Mr. Idea Box

Well, this was certainly something to chew on. Apparently, Sony wants to buy Kadokawa, owner of FromSoftware's gaming library and manga/anime properties like Azumanga Daioh and The Devil Is a Part-Timer. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/sony-talks-buy-media-powerhouse-behind-elden-ring-sources-say-2024-11-19/ For all the talk gaming fans are spewing about Microsoft buying countless gaming IPs for Xbox, the same is happening at Sony for Crunchyroll. Yeah...

That's what I'm thinking, too. Of course, I was actually thinking Sailor Moon would be done for good after the 29th, but let's see how time tells this story.

Swimpedia recently updated their Toonami schedule, and it doesn't look good for the Sailor Scouts. In short, Sailor Moon only premieres one new episode, the season finale, while the week after that is a DBZ Kai marathon. On the one hand, this puts Toonami Rewind 3-4 weeks ahead of the main block for Kai episodes. On the other hand, it's a stall tactic for the least played show of the three. I'd like to hope they're doing some housecleaning, and we'd get some confirmation on the shows they're airing in December and beyond. But I'm still preparing for the alternative answer.

Even for the people currently in charge of Cartoon Network, this is a new low.

Good points on your end.

Who am I to refuse an announcement like that? That's a Rewind lineup I wouldn't mind seeing. I mean, we've blown through most of Demon Slayer by this point, and MHA has become an evergreen property by now. Given the PR track record over the past 5 years, this would not surprise me. Which is sad. I really hope Lazarus isn't a February show. Do they want the creator of Cowboy Bebop to have something as rushed as Uzumaki under his belt? This depends. Would Toonami risk never getting Crunchyroll shows if it meant showing solidarity to their staff? Odds are unlikely if you ask me. Yeah, that would happen next year, wouldn't it?

Yeah, I can see that. But I think it would be easier if Daima and MHA were headliners at the beginning of the year, rather than headlining the month of Christmas. Yes, those episodes are technically premieres. But since those episodes are a decade old, I tend to think of them as half rerun, half premiere. Or, for those who used to watch Nick at Nite, an "instant rerun".

Well, well, well. I bet no one expected Toonami to last another year, did we? With the finales of Attack on Titan and Naruto Shippuden, the Toonami Rewind block on Friday afternoons, and the sudden return of Blue Exorcist, it's been a hectic year. Then again, every year has its ups and downs, especially in the anime industry. And I did say I would try to predict what Toonami could look like next year. But you know what? Screw the wait, I'm starting my predictions early. December 2024 12.0 AM: Invincible Fight Girl 12.5 AM: Mashle: Magic and Muscles 1.0 AM: Blue Exorcist (rerun) 1.5 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) 2.5 AM: IGPX: Season 2 (half-rerun) 3.0 AM: Rick and Morty: The Anime (dubbed premiere) Toonami Rewind: 5.0 PM: Sailor Moon 5.5 PM: Dragon Ball Z Kai 6.0 PM: Naruto 6.5 PM: Naruto / IGPX / Invincible Fight Girl January 2025 12.0 AM: Dragon Ball Daima 12.5 AM: Mashle: Magic and Muscles 1.0 AM: Blue Exorcist (rerun) 1.5 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) 2.5 AM: IGPX: Season 2 (half-rerun) 3.0 AM: Lycoris Recoil (rerun) February 2025 12.0 AM: Dragon Ball Daima 12.5 AM: My Hero Academia: Season 7 1.0 AM: Blue Exorcist (rerun) 1.5 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) 2.5 AM: IGPX: Season 2 (half-rerun) 3.0 AM: Lycoris Recoil (rerun) March 2025 12.0 AM: Dragon Ball Daima 12.5 AM: My Hero Academia: Season 7 1.0 AM: Blue Exorcist (rerun) 1.5 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) 2.5 AM: Lycoris Recoil (rerun) 3.0 AM: My Adventures with Superman (rerun) Mid-April 2025 12.0 AM: Dragon Ball Daima 12.5 AM: My Hero Academia: Season 7 1.0 AM: Blue Exorcist (rerun) 1.5 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) 2.5 AM: My Adventures with Superman (x2; reruns) May 2025 12.0 AM: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Hashira Training Arc 12.5 AM: Dragon Ball Daima 1.0 AM: My Hero Academia: Season 7 1.5 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) 2.5 AM: My Adventures with Superman (x2; reruns) Early June 2025 12.0 AM: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Hashira Training Arc 1.0 AM: My Hero Academia: Season 7 1.5 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) 2.5 AM: Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal (x2; reruns) Mid-June or July 2025 12.0 AM: My Adventures with Superman: Season 3 12.5 AM: Dr. Stone: Science Future: Cour #1 1.0 AM: Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Arc 1.5 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) 2.5 AM: Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal (x2; reruns) Mid-August 2025 12.0 AM: My Adventures with Superman: Season 3 12.5 AM: Dr. Stone: Science Future 1.0 AM: Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Arc 1.5 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) 2.5 AM: Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (x2; reruns) September 2025 12.0 AM: Lazarus 12.5 AM: Creature Commandos 1.0 AM: Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga 1.5 AM: Fire Force: Season 3 2.0 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.5 AM: Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (x2; reruns) October 2025 12.0 AM: Creature Commandos 12.5 AM: Lazarus 1.0 AM: Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga 1.5 AM: Fire Force: Season 3 2.0 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 2.5 AM: Uzumaki (dubbed premiere) November 2025 12.0 AM: Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: Season 3 12.5 AM: Lazarus 1.0 AM: Fire Force: Season 3 1.5 AM: Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga 2.0 AM: Mashle: Magic and Muscles: The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc 2.5 AM: One Piece (half-rerun) 3.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) December 2025 12.0 AM: Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal: Season 3 12.5 AM: Dr. Stone: Science Future: Cour #2 1.0 AM: Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga 1.5 AM: Mashle: Magic and Muscles: The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc 2.0 AM: One Piece (x2; half-reruns) 3.0 AM: Dragon Ball Z Kai (rerun) Now watch this be entirely inaccurate by New Years.

I mean, when one of your earliest reliable creators was David Feiss, some posterior-related humor is unescapable.

Thanks for clarifying. Wasn't sure if they announced the episode count or not.

I'm holding out hope for Kyoto Saga coming next year, if they're willing to pull this show out of the mothballs. I do have a pertinent question regarding IFG, though: How many episodes did they say the season would have? I'm thinking between 10 and 13, but it could be one of those numbers.

I'm inclined to agree after Uzumaki. I'm sure the workers did the best they could, but yeah...

Okay, I can certainly say I didn't expect THESE lineups for early November! Maybe some parts, but not all of them. The good parts. Mashle actually airs on Toonami, and provides a good compliment to Invincible Fight Girl. Come for the CN reject, stay for the comfort food. Plus, I'd even take Blue Exorcist reruns if it means we get something different. And hey, at least the RATAM dub is at a time no one should be watching Toonami live. The bad parts. Even though part of me is holding out hope for Kyoto Saga, it says a lot where Blue Exorcist repeats get an earlier timeslot than contractually-obligated One Piece. And MHA going back to one rerun a week stinks. But what REALLY stinks is DBZ Kai still hanging around. When Rewind is already ahead of mainline Toonami, maybe it's become one of those infamous "stall tactics". God, that name sounds terrible. In short, I hope the good outweighs the bad.

Around here, or on the general Internet? I mean, I like that she's coming back, and she sounds like she hasn't aged a day.

Well, duh. Makes perfect sense to greenlight a SilverHawks comic a year after launching ThunderCats. But making them part of the same world? Fingers crossed for TigerSharks.

Oh, I want it to succeed. I just don't want it to air at Midnight.

Actually, skipping Housing Complex C this year is something I expected to happen, especially when you consider Uzumaki on paper. Not premiering the dubbed version for the Halloween marathon? Yeah, I'm with y'all on this one. Either way, the real test of endurance appears to be on November 9th, when we know what IFG is being paired up with.

You're welcome. At least it would be a three-hour marathon in that instance. Understandable, yet with only three shows to cycle through, the pattern of "who gets the bonus episode" would likely repeat if they don't get a fourth program.

First, Naruto met the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Then, this Transformers collab. Is he going to meet Sonic next, to complete the Paramount-adjacent revival trifecta? Wouldn't faze me.

Looks pretty good, aside from the Daima build missing the premieres of Episodes 2-4 to get to Episode 9. Also, swapping the extra Sailor Moon premiere for a double helping of Naruto in late November makes sense. It's the only one of the three that hasn't gotten an hour-long showcase yet, and as we enter the second season around this point, it's safe to say the skipped episodes will stay skipped. As for what I think of the builds? Well, I'm glad that MHA is in three of those builds, meaning it's a likely addition, but if I had to pick what I felt was the most likely, it would be Izuku's Red Hood phase and Two Piece being the November offerings. But if we did get Daima and Hashira in November, you won't see me complain.

With the absolute confirmation that IFG will be the first November show we get, here's an updated theory on how the holiday season might play out. 12.0: Invincible Fight Girl 12.5: My Hero Academia (Season 7) 1.0: One Piece 1.5: Dragon Ball Z Kai 2.0: IGPX HD (Season 2) 2.5: Rick and Morty: The Anime (dubbed version; Toonami lead-out) This is under the foolish assumption that Daylight Savings gives us a MHA marathon, cuts the 3 AM half-hour, and brings back IGPX all in one sweep. There's no way I expect all three to happen though. And yes, I will try to predict Toonami next year. The keyword being try.

If nothing else, I'll watch it to prove Looney Tunes have a future.

Oh look, it's the show we all expected to be the November premiere. But at this time, it doubles as damage control. It would be nice if we got a "race to the finish" MHA S6 marathon on Daylight Savings Night, Season 7 premiering the next week, IGPX Season 2 filling a rerun slot, AND a third batch of new episodes at 1 AM. But at this point in the year, it's best to just be pleasantly surprised.

I'm sure the MASSIVE pool of animation directors is why this week's episode looks like that. But if the rest of the series has a similar-sized pool, this cannot end well from the viewer's perspective.

To put it as delicately as I can, this is strictly to make the suits happy enough to keep the lights on at Williams Street. About as corporate a decision as most pre-90s cartoons, actually.