Mr. Idea Box

Everybody's saying this ending has Evangelion vibes. But in truth, there appears to be a green-haired alien girl having the hots for an everyday Earth high schooler, despite the super-powered girl next door being in a clear relationship with him. I mean, I always wanted Urusei Yatsura on Toonami. I didn't think it would happen here, of all places though.

I mean, they just revealed a schedule change starting right before the 4th of July. My gut tells me a holiday marathon might not happen this soon after updating the lineup. But in the event of a marathon occurring? I'd place a bet on BE getting it specifically to burn off some more of its reruns. Nothing says AMERICA like the son of the devil making amends for his heritage.

Might be a pricey casting choice, but I hope it happens. I agree it makes sense. This is hypothetically aimed at adults.

IIRC they'd probably keep the franchises under their reach and just sell the cable channels. That still spells trouble for Toonami, I'd figure. Perhaps this is why their upcoming July lineup looks the way it does...

You did good, kid. You did as good as you could.

Farewell. Now what do we do?

As much as I like that IGPX is returning to Toonami, the rest of the schedule kinda hampers it for me. Yes, the controversial One-Punch Man third season isn't airing here, but they're just moving Blue Lock, Tokyo Revengers, and One Piece up by 30 minutes. Also, the fact that One Piece is airing before 2 AM does make me a little nervous. If your predictions ring true, that still leaves a couple of gaps in October and November during 12:30 AM and 2:30 AM. One of the later FLCL seasons could bridge the mid-October gap left by Lazarus, Blue Lock likely ends its run close to Halloween, and by the looks of things, the Cell Games could be our Holiday filler. All in all, not looking too good for the years ahead on the Absolution...

By the time this marathon's over, you could swear you'd hear actual roosters outside. I can't say for certain, cause I'm a city slicker.

Are we really gonna have another Mao Mao on our hands here? Please tell me no.

Anybody wanna bet they'll follow it all with Gundam?

Toldja Get Jiro is in this year's plans. But my money's still on it airing at half past midnight in September. My ideal replacement for Supes? Ninja Kamui's second season.

I mean, at this point, BE is pretty much a long-runner they can afford, a statistic that I'm sure the people running Toonami are secretly happy to admit. If they do plan out a July 4th marathon, then whatever replaces DanDaDan might need to either wait until the week after on the 11th, or get an unfortunate gap between its first and second episode. Neither outcome is very smart at first glance.

Believe me, I don't want that either. But from a business perspective, it makes sense to pair up Superman and Saitama. I mean, what else could they air at half past midnight? Genuinely asking. Take my opinion on OPM as their next anime headliner, and multiply that. Seriously though, I do want a Fourth of July marathon this year, but at the same time, the Rooster Fighter marathon might have eaten into their summer budget like that. So, pencil that in for next year, then. Okay. Granted, I haven't seen Blue Lock, so I can't comment. But in terms of programming, I'm non-plussed in either direction. If it helps, I don't know what they could add in November. I'm open to any suggestions. Guess I found myself acting too pessimistic during the predictions. I do hope beyond hope that merger doesn't happen, but let's leave it at that. Those can work fine. Didn't expect that, but maybe I should have. On the bright side, DBZ doesn't clog the schedule again, even if it is reruns. On the other hand, BE is a lot more recent in terms of Toonami programming. Tough call. Probably.

Given that the year's nearly half over, or at least nearly packed til August, here are my updated predictions for the rest of 2026: June 2026: My Adventures With Superman premieres as scheduled on the 13th. At the end of the month, One-Punch Man replaces DanDaDan as the anime headliner of the summer. Dragon Ball Z Kai gets brought back for even more reruns, likely airing the Cell Games. Another old rerun rears its head at 3:30 in the morning. No clue what it could be. July 2026: No Independence Day marathon. But Season 1 of Ninja Kamui might end that night. DBZ might move up half an hour, as the most evergreen rerun currently (as of May) airing at the back. August 2026: Ninja Kamui finally premieres its second season at Midnight. Continuing the new tradition is a rerun of the same night's premiere at the tail end of the Absolution. Blue Lock and Tokyo Revengers air their second seasons right after finishing their first ones. September 2026: Get Jiro may air here as OPM's replacement. Or, something else takes its place during the Fall lineup. October 2026: All the surprises this month happen on Halloween. Uzumaki makes a dreaded return in the literal and figurative spirit of the holiday. But to smooth over those fears, the last available episode of Blue Lock airs after your regularly scheduled Ninja Kamui. November 2026: Ninja Kamui ends during the beginning of the month, leaving not one but two programming vacancies to cap off the year. If the Paramount merger actually succeeds, one of the highlighters might be Avatar: The Last Airbender. If that happens, all Hell breaks loose. 2027: Tokyo Revengers ends its run in February. Toonami signs off, likely for good. Chances of using the brand to run a free channel on Pluto TV are minimal.

My thoughts: Is it just me, or do I hear Candi Milo as one of the new characters? Especially using her Dexter voice. I just know Giganta's getting plenty of fan art by the time her episode comes out. 50 bucks says Kara and Connor develop into a sibling relationship by the end of the season, especially if Connor's fast questions scene is anything to go by. If season 4 still happens, part of me is worried we'd see some characters from the past three seasons get less focus in favor of the newcomers. That said, who would even follow Connor Kent as the main focus?

Me rn: RIP Theodore. Hope you can talk to God about pollution and the like.

Guess we know the summer headliner for Toonami this year. Now...are we getting OPM following that? Looking more likely now, I think.

Honestly, I wouldn't mind having One Piece replace Waterworld full-time. And if this is what it looks like, then I feel like the folks on set for Kevin Costner as Aquaman might need to consider updating their resumes.

That's a great perspective to have on this. Really.

Yawn. Let me know when they---CELL SAGA? Hold on a moment. That true? Guess we know what one of the June reruns is. But man, that just sounds like a waste of money. Mind you, a waste of money is certainly not what we need right now.

Time to find another VA for Kid Goku again.

Isn't that a bit redundant? I mean, it works, but still.

On the other hand, it did confuse AI. That has to be a plus.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul, I assume?

Well, at least the fans got something extra as the show closes out. Still gonna miss it dearly.