OwlChemist81

I don't think for a minute Toonami is "done" with JoJo and Gundam. I think they'll keep airing Part 3, will after a small hiatus go into Part 4, and will air Part 5 whenever the hell that becomes available if not right after Part 4. And as for Gundam, I think they'll keep airing those too. They'll either keep going with modern Gundams such as Thunderbolt and Origin, or they'll add Gundam to the back third "nostalgia zone" with stuff like G Gundam or Gundam Wing. Both would be a treat to see in HD. But something must be said: Hunter x Hunter needs to be on earlier. Midnight might be a stretch, but 12:30 in front of the mystery show would be decent. If the mystery show is enough of a draw, I think Black Clover can maintain 11:30, but maybe should move down to Midnight. At any rate, here is how I would re-arrange the schedule for maximum ratings: SCENARIO 1 - JOJO TAKES A BREAK: 2/17/18 DBS; DBZK; BC; Mystery Show; HxH; GIBO; NS; OS; SD; CB; GITS2. Note: JoJo returns at 1:30 AM after OS ends SCENARIO 2 - JOJO KEEPS GOGOING: 3/24/18 DBS; DBZ; BC; Mystery Show; HxH; JOJO; GIBO; NS; SD; CB; GITS2. Under this scenario, the "mystery show" is a birthday present for me!

It DID come close twice though (Episodes 2 and 9). That Phantom Blood arc was BOSS in retrospect! Part 1 averaged over a million total viewers! Meanwhile, Part 2 couldn't crack a million, and Part 3 so far hasn't cracked 750K. Oy Vey.

UPDATED: http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-saturday-cable-originals-network-finals-1-13-2018.html The average in total viewers was well below the "unholy megabomb" of Hellsing Ultimate X and Fullmetal Alchemist: Sacred Star of Milos on 12/13/14: TOTAL VIEWERS RETENTION 10:30 PM Dragon Ball Super 904,000 #VALUE! 11:00 PM DBZ Kai: The Final Chapters 761,000 (84.18%) 11:30 PM Black Clover 609,000 (80.03%) 12:00 AM JJBA: Stardust Crusaders 508,000 (83.42%) 12:30 AM Gundam IBO S2 455,000 (89.57%) 1:00 AM Hunter × Hunter 460,000 (101.10%) 1:30 AM Lupin The 3rd 428,000 (93.04%) 2:00 AM Naruto: Shippuden 430,000 (100.47%) 2:30 AM Outlaw Star HD 421,000 (97.91%) 3:00 AM Cowboy Bebop HD 412,000 (97.86%) 3:30 AM GITS: SAC 2nd Gig 370,000 (89.81%) TOONAMI TOTAL VIEWERS AVERAGE - 523,455 The block-to-block comparison is in favor of the 12/13/14 lineup by 13k, but the respective portions of the lineups in the same timeslots also favors that night by a whopping 100K. OUCH! As for whether last week's lineup still edged that out in 18-49, that remains yet to be seen. An estimate CAN be made, however, using 1282K=1.00 ratings points, as follows: ADULTS 18-49 - Viewers (Est.) Retention 10:30 PM Dragon Ball Super 478,000 #VALUE! 11:00 PM DBZ Kai: FC 439,000 (91.84%) 11:30 PM Black Clover 375,000 (85.42%) 12:00 AM JJBA: S. Crusaders 271,000 (72.27%) 12:30 AM Gundam IBO S2 246,000 (90.77%) 1:00 AM Hunter × Hunter 284,000 (115.45%) 1:30 AM Lupin The 3rd 271,000 (95.42%) 2:00 AM Naruto: Shippuden 271,000 (100.00%) 2:30 AM Outlaw Star HD 258,000 (95.20%) 3:00 AM Cowboy Bebop HD 271,000 (105.04%) 3:30 AM GITS: SAC 2nd Gig 246,000 (90.77%) ADULTS 18-49 AVERAGE - 310,000 According to this estimate, the 11:30 PM-4 AM portion of the lineup averaged 277K, which is still 17K better than the corresponding portion of the "unholy megabomb" night. In fact, to date, the only thing that's managed to edge that out in the ratings Limbo ("how low can ya go?") is the last 9 shows of the Cowboy Bebop marathon from 12/23/17, which averaged a mere 230K. In conclusion, sure things look bad now, but it's been much worse. And it seems like whatever decision got the block cut in half back in February 2015 is no longer an issue. With competition like the NFL and Live PD, I guess these numbers are OK. But I still can't help but hope that Toonami has a major hit coming up in 2018 that isn't Dragon Ball Super. FLCL2 and FLCL3 will obviously fit the bill, but it would be nice if there's a surprise hit that comes to Toonami, something like One Punch Man (and yes, I know we'll probably get Season 2 later in the year as well). Also, I'mma say it: Hunter x Hunter should be on earlier. JoJo at 12:30 and Gundam at 1 AM would be fine if it helps the block.

So true. The commercials which are tailored to those demographics cost money to air on the networks (hell, they're the networks' TRUE bread-and-butter, not the shows), and there's no better place for that investment than the #1 in those demographics. Last week, that was a clear toss-up between A&E and Adult Swim.

Funny, there were people calling out both BC and JoJo for soiling the sheets, as both ironically contained a plethora of poop jokes: Total Viewers Show People Retention DBS 904,000 N/A DBZKFC 761,000 84.18% BClover 609,000 80.03% JoJo 508,000 83.42% Gundam 455,000 89.57% Lupin 428,000 94.07% In terms of total viewers, Black Clover had the worst retention, BUT... Adults 18-34 Show Rating Estimate Retention DBS 0.45 306,000 N/A DBZKFC 0.44 299,000 97.78% BClover 0.36 245,000 81.82% JoJo 0.26 177,000 72.22% Gundam 0.25 170,000 96.15% Lupin 0.29 197,000 116.00% Adults 18-49 Show Rating Estimate Retention DBS 0.37 474,000 N/A DBZKFC 0.34 436,000 91.89% BClover 0.29 372,000 85.29% JoJo 0.21 269,000 72.41% Gundam 0.19 244,000 90.48% Lupin 0.21 269,000 110.53% In terms of the target demographic, JoJo was the biggest loser. Adults 18-49 Show Rank Chg DBS #3 +1 DBZKFC #7 -2 BClover #16 -2 JoJo #36 -9 Gundam #44 -12 Lupin #34 +6 Finally, in terms of Adults 18-49 rank, Gundam was the biggest dropper, while the only gainers were Lupin and DBS. It should be noted that this was DBS's first time in the Top 3, and it was also Toonami's first 18-49 cable original #3 since DBZKFC reached #3 on 8/5/17. Last time a Toonami show reached #2 was 5/13/17, and that was also DBZKFC. But that same night was the last time a Toonami show reached #1 in 18-49 among cable originals, and that show was none other than the penultimate episode of Samurai Jack!

The week before last, the NFL destroyed Toonami in the ratings. Last week was even worse: (Recommended viewing on mobile in landscape mode) http://www.showbuzzdaily.com/articles/showbuzzdailys-top-150-saturday-cable-originals-network-finals-1-13-2018.html Over 26 MILLION people were watching the NFL AFC divisional playoff quarterfinal, and it drew HUGE numbers in Adult Swim's target demos of Men 18-34, 18-49, and Men 18-49. That explains why Toonami's originals still did comparatively well amongst other cable originals in those demos but not as well as usual, and the total viewership after Midnight was just plain anemic, well below 12/13/14 Hellsing Ultimate X levels. This current mini-arc of Dragon Ball Super just didn't draw the eyeballs for its one airing despite a promising start, but I believe the NFL is largely to blame for that, and will not be a factor this weekend, so maybe it's finally Toonami's time to shine again? Yes, it will have to compete with the mind-boggling juggernaught that is Live PD, and with the UFC, but those aren't "monster" level competition events like the NFL's few Saturday night football games!

It also is only going forward a week for the Toonami schedule. Dio has a choice word for this.

Call me crazy, but I believe it could be that new Batman anime. That would be a HUGE mistake for Toonami to miss its shot at, especially because its parent network's sister network's most overplayed show happens to be in that franchise too. So maybe we'll get that replacing JoJo at Midnight. We can only hope... EDIT: According to my research, it's called Batman Ninja, and it's a BATMAN MOVIE. So that's a no-go for Toonami, at least not anytime soon. Might have a theatrical release this summer, then show up in like 2020 or something.

Wait, why would JoJo take a break after Episode 24 of Stardust Crusaders? I don't see that happening, but if they need a timeslot for what they were going to air at 1:30, I GUESS it COULD work at Midnight. Maybe this bit of trouble they've run into makes it worthy of midnight after all. I doubt it would have been at 1:30 AM. FLCL2 would be an ideal replacement for DBZ Kai, and 6 weeks later AOT S3 could air. But maybe we DO get the simuldub of AOT S3, and maybe it even starts for us on June 30th or July 7th? Then you would only need ONE special week instead of DBZ Kai. Or maybe we get 2 marathons on St. Patrick's Day and Memorial Day, which would bump its finale to June 23, and then either June 30 or July 7 would start AOT S3, possibly BEFORE Japan this time. And if Adult Swim is smart, they'll mandate that FUNimation do it Dragon Ball Super-style this time and not stream dubbed episodes except every 12-13 weeks.

I think it's a LOT more likely that AOT S3 will air at 11 PM, replacing DBZ Kai. That ends in June or July, right? Either that will replace it, or Boruto will. S2 got a raw deal, premiering at 12:30, and I just don't see that happening for S3. Remember, AOT HAS already aired at 11 PM once as part of the S2 marathon.

Yeah, you're probably right. As long as Dragon Ball Super continues to make this list, we're good:

Hopefully Part 5 would be watched by more people than Part 4, and then they'll still have the rights to part 4, so it might cause more people to seek out dubbed episodes of part 4 on-demand.

Do you think they consider Lupin Part 4 a failure like Tenchi Muyo! GXP? I wouldn't say so. They were probably embarrassed about the content of GXP, while Lupin was damn near a masterpiece. Based on that alone, I think they might still air Lupin Part 5. As for replacing Gundam IBO, if FLCL2 is going to expand Toonami to 10 PM, that would still make it the 6th show in the lineup. Lupin Part 4 alternated between the 7th show and the 6th show on the lineup, moving up to 1:30 from 2 AM one time and staying there, but as Toonami's beginning time changed from 11 PM to 11:30, then back to 11 PM and then 10:30 PM, that also shook Lupin's position in the lineup up from 7th at first, then 6th with the loss of 11 PM, staying 6th once everything moved up on 7/29/17, then finally back to 7th on 12/2/17.

THIS JUST IN!!! https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-01-16/lupin-iii-5th-anime-series-reveals-staff-april-debut-modern-setting/.126478 Yes, THIS April in Japan. Could history repeat itself with a simuldub of Part 5 replacing Gundam IBO in May as Part 4 replaced Gundam Unicorn last June? I know Part 4 was kinda lackluster in the ratings, but maybe Part 5 wouldn't be? After all, while Part 4 had a new dub it had been out for a while.

But as for Lupin, I'd say there's a chance his absence from Toonami after Part 4 ends this weekend could be shorter than you think. Remember how Lupin replaced Gundam Unicorn last year? Could history repeat itself this year with a Black Clover-style simuldub of Lupin the 3rd Part 5 replacing Gundam IBO in May? https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-01-16/lupin-iii-5th-anime-series-reveals-staff-april-debut-modern-setting/.126478

It does look like the question of HOW MUCH it fails will be answered tomorrow, as MLK day has delayed ratings.

Episode 4 was the lowest overall, but tied the 2nd-highest in 18-49. Episode 3 (12/16/17) so far has been the highest. This is also true with 18-34, and the most recent episode is the 2nd lowest.

Hey Saito, remember when we used to be able to go all the way to 5 AM CT/6 AM ET?? Now, I don't know how we ever did it, as I rarely make it up past 3 AM CT/4 AM ET anymore! LATER!

And so ends another great night of Toonami! Now I must get to bed before I collapse--Good Night!

Too bad we didn't heed it!

An adventure in cyberspace!

No, it was at the beginning of Episode 10. During the events of the series, they're certainly down on their luck! But perhaps they were somewhat successful before Episode 1.

Also, between Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop, it's "Girls want to learn who they are..." night!

Wow, this makes TWO shows in which someone got flowers thrown at them!

Yep, that's right. Well, 8 if we don't get the Hot Springs episode, but I believe we will, and it will be edited at 1-2 minutes shorter, with a video picking up the slack.