The anime community has been in a state of mourning since the announcement of the death of Akira Toriyama. He was the creator of the legendary Dragonball franchise that has become one of the most iconic anime franchises in the world and is still going strong with the upcoming release of Dragonball Daima due this fall. For most of its existence, some form of the Dragonball franchise has been the flagship show of Cartoon Network/Adult Swim’s Toonami block. The arrival of Dragonball Z and Sailor Moon to Toonami in 1998 heralded what is known as the “anime boom” and brought anime to a much bigger American audience than it previously had. It is undeniable that the Dragonball franchise had a monumental impact on the growth of the anime fandom in the United States.
The Toonami block has decided to honor its breakthrough hit franchise and its visionary creator by having a marathon of Dragonball Z Kai, the special edition of Dragonball Z that is closer to Toriyama’s vision, this Saturday from 2:00 AM to 6:00 Eastern Time. Be on the lookout for a possible promo for this monumental event in the next few days. Swimpedia has Tweeted the official announcement made on the Toonami Facebook page:
Toonami has announced a marathon of Dragon Ball Z Kai this weekend from 2:00 AM to 6:00 AM! pic.twitter.com/HRzZpc5QJ9
— Swimpedia (@swimpedia) March 11, 2024
Ninja Kamui (dub) (midnight), Demon Slayer (12:30), Lycoris Recoil (1:00), and Ninja Kamui (sub) (1:30) will still air this coming weekend, but Naruto Shippuden and One Piece will take the night off. The marathon will consist of the first eight episodes of Dragonball Z Kai.
While there have been many marathons of the Dragonball franchise on Toonami throughout the decades, this one will hit particularly differently considering the circumstances. Toriyama has notably influenced the creators of many Toonami series including Naruto creator Mashashi Kishimoto, One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda, and Bleach creator Tite Kubo. All three creators have written eulogies for the great Toriyama, which can be found on Twitter/X. Toriyama had a profound impact on Toonami and shonen anime as a whole either via his work or work inspired by him and the Toonami community thanks him for all he did. This marathon will be a celebration of a brilliant creator.