Toonami: Anime for Insomniacs

[Sandman87]

A place to discuss all things Toonami.

 

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Toonami has announced that they'll be showing Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann beginning with the August 16th broadcast. The show ran previously on SciFi during Ani-Mondays.

 

For those not familiar with it, TTGL is a giant robot show that's approximately the opposite of Evangelion. It's high energy, optimistic, and a lot of fun, with a "holy crap!" factor that escalates with almost every episode. Generally speaking, a lot of ass gets kicked by all and sundry.

[PrincessEnnui]

Thank you, Sandman! I said this on tumblr, but I need Tom to mention Leeroy from Gurren Lagann (same VA). It has to happen!

 

I posted this in the Shippuden forum, but earlier this month (IIRC) Toonami asked for fans to send in suggestions. The link is to Toonami Faithful, an unoffical group, but the request is official. I really would like to see Toonami expanded. Maybe on Fridays, since its a death slot anyway, ratings won't be (as) hurt. I am ticked that Toonami shelled out for the rights to Cowboy Bebop and only has the first two seasons of Naruto. Waste of time for the audience and Toonami.

[hieronymous0no]

Ahh there is a Toonami forum! I should really make better use of the search feature...

I'm not always a fan of big robot shows, so I'm very new to TTGL (I started it when it showed up on Hulu/NeonAlley) and it's everything Sandman87 said and more. Also it looks fabulous.

A Tom mention of Leeroy? Seconded!

edited @ 9pm because my spelling and grammar are horrible when I'm stealth posting instead of working.

Edited August 26, 2014 by hieronymous0no

[Sandman87]

I feel obliged to point out that it's Leeron, not Leeroy. But yeah, he's all kinds of awesome, and a departure from Steve Blum's usual roles (Spike, Wolverine, Roger Smith, etc.)

[hieronymous0no]

I feel obliged to point out that it's Leeron, not Leeroy. But yeah, he's all kinds of awesome, and a departure from Steve Blum's usual roles (Spike, Wolverine, Roger Smith, etc.)

You're totally right! Thanks for the correction.

[Sandman87]

I keep forgetting to mention that there's a Gurren Lagann forum here now. Kind of embarrassing, since that's what spurred me to open this thread in the first place.

 

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I wonder what was up with that Captain Murphy short that Toonami ran on Saturday. Stealth pilot for a new series? If it is, I hope it'll be on at a time where I don't have to watch it.

Edited August 26, 2014 by Sandman87

[Sandman87]

A last minute reminder that Toonami is running an Attack on Titan marathon tonight, with Space Dandy followed by a bunch of AoT reruns.

[Sandman87]

Toonami announced that they'll be running Hellsing Ultimate starting next weekend to replace Black Lagoon. I'm curious to see if there's going to be anything left of it after they edit it to fit with a TV-MA rating, because it's one of the most violent and bloody OVAs that I've ever watched.

[hieronymous0no]

Toonami announced that they'll be running Hellsing Ultimate starting next weekend to replace Black Lagoon. I'm curious to see if there's going to be anything left of it after they edit it to fit with a TV-MA rating, because it's one of the most violent and bloody OVAs that I've ever watched.

Recommended?

[Sandman87]

Yeah, I'd recommend it, but with some qualifications. It's tempting to compare it to a Tarantino film. The whole "stye over substance" thing is cranked up to 11 in this show, so it's best not to think too hard about how dumb the cool looking and sounding things really are. And don't look for any accuracy in the show's depiction of England, either. Just be prepared to suspend a whole lot of disbelief. And have a well developed tolerance for characters who are massive hams.

 

On a more positive note, the show adheres almost completely to the story from the manga, unlike the Hellsing TV anime series from 2001 (which diverged completely after a certain point). Which means that one of the most awesome speeches in all of anime (IMO) is there, as well as one of the most satisfying bad guy take-downs.

[Sandman87]

The Hellsing Ultimate forum is now open for business.

[hieronymous0no]

Yeah, I'd recommend it, but with some qualifications. It's tempting to compare it to a Tarantino film. The whole "stye over substance" thing is cranked up to 11 in this show, so it's best not to think too hard about how dumb the cool looking and sounding things really are. And don't look for any accuracy in the show's depiction of England, either. Just be prepared to suspend a whole lot of disbelief. And have a well developed tolerance for characters who are massive hams.

 

On a more positive note, the show adheres almost completely to the story from the manga, unlike the Hellsing TV anime series from 2001 (which diverged completely after a certain point). Which means that one of the most awesome speeches in all of anime (IMO) is there, as well as one of the most satisfying bad guy take-downs.

 

Thank you, Sandman87. I appreciate your comments. I was on the fence, but it sounds like it will be a fun ride.

[Sandman87]

It just hit me that no one here has bothered to open a forum for Bleach, including myself. Probably because it's just not worth bothering with in this final, craptastic season.

Out of curiosity I took a look at the recent Toonami ratings. Doing pretty darn good. Most of the shows are either leading or tied for the lead in their time slots compared to the basic cable competition.

[lathspel]

For a while I didn't care about what was going on with Bleach. Now that the Fullbringer thing has kicked into high gear, I still don't quite care enough to request the forum.

[Sandman87]

Toonami will be doing a Beware the Batman marathon this weekend:

 

11:30p Attack on Titan
12:00a Bleach
12:30a Space Dandy
1:00a Naruto:Shippuden
1:30a One Piece
2:00a Gurren Lagann
2:30a Beware the Batman
3:00a Beware the Batman
3:30a Beware the Batman
4:00a Beware the Batman
4:30a Beware the Batman
5:00a Beware the Batman
5:30a Beware the Batman

 

Thanks to Lantern7 for the heads-up.

 

 

ETA: A search of old Toonami stuff on Anime News Network turned up an announcement from back in May that they'll be running Dragon Ball Z Kai "this fall", so that'll probably be one of the replacement shows coming up soon.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Sandman87

[hieronymous0no]

...then it's gone: http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/98164760488/good-news-bad-news-batman-fans along with Symbiotic Titan. 

 

Also, Toonami tumblr Q&A this Sunday at 11:30AM to ~1PM.

[Sandman87]

Toonami has a new promo that says they'll be running Dragon Ball Z Kai "soon", because they wouldn't want to be specific or anything.

[Sandman87]

As if I didn't have enough difficulty catching all the Toonami shows, now Dish Network is dropping all the Turner channels, including all of Cartoon Network, until they iron out a new agreement.

[weyrbunny]

AFAICT, every Toonami show is available online, most in HD. I finally weened myself off the cable teat this summer, because I couldn't take the bullshit prices anymore. It's been liberating. There was a withdrawal period, of course, but otherwise the only difference is that I have to look up what aired on what date sometimes, so I know which episodes to catch up on for PTV.

 

Viva la Cord-Cutting!

[lathspel]

There's no forum for Bleach, so I'll mention here that for a long time it's meant Toonami / Adult Swim to me. I'll miss it anchoring the block. DBZ isn't really my thing, so I'll have a little less time in front of the DVR, until Toonami picks up something new.

[ninjawirehead]

I am still a Bleach fan and I watched the whole Fullbringer Arc in all its dubbed glory. Yeah, it was not much better the second time around. I will say I am bummed about Bleach being over, at least in animated form.  Bleach was one of the very first anime that I watched regularly and really got engaged with, along with Naruto and Zatch Bell.  I still read the manga.

 

Heard that Toonami isn't running the last two episodes of the Hellsing: Ultimate OVA. It will be replaced by Inuyasha, The Final Act starting November 15. To say I am not happy is an understatement. I have really enjoyed Hellsing, gory and over the top though it may be. This from someone who does not care for the vampire/monster/horror genre as a rule.

[Sandman87]

So Bleach is done now. The show started out well, then turned to snark-bait. Ah well, at least I'll always have seasons 1, 2, and 3.

 

I'll keep my fingers crossed that Toonami will eventually show the last two episodes of Hellsing Ultimate.

[lathspel]

Hellsing Ultimate is planned to run during December, as part of the month of movies.

Also, Inuyasha: The Final Act is back as of tonight. Nice to see another anime stalwart returning for a bit - it will help me with the Bleach nostalgia I think.

[lathspel]

I carefully considered if it was worth it, before requesting the Inuyasha forum:

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/18198-all-episodes-talk-through-thewishing-well/?view=getnewpost

[Sandman87]

The hostilities between Dish and Turner have been temporarily suspended while they negotiate some more, so Toonami is back on Dish until further notice.

[weyrbunny]

FYI, here's Toonami's December 2014 movie schedule:
 
Dec. 6: Hellsing Ultimate 9 
              Summer Wars
Dec. 13: Hellsing Ultimate 10 
                Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos
Dec. 20: Dragonball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan 
                 Akira
Dec. 27: Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone
                Evangelion 2.22: You Can (Not) Advance

 

Original announcement: http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/102102142900/movie-time-announcement

[Sandman87]

Ah yes, my annual December of Disappointment. That magical time of year when they put the shows that I want to watch on hold while they show movies that I don't particularly want to see or have already seen.

 

Ah well, at least they're going to finish up Hellsing Ultimate.

[weyrbunny]

Yeah, the list seems particularly warmed-over this year.

 

At least it was a reminder for me to visit the library to see what new 2013-14 anime movies are available--first up was Colorful, next up is Patema Inverted.

[hieronymous0no]

At least it was a reminder for me to visit the library to see what new 2013-14 anime movies are available--first up was Colorful, next up is Patema Inverted.

 

Wow, Colorful. I was on this borderline obsessive quest to find it anywhere a while back, then I got busy and forgot about it until now. I'm so glad you mentioned it, weyrbunny. I'll have to see if I can find it now.

[weyrbunny]

Colorful was well done--very It's a Wonderful Life. But it will never be one of my favorites. I much preferred Tokyo Godfathers and Wolf Children, just to name two other family dramas. I commented on Colorful over in Anime & Toons... by the way.

 

Back on topic: um, none of these films will ever air on Toonami because there are no explosions. Except for the emotional kind.

[Sandman87]

Just to be clear, the plot of Summer Wars begins when the U.S. D.O.D. decides to test the cybernetic equivalent of a zombie plague. And the target they decide to test it on? The electronic infrastructure of the entire planet. Yeah, there's no way that could go wrong. Good luck to the State Department when they try to explain that one.

 

I still find it hilarious that one of the family members can't find the family home because her GPS doesn't work. Maybe she needs to be introduced to these things known as "maps" and "freeway signs." Also hilarious that they got the super duper mainframe computer that sucks as much power as a small town, but they've hooked it up to a Dell keyboard.

 

Grandma is awesome. She runs the country. She wields a mean naginata. She can determine someone's character with a single look. And she settles family disputes from beyond the grave. Plus, in that old black and white photo of her as a young woman she totally looks like she's ready to rip someone's head off.

 

Signs that your party was completely out of hand. There's a generator boat in the koi pond, a supercomputer in the living room, a top secret military communications truck parked on the lawn, a new hot spring in front that was gouged out by falling space junk, and a corpse in one of the bedrooms. Not to mention enough leftover squid to feed the entire neighborhood.

 

Kenji's school friend has an avatar that looks exactly like The Nerd from Robot Chicken.

[weyrbunny]

Wasn't the problem that Love Machine got loose, in a Stuxnet parallel? But yeah, the US failed at even basic planning...

 

Another bad sign: the fate of the world depends on a party-guest's ability to do math in his head.

[Sandman87]

Also on Summer Wars: Last year no one at TWoP could figure out what the mysterious upgrade from John and Yoko did at the end of the card battle, other than some cosmetic improvements. I think I got it this year. I think the upgrade is what allowed Natsuki to raise the betting limit.

[lathspel]

Ok, finally rewatched Summer Wars (it took me all week). The family stuff was a lot easier to keep track of the second time around.

My interpretation of the end was that Love Machine raised the bet limit (since it won the penultimate hand) - it wanted to end the game. But, the power up was an "auspicious item", i.e. good luck, so Natsuke pulled it off.

[lathspel]

Most of the way through the month of movies.

FMA: SSM was better than the previous FMA movie I've seen (the one with the airplane from the other side at the end?). I liked that they got right into the action, but the characters' motivations felt a bit scattered, and really Table City seemed more like a giant backdrop / set piece than a real city. It seemed very unrealistic.

Possibly that was on purpose, since we were supposed to empathize with the Milosians down in the valley.

[Sandman87]

So two weeks ago we had Fullmetal Alchemist: Ed Is Still A Self-Righteous Judgmental Ass. No seriously...shut up, Ed. Even when you're right, you're wrong.

A week ago there was Dragon Ball Z: Vegeta Wets Himself Repeatedly. I'm sure this must be terribly entertaining for all the eight year old boys who were watching Toonami that night, but I wish they could have come up with something that had an actual budget to lead-in to Akira, although maybe they put the two movies back to back because Tetsuo and Vegeta look like they were separated at birth.

Last weekend it was Evangelion Lite, Parts One and Two. I don't know if I can deal with the warmer, fuzzier version of everyone in these movies compared to the series, especially Gendo. It just doesn't have the same impact (pun Intended). I do like the designs of the angels though, especially the Seventh Angel, which looks like Salvador Dali's conception of a wrought iron wedding arch.

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Toonami announced that they'll be running Deadman Wonderland again, starting this Saturday at 2:30 am.

[Sandman87]

Just announced on Toonami: Kill la Kill will be starting February 7th at 11:30 pm. The description of the show at Wikipedia makes it sound like a standard "Life and Death Struggle at the High School Against the Evil Student Council" story.

And how hilarious is it that that's an actual anime & manga cliche these days?

I hear that the show is pretty good. Have to wait & see.

[ninjawirehead]

Sandman, my daughter has seen the Kill la Kill series and enjoyed it quite a lot. I tend to trust her judgement in anime/manga.   I do wish Toonami would add some new shows later in the block, although I am rewatching Deadman Wonderland to catch things I missed the first time around.  I used to think that Deadman Wonderland was the most WTF anime I ever watched. Until I saw Hellsing: Ultimate that is...

 

This may be a bit off topic, but since it relates to the Ghost In the Shell series Toonami runs, I felt it was relevant.

 

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-01-18/ghost-in-the-shell-singer-origa-passes-away/.83416

 

That news just broke my heart. I absolutely love the opening themes for the GITS series and the closing song from Solid State Society.

[Sandman87]

That's sad news. The theme from the first season of GitS is one of my all time favorites, and second season is pretty darn good too. Did Toonami mention it during any of the bumps last night? I didn't catch it if they did.

[ninjawirehead]

I don't know Sandman. I tuned out after Deadman Wonderland. I did not realize Toonami changed their schedule last night until I saw Shippuden on at 11pm my time and not Dragonball Z: Kai.    Then I found this:

 

http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/108934242548/line-up-changes-effective-tomorrow

 

I did ask on the Toonami page if they were aware of Origa's passing. I suspect they won't say anything about it on the block.

Edited January 26, 2015 by ninjawirehead

[InDueTime]

It looks like Toonami's run time is getting cut to three and a half hours.  Even though the shows they're cutting have been rerun many times, I hope this doesn't mean an eventual end of Toonami. 

 

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-01-27/toonami-adjusted-schedule-cuts-attack-on-titan-cowboy-bebop-gits-space-dandy/.83774

Edited January 30, 2015 by InDueTime

[Sandman87]

Watched Kill la Kill on Saturday. I found it to be loud and energetic, but not particularly entertaining. Disappointing. Maybe I'd like it better if the whole thing didn't seem made entirely out of anime cliches, or had a character that I had any reason at all to care about.

Maybe the show will get better.

[ninjawirehead]

Well..Kill la Kill lived up to what my kiddo told me about it. In the seriously, what the hell did I just watch? kind of way.  I suppose the point is that the main character wants to find out who killed her dad, who I guess was creating weaponized school uniforms that could double as stripper wear?  I like it in an odd sort of way, maybe because Kill la Kill  makes no pretense of being anything other than a hyper shounen series with lots of fanservice. LOTS  and LOTS of fanservice.  I will have to give it a little more time before I can definitively say that I love it or hate it.

 

Wonder what Toonami will replace Gurren Lagann with after it finishes its run? I hope to hell it's not Blood-C.  That was a total waste of my time and no, I had not seen the Blood-C movie. I don't think I ever will since the series frustrated me so much.

Edited February 14, 2015 by ninjawirehead

[Sandman87]

I get the impression that Kill la Kill was trying to achieve the wackiness of FLCL, but just didn't have the writing that it needed.

 

I enjoyed most of Blood-C, although it went downhill significantly at the end.

 

It occurs to me that Toonami and [as] aren't as shy about "adult" content as they used to be. Gore doesn't bother Toonami (Hellsing Ultimate) nor salty language (Deadman Wonderland's Hummingbird anyone?), and there's hardly an [as] produced show that doesn't have tons of pixellated nudity anymore. So maybe they'll take another look at picking up Elfen Lied one of these days.

[lathspel]

I saw on Toonami's tumblr that Sword Art Online season two will start on March 21.

[ninjawirehead]

That last episode of Blood-C was just ridiculous.  I have to agree with your assesment Sandman, but you probably liked a bit more than I did. I stuck it out though, out of curiousity.  I hear the movie is suppose to be better than the series, but I don't know if I have the fortitude to find out.

 

I thought it was humorous that the Tennis Club captain on Kill la Kill was named Hakodate.

 

lathspel: Is the second season of Sword Art Online replacing Gurren Lagann once Gurren's run is finished?

 

I was hoping Toonami would run Black Lagoon:Roberta's Blood Trail. I did watch it on  Hulu and it was just as bloody and violent and crazy as the rest of the series. I loved it!

Edited February 15, 2015 by ninjawirehead

[lathspel]

I haven't seen that they've mentioned the new lineup yet, sorry.

I'm really liking Kill la Kill so far - enough that I watched a 15 minute video about how amazing just the first scene was. It's a bit formulaic but beautifully so. It's not a surprise that it's from the team behind Gurren Lagann, another straightforward 100% guilty pleasure.

[weyrbunny]

I watched eps 1-16 of Kill la Kill this week. No surprise—I don’t care for it. On occasion, something so unbelievably ridiculous will happen onscreen I’ll laugh, but otherwise it’s just a monotonous onslaught of noise, both auditory and visual. The storytelling makes something like Fairy Tale look realistic and emotionally complex by comparison, too. At this point, I’m just using it as background noise while I dust.

 

Though…I did notice today that the second arc/cour seems to be minimally better than the first, mainly because the fashion/fascism analogy is addressed directly.

Reebok is evil, nudists are the show’s Star Wars rebels—heh.

But I doubt Kill la Kill can do enough in its remaining eps to reverse my opinion.

 

**UPDATE: The second half of Kill la Kill is definitely better than the first. And, the subtitled version is definitely better than the dubbed. Kill la Kill just strikes me as garish but ultimately average ecchi. It in no way lives up to the hype, but it's not terrible.

 

...Sword Art Online season two will start...

Oh god, not that bullshit show again. Too bad Toonami didn’t acquire Tokyo Ghoul instead—I keep seeing/hearing how amazing its direction by Shuhei Morita is. (Split-depth GIFs of Tokyo Ghoul seem to be on the rise, too.) It’s on Hulu and Funi, at least.

Edited February 26, 2015 by weyrbunny

[lathspel]

SAO II seems slated for March 28 now.

[lathspel]

General Toonami/Adult Swim survey: at what age is a kid old enough to watch The Big O? He is seven and we are just wrapping up Robotech (we all have to start somewhere...).

I'm remembering it as pretty tame, but the guy with the spinning hand can be a bit creepy. The other downside is that the ending and some of the themes probably just will not make sense to a seven year old. Perhaps I'm talking myself out of it.

Alternatively, other age 7 appropriate shows in the mecha vein?