"Toonami" News & Discussion Thread

[Peter Paltridge]

Glad to hear they dropped the possibility of Death Note. It wouldn't have made much sense on the block.

It makes perfect sense, and I wish they'd explained why they can't get it.

 

[Mister Mayhem]

Mister Mayhem's bashing of the Toonami crew makes total sense if you can manage complete and total amnesia about the last three years and what's happened in that space of time. This is one setback after a sustained and lengthy period of expansion.

Colleague,

you're giving them more credit than they deserve. their budget is still miniscule, the majority of their content is leftovers from cartoonnetwork, adult swim and various other channels, they lost an hour 1 year after they gained 30 minutes, and the best ratings always come from series that already have large built-in audiences. adult swim action had that 5:00-6:00 locked for years and they managed to lose it in less than three. toonami on adult swim has a lot more variety than adult swim action had but its not doing as significantly better as one would think.

 

[Nobodyman]

I don't really see how the line-up is lackluster.

Going by the last few weeks:

Attack on Titan - Reruns
DBZ Kai - Glorified re-run of a two-decade-old show
Naruto Shippuden - Incredibly dull and slow
Inuyasha FA - I personally have no interest in the show, but it's been getting great ratings and technically is new, so there's that
One Piece - Despite my love for the series, the anime is tedious and has performed adequately at best.
Gurren Lagann - While I'm enjoying watching it for the first time, the show is eight years old and it already aired on Sci-Fi, so interest has waned. Plus, it's been airing at 2:00 AM

Now, they are starting to move things in the right direction by pushing AoT back and acquiring Kill la Kill, but yes, the lineup for the last few weeks and before movie month has been incredibly weak compared to the smorgasbord of shows we got in the previous year.

 

[Light Lucario]

Going by the last few weeks:

Attack on Titan - Reruns
DBZ Kai - Glorified re-run of a two-decade-old show
Naruto Shippuden - Incredibly dull and slow
Inuyasha FA - I personally have no interest in the show, but it's been getting great ratings and technically is new, so there's that
One Piece - Despite my love for the series, the anime is tedious and has performed adequately at best.
Gurren Lagann - While I'm enjoying watching it for the first time, the show is eight years old and it already aired on Sci-Fi, so interest has waned. Plus, it's been airing at 2:00 AM

Now, they are starting to move things in the right direction by pushing AoT back and acquiring Kill la Kill, but yes, the lineup for the last few weeks and before movie month has been incredibly weak compared to the smorgasbord of shows we got in the previous year.

This is pretty much why I think that the lineup has been kind of lackluster for awhile. Out of the shows here, I'm only watching Final Act, One Piece and Gurren Lagann and I'm only really enjoying the latter two. Final Act has just been okay at best, although I'd probably like it more if I was a fan of the original series. If I liked DBZ Kai or Shippuden, I'd probably enjoy the lineup a bit more. DBZ Kai is okay, but Shippuden is incredibly dull and boring. I like Attack on Titan, even though I think it's really overrated, but not enough to where watching the reruns is enjoyable. Compared to previous lineups, it doesn't feel like there are as many new shows that catch my interests or that I even like.

 

[GWOtaku]

Colleague,

you're giving them more credit than they deserve. their budget is still miniscule, the majority of their content is leftovers from cartoonnetwork, adult swim and various other channels, they lost an hour 1 year after they gained 30 minutes, and the best ratings always come from series that already have large built-in audiences. adult swim action had that 5:00-6:00 locked for years and they managed to lose it in less than three. toonami on adult swim has a lot more variety than adult swim action had but its not doing as significantly better as one would think.

So we've gone from the Toonami crew having "no clue" about business and what to do to a concession that the lineup is improved when it comes to variety and that the block actually is performing better compared to the past, just not as much as you'd like. Well, that's a rather different narrative isn't it? You say I give too much credit, but my objection is that you gave none at all before. And it's verifiable that numbers are up from where things started in 2012.

Losing 5 - 6 AM is too bad. All things being equal though, I value the earlier start in the evening more than that.

As for content, the complaint about reruns and "leftovers" rings a bit hollow. Yeah sure, Sym-Bionic Titan and Samurai Jack and Clone Wars and Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop and Gurren Lagann and more weren't new to TV. If they're good, which those things I named certainly are, why should I care? But for 2014, 5 programs out of 10 that they added were new to a widespread broadcast on cable TV (Space Dandy, Blue Exorcist, Black Lagoon, Hellsing Ultimate, Attack on Titan). Technically you could raise the number as high as 7 if you count Beware the Batman's unaired episodes and InuYasha Final Act, notwithstanding it's finishing off the long-running series that preceded it.

In any event, it's just flat out wrong to say or suggest that they're clueless over there. The fact is that, some low points notwithstanding, anime has survived on television nowhere longer than Saturday nights on Cartoon Network under Adult Swim.

 

[Mister Mayhem]

So we've gone from the Toonami crew having "no clue" about business and what to do to a concession that the lineup is improved when it comes to variety and that the block actually is performing better compared to the past, just not as much as you'd like. Well, that's a rather different narrative isn't it? You say I give too much credit, but my objection is that you gave none at all before. And it's verifiable that numbers are up from where things started in 2012.

Losing 5 - 6 AM is too bad. All things being equal though, I value the earlier start in the evening more than that.

As for content, the complaint about reruns and "leftovers" rings a bit hollow. Yeah sure, Sym-Bionic Titan and Samurai Jack and Clone Wars and Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop and Gurren Lagann and more weren't new to TV. If they're good, which those things I named certainly are, why should I care? But for 2014, 5 programs out of 10 that they added were new to a widespread broadcast on cable TV (Space Dandy, Blue Exorcist, Black Lagoon, Hellsing Ultimate, Attack on Titan). Technically you could raise the number as high as 7 if you count Beware the Batman's unaired episodes and InuYasha Final Act, notwithstanding it's finishing off the long-running series that preceded it.

In any event, it's just flat out wrong to say or suggest that they're clueless over there. The fact is that, some low points notwithstanding, anime has survived on television nowhere longer than Saturday nights on Cartoon Network under Adult Swim.

Colleague,

even the least dexterous person can hit a bulls-eye every once in a while if they continue to throw enough darts at the wall. that's essentially difference between how adult swim Saturdays were run then and now. they went from putting in no effort to putting in whatever the number is between zero and minimum late night broadcasting mandate. if that's what you consider making a concession then i guess it is in the loosest sense possible.

as for the quality of the series they air, both new and old, good isn't the term i would use. i consider the vast majority of them either god-awful or decent at best. but like they say, one mans trash is another mans treasure....

and you talk about anime surviving on adult swim longer than anywhere else as if its some big feat but doubt that can be attributed to excellent decision making. its more likely that one of the bigwigs at turner owes someone at adult swim a favor or decided to take pity on the poor simps, jaja.

 

[GWOtaku]

No, it is not more likely at all. Nothing lasts on TV for over a decade by accident. If you want to bend over backward to avoid admitting any error, that is your affair, but I'm done indulging you and this conversation. Having opinions about the programming is one thing but if you want to denigrate the people running the block in the future, take it somewhere else. This thread will not be a venue for it.

 

[MadMan400096]

Pulling away attention from [MENTION=6852]GWOtaku[/MENTION] vs. [MENTION=58903]Mister Mayhem[/MENTION], Kill la Kill's new start time is 12:30.

 

[Thepowerofnone]

Pulling away attention from @GWOtaku vs. @Mister Mayhem, Kill la Kill's new start time is 12:30.

I wanted Kiil La Kill to start the block off, but 12.30 is a pretty good slot.

 

[GWOtaku]

That's a decent outcome all things considered. I was ready to find out it'd be kicked forward all the way forward to 2:30 or something. Still trying to spot what the complete schedule for February 7 is......

 

[Peter Paltridge]

That's a decent outcome all things considered. I was ready to find out it'd be kicked forward all the way forward to 2:30 or something. Still trying to spot what the complete schedule for February 7 is......

My main concern is where that pushes One Piece....

 

[Light Lucario]

That's a much better timeslot than I thought it would get. I was expecting 2AM or 2:30AM. It obviously wasn't going to start off the block, even though they said it was back when it was first announced, due to how they already said that DBZ Kai would start off the block for the foreseeable future. It could help boost the ratings for the other shows airing after it.

 

[MadMan400096]

Aw, crap. Less Toonami, I'm afraid.

 

[GWOtaku]

Yep, looks like the schedule changes are more dramatic than what was first reported. Now we're looking at midnight to 3:30 AM and a lineup that is full of premieres, with the exception of Deadman Wonderland at 3. Reruns are all but dead.

In life, we all must deal with change, friends. And sometimes that change is hard. Starting February 7th, the Toonami schedule will be reduced to a Midnight-3:30am run every Saturday.

But TOONAMI IS NOT GOING ANYWHERE.

And the good news is, we still have three and a half hours of premieres for you, every week, with more new stuff to come!

2015’s gonna have Kill La Kill, plus several MORE new shows, as well as Intruder 2, the Toonami comic, and lots of other fun goodies!

For fans of GITS, IGPX, Bebop, AoT, etc, we’re sorry but due to slipping ratings in those later hours, Adult Swim programming has determined a change is necessary. These shows may be back at some point- or they may not. Nothing is definitive on that front.

We may be getting smaller, but hopefully we’re getting stronger.

Love, The Toonami Crew

Schedule Starting 2/7 below:
12:00 - DBZ Kai
12:30 - Kill la Kill
01:00 - Naruto: Shippuden
01:30 - Inuyasha: The Final Act
02:00 - Gurren Lagann
02:30 - One Piece
03:00 - Deadman Wonderland

Well, it hurts to lose the classics. No 11:30 isn't good either. Hopefully this new approach will pick things up. Also really, really hoping Intruder 2 is a success now. The block definitely needs some strong wins if it's going to get bigger again.

 

[Thepowerofnone]

http://31.media.tumblr.com/0fa2cf1f331cc035a65bd5512ec5316e/tumblr_mm6tey6Gsn1s7pu0so1_500.gif

Now we definitely got to worry about the ratings. Could this get any worse? I think the worst part about the schedule besides losing more hours is One Piece at 2.30

 

[Rynnec]

This is what happens when you clog up the block full of longrunners that people have already seen before.

 

[Gold Guy]

Most of the longrunners get the best ratings, though.

Anyway, while it's a shame that Toonami is losing the last hours, maybe a smaller block will be less daunting to people? My biggest disappointment is that One Piece has gotten pushed back even behind Gurren Lagann. I hope One Piece moves up again after Lagann exits.

 

[Golden Geek]

What is Adult Swim going to put at 3:30 in the morning that they think is going to give them better ratings? King of the Hill? Family Guy? The same stuff that plays hours earlier?

 

[GWOtaku]

There are many candidates for Adult Swim content. Boondocks, Black Dynamite, certainly Venture Bros. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[veemonjosh]

So...they paid for the HD Bebop tapes for nothing?