Mr. Idea Box

Change of plans. It looks that DB Kai would be the early-morning replacement instead of Home Movies. Dexter may still appear, though.

Okay, guys. Things are getting a bit hectic in here. Should we move the CNN talk to a separate conversation?

Honestly, I don't know which is the stranger replacement for Futurama: Dexter in the afternoon, or Home Movies in the early morning. Doesn't stop me from appreciating their returns in the moment. Yeah, but to do that, they'll have to pay royalties to Andy Merrill. Something tells me they won't want to do that anytime soon.

The list may be alphabetical, but that doesn't mean Adult Swim shouldn't celebrate this. At least in CSE's case.

If Netflix does buy WBD, that may spell trouble for the Academy Awards. If they stick to a theatrical release barrier, that restricts a lot of WB's output going forward. Yeah. But could you blame us? Thank you. I tend to get the two confused, but never to this extent. I'll edit it if you want.

I personally don't know who will buy WB. But I do have some ideas for a post-Skydance world. As previously stated, the Ellisons want to buy ALL off WBD, including the cable networks. I will preface this by saying Adult Swim folds into Comedy Central, Cartoon Network and Nicktoons Network merge, and Boomerang becomes Discovery Family's overnight block, if not the new look of it. However, Toonami either shuts down by the year's end, or moves to the combined CN and Nicktoons channel. In the event of a shutdown, I would hope they try to cap off its run by airing its older programming, mirroring the 2012 prank. In the event of a move to the combined network, I could see Avatar: The Last Airbender getting one of the available rerun slots, given its newfound status as "American anime". In terms of pickups, Crunchyroll stays away from Toonami even after all this, meaning My Hero Academia and the rest won't finish their runs on the quote-on-quote "anime block". Memes of Fry Cook Deku come back as a result. Yaiba and One-Punch Man are put on the block, mainly as the final pickups from the licensor of Inuyasha and Bleach. MAWS Season 3 airs in the summer, to capitalize on Supergirl. Ninja Kamui's second season airs...somewhere in 2026. Its third season, on the other hand, is cancelled. All this to say, Toonami isn't long for this world. No matter what happens to WB.

I'm glad that the trend of annual Toonami predictions is being kept alive. I'm also glad that my workload in predicting these things gets to take its own holiday. The finale dates check out on my end of the sector. However, I would argue they'd use this as an excuse to dump Naruto before the contract runs out, as it's clearly the oldest show on the block by that point. As for Dan Da Dan, I'd prefer if it got doubled up, since Blue Exorcist and Mashle would have conveniently premiered seven episodes by the end of December. If I recall correctly, Ninja Kamui is slated for a second and third season. If that's still the case, I can see S2 of NK getting a comfy midnight slot somewhere this year. In that event, I'd bet that Jiro gets demoted to 12:30. Super Mutant Magic Academy, on the other hand? If we're not getting the premieres, we're absolutely getting the reruns. I'd be shocked if Toonami's still around in 2027, so Bleach being part of their first post-M&A reset might help their case. The jury's still out on Demon Slayer and Dan Da Dan IMO, although I can't say I disagree with you on BE's fifth season. But One Punch Man Season 3? I'm afraid I don't know how bad it looks. Judging by the responses I've seen online, maybe that's a good thing. That doesn't sound good. What's worse is that Shonen Jump has the same opinion on its own material, usually ending newer manga in 20 chapters or less. Not necessarily a vote of confidence in the East, either. I hope you're right about this. Because if changes do happen to Toonami, I feel like their 30th anniversary would be their last. Pretty much the same as yours, frankly. With a few minor additions. 1: To get the most money's worth, most of 2026's rerun fodder will be Bleach: TYBW, as they have a 40-episode backlog already. Ditto that for Blue Ex. 2: Rooster Fighter will get a rerun slot in the summer. Whether it's at 2 AM, 2:30, or 3 AM, I am currently unsure. 3: Perhaps they'll use a marathon to put 3 AM to pasture in 2026.

Well, folks? Today's the big day. We will find out whether WB will be a hood ornament for Everest, have a Rabbit supplanted by a Peacock, be forced into a streaming-first climate, or split in two as initially intended. Whatever happens after that, just know that it's been a nerve-wracking few weeks, and I'd be glad just to get some closure.

Truth be told, I'm on pins and needles regarding WB's new owners.

Yeah, that tracks. Also, I have an announcement: I will hold off on trying to predict the next year of Toonami until the WB deals are settled. As it stands, things are currently too muddled.

"Like Mickey Mouse?" "Well..." (sigh) "...yes."

This has a 20% chance of working in WB's favor.

This most likely means One-Punch Man's next season won't be on Toonami in the immediate future. If the block survives past April 2026, maybe it'll show up. If nothing else, the increased competition with Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu has proven that anime doesn't need to be constrained by linear means anymore. Still, part of me will miss it FWIW.

So, which of the shows is getting shafted to make room for Primal? My bet's on Naruto.

I mean, if you say that "someone cut off Creepy Nuts", they wouldn't think about Toonami OPs. They'd think about getting fixed instead. I will now pause for someone to mention Genndy Tartakovsky in response.