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Thanks for the update.

I'm sure Toonami appreciates that WarnerMedia has given them a good way to avoid airing Black Clover for several weeks. I wont rule out the possibility that Toonami asked papa WarnerMedia to throw them a bone and suggested they could air movies to promote DC Fandome but given DeMarco's track record it seems waaaaaay more likely that WarnerMedia just thought using Toonami to promote DC Fandome was a decent idea and Toonami was more than happy to roll with it. It's especially absurd to suggest DC Fandome was extended to two days on separate weekends to throw Toonami another bone. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have started up JoJo back up much less started Assassination Classroom (for just one episode) if they were begging papa Warner to give them a way to stall for a show they usually air at 1:30am and barely promote. Harsh as it might sound, I don't think they're that worried about keeping Black Clover on without any hiccups. I'm sure they understand that they will not be able to stave off a hiatus forever.

Aniplex has been a part of Sony Music Entertainment since... inception I think? Several other music companies distribute anime in Japan I believe. I makes some sense, anime does sell music, especially OPs and EDs. In the US companies like Rhino which started as music distributors also distributed tv series and films. Sony Pictures and Sony Television aren't nearly as prevalent in Japan as Sony Music and electronics and games divisions and that might be why Aniplex is attached to Sony Music instead of Sony Television or Sony Pictures. But at the end of the day it's all Sony. Now Sony owns FUNimation as well as Aniplex but so far they are being allowed to operate mostly autonomously. Aniplex series are still on multiple services aside from FUNimation's platform including HBO Max.

That's honestly a laughable theory. Nothing about DC Fandome is being done to buy time for FUNimation to dub Black Clover, especially not the decision to split it into two events. I'll tell you exactly what would have happened if they ran out of Clover episodes, they would have aired reruns of something in its place for a while. FUNimation's recording crunch if definitely benefiting from Toonami taking two (or more) weeks off to promote a DC event but that's just a bonus.

They should have just let Ballmasterz finish and wait to start Ass Class if they are really doing two more weeks of DC movies (not necessarily just Batman).

What are the odds of both Syon and Chugg popping up at the same time?

Ah yes, Bitch sensei.

This will be lots of fun to watch on Toonami. It is a total of 47 episodes and thankfully adapts the manga all the way to the ending. It's another JUMP shounen but thankfully it is not another Naruto clone like MHA and Black Clover. Also good news, JoJo didn't get booted to the back, Fire Force reruns moved after Black Clover and for those who wanted it gone Ballmastrz didn't finish it's run on Toonami (personally I'm a little disappointed it didn't since there was only two 11 minute episodes left). I definitely wish they could have brought this in a month or two ago but it's a welcome addition regardless.

Those Rick & Morty shorts held Batman very well and then Macchu Picchu dropped hard with the 18-49s. Not surprised. It's possible that the first half hour or two of Year One did out draw Family Guy but the average of the 90 mins didn't. Even so, that's excellent retention all the way to 3:30am. I wonder how the JoJo, Clover and Shippuden might have done airing after Batman: Year One. They'd probably lose a fair amount of viewers but I'd like to know just how many would stick around for anime after a Batman movie.

Man if they had done this even a year ago they probably could have broke 800,000 for both Batman films but having both in the top 5 says enough. I wonder if Year One out rated Family Guy.

You might find that if you talk to DeMarco and don’t come at him like you believe he’s an idiot and don’t accuse him of screwing up, he’ll potentially listen to your feedback and sometimes (very rarely) make changes to Toonami if it’s not a tall order. But I also have had decent rapport with him since like 2006 or so.

I’ve been hearing those reports don’t have reliable sources. Though I don’t doubt AT&T is considering that sale, why would they do this right before selling it?

Toonami “powered by Crunchyroll” has come to pass. This could be a sign of things to come, both internationally and in the US. I am very intrigued.

If you're talking about episode 10. Toonami didn't promise to it wouldn't be edited and you probably thank me for informing them that the content was gross (I told Jason on ask.fm and suggested that airing that episode before the premiere of The Promised Neverland wasn't a good idea). They didn't even censor it in the flashbacks because they probably were not aware of it.

Toonami could be like Toonami Jetstream again if anyone with money believed that was even worth perusing.

I don’t think any other company is all that interested in owning the Toonami brand, TOM and Sara. Maybe Crunchyroll or Viz if anyone. The online future I could see for Toonami is a subsection of HBO Max.

You might chock that up to the simple matter that Toonami as is doesn't make a whole lot of sense in the streaming era where more and more people are ditching cable. It's great tat Adult Swim and even WarnerMedia see's the block as worth airing but the moment they decide HBO Max, Crunchyroll or something else suffices for scratching their anime itch, Adult Swim could unceremoniously pull the block off the air. I don't live in fear of this happening but I accept the reality that it could happen on a whim. We literally have no idea how long Toonami could last in the current climate, hell we have no idea how long Adult Swim or Cartoon Network the channel can last in the current TV climate. As Spike said, whatever happens, happens. That said, I think WarnerMedia will at least see how the 3 upcoming originals pan out for Toonami and Adult Swim before they consider cutting their losses.

Hard to say whether that would be better or worse for Toonami’s future. But the CR section of HBO Max could easily be relabeled as Toonami if CR is sold to Sony.

DC Universe seems as good as dead with all the layoffs they just had. They could certainly restructure to being a fan hub that focuses on the digital comics library and fork over all the TV series and films to HBO Max. Adult Swim continues to do good business but CN as a network has been struggling in the streaming age. Toonami could be in for some changes as more layoffs occur at WarnerMedia but I kind of doubt the staff will see a big shakeup unless they are layoffs specifically at Adult Swim in the on-air department.

Huh... I didn't see Milky as a Lupin reference but maybe he was one.

I tend to feel a bit conflicted over whether or not I think DeMarco is the right guy to run Toonami. On one hand I believe his years of experience working in television means he's more than qualified and he far better understands what the network wants out of Toonami than any of the armchair quarterbacks. On the other hand I do feel he often lets his personal tastes dictate what Toonami does and doesn't air and that can be to the block's detriment. At the end of the day it is his block so I don't really fault him for airing what he wants most of the time but when they rarely air anything that isn't a JUMP series or what folks have deemed "old man DeMarco picks", its a little hard to dismiss that critique entirely. We have no idea what 5-10+ year old anime were not picked up for Toonami due to licensing complications but things worked out for Gundam, Lupin and recently Paranoia Agent. The fact that those three "old man picks" did air while so many other anime didn't, does makes me question whether or not various shows were passed over simply because DeMarco was unaware of them or didn't fight to acquire them when they were available. He negotiated with Sunrise and TMS directly for Gundam and Lupin respectively so that might be the biggest reason why he was able to get those franchises back on US television. That likely never would have happened if DeMarco didn't make the effort to secure those deals. I don't believe DeMarco is oblivious to modern anime but he doesn't seem to pay attention to very much of it. I do not expect DeMarco to know about all 40 something shows that are airing in Japan every season (less currently due to COVID-19 but still more than 20) but I feel it does Toonami a disservice if he's not aware of numerous anime that would fit Toonami. It really seems like if a distributor doesn't push for a show to air and its not one of his "old man picks" then any show will be hard-pressed to get on to Toonami. On top of that, these anime distributors are usually more than content with just streaming anime, unless the Japanese companies push for a TV airing. That's likely another reason why we see so many JUMP anime (aside from popularity), those are the kinds of shows that Japanese companies want to air on television. 4chan has a faction of probably racist and sexist good old boys who think DeMarco is a soy boy feminist who is pro man-service and anti-fan service. Their opinions of the man are laughable and should be ignored. Food Wars and Fire Force should be proof enough that Toonami will air shows that are heavy on fan service if they're deemed worth airing. So I don't personally want to subscribe to the though that something like KonoSuba won't air because of T&A but I do subscribe to the opinion that it won't air because DeMarco probably has not seen it. I've been requesting that show for years now and it is frustrating to feel like suggestions I am very passionate about are falling on deaf ears. So I can at least understand the frustration that other people feel when they request various shows that are not even considered for airing due to preferences of just three people. Supposedly, Toonami shows are picked by DeMarco, Austin and Manning. I can't help but feel like they need an intern or someone to keep tabs on seasonal anime and what series and genres are popular in the west. It seems like an additional opinion or two in the mix could help Toonami be a better rounded experience. I'd much rather see that than to have Crunchyroll swoop in take over.

True but I think in the context of Batman returning to Toonami "still wear black" would be more appropriate. Anyhoo, we got a 30 second promo for Year One and a full minute promo for The Dark Knight Returns Part 1. Very nice!

Ah come on, TOM didn't even use the "good guys still wear black" tag line for a Batman promo. I hope this isn't the only promo they make for these movies.

Another week, another Black Clover. Very good.

Young Justice obviously. Though I wonder how HD Batman: TAS, Justice League or Batman Beyond might do.