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LOL CN sure didn't. They basically never give a clue when something is shit canned until it happens. Some people from Williams Street went to a convention that weekend (Dragon Con or Anime Weekend Atlanta I forget which) and said that Toonami was going off the air and people should tune in for the last broadcast that Saturday. They we're allowed to say anything sooner but obviously knew far enough in advance to make the sign-off video.

The way Soma lays into Subaru was straight up savage.

I'm guessing Dr. Stone season 2 wont air in Japan until October but it might be a July show like Fire Force again. I'm decided to put Food Wars on a break between season 2 and season 3 to squeeze another show in. Other than Mob and other sequels I left the openings blank and I decided not to include Boruto because if it was coming back it probably would have been when Fire Force ended if not when Dr. Stone does. I think they will get back to 3.5 by the end of the year if only to ensure they can air MHA, Titan, Dr. Stone and Fire Force all at once. That said, MHA hasn't had another season announced yet and probably wont until the end of the current season (just like last time). https://drive.google.com/open?id=1W0UiMUdPq_Nw9uEMwzOX9LAj6pisnWoXzJf-uXZ5b60

To be fair, in 2008 he barely worked on Toonami outside of promos and had no say in what was airing. Also, cutting down to 2 hours a week only 1 show in premieres and dropping every anime except Naruto was a pretty good indication that Toonami was as good as dead. We were just waiting for CN to finally pull the plug.

He makes an interesting analogy.

They got Food Wars more than half a year ago. They definitely were not considering scaling down at the time. The same week they added Gundam The Origin so both HxH and TPN would be replaced. Then soon after they brought in gen:LOCK, Fire Force and Dr. Stone and pushed Lupin to 3:30am to fit them. Then continued packing the lineup to the point they chose to drop Boruto just to be able to air JoJo at 2:30am. There’s no question that Food Wars was added to replace HxH as a long runner with the expectation that programming would want them maintain around 8 premieres. Given Jason’s preference for a smaller block, programming decides how long Toonami should be. They decided to extend to 6 hours with no encores and then 6.5 hours, they decided to retract to 3.5, they decided to move up to 11:30 and then back to midnight, they decided to add 11:30 and then 11 and add more time on the back here and there, they decided to start the block at 10:30 and then 10:00 and then 9:00 before moving back to 11:00 and now cutting down to 3.5 hours again. They change shit on a whim and try all manner of things including the occasional anime in the 8pm hour. Given the time slot dilemma, I kind of hope they take a break between seasons 2 and 3 of Food Wars this year. They might do that even if it means holding off on airing recently dubbed episodes. It’s anyone’s guess how that will pan out, now that Sentai has finally dubbed the 3rd season.

I definitely would prefer 4 hours in the scenario that they have 2-3 long running series. The wiggle room is nice. I’d like to dedicate one slot to shows from the past 5 years that got passed over. But if they used the time effectively, 3 hours is plenty.

That’s fair but unless shows don’t get more seasons that’s an inevitable situation for every noteworthy new anime. I’d say they should solve the space dilemma by ditching Shippuden and maybe Black Clover but that’s just my opinion.

Not in JoJo and Demon Slayer’s case but that’s true of 4 of their “premieres”

While that’s true, it’s also just as likely they will be able to get Fire Force season 2 this year and practically guaranteed they will get AoT season 4 this Fall. I don’t know about Dr. Stone but it’s plausible for Fall. Neverland will wait until early 2021 given Aniplex’s track record.

I would not recommend relying on Toonami as your primary source of anime in the streaming era. Only a handful of the dubs on it are entirely exclusive to the block. Streaming services are granted far more resources than Toonami is. Toonami is a small part of a big corporation and anime production is not WarnerMedia’s bread and butter like it is for FUNimation, HiDive and Crunchyroll. You’re basically pleading with Adult Swim to drip feed you 4+ hours of dubbed anime every week. If 3 hours doesn’t satisfy you enough, then I recommend you subscribe to FUNi or HiDive to see the latest dubbed anime. In the US we have thousands of anime streaming legally and many are free with ads. As for the topic, I’m sure they mean a smaller block is likely to last longer. Whether a small block that lasts years is more preferable to a larger block that burns out sooner is somewhat debatable. Personally, I think it’s better for Toonami to stick around longer because it’s the last bastion of action and drama animation on US television. I consider that more important than it being a small source of anime.

While I usually am willing to believe Jason, if programming had asked them about culling Toonami a couple of months ago... then why did they bother keeping 3:30AM just to rerun The Promised Neverland? Hell, they could have dumped the Titan rerun after the holiday break if they were intending to retract slots starting in 2019. Intentionally keeping rerun slots for about two months doesn't really jell with that reasoning.

I seriously doubt those shows are just free or even relatively cheap. But I do wish WarnerMedia would throw Toonami a bone.

Now I am getting concerned. It’s still 7 premieres for now but when MHA’s season ends I would not be surprised if they lose 11:30 as well. Definitely shades of 2015 but it’s a less dramatic retraction this time. This is a strong sign that Toonami’s acquisition budget has taken a hit and they’re at the point where reruns aren’t doing well enough to justify having any, so they have trimmed the fat entirely. It’s simply more economical to rerun comedy after Toonami. I expect extra FOX reruns to show up after Toonami. So much for trying to be less reliant on those. If you’re legitimately concerned with Toonami’s well being the best thing any of us can do is watch it live, watch it on demand, live tweet it and tell others it exists. Toonami is far from cancelled but they clearly have reached the point where the ratings are becoming a concern again. And I AM annoyed this means they won’t be airing Mob yet and you can’t tell me not to be.

Now I am getting concerned. It’s still 7 premieres for now but when MHA’s season ends I would not be surprised if they lose 11:30 as well. Shades of 2015 but it’s a less dramatic retraction this time. This is a strong sign that Toonami’s acquisition budget has taken a hit and they’re at the point where reruns aren’t doing well enough to justify having any, so they have trimmed the fat entirely. It’s simply more economical to rerun comedy after Toonami. I expect extra FOX reruns to show up after Toonami. So much for trying to be less reliant on those. If you’re legitimately concerned with Toonami’s well being the best thing any of us can do is watch it live, watch it on demand, live tweet it and tell others it exists. Toonami is far from cancelled but they clearly have reached the point where the ratings are becoming a concern again.

LOL Jedi mind trick? It's factual that the premiere slot we just lost was 3AM,. Fire Force was premiering at 12:30 and now Demon Slayer will be. Moving things up a half hour doesn't usually affect performance much one way or the other, moving a show up an hour might but there's really no telling. All I do know is I saw a decent amount of people relieved that JoJo was even a half hour earlier because it means they can go to sleep by 2:30 instead of 3AM and for Demon Slayer fans who might not care for Food Wars, Black Clover, JoJo and Shippuden, it means they can call it a night at 1AM instead of 2AM. So those folks definitely see this as a win. I don't think that will translate to higher ratings but it does help the moral of the fans of those shows at least. I'm gonna ignore your opinion on Food Wars because I know you won't have any level of objectivity toward that show but it has done admirably in that 1AM time slot. Initially I thought that maybe that was too early for a show that's first two seasons have been widely available dubbed for more than few years but it proved capable of drawing a sizable audience despite that. I honestly appreciate that an older show that's outside the usual picks didn't have to be buried in the back. It didn't get the immediate spotlight that MHA did after arriving 2 years late but it wasn't banished to the back-end before it got a chance. I think that's good honestly because Black Clover and JoJo didn't need to air any earlier anyway. I don't know what they were thinking with Demon Slayer, they could have easily stuck it at 1AM and moved Food Wars to 1:30 back in October but things worked out despite that so whatever. Fire Force has done fine at holding viewers from it's lead ins (though occasionally beat by Food Wars and/or Demon Slayer). They might not air the second season but its pretty reasonable to expect they will at least consider it, same with Dr. Stone and The Promised Neverland. That's true, Toonami does more commonly air the 24-26 episode shows than the 11-13 episode ones though that may have to change because less and less shows are getting that many episodes per season/series. The acquisition budget resets in early January every year but it's only a theory that they cannot normally negotiate for something they intend to pay for with the 2020 budget before 2020. It would make sense though based on their history of using reruns to fill slots in January. There have been some exceptions of course. Reruns suck but there's no escape. Welcome to the television business. There have been times when they have cut off reruns mid-run but we both know they don't like doing that. If they replace Neverland with a premiere then we're back to 9 before April. If they actually have a show they could have premiered next week then I don't think there's any harm in holding off on that until Dr. Stone ends and subsequently not force Demon Slayer to finish out after 1AM. And if they do intend have a premiere at 3AM again, it's also not a big deal to wait until Neverland finishes this rerun before starting whatever show that might be. Sometimes the most sensible choice is for Toonami to give up a slot and with Neverland having only just started and Titan seemingly around because the final season will air this Fall, it made a decent amount of sense to keep both of those reruns on for now and promote Demon Slayer while it's got about half it's episodes left. I'll level with you Ben. We used to only have 6 premieres and started at midnight so going from 10 down to 8, doesn't worry me at all. Less than 8? I might get concerned, especially if they lose 11PM. I'm grateful to still have 8. It's not gonna kill Shippuden to air premieres at 3AM but it's still a fate I wouldn't wish upon any show. When they started no earlier than midnight the only way they could have more than 6 premieres was to stick one at 3AM but they don't have to do that when they start at 11PM. They spoiled us with 10 last year but it wasn't realistic to think that was going to last. 8 is a lot of premieres. That's at least double the hours of premiere content on the rest of Adult Swim any regular week of the year. I don't want to hear some nonsense about 8 premieres not being enough because it is more than enough. It's freak'n generous and 9 to 10 premieres is beyond generous.

The budget for original productions DOES NOT affect the budget for acquisitions. They're separate things and with good reason. Making a show is way more expensive than renting one.

I don't think it's been said if Dr. Stone will premiere in Summer or Fall. I'm thinking Fall but if it's Summer then it can pop back up in July or August. The December premiere was if it started in October. But come to think of it, if Dr. Stone did start in October, they can just add a premiere slot in October or November.

Ya'll are wig'n out at the probability of Toonami not having 9 premieres anymore and frustrated that it could mean there isn't much space for fresh shows that aren't sequels. Perhaps a visual of how things could pan out would be helpful? https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1a0VMha-itk4ezd55wJgpiPVuCtMJUlLVGKUpHBav688/edit?usp=sharing I put this together. I factored in Mob Psycho season 2 and the OVA airing as well as a short break for SAO, another season of Fire Force in the Summer and another season of My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan and Dr. Stone in Fall. The Promised Neverland is also airing in Fall but Aniplex probably wont have that dubbed until early 2021 based on how they handled season 1 and how they handled SAO this year and last year. I also have Boruto replacing JoJo and Food Wars continuing because it has around 70 episodes total. Basically if they maintain 8 premieres and don't expand to 9 again we are looking at the potential of 5 other single season anime with 11-13 episodes. It would be less if any show is more than a single season of course. And while this season will last until late May, we have no early idea what could replace My Hero Academia until more episodes are ready. If Boruto doesn't come back then they'll probably get another 24+ episode show instead when JoJo ends. There's no guarantee they'll get Mob season 2 this year so that can make another opening.

Because they don't like to cut off reruns without finishing them and they probably haven't been able to work out a contract for another show yet because they have only had about three weeks to negotiate that since the budget reset in early January. These things can take more than a month. Aniplex probably wouldn't be thrilled if they suddenly pulled The Promised Neverland mid-run either. It is the deadest weight, while Attack on Titan at least does better than that. Aside from that, they might like the show and want to finish the rerun and have held off on premiering another show (and having premieres until 3AM) to make better use of the shows they are currently premiering. That is assuming they even had another show they could have replaced Fire Force with. Can't we all just be happy that Demon Slayer is airing an hour earlier and Black Clover, JoJo and Shippuden get to premiere episodes a little bit earlier as well? I don't personally care if Shippuden is premiering episodes at 3AM but I wouldn't really wish that upon any show. Ya'll are acting like they just dropped a premiere slot from the top-end like losing 11PM rather than realizing they only trimmed off a 3AM premiere (and yes a 3:30 premiere earlier but that was an even more reasonable move).

I mean we’re talking about Adult Swim here. They regularly premiere content at 4am on weeknights.

That’s a reasonable theory since DST is coming up in March. I hadn’t thought of that before. But we can see TPN reruns were doing 3:30 no favors and Titan barely made up for that. It’s pretty reasonable to think a free rerun of a comedy would do as well or better at 4am.

After they suddenly took 9PM out of freak'n nowhere, I've stopped trying to speculate what hours Toonami will reside in but they seem to have settled into 11-4am pretty well and probably will keep that for a while. They really spoiled us with 10 premieres in 2019 but 3AM premieres are by no means ideal for any show.

Mine arrived. I bought 3 with the intent to give away 2. Once again I’m rather disappointed at the paint job on PoP figures. Two of these TOMs have some easily visible mistakes and I can only hope the third doesn’t have an issue that cannot be seen without opening the box.

Maybe but more likely they just haven’t been able to secure a new show yet because the budget just reset earlier this month. SAO was likely a holdover from last year. Dr. Stone’s season ends in late February and The Promised Neverland ends in late March. If they don’t have a premiere to replace Stone, then there’s actual reason to be concerned they won’t be able maintain 8 premieres this year due to budget cuts.