shows like Bleach, FMA, Kekkaishi and code geass are all shows that are really more geared towards teens than adults. As far as adult swim is concerned teens ARE a part of their audience and they provide shows that appeal to them, but try to lean on the shows that will also grow on adults aswell. This why in my scenerio i tried to take into account when the teens would be watching and when they would start sleeping leaving only the older teens and adults. Air the teen Shonen's first, then move into the classic toonami which carries a nostlgia factor for adults, and then go into the stuff more geared towards the older audience.


Though granted, there is some stuff for teens that i don't think would do that well as they do not do well with adults... For instance One Piece. One Piece IS a great series, but its also one that people, eseicaplly adults are quick to dismiss and not give it a chance. When it comes down to it, most fans are those who've been following one piece for the past 10 years, having started the series before they were adults. I think a lot of adults would need to really give One piece a good chance to grow on them, which would be best served when they can get through the episodes quickly so that they can get to the best parts... on a week to week basis, i think a lot of adults might give up on the series before giving it a real chance.

There are other shows i feel are in a similar bind; they are good series, but i feel their is a good chance that they will get dismissed early on and not given a chance. Really i think the key is picking out the shows that appeal to teens, but are also open to adults aswell, and then later in the night get the shows that appeal to adults, but are still open to teens.

 

[Sketch]

No teens are not considered when it comes to AS scheduling because if they were Bleach would be airing at 9 pm every day instead of KotH one of the lower rated shows among teens for Adult Swim.

AD and FG get a ton of teens but they get far more adults. Those two and KotH air first because they have the broadest appeal to adults who don't like the quirkier comedies. Teens tuning in is a bonus. They're going for 18-24, 18-34 and 18-49 for all hours of Adult Swim. There is nothing meant to target teenagers on CN or AS unless they are 13 and 14 for CN or 18 and 19 for AS. Plenty of shows on both CN and AS draw in some 15-17 but they are of little concern by design.

Anyone younger than 18 is valuable to AS in just two ways. Bolstering total viewership and becoming future adult demographic viewers. And too much 17 and younger tuning in has never been considered a good thing.

Now since you brought up One Piece Monte, I feel it is important to point out the majority of OP fans in America are older than 18 these days. And while the childish stories early on may be off-putting to some adults that does not stop One Piece from continuing to gain more and more adult viewers. Do I think they will go for a series that is largely untested for targetting adults on television with over 500 episodes? Not really. But I would not be so quick to assume it lacks potential with the AS audience especially if you really believe AS keeps teen interest in mind.

Firecrouch, 11 pm is the money spot for AS even on Saturday. I don't think they'll give up that hour to Toonami if they can keep playing Family Guy on Saturday. The 9 pm hour on weekends is utterly worthless to AS but 10 can do alright with a popular show. So 9-11 could maybe go to Toonami if Family Guy moved from 10:30 to 11 pm. I think they would want a trade off for that though. Perhaps an hour at 2 am, 2:30 or 3 am to catch people coming home late looking for a laugh before the Toonami encores?

They could make use of 3 familiar Toonami block names and two familar start times.

9-11 Toonami, 12-2 or 3 The Midnight Run and optionally 3 or 4-6 The Rising Sun for encores of Toonami premieres and maybe some PG level oldies they got cheap or had on hand.

They would not have different packaging types as that would be costly to keep up. All major premieres would air in the 10 and 12 hours including game reviews and such.

 

[Lord Dalek]

I'm not sure CN is even willing to give One Piece another try. The show never took off even after Funi gave it an uncut dub.

 

[monkey D Goku]

I'm not sure CN is even willing to give One Piece another try. The show never took off even after Funi gave it an uncut dub.

it never got a change to take off

 

[firecrouch]

"One Piece" did fine when it was on Cartoon Network. It didn't "take off" per say but it did well.

 

[monkey D Goku]

"One Piece" did fine when it was on Cartoon Network. It didn't "take off" per say but it did well.

im talking about the funi dub not 4kids.

 

[firecrouch]

im talking about the funi dub not 4kids.

Yeah that's for sure. In general the series did fine during its run, but by the time FUNimation debuted Cartoon Network changed out of Toonami's favor.

 

[macattack]

If Adult Swim is already working hard on bringing Toonami back and is preparing an all-out assault I would not be surprised if this is the debut lineup:

12:00-Bleach
12:30-Tiger & Bunny (replaced by Inuyasha: The Final Act's second half after ending)
1:00-Fate/ZERO (takes a break after episode 13, and Inuyasha's first half takes its place, then ZERO presumably returns for 14-26)
1:30- Steins;Gate (likely replaced by Future Diary)
2:00-Trigun
2:30-Yuyu Hakusho
3:00-Outlaw Star
3:30-Big O (complete series)
4:00-Bleach (encore)
4:30-Tiger & Bunny (encore)
5:00-Fate/ZERO (encore)
5:30-Inuyasha (still)

And Steins;Gate gets its encore when ZERO takes its hiatus.

I think it's a fairly realistic schedule, though it remains to be seen if Aniplex is actually dubbing Fate/ZERO or not (considering how much money they're making off of it already I can't see why they wouldn't). Steins;Gate and Tiger & Bunny seem like obvious choices for Toonami and considering Adult Swim's penchant for dark, twisted mystery anime the anime otherwise known as Mirai Nikki seems pretty likely, and it might actually get some ratings as it has a dedicated US fanbase.​

 

[Sketch]

I would not count on Fate/Zero but Aniplex would be wise to dub it for a localized release here.

You also should not expect them to spend that much money on new or returning shows when anime still wont be a priority for them.

They are not going to almost wipe the current slate clean. I'd expect at most 4 premieres including Bleach unless Bleach took a break. Maybe 5 if one or two are dirt cheap returns.

 

[macattack]

I would not count on Fate/Zero but Aniplex would be wise to dub it for a localized release here.

You also should not expect them to spend that much money on new or returning shows when anime still wont be a priority for them.

They are not going to almost wipe the current slate clean. I'd expect at most 4 premieres including Bleach unless Bleach took a break. Maybe 5 if one or two are dirt cheap returns.

I think that if Aniplex dubs Fate/ZERO it's probably a slam dunk for a AS broadcast. It's quite possibly the most beautiful TV animation ever made. For all that's good in animation, it needs to get a US broadcast to the widest possible audience. It has some writing and pacing flaws but when the show is on it is ON (like episode 14 which has a dogfight that does Macross proud). However, on second thought, it is probably not happening until fall or 2013.

Trigun and Yuyu Hakusho were under the assumption that they'd be FUNi freebies. I also think that a Toonami relaunch would mean wiping the current slate clean or almost clean and when various shows end their runs the older shows that have been running ad nauseum for the last couple of years can rotate back in.

 

[macattack]

The ratings for Toonami are out: http://sonofthebronx.blogspot.com/2012/04/adult-swim-ratings-march-26-april-1.html

It had been doing pretty well for itself until the Tenchi OVA and then it was like a pin in a balloon. Though Outlaw Star managed to get some of Tenchi's lost ratings back.

 

[bla2772]

The ratings for Toonami are out: http://sonofthebronx.blogspot.com/2012/04/adult-swim-ratings-march-26-april-1.html

It had been doing pretty well for itself until the Tenchi OVA and then it was like a pin in a balloon. Though Outlaw Star managed to get some of Tenchi's lost ratings back.

Those rations aren't that good

 

[macattack]

Those rations aren't that good

They were, however, better than previous Saturday nights. Keep in mind some of these shows were airing really damn late. Not a slam dunk but 0.4s beat 0.2s and 0.1s.