Expectations for Toonami in 2023

[Toonamiguy321]

We have 2 regular nights of Toonami, plus our typical 2 weeks of holiday marathons and then we are turning the page into 2023. This year has been quite the rollercoaster for the block, we hit the ground running with a new show announcement the very first day of 2022, then we had a couple more not long after. Things slowed down for us quite a bit after that, but we managed to end on a high note with MHA S6. 
 

So what is everyone expecting from the block in 2023? With the market calm, and a small gesture from CR that they may be more cooperative in the future, the future looks a little less unstable. Here’s what we know we are getting.

1. FLCL Shoegaze (6 episodes)

2. FLCL Grunge (6 episodes)

3. Ninja Kamui (6 episodes)

4. Uzumaki (4 episodes)

5. Attack on Titan Final Season

That still leaves space for a few more pickups, not a ton since we are only juggling 6 slots, 2 of which are eternally spoken for, but there is space. 
 

And a second question, is there anything in particular that you would like to see the block pick up, even if there is no evidence or precedent that it could come? The block really dropped the ball on fresh blood this year, the only new franchise among the acquired shows this year was Made in Abyss.  That doesn’t mean next year can’t be different though. We are going to see both Yashahime and MiA S2 leave the block in February, and there aren’t any obvious sequel choices I see them aiming for currently. Even if we see one of the above originals get started early in the year, that’s still one slot for some potential fresh blood. 

[PokeNirvash]

The new Bleach anime. Anything and everything else shall be a pleasant surprise.

[Jman]

We’re going to get the new FLCL, and it will be worse than the last batch, cementing it along with the Matrix and Eureka 7 as an example of a franchise where only the first entry is good.

Uzumaki will be delayed one more time at which point a furious David Zaslav cuts his losses and cancels it.

[viperxmns]

I never know what's in rights hell, but I always want Toonami to get more Gundam, Bleach would be nice, or if they could air the new Dragon Ball Super Hero movie

 

 

 

[naraku360]

7 hours ago, Jman said:

We’re going to get the new FLCL, and it will be worse than the last batch

I miss when bland and mediocre wasn't such a high bar....

Edited December 8, 2022 by naraku360

[OwlChemist81]

Let's start with the obvious: Assuming we get marathons on Christmas and New Year's Eve, which would probably be Made In Abyss Episodes 14-19 and YashaHime Episodes 37-42, both shows end in mid-February, I believe on the 11th.

Gundam: Witch From Mercury not yet having a dub makes for quite an interesting outlier. If the plan is to keep the 1 AM timeslot female-friendly, a giant robot show with a girl protagonist is probably a decent way to go.

As for the 12:30 timeslot, that's a little trickier. Don't move MHA and put an original there.

[atomicinumatt]

18 hours ago, Toonamiguy321 said:

1. FLCL Shoegaze (6 episodes)

2. FLCL Grunge (6 episodes)

3. Ninja Kamui (6 episodes)

4. Uzumaki (4 episodes)

5. Attack on Titan Final Season

Aside from those that you listed, I am not expecting anything in particular. I would not be surprised if Uzumaki gets delayed into oblivion. 

But I am more or less just hoping that we might get something like Bleach: TYBW or maybe even Chainsaw Man. 

I really want something chill and SoL like Call of the Night. 

Still holding out hope that they get the Dawn of the Deep Soul but I know that is not going to happen haha

Again, not that I expect anything like this, but it would be what I would want most for one of those slots on the block. I would say I want CSM most. 

[Toonamiguy321]

6 hours ago, OwlChemist81 said:

As for the 12:30 timeslot, that's a little trickier. Don't move MHA and put an original there.

This is a change in tactics I hope they consider. I know they are their main focus, but insisting the originals lead has really held them all back. Seeing Primal pull consistent numbers for 20 straight weeks, then HCC crashing into the dirt, followed by MHA reruns recovering immediately shows a pretty clear issue trying to lead with those shows. Admittedly, they didn’t have alternatives in October, but when they do have a solid shonen anchor show on hand, originals should follow it up at 12:30. 
 

4 hours ago, atomicinumatt said:

I really want something chill and SoL like Call of the Night. 

Still holding out hope that they get the Dawn of the Deep Soul but I know that is not going to happen haha

I do wish we could keep one slot for a show that isn’t the normal block vibe. MiA kinda fits that role right now, but my expectations for its replacement are a return to the norm. 
 

As for the movie, there’s no sense chasing it anymore. They have already spoiled it with S2, as well as told fans to go out and watch it on their own. If they did get it, it would just be a repeat of the end of Hellsing where people don’t bother to watch it since Demarco told them to pirate it instead. 

[atomicinumatt]

49 minutes ago, Toonamiguy321 said:

As for the movie, there’s no sense chasing it anymore. They have already spoiled it with S2, as well as told fans to go out and watch it on their own. If they did get it, it would just be a repeat of the end of Hellsing where people don’t bother to watch it since Demarco told them to pirate it instead. 

Well I guess that is precedent then haha

[MasqueradeOverture]

Valantine's Day weekend Redo of Healer marathon hosted by Jordan Peterson.

[korosu]

23 hours ago, OwlChemist81 said:

both shows end in mid-February, I believe on the 11th.

made in abyss s2 finale is an hour long

[Sketch]

Things I expect them to aim for that they can probably get: 

Bleach TYBW, G Witch, Urusei Yatsura, Lupin Zero, Dr. Stone season 3

Things I hope they consider:

Birdie Wing (if Sunrise dubs it), Kaiji and Akiba Maid War

Made in Abyss might be directly replaced by Attack on Titan but the next Sentai show is either Urusei Yatsura or Lupin Zero.

YashaHime is replaced by Bleach TYBW or G Witch.

I’m holding out a tiny bit of hope that when Primal reruns finish in January that we’ll get a 6th premiere. Maybe the G Witch dub will be ready by then and eternal shounen hour shifts down. Alternatively, they might get 11:30 back if they have enough new content to warrant it.

[Toonamiguy321]

5 hours ago, korosu said:

made in abyss s2 finale is an hour long

They will either cut the rerun that night, or somehow get Yashahime sped up by a week so there is a blank slot the finale can take over then they can refresh 2 slots the following week. 

[Daos]

How can they possibly justify more FLCL after the way the last sequels were? What is the thought process here?

[Jman]

16 minutes ago, Daos said:

How can they possibly justify more FLCL after the way the last sequels were? What is the thought process here?

DeMarco likes it.

[Sketch]

4 hours ago, Toonamiguy321 said:

They will either cut the rerun that night, or somehow get Yashahime sped up by a week so there is a blank slot the finale can take over then they can refresh 2 slots the following week. 

Or they might skip YashaHime the week MiA ends and finish it the next week to stagger the two premieres but it’s just about as likely they’ll expand the block for the night or bump another show for one week.

[Daos]

3 hours ago, Jman said:

DeMarco likes it.

I think you know he never actually watched the sequels =P

[Blatch]

Not much embellishment, just my gut talking:

2023 is a good year for Toonami, but the block still suffers on some fronts. I don't expect that Crunchyroll giving them an inch will lead to catalog titles airing. We'll probably get more Fire Force and/or Dr. Stone and that's it. And they'll still drag their feet on Sentai's catalog, only getting Lupin Zero early in the year and then Ushio & Tora later on. Or maybe Log Horizon, because I'm trying to will this into existence by talking about it enough times. Thank Icculus we're getting more AoT. And I'd say Bleach: TYBW is a given too, given the Viz connection.

As for the new shows: they'll all be nothingburgers, although one of the FLCL sequels (and only one of them) is as good as Progressive was. I didn't know (reference not intended) Ninja Kamui is only six episodes, which is too bad... or not, given Toonami's usual track record for originals.

Finally, is there anything else I want Toonami to air that they could reasonably get? Nah. Except for Memories of Phantasm as an April Fools' joke.

[OwlChemist81]

The April Fool's stunt is usually on the night of March 31st, which is a Friday next year. In 2017 they DID air a Rick & Morty premiere from 8 PM to Midnight so I guess something like that IS possible in 2023, but chances are it won't be Toonami-related.

And unfortunately, the year after next is a leap year, so March 31st will be a Sunday.

[Sketch]

On 12/10/2022 at 7:32 PM, Blatch said:

Not much embellishment, just my gut talking:

2023 is a good year for Toonami, but the block still suffers on some fronts. I don't expect that Crunchyroll giving them an inch will lead to catalog titles airing. We'll probably get more Fire Force and/or Dr. Stone and that's it. And they'll still drag their feet on Sentai's catalog, only getting Lupin Zero early in the year and then Ushio & Tora later on. Or maybe Log Horizon, because I'm trying to will this into existence by talking about it enough times. Thank Icculus we're getting more AoT. And I'd say Bleach: TYBW is a given too, given the Viz connection.

As for the new shows: they'll all be nothingburgers, although one of the FLCL sequels (and only one of them) is as good as Progressive was. I didn't know (reference not intended) Ninja Kamui is only six episodes, which is too bad... or not, given Toonami's usual track record for originals.

Finally, is there anything else I want Toonami to air that they could reasonably get? Nah. Except for Memories of Phantasm as an April Fools' joke.

We don't actually know how long Ninja Kamui is but based on the track record of original anime for Toonami that aren't Crunchyroll co-pros... it might be 4 or 6 episodes but it could also between 10 and 13 episodes based on other original production orders.

I believe Log Horizon seasons 1 and 2 are no longer in the Sentai catalog and when FUNimation acquired season 3 they got the other the rights to the other two seasons. The Sentai box sets seem to be out of print as well.

[Blatch]

On 12/10/2022 at 11:00 PM, OwlChemist81 said:

The April Fool's stunt is usually on the night of March 31st, which is a Friday next year. In 2017 they DID air a Rick & Morty premiere from 8 PM to Midnight so I guess something like that IS possible in 2023, but chances are it won't be Toonami-related.

And unfortunately, the year after next is a leap year, so March 31st will be a Sunday.

They've done numerous gags on April 1, the last one being Bushworld Adventures. It probably won't be about Toonami unless they expand the block, but you never know.

[probably just a little too early for the premiere of cinderella girls u149... 😒]

[Toonamiguy321]

54 minutes ago, Blatch said:

They've done numerous gags on April 1, the last one being Bushworld Adventures. It probably won't be about Toonami unless they expand the block, but you never know.

[probably just a little too early for the premiere of cinderella girls u149... 😒]

The problem right now is since the block is at midnight, it doesn’t occupy 2 days like it did when it was at 11 or earlier. So while Saturday is April 1 in 2023, when Toonami actually starts airing, it will be April 2. So any “next day” prank would be for AS, unless Toonami is elevated above midnight prior to April 1. 
 

The next year that April 1 is on a Sunday, isn’t until 2029. I don’t think this block will be seeing another April fools prank. And honestly? Probably for the best. They set the bar super high with the subbed block, I don’t think they can top that. Especially looking at the past few years pranks which have been super short and low effort. I don’t think the new bosses see much value in this tradition. 

[PokeNirvash]

8 hours ago, Blatch said:

They've done numerous gags on April 1, the last one being Bushworld Adventures.

Oh, so Gemusetto, Post's Game, [adult swim] jr. and Pibby never happened, then?

[Blatch]

4 hours ago, PokeNirvash said:

Oh, so Gemusetto, Post's Game, [adult swim] jr. and Pibby never happened, then?

I meant April 1 after 8:00P. 🥴

[Toonamiguy321]

Looks like Ninja Kamui is not as certain for 2023 as we thought. With this in mind, id say the absolute earliest ETA would be November after Uzumaki. 
 

Or, the start of October to fill in for Uzumaki missing it’s deadline once again. 

[Jman]

I stand by my theory that if Uzumaki blows another deadline Zaslav kills it.