Toonami

Toonami

Current Toonami logo, introduced on April 5, 2014.
Network	Cartoon Network (1997–2008) Kids' WB (2001–2002) Adult Swim (2012–present)
Launched	March 17, 1997 (1997-03-17) (Cartoon Network) July 30, 2001 (2001-07-30) (Kids' WB) May 26, 2012 (2012-05-26) (Adult Swim)
Closed	June 30, 2002 (2002-06-30) (Kids' WB) September 20, 2008 (2008-09-20) (Cartoon Network) January 30, 2009 (2009-01-30) (CartoonNetwork.com)
Country of origin	United States
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia
Format	Action programming block
Running time	1 hour (Midnight Run; 2000–2003) 2 hours (1997–2000; 2001–2002; 2003–2004; 2007–2008) 3 hours (2000–2001; 2002–2003; 2012) 3.5 hours (2015–present) 4 hours (2004–2007) 5 hours (Midnight Run; 1999–2000, January 31, 2015) 5.5 hours (January 24, 2015) 6 hours (2012–2013) 6.5 hours (Midnight Run; 2014–2015)
Voices of	C. Martin Croker (1997–1999) Sonny Strait (1999–2000) Steven Blum (2000–2008; 2012–present) Dana Swanson (2013–present) Sally Timms (2000–2007)
Official website	Toonami.com Toonami's Tumblr page

Toonami (stylized as TOONAMI) is a late-night animated programming block on Adult Swim geared toward action-oriented programming, primarily consisting of American cartoons and Japanese anime. It was created by Jason DeMarco and Sean Akins and produced by Williams Street. The name is a portmanteau of the words "cartoon" and "tsunami", suggesting a "tidal wave" of animated shows.

Toonami initially ran on Cartoon Network from March 17, 1997 to September 20, 2008. In its original run, the block was famous for showcasing action anime that were popular with American audiences, including Dragon Ball Z, Gundam Wing, Rurouni Kenshin, Sailor Moon, Tenchi Muyo!, One Piece, Outlaw Star, Yu Yu Hakusho, Naruto, Soul Eater and Attack on Titan. It was also recognized for its distinctive space-themed backdrop, anime music videos, hip hop-flavored soundtrack, and host (a robot named T.O.M.).

On May 26, 2012, Adult Swim relaunched Toonami as an adult-oriented animated block, which continues as a Saturday night action block.

History and events

Moltar era: 1997–99

Toonami was Cartoon Network's primary action-animation block. The block premiered on March 17, 1997. It initially replaced Power Zone, Cartoon Network's most recent incarnation of the Super Adventures block, which had been a staple on the network since October 1, 1992. Toonami was originally a weekday afternoon cartoon and action block hosted by Space Ghost villain-turned-producer Moltar at the Ghost Planet Industries building from 1997 to July 9, 1999.

T.O.M. 1 era: 1999–2000

On Saturday, July 10, 1999, Cartoon Network relaunched Toonami with a new environment, the Ghost Planet Spaceship Absolution, and a new host named T.O.M, which introduced viewers to him with this speech:

So it's a brand new Toonami, but the mission objectives remain the same. My name is TOM. I'm the new Moltar. Welcome aboard the Ghost Planet Space Ship Absolution , Cartoon Network's first and only interstellar broadcast and exploration vehicle. I'll give you the tour later. From this day forward she is completely responsible for all Toonami transmissions. I'm takin' you guys into the new millennium! No big changes now, same show, same attitude; new place to do it, new guy to do it with. I'm not going to waste any more time, let's get back into it. Later.

Also introduced was the Toonami Midnight Run late night block, which was originally a five-hour Saturday night block (technically Sunday) at midnight EST until March 2000, when it moved to weeknights in an hour-long format until January 2003.

The Midnight Run was a Toonami block that ran from 1999 to 2003, broadcast from 12:00 am EST to 5:00 am from 1999 to 2000, when it was moved to the weekdays and ran from 12:00 am to 1:00 am until 2003. It consisted of anime such as Sailor Moon, Voltron, Robotech, Dragon Ball Z, Gundam Wing, G Gundam, Gundam 08th MS Team, and Outlaw Star. Midnight Run tended to have more blood and violence than its daytime counterpart, at one point even running an uncut version of Gundam Wing. One special edition that started on Friday, August 31, 2001, featured music videos from Gorillaz, including "Clint Eastwood," Kenna's "Hellbent," and from Daft Punk's Interstella 5555. Another event was Dragon Ball Z taking over the Midnight Run for a week starting on March 26–30, 2001. The Midnight Run returned by name to the Toonami block October 6, 2012, when two western animated shows were added to the lineup, Thundercats and Sym-Bionic Titan.

On Saturday, April 17, 2004, Toonami was moved from weekday afternoons to a Saturday evening slot, where it aired regularly for four hours starting at 7:00 pm EST. Beginning October 27, 2007, it was cut back to two hours starting at 9:00 pm EST. On September 20, 2008, Toonami aired its final broadcast on Cartoon Network. However, on May 26, 2012, Toonami was brought back as a Saturday midnight action block on Adult Swim.

Starting in September 2000, Toonami presented special interactive events known as Total Immersion Events (TIEs). These TIEs took place both on-air during Toonami and online at the official site, Toonami.com, and always occurred the week that the block's most popular series, Dragon Ball Z, returned for a new season. The first TIE was The Intruder, which introduced T.O.M.'s companion, an AI matrix known as S.A.R.A. (voiced by Sally Timms until April 27, 2013, and currently voiced by Dana Swanson). The Intruder was an eight episode mini-series that aired during Toonami from September 18–27, 2000. It resulted in the rebirth of T.O.M., upgraded from a short Bomberman-esque character (voiced by Sonny Strait) to a taller, stronger, darker, deeper-voiced incarnation temporarily dubbed T.O.M. 2.0 (voiced by Steven Blum), though it was the same T.O.M. who still hosted the block.

T.O.M. 2 era: 2000–03

A Saturday morning incarnation, Toonami Rising Sun, ran from 2000 to 2003 at 9:00 am to noon. It later ran from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, then 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. This block was somewhat hampered to avoid competing with sister network Kids' WB.

From July 30, 2001, until June 30, 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 did not translate content-wise, which had added shows such as Generation O!, Scooby-Doo, and The Nightmare Room, a live-action series created by Goosebumps author R. L. Stine. 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.

The TIE, Lockdown, aired between September 17–21, 2001, and included the introduction of CartoonNetwork.com's first MMORPG, as well as a record-breaking amount of page views and ratings for the network. In Lockdown T.O.M. fights to save the Absolution from an attack by a giant trash compactor. Trapped in Hyperspace, the next TIE, ran the week of September 16–20, 2002. The ship's computer, S.A.R.A., is infected by a computer virus, and T.O.M. is trapped in hyperspace. His race manages to destroy the virus before the Absolution hits Earth.

During the week of February 24–28, 2003, Cartoon Network aired on Toonami "Giant Robot Week," a five-day special based on mecha series, which were licensed by A.D. Vision. The series shown were Neon Genesis Evangelion, Gigantor, Robotech, Martian Successor Nadesico, and Dai-Guard. On the evening of the final day, the channel finished its salute to giant robots with the film The Iron Giant.

T.O.M. 3 era: 2004–07

The TIE in September 2003 was a diversion from the T.O.M. and S.A.R.A. adventures and introduced a new, 2D universe. Immortal Grand Prix (IGPX), created by Toonami producers Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco, and produced by anime studio Production I.G, aired in five short installments, serving as a pilot for the second Toonami original series, which premiered in November 2005

On April 17, 2004, Cartoon Network moved Toonami from weekday afternoons to Saturday evenings with a new demographic of preteen and teen audiences, while adding a new lighter-toned action franchise, Miguzi, to weekdays in its place. T.O.M. was also given a new look for younger audiences.

Toonami also replaced the block known as Saturday Video Entertainment System (SVES). One reason for the move from weekdays to Saturday nights was because some of the shows on the weekday lineup (such as YuYu Hakusho, Cyborg 009, and Rurouni Kenshin) became too violent for a weekday broadcast on the network (although reruns of the TV-PG-rated Naruto aired throughout early 2007 on weekday afternoons at 5:30 pm EST, though CN stopped all Miguzi promos before the show started). The new Toonami lineup showcased anime such as Naruto, Rave Master, Duel Masters, Gundam SEED, One Piece, Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Zatch Bell, and Pokémon Chronicles, as well as premiered North American productions including Teen Titans, Megas XLR, Justice League Unlimited, and IGPX, Toonami's first and only original production co-produced by Production I.G and Bandai Entertainment.

Although Megas XLR was the first original American-made franchise to actually debut on the block, it was initially a Cartoon Network original that was planned to air on Friday nights. Other Cartoon Network action properties, namely Samurai Jack, Teen Titans, and Justice League, aired on Toonami, but were not exclusive to the block until their final seasons.

On Saturday, March 18, 2006, just past the block's ninth anniversary, Toonami began airing "A Month of Miyazaki," a four-week celebration of the works of acclaimed anime director Hayao Miyazaki. Like sibling station TCM's similar marathon in January 2006, Toonami aired a different movie every week between Toonami anniversaries (the marathon began on the weekend of the ninth anniversary of the block and ended the week before the second anniversary of the block's move to Saturday nights). The films scheduled for "A Month of Miyazaki" all aired uncut and unedited, in accordance with Miyazaki's policy not to have his films altered. However, there were many complaints due to the large number of commercial interruptions during the films, with commercial breaks cutting in about every 20 minutes. The movies included:

• Castle in the Sky
• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
• Princess Mononoke
• Spirited Away

T.O.M. 4 era, cancellation: 2007–08

On January 27, 2007, a teaser commercial aired during the Xiaolin Showdown marathon on Cartoon Network, featuring closeup shots of larger Clydes (the remote robot explorers that have been a fixture of Toonami since the beginning) along with the date "3/17/07" and T.O.M.'s chest emblem glowing blue.

On March 17, 2007, Toonami celebrated its 10th anniversary with a new packaging and numerous montages celebrating the block. T.O.M. was revamped into a shorter robot, who was a commander of a jungle control room with a trio of new robots.

The montages included a look at past hosts, former logos, and a decade's worth of clips and voice-overs from shows that aired on Toonami. There were a total of four montages, each with different clips, and three were one minute long.

As part of the anniversary (and to coincide with Cartoon Network's March Movie Madness event), Toonami planned another month of movies:

• March 3 - The Invincible Iron Man
• March 10 - Mosaic
• March 17 - Hellboy: Blood and Iron
• March 24 - Stan Lee Presents: The Condor
• March 31 - Spirited Away and Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo

On Saturday September 20, 2008, Cartoon Network ended Toonami. Employees who worked on the block moved to other parts of the channel. Toonami Jetstream remained with the Toonami name until January 30, 2009. At the end of Toonami's final airing, T.O.M. 4 ended the block with a brief, final monologue, backed by the song "Cascade" by Tycho:

Well, this is the end, beautiful friends. After more than 11 years, this is Toonami's final broadcast. It's been a lot of fun, and we'd like to thank each and every one of you who made this journey with us. Toonami wouldn't have been anything without you. Hopefully we've left you with some good memories. So, until we meet again, stay gold. Bang.

April Fools' Day 2012

On April 1, 2012, at midnight, just past Toonami's 15th anniversary, Adult Swim, which generally changes its programming for April Fools' Day, began to play The Room, as they had done the past several years. The scene then switched to T.O.M. (in his third incarnation) aboard the Absolution, greeting the viewers while commenting that it is April Fools' Day, before introducing that week's scheduled episode of Bleach. The Toonami-related programming and bumpers continued throughout the night, featuring Dragon Ball Z Ep #191, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing Ep #10, Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki Ep #19, Outlaw Star Ep #25, The Big O Ep #1 (Season 1), YuYu Hakusho Ep #110, Blue Submarine No. 6 Ep #1, Trigun Ep #23, Astro Boy Ep #1, and Gigantor Ep #3. T.O.M. also presented a review of Mass Effect 3 and promoted the recent DVD releases of the series featured.

The following day, Adult Swim posted a message to their Twitter page, simply stating, "Want it back? Let us know. #BringBackToonami". On April 4, Adult Swim followed up this tweet with one stating, "#BringBackToonami We've heard you. Thank you for your passion and interest - stay tuned." On April 8, Adult Swim aired two bumpers about the Toonami tweets and answered with "[we're listening]" and "[we're looking into it]".

Adult Swim revival

2012-2013

On May 16, 2012, Adult Swim posted a message on Facebook announcing that Toonami would return on May 26, with a similar message on Twitter, ending with #ToonamisBackBitches and a message warning: Toonami may contain mature material some viewers may not find suitable. The network issued a press release later that day confirming the block's revival as a Saturday late-night anime block. Toonami made its return with all new bumpers, game reviews and an updated animation of T.O.M. This midnight timeslot block featured more mature programming than any of its predecessors. The initial lineup continued some of the Adult Swim Saturday anime block programs and premiered two shows, Deadman Wonderland and Casshern Sins. On August 18, the initial Toonami 2012 program lineup was changed, with Samurai 7 and Eureka Seven replacing Deadman Wonderland and Cowboy Bebop. In addition, the program time slots within the block were rearranged.

On September 26, it was reported that Sym-Bionic Titan and ThunderCats would join the block, taking the 2 am/1 c and 2:30 am/1:30 c time slots, respectively. It was also reported that the remaining 3–6 am period formerly used to repeat the Toonami block would be replaced with two episodes (one hour) each of Cowboy Bebop, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. This new schedule began on October 6, 2012. On November 3, it was confirmed that Tenchi Muyo! GXP would join the lineup, along with Inuyasha. On November 22, it was confirmed that Toonami would air uncut episodes of Naruto, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood would start over from its first episode. Additionally, it was confirmed that Bleach would enter reruns for eight weeks, beginning on December 1.

On January 6, 2013, Toonami introduced a new blue color scheme after using a similar scheme to introduce Inuyasha on November 3 of the previous year, although a green scheme was used on March 17 to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. New episodes of Bleach began on January 26. On February 16, Soul Eater began airing on Toonami, replacing Samurai 7.

During Momocon, new designs for both T.O.M (a sleek, slimmer design, which bore similarities the character's second incarnation) and the Absolution were unveiled, along with the announcement that overall design of the block would be changed. It was also announced that Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone would air on March 17, and that One Piece would be added to the lineup on May 18. On March 26, it was announced that the Toonami original series IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix would return to the block on April 27. On April 27, the relaunch came to fruition, featuring an all-new design, and supporting host S.A.R.A. returning to the block after being removed in 2007. However, Sally Timms did not reprise her role for the character. Instead, S.A.R.A. is voiced by Dana Swanson. On the night of the rebrand, a short video linked to Boards of Canada was played, tying into the mystery surrounding their new album, Tomorrow's Harvest.

On May 24, 2013, Aniplex of America revealed that Sword Art Online would air on Toonami in August (announced by S.A.R.A. in a special clip at Anime Boston). On June 26, it was revealed via Toonami's tumblr that Sword Art Online would now premiere on July 27. Additionally, it was announced that ThunderCats, the rights of which had expired, would be replaced by the second season of The Big O on the same day. On June 30, it was revealed that FLCL will air in the future, with no confirmed date announced as of yet. On July 30, it was announced via the Toonami tumblr that Star Wars: The Clone Wars would replace Eureka Seven beginning August 17, and that will be airing on August 31. On August 31 the block had a surprise airing of Kick-Heart after Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance It was announced on September 26 that both FLCL and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex would begin runs on the block on October 26, replacing The Big O and Cowboy Bebop, respectively. It was further announced on September 29 that the rights to Cowboy Bebop would expire following its current run.

On October 25, it was announced via the Toonami tumblr that a three-week series of movies would air during December in lieu of regular programming. Additionally, it was announced that the anime series Space Dandy would premiere on the block dubbed in early January, before the Japanese premiere of the show. It was also noted that Toonami will expand to the 11:30 PM hour in early January, with Space Dandy leading the block. On November 6, it was announced that Naruto would be leaving the block on November 30, with Naruto: Shippuden coming to the block the night that Space Dandy premieres. Toonami announced on November 15 that the three-week series of movies would be extended by one week, encompassing the entirety of December. Additionally, it was announced that the films Akira, Summer Wars, Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, and Trigun: Badlands Rumble would air on December 7, 14, 21, and 28, respectively.

On November 22, it was announced that Blue Exorcist will join Toonami on February 22, 2014. On November 23, Toonami was sponsored by Microsoft for a special Xbox One event. On the same night, Toonami unveiled a new set of Clydes, the Clyde 55s, along with further animation for the Absolution. On December 9, during a Toonami Faithful podcast, Jason DeMarco revealed that Toonami had obtained the rights to Samurai Jack and will be airing it when FLCL ends, and also that Naruto would be moved to 3:00 am and will restart at Episode 1 as part of the deal for acquiring Shippuden.

2014-present

On January 24, it was announced that Black Lagoon would be replacing Soul Eater following the end of its run on March 15. On February 25, it was announced that on March 8 (Daylight Savings), they would be losing the rights to InuYasha, which will be replaced with Sym-Bionic Titan. Also, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood would not air that night, due to the loss of an hour. Following Adult Swim's rebrand on March 31, Toonami introduced a new look on April 6. This new look also featured the return of the Ninja Tune record label to Toonami, which was teased on their Tumblr the day prior.

It was announced on April 12 that Toonami had obtained the rights to air Attack on Titan, and that the series would begin airing on May 3 at 11:30pm. On April 16, it was announced that Beware the Batman would air on the block starting May 10. During their panel at Momocon 2014, it was announced that Dragon Ball Z Kai would premiere on Toonami in the fall, and that Cowboy Bebop would return later in the year. During Toonami on July 20, it was announced that Gurren Lagann would premiere on Toonami on August 16 at 2:00am. Shortly after this, a mini-marathon of Attack on Titan was announced, with the first twelve episodes of the show airing following the premiere of a new episode of Space Dandy on August 30. On August 23rd, Toonami announced through their Tumblr page that they acquired the rights to Hellsing Ultimate and would debut the show on September 13, replacing both Black Lagoon and Uncut Naruto for the entire 3:00am hour. On September 16, it was announced via the Toonami tumblr that Star Wars: The Clone Wars would be leaving the block on September 20. On September 22, Toonami announced that both Beware the Batman and Sym-Bionic Titan would be 'written off" financially, and that the remaining seven episodes of Beware the Batman would air as a marathon on September 27. On September 28, it was announced that Dragon Ball Z Kai would replace premieres of Bleach on November 8. It was also announced that the month of movies would return in December.

On October 24, it was announced that Hellsing Ultimate would end its run at Episode 8 due to licensing issues, and that the series would be replaced by Inuyasha: The Final Act and reruns of Bleach on November 8. The movie schedule for December was announced on November 8. Premiering movies were announced to be Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, and the final two episodes of Hellsing Ultimate. Returning movies were announced to be Summer Wars, Akira, Evangelion: 1.1 You Are (Not) Alone, and Evangelion: 2.2 You Can (Not) Advance. On December 5, Toonami announced the return of both Deadman Wonderland and IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix, replacing Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and The Big O. It was also announced that Cowboy Bebop would be broadcast in high definition, and would restart from Episode 1 on January 3.

On January 16, it was announced that Kill la Kill would join Toonami at 11:30 PM, starting February 7. On January 23, it was announced that Toonami would lose the 5:00 AM hour over the course of two weeks, with Samurai Jack and IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix being removed from the schedule during that time. It was further announced on January 27 that the Toonami lineup would be reduced to 12:00 AM to 3:30 AM due to low ratings, with Bleach, Space Dandy, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and Attack on Titan removed from the lineup, and the premiere of Kill la Kill moved to 12:30 AM. Though this change has raised concerns among viewers over the future of the block, Jason DeMarco has expressed in an interview on the Toonami Faithful podcast that he believes the time cut a relief, as the revived block was originally envisioned as, and was intended to stay as, a 3-hour block, a shorter block being far easier to maintain by Toonami's limited staff as opposed to the extended version, which he deemed "unstable". On February 14, it was announced through Aniplex of America that Sword Art Online II would premiere on March 28 at 1:00 AM. On March 13, the schedule change was officially announced on Toonami tumblr, with Attack on Titan replacing Deadman Wonderland and Sword Art Online II replacing Gurren Lagann. On April 30, It was announced that Kill la Kill will have a Memorial Day marathon on May, 23.

A sequel to 2000's The Intruder will air in 2015, titled "The Intruder: Part 2".

International versions

Asia

Main article: Toonami (Asia)

On September 9, 2012, Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific announced that they will launch a 24-hour variation of the Toonami block, to be launched on December 1, 2012. Glenn Bartlett, who is in charge of Toonami Asia, has confirmed that their host, NAMI, lives within the same universe as T.O.M. and SARA., and has expressed interest of their paths crossing one day.

The channel launched on December 1, 2012, replacing Boomerang.

Australia

Main article: Toonami (Australia)

India

Main article: Toonami (India)

The channel launched on February 26, 2015.

Latin America

On December 2, 2002, Toonami premiered on Cartoon Network Latin America, replacing a similarly-themed block, Talisman. Toonami aired shows that were already on the lineup such as Dragon Ball Z, Gundam Wing, and Pokémon, and served as the home of Inuyasha. Over the years, Toonami added shows such as YuYu Hakusho and Saint Seiya, as well as the revamped versions of Cyborg 009 and Astro Boy. However, the block had to move to the late-night slots on CN Latin America, due to protests of violent scenes on the block. Mexico moved Toonami to midnight in October 2003, while the rest of Latin America moved the block in November 2004.

In 2005, Toonami had short-lived weekend schedules, which were later replaced by the premiere of Adult Swim in Latin America (October 7, 2005).

In March 2006, Toonami revamped their lineup to include more adult-oriented series, such as Love Hina, taking advantage of the schedule and the refusal of anime on Adult Swim, as well as to compete against the anime channel Animax (now Sony Spin) for new anime series. In June 2006, Toonami premiered anime movies in two monthly variations: Dragon Ball Theatricals (which had 17 different Dragon Ball movies), and Toonami Movies (general animated action movies).

In 2007, Cartoon Network cut Toonami completely. The movies were no longer aired, except for those of Dragon Ball Z. After its cancellation in Latin America on March 26, 2007, the anime programming of the channel gradually vanished. Currently the only anime which air on CN LA are Digimon Fusion, Dragon Ball Z Kai and Pokémon. In January 2010 the block Animaction was created, showing on Wednesday evenings. This block broadcast both action programming and anime programming, before it was removed in April 2011.

UK & Ireland

Main article: Toonami (UK & Ireland)

Music

Main article: Toonami: Music & Soundtracks

In its original run, Toonami proved a haven for dance/electronica music throughout its history, using original compositions, first by skater/artist Tommy Guerrero from 1997 to 1999, and then by Atlanta-based composer Joe Boyd Vigil from 1999 to 2002, many of which were compiled on the CD Toonami: Deep Space Bass in 2001 (now out of print). In 2003, DJ Clarknova (the alias of Toonami founder Jason DeMarco) took Toonami's beats (both old and new) and mixed them with sound bites from recent Toonami and Adult Swim shows, resulting in an hour-long compilation of Toonami remixes titled Toonami: Black Hole Megamix. For unknown reasons, the compilation was never published. However, the Megamix recently was hosted by Toonami Digital Arsenal, a popular unofficial Toonami multimedia site. DJ Clarknova would later release another Toonami album, entitled Toonami Supernova Megamix, on Christmas Eve 2012 and "IGPX: The Ichi Megamix", in December 2013 as a free download through the official Toonami Tumblr webpage.

Games

Infrequently, Toonami has aired reviews of video games. These reviews, delivered by T.O.M. and occasionally S.A.R.A., are relatively short and air during commercial breaks. The reviews score games on a 1-10 system: 10 signifying an excellent game, 1 signifying a very poor game. (The scoring system was originally 1-5 until 2001.) Two games were given a "?", Dropship: United Peace Force for PlayStation 2 because of many failed attempts to get past Level 6, and Slender by Marc "Parsec" Hadley of Parsec Productions because of not finding all eight pages in time, and the fright of looking at the Slender Man.

T.O.M. also made a cameo appearance in the Cartoon Network MMORPG "Fusion Fall" as an NPC.

T.O.M. also made another cameo as a special power in Sly Cooper 2 for the PS2. He was a special move Sly could do to distract enemies and acted just like the alarm clock powerup.

Online video services

Main article: Toonami Jetstream

On March 26, 2001, Cartoon Network launched Toonami Reactor, their first online streaming video service. The three-month service featured streaming episodes from Dragon Ball Z and Star Blazers, the latter of which was an online-exclusive series. Editorial content was provided by the now-defunct Animerica Magazine, published by VIZ Media. After the three-month "trial run" was over, Cartoon Network took it offline and completely revamped it.

On November 14, 2001, Cartoon Network relaunched Toonami Reactor with all online-exclusive programs such as Star Blazers, Patlabor, The Harlock Saga, and Record of Lodoss War, as well as videos from Daft Punk and Toonami-themed games. In the summer of 2002, Toonami Reactor was revamped again under the Adult Swim aegis and, in a joint venture with VIZ's Weekly Shonen Jump, programmed it as "Adult Swim Pipeline." It featured episodes and/or manga chapters from One Piece, Naruto, Shaman King, YuYu Hakusho, and Sand Land.

On April 25, 2006, a little over five years since the launch of the now-defunct Toonami Reactor, Cartoon Network and VIZ Media announced plans to launch Toonami Jetstream, a new ad-supported streaming video service featuring Toonami series like Naruto, Samurai Jack, Megas XLR, and IGPX, and the Internet webcast premieres of Hikaru no Go, MÄR, Eyeshield 21, The Prince of Tennis, MegaMan Star Force, Kiba, MegaMan NT Warrior, and Zoids: Genesis, the latter two of which were never streamed.

Toonami Jetstream launched on July 17, 2006 (after a brief unofficial sneak preview that began on July 14), and offered episodes of Naruto, Hikaru no Go, MÄR, Zatch Bell!, Pokémon, Blue Dragon, Samurai Jack, Kiba, Storm Hawks and Transformers: Animated.

On January 30, 2009, Toonami Jetstream ended its run. Since then, many of the shows aired until cancellation aired on Cartoon Network Video on its main website.

In 2012, Adult Swim rebranded their action videos section as "Toonami shows." It initially featured content from Durarara!!, which never aired on the block.

From March 2015, Adult Swim launched the online show Toonami: Pre-Flight with new episodes every Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. and will be looped until the following broadcast and will eventually relaunch Toonami: Full Cycle as a full marathon stream of Toonami's recent broadcast for twenty-four hours. The stream was temporarily taken down for development but Jason DeMarco said on Ask.fm that the stream will return.

Programs list

Main article: List of programs broadcast by Toonami

Cartoon Network (1997–2008) / Kids' WB (2001–2002)

1997

• Cartoon Roulette (composed of Space Ghost (TV series), Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, The Herculoids, Mightor, Shazzan, Teen Force, The Impossibles, and the 1940s Superman cartoons)
• The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
• ThunderCats
• Voltron

1998

• Beast Wars: Transformers
• Dragon Ball Z (Ocean Dub/Funimation Dub '99)
• Robotech
• Sailor Moon (DiC Dub '98-'99/Cloverway, Inc. Dub '00)
• Superfriends

1999

• ReBoot
• Ronin Warriors
• The Powerpuff Girls

2000

• Batman: The Animated Series
• Blue Submarine No. 6
• G-Force: Guardians of Space
• Gundam Wing
• Superman: The Animated Series
• Tenchi in Tokyo
• Tenchi Muyo!
• Tenchi Universe

2001

• Batman Beyond
• Cardcaptors
• Dragon Ball (Funimation Dub)
• Gundam 0080
• Gundam 08th MS Team
• Mobile Suit Gundam
• Outlaw Star
• The Big O
• The New Batman/Superman Adventures
• Zoids

2002

• Mobile Fighter G Gundam
• G.I. Joe
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
• Samurai Jack
• Transformers: Armada
• Classic Zoids

2003

• Cyborg 009
• Dai-Guard
• Gigantor
• .hack//Sign
• IGPX: Micro Series
• Justice League
• Martian Successor Nadesico
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Rurouni Kenshin
• Star Wars: Clone Wars
• Superior Defender Gundam Force

2004

• Astro Boy
• Duel Masters
• Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
• Jackie Chan Adventures
• Justice League Unlimited
• Megas XLR
• Rave Master
• Teen Titans
• Transformers: Energon

2005

• Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo
• Hot Wheels AcceleRacers
• D.I.C.E.
• Dragon Ball GT
• IGPX
• Naruto
• One Piece
• The Batman
• Transformers: Cybertron
• Zatch Bell!

2006

• Fantastic Four: World's Greatest Heroes
• MÄR
• Pokémon: Battle Frontier
• Pokémon Chronicles
• The Prince of Tennis
• Wulin Warriors

2007

• Yu-Gi-Oh! GX
• Storm Hawks

2008

• Bakugan Battle Brawlers
• Ben 10: Alien Force
• Blue Dragon

Adult Swim (2012–present)

2012

• Bleach
• Deadman Wonderland
• Casshern Sins
• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
• Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C 2nd GIG
• Cowboy Bebop
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
• Samurai 7
• Eureka Seven
• Sym-Bionic Titan
• ThunderCats (2011 TV series)
• InuYasha
• Tenchi Muyo! GXP
• Naruto (uncut)

2013

• Soul Eater
• One Piece (uncut)
• Sword Art Online
• The Big O (season 2)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• FLCL

2014

• Space Dandy
• Naruto Shippuden (uncut)
• Samurai Jack
• Blue Exorcist
• Black Lagoon
• Attack on Titan
• Beware The Batman
• Gurren Lagann
• Hellsing Ultimate
• Dragon Ball Z Kai (uncut)
• Inuyasha The Final Act

2015

• Kill la Kill
• Sword Art Online II

Logos

Past Toonami logos
March 17, 1997 – January 22, 1999	January 25, 1999 – July 9, 1999	July 10, 1999 – February 19, 2000	February 21, 2000 – March 14, 2003	March 17, 2003 – April 16, 2004	April 17, 2004 – March 10, 2007 April 1, 2012 May 26, 2012 – April 26, 2013	March 17, 2007 – September 20, 2008	April 27, 2013 – March 29, 2014

External links

• Official website