"Toonami" News & Discussion Thread

[Daikun]

I haven't been in this thread for a while and.....I seem to have missed a lot. What is Food Wars? Is it like Fighting Foodons?

Yes and no. It's a shonen-esque cooking contest, but the food doesn't come to life.

 

[PicardMan]

I do know that MHA is practically taking over anime cons, or at least in my part of the world. San Japan's MHA voice actor guest lineup is pretty robust. Tokyo in Tulsa has Christopher Wekamf (Aizawa) as a guest. In the case of that con, half the panels are MHA, 40% are Sailor Moon, and 10% are related to other anime (I'm excited to be on one of the MHA panels.

I'd also like to point out the existence of the Toonami effect. It seems that cosplays for an anime increase exponentially when a show airs on Toonami. HunterXHunter and JoJo are great examples as they were still commonly cosplayed when the sub streamed, but the Toonami airings made them even more popular. Surprisingly, Black Clover has not benefited from the Toonami effect as they are very hard to find even in cons as big as A-Kon. I'm wondering why this is so as seems to be highly streamed on Crunchyroll. I'm assuming the Toonami effect could boost Food Wars, but we'll see. The Toonami effect seems to indicate that Toonami has a large effect on what's popular (although Yuri on Ice, Dragon Maid and other shows that haven't aired on Toonami are still popular cosplay choices). This seems to indicate that maybe Toonami has some influence on what anime gets popular, or at least somehow affects Texans

 

[Gold Guy]

Food Wars definitely peaked a few years ago, which explains the lack of cosplay lately. Heck, the manga was canceled a few weeks ago.

 

[TnAdct1]

Breaking news from the Aniplex panel at AX: Demon Slayer is coming to Toonami.

 

[Yojimbo]

Breaking news from the Aniplex panel at AX: Demon Slayer is coming to Toonami.

The title alone interests me.

 

[PicardMan]

This is such a surprise as Toonami seemed to be distancing itself from gore and super violence. I think this show at least has a reputation of being more than just shock value. Wonder how much of the budget it took up? Guess they can still afford some popular anime titles.

I know a lot of people seem to be upset about MHA getting shafted, but shafting a series with a vocal following is far from new. One Piece is one such example of nu-Toonami and ASA and classic Toonami have many more examples. YuYu Hakusho, Gundam Seed, Detective Conan, original Gundam, 70s Lupin, and Code Geass are all examples of shows that got cancelled or deathslotted. Even a few shows that have rabid fanbases like Death Note were considered flops by Adult Swim. It seems like hardcore cult following does not necessarily mean ratings. In MHA's case, it seems different from most of those shows in that streaming is a much bigger factor than the 00s era and it's ratings didn't look as bad as something like One Piece. So deathslotting beloved shows isn't new.

On the topic of the Toonami effect and cosplay, I wonder if a revival of Food Wars cosplay is possible. That could show how much influence 2019 Toonami has. Anyway, being able to get Demon Slayer seems to show they aren't totally broke. They may be unable to afford MHA, but they still have the ability to get some big name titles.

 

[Nobodyman]

Demon Slayer, eh? That's cool. I've heard of it, but never seen or read it. I'll give it a shot.

 

[Paletron]

I'm not surprise, Demon Slayer screams Toonami. It'll probably replace SAO. Fire Force is another new series I believe has a very good chance to come to Toonami.

 

[Light Lucario]

I do know that MHA is practically taking over anime cons, or at least in my part of the world. San Japan's MHA voice actor guest lineup is pretty robust. Tokyo in Tulsa has Christopher Wekamf (Aizawa) as a guest. In the case of that con, half the panels are MHA, 40% are Sailor Moon, and 10% are related to other anime (I'm excited to be on one of the MHA panels.

I'd also like to point out the existence of the Toonami effect. It seems that cosplays for an anime increase exponentially when a show airs on Toonami. HunterXHunter and JoJo are great examples as they were still commonly cosplayed when the sub streamed, but the Toonami airings made them even more popular. Surprisingly, Black Clover has not benefited from the Toonami effect as they are very hard to find even in cons as big as A-Kon. I'm wondering why this is so as seems to be highly streamed on Crunchyroll. I'm assuming the Toonami effect could boost Food Wars, but we'll see. The Toonami effect seems to indicate that Toonami has a large effect on what's popular (although Yuri on Ice, Dragon Maid and other shows that haven't aired on Toonami are still popular cosplay choices). This seems to indicate that maybe Toonami has some influence on what anime gets popular, or at least somehow affects Texans

Black Clover still doesn't seem to be that popular to me compared to most of the other titles on the lineup. I see covers for different opening and ending themes, so maybe it has developed more of a following since the anime started than I expect, but it's not really a huge title. Shows like My Hero Academia, Hunter x Hunter and Jojo were popular well before they aired on Toonami. I'm sure that airing on the block helped them, especially when that was the only way to legally watch the Hunter x Hunter and Jojo dubs, but since Black Clover never seemed to be particularly popular from the start, airing on Toonami didn't really change things drastically for the series, at least as far as I can tell.

Breaking news from the Aniplex panel at AX: Demon Slayer is coming to Toonami.

That's pretty interesting. I'm assuming series will take over SAO's slot given that they're close to the halfway point of the season. I've heard about Demon Slayer and it sounds interesting, so I'll give it a shot. It might be more appealing to me than Food Wars at least.

I know a lot of people seem to be upset about MHA getting shafted, but shafting a series with a vocal following is far from new. One Piece is one such example of nu-Toonami and ASA and classic Toonami have many more examples. YuYu Hakusho, Gundam Seed, Detective Conan, original Gundam, 70s Lupin, and Code Geass are all examples of shows that got cancelled or deathslotted. Even a few shows that have rabid fanbases like Death Note were considered flops by Adult Swim. It seems like hardcore cult following does not necessarily mean ratings. In MHA's case, it seems different from most of those shows in that streaming is a much bigger factor than the 00s era and it's ratings didn't look as bad as something like One Piece. So deathslotting beloved shows isn't new.

It definitely isn't new, but I do think that there are some key differences with this situation and at least One Piece. One Piece had a much more gradual decline in terms of both ratings and its slot on the lineup. I don't recall One Piece moving from the start to the very end of the block like what is happening with My Hero Academia. To be fair, I could be forgetting some details, but One Piece moved around the middle of the block before going further down the lineup. When they announced that One Piece would be removed, it didn't really come out of nowhere like this announcement did. It was sad and disappointing, but understandable. One Piece's ratings were more consistently low and considering how huge the series is, the idea that it was too expensive to be worthwhile for them by a certain point was believable.

Not to mention One Piece had other factors going against it from the start. The 4Kids dub did a number on One Piece's appeal and popularity in the U.S. and starting over two hundred episodes in might have been an issue too. I remember a lot of people argued for and against that decision for awhile. The biggest issue behind My Hero Academia's ratings would be streaming. That could have had an impact on its ratings, but I'm not sure if that would have hurt it as much. Plus, if the ratings weren't good enough for however expensive My Hero Academia was for them, then they really didn't do a good job with promoting it. If this was more like the One Piece situation, it would still be upsetting, but I'd at least be able to understand it more.

I'm not too familiar with the other series on classic Toonami, but I'm sure at least part of those decisions were the result of Cartoon Network's executive meddling. The current Toonami shouldn't have that issue when they're basically in charge of what they want to air and when to air it. The reasons behind this decision just don't sound convincing to me. It makes me think that either the Toonami crew didn't want to put much effort in promoting this series or that they were too upset over not getting season four anytime soon. The former is more likely than the latter, but neither possibility really paints a good picture of the Toonami crew in my opinion.

 

[PicardMan]

The former is more likely than the latter, but neither possibility really paints a good picture of the Toonami crew in my opinion.

Demarco claims that Adult Swim programming (Kim Manning et al) made the decision and he and the Toonami crew had no say in it. I think the same was true for One Piece's deathslotting and removal. Supposedly, Demarco and the Toonami crew never have a say on the order of the shows Toonami airs. The promotion issue is more of an issue, but the common argument is that promoting anime doesn't affect ratings, an argument that Demarco has made a few times to explain why shows don't get promos for certain arcs or "good parts" of shows. The issue with this is that the Adult Swim programming people changed MHA's slot so many times that promotion seemed necessary to show when it's on. The Toonami crew probably has some part in the show's poor treatment, but they have Kim Manning and Adult Swim programming available as a convenient scapegoat.

THIS JUST IN: Toonami has announced that Demon Slayer is airing in the fall, meaning don't expect it to replace SAO or Attack on Titan. We still don't know what shows are coming up in the next few weeks, but we know what's on the horizon.

 

[Yojimbo]

Demon Slayer is airing in the fall, meaning don't expect it to replace SAO or Attack on Titan. We still don't know what shows are coming up in the next few weeks, but we know what's on the horizon.

Hmm, then August after MHA or October after Dragon Ball Super. Probably the former. Last I checked, I think Black Clover has enough episodes left to last to the end of September.

 

[veemonjosh]

Hmm, then August after MHA or October after Dragon Ball Super. Probably the former. Last I checked, I think Black Clover has enough episodes left to last to the end of September.

Gundam will also be ending in October around the same time as Super, so that's another possibility for what Demon Slayer is replacing (I imagine Super will remain on the block, but probably not up front, so the schedule will see some shifting at that time).

As far as I'm aware, Black Clover won't be ending any time soon, so that and the Naruto hour are locked in for the foreseeable future.

 

[Light Lucario]

Demarco claims that Adult Swim programming (Kim Manning et al) made the decision and he and the Toonami crew had no say in it. I think the same was true for One Piece's deathslotting and removal. Supposedly, Demarco and the Toonami crew never have a say on the order of the shows Toonami airs. The promotion issue is more of an issue, but the common argument is that promoting anime doesn't affect ratings, an argument that Demarco has made a few times to explain why shows don't get promos for certain arcs or "good parts" of shows. The issue with this is that the Adult Swim programming people changed MHA's slot so many times that promotion seemed necessary to show when it's on. The Toonami crew probably has some part in the show's poor treatment, but they have Kim Manning and Adult Swim programming available as a convenient scapegoat.

That does seem odd that they don't have any say on the order of the lineup, especially when the Toonami crew still aren't paid for their work for the block as far as I know. It definitely feels like they're using the Adult Swim programming as a convenient scapegoat, but I can at least understand it a bit more if this was something outside of their control.

The argument that promoting an anime doesn't affect its ratings is pretty ridiculous though. Super gets consistent promotion and is one of the most popular shows on the lineup. Obviously, being a Dragon Ball series definitely gives it an edge over every other series, but it's one of the few series that have gotten next episode promos consistently and aired throughout the block. My Hero Academia's next episode promos, on the other hand, were often put late into the block where a lot of people wouldn't see them. If they really didn't think that promos affected an anime's ratings, then why even bother making next episode promos? The Promised Neverland and SAO also get promos and they seemingly get good enough ratings. That kind of logic just seems really questionable. Even if the Adult Swim programming department had the final say on deathslotting My Hero Academia, their poor promotion of the series is still rather bothersome.

THIS JUST IN: Toonami has announced that Demon Slayer is airing in the fall, meaning don't expect it to replace SAO or Attack on Titan. We still don't know what shows are coming up in the next few weeks, but we know what's on the horizon.

That is a bit of a surprise. I guess Demon Slayer is going to replace Super or Gundam in the fall instead. It makes me wonder what they'll do with SAO's slot. We should find out within the next couple of weeks, but it is a strange development.

 

[PicardMan]

The deathslotting of My Hero Academia topicals is still a mystery. It would make more sense to give more airtime to struggling shows. It doesn't seem like that much of a hassle to have all topicals air immediately after the show airs, but only Pop Team Epic and Boruto got that treatment. It seemed like nepotism when those shows got topicals airing right after the show ends, while MHA's aired during the rerun portion of the block. Of course, this was only 50% of the time as sometimes it would air during the early part of the block.Why the inconsistency? I know Toonami cuts the promos, but maybe Adult Swim programming decides when to actually air them. It's possible that the timeslot moves and the topicals being deathslotted were attempts to sabotage the show to justify not ponying up loads of money for season 4. I'm surprised that this board seems to be the only place talking about the topical debacle and that nobody asked Demarco why MHA topicals aired so late.

 

[Light Lucario]

The deathslotting of My Hero Academia topicals is still a mystery. It would make more sense to give more airtime to struggling shows. It doesn't seem like that much of a hassle to have all topicals air immediately after the show airs, but only Pop Team Epic and Boruto got that treatment. It seemed like nepotism when those shows got topicals airing right after the show ends, while MHA's aired during the rerun portion of the block. Of course, this was only 50% of the time as sometimes it would air during the early part of the block.Why the inconsistency? I know Toonami cuts the promos, but maybe Adult Swim programming decides when to actually air them. It's possible that the timeslot moves and the topicals being deathslotted were attempts to sabotage the show to justify not ponying up loads of money for season 4. I'm surprised that this board seems to be the only place talking about the topical debacle and that nobody asked Demarco why MHA topicals aired so late.

I'm pretty sure that The Promised Neverland had all of its next episode promos air right after each premiere too. I think I heard that there was some time issue for the My Hero Academia promos to explain why they air so late, but I'm not sure if that was the case. I didn't think that the promos for that series were any longer than the other next episode promos. It would be kind of weird if they didn't even get a say on when those promos air. It would make this issue even more questionable when they clearly favor some shows over the others given how frequently some promos air throughout the block over the others.

I'm not sure if they'd try to sabotage My Hero Academia in order to not pay for season four. I'm still leading a bit towards the theory that they're doing this because they can't get season four due to the Hulu deal. It might be leading too much into conspiracy theory territory, but when their official reason behind it makes no sense and other series had more gradual moves down the lineup instead of immediately getting the deathslot treatment, the idea that they're doing this because they don't know when they'll be able to get season four sounds more plausible.

 

[Gold Guy]

Oooh, another Weekly Shonen Jump anime. IMO, even people who are tired of Shonen action series may dig this one, thanks to some really high production values (it's fro the group that animated the recent Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night: UBW anime).

 

[Volthoom]

The animation of Demon Slayer is great. Which to be fair, is Ufotable's seeming specialty.

 

[PicardMan]

Demarco has just stated that the shows they were about to announce at Momocon fell through. A lot of people assumed this meant just that the announcement for the shows fell through. He clarified that what he meant was that the shows won't be shown at all.
It looks like negotiating shows is still very hard for Toonami. It's weird because Toonami supposedly cut promos and everything for the shows and they were yanked at the last possible minute. This is probably why many announcements don't happen until the last minute, with weird outliers like Demon Slayer. Wondering what distributor caused the problem. It seems like Sentai, Viz, and Crunchyroll are on good terms with Toonami, and Funimation seems to be the most likely culprit. Still weird how nothing has come out of the Crunchyroll deal. We do have hope for whatever replaces SAO as he says there are still shows to be announced. Maybe we could get a last minute rerun like the Space Dandy reruns that replaced The Italian Adventure.

 

[Space Cadet]

The argument that promoting an anime doesn't affect its ratings is pretty ridiculous though. Super gets consistent promotion and is one of the most popular shows on the lineup. Obviously, being a Dragon Ball series definitely gives it an edge over every other series, but it's one of the few series that have gotten next episode promos consistently and aired throughout the block.

Actually, they haven't done next episode promos for Super in over a month now.

I do wonder if part of the issue is getting episodes on time. The reason I bring this up is because of a comment made by DeMarco after someone praised their Food Wars promo:

I love the return of the narration (voice of God) style promo for Gundam: The Origin and Food Wars. They've made me more hyped for Toonami shows than I've been in a long time. Tell whoever worked on them that they did a good job. | ask.fmhttps://ask.

Ha! Glad you dig them. They may become more necessary again as we make show deals, because things have been coming together a lot faster than they used to- a...

ask.fm

Maybe going forward, this won't be an issue if they can episodes in on time from the distributors.

 

[Light Lucario]

Demarco has just stated that the shows they were about to announce at Momocon fell through. A lot of people assumed this meant just that the announcement for the shows fell through. He clarified that what he meant was that the shows won't be shown at all.
It looks like negotiating shows is still very hard for Toonami. It's weird because Toonami supposedly cut promos and everything for the shows and they were yanked at the last possible minute. This is probably why many announcements don't happen until the last minute, with weird outliers like Demon Slayer. Wondering what distributor caused the problem. It seems like Sentai, Viz, and Crunchyroll are on good terms with Toonami, and Funimation seems to be the most likely culprit. Still weird how nothing has come out of the Crunchyroll deal. We do have hope for whatever replaces SAO as he says there are still shows to be announced. Maybe we could get a last minute rerun like the Space Dandy reruns that replaced The Italian Adventure.

I didn't expect negotiations to be that difficult, but I'm sure at least part of it has to do with all of the legal paper work to get the airing rights to these series. It's too bad that he can't say what these series are. It would be interesting to know what shows could have aired on the block, although I'm sure he won't in case they can get them at some point down the road. I just wonder if this makes it more likely for them to replace SAO with a rerun slot.

Actually, they haven't done next episode promos for Super in over a month now.

Really? I could have sworn that I saw promos for new Super episodes more recently than a month ago. I could easily be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that they were still airing Super promos.

I do wonder if part of the issue is getting episodes on time. The reason I bring this up is because of a comment made by DeMarco after someone praised their Food Wars promo:

I love the return of the narration (voice of God) style promo for Gundam: The Origin and Food Wars. They've made me more hyped for Toonami shows than I've been in a long time. Tell whoever worked on them that they did a good job. | ask.fmhttps://ask.

Ha! Glad you dig them. They may become more necessary again as we make show deals, because things have been coming together a lot faster than they used to- a...

ask.fm

Maybe going forward, this won't be an issue if they can episodes in on time from the distributors.

That could be a factor, although I'd think that would be more of an issue with series that have their dub premieres on Toonami like Super and The Promised Neverland. Shows like My Hero Academia and Food Wars have been available dubbed for awhile, so I'm not sure if there would be an issue with getting the episodes in English from their distributors on time in those cases.