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| 4 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/toonami_2021_min_1.png]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350:''Only Toonami.'']] |
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| 9 | %% |
| 10 | ->''"Building you a better cartoon show."'' |
| 11 | -->-- '''Toonami''' {{tagline}} |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ''What's up, [[FanCommunityNicknames Toonami Faithful]]? [[JustForFun/DescribeTopicHere Time to describe Toonami here]]. If you're new to the show, welcome. If you've been down from the beginning, all I can say is: Thanks. Time to push the button.'' |
| 14 | |
| 15 | ''Toonami'' is an influential programming block that was previously broadcasted on Creator/CartoonNetwork, consisting primarily of Western action-adventure cartoons and anime, airing on weekday afternoons from 1997 to 2004, and later Saturday nights from 2004 to 2008 and beginning again in 2012 on Creator/AdultSwim. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | The block features ''incredibly'' high production values for its [[FramingDevice commercial bumpers, advertisements, and ARG campaigns]], which included high-end 3D graphics, a soundtrack consisting of then-uncharacteristic (for a children's block) drum-and-bass and ambient music, and a consistent setting and narrative. Toonami had a hand in [[UnCanceled uncancelling]] several syndicated series (''Anime/DragonBallZ'', ''WesternAnimation/{{ReBoot}}'', and ''Anime/SailorMoon''), and it premiered several series on its own, both anime (''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]'', ''Manga/OutlawStar'', all three of the original ''Anime/TenchiMuyo'' series) and Western animation (''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' and ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR''). In regards to anime, fans and historians both credit Toonami for single-handedly ushering in [[MediaNotes/TheJapaneseInvasion the mainstream Japanophilia boom]] of the early-to-mid 2000s. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Toonami began life as a spinoff of ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'', with Moltar broadcasting action cartoons from the Ghost Planet in a similar manner to older Cartoon Network action blocks like "Super Adventures" and "Afternoon Adventures" (its direct predecessor). Cartoon Network later {{Retool}}ed the block with an original host character, '''[[RobotBuddy TOM]]''' ([[FunWithAcronyms standing for Toonami Operations Module]]), broadcasting from the CoolStarship ''Absolution'' (with SpaceshipGirl '''SARA''' joining the cast later). The network also created story-based events and online games associated with TOM and the ''Absolution'' (the first of those events, ''WesternAnimation/TheIntruder'', resulted in [[TheNthDoctor the upgrade of TOM to TOM II]]). The tenth anniversary of the block brought yet another [=retool=], relocating the FramingDevice to a jungle planet with a new incarnation of TOM and several other new Robot Buddies; fans widely think of this version's cast as largely inferior to the previous versions of TOM and Sara. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Cartoon Network exported Toonami to other nations' versions of the network; it even became an entire network thanks to a revamp of the British spinoff channel CNX (though this soon [[NetworkDecay degraded]] into a more standard sister channel entitled CN Too, before dying altogether and being replaced with [[TimeshiftChannel CN +1]]). The Creator/KidsWB weekday afternoon block also tried to adopt Toonami's brand for about a year from 2001-2002, but the programming didn't fit the block's image, and the Toonami branding soon went away. On December 1, 2012, Turner launched [[Creator/ToonamiAsia another Toonami channel in Asia]], the success of which has led to [[http://www.regularcapital.com/2014/12/toonami-thailand-launch-14th-january-2015/ yet another Toonami channel being created in Thailand.]] |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Fans of Toonami recognize the block -- or, more accurately, Toonami's "Midnight Run" -- as the SpiritualPredecessor of Creator/AdultSwim. Several anime series that aired on Toonami ended up airing on [as] during the latter block's first year. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Cartoon Network eventually cancelled Toonami due to flagging ratings--a direct result of [[ScrewedByTheNetwork moving the block to Saturdays only and filling it with reruns]], then-flagship show ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' working through the now-infamous pre-''Shippuden'' FillerArc (ironically, Toonami was mere ''weeks'' away from the last filler episode at the time), and the [[ExecutiveMeddling higher-ups']] need to [[NetworkDecay retool the network itself]]. The final edition of Toonami aired on September 20, 2008 (surprising fans who had no knowledge the network had cancelled Toonami), and the "Toonami Jetstream" streaming video site subsequently went offline in January of 2009. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Toonami [[{{Cancellation}} was shut down]]... [[UnCancelled for a while, at least.]] |
| 28 | |
| 29 | On AprilFoolsDay 2012, Creator/AdultSwim "revived" Toonami for one night; while it mainly reused clips from the past -- and showed episodes of classic Toonami shows -- it also featured new lines recorded, a special ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' bumper and an all-new review of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''.[[note]][[https://youtu.be/D8bg-kOo6p0 Click this link to watch everything that happened, sans the shows.]][[/note]] At its 2012 upfront on May 16th, [as] officially announced the return of Toonami after the resounding success of the April Fools special; the block would rise again on May 26th, 2012, with a mix of old and new programming. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | The new Toonami started off on a limited budget, with a lineup made up of anime left from the [as] action block (such as ''Bleach'', ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' and so on) and cheaper new anime (like ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'' and ''Anime/CasshernSins''), before expanding to a full six hours with returning CN original favorites ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan'' and ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011''. |
| 32 | |
| 33 | As of November 4, 2012, during the Daylight Savings hour, Toonami confirmed that ''TOM 4.0 is still around''. 3.5 and 4.0 are two different robots altogether. TOM 3.5 was seen chatting with TOM 4.0, asking how the latter was enjoying his extra hour. TOM 3.5 says at the end that they'll have to explain 4.0's story someday sooner or later. [[http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/45034419087/tom-5-is-coming-in-april On March 10th, a TOM 5.0 was confirmed to be coming in April.]] With a [[http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/45044747329/so-since-you-got-the-money-for-a-new-tom-might-we-have online comic that will tie him and all of the TOMs together.]] [[https://youtu.be/NgK__FB8h6A&feature=youtu.be TOM 5.0 and the new Absolution officially debuted on April 27th, and brought SARA back as well.]] TOM says it's been a long time since they last talked. |
| 34 | |
| 35 | The Toonami budget continued to increase, bringing high profile shows like ''Anime/NarutoShippuden'', ''Anime/SpaceDandy'', and ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', expanding to a 6.5 hour lineup, and seeing redesigned Toonami bumps to coincide with [adult swim]'s April Fool's Day 2014 bumper redesign. |
| 36 | |
| 37 | February 2015 saw the block reduced to a 3-1/2 hour long lineup lasting from 12:00 to 3:30 AM due to what the higher ups at [adult swim] considered to be unsatisfactory ratings, removing the 11:30 PM timeslot and almost the entire back half, as well as resulting in many shows airing on the block suddenly going off the air. However, a string of high profile additions including ''Anime/KillLaKill'' and the second season of ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' shows that the block is still going strong. Some of these hours were gained back throughout 2017, and encores of ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'' also aired outside of Toonami on Saturdays at 8:00-9:00 p.m. ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' later aired outside of Toonami on weekdays at 8:00-9:00 p.m. from July to September 2018, with ''Anime/MyHeroAcademia'' airing outside of Toonami on weekdays at 5:30 a.m. from April to June 2020, and ''Anime/NarutoShippuden'' also airing outside of Toonami on weekdays at 5:00 a.m. from May to October 2021. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | Once again, Toonami featured original stories and tie-in content, which saw the ''Absolution'' blown up with the return of the Intruder, the fall of the maligned TOM 4.0 and company, and had TOM 5.0 battered and bruised until being outright destroyed in 2019, along with a couple Clyde robots. Through SARA's help, he rose again as the current TOM 6.0, but the ''Vindication'', the ship they had found on a dying world, was turned over to a batch of 5.0 series of robots, one of which was given sentience as their leader, TOM Jr. For a time, TOM and SARA used the broadcasting equipment of a mechanical forge, where they remained marooned but functional...until 2022 when the [[TheBusCameBack Absolution]] Mk. XIV arrived from the future and the two stepped on board. Even after all of the crazy things that happened to them, they're still doing the same video game reviews and motivational speech montages. Moltar also officially retired from hosting duties due to the death of his voice actor. |
| 40 | |
| 41 | There is an official [[https://facebook.com/Toonami Facebook page]] for the [adult swim] block, which is used for communicating with the Toonami staff for things such as Q&As. |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[CatchPhrase Stay Gold]]. |
| 44 | ---- |
| 45 | !!Toonami currently plays or rotates the following series as of April 20, 2024: [[note]]All times Eastern/Pacific.[[/note]] |
| 46 | |
| 47 | [[index]] |
| 48 | * 12:00 AM ''Anime/NinjaKamui'' (Dub) |
| 49 | * 12:30 AM - Manga/Zom100BucketListOfTheDead |
| 50 | * 1:00 AM- ''Manga/OnePiece'' |
| 51 | * 1:30AM- ''Manga/OnePiece'' |
| 52 | * 2:00 AM- "Manga/NarutoShippuden" |
| 53 | * 2:30 AM- ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'' |
| 54 | * 3:00 AM - ''Anime/NinjaKamui'' (sub) |
| 55 | |
| 56 | |
| 57 | [[AC:Upcoming Shows / Movies]] |
| 58 | * ''Manga/{{Uzumaki}}'' [[note]]4-part miniseries adaptation co-produced with Creator/ProductionIG.[[/note]] |
| 59 | |
| 60 | |
| 61 | [[/index]] |
| 62 | ---- |
| 63 | !! Toonami Immersion Events (aka [=TIEs=]) |
| 64 | Every so often, the block will do special event story arcs that showcase TOM in a dire situation. The name comes from the fact that even though the shows are still playing, the event is still happening offscreen in the bumpers, so TOM and Sara wouldn't be able to greet the viewers until the threat is resolved. In the heyday of the block, there would also be some games and comics online that would tie into the event. To learn more about them, check their individual pages. |
| 65 | |
| 66 | [[folder:Click To View]] |
| 67 | [[index]] |
| 68 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheIntruder'' (2000): The first TIE. An red blob attaches itself to the Absolution. TOM heads off to confront it but finds it's a very vicious foe. |
| 69 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Lockdown}}'' (2001): TOM and Sara answer a distress call and find themselves in a ship graveyard. Their controls are suddenly locked by an unknown entity on one of the ship trapping them there. The duo have to rely on their viewers to pilot armed miniature robots named [=DOKs=] to destroy the entity and free them. |
| 70 | * ''WesternAnimation/TrappedInHyperspace'' (2002): TOM tests out a new hyperspace function. But a computer virus invades the Absolution's systems and sends the ship hurtling through hyperspace. The only way to free the ship is for TOM to jack directly into the ship's mainframe and confront the virus directly. |
| 71 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheIntruderII'' (2015): Sequel to the first TIE. TOM answers a hail from a nearby ship only to find out it's a trap from a very familiar foe looking for revenge. |
| 72 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheIntruderIII'' (2016): While milling around on a planet, a sudden storm and hostile sandworms forces TOM back into the base Sara and he are staying in. However the worms soon break into the base's lower sections, forcing TOM to defend himself. |
| 73 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Countdown}}'' (2017): TOM suddenly finds himself whisked into the future, while a future version of himself replaces him in the past and starts a countdown aboard the Vindication. The present day TOM must now find out what's going on on the future version of the Vindication, but finds himself targeted by hostile Clydes. |
| 74 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheForge'' (2019): The Vindication is suddenly hijacked and sent to a space station where, naturally, the inhabitants turn out to be less than friendly. TOM and Sara try to find out who these people are. |
| 75 | * ''Anime/CosmoSamurai'' (2021): An acknowledged non-canonical event. Received a sequel in 2022. |
| 76 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheReturn'' (2022): A two part T.I.E. Something arrives at the Forge, but is it friend or foe? |
| 77 | [[/index]] |
| 78 | [[/folder]] |
| 79 | ---- |
| 80 | To see an index of past Toonami series, check out [[Recap/{{Toonami}} the Recap page]]. |
| 81 | ---- |
| 82 | !!Tropes related to ''Toonami'''s framing sequences: |
| 83 | * FourFingeredHands: TOM 2 and TOM 4 both had four fingers on each hand. TOM 1 had only 3 fingers, while TOM 3, TOM 5 and TOM 6 have all five. |
| 84 | * FourPointScale: Out of all the video game reviews done on the show, it was rare for anything to get a score below 7 out of 10. No games ever received a 5 or lower on that scale either. In fact, the majority of the games tend to receive a similar rating, either 8 or 8.5. When questioned about this, the creators have said that they just don't review games they don't like, because they prefer not to inject negativity into what they air. They don't have a dedicated game reviewer since they aren't mainly a video gaming program, so they have to be selective on what they review. One notable exception was TOM 1's opinion of ''VideoGame/BlueStinger'' during his review of the Platform/SegaDreamcast. |
| 85 | * ActorAllusion: |
| 86 | ** TOM 4.0's final line closing out Toonami's initial run echoes that of [[Anime/CowboyBebop another character voiced by]] Creator/SteveBlum. |
| 87 | ** Toonami started off 2022 with a ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' marathon. The promo announcing the marathon has TOM reciting Spike's lines. SARA chimes in. |
| 88 | --->'''[[Creator/SteveBlum TOM & Spike]]:''' I'm not going there to die. I'm going there to see if I really am alive.\ |
| 89 | SARA: Hey, you're pretty good at that. |
| 90 | * TheAnnouncer: For many years Creator/PeterCullen served as the block's announcer; by the time Adult Swim brought the block back he had retired from voiceover work for anything other than the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' franchise; Howard Parker (one of the AS announcers) then replaced him. Creator/JimCummings did voiceovers for the Kids WB version (as he was one of KWB's main [=VOs=]). |
| 91 | * AprilFoolsDay: |
| 92 | ** As stated, the block was dusted off for a one night stand on April 1st, 2012 on Adult Swim! The fandom rejoiced so much, it's become known as "[[https://9gag.com/gag/3691092 the night no 90s kids slept]]", and the movement afterwards has come to be known as [[https://p.twimg.com/ApnUsPFCAAAUFzs.png:large The Toonami Renaissance]]. |
| 93 | ** Ten years prior to the 2012 revival, ComicBook/TheJoker sent a computer virus into the ''Absolution''. It forced the computer monitors to display Joker's image, and it played four episodes of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' back-to-back. TOM eventually removed the virus, and the block ran as normal. This happened the same year as ''Trapped in Hyperspace'', which also featured a computer virus, so it could be {{Foreshadowing}}. |
| 94 | ** On April 1, 2017, Toonami lost its 11p-12a timeslot due to ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' airing a new episode on loop. Toonami started its run with ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'' (without ''Samurai Jack'' and ''Super'') due to that timeslot loss. |
| 95 | ** On April 1, 2018, Toonami started off normal, with English airings of ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', ''[[Anime/DragonBallZKai Dragon Ball Z Kai: The Final Chapters]]'', and ''Manga/BlackClover'' as usual. Once the clock turned to midnight, however, the entire block started airing in Japanese with English subtitles. This included their regular programming such as ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure: [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'', ''Anime/HunterXHunter'', ''[[Manga/{{Naruto}} Naruto: Shippuden]]'', ''Anime/SpaceDandy'', ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', and ''[[Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig]]'', but also extended to the mature content warning and the bumpers with TOM and SARA. Also featured in that night's lineup was a stealth premiere of ''[[Anime/FLCLProgressiveAndAlternative FLCL Alternative]]'', the film ''Anime/MindGame'', a video game review of ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'', and the short ''Scavengers'' (all in Japanese of course, with the exception of ''Scavengers'', which has no spoken dialogue and was probably meant to serve as a transition back into the normal English lineup). |
| 96 | * ArcNumber: 49 is the ''Absolution'' deck on which the Intruder is first discovered in the Total Immersion Event that bears its name, and the protocol TOM asks SARA to enact in the trailer for ''Intruder II''. (Of course, it's ''also'' the number of the first Clyde model, so it's possible the production staff just happens to really like the number.) |
| 97 | ** When SARA asks the ship what is going on in [[spoiler:Intruder II]], she says that it's the Absolution. The registration key? 031797. Broken down, it's 03/17/97, Toonami's birthday. |
| 98 | ** For a few weeks in the end of July/beginning of August 2012, the twitter accounts of assorted Toonami staff (e.g. Steve Blum, and especially Jason [=DeMarco=]) mentioned a couple things having to do with the number seven, and the latter revealed seven new things were coming down the pipeline. It was even mentioned in the "Life" speech. All of this turned out to be a buildup to the premiere of ''Anime/SamuraiSeven'' and ''Anime/EurekaSeven'' on the block. |
| 99 | * AnArmAndALeg: TOM 5 has his left arm rendered useless during episode 4 of ''WesternAnimation/TheIntruderII''. In the next episode, he rips it off to dispose of the tracking unit built into it so the Intruder can't find him. He gets a new one the following episode...[[spoiler:until that one gets shot off in The Forge]]. |
| 100 | * ArtEvolution: Toonami has kept on the cutting edge of CGI since it began, but state-of-the-art graphics in 1997 and in 2012 are very different things, so it stands to reason that this trope is in play. The fact that its characters and sets are almost entirely shiny metal, something CGI does ''very'' well, has certainly helped. |
| 101 | * TheArtifact: "We won't be intimidated by criminal threats!" comes from one of the WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons, which completely disappeared from the line-up around 2000 and eventually Cartoon Network itself and never came back. Regardless, the audio bite continued to be and still is in a good number of promos. |
| 102 | * AspectRatio: For 4:3 shows, Toonami tended to stretch them out vertically to fill out the 16:9 HD feed, in line with Turner Broadcasting's policies. Starting with ''Dragon Ball Z Kai'', they've begun using stylized pillarboxing to preserve the aspect ratio, though this is only for shows in HD. |
| 103 | * TheAsteroidThicket: One of these was seen in 2003. |
| 104 | * AudienceShift: The original Toonami aired during the daytime with programs aimed at kids and pre-teens, then when it was moved to Saturdays and its fan base grew up, its programs aged with it. Finally, when Toonami was {{uncanceled}}, not surprisingly it was placed in the Creator/AdultSwim {{watershed}} hours as the fans who demanded its return were now young adults or older. |
| 105 | * BackFromTheDead: TOM has come back on at least two occasions. |
| 106 | * {{Bowdlerization}}: A good number of the anime series Toonami got its hands on suffered through this to get to air. A few shows got a reprieve from the censorship thanks to the Midnight Run (''Gundam Wing'', most notably). ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' made an interesting jump from Creator/AdultSwim for some 26 episodes before being transported to Toonami for the remainder of its run, and as such fans got to see the unedited version first. However, as of the new ''Creator/AdultSwim'' revival, censorship, while still present (mostly to censor nudity and heavy swears like "fuck"), is much more of a non-issue. |
| 107 | ** While Adult Swim's Toonami usually just bleeps out profanity, ''Anime/DeadmanWonderland'' had such a [[ClusterBleepBomb ridiculous amount of swearing]] that they eventually got Funimation to rewrite the dialogue so that it wasn't bleeped every few seconds. |
| 108 | ** Initially played straight with Toonami Pre-Flight, as any instances of the F-bomb (whether they came from Jason, Gill, or a video clip) would be muted. However, later episodes eventually started letting some F-bombs drop uncensored, to the point of Pre-Flight now being an aversion. |
| 109 | ** When Toonami aired the first episode of ''My Hero Academia'', they played an edited version which removed a use of the word "shit". All future episodes have aired using the original uncensored versions, though. |
| 110 | * BreakingTheFourthWall: During Adult Swim Con of 2020, part of the Toonami block was interviews with the voice actors who voice TOM and SARA, starting with Creator/SteveBlum. TOM flat out admits that it's a bit of meta fourth wall breaking. |
| 111 | * BrokeTheRatingScale: |
| 112 | ** When TOM reviewed ''Dropship: United Peace Force'' for the Platform/{{PlayStation 2}}, it received a "?" rating as he had no idea how to rate the game since he could never get past the sixth level. This was accompanied by [[https://youtu.be/ygzh9DDaFJg repeated footage of TOM losing on that level]]. The synopsis on Toonami Digital Arsenal reads "A robot loses his mind over a video game. Hilarity ensues." And you know what's even more hilarious? To this day, [[https://twitter.com/Clarknova1/status/208662351057141760 they still haven't beaten it.]] |
| 113 | ** This trend would be repeated on the 7/22/12 broadcast [[https://youtu.be/YoZQ0U1L0wM when TOM saw fit to review]] ''VideoGame/{{Slender}}'', he gave it a ?.?/10 because he was too scared to rate it properly: |
| 114 | --->'''DON'T LOOK AT HIM!''' |
| 115 | ** Reviewing the ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'' expansion pack ''Dawnguard'', TOM plays with this. |
| 116 | --->''Toonami gives Skyrim One Hundred out of Ten, and Dawnguard an 8.'' |
| 117 | ** He gives ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag'' a score of ARRRRRR because he hasn't finished the game and doesn't want it to end. |
| 118 | ** He can't give ''[[VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds]]'' a proper score because it technically hadn't been "officially" released as of the review, due to the Platform/{{Xbox One}} version of PUBG being in its Game Preview state. The best he can give it is an "Incomplete". |
| 119 | * ButtonMashing: TOM complains about how much his thumb hurts at the end of his review of ''VideoGame/DustAnElysianTail''. |
| 120 | -->'''TOM:''' Man, my thumb hurts... |
| 121 | * CallBack: The new Toonami's "Building a Better Cartoon Show" promo is a direct update of several Moltar- and TOM 1.0/2.0-era promos. It even uses the same audio clip every similar promo shared, a line from the WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons: "We won't be intimidated by criminal threats!" |
| 122 | ** When ''Bleach'' started rerunning again in December 2012, TOM lifted a line from when he referred to ''Dragon Ball Z'' in the original Toonami run: "If you squint hard enough, they almost look new." |
| 123 | ** TOM 3.5's [[https://youtu.be/gGLQzt1GDh4 Reruns promo]] is a line-for-line recreation (or perhaps rerun?) of [[https://youtu.be/dxAxN2Nxdlo the same exact speech]] given by Moltar over ten years prior. |
| 124 | ** The [[https://youtu.be/WWUZZNpE62w teaser trailer]] for The Intruder II features the [[http://i.imgur.com/1fa5rKa.png same blaster]] used by TOM 1 in the original Intruder special. |
| 125 | ** [[https://youtu.be/6sEIXyATLvc This Toonami promo]] for ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' uses the [[https://youtu.be/1raAh0FELnI same music]] that was used in [[https://youtu.be/JmWF07oVHP0 Toonami promos]] for ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars''. |
| 126 | ** [[https://youtu.be/JJvSW7rj6Dk The promo for the Cooler's Revenge movie]] used a soundtrack frequently used in old Toonami's DBZ [[https://youtu.be/H7KoxmQBTv4 promos]] and [[https://youtu.be/4CtNsSo-aQs intros.]] |
| 127 | ** [[https://youtu.be/jP9PASx3bgA The Toonami trailer]] for ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans]]'' gets most of its narration and music from Toonami's [[https://youtu.be/WVcCB4fze94 first Gundam Wing promo]]. |
| 128 | ** The famous [[https://youtu.be/TfadJj4d5K4 "Dreams"]] promo has been called back to several times. A ''Anime/SpaceDandy''-themed [[https://youtu.be/dnLgnK57weI version]] aired to commemorate the finale of that show; it was remade as [[https://youtu.be/3s7Gkeh3DKE a TOM speech]] in 2016; and the ''Manga/OutlawStar'' footage used at the start of it was resurrected as [[https://youtu.be/QQXY04I_Q64 a teaser]] for that show's HD rerun. |
| 129 | * TheCameo: TOM 1.0 appears in Cartoon Network's - and Toonami's - 20th anniversary music video. |
| 130 | * CanonDiscontinuity: TOM 1.0's origins were revealed in an online flash comic titled ''Toonami Swarm'', which was released in 2000. With the release of ''WesternAnimation/TheForge'' in 2019, ''Swarm'' was [[https://web.archive.org/web/20191210052620/https://ask.fm/Clarknova/answers/157188375529 officially declared non-canon by Jason DeMarco]]. |
| 131 | * ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: |
| 132 | ** Moltar was gone for good after TOM replaced him as the host and the block shifted away from the ''Space Ghost Coast 2 Coast'' spin-off elements. |
| 133 | ** The 2007 season saw TOM v.4 replaced v.3, and SARA and the ''Absolution'' both disappeared entirely for no apparent reason.[[note]]SARA's absence was due to her voice actress, Sally Timms, being unavailable. As of April 27, 2013, that is no longer the case.[[/note]] |
| 134 | ** As for TOM's sidekicks, Flash and D in the 4.0 era, they've basically been tossed to the wayside, because the fanbase believes they're best left forgotten. |
| 135 | ** This was the case for when TOM 3.5 became TOM 5. No explanation was televised for how TOM 3.5 is replaced with TOM 5, or the new ''Absolution'', as the Toonami crew did not have the budget to do so. It was promised that an explanation would eventually come about these things, but as of 2018, it all still remains a mystery. |
| 136 | ** Swayzak from ''WesternAnimation/TrappedInHyperspace'' hasn't been seen since Episode 4 of that event, excluding a cameo in the ''Rez'' review. |
| 137 | * ClusterBleepBomb: The first half of ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland'''s run on Toonami was essentially this, as the series contained vast amounts of heavy cursing that would have needed to be censored. It got so bad that halfway through the series' run, Creator/FUNimation started rewriting the dialogue so that Toonami wouldn't have to bleep out a swear word every five seconds. |
| 138 | ** ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' is also this, considering how many times the F-bomb alone is dropped per episode. [[note]][=FUNimation=] was not able to rewrite any lines in dub, which was mostly due to it being created by [[{{Creator/Geneon}} another company]] who used a completely different pool of talent.[[/note]] |
| 139 | ** ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn'' had this to levels not seen since Black Lagoon, with a possibly record breaking ''10 or so bleeps an episode'', even accidentally forgetting to censor one of the f-bombs! |
| 140 | * ComicBookAdaptation: |
| 141 | ** Five issues of ''Cartoon Network Presents'' were Toonami based. It featured stories based on the ''Cartoon Roulette'' with Moltar commenting in between them. For many of the featured characters like WesternAnimation/Birdman1967, it was the last time they would be played straight until ''ComicBook/FutureQuest'', and for others like ''WesternAnimation/GaltarAndTheGoldenLance'', the last time anything was done with them at all. |
| 142 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheIntruderII'' had a webcomic that helped set-up the event. |
| 143 | * ConcussionsGetYouHigh: After the events of ''Countdown'', TOM cuts to a commercial break during ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders'' by saying he loves himself some good "Jonami". |
| 144 | -->'''SARA:''' Don't you mean "Toonami?"\ |
| 145 | '''TOM:''' Right.\ |
| 146 | '''SARA:''' Are you OK?\ |
| 147 | '''TOM:''' I was shot in the head! |
| 148 | * ContentWarnings: The new Toonami begins with displaying one of these. |
| 149 | --> '''''Toonami''' may contain mature material some viewers may not find suitable''. |
| 150 | * CoolShip: All three ''Absolutions'' and the ''Vindication''. |
| 151 | * CrisisCrossover: TOM stopped by Earth during the events of the Cartoon Network MMORPG ''VideoGame/{{Fusionfall}}'', apparently due to troubles onboard the ''Absolution''; here he was in a variant on his 3.0-era body, with the Clyde 51s around too. |
| 152 | * CurseCutShort: |
| 153 | ** Done twice in TOM's review of ''VideoGame/{{Nioh}}''. |
| 154 | --->'''TOM:'''Arggh. What a crock of sh-\ |
| 155 | '''SARA:''' TOM, is everything ok?\ |
| 156 | \ |
| 157 | '''TOM:''' What!? Two of those crow things at once? That is some bullsh- |
| 158 | ** TOM also used the A-word during the fifth episode of [[spoiler:Intruder II.]] |
| 159 | ---> '''TOM:''' There's your locator, assh- |
| 160 | ** There's also the ending for ''Countdown'', when [[spoiler:Future TOM]] floats in space. |
| 161 | ---> '''Future TOM:''' Well, sh- |
| 162 | * DarkerAndEdgier: The 2012 revival, compared to the original run. TOM mildly swears, the shows are more mature, and the games reviewed are usually M-rated. |
| 163 | ** To put it into deeper perspective, we're talking about a block that censored most of its mature viewer-oriented programming because it used to be on when the youngsters were still awake, and parents could get pissy about the content. Let's say the content warning is more of an excuse to avoid a LighterAndSofter image. |
| 164 | ** The "Version 5" revamp featured a darker color palette, a slimmer and angrier-looking TOM, and a smaller ''Absolution''. |
| 165 | ** This effect was seen in shows Toonami picked up during 2014, with more gory and violent anime like ''Attack on Titan'', ''Black Lagoon'', and ''Hellsing Ultimate''. The latter two aired with TV-MA ratings, to drive the point home. |
| 166 | ** Before the revival, there was ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', which ended up getting so dark and heavily censored for broadcast that Sean Akins admitted that it probably should've gone to [adult swim] instead. |
| 167 | ** The promos and bumpers for the fifth season of ''Samurai Jack'' invoke this aspect. The block has been criticized by certain fans before for airing western animation, which is often perceived as "kiddie". As such, the promos and bumpers use certain bits of footage to affirm said fans that, no, this fifth season is most certainly not "kiddie". |
| 168 | * ADayInTheLimelight: The Toonami-themed issues of ''[[ComicBookAdaptation Cartoon Network Presents]]'' served as this for Moltar, as it showed his operation on Ghost Planet and more of his interactions with Clyde. |
| 169 | * DeadpanSnarker: TOM and SARA were both very prone to snark during the story arcs. |
| 170 | ** TOM's also very snarky when pointing out low points in his game reviews. He sums up the plot of ''VideoGame/{{Deadlight}}'' with a wry "Yawn." |
| 171 | * DistractedByTheSexy: Invoked in TOM's review of ''VideoGame/MetroLastLight''. |
| 172 | -->"Life can be pretty grim, but there are a few... distractions." ''[=*Shows a half-naked pole dancer swinging around.*=]'' |
| 173 | ** Earlier, in his ''Beach Spikers'' review: |
| 174 | --->"The game is simple, but there's something about it that grabs me. Ahem..." |
| 175 | * DoubleEntendre: Toonami commercials have stated that Toonami is the "the second best thing you can do by yourself". (Exaggerated for fangirls who are turned on by TOM.) |
| 176 | * DubPersonalityChange: The UK version of TOM went from a cool BigBrotherMentor sort of character to an ExcitedKidsShowHost. |
| 177 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Toonami has always (mostly) stayed its course when it comes to its goal of providing action animation, but the block has certainly evolved since 1997, to the point that recent fans who look into the block's history might see something entirely different. |
| 178 | ** A lot of modern Toonami fans assume that it's purely an anime block. While it currently airs a substantial amount of anime (and Toonami has always had periods where the lineup was nothing but, to the disdain of Jason [=DeMarco=] and the rest of the production crew), back in '97, it initially started off with mostly western animation from the old Hanna-Barbera action lineup (a frequent presence on Cartoon Network during its first decade on air), with the closest things that the block aired that could be considered anime being ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' and ''Anime/{{Robotech}}''. It wasn't until it picked up ''Anime/SailorMoon'' and later the Ocean dub of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' that more and more anime started airing. |
| 179 | ** TOM wasn't even the host when Toonami first started. The block was instead operated by a villain from ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'', who ran things on Ghost Planet Industries. Even when TOM finally came around and the operations were moved over to the ''Absolution'', TOM himself was shorter, more pudgy, and had a completely different voice. It wasn't until ''WesternAnimation/TheIntruder'' that TOM transitioned to a leaner, more muscular design and his more familiar voice that fans now associate with him. |
| 180 | ** The [adult swim] revival of Toonami initially started off as essentially a rebranded [adult swim] Action block, holding over many of the shows airing at the time with only two new acquisitions, as well as airing a 3-hour lineup from 12:00 AM to 3:00 AM, with the block repeating itself at 3:00 AM. |
| 181 | * EndOfAnAge: The block's cancellation is considered by quite a few fans to be the end point of the '90s-'2000s [[MediaNotes/TheJapaneseInvasion anime boom]], as well as a major sign of Cartoon Network's rapidly worsening NetworkDecay. |
| 182 | ** ''{{Manga/Bleach}}'''s run ending on Toonami in November 2014 got this reaction from some. |
| 183 | * EstablishingSeriesMoment: |
| 184 | ** The original Toonami block replacing ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuestTheRealAdventures'' with ''Anime/RoninWarriors'' established Toonami as primarily an anime block (despite that not being the original intention) with its viewership. While American action cartoons would continue to air on the block, they were fewer and further in between than when the block started, where they occupied most of the timeslots in a similar manner to older action blocks on Cartoon Network like "Super Adventures". (It also served as a turning point for the Creator/HannaBarbera action characters, who would primarily [[WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers spend the next decade and a half]] [[WesternAnimation/HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw as the subject of parody and satire]]). |
| 185 | ** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', uncut on the Midnight Run, was the first major sign of Toonami skewing towards teenagers and older viewers with content, as well as the block doing its best to broadcast shows as faithfully to the original as they could given the requirements of Cartoon Network Standards and Practices. |
| 186 | ** The re-booted Toonami's airing of ''Deadman Wonderland'' and ''Casshern Sins'' the first night it was revived on [adult swim] established that this was a darker, more mature Toonami meant for older audiences. |
| 187 | * EveryEpisodeEnding: A simple title screen with the word "LATER" in the block's current text style. |
| 188 | * FanArt: During the TOM 2.0 and TOM 3.0 years, there was a period during which you could mail it into Cartoon Network and it'd be showcased on-air. |
| 189 | ** Sometimes, Adult Swim also showcases the [[https://youtu.be/2dVFaKH3pmU fan art of the current era]] they receive during its bumps. |
| 190 | *** As of the 12/11/22 Toonami broadcast, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYoKniQnQKg the fan art bumpers return.]] However, its return came with an unexpected surprise with one piece of art (pun intended) being shown. [[note]] Luffy in a provocative pose in nothing but Toonami shaped briefs. |
| 191 | *** Sadly, as of the 1/8/23 Toonami broadcast, this would be the 2nd and last one (and to also never air fan-submitted art on Toonami ever again due to this). [[https://twitter.com/Clarknova1/status/1612088002380980226 Due to Demarco making a statement that one of the artworks aired was either paywalled/stolen art]], along with removing the bumper from their Toonami FB page and from asking YT to remove it. Ironically, the art in question was another One Piece submission, but this time it was a ''fetish drawing'' of Nami. [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Toonami/comments/106anb0/january_2023_onair_fan_art/j3fp7p0/ However, a curious fan figured out the source of the stolen/paywalled piece of art that was aired and assumed how it happened.]] |
| 192 | * FanSequel: Several fan-run streaming sites exist, with some even doing original bumps. None of them are 100% legal, though, so no links for you. |
| 193 | * FanVid: Throughout its entire history, Toonami has created Fan Vid-styled montages of scenes from their shows, often revolving around dramatic monologues either from the shows themselves or written especially for the video (and read by Creator/PeterCullen). For example, [[https://youtu.be/U-d6djlsOcU "Advanced Robotics."]] |
| 194 | ** [[https://youtu.be/RYUM7h4SVsA "A boy has the right to dream..."]] |
| 195 | ** [[RecycledINSPACE In]] [[https://youtu.be/2a7clqqbHZI&playnext=1&list=PL36103FA919B7C863 Space!]] |
| 196 | ** [[https://youtu.be/MNFX9kCkfw0&feature=BF&list=PL36103FA919B7C863&index=2 TOM's speeches.]] |
| 197 | *** Moltar did these when he was host as well including: |
| 198 | *** [[https://youtu.be/hgIQOUrtLIA Teamwork]] |
| 199 | *** [[https://youtu.be/eXyBR3QHe3o Teaching]] |
| 200 | *** [[https://youtu.be/qigOyUBlmZo Heroes]] |
| 201 | *** [[https://youtu.be/dxAxN2Nxdlo ... and reruns]] |
| 202 | ** [[https://youtu.be/Hha9rEGO1XI&feature=BF&list=PL36103FA919B7C863&index=8 Pardon our dust...]] |
| 203 | ** They've continued the tradition since the revival: [[https://youtu.be/EJ5UB-rcwk0 Building You A Better Cartoon Show]] |
| 204 | ** [[https://youtu.be/oYW9KfCwpB8 To Hell With Fear]] |
| 205 | ** [[https://youtu.be/gGLQzt1GDh4 Reruns 2.0,]] a remake of the Moltar-era Reruns promo. |
| 206 | ** [[https://youtu.be/sot-yu9dIZE Life,]] the return of the classic "motivational" speeches. |
| 207 | ** [[https://youtu.be/5Fv66O0MEcI True Story]] |
| 208 | ** [[https://youtu.be/v4Ai4G6ccfA Haters]] |
| 209 | ** [[https://youtu.be/1ltlIcWrX18 Live To The Fullest]] |
| 210 | ** [[https://youtu.be/wMmO6Sk85X4 The Choice Is Yours]] |
| 211 | ** [[https://youtu.be/W9t6rukMSFk Equality]], which has been [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KtRT4cEZe8 shown again]] to not only promote the launch of Music/{{Run the Jewels}}' latest album, RTJ 4, but about what happened to the current state of the world at the time. |
| 212 | ** [[https://youtu.be/AiT1Bee6GYA Respect]] |
| 213 | ** [[https://youtu.be/KbN6bqkfjc8 Positivity]] |
| 214 | ** [[https://youtu.be/UfjHN52SVhE Bullies]] |
| 215 | ** [[https://youtu.be/BuV4kZ4OOpI Black Lives Matter]] |
| 216 | * FantasticShipPrefix: The GPS ''Absolution''. Since ''Toonami'' was originally a spinoff of ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'', which had shows being broadcast from Ghost Planet, this prefix probably stands for Ghost Planet Spaceship. |
| 217 | * FasterThanLightTravel: The Absolution has a hyperdrive to travel through space. The jump itself looks like a tunnel in space, like how this trope is often depicted. TOM figures one of the best ways to pass the time during the jump is to watch a few movies. But of course in one StoryArc... |
| 218 | * {{Filler}}: Discussed on Pre-Flight. Jason and Gil's consensus on filler episodes is that they have an equal chance of being either good or bad, and that their negative reputation is mostly undeserved. They also tend to poke fun at the hatred filler episodes receive, such as jokingly asking if the entire ''Trigun'' anime is filler due to the differences between it and the original manga. |
| 219 | * FoxChickenGrainPuzzle: ''Intruder II'' begins with TOM and SARA discussing the this puzzle, but with a cabbage instead of grain. |
| 220 | * GenreThrowback: TOM's version of Moltar's "Reruns" speech. |
| 221 | * HappyBirthdayToYou: During a bump on Toonami's anniversary, TOM says that he would gladly sing "Happy Birthday", but they don't have the budget for it. |
| 222 | * HateDumb: Invoked: [[https://youtu.be/PoJ5nayZoEQ TOM addresses the issues and differences between hatedom and criticism]]. |
| 223 | -->Don't be afraid to listen to criticism, but always-'''ALWAYS''' ignore the haters. |
| 224 | * TheHero: TOM was always portrayed to be one through the years, especially during the story arcs. |
| 225 | * HistoryRepeats: Toonami began its earliest days with a limited budget and lineup strictly limited to shows whose licenses were cheap to pick up. Over ten years later, in 2012 during the re-launch? Well.... |
| 226 | ** Early Toonami ran a "Rerun" promo with Moltar stating how reruns are inevitable but they hate them as much as the fans do, and they try their best to get new stuff as possible. ... the new 2012 Toonami made a revival of that same promo with TOM 3.5 and footage of their current shows, but with ''the same script'', removing only a reference to the then-upcoming year 1999. |
| 227 | ** The original, Moltar-hosted Toonami had ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats1985'' as part of its lineup. Take a random guess as to [[WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011 what]] was added to the revived block. |
| 228 | ** ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars'' is a similar case. The 2003 version premiered on Toonami during the TOM 3 era, and was popular enough to spawn [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars a similarly-named show in 2008]] that sadly never got the chance to air on Toonami (due to premiering just barely after the block was cancelled). During one Q&A, however, the Toonami crew [[http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/56970634019/what-is-replacing-eureka-7-you-cheeky-bastards-i-love announced]] what show would be replacing ''Anime/EurekaSeven'' after it ended... |
| 229 | *** One of Toonami's staples circa the mid-2000's was ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR'', a tribute to the mecha genre of anime. A couple years after Toonami was cancelled, Cartoon Network aired [[WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan a similar tribute to mecha anime]], which was added to the revived Toonami along with ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' when it expanded to six hours. |
| 230 | * HumongousMecha: In February 2003, Toonami dedicated an entire week to giant robots (referred to as [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Giant Robot Week"]]), where they showcased popular mecha shows owned by Creator/ADVFilms throughout the week (specifically ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'', ''Anime/MartianSuccessorNadesico'', ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'', ''Anime/{{Gigantor}}'', and ''Anime/DaiGuard''). |
| 231 | * InMemoriam: The conclusion of The Forge total immersion event later aired a bumper that read: "In memory of TOM 5. Long live TOM 6." |
| 232 | * InNameOnly: [[https://youtu.be/Q2vOiqeJmvc Toonami]] on ''Creator/KidsWB''. About the only thing it had in common with the Toonami on ''Creator/CartoonNetwork'' was the setting. Not only were the shows that aired on it the same as they had always been for the ''Kids WB'' block previously (minus a few airings of ''Sailor Moon'' and ''Dragon Ball Z'' for the purpose of the crosspromotion), but TOM was also changed into TheVoiceless. |
| 233 | * InsistentTerminology: Toonami has always marketted itself as being a block dedicated to Action ''Cartoons''. In other words, a block for both action {{Anime}} and WesternAnimation. |
| 234 | * InterfaceScrew: The [=TIEs=] in the Adult Swin era affect the bumpers until the situation is resolved. |
| 235 | ** In one example from ''The Intruder II'', the bumpers have red bars and a big text reading "RED ALERT" playing over the footage, and it gets progressively glitchier until it becomes ''error code''. |
| 236 | * InternetJerk: The core issue of this is discussed in TOM's "Respect" speech. Everyone wants to be right, everyone wants to win, but everyone always comes off as a jerk due to general Internet anonymity, instead of respecting others and giving kudos to those who deserve it. |
| 237 | * JumpScare: TOM nearly jumped out of his own chair during his review of VideoGame/{{Slender}}... before he even showed any game footage. It just got worse for him from there. |
| 238 | * KillerApp: Toonami ''[[InvokedTrope itself]]'' is cited as one, since its popular and acclaimed programming introduced the West to the [[MediaNotes/TheJapaneseInvasion anime phenomenon]]. As far as the programs themselves are concerned, Toonami had ''three'' of these during its golden age. |
| 239 | ** ''Anime/SailorMoon'', the TropeCodifier for MagicalGirlWarrior, was the first anime that aired on the block (unless one counts ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' and ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' as anime), and it had enough of a following that it got two more seasons and all three of its movies dubbed as a result of the newfound popularity. It paved the way for Toonami's airing of several other anime programs. |
| 240 | ** ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', widely considered the pioneer of the ShonenDemographic, was a smash hit, garnering some of the best ratings Cartoon Network had ''ever'' seen and at one point had become ''[[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2002-09-28/dragonball-z-tops-ratings the highest rated show on all of television]]'' [[note]]In its targeted demographics[[/note]], beating out other prime time shows like ''The Simpsons''! While it was already well-liked in Japan, Toonami's airing of this series, along with some others, helped popularize manga and anime all throughout the West. |
| 241 | ** ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]'', aired back to back with ''DBZ'', introduced the ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise and the HumongousMecha genre to the Western mainstream. It was one of the first "serious" anime to premiere largely uncut on a mainstream Western network, and its inclusion on the "Midnight Run" block indirectly led to the creation of Creator/AdultSwim as we know it today. Its success, alongside that of ''DBZ'', is cited as the source of the major anime boom of the 2000s. Its airing of the ''Endless Waltz'' OVA is, to this day, the second highest rated program ''ever'' in the history of Cartoon Network. |
| 242 | ** During the TOM 3.0 and TOM 4.0 eras, ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' was the block's biggest hit, garnering spectacular ratings (even during the filler arcs) and becoming a pop cultural phenomenon throughout the entire United States for quite some time. [[https://youtu.be/ONtEYSrLZkM They weren't shy about milking it for all it was worth]], either, and it's still doing well in the revival. |
| 243 | ** Following the revival of the block, ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' pulled the most weight as far as ratings are concerned. It was the first program to air on the block, straight at midnight, and it was used to anchor the other shows. ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' and ''Manga/OnePiece'' did great as well, with both even surpassing ''Bleach'' in ratings on a couple occasions. Though not to the same extent as the first three shows, ''Manga/SoulEater'' was impressive as well, occasionally garnering over a million views. |
| 244 | ** ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' deserves a special mention for pulling off million view nights at several points, despite its shorter vintage and being a western show instead of anime. |
| 245 | ** ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' also deserves a special mention for not only gaining over a million views, but also surpassing ''Soul Eater'' and ''One Piece'' on one occasion. Even when it wasn't gaining a million views, it still did impressively well, considering that it aired at 2:00 AM EST, which isn't the best time of the night for premieres. |
| 246 | ** ''Dragon Ball Z'' officially returned to being Toonami's killer app via ''Kai'', having broken the ratings record once held by ''Bleach''. [adult swim] even gave it an encore run at 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays, with ''One Piece'' following suit for a few weeks at 8:30. |
| 247 | ** No matter what timeslot the show was put in, ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' was often the highest rated show on the block. This eventually led the show to gain weekday reruns on the main block in 2018, a feat that hadn't been accomplished for any anime series since 2008. |
| 248 | * KnightOfCerebus: The Intruder. [[spoiler:Cue justified OhCrap from TOM and SARA when the thing pulls a HesBack in 2015.]] |
| 249 | * LampshadeHanging: Even TOM was puzzled as to why ''Anime/{{Hamtaro}}'' was on the block. |
| 250 | * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: |
| 251 | ** TOM's intro to a 2013 Momocon panel jokingly invites the audience to "guess which one's [TOM]." Of course, Creator/SteveBlum is actually attending. |
| 252 | ** When the first episode of ''Anime/{{FLCL Progressive|AndAlternative}}'' was aired as a surprise on Toonami for April Fools' Day 2018, the first bumper was of a scene where Haruko [[DynamicEntry kicks through Kana's window]] in slow-motion. Neither Kana or the audience saw it coming. |
| 253 | * LegacyCharacter: Different versions of TOM have hosted the block over the years and a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8CNClh_bMek conversation between TOM 3.5 and TOM 4.0]] prove that the block has been hosted by completely different [=TOMs=] altogether. |
| 254 | * LevelGrinding: TOM's only (fairly minor) complaint about ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni'' is that there is a lot of grinding involved. Once the game picks up though, it feels like you're part of a Creator/StudioGhibli film just as you should, as they did develop the game, so it's really easy to overlook such a minor flaw. |
| 255 | * LighterAndSofter: This was the reasoning towards things like Toonami airing shows like ''Hamtaro'' and ''Anime/SDGundamForce'', as well as the design of TOM 4. In fact, the Cartoon Network iteration of the block in general started to slant towards this near the end of its life, as [[ExecutiveMeddling the higher-ups thought that the block was skewing too much towards older viewers]] (this is despite the block moving from weekday afternoons to Saturday nights in 2004). |
| 256 | * LuckySeven: How TOM describes ''Samurai 7'' and ''Eureka Seven''. |
| 257 | * MoodWhiplash: This effect is sometimes unintentionally achieved when Toonami airs certain shows in a certain order, such as when they at one point aired the light-hearted and comedic ''Space Dandy'' right after the ultra-violent and dark ''Hellsing Ultimate''. |
| 258 | * MusicalEpisode: Once in 2001, Toonami aired an animated music video block, consisting of videos by ''Music/{{Gorillaz}}'', clips from Music/DaftPunk's ''Anime/{{Interstella5555}}'' and original music video bumpers. They would later dedicate a Midnight Run night to airing the first four videos from Interstella 5555. |
| 259 | ** To help promote the release of ''Run the Jewels 3'', Toonami aired "Run the Jewels Night", where the usual music for the bumpers was replaced with tracks from the album and also aired a music video with the "Panther Like A Panther" track. |
| 260 | * MythologyGag |
| 261 | ** When TOM introduces the Lucky 7 duo, the sad music from the first run's final night plays as he says once more "Well, this is the end, beautiful friends." After a RecordScratch, TOM assures us that Toonami isn't ending this time, just ''Manga/DeadmanWonderland''. |
| 262 | ** TOM described a new line-up as the "Midnight Run".[[note]]For those not in the know, the original Midnight Run ran from 1999-2000 (before the weekday strip) on Saturday nights from midnight-5AM.[[/note]] |
| 263 | ** On the September 28, 2013 sign-on, SARA said "in the pipe, five-by-five". This is something that Flash (one of TOM 4's companions) said in the sign-on of every TOM 4-era Toonami block. |
| 264 | ** According to the Momocon ''Intruder II'' teaser, the ''Absolution'''s registration key is "031797"--broken down into sets of two digits, it's March 17th, 1997, the day Toonami premiered. |
| 265 | * NeverSayDie: Much of its programs thankfully averted this, which contributed to its edgy factor. ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]'' received this for its daytime airings, but was fortunately allowed to say "kill" and "die" during Toonami's Midnight Run block. |
| 266 | ** One of the rare and unfortunate examples of this trope played straight, however, was ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Gundam SEED]]''. Granted, it was Creator/BandaiEntertainment, NOT Creator/CartoonNetwork, who requested this to sell more toys. However, this forced American fans to wait for the ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Gundam SEED]]'' [=DVDs=] to hear the words "kill" and "die", since Creator/AdultSwim (which replaced the Midnight Run) had no interest in showing the uncut version of ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSeed Gundam SEED]]''. |
| 267 | * NoodleIncident: When Moltar hosted the show, he mentioned that he used to date (15-year old) Sailor Jupiter, but something happened that caused them to break up. |
| 268 | ** There's also no explanation for why TOM v3 was replaced with v4, or went back to v3 for the April 1st airing and subsequent relaunch (though CanonDiscontinuity is probably responsible for the latter). Or, for that matter, how TOM 3.5 became v5. |
| 269 | ** During the ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Dawnguard]]'' review, TOM mentioned he used to be a Vampire Hunter "way back," not just in-game but in his universe as well. |
| 270 | * NotDistractedByTheSexy: TOM's review of ''VideoGame/DragonsCrown'', a game that earned most of its attention for its hyper-sexualized character designs (especially the [[HotWitch Sorceress]] and the [[AmazonianBeauty Amazon]]). TOM doesn't even mention the fanservice and focuses solely on gameplay. Considering the ''Beach Spikers'' review, this is ''absurd!'' |
| 271 | * TheNthDoctor: The Clydes are the most prevalent example--the 49 was a single satellite unit, resembling a flying saucer with big eyes, during Moltar's reign. Once TOM stepped in, Clyde 49 became Clyde 50s (floating security cameras around the Absolution). The Clyde 51s were basically floating, solar-powered emoticons. The [=DOKs=], unofficially Clyde 52s, added limbs to the design (amongst other things). The Clyde 53s were complex beetle-like structures with elements from each of their predecessors. The singular Clyde 54 vaguely resembled the Clyde 50s, but with a humanoid face (much like TOM v.4). The Clyde 55s, which were only seen once prior to the ''Absolution'' III's destruction in the ''Intruder II'' event, were basically floating heads with big eyes and rocket boosters. The current Clyde models, the 56s, are two differing models which fit the FatAndSkinny / ThoseTwoGuys roles; their appearance harks back to the older Clyde 50s with their singular eyes and small limbs. The BadFuture from the ''Countdown'' event had heavily armed Clyde 57s. |
| 272 | ** TOM was destroyed and rebuilt twice. The presence of the fourth version was never explained. The presence of TOM 3.5 was never explained as well. |
| 273 | ** SARA also changed from a face on a screen to a full-on hologram, and most recently a pixie-like form (to better defend the ''Absolution'' and the ''Vindication''), and even the ''Absolution'' was replaced three times. (The origin of the ''Absolution'' III was - and is still - unknown.) |
| 274 | * OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: The Moltar era started each transmission as such: |
| 275 | -->''This broadcast is intended solely for the enjoyment of our audience. Any rebroadcast or retransmission without the expressed written consent of Toonami and Creator/CartoonNetwork is strictly prohibited.'' |
| 276 | ** Parodied and lampshaded in [[https://youtu.be/IxJoDA9GPJ0 TOM's review]] of ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokai''. |
| 277 | --->"''Well, I just got off the phone with our lawyer, and he said this isn't a conflict of interest. I heard of the show, so I checked out Dragon Ball Z Budokai for the [=PS2=].''" |
| 278 | * OverlyNarrowSuperlative: |
| 279 | ** TOM describes ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' as the best "Trans-Human Cyberpunk Cop Drama" on TV. |
| 280 | ** TOM describes ''Manga/PopTeamEpic'' as "the most fun reoccurring nightmare you'll ever have." |
| 281 | * ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: TOM mused upon this while leading into a commercial break during the airing of ''Anime/SummerWars'' |
| 282 | -->So maybe, "Password" isn't the best password to have? |
| 283 | * PodCast: [[https://youtu.be/cxGng0Wspzk&t=13 Toonami Pre-Flight]], a live-streaming show hosted by Jason [=DeMarco=] and Gill Austin that streams on [adult swim]'s website once a week, where Jason and Gill answer fan-submitted questions, provide sneak peaks at pieces that will broadcast on Toonami, and showcase fan-made promos and [=AMVs=]. It initially streamed on Fridays, moved to Tuesdays for a while, then moved back to Fridays. Sadly, it ended in November 2020 amid layoffs at [=WarnerMedia=] that saw the entire AS livestream team get laid off. |
| 284 | ** On the fandom side, there's the [[http://podcast.toonamifaithful.com/ Toonami Faithful Podcast]], which keeps track of the block's ratings and Twitter trends, and discusses any recently announced news regarding the block. The hosts also occasionally conduct interviews with the Toonami staff, as well as voice actors who play a role in any Toonami-related show. |
| 285 | * PrecisionFStrike: TOM begins the full revival on 5/26/2012: |
| 286 | --> ''Toonami's back, bitches.'' |
| 287 | ** His review of ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', he mentions the new enemy of the series, the Promethians. |
| 288 | ---> ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis They. Are. A. BITCH.]]'' |
| 289 | ** Toonami's preview clip for the movie ''Oblivion'' has one uncensored use of the word "fuck". |
| 290 | ** When Toonami played a marathon of ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn'', they accidentally let an f-bomb fly by uncensored during episode 1. The other episodes were properly censored though. |
| 291 | * PrettyBoy: Acknowledged on their site, in regards to ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': |
| 292 | -->''Are boys prettier than girls? [=JoJo=] has a [[TitleDrop Bizarre Adventure]] in store for you!'' |
| 293 | * ProductPlacement: Toonami has occasionally had airings of DC animated material in conjunction with promotion for Creator/HBOMax, with bumpers having TOM and SARA advertising the streaming service. |
| 294 | * PublicServiceAnnouncement: June 14th, 2020 was the airing of the ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'' episode "Happy Family Planning", an episode that focuses around an old man, a [[GayngstInducedSuicide gay man who was shunned]], and a [[StepfordSmiler cheerful]] young girl who formed a SuicidePact via message board. At the end of the episode's broadcast, Toonami put up a disclaimer asking for people to seek help. |
| 295 | -->If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicide, please seek help by contacting the National Suicide Prevent Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text home to the Crisis Text Line 741741. |
| 296 | * RatedMForManly: The Toonami reboot is more focused on this. A bit justified though, since most American anime viewers demographically wise are male viewers ages 15-40. |
| 297 | ** TOM 3 is this trope, but [[WalkingShirtlessScene attracts]] [[FemaleGaze the female audiences]]. |
| 298 | * RealSongThemeTune: A variation. While Toonami has used a lot of music composed specifically for the block (by such artists as Joe Boyd Vigil, Chris Devoe, Danger Mouse aka Music/BrianBurton, and Pelican City), starting in 2003 Toonami started using songs by artists attached to the Ninja Tune label a lot for promos, bumpers, and intros. For the 2012 revival, Toonami mostly pulls from electronic labels Ghostly International and Warp Records along with using some classic tracks by Pelican City, Burton, and Devoe, plus music that's commissioned by [adult swim] itself. |
| 299 | ** There's [="#ToonamisBackBitches"=] by Richie Branson, a FilkSong that became a RealSongThemeTune by playing over the opening the first two nights of the revival. |
| 300 | * RecordNeedleScratch: One [[https://youtu.be/jDhPzSgsptI Toonami promo]] begins playing "Cascade" by Tycho, the music infamous for playing during TOM's farewell speech during Toonami's initial cancellation. Then he says "Well, all good things come to an end." Cue the scratch! TOM then reassures the audience that it isn't Toonami this time, and that ''Deadman Wonderland'' has run out of episodes, so they're bringing in ''Eureka Seven'' and ''Samurai 7''. Doubles as a FakeOutOpening. |
| 301 | * {{Retcon}}: The ''[[EasterEgg TOM 4 TRANSMITTING]]'' promo would seem to indicate that [=TOMs=] 2-3.5 and TOM 4 are not and never were the same person. This is a direct contradiction of TOM 4's reminiscing about the TOM 2 era during the tail end of the original run, but many fans think it's for the best. |
| 302 | ** The official Tumblr stated that they were more or less twin brothers - the same AI in more than one body. Therefore, it stands to reason that based off of when [=TOM=] 4.0 was made, he'd have some of the other's memories as well as his own. |
| 303 | * {{Retraux}}: The 2012 April Fool's run recreated the TOM 3 era visually, but survived purely off recycled footage. However, the ''Tenchi Muyo'' episode came from the 3rd OVA, which wasn't around at the time the show was aired on the old Toonami. |
| 304 | ** The 20th anniversary celebration had new replica bumpers of the "Pipes" packaging. |
| 305 | * RippedFromTheHeadlines: The COVID-19 outbreak lead TOM and SARA to go into isolation to protect themselves in April of 2020. They both acknowledge that they're an android and computer who can't catch the coronavirus, and that they're used to the isolation in space, but they can never be too careful. TOM even starts going a little stir crazy with cabin fever. |
| 306 | * RobotBuddy: TOM will always be ours. Also the [=CLYDEs=] and Flash & D. |
| 307 | * SaturdayMorningCartoon: Toonami had a short-lived Saturday morning block called Rising Sun, introduced shortly after TOM 2 came along. Not even lasting a year, it was eventually cancelled the same year it started (2000) in order to prevent competition between Cartoon Network and its sister network Kids' WB. |
| 308 | * ShoutOut: |
| 309 | ** During the final intro, TOM psychs himself up by chanting "Pagua Sanpha, Pagua Sanpha!", the chant used by the Kei Pirates in ''Manga/OutlawStar'', which TOM repeatedly mentioned was his favorite showcased series. |
| 310 | ** The "[[Anime/CowboyBebop Bang]]" quote is also the last line uttered by TOM during the "final" broadcast. |
| 311 | *** Said lines also later uttered on [[https://youtu.be/wzqq8iGLnqY Cowboy Bebop's 2020 Marathon Promo]]. |
| 312 | ** TOM starts off his review of ''X-COM: Enemy Unknown 2012'' by quoting (and mimicking in a monotonous voice) the famously overused [[VideoGame/ZeroWing ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!]] meme. |
| 313 | ** [[Film/TheRoom2003 Oh hi, Adult Swim! Got the test results back, and you definitely have]] [[AprilFoolsDay April Fools.]] |
| 314 | ** One of the bumpers for ''Bleach'' had this line. |
| 315 | --->''[[WesternAnimation/MikeTysonMysteries Fight or flight?]] I choose fight.'' |
| 316 | ** "Ichigo's [[Music/{{ACDC}} back in black]], and more badass than ever." |
| 317 | * SilenceIsGolden: During the original run's final night, no one spoke during the ''Samurai Jack'' bumps. |
| 318 | ** Starting with the promo for ''Kill la Kill'', the production crew took this approach with promos, opting to leave out Howard Parker's narration and simply showcase clips from the show in question, resulting in promos very much reminiscent of classic [adult swim] promos. |
| 319 | * SnarkToSnarkCombat: SARA and TOM, during their review of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]''. |
| 320 | * SpaceshipGirl: SARA is the Absolution's AI and also has a holographic body. |
| 321 | * SportsStories: Toonami has dabbled with a couple shows that fall into this genre (specifically, ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'' and ''Manga/{{Eyeshield 21}}'', both of which were part of Toonami Jetstream, though only the former actually aired on the TV block itself). Jason and Gill also dedicated an episode of Pre-Flight to discussing their favorite sports anime. |
| 322 | * StockFootage: Due to the revival's much more limited budget, a fair amount of things were recycled. A lot of the off-Absolution-themed bumpers are the ones from the original Tom 3.0 era, and most of the talking animation is variations on [[https://youtu.be/G1LKkCB5-5w this]]. Thankfully, good editing and shifting camera angles make it not too glaring. As such, it becomes easy for Youtube users to do [[https://youtu.be/o1BJwb2EgMk this]]. |
| 323 | * StoryArc: There have been many. |
| 324 | ** ''The Intruder'': The first and considered a WhamEpisode by many fans. A red blob attaches itself to the Absolution and slowly eats at the engine. TOM goes to fight it [[spoiler:but ultimately fails and his body is devoured. This releases his new body, TOM 2, who manages to jettison the engine and the blob out into space. Viewers were then allowed to pick the new engine for the ship.]] |
| 325 | ** ''Lockdown'': The Absolution comes upon a distress signal that leads TOM and SARA to a spaceship graveyard. The ship's controls are locked down, trapping TOM there. TOM and SARA find that the problem is coming from a nearby ship and an entity whose signal is keeping the ships trapped. As TOM is stuck on the Absolution, he sends his probes (controlled by their viewers) to destroy the entity and free him. |
| 326 | ** ''Trapped in Hyperspace'': TOM tries out a new hyperspace function but a computer virus named Swayzak (not related to the British electronic duo) attacks the ship during so, leaving the Absolution stuck hurling through hyperspace. The only way for TOM to free himself is to plug himself into the computer grid and confront Swayzak directly. The confrontations were part of a flash game the Toonami site was holding. |
| 327 | ** There were also two web-exclusive comics: ''Swarm'' and ''Endgame''. Swarm was TOM's OriginStory, while Endgame was TOM 3.0's Origin Story and the Absolution Mk. 2's creation. A third comic is in the works that will explain the TOM 4.0-era, its connection to TOM 3.5, what happened to Sara and the Clydes, and it will lead into TOM 5.0 and the Absolution Mk. 3. |
| 328 | ** A ''mini'' story arc happened during the commercials during the 04-06-13 Toonami airing, having TOM slowly unscramble a garbled visual feed that apparently originated from Earth. He says that he'll have it finally [[CliffHanger ready to show]] for next week's airing. Unlike the other story arcs, this was actually promotion for ''[[Film/{{Oblivion2013}} Oblivion]]''. All the commercials of the story arc end with Adult Swim advertising "#Oblivion" at the end and next week's airing had TOM showing off the unscrambled visual feed: a clip from the movie, evidently the Toonami Faithful's award for [[http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/47337976546/toonami-and-oblivion-need-your-help getting the #Oblivion hashtag trending]] during the miniarc's broadcast. |
| 329 | ** ''Intruder II'': Sequel to the Intruder. First announced on February 5th 2014, on Toonami's official Tumblr page. Eventually premiered from November 7 to December 19 in 2015. [[WesternAnimation/TheIntruderII Has its own trope page]]. |
| 330 | * SubbingVersusDubbing: An invoked example of the great debate. TOM and SARA answered a few questions while announcing to the world that Toonami has a Tumblr page... |
| 331 | -->'''SARA:''' [[http://toonami.tumblr.com/post/62618147363/why-cant-you-air-subs-on-toonami FNOG asks]], "why can't you air subs on Toonami?"\ |
| 332 | '''TOM:''' Yeah, we get that one a lot. Subs are subtitles, for those of you who don't know, and I know a lot of you guys would like to roll like that, but subtitled shows just don't work on TV. Sorry, can't happen. |
| 333 | ** The Tumblr itself has tackled this one in more depth, pointing out that subs have been consistently proven to be a ratings killer. December 31st, 2016 ''almost'' marked the first time Toonami showed something with subtitles: the AnimatedMusicVideo for Music/PorterRobinson and Madeon's song "Shelter". [[AntiClimax However, they accidentally aired a shorter version of it which excepted the subbed scenes.]][[note]]Something similar once happened on sister network Creator/TurnerClassicMovies, when a schedule mix-up led to them playing 15 minutes of promos instead of ''WesternAnimation/PopeyeTheSailorMeetsAliBabasFortyThieves''.[[/note]] |
| 334 | ** April Fools Day for 2018 was something truly special. Once the clock struck midnight after the English airing of Black Clover wrapped up, the rest of the block was entirely in Japanese, including the content warning, TOM, and SARA. Starting with a special airing of ''Anime/FLCLProgressiveAndAlternative'', followed by ''Anime/MindGame''. ''Jojo's Bizarre Adventure'', ''Hunter × Hunter'', ''Naruto Shipuuden'', ''Space Dandy'', ''Cowboy Bebop'', ''GiTS 2nd GiG'', and ''Scavengers'' followed after. The ''Jojo's'' subtitles were erratic and didn't always show. |
| 335 | * TakeThat: |
| 336 | ** When ''Naruto'' was on the air pre-cancellation, [[https://youtu.be/ONtEYSrLZkM TOM talked smack about how there were a lot of "False Heroes" or "Haters"]], probably to those criticizing the block, as well as making a few jabs at Disney Channel's ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', snottily saying Naruto could beat him in a fight and throwing away a video tape with the logo of the show on it. |
| 337 | ** The line "Filler never felt so good!" from the [[https://youtu.be/6sEIXyATLvc Toonami promo]] for ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' can be interpreted as a subtle one towards fans that constantly complain about filler episodes. |
| 338 | ** The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMJuFsGiAdY intro]] they made for ''Anime/{{Hamtaro}}'' is one towards the higher-ups at Cartoon Network, as the only reason the showed aired was due to ExecutiveMeddling. |
| 339 | *** ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuestTheRealAdventures'' was a similar ordeal, being a show that Toonami was forced to air by the higher-ups. This resulted in gems such as Toonami [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNSTU2gsqSY "breaking up"]] with the show and a ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' promo with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ezrgJtdXf0 Rattrap shooting the title character]]. |
| 340 | ** On Pre-Flight, Jason and Gill are not afraid to take potshots towards Toonami and Cartoon Network's [[Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} two]] [[Creator/DisneyXD main]] competitors on television, especially in regards to their promotion methods. |
| 341 | ** Nicktoons Network had aired ''Anime/DragonBallZKai'' and assorted ''DBZ'' movies for a few years, but in 2014, Toonami aired ''[[Anime/DragonBallZCoolersRevenge Cooler's Revenge]]'', as a prelude to ''DBZ Kai'' proper airing on the block. Their promo concluded with the line, "''DBZ'' where it belongs." |
| 342 | * ThatOneLevel: In-universe examples. |
| 343 | ** TOM can't beat the sixth level of ''Dropship: United Peace Force''. |
| 344 | --->'''TOM:''' It's drivin' me ''nuts''. |
| 345 | ** TOM said that he usually beats a game before he reviews it, but decided that VideoGame/{{Catherine}} was worth reviewing while he was still playing. Giving the game a score of 7.0/10, he describes the puzzles as painfully annoying and the mechanics as super-cheap - a fairly obvious way of saying that he hasn't been able to beat it.... yet. |
| 346 | ** TOM finds himself unable to beat VideoGame/{{Slender}} due to, [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos well...]] |
| 347 | * ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=0ly8Dsz4jm8&NR=1 TOM seems to have picked this up since the revival.]] It's part of the marketing campaign too, with the official hashtag for the start of the relaunch being #[=ToonamiIsBackBitches=]. The current official hashtag is simply #Toonami. |
| 348 | * TooAwesomeToUse: Turns out that TOM falls victim to this when reviewing ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'', having 10 different [[NukeEm Fat Mans]], 9 suits of PoweredArmor, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking an implied-to-be-large collection of flannel wear.]] |
| 349 | * TotallyRadical: While TOM says things like "Ride 'em, cowboy." and "Drop it like it's hot." when reviewing games, he still sounds like a badass. |
| 350 | * TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Both PlayedStraight and {{Averted}}. |
| 351 | ** Toonami aired a commercial for ''IGPX'', telling of how Team Satomi was in the finals, facing off against [[spoiler:Team White Snow]] during the commercial break for ''Bleach''. The episode of ''IGPX'' that would air later that night still had them fighting Team Velshtein just to even get that far. |
| 352 | ** Averted in the case of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': All of the initial promos initially only showed Jonathan Joestar, to hide TheReveal that [[spoiler:[[SacrificialLion he dies]] [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent and passes on the role of protagonist to his grandson Joseph, who passes on the role of protagonist to his grandson Jotaro, and then on to other members of the Joestar bloodline]].]] Played straight in terms of the giveaway Creator/VizMedia and Toonami were running at the time, where most of the prizes were merchandise from Part 3, ''Stardust Crusaders''. |
| 353 | ** An advertisement for ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' explained that the episode would delve into the secret identities of the Colossal and Armored Titans, while directly showing the respective characters as each one was said. Even for people who haven't seen the series, they straight-up gave gave it away. |
| 354 | ** Their promo for ''Pop Team Epic'' strongly implied (but didn't outright say) that the second half of each episode is just the first redubbed with different voice actors. On the other hand, it ''didn't'' reveal the existence of ''Manga/HoshiiroGirldrop''. |
| 355 | ** Their trailer for ''Anime/MyHeroAcademia'' episode 127 spoiled [[spoiler:Midnight's death]]. |
| 356 | ** Likewise, their trailer for ''[[Anime/DrStone Dr. Stone: New World]]'' episode 7 spoiled [[spoiler:most of the characters aboard the Perseus getting petrified a la the series-starting event]]. |
| 357 | * {{Trailers}}: Toonami was famous for putting together professionally well-made trailers for the programs it aired. The pre-debut trailer for ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing Gundam Wing]]'' was so good that Creator/BandaiEntertainment asked for--and received--permission to start using the [[https://youtu.be/gIa7bQfxiMQ Toonami trailer]] instead of its own to advertise the show's DVD release. |
| 358 | ** Creator/PeterCullen's [[CompellingVoice narration]] makes [[LargeHamAnnouncer anything watchable]]. ''Anything.'' Although Toonami came back, Peter Cullen didn't. He's gone lax on his voice-acting gig in his veteran age, save for anything ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' related. |
| 359 | * TrashTheSet: ''Intruder II'' ends with ''The Absolution'' being destroyed in order to defeat the titular villain. |
| 360 | * TwistEnding: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQbk_48dql0 intro]] for the AprilFoolsDay block. |
| 361 | * UnnecessarilyLargeVessel: |
| 362 | ** The ''Absolution'' is incredibly huge, but it only has one operator (TOM) and a handful of assistants (The Clydes). Considering it's only used as a broadcast center, who knows what they need all that space for. |
| 363 | ** The Absolution 2 and 2.5 ships were a lot more compact, and its' hangars were shown to be far smaller (one on the bottom routinely released swarms of Clyde 53s, while the other one, located at the back, was even smaller and only held TOM's personal fighter craft), but it still likely had a lot of unused space. |
| 364 | ** Averted for the TOM 5 ''Absolution''. It's much more compact. |
| 365 | ** The vessel the Intruder uses to launch his attack on TOM 5 in ''Intruder II'' looks more like a spacefaring monolith than any readily-recognizable spaceship (or even part of a giant robot, as the engines almost look like arms cut-off beneath the shoulders). |
| 366 | ** Played straight by the ''Vindication'', which is pretty damn big (it was in fact thought to be an abandoned base on the desert planet of Shogo 162, until outside circumstances revealed it was in fact a massive ship that had been buried in the ground; TOM and SARA then had the ship break free of the now-dying planet). |
| 367 | * TheVoiceless: TOM, oddly enough, on the Creator/KidsWB Toonami. |
| 368 | * {{Watershed}}: For a while, Toonami aired specials after the watershed hour as a special block called the "Midnight Run". Among other things, they aired episodes of ''Gundam Wing'' uncut, as opposed to the slightly-edited versions that aired during the day. Midnight Run was essentially an early version of Creator/AdultSwim. |
| 369 | ** During the TOM 4.0 era, Creator/AdultSwim shows were shown "coming up next" when Toonami was about done for the night. D even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] this [[http://www.bumpworthy.com/bumps/5005 when he mentioned]] ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers''. |
| 370 | * {{Webcomics}}: Toonami had two of them. The first called [[https://youtu.be/jIG_R-OgLgE Swarm]] explained the origins of TOM 1, while the next one called [[https://youtu.be/Ri847-2ruuI Endgame]] explained how TOM 2 became TOM 3. |
| 371 | * WhamEpisode: Two sort of meta-examples. |
| 372 | ** The first was the end of the initial run. The beloved block's cancellation had received little fanfare and was not widely known when it happened. So it took many people (''even 4chan'') totally by surprise. |
| 373 | ** The second, much less depressing example, was the totally unexpected April Fools' Day revival. Most people expected [as] to air ''Film/{{The Room|2003}}'' as it had for the past few years. Instead, we got TOM. |
| 374 | ** In the more traditional sense, there was ''The Intruder'' miniseries for Episodes 4 and 5: where TOM ''dies'' and then gets reborn as TOM 2.0. |
| 375 | ** The [adult swim] block's time being shortened to 3 1/2 hours. Quite a downer for the normally-optimistic Toonami fandom, especially as their acquisition of Anime/KillLaKill was announced just '''days''' before. |
| 376 | ** ''Pop Team Epic'' being announced for Toonami. The presence of non-action shows was hinted at before by DeMarco, but it felt pretty strange to see it actually happen. |
| 377 | * WhamLine: |
| 378 | ** "[[HesBack Oh]] [[Film/TheRoom2003 hi,]] Creator/AdultSwim!" |
| 379 | ** Before that was TOM's depressing and devastating farewell to all the viewers, especially to viewers who didn't know of the block's cancellation at the time. |
| 380 | --->'''TOM 4:''' Well...this is the end, beautiful friends... |
| 381 | * WhamShot: ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8CNClh_bMek TOM 4 TRANSMITTING]]'' |
| 382 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Around when ''Anime/TenchiMuyoGXP'' was still airing and both ''Manga/OnePiece'' and ''IGPX'' were confirmed to air, the Toonami crew announced that a "mystery show" was going to replace ''Tenchi Muyo! GXP''. From that point on, even long after ''Tenchi Muyo! GXP'' was replaced by ''One Piece'', every upcoming show announced (including ''One Piece'', as well as ''IGPX'', ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'', and ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'') was speculated to be said mystery show, but the crew has disconfirmed all of them. As of this edit, the crew has not said what this mystery show will be, nor have they, if this is the case, admitted that any of the previously mentioned shows were actually the mystery show all along. |
| 383 | ** A new show was planned to replace ''Lupin the Third, Part IV'' when it ended, but it got delayed due to certain circumstances, and a rerun of ''Space Dandy'' was quickly put on instead. It's not known precisely what it is, if they still plan to air it, or if it has ''already'' aired. |
| 384 | * WithThisHerring: TOM, after being rebuilt, was expected to (and proceeded to) destroy [[SpacePirate Orcelot Rex]] with a fork. He did it. |
| 385 | * WorkoutFanservice: TOM provides some when he's warming up at the beginning of the summer 2005 preview. |
| 386 | * JustForFun/XMeetsY:[[invoked]] In the review for ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'', TOM described the game as "''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' meets ''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'', with a little ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' thrown in for good measure". |
| 387 | ---- |
| 388 | ->'''LATER''' |
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