Mr. Idea Box

PETER: Everybody, I've got bad news. We've been kicked off the block. LOIS: Oh no, Peter. How could they do that? PETER: Well, unfortunately Lois, there's no more room on the schedule. We've just got to accept the fact that Adult Swim has to make room for terrific new shows like Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Made in Abyss, Shenmue: The Animation, Lupin the 3rd: Part 6, Housing Complex C, Royal Crackers, Ambient Swim, Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, My Adventures with Superman, Ten-Year-Old Tom, Dexter's Laboratory, Ed, Edd, n Eddy, The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Very Scary People, Forensic Files 2, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel, Evil Con Carne, Lycoris Recoil, Ninja Kamui, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Sailor Moon, Psi Cops, What A Cartoon!, Johnny Bravo, Rick and Morty: The Anime, Uzumaki, Invincible Fight Girl, Mashle: Magic and Muscles, Futurama, Cartoon Planet, King of the Hill, Naruto, One Piece, Naruto Shippuden, Samurai Jack, Blue Exorcist, Attack on Titan, Dragon Ball Z Kai, Smiling Friends, Common Side Effects, and Scavengers Reign. LOIS: Is there no hope? PETER: Well, I suppose if all those shows go down the tubes, we might have a shot. (For the record, I know some of these shows are still airing, and a couple have yet to air by the time they come back. But do you really think they wouldn't yank the dog's chain here?)

BELOW 5 million?! That's worse than I thought. But technically, this isn't an original project. It uses an existing IP as a means to an end, making it a franchise entry. Yes, I know that anime are typically adaptations of manga at the start, but I digress. The point is, it would be easier to assume he's barred from adapting other WB works into anime, which means upcoming DC Comics cartoons have another hill to climb.

Yeah, that tracks. It's the final product with Akira Toriyama's involvement attached. Of course Crunchyroll would want it exclusively theirs. At least My Hero Academia has a full season to pull from.

Well, that's quick.

If it's a hour premiere, likely gonna be Daima. If it's a marathon night, Fight Girl.

At this point, I'm just expecting more King of the Hill at 5 PM by April. There's no way they're giving Fridays back to Checkered Past and cutting an hour at the same time otherwise.

A track record so important for the future of Toonami that it has to be renamed to notify that. Ouch. And yet, I don't know what would happen if DeMarco got DeMoted. Or worse, fired. There's a myriad of ways this could go, not all of them good. But with Invincible Fight Girl not even in Max's Top 10 for weeks, Dragon Ball Daima probably becoming a Crunchyroll exclusive, Creature Commandos needing a Tenchi-style edit in its first episode, and the general decline of entertainment, it makes even the smaller bits of good news feel better.

I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, but... https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/family-guy-adult-swim-marathon-schedule-1236232875/ Sure. Just add more fuel to the fire, why dont'cha?

No, I'm afraid it's too late. Better spring for January at the earliest.

Plus, Teppu did get a localisation last June.

Okay, then. If Rewind is nothing but Dragon Ball Z Kai episodes for the next few months, this means we have to endure with this schedule until July 2025. Unless they decide to pull a Naruto and skip an arc during the process. That does not look like a good schedule. At least the Checkered Past lineups prioritize episodic shows, even when they aired marathons of their own.

At this rate, it wouldn't surprise me if we got Naruto marathons in January. Sure, it would continue to be ratings suicide, but I don't know how else they're planning around Rewind. Unwanted by his village, and now unwanted by the only cable home he's ever had. We do not talk about Disney XD airing Shippuden.

I will admit to being fooled with that particular wording of the announcement, but unless AXS's anime hour also plays anime themes in between the episodes, I'm slightly confused as to how they'd get the cable rights to that show.

I guess we have a tradition of early Winter curveballs, now. 2024 had Lycoris, 2025 might have this.

If they're gonna have a month of DBZ Kai with reruns, at least air two "new" episodes minimum. If it's just going to be three old episodes and a Saturday simulcast, then I can take an extra day of Checkered Past for a month.

This is what I expected, and yet I shouldn't be surprised. I only hope Dragon Ball Z Kai isn't the only thing Rewind airs in December.

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...

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.