FoxxFireArt (Level 25)

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Though Toonami is possibly set to return to TV. Is it even needed anymore?


Rumors have been spreading for a while about Cartoon Network's plan to revive the Toonami anime programming to the channel. Even today the Adult Swim official Twitter account responded by saying:

" @adultswim: #BringBackToonami We've heard you. Thank you for your passion and interest - stay tuned. "

In its day, Toonami introduced a variety of anime series to many in the west on national TV. It began airing in 1997, and I remember getting out of football practice to get home and watch DRAGON BALL Z, among other shows. The problem is that in the future that has since brought us a wide variety of legal online streaming websites, is Toonami even needed anymore?

Think how frequently Toonami would only air the censored version of shows. This is where the infamous 4Kids edit of ONE PIECE really spread, and whole portions of OUTLAW STAR were never even aired. In this age, we now have sites such as Crunchyroll, HULU, The Anime Network, VIZ Anime,, and the companies that put whole episodes and seasons up on YouTube. I can pull these up on my computer or portable device and pause at any time.

These legal anime sites offer a much larger variety of anime that we can watch any time of the day. Often times when episodes are fresh after their airing in Japan. Toonami wont be showing these programs until years after they were originally aired. Cartoon Network has also had a shaky relationship with various anime series. Frequently, they would cancel and revive series repeatedly, or they would just repeat older shows they already aired once before. When Toonami aired these series, they were often sans any opening themes. I can name many things they take away, but what do they bring? The only thing I can come to. They possibly introduce a new set of people to series that they then dig deeper to watch other shows.

Is anyone excited for the return of Toonami, or do you plan on watching anime other places?


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