Toonami 1st Half 2017: A Litany of Questionable Programming Decisions

[OwlChemist81]

Well, it's been a hell of a first 5 months for Toonami, and not in a good way. There have been some bright spots but in terms of viewership compared to last year it's been mostly pure :poop:!

 

How did we get here? Well, let's start at the beginning, or rather late last year. Everyone was losing their  :poop: on December 7th over the announcement that Toonami had not only acquired the continuation to the wildly successful Dragon Ball Z Kai for the midnight slot, but had also acquired ITS continuation Dragon Ball Super to air at 11:30. Toonami was re-acquiring an earlier timeslot for the new Dragon Ball series, and everything seemed right with the world. Moreover, as Gundam IBO was panned for not including many combat elements, such as laser beams and beam sabers that made Gundam popular, fans were glad to learn that a Universal Century Gundam that contained these things was on its way. It seemed that the new year would usher in a brand new glorious era for Toonami and erase some of the shortcomings seen in the 4th Quarter of 2016.

 

And then the year began with January, but not without one final wrinkle: the 11:30 DBS airings during Toonami would actually be same-night encores of a sparsely-advertised premiere at 8 PM. This had an effect which was probably obvious to everyone but Programming: despite the fact that the 11:30 airing was the "official" airing, those who watched the 8 PM airing and only wanted to see dubbed DBS wouldn't come back for the later airing if they only wanted to watch DBS, not everything else Toonami has to offer. This was merely exacerbated by a short-lived Samurai Jack Season 1 rerun beginning on January 14th which always failed to gain on its Super predecessor. And so it was that the block was only watched by 800K average through the month, a 12% decrease from last year despite the earlier start time.

 

This pattern continued through February, though things began to be looking up. JoJo and Gundam, previously capable only of ratings in the 800Ks in 2017, managed to peak above 900K for the first time on 2/25/17, and Hunter x Hunter was able to cross 800K for the first time in 2017 that week as well. Nonetheless, Toonami's "sleeper" success was only slight since the block averaged 807K and was down from last year by 21%. News spread that Samurai Jack would premiere at 11 PM on 3/11/17, which looked like would augment that burgeoning success...

 

However, the opposite happened. The night that Jack premiered on the 2nd week in March, JoJo, Gundam, and Hunter x Hunter all hit scary new lows. And it was obvious to probably everyone but Programming why: a more attractive viewing option was watching Super, [as] comedy reruns, then Jack, turning off the TV or changing the channel during the 2nd Super. And that's exactly what occurred, but there was one stalwart, embattled show on the other end of the block, the anchor show One Piece. And despite its flagging ratings, there was a general feeling that things would be OK as long as it remained. That was not meant to be, as it was announced on March 10th that it would leave the lineup and be replaced with Tokyo Ghoul. Not only that, but TG would premiere at 1, causing Gundam to fall to 2, and Shippuden to 2:30. This actually seemed like a decent move at first, especially because the ratings that night were the highest yet in 2017 -- 885K, and March average was a year-to-date high 842K, though still down 13% from last year.

 

And then Rick and Morty happened on April 1st, temporarily and without warning shortening Toonami to its old 12-3:30 runtime, also delaying Samurai Jack and Dragon Ball Super for a week. Ratings that night were the 2nd lowest of the year to date, at 621K--more on that later. And it didn't recover from there. JoJo had a 2-part season conclusion out of nowhere with no on-air promotion, and even with Attack on Titan Season 2 joining the lineup at 12:30 AM, Toonami would only manage a 769K average across all its timeslots, another 13% decline from last year, the lowest to date in 2017 and also the lowest monthly average since the January 2015 lineup which included many later timeslots.

 

Say what you want about Samurai Jack's "Gurren Lagann tribute" ending, but it actually set things somewhat right in May, although Attack on Titan was a severe disappointment, dropping 150K or more from its DBZ Kai lead-in (72K or more 18-49), and it's mindboggling that it didn't premiere further up in the lineup than 12:30, being a dub premiere. Perhaps if Kai were after it at 12:30, people would have stuck around to watch it? One smart move they made was the Samurai Jack marathon, which tied up the month nicely and for the first time in 2017 actually gained on its previous year's predecessor by 21%. This left us with an average of 807K in May, but yet another 13% decrease from last year for the month.

 

And then June began, and one more questionable decision ensued, as Toonami persisted with reruns of Samurai Jack at 11 PM, leading to an hour of straight-up RERUNS kicking off Toonami. So far this kicked off the month of June with a worse average than it's gotten since 12/13/14, a mere 615K. And then last but not least, the 2015 reboot of Lupin the 3rd was announced for 6/17--AT 2 AM. Yes, a brand-spanking new dub premiere BURIED in the back of the block while an hour of RERUNS leads the block. Need I say more?

 

Hopefully Toonami will turn it around in the 2nd half of the year. July 8th, after the Independence Day holiday, would be a good time to shuffle the schedule and give the newer shows a better chance to shine. Also, then Tokyo Ghoul will end its decent first season and go to its anime-original Root A 2nd season, so maybe it will get buried at 2 AM and give Hunter x Hunter and Lupin better timeslots? Also, SOMETHING will be replacing Attack on Titan on July 29th, and we can only hope it's something good. It's been a hell of a first half of the year, but I still have high hopes for the 2nd half!

[Daos]

Long story short.....if you can't get the newest, hottest anime... you're not going to get good ratings on your anime block.

 

 

[PokeNirvash]

And when all else fails, blame Demarco.

[StarPanda]

Looking forward to a better second half

Go team

[scope]

You're the most positive user about Toonami programming so if you're questioning their decisions I can tell they're in trouble 

[Daos]

This laser-guided focus towards ratings is almost the entire problem. ::HMM::

 

I wouldn't say that. If the ratings get too awful they might just cancel Toonami and play Family Guy reruns.

 

If the ratings continue to get worse I bet they're gonna start thinking about it.

[Blatch]

Nevermind the previous comment... here's some coherent thoughts instead:

• Maybe One Piece being removed wasn't good for the lineup in the short term, but its ratings had been in decline for a while and would have kept trending that way until they were forced to take it off. There really wasn't any good place for them to do it aside from when they did
  
• The R&M stunt for April Fool's should not have happened. In hindsight, a better option would have been to air it at midnight to 6:00 on the night of March 31 and scrap the original gag (with the overdubbed voices and laugh tracks) entirely. I don't know how you could not pass off skipping a highly-anticipated world premiere show plus DB Super as good etiquette. Even if it had a practical use, it damaged the block by making people think those shows were off the air for good and confused those who relied on those shows to see the rest of the block.
  
• I don't know what's up with the Jack rerun, but maybe the programmers know something we don't about its numbers and what is going on with the block's profitability. So that's why I recommend people don't go raising fear about things until maybe Jason says something and we know what's actually going on. We already have enough of that in our society.
  

[OwlChemist81]

Nevermind the previous comment... here's some coherent thoughts instead:

• Maybe One Piece being removed wasn't good for the lineup in the short term, but its ratings had been in decline for a while and would have kept trending that way until they were forced to take it off. There really wasn't any good place for them to do it aside from when they did
  
• The R&M stunt for April Fool's should not have happened. In hindsight, a better option would have been to air it at midnight to 6:00 on the night of March 31 and scrap the original gag (with the overdubbed voices and laugh tracks) entirely. I don't know how you could not pass off skipping a highly-anticipated world premiere show plus DB Super as good etiquette. Even if it had a practical use, it damaged the block by making people think those shows were off the air for good and confused those who relied on those shows to see the rest of the block.
  
• I don't know what's up with the Jack rerun, but maybe the programmers know something we don't about its numbers and what is going on with the block's profitability. So that's why I recommend people don't go raising fear about things until maybe Jason says something and we know what's actually going on. We already have enough of that in our society.
  

 

You have a point. I made one reference to a "dumb" decision in the OP so I changed that to "questionable." It's not really insulting to use that Q word...

[brianycpht]

The Dragonball Super situation is a continuing problem as more and more discover the 8pm airing. The viewers were almost even last week! If it overtakes 11:30 who knows what they will do. If 8pm thrives then grow that and put the Super rerun at the end of the night if they can.

 

I am crossing my fingers and hoping the Jack rerun is removed after this week. I almost hope the ratings are worse so the move can be made. If we lose 11:00 for now, fine. It's not being used effectively right now anyway. If the ratings continue to be bad and it stays, there is something we don't know about in play. I feel they will make whatever moves they need to do in order for the block to survive.

 

I also feel that there is something lacking in the presentation of the block. Ever since we've been getting the topicals, we've been (understandably)getting less fun stuff that makes Toonami what it is. There hasn't been a lot of videos, speeches , and reviews or much new stuff from TOM and Sara.That along with the stagnant bumps makes the block feel like less of a special place to watch things.

[OwlChemist81]

The Dragonball Super situation is a continuing problem as more and more discover the 8pm airing. The viewers were almost even last week! If it overtakes 11:30 who knows what they will do. If 8pm thrives then grow that and put the Super rerun at the end of the night if they can.

 

I am crossing my fingers and hoping the Jack rerun is removed after this week. I almost hope the ratings are worse so the move can be made. If we lose 11:00 for now, fine. It's not being used effectively right now anyway. If the ratings continue to be bad and it stays, there is something we don't know about in play. I feel they will make whatever moves they need to do in order for the block to survive.

 

I don't see any shuffling until July 8th, and that's presuming they do what most are anticipating and run an Attack on Titan Season 2 marathon of the first 9 episodes (#26-#34) on July 1st, then play the revised schedule promo during AOT's marathon that night. But that's only IF Samurai Jack reruns don't do well enough in June. We have averaged one new schedule promo per month so far this year, so I don't believe one that "shuffles the deck" for July 8th, then is quickly replaced with a new one on July 29th when Attack on Titan leaves would be that much more than trivial, especially if, like in May, the schedule stays the same for August. And I don't see any major changes, except maybe for Samurai Jack. But if that gets shuffled to a later timeslot on the 8th, then its replacement in August might not get its own schedule promo, but just a promo announcing its premiere on the block.

 

But there are many questions left to be answered. For example, we don't know if a show other than Samurai Jack will air at 11 PM as part of Toonami on July 1. Whether it's Dragonball Super, Attack on Titan, or whatever, programming could just decide to play the first episode at 11:30 after the usual Toonami rerun of Jack (AOT would have to expand Toonami to 4 AM to get in all the episodes that have premiered thus far). But we still don't know exactly WHAT they are going to do with July 1st even, so all of this is speculation until something official is announced. If another show takes 11 PM from Jack on July 1st, then Jack also might not occupy 11 PM on July 8th and beyond!

 

Lots of questions to be answered in July, but if they play their cards right, it could turn Toonami around significantly in the 2nd half of the year and even poise the 4th Quarter to beat last year's lackluster 4th Quarter!

[brianycpht]

I don't see any shuffling until July 8th, and that's presuming they do what everyone is anticipating and run an Attack on Titan Season 2 marathon of the first 9 episodes (#26-#34) on July 1st, then play the revised schedule bump during AOT that night. But that's only IF Samurai Jack reruns don't do well enough in June.

 

Yeah they've already gone and made a lineup promo for June so that's understandable. Do we really need a marathon on July 1st? It's far enough away from the 4th and doesn't give Lupin much time to establish an audience.

[CaptainStarwind]

• Maybe One Piece being removed wasn't good for the lineup in the short term, but its ratings had been in decline for a while and would have kept trending that way until they were forced to take it off. There really wasn't any good place for them to do it aside from when they did

 

I completely agree with this.  One Piece was one of the stalwart shows on Toonami, and was, at the time it was removed, the oldest show on the block, premiering all the way back in 2013.  It's a great show, and many were understandably sad to see it go.  Toonami doesn't feel the same without it.  But we can't deny that it's ratings were getting lower.  That's just what happens when the show is rerunning episodes that have been available for a while.  While it hurt, I think the decision to remove One Piece will prove to be a benefit for Toonami in the future.

 

• The R&M stunt for April Fool's should not have happened. In hindsight, a better option would have been to air it at midnight to 6:00 on the night of March 31 and scrap the original gag (with the overdubbed voices and laugh tracks) entirely. I don't know how you could not pass off skipping a highly-anticipated world premiere show plus DB Super as good etiquette. Even if it had a practical use, it damaged the block by making people think those shows were off the air for good and confused those who relied on those shows to see the rest of the block.

 

While the April Fool's Day prank this year was, in my opinion, brilliant, it did Toonami, and I think we're starting to see more of the effects of that now.

 

• I don't know what's up with the Jack rerun, but maybe the programmers know something we don't about its numbers and what is going on with the block's profitability. So that's why I recommend people don't go raising fear about things until maybe Jason says something and we know what's actually going on. We already have enough of that in our society.

 

Perhaps this is the case.  Either way, Jack reruns at the top of the block won't last for long.

[brianycpht]

I think Shippuden might be on its way out next after episode 175 (end of current arc and Viz's "season"). It's not a bad way to end the run for those who have seen it.

[Top Gun]

Has anyone actually spared a single thought as to whtether these numbers issues are indicative of [as]'s performance as a whole?  There's so much correlation-implies-causation fallacy going on in that post it's making me weep.

[OwlChemist81]

Has anyone actually spared a single thought as to whtether these numbers issues are indicative of [as]'s performance as a whole?  There's so much correlation-implies-causation fallacy going on in that post it's making me weep.

 

Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. Almost every week Toonami has been lower than last year's Toonami than [as] as a whole for the week has been lower than last year's [as] week as a whole, and that's not a good thing.

[Top Gun]

If you can wrangle those clauses into a coherent string, I might be able to form an opinion on them.

[ben0119]

• I don't know what's up with the Jack rerun, but maybe the programmers know something we don't about its numbers and what is going on with the block's profitability. So that's why I recommend people don't go raising fear about things until maybe Jason says something and we know what's actually going on. We already have enough of that in our society.
  

 

Demarco didn't say anything before the block got chopped in half either, until after it happened.  He's not going to say OH YEAH THE BLOCK IS FUCKING BOMBING.  So that doesn't mean anything.

[ben0119]

You almost have to wonder if AS is actively trying to kill the block, or if the Toonami crew are losing more control over it.  As I've said before, the once logical Toonami-style programming that's been built up over its run seems to be slowly giving way to ASA-level incompetence.  It's not good.

[brianycpht]

At least now we have some consistency

 

Remember when ASA would trade their strategy every couple of months

-All Anime

-Hour of Comedy! Then Anime

-Back to all anime

- Anime-comedy-anime

-Weekday premieres

-5am premieres

 

It was like whiplash. They constantly changed the schedule to the point where sometimes the guides would be wrong. Then we went into the period of no promotion where the logic was "Well no one watches, so why should we promote it?" Then the ratings for the anime would be mocked in the cards every week. It's really that culture which created our own rating obsession (at least fir those who follow it). Demarco tells us not to worry about ratings but we've seen how reactive they are to them when they get bad. Even the comedy block isn't immune. Every time they try and change up the standard lineup, it's not long before it reverts. So we know from past history they will do what they have to. They can fix things before it gets worse. It's just concerning because some overall network ratings crisis apparently caused the block to lose the back end in 2015. How low is the bar and why don't they seem to care?

[brianycpht]

Demarco didn't say anything before the block got chopped in half either, until after it happened.  He's not going to say OH YEAH THE BLOCK IS FUCKING BOMBING.  So that doesn't mean anything.

 

I Notice that Jason no longer takes Toonami related questions on his ask.FM and his Twitter is mostly music/movie related. He seemed to get frustrated at fans panicking over falling ratings last year.

[ben0119]

At least now we have some consistency

 

Remember when ASA would trade their strategy every couple of months

-All Anime

-Hour of Comedy! Then Anime

-Back to all anime

- Anime-comedy-anime

-Weekday premieres

-5am premieres

 

It was like whiplash. They constantly changed the schedule to the point where sometimes the guides would be wrong. Then we went into the period of no promotion where the logic was "Well no one watches, so why should we promote it?" Then the ratings for the anime would be mocked in the cards every week. It's really that culture which created our own rating obsession (at least fir those who follow it). Demarco tells us not to worry about ratings but we've seen how reactive they are to them when they get bad. Even the comedy block isn't immune. Every time they try and change up the standard lineup, it's not long before it reverts. So we know from past history they will do what they have to. They can fix things before it gets worse. It's just concerning because some overall network ratings crisis apparently caused the block to lose the back end in 2015. How low is the bar and why don't they seem to care?

 

Yeah it's not nearly to the ASA-level, but like I said it's creeping in a less competent direction than it has been for the past years of Toonami's run.  Well Lazzo would say that promotion doesn't work or some such nonsense.  We've already seen how Toonami proves that to be incorrect.  Oh yeah those ratings bumber cards and the derisive anime bumps (however funny they might have been and to watch fans get worked up over them, ultimately probably counterproductive), lead to the reason we obsess and sometimes get concerned over the ratings.  And yes like you've said they will do what they have to do.  Well, there was an overall ratings crisis but they were also running those ancient ASA shows into the ground in the second half, opted for the brilliance of Attack on Titan reruns to open the block, and had that botched second Month of Movies.  And like Al said Toonami is doing worse even in comparison to how much the network overall is doing worse this year, so it's definitely a Toonami thing.  They need to fix things and fast.

[ben0119]

I Notice that Jason no longer takes Toonami related questions on his ask.FM and his Twitter is mostly music/movie related. He seemed to get frustrated at fans panicking over falling ratings last year.

 

He still posts Toonami stuff.  But then I don't really care for Twitter and lost track with his ask.fm.  For time I was getting a message saying his ask.fm was disabled, so not sure what was up with that.  There's still Toonami and anime, etc related questions on there but yeah he's not going to answer ratings stuff anymore.  I think he actually made a point with one particular question some time ago of saying he's no longer going to answer questions related to ratings, and I don't blame him.

[Jman]

Jack and the death of One Piece were the big positives, but with stuff like VRV existing, On Demand has turned from a nuisance to a significant ratings drain.

 

Even your dub premieres are available on demand.

[mochi]

Jack and the death of One Piece were the big positives, but with stuff like VRV existing, On Demand has turned from a nuisance to a significant ratings drain.

 

Even your dub premieres are available on demand.

y'know with moose forbidden from ever returning there isn't really a reason to bring up One Piece anymore, just sayin' ::]::

[OwlChemist81]

Jack and the death of One Piece were the big positives, but with stuff like VRV existing, On Demand has turned from a nuisance to a significant ratings drain.

 

Even your dub premieres are available on demand.

 

 

That may be, but I'm sure it still can't happen until at least it premieres on Toonami first in the case of the dub premieres.

 

If you're talking about AOT, obviously VRV gets it at the same time FUNimation does on Sunday nights. If VRV is able to beat that somehow with Dragon Ball Super, Hunter x Hunter, and now Lupin The 3rd, color me surprised!

[CaptainStarwind]

You almost have to wonder if AS is actively trying to kill the block, or if the Toonami crew are losing more control over it.  As I've said before, the once logical Toonami-style programming that's been built up over its run seems to be slowly giving way to ASA-level incompetence.  It's not good.

 

I wouldn't say the Toonami crew is losing more control over the block.  Remember that DeMarco said back in 2015 that AoT reruns at the top of the block were Adult Swim's decision, since they thought it could still pull well, and the same thing probably happened with Jack.  The only thing that is really out of their control right now is Super, which is because they're apparently obligated to air it early in the block.  If they have to keep the 8:00 airing, then it almost might be more worth it at this point to push Super back from 11:30.  Not insanely late, mind you, but definitely not one of the top spots on the block.

[The1gairon]

They saw how bad putting AoT reruns at the front of the block would be, and they confirmed it was a move put on them by the network.  ... so how come they're doing the same thing with Samurai Jack!?

 

They said they would never put a premiere near the end of the block.  ... so how come they're putting the dub premiere of Lupin III Part 4 at 2 AM!??

[The1gairon]

And when all else fails, blame Demarco.

 

Not yet. We have to confirm if all these are his decisions.  We know SOME of them are, but not all.

[The1gairon]

Nevermind the previous comment... here's some coherent thoughts instead:

• Maybe One Piece being removed wasn't good for the lineup in the short term, but its ratings had been in decline for a while and would have kept trending that way until they were forced to take it off. There really wasn't any good place for them to do it aside from when they did
  
• The R&M stunt for April Fool's should not have happened. In hindsight, a better option would have been to air it at midnight to 6:00 on the night of March 31 and scrap the original gag (with the overdubbed voices and laugh tracks) entirely. I don't know how you could not pass off skipping a highly-anticipated world premiere show plus DB Super as good etiquette. Even if it had a practical use, it damaged the block by making people think those shows were off the air for good and confused those who relied on those shows to see the rest of the block.
  
• I don't know what's up with the Jack rerun, but maybe the programmers know something we don't about its numbers and what is going on with the block's profitability. So that's why I recommend people don't go raising fear about things until maybe Jason says something and we know what's actually going on. We already have enough of that in our society.
  

 

If I find ONE PERSON irl that thinks Toonami was canceled entirely after the April Fool's stunt, I'ma punch a wall!!!!

[CaptainStarwind]

If I find ONE PERSON irl that thinks Toonami was canceled entirely after the April Fool's stunt, I'ma punch a wall!!!!

 

Toonami get revived from an April Fools stunt and dies because of one... you have to admit, that's kind of poetic in some odd sense.

[The1gairon]

.... Oh my god that's right!    Didn't realize that.

[ben0119]

Jack and the death of One Piece were the big positives, but with stuff like VRV existing, On Demand has turned from a nuisance to a significant ratings drain.

 

Even your dub premieres are available on demand.

 

I already have the Funimation streaming service, Netflix, and Hulu.  Not sure what the point of getting that VRV thing would be.

[ben0119]

y'know with moose forbidden from ever returning there isn't really a reason to bring up One Piece anymore, just sayin' ::]::

 

At least now we know Jman really did sour on One Piece and it wasn't just an act to mess with Moose.

 

Jman has bitched about other dead shows he hated for years after the fact.  Don't expect him to stop any time soon.

[ben0119]

I wouldn't say the Toonami crew is losing more control over the block.  Remember that DeMarco said back in 2015 that AoT reruns at the top of the block were Adult Swim's decision, since they thought it could still pull well, and the same thing probably happened with Jack.  The only thing that is really out of their control right now is Super, which is because they're apparently obligated to air it early in the block.  If they have to keep the 8:00 airing, then it almost might be more worth it at this point to push Super back from 11:30.  Not insanely late, mind you, but definitely not one of the top spots on the block.

 

He said the programming department was responsible for the AoT reruns.  So if it's the same case again they're as stupid now as they were then and apparently don't even learn from history and precedence!  That doesn't explain every other asinine decision, though.  Again, we have no proof of this Super contract obligation you guys keep floating.

[ben0119]

Not yet. We have to confirm if all these are his decisions.  We know SOME of them are, but not all.

 

I don't think Poke was being entirely serious with that post...

 

But Demarco does make a good scapegoat.

 

It's either that or we go back to blaming everything on Kim Manning or Mike Lazzo.

[Jman]

I already have the Funimation streaming service, Netflix, and Hulu.  Not sure what the point of getting that VRV thing would be.

 

VRV includes the FUNi service, Crunchyroll, and some other stuff like Rooster Teeth.  It's essentially one-stop shopping.

[PokeNirvash]

You know, with how much you're hyping up VRV, I can't help but feel that you're a shill for them. Well I'm not gonna fall for it!

 

[cable tv forever!]

[Jman]

Oh come on, I've gone to bat for Netflix and Hulu plenty of times.

 

I just believe On Demand is the future, no matter what DeMarco says.

[ben0119]

VRV includes the FUNi service, Crunchyroll, and some other stuff like Rooster Teeth.  It's essentially one-stop shopping.

 

Crunchyroll is just subs and I don't know what the fuck "Rooster Teeth" is.  I ain't gonna' double dip.

[ben0119]

Oh come on, I've gone to bat for Netflix and Hulu plenty of times.

 

I just believe On Demand is the future, no matter what DeMarco says.

 

I hope all the sharp implements and ropes are kept away from Demarco in the event cable goes the way of Blockbuster.

[Jman]

Ratings are down across the board unless you're showing sports.  People want to consume media on their time, not yours.

 

I think Sketch[/member] and the Toonami faithful podcast had an argument about this one episode with a host who had, IMO, NO IDEA about how On Demand worked and was legitimately upset with services like FUNi on Demand and Netflix.  VRV must have really ground his gears.

[3ngag3]

Crunchyroll is just subs and I don't know what the fuck "Rooster Teeth" is.  I ain't gonna' double dip.

 

Rooster Teeth are the people behind that Halo parody Red vs. Blue and the faux anime RWBY. They are also now partnered with Screwattack to help produce Death Battle, aka, the "Let's create a shitstorm by pitting two popular game/anime/comic characters against each other and explain why one can kill the other" show.

[ben0119]

Rooster Teeth are the people behind that Halo parody Red vs. Blue and the faux anime RWBY. They are also now partnered with Screwattack to help produce Death Battle, aka, the "Let's create a shitstorm by pitting two popular game/anime/comic characters against each other and explain why one can kill the other" show.

 

So, not anime.  Don't care about Halo.  And I don't know much about "RWBY" except that apparently the fan base has a bad reputation.  Oh yeah, I'm sure that will end well.   So yeah can't really see a reason to get this when I already have the other services I mentioned.

[CaptainStarwind]

So, not anime.  Don't care about Halo.  And I don't know much about "RWBY" except that apparently the fan base has a bad reputation.  Oh yeah, I'm sure that will end well.   So yeah can't really see a reason to get this when I already have the other services I mentioned.

 

You've never heard of Red vs. Blue?  I've never watched it myself, but even I've heard of that.

[MasqueradeOverture]

You've never heard of Red vs. Blue?  I've never watched it myself, but even I've heard of that.

 

The first season is hilarious. Afterwards they upped their budget and tried to make it a semi-serious action series and it just doesn't work.

[Jman]

It does say something that I can watch the Kung Fu films they offer during lunch without a problem but refuse to watch Japanese animation without looking over my shoulder.

[OwlChemist81]

It does say something that I can watch the Kung Fu films they offer during lunch without a problem but refuse to watch Japanese animation without looking over my shoulder.

 

Including Dragon Ball shows? I would think they would be as culturally acceptable as Kung Fu films at least.

[MasqueradeOverture]

Including Dragon Ball shows? I would think they would be as culturally acceptable as Kung Fu films at least.

 

If it's animated and not a western comedy, it's questionable.

[PokeNirvash]

There've been times where I watched anime on my college campus and didn't get any weird looks. How do I do it, you ask?

 

Simple: I sit with my back to the wall so no one can look over my shoulder.

 

[the perfect crime]

[ben0119]

You've never heard of Red vs. Blue?  I've never watched it myself, but even I've heard of that.

 

I've heard of it.  But like I said, I don't like Halo, or shooters in general for the most part, so I didn't really care about that Red vs. Blue thing.  I actually thought it was more of a web comic or something.