Blatch

I'm actually away on vacation this week, so this week of almost no premieres is ridiculously convenient. Though I could watch Toonami up here if I wanted to, it's nice to have an early sleep and not have to worry about taping the shows.

I don't think you can compare Final Space to this show, because that one was always designed for linear TV as opposed to being ported from streaming. And the expectation nowadays is that shows on a streaming service will attract more eyeballs, which plays a role in managing budgets and setting expectations. To Warner, airing such a program on TV was probably a consolation that got them little in return. And maybe the rumors are true and Toonami only played it because it was cheap? I dunno. Honestly, I've already moved on from this matter, but you don't have to. It's just that gen:LOCK was a bomb and it's probably never coming back, regardless of how the production turmoil would be resolved. I'm more looking forward to whatever series the RT staffers can come up with next... maybe even something with good animation. 😝

You're being too greedy. I want KonoSuba! on this block as much as the next guy, but I also think Toonami is doing well enough with airing hot properties while they're still fresh. Dr. Stone, Fire Force, Demon Slayer soon to come... and the ratings have been holding up. Really, I just want to know why CR is dragging their feet with KonoSuba!, since the English dub took ages to come out and is still on Season 1, whereas the foreign dubs of it are past that. And we still have no news of a home video release. Heck, the movie is being screened in America soon, and how can we expect that to be shown dubbed when S2 is nowhere in sight? It boggles my mind. 🤔

They could still make it up with an "Oopsie" on Pre-Flight. That'd be nice, even if it's not like the stinger is ever going to matter.

We've known about S4's existence for a while as well as the fact that Funi's dubbing it. Considering it's hugely successful, BONES might be coordinating things so that Funi gets to dub the entire season with no delay. Maybe that's even why it's premiering in October this time instead of April. As for Fire Force... meh, just resolve this in a timely manner and we'll be fine. Perhaps this break is the very reason why we're having a marathon. In a normal year, their existence usually gives DeMarco and his crew some leeway for simuldubs, but since they've been taking holidays off, they're now forced to do it.

And regardless of how you tell it, I still like gen:LOCK and am sad it's probably never getting a continuation. Perhaps it wouldn't have been renewed even if it didn't have turmoil behind the scenes, but that wouldn't make me change my tune. Also, way to bury the lede here... the fact that a pedo made a show called Twelve Forever is one hell of an Onion article. And here I thought it was canned merely because no one watched it.

We're putting K-pop stuff on here now? Nice. I prefer my idols to be virtual, though, and I think I'm showing that off well enough. 😌 Re:Stage! Dream Days #1

Come on, Benny boy. You should be happy that they'll only be one week behind instead of three or four. I don't think anyone has the right to complain about marathons, even one at an awkward time, when this is the first one of the year. And for all we know, we might not have any more outside of the last two weeks of December.

Or better yet, go for KonoSuba! already. That's a show Toonami fans would like and be free of controversy. I mean, at least gen:LOCK's mediocre animation is the only reason why most are trashing it.

Unironically... damn, that shit sucks. Especially with the revelation that Gray is a prima donna. I figured gen:LOCK was a case where RT put a lot of resources into it and really thought it'd be a big hit, but then it didn't, so they fired people over it and cut ties with the creator. Such is the usual life of corporate excess. And I'm someone who likes the show, so hearing it was bungled badly by all involved is regrettable, even if the working conditions were probably far better than a typical anime. Maybe it's for the best that this one stays one and done. 😔

They could also give up the 11:00 slot and move some shows down. That's not what most viewers would want, but I could see it if only as an admission that nothing could replace DBS. Also, they already have a dedicated slot (albeit outside Toonami) they could use to rerun it if they wanted.

From what I know of OPM S2, it's not just a downgrade in terms of visuals but also the material covered, albeit not as much, mostly from the King arc that starts it. I have a feeling he'll be a polarizing character among Toonamites. Really, I think the first season was a fluke miracle that probably shouldn't have happened, and who knows if we'll see anything like it again, but I'm down for its more muted continuation. Oh, and as for the "we're going to air all of our most requested shows" comment, this bit from DeMarco is worth considering. Perhaps that was a soft confirmation of Mob Psycho S2 and more JoJo's?

Finally, another marathon. This is a weird time to do DBS in particular, but it's cool. I can sit on my ass for a weekend and not have to worry about anime. 🤑

And that's why I much prefer numerical ratings systems over letter grades. Of course, it also feels more productive to use the entire quality spectrum instead of less than half of it. 😎 This was the first week I didn't watch this show live. I became annoyed with it feeling more like a battle shonen over the last few episodes, but this episode seems like a nice change of pace. I'll get to my DVR recording of it eventually.

Oh, thank goodness. While I did like the second arc, I zoned out during it a bit because it was a radical departure from the previous, as I previously thought the "Lupin Game" arc took up the bulk of the show. Also, at least those bumps are relevant again... even though they haven't changed at all since Lupin started airing. Sheesh, I know Toonami is probably busy with the newest TIE, but can they at least go back to making some new bumps every month or so? I'm actually cool with The Forge being the last TIE for a while just because it means they can start giving some love to the packaging again. 🤔

So what if Toonami lacks dub premieres? This is the most I've been interested in the block in a while... and granted, that's not a high bar to clear, but the fact that I'm intentionally seeking out stuff like gen:LOCK and Lupin even though they're not new raises an important point. Additionally, the freshness of the animation matters no more than dub premieres, as the best shows often look timeless.

Girls' Last Tour #12 Virtual-san Looking #8

Bokura no Hentai 6-8 Okay, I wasn't expecting this one to be so artsy and obtuse, but I guess that's a running theme in regards to queer manga. They're messy, just like real life. 😶

Now that's the Poke I've always respected and treasured. Nice rant. 😝 I think some of the MAS ratings for Food Wars! are warranted, as they depict people basically orgasming (and explicit sexual content doesn't just have to be frontal nudity), but I do think the show could be rated more judiciously. If they aren't giving it the AgK treatment because another Sentai show is on the way, there's no excuse. And the other MASes are probably mas-sive overreactions. I'm not too jazzed about the state of Toonami right now, but I've drifted away from content ratings a bit and have started looking at the block and how it's objectively run. I hate how some of the current bumps have been continuously used since April, and they probably aren't going to change until at least DB Super ends. But I do still follow the ratings a bit and assign them to every other series I watch... and speaking of that, I should probably get back to my general thread I haven't posted a new review of Log Horizon in for over a year.

If HGS really does end up not streaming on CR, my hope is that it will find a home elsewhere. That whole controversy could've been avoided if Ellation had decided that a show having more in common with Steven Universe and its ilk, regardless of the inherent quality of anything involved, would do better on VRV proper rather than an anime-oriented subsidiary. gen:LOCK arguably doesn't fit as well, but at least it has the excuse of being much more inspired by the medium. As for Shield Hero... well, as long as its fans aren't enslaving raccoon girls of their own (or blaming the matriarchy for everything, but that's another story), I guess I'm okay with more of it getting made.

Hot damn. I know this doesn't seem like a sexy announcement, but Ito is basically the name to know in Japanese horror, and he's become a lot more respected overseas over the last few years. The fact that they're putting a series of his on Toonami is pretty cool, and you know it's at least going to be better than the Junji Ito Collection anime that aired last year.

That's a bit too much for me to handle, but okay. 🙃 I do agree with the double DBS finale for no reason other than being convenient. After it ends, I actually think they'll move either Black Clover or Boruto up to the front, with the former being more likely. It would be good to have a long runner with no discernible end in sight lead off the block for consistency's sake. Bold move on calling more OPM. But considering that Viz licensed Mr. Osomatsu two years ago and still hasn't put it out on home video, what's to say they won't drag their feet on this one as well. And while OPM was a big franchise... emphasis on "was", because S2 is a big step down and it feels like few care about it anymore. It's tough for me to predict Toonami doing anything with the DST hour when they've let [as] proper use it for two years. This time, I think they'll either continue the theme and air the Tim & Eric movie or squeeze in a full series marathon of Primal, since we now know it's premiering in October.

Well, here's a new trailer. They're stripping it like Tender Touches, which you can see as either good or bad.

The first few weeks after Labor Day have usually seen a subtle rise or drop, but there's no consensus towards either. The only exception was in 2015 when the numbers sharply went down, and that had more to do with the historic highs Toonami hit in August. Besides, any ratings decrease is more due to college football. The average student has no reason not to stay up for Toonami, unless they have Sunday classes for some reason. [not me]