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You gotta freak’n kidding me… they bought a 2 year license for just 47 eps of Kai as block filler last year and didn’t bother to get more that whole year? At least swap Sailor Moon to 2am if you’re restarting Kai you absolute morons!!! While it’s certain they only got a years worth of all 3 Rewind shows. Now I’m not so sure Naruto and Sailor Moon expire in June. They might also be 2 year licenses. Either way they’re just filling space.

Very minimalistic simple bumpers they didn’t even really plug the website. It had a clean look though. If the goal is to drive people to anime.com there's like ZERO synergy for that besides including the URL in the logo. Meanwhile at anime.com you can't do anything that relates to the block. Seems like they might have a live chat eventually but it's currently locked. You'd think people pushing crypto and claiming to be building something in the anime fandom that they'd have more going on with their website and social interactions. You can hand wave the lineup due to the limitations of what they can license right away but having basically nothing on the website much less anything that correlates with the TV block, isn't a very solid start for this "movement" as Zag puts it. But they couldn't have picked a better time to try to draw the Toonami audience away, that is if they were only airing on Saturdays.

Yes, they did dub the OVA’s. Apologies I mixed up the times. It was at 11:30 today and will be at 12:30 next week.

Noon EST tomorrow and it moves to 11:30am the Saturday after. Who is ready to revisit one of the Toonami crew’s least liked shows? I sure am! Silverhawks and Plastic Man also join early mornings with The Superfriends. They weren’t on Toonami but maybe some of you are interested in watching them.

Finger on the pulse and it’s old Fate and MHA? Yeaaaaah nah. Arguably just as outdated as DeMarco’s picks tend to be at the time. I will give them credit that Fate is still relevant but getting UBW a decade late isn’t any better than Toonami getting Mob a few years late or potentially getting BE Kyoto soon. Don’t even get me started on MHA which Toonami already aired. Where’s Solo Leveling? Where’s JJK? Where’s Re:Zero? Maybe they will happen if this thing lasts but the starting lineup is basically old news. If they can get CR titles why not get something other than MHA which hasn’t been on cable before? JJK is right there and frankly pairs much better with Fate. Watch them get Demon Slayer next.

Look we all know DeMarco can be abrasive but why are we jumping to the conclusion that he specifically pissed off CR? The one tweet when he vented about Witch from Mercury? The several times he said CR priced them out? Going around CR to get shows from the Japanese producers? Actually yes, all of those and potentially more. He has periodically pointed directly at CR to blame them for shows never coming to Toonami and one could argue that was stupid and unprofessional no matter how difficult CR has become to work with since Sony bought them. He should not have tried to throw them under the bus because his bosses are cheapskates that won’t pay competitive rates for anime. CR is clearly willing to offer relatively new seasons to other platforms as we have seen with Netflix and Hulu. Netflix gets new Demon Slayer after a few months and Hulu gets MHA and others after a few months because they will pay up. So if AS would pay the same they would probably do business with Toonami despite DeMarco’s behavior. But they’re not about to cut them any of the sweet deals AS got from FUNimation. AXS isn’t even a blip on the radar so CR just sees this as a way to get a bit more money out of old episodes and if it takes potential options away from Toonami and gives DeMarco the bird then all the better in their eyes. I do see that as petty on CRs part but no less petty than what DeMarco and AS have done. Obviously I would like CR to work with Toonami because they have a vast backlog. As much as I dislike what CR has become and do not think that AS should bow down to the empire to get some shows, I don’t think they are the only parties that are making the relationship unrepairable. I think everyone involved in the on going pissing contest should just grow up.

I dunno… it’s been months since the season ended and Toonami has had plenty of openings but there’s no sign of it coming. I don’t think CR sold exclusive broadcast rights to AXS but they very well could have.

Dunno if it was money or spite from CR (maybe both) but this no name channel snatching the cable rights to MHA while AS sits in complacency is a real bad look. It might not be exclusive and obviously it’s not season 7 but it could keep Toonami from obtaining more MHA for at least a year if it’s an exclusive cable rights deal. I hope the block on AXS TV doesn’t immediately get the boot. It has a rather desirable time slot (for the channel) right after TNA Wrestling at 10pm along with an encore opposite of Toonami. It’s only an hour and they aren’t promoting it so far but AXS is giving anime a better time slot than a network that has aired anime for decades. That should really be a wake up call for AS but it probably won’t be. Maybe CR cut AXS a great deal on just the broadcast rights (no streaming or cable VOD) but there should be no reality where AXS can outbid AS for any anime much less MHA. I really don’t see how that’s possible unless CR showed favoritism in the dealings. And the worst case scenario is that the AXS block is immediately pulled but the rights they obtained last a year or longer.

Probably just a mistake but these periodical flubs are starting to add up.

I do not doubt those shows expire come June and they will shorten the block when they leave unless they wanna drag GITS out or actually finish IGPX in HD. It is insanity that they couldn't even manage 2 premieres a month into the year and it bodes very badly for the future.

I busted out laughing in the bathroom during my break at work today when I saw this. They truly have outdone themselves with this one. IFG gets pulled at ep 6 showing they could have arbitrarily done that at any time and they're doing it on ep 6 which is a two part story with ep 7. They do not give a shit. I think this show is gonna get written off at the end of physical year. Which I think is the end of February that checks out. Better buy it on digital before the end of the month. Double Blue Exorcist as expected but... a month early. Yikes. And they bring in the most loathed FLCL sequel right after the Pillows disband? I'm with Guy on this one, that's like taking a dump on the legacy even if it includes the last song they ever recorded. I don't think there's even a full length version of that song and that annoys me greatly. Theorectically that could just be the first FLCL they revisit, they could end up rerunning the other, maybe in chronological order of sorts, the timeline is stupid. And we're down to ONE premiere and it's in the exact middle of the block. INCREDIBLE. You have to suffer through the worst reruns to get to One Piece and the good reruns. What a shit show. They would have gotten more views from sticking Sailor Moon reruns at Midnight, there's little doubt in my mind. But the layup would have been DBZ Kai. Nobody is going to watch this shit and if anyone does they should be booed for doing so willingly.

Definitely not mostly a comedy and it’s great to see AS branch out like this with a serialized drama that isn’t anime or Genndy. You can see some Scavengers in its DNA too which isn’t surprising given the creative team. I feel it’s off to a strong start and hope it does well.

Might have suited Dante better I suppose.

That is the most 2000s thing possibly ever. Should’ve gone with click click boom.

Yeah they probably are waiting for Common to end because they are sparse on premieres for the network in general and want to space them out even if they’re on different nights. Common is on Sundays but the dub of Lazarus will probably air on Thursdays be it before or after the sub on Toonami. Anyone else notice Primal has been rerunning at midnight on Sundays lately? It just finished season 2 and is leaving but it was there for a bit and even encored at 3:30am.

It is precisely my concern that Adult Swim will continue to premiere the dubs of original anime outside of Toonami either to get a show on Max on Fridays or because they want to milk these originals like they did with RATAM and Uzumaki. A truly baffling move for Toonami given its long history of only airing dubbed anime outside of shorts and one movie as part of an elaborate gag.

Here's some more piss to pour on the situation... There's a very real possibility that come April, Toonami won't even get the dub premiere of Lazarus and the dub premieres 2 days prior on Thursday 5 days later on the following Thursday. Imagine Toonami in such a state not even getting to premiere a show that was made for the block? The absolute state of absolute states. Starting the year off with a full quarter of nothingness does indeed mean that any additional lulls will mean 4-6 months total are a wash. It wouldn't take much. Lazarus should end right around 4th of July so that's perfect timing right? Kill 2 weeks right there because heaven forbid they give Toonami a full night so they can get through 13 episodes in one night like what was attempted with Harley Quinn (which they still messed up in the end). Despite all that Toonami will stay on the air its just really gonna suck unless you like reruns of the same shows.

I like the idea of doubling up Blue Exorcist for a few weeks so I kind of hope they do that if they need to stall and have nothing new to replace IFG directly in March. But I rather hate the fact that they’re basically writing off a 4th of the year at this point and chances are they’re not gonna make up for it later. Once Blue Exorcist season 1 ends we can probably get back to 4 premieres but because they decided to kill 6 months of a premiere slot with a glorified rerun we’re stuck with 3 or less premieres till then. I won’t rule out the possibility that they can have 4 premieres besides One Piece at some point in 2025 but it would take either two originals at the same time or an original coming in when they already have premieres from 12-2am. But the fact that they’re already in maximum conservation mode at the start of the year does not bode well for the acquisition budget.

On one hand, I’m kinda annoyed it to the live action show to be a hit for Lego to make One Piece sets but I’m still thrilled that we got there. Maybe they’ll do some anime inspired sets and mini figs too.

I’m sure Moose is quite happy with the state of One Piece.

We’re 8 eps away from 500 and I think that’s the last milestone I’m willing to achieve after 13 years of hosting and editing the thing. I don’t think I can rely on anyone to take over as much as Paul and/or Kuro might like to keep it going. Paul barely watches the block because he’s too busy. There’s no new blood to pass the torch to. Who under 30 years old even watches Toonami? Toonami Escape Podcast’s host Grexino just announced he’s done as well but the others seem intent on keeping it going in some capacity. They usually do weekly and discuss every premiere but the state of the block leaves them little to discuss so they’ll probably go biweekly after they do their 2024 awards show and a reranking of every show that has aired on AS Toonami. Toonami Squads probably gonna keep doing occasional podcasts as they have been but basically none of them expect much from the block and don’t trust any originals to be worth watching. The mediocre original anime have really scorched most of the remaining good will toward the block. And the fact that we’re down to 2 premieres for over a month at the start of a new year when they budget has reset is a very troubling sign that they’re never going to adapt or more likely WB/D is limiting their resources to the point that they can’t get much of anything. The frequent droughts have wore out the patience of even some of the most faithful and content viewers who still pay for some form of cable to watch this anemic block every week. The current lineup is such a slap in the face to that dedication but WB/D clearly doesn’t care. There should never be a point where there’s less than 3 premieres even temporarily. I know that’s how ASA could be at points but that’s far from the standard Toonami has set for the past decade and pretty much nobody is going to tolerate less than 4 while most reasonably want 5 if One Piece is one of them. But they seem pretty intent on coasting with reruns. They plugged every rerun slot with a 46+ ep season, have two of the best slots filled with reruns for 10+ weeks and even paid to re-up one of those reruns. We’re reaching beyond the “reruns suck but it’s part of television business” mantra at this point. Things can and hopefully will turn around but if they wouldn’t even give us double One Piece instead of an additional rerun on Jan 25th then what reason is there to expect something new before Mashle season 1 ends? That’s still just 2 premieres including One Piece till IFG ends in the middle of March. Expansion isn’t out of the question if they suddenly get something but this lineup is built to not need additions. If people haven’t given up yet, 2 months of this lineup will probably do it.

2014-2017 was peak to me but I still enjoyed watching regularly in 2018 and 2019. 2020 was bad of course but 2011 was boring and 2022 was more interesting by comparison even with a lot less dub premieres. 2023 was a snore and 2024 was honestly good besides original anime and early 2024 gave me hope they were adapting but clearly they aren’t. 2025 looks to be a worse 2023 at this rate and I’m feeling pretty over it.

Can’t even have Dr. Stone on in a timely manner now? Good grief… Sailor Moon is back but in the worst way possible, 3 rerun slots are filled till at least May, we’re still 2 out of 7 on network premieres and there’s no openings in the block until at least February 22nd. I don’t even feel like bothering to watch Mashle live much less One Piece so I’m most likely not watching the block live till March. My work schedule has me waking up so early that I am kind of glad to have little reason to stay up but I’m still thoroughly annoyed at the anemic state of the block. It was probably a coincidence that DeMarco deleted his Bluesky today but it sure was convenient for him to dodge any questions about this. On the other hand more than a negligible amount of people think Sailor Moon just now returning to TV and that says all that needs to be said about Rewind’s efforts. But on the other other hand people saw reports that Rewind was ending and thought that meant Toonami was cancelled (because they weren’t aware of the Saturday block of course). A total lack of awareness either way.

Seems like sensible synergy to have CR produce an anime based on a Sony IP but whether or not it turns out decently… well… maybe better than Shenmue.

They won’t do that at the cost of having nothing to premiere outside of Toonami if it comes down to it and the Max overlords demand new untested go up on Fridays rather than Sundays. IFG was an exception.