Toonami's Influence On Netflix's 2018 Anime Craze

[The1gairon]

Something I been pondering in my mindbrain lately.  I mean, Toonami has in the fans' eyes frequently been the source of making anime popular in America again, which hyped up a lot of shows, and thus made companies like Crunchyroll catch interest.  Netflix's investments in anime for 2018 answers the lingering question about if anime would ever die in the short-term out of repetitive subject matter and niche target demographics (I will not).  But Netflix and other streaming services are now whipping Toonami's ass to the floor in ratings, and I find a bit of irony on the possibility that this is all Toonami's doing. Netflix appears to be their competition, when really they could be allies. The anime industry has earned 2.9 trillion yen for the first time in its history, yet maybe that's just Netflix pumping more fuel into the engine.  And I highly doubt any CEO from places like Hi-Dive, Hulu, or Amazon Strike will ever thank Toonami for it. No wonder Hollywood has been on an (mostly bad) anime adaptation kick recently.

[Daos]

2.9 trillion =P

 

And it's not just lately, Hollywood is run by idiots, always has been. The entire industry produces maybe 2 good movies a year. They can't adapt anything except comic books. They fail at video games and anime.

 

I mean, they tried to make Super Mario Bro's into a movie.  The entire plot of the game is "Mario has to rescue the princess" and that's what they pick to make into a movie? Not Zelda? Or Halo? Half life?

 

I was a huge Wing Commander fan and boy did they fuck that up.

 

Bloodrayne, Ghost in the Shell, Assassins Creed, Dragonball Evolution, Hitman, Max Payne, Warcraft.... the industry just sucks at doing anything right.

[OwlChemist81]

Warcraft was at least decent. And I think the Tomb Raider movies actually did pretty well, but as the games were basically a take on Indiana Jones, it's hard to screw that up.

 

I don't think it's correct to say that Netflix and other streaming services are beating Toonami "in the ratings", plainly because they don't HAVE "ratings." Nielsen has yet to dig its grubby research-loving paws into streaming, so we will never really know how these shows are doing. But the idea that Netflix is producing 30 "Space Dandies" is a HUGE marker of success that took a cue from Toonami. It IS pretty huge that these will ALL be brand-new shows to both the U.S. AND Japan when they're released by Netflix worldwide. However, not like Toonami isn't following suit with their own originals, FLCL 2: Electric Boogaloo and FLCL 3, even if not in the same quantity as Netflix. I daresay they might even introduce another original before the end of '18 as well.

 

 

[Sandstone]

Crunchyroll and Funimation had streaming services present a couple years before Toonami even relaunched if I'm not mistaken. I am betting more people still use those services on a regular basis than watch Toonami. I don't think there is some grand conspiracy to fuck over Toonami. I think they need to compete like everyone else in an open market. If anything this kind of competition is good for the volume and quality of anime readily available to western consumers which was sorely lacking even as recently as 5 years ago, unless you were a big nerd and spent a ton of money buy DVDs off Amazon and Ebay.

 

If anything the fact that technology has now made it much easier to dub anime in a reasonable time frame and extremely easy (compared to before) to market and distribute, has been wonderful for anime fans. I'm not a big taker on companies having a monopoly or oligopoly on any given service. Anime is a luxury, and it should be an open competition. Maybe Toonami will step up their game and invest in stuff that isn't boring, rehashed, or simply garbage quality like their fetish for every Gundam show ever or the terrible quality of season 2 of Tokyo Ghoul. It makes me think they pick things that have name recognition without even bothering to watch the shows. That is not good business practice. Netflix has gobbled up stuff that actually has good content, you don't see them hankering for rehashed shit like Gundam or Naruto Shippuuden filler reruns.

[Sandstone]

After doing a bit of very quick research as I've never been an avid user of Crunchyroll. Their streaming service launched in 2006, a whole 6 years before Toonami even made a return to AS. Likewise Funimation streaming started in its first form in 2011 from what I can gather from Google. I know for a fact that Hulu was airing numerous popular animes as far back as 2008 at least because I watched them on there because they aired them free with commercials.

[The1gairon]

Netflix has gobbled up stuff that actually has good content, you don't see them hankering for rehashed shit like Gundam or Naruto Shippuuden filler reruns.

 

That's more because Toonami has those exclusive rights to stream and air Shippuden and certain Gundam shows, so it's the other way around. 

 

Toonami does watch episodes to decide if it's a good fit, but they only watch like the first 2, or something, which is a horrible way to decide.  This bit them in the ass when airing GXP because it turns out it wasn't at all what they wanted! But the crew has limited time to do all that, so I understand.

[Sandstone]

I do think if they were smart they could enter into a non-competition pact with Netflix though, similar to what Funimation did last year with Crunchyroll. Netflix mostly has subbed anime, in fact, I think I know of maybe 2 that they have which are dubbed. Toonami could potentially work out a non-competition partnership for distribution with them for airing the dubbed version of anime that Netflix acquires. I'm not sure how much that would potentially cost them but I am sure being able to get dubbed licenses to some of the popular stuff Netflix has swiped would be great for their ratings. I don't know if they could even legally do that either since they are licensing anime through other studios such as Funimation if I'm not mistaken. Funimation Now and Crunchyroll's deal was struck because they were both streaming services and had already obvious differences in types of content.

[Sandstone]

That's more because Toonami has those exclusive rights to stream and air Shippuden and certain Gundam shows, so it's the other way around. 

 

Toonami does watch episodes to decide if it's a good fit, but they only watch like the first 2, or something, which is a horrible way to decide.  This bit them in the ass when airing GXP because it turns out it wasn't at all what they wanted! But the crew has limited time to do all that, so I understand.

 

Yes I know, I'm saying those are bad choices and not a good use of their resources. I seriously doubt Shippuden is getting them ratings or their Gundam fixation, but I am just speculating because I don't know exact numbers. I do know that they are using money to acquire and or keep those licenses intact which could be spent on stuff which has arguably better content. That is my point.

[Jman]

Toonami possibly convinced Netflix this was a niche market worth tapping into at a greater level, but so could Crunchyroll having comparable subscription figures to the WWE Network.

[Sandstone]

I definitely do not agree that Toonami was the sole heir to anime in western markets. If anything they were several years late to that party, and have also made some very questionable choices in terms of what they air on top of that.

[Sandstone]

Shippuden, in particular, is an incredibly bad choice of a show, mainly because of two reasons: it is long AND full of a ton of boring filler episodes this seriously hurts the platform they are on as you have wait weeks through nothing but filler. I can't imagine that is good for consistent ratings. Also, it has already been aired in it's entirety via Hulu. I can't imagine that it is good business to hedge bets on shows that are basically reruns in a niche market, even if it is growing.

[The1gairon]

I definitely do not agree that Toonami was the sole heir to anime in western markets. If anything they were several years late to that party, and have also made some very questionable choices in terms of what they air on top of that.

 

Before Toonami came back, anime in America was becoming old hat.  Afterward, I see the same people talk about anime a ton more, and it's only gotten more profitable.  The timeline adds up, in my perspective. But it could also be just me trying to find connections.

[Jman]

There’s definitely an uptick with social media after it returned.  At the same time, now you have Cracked articles about Froppy when she’s a supporting character in anshow only available online.

[The1gairon]

Shippuden, in particular, is an incredibly bad choice of a show, mainly because of two reasons: it is long AND full of a ton of boring filler episodes this seriously hurts the platform they are on as you have wait weeks through nothing but filler. I can't imagine that is good for consistent ratings. Also, it has already been aired in it's entirety via Hulu. I can't imagine that it is good business to hedge bets on shows that are basically reruns in a niche market, even if it is growing.

 

We recently got a boost in ratings for that show, but that's because we happened to be on a particularly great part of an arc.  And yes, Toonami has to change their business model in order to gain more exclusive content. Of Funimations' overwhelming # of broadcast dubs, Toonami only aired TWO.  Something has to change.

[The1gairon]

2.9 trillion =P

 

Fixed.

[Sandstone]

I think it may have spurred more open conversation in terms of large groups which are basically now viewing anime like book clubs, you normally would find this type of behavior on tons of youtube videos for high profile shows like Game of Thrones or Walking Dead. I think they helped spur discussion but they are not solely responsible for the profitability or sustaining and expanding the markets in the same way as Funimation, Crunchyroll, and Hulu, which beat them to the punch by several years. Hulu also lost a ton of anime recently, ironically some of those were also swallowed by Netflix. Netflix is just a big media company now, they are a major competitor in cinema and will remain as such. If Toonami executives start making smarter decisions, have people actually reviewing larger bodies of content (e.g. actual hardcore anime fans), and make smarter investments instead of pulling for shows with big names then they will probably do much better.

[The1gairon]

I think it may have spurred more open conversation in terms of large groups which are basically now viewing anime like book clubs, you normally would find this type of behavior on tons of youtube videos for high profile shows like Game of Thrones or Walking Dead. I think they helped spur discussion but they are not solely responsible for the profitability or sustaining and expanding the markets in the same way as Funimation, Crunchyroll, and Hulu, which beat them to the punch by several years. Hulu also lost a ton of anime recently, ironically some of those were also swallowed by Netflix. Netflix is just a big media company now, they are a major competitor in cinema and will remain as such. If Toonami executives start making smarter decisions, have people actually reviewing larger bodies of content (e.g. actual hardcore anime fans), and make smarter investments instead of pulling for shows with big names then they will probably do much better.

 

Neo Yokio shall save Toonami.  >

[Sandstone]

The fact that they recently announced that they are grabbing MHA is a good start, there is still hope lol. They should try for some darker stuff though or more complex themes that will appeal to young adults and teens which is still their primary audience. I've been saying for a while that they should pick up things like Overlord, Berserk (original and or 2015 - 2017 remake), Claymore, more recent shows like Ancient Magus Bride (not finished airing but would be a very good fit with their style) and Made in Abyss.

 

They also announced via Twitter they've picked up Fairy Tale.... which just makes me ask why? Why would you think airing a show that has been aired by four major streaming outlets already is a good idea? I just don't understand their decision making. The vast majority of people don't want to watch reruns of MOST things these days and anime is not an exception of this. There are some anime that are deffinitely worth watching more than once, but they are few and far between. I would definitely not put a show like Fairy Tale or Naruto Shippuden on that list as their content is lacking save for a very few parts and they are in general extremely generic shounen.

[Sandstone]

Neo Yokio shall save Toonami.  >

 

Yes well they have that in their pocket for sure, and probably the really bad Death Note movie that Netflix made.... maybe if they shoot themselves in the foot like 10 billion more times the score will be even. I wouldn't hold my breath on that possibility though.

[Sandstone]

I'll just add that they really dropped the ball in losing Kakeguri to Netflix. That anime would have gotten ratings for sure.

[Sandstone]

There’s definitely an uptick with social media after it returned.  At the same time, now you have Cracked articles about Froppy when she’s a supporting character in anshow only available online.

 

Hush you, there should be more articles about how awesome Froppy is, not less.

[The1gairon]

They also announced via Twitter they've picked up Fairy Tale.... which just makes me ask why? Why would you think airing a show that has been aired by four major streaming outlets already is a good idea? I just don't understand their decision making.

 

... conflicting emotions from me.

 

So is it safe to say that Toonami dropping the ball on Fairy Tail was a horrible decision??  It was on FOUR OUTLETS ALREADY and DeMarco never even bothered  ta fookin WATCH any of it!??  You had 6 years and over 300 episodes of da ting!!!!! The fact that almost everyone ELSE wanted it enough to stream them themselves should've PROBABLY changed your mind to give up maybe a measly hour of your life!  You probably would've STILL rejected it.... but at least you godamn GAVE IT A CHANCE!  Goodness.

 

Not to mention, once Netflix runs MHA and Fairy Tail, does that mean Funimation can't??  Will those be totally off their site??

[OwlChemist81]

The fact that they recently announced that they are grabbing MHA is a good start, there is still hope lol. They should try for some darker stuff though or more complex themes that will appeal to young adults and teens which is still their primary audience. I've been saying for a while that they should pick up things like Overlord, Berserk (original and or 2015 - 2017 remake), Claymore, more recent shows like Ancient Magus Bride (not finished airing but would be a very good fit with their style) and Made in Abyss.

 

They also announced via Twitter they've picked up Fairy Tale.... which just makes me ask why? Why would you think airing a show that has been aired by four major streaming outlets already is a good idea? I just don't understand their decision making. The vast majority of people don't want to watch reruns of MOST things these days and anime is not an exception of this. There are some anime that are deffinitely worth watching more than once, but they are few and far between. I would definitely not put a show like Fairy Tale or Naruto Shippuden on that list as their content is lacking save for a very few parts and they are in general extremely generic shounen.

 

Did they really announce that they were getting MHA or is this just something we inferred from DeMarco's cryptic ranting?

[Sandstone]

... conflicting emotions from me.

 

So is it safe to say that Toonami dropping the ball on Fairy Tail was a horrible decision??  It was on FOUR OUTLETS ALREADY and DeMarco never even bothered  ta fookin WATCH any of it!??  You had 6 years and over 300 episodes of da ting!!!!! The fact that almost everyone ELSE wanted it enough to stream them themselves should've PROBABLY changed your mind to give up maybe a measly hour of your life!  You probably would've STILL rejected it.... but at least you godamn GAVE IT A CHANCE!  Goodness.

 

Not to mention, once Netflix runs MHA and Fairy Tail, does that mean Funimation can't??  Will those be totally off their site??

 

No Funi licenses directly from the Japanese animation studios that own the rights to the shows. I'm not sure who or how Netflix licenses from, I'm assuming they are doing it through Funi and/or another distributor that does subbing and dubbing unless they are doing it themselves.

 

MHA is reportedly picked up by Toonami, which if that is true that is a very good pick. Mainly because it hasn't aired anywhere but Funimation yet. Netflix doesn't have it in their catalog, and I don't see it in the list of animes they are claiming to produce for next year. It's pretty much the perfect choice, as opposed to a show like Shippuden or Fairy Tale which has already been streamed both subbed and dubbed by multiple outlets already.

[Sandstone]

OwlChemist81[/member]

 

You are actually right, I am sorry for the confusion. This is just a rumor actually, I misinterpreted the source that I got this from. I seriously hope they do not pick up Fairy Tale for the aforementioned reason.

 

MHA would be a really excellent pick up for them, it is already dubbed and isn't licensed by Netflix yet. I think it is currently on Hulu right now so I don't know if that would make a big difference. Still not that many people have seen it yet, as it is brand new. Shows like Fairy Tale and Shippuden have been broadcast multiple times for several years now.

[OwlChemist81]

WHO is reporting that Toonami has picked up MHA? Damn right that's a great pick! For it to replace Lupin the 3rd would probably work out perfectly (though not in timeslot; JoJo and Gundam IBO should step aside for this one...), since Season 3 is supposedly coming out in October 2018!

 

Then again, maybe 1:30 WOULD be OK for MHA from the beginning...

 

[korosu]

OwlChemist81[/member]

 

You are actually right, I am sorry for the confusion. This is just a rumor actually, I misinterpreted the source that I got this from. I seriously hope they do not pick up Fairy Tale for the aforementioned reason.

 

those two are the most requested shows

 

toonami can't get mha at the moment

[Sandstone]

These are just rumors I've seen on a few twitter accounts that aren't official sources. I misinterpreted what they were saying as an official announcement, so there is no official confirmation about this as of yet. And yes it would be awesome...

 

I dunno I just feel they are being run by people who don't have a passion for Anime, and it shows... if you can't be bothered to hire people who actually know what makes a good anime and what anime fans tend to like then you're not going to be doing anything but getting lucky on occasion...

 

If they were really smart, they would move their time slot earlier two hours and air their less violent or dark content earlier, it would get better views that way. The Early block could be DB Kai, DB Super, HxH, and Shippuden if they really wanted to keep it if you put those on at 9 pm and 10 pm respectively you'd be seeing a lot higher ratings than you do now. Save weird stuff with mature content like Jojo for 11 pm or later. It will still get good ratings because it has good content and they could avoid the restrictions of primetime that way. They could also still air their variety like DB or Gundam vs more violent or mature stuff like Berserk (assuming they'd ever pick it up) or Overlord in a later slot.

 

I have a small list of anime I would love for them to consider:

 

Quality stuff they could invest in that few or no one has (Evening Slots):

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MHA - this is a given I think for anyone that knows about it.

Made in Abyss

Ancient Magus Bride

Tiger and Bunny

Mob Psycho 100

One Punch Man season 2 (when it ever gets made)

Yuri on Ice (this would almost deffinitely never happen for multiple reasons)

Beelzebub

Katekyo Hitman Reborn

Ushio and Tora

Clannad (if they wanted slice of life)

Shaman King

Magi

 

 

Quality stuff they could invest that few or no one has (Late Night):

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Overlord

Berserk (might be considered too graphic)

Steins Gate

Claymore

Bungou Stray Dogs

Monster (might be considered too graphic)

Elfen Lied (probably would never happen cause it is very graphic)

Gantz (probably would never happen cause it is very graphic)

Drifters

Blade of the Immortal

Arslan Senki

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (probably too graphic)

Darker than Black

Now and then Here and There (almost definitely too graphic or upsetting)

 

They probably are not even aware of a quarter of the above shows, which is indicative of the underlying problem.

[Sandstone]

those two are the most requested shows

 

toonami can't get mha at the moment

 

Is it because Hulu has the rights to stream it?

[Sandstone]

Season 3 of MHA has already been confirmed in production for 2018. Which is not surprising since it is currently one of the most popular Manga and Anime in Japan the last couple of years.

[PokeNirvash]

Monster (might be considered too graphic)

Now and then Here and There (almost definitely too graphic or upsetting)

These two aired on SyFy, your claims in the parentheses are invalid as all fuck. shithead

 

Also, Toonami aired Hellsing freaking Ultimate without cutting any of the violence, I'm pretty sure gore is no longer a stopping factor for shows. Copious amounts of naked women, however, still are, hence why Elfen Lied still won't be picked up.

[Sandstone]

These two aired on SyFy, your claims in the parentheses are invalid as all fuck. shithead

 

Also, Toonami aired Hellsing freaking Ultimate without cutting any of the violence, I'm pretty sure gore is no longer a stopping factor for shows. Copious amounts of naked women, however, still are, hence why Elfen Lied still won't be picked up.

 

I wasn't aware of the SyFy airings, that is an entirely different network though, it just seemed to me the content of those shows would be too graphic for network executives to sign off on airing them. I also wasn't aware they aired Hellsing Ultimate either, but I have not watched Toonami until recently. If that is the case then only Elfen Lied and Higurashi would probably not be aired to do sexual and/or extreme violence involving females.

[Sandstone]

I simply thought Now and Then in particular would not be signed on a network like AS because it contains rape themes and depictions.

[PokeNirvash]

Higurashi could be aired, but Elfen Lied, definitely not.

 

Also, SAO aired on Toonami and had no less than three rape attempts. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't bar Now and Then from airing either.

 

I swear, you're so out of the loop you don't even know there is a loop.

[Sandstone]

Yeah, I didn't know about SAO, I still don't think they'd ever air it or Higurashi but maybe I'm wrong.

 

Either way the list I gave were just suggestions not to cause a debate jeez.

[PokeNirvash]

Hey, I'm only bringing them up because you apparently didn't know that [as] has loosened up their standards in the past five years. Hell, they're even allowed to say "shit" now!

[Sandstone]

Lol well I knew that, they just lagged behind so many other cable networks for so wrong in terms of content ratings it is still hard for me to imagine. lol

[The1gairon]

Did they really announce that they were getting MHA or is this just something we inferred from DeMarco's cryptic ranting?

 

I don't know of any confirmation for this.

[The1gairon]

If only they aired during dinner time.

 

... then they could run the upcoming Food Wars dub.

[Daos]

Pretty sure MHA isn't happening =P

 

Fairytail is from 2009, doubt its happening at this point.

 

And yeah Toonami will continue to miss the boat on stuff like Kakegurui and MHA because the guy running Toonami either has shitty taste or no money to get anything new and popular.

 

Overlord, GATE, and Tanya the Evil would all be great for Toonami but it doesn't look like any of them are on their radar.

[Sandstone]

Pretty sure MHA isn't happening =P

 

Fairytail is from 2009, doubt its happening at this point.

 

And yeah Toonami will continue to miss the boat on stuff like Kakegurui and MHA because the guy running Toonami either has shitty taste or no money to get anything new and popular.

 

Overlord, GATE, and Tanya the Evil would all be great for Toonami but it doesn't look like any of them are on their radar.

 

OOOOH Tanya! Yes I knew I was forgetting something else from my favorites list. It would be perfect for them, plus I don't think anyone else has announced for those yet. It seems more and more like incompetent management to me though, as sad as that is. I'm not really sure how hard it is to hire one or two people who know anime to do Quality Control... or even hold a fucking poll ffs. We came up with multiple things better than like 60% of what they are currently airing in less than a few hours. I don't see why it is so hard, unless its just a matter of taste and willingness...

[The1gairon]

OOOOH Tanya! Yes I knew I was forgetting something else from my favorites list. It would be perfect for them, plus I don't think anyone else has announced for those yet. It seems more and more like incompetent management to me though, as sad as that is. I'm not really sure how hard it is to hire one or two people who know anime to do Quality Control... or even hold a fucking poll ffs. We came up with multiple things better than like 60% of what they are currently airing in less than a few hours. I don't see why it is so hard, unless its just a matter of taste and willingness...

 

Is their budget really so tight??  Probably so! 

[Top Gun]

...you do realize that most series generating any sort of buzz get snapped up by providers with far deeper pockets than DeMarco could ever dream of having, right?  I mean Netflix is going to flat-out co-produce up to 30 anime series in the next year or so.  A Saturday night block on a niche cable network doesn't have anywhere near that kind of pull.  I don't think for a second that DeMarco isn't aware of what's out there: the guy's a general fan of anime, and he frequently references a large breadth of shows.  I don't agree with every choice he's made for the block, but I have to believe he's doing the best he can with what's actually feasible to acquire.

 

(Also Fairy Tail is hot garbage, so good riddance.)

[korosu]

Is it because Hulu has the rights to stream it?

 

https://ask.fm/Clarknova/answers/141989027305

 

he also said on twitter recently that they can't get Mob Psycho 100 at the moment either

[Daos]

...you do realize that most series generating any sort of buzz get snapped up by providers with far deeper pockets than DeMarco could ever dream of having, right?  I mean Netflix is going to flat-out co-produce up to 30 anime series in the next year or so.  A Saturday night block on a niche cable network doesn't have anywhere near that kind of pull.  I don't think for a second that DeMarco isn't aware of what's out there: the guy's a general fan of anime, and he frequently references a large breadth of shows.  I don't agree with every choice he's made for the block, but I have to believe he's doing the best he can with what's actually feasible to acquire.

 

(Also Fairy Tail is hot garbage, so good riddance.)

 

Naruto is hot garbage, it just beat the 2 shows before it and hit 116 percent retention. Sometimes garbage brings in good ratings which allows you to have a bigger budget and not get cancelled. Both positive things.

 

I don't know enough about Demarco to say for sure.... but it seems to me like he's a general fan of really old anime. Like Gundam. Doesn't seem like he's that up to date on anything current unless it's buzzing around his twitter feed.

 

Other shows that get aired like Casshern Sins, GXP,  and TG should be avoided simply by him asking around the office... "Hey did anyone see any of these? Oh you did? They all suck? K I won't air them then, thanks"

 

I just don't buy that there's any form of quality control going on over there.

 

What new shows has Demarco actually watched? Does he ever mention Re Zero, Tanya, Overlord, Gate, Made in Abyss, No Game No Life, Assassination Classroom, Danmachi, Kakegurui... anything like that?

 

 

[PokeNirvash]

1. Just because you dislike Casshern, don't assume the people around the Toonami offices share your sentiment.

2. Kakegurui's apparently a Netflix original, so I clearly doubt he's considering that.

[Daos]

Yeah he's not considering it, we talked about how Netflix somehow ended up getting that improbable hit on another thread. But has he watched it? Or any of those shows? He's never going to be able to air Seven Deadly Sins, but did he watch it? Does he watch anything new? MHA? Mob Psycho? That's my question.

[Blatch]

I don't think so. Instead, he invests too much of the time into politics.

 

Under this logic, with nobody to see what's popular, it's a miracle Toonami has had good ratings for this long. But, in reality, their success came from not really focusing on new shit, but looking at old shows they knew were really good and exposing a wider audience to them. Right now, the block is too far between airing the new hotness and undiscovered gems. I'd like them to go in both directions at the same time.

 

Also, as an epilogue for this, Toonami has absolutely no incentive to change if their ratings are still pretty good. But rather than passing off this entire continued conversation as meaningless, I'll just say that you might have to try really hard to see our demands through.

[Top Gun]

Yeah he's not considering it, we talked about how Netflix somehow ended up getting that improbable hit on another thread. But has he watched it? Or any of those shows? He's never going to be able to air Seven Deadly Sins, but did he watch it? Does he watch anything new? MHA? Mob Psycho? That's my question.

Why not just ask him?

[Jman]

I do think Toonami gets less credit for making the stuff cool again but at the same time it arrived as companies with immense financial resources began to do what no one really had done.  Market it with other things in a way that was respectful.  The days of 4Kids edits and ultra niche cable on demand services are over.  Now these companies outbid Toonami and show it on demand in a way that’s easy to access.