"We won't be intimidated by criminal threats!"
—Better Cartoon Show promos note
"Is Toonami a failed experiment, destined for destruction? For the first time ever, we want to hear what you think. Here's your shot to manipulate the manual. ... Thanks in advance."
"So, it's a brand-new Toonami, but the mission objectives remain the same. My name is TOM. I'm the new Moltar. Welcome aboard the Ghost Planet spaceship Absolution, Cartoon Network's first and only interstellar broadcast and exploration vehicle. I'll give you the tour later. From this day forward she is completely responsible for all Toonami transmissions. I'm taking you guys into the new millennium. Not much is changing now—same shows, same attitude, new place to do it, new guy to do it with. I'm not going to waste any more time, let's get back into it. Later."
There's no substitute for guts, I'm talking about gumption, bravery, courage. Courage means having the strength to resist opposition, danger or hardship. It can be a lot of things. Sticking by your friends can take courage. Being yourself takes courage. Think of many of your favorite heroes they have courage in spades. Even some of the bad guys have it, but most don't. Size isn't a factor neither is strength. It can't be measured except in actions so you gotta let your actions speak for you. Take it easy for now, store up that courage you never know when you're going to need it."
We've all been angry before. Some of us let it go, some don't. There's nothing wrong with being angry, it's all in how you deal with it. Anger can be a motivational tool, Rage can hold you back. Vegeta is a perfect example of a rageaholic; he can't let go, so he stays angry for a long time. Piccolo handles his anger, it helps him focus; that's what makes him so dangerous. The key is to not let your anger fester. You have to turn it into something positive, otherwise you'll never learn from your mistakes and be angry forever. Later...
"Uh huh... what's goin' on here? Well, they are kinda cute."
"So I got this game for the PS2. It's called Dropship. The setup is: it's the future. You're part of a multinational anti-terrorist peace force, and ya pilot dropships and fighters on seek-and-destroy missions, to ground forces, blah blah blah. Doesn't look too sharp, but it plays okay. Now, here's the problem: I can't get beyond the sixth level. It's drivin' me nuts! I've played it, like, nine thousand times and I can't-*ughh*... I mean, it's only the sixth level! I wanted to review the whole game, but... ugh... whatever. I don't even know what ratin' to give this game. I'll get back to ya, if I ever beat it. Maybe one of you guys can do it."
"And of course, coins, coins, coins. I'm seein' coins in my sleep."
— TOM 2.0, in his review of Super Mario Sunshine.
"Get ready for a double whammy, Monday through Friday night Toonami's taking over the TV. Here's the breakdown, at Midnight Gundam Wing Uncut! Yeah, you heard me. Twelve Thirty Dragon Ball Z, The greatest Action Cartoon ever made! Toonami, The Midnight Run, tonight midnight to one AM. Thank us Later."
— The man himself, promoting the first of many Midnight Runs.
Toonami's bringing back Saturday mornings. Three hours of quality Toonami programing! And it's not even a school day. Starting at Nine, you get back to back Thunder Cats! Then the premiere of DBZ Garlic Junior Saga, An hour of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. And the Ronin Warriors at 11:30 The most Anime on Saturday outside of Japan! Toonami The Rising Sun! Saturday from Nine to Noon, a day which will live in infamy.
—Peter Cullen promoting The Rising Sun Block of Toonami
"The reaction was NEGATIVE. We LOVE the new look, but it polarized the fans. That's okay. We were trying to re-contextualize Toonami for a new audience. We decided not to do a back-story because no one was willing to give us money, and we didn’t think there was much demand."
— Jason DeMarco (The co-founder of Toonami) on TOM 4.0.
"Eleven years and counting! Raise your hand if you were alive during Toonami's launch."
— TOM 4.0, celebrating the Long Runner status of the block.
"Glad to see you stayed with us. Toonami loves you."
— D, during the TOM 4.0 era.
"Well, this is the end, [beautiful friends. After more than 11 years, this is Toonami's final broadcast. It's been a lot of fun, and we'd like to thank each and every one of you who made this journey with us. Toonami wouldn't have been anything without you. Hopefully we've left you with some good memories. So, until we meet again, Stay Gold............Bang."
"And with this, the last piece of Anon's childhood was gone.
Gone.
But Anon was not sad.
He was by Toonami's side when it died.
And he smiled. And Toonami smiled.
And Anon went on, remembering what he learned. What he saw. He told Toonami one last thing before Toonami departed into deep space:
"A boy has a right to dream, but a man has the power to make his dreams come true."
And Anon grew up. A strong, courageous soul."
Gone.
But Anon was not sad.
He was by Toonami's side when it died.
And he smiled. And Toonami smiled.
And Anon went on, remembering what he learned. What he saw. He told Toonami one last thing before Toonami departed into deep space:
"A boy has a right to dream, but a man has the power to make his dreams come true."
And Anon grew up. A strong, courageous soul."
— Anonymous Post #5906266, 4chan, summing up how many felt about the impact of Toonami.
"[Toonami] was such an amazing ride for me, and it was funny because I did TOM for many, many years and…the day that that ended, I just didn’t realize how attached I’d become to him… I really got maybe a week or two notice before Toonami decided to fold, we literally cried in the studio…and the amazing thing was that afterward… I went to a convention… and a lot of people came up to me and said that Toonami was a really big part of their childhood, and that was just something that didn’t occur to me. People grew up with TOM. TOM really was a huge part of my life for a very long time and I miss him…really badly. The only way something like that could be resurrected is if people write in and enough people make enough noise."
— Steve Blum, (the voice of TOM) in a panel during Saboten-Con 2009.
. "O hai [adult swim]! We got the results of the test back. We definitely have April Fools."
— TOM 3.0; during the April Fools' Day Toonami revival.
"He's got ninety-nine problems, [and these bitches are the main ones."
"For the record... My quest to #BringBackToonami is not about a job. It's profoundly personal for me. Anime has been decimated through the years. I am fighting to preserve this incredible art form for future generations and on behalf of those who have not yet found their voice. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Anime, those who create it, perform it, promote it and enjoy it. I love all of you and thank you for joining me in this journey. I am humbled and grateful to be part of this movement."
"With Toonami gone and Cartoon Network/[adult swim] going through network decay over the years, it has really hurt the anime industry. Sure Funimation, Sentai Filmworks, and VIZ Media have continued to do well, but Toonami and the better years of those networks allowed a lot more anime to appear on television. That increased the exposure of the industry and helped the DVD sales as well as their manga counterparts if they were originally adapted from them. We need more anime to appear on television, and if they promote the DVDs like they did in that April Fool's joke, that would really help things out."
— James Peshler on Facebook, in response to Steve Blum's quote.
."Some people say Toonami was just a bunch of bumpers. Those people are a bunch of cunts."
— RebelTaxi in his Toonami Retrospective.
."Attention Toonami Faithful: We heard you. On 05.26.12 #ToonamisBackBitches"
"Toonami's back, bitches! And we've got a brand new lineup...."
— TOM 3.5, introducing the revived block.
"You humans sure are paranoid about robots takin' over. We would never do anything like that."
— TOM 3.5; before the premiere of Casshern Sins.
"Ever get blamed for your entire class being murdered? Now ya know how Ganta feels."
— TOM 3.5; before the premiere of Deadman Wonderland.
"[When Toonami ended], Anime really wasn’t the same at that point, it went back to being that obscure hobby that people partook in, as opposed to something that everybody was watching. Cause I remember Anime used to be cool [when Toonami was at its prime], everybody watched anime. Even in high school, [thanks to shows like] Dragon Ball Z, the jocks watched it, the nerds watched it, the pretty girls watched it, like everyone was into anime at that point. And so when Toonami went off the air, Anime stopped being mainstream at that point. I think that sort of hurt Anime in the US, you know and I’m glad that it’s back. I think that’s gonna signal a resurgence of Anime in mainstream and American pop culture now, that’s a good thing."
— Richie Branson, during an interview with ToonamiFaithful.com, when asked what his reaction was to Toonami’s original cancellation.
, when asked what his reaction was to Toonami’s original cancellation. "What's up, Toonami faithful? Time for another night. If you're new to the show, welcome. If ya been down from the beginnin', all I can say is: thanks. Time to push the button."
— TOM 3.5, second introduction for the [adult swim] era run.
"Fall down seven times.... get up eight."
— TOM 3.5, in the first motivational speech promo since the TOM 2 era. Summarizing the attitude that brought the block back.
. Summarizing the attitude that brought the block back. "Well, all good things come to an end... No, no, no, it's not Toonami this time, don't worry."
"Bleach is done with filler, and done for the night."
— TOM 3.5, after showcasing episode 267 of Bleach, noting the start of the second half of the Fake Karakura Town Arc.
"Anyone who says Toonami "sucks" without ONE SHOW is NOT a Toonami fan. That's the truth."
— Jason DeMarco, when asked what he thought of people who badmouth Toonami because Dragon Ball Z is not on the revived lineup.
of people who badmouth Toonami because Dragon Ball Z is not on the revived lineup.2003. "ALL [adult swim] IS IS TOONAMI WITH SHITTY BUMPERS!"
2012. "ALL TOONAMI IS IS ADULT SWIM WITH TOM!"
— Twitter user @12gage541 noting the hypocrisy of people who badmouth the revived Toonami by calling it "Re-branded Adult Swim Action"
@12gage541 noting the hypocrisy of people who badmouth the revived Toonami by calling it "Re-branded Adult Swim Action"Well, I guess it's time to hate on: haters. We've all got one: it's the person that says "that sucks!" no matter what you're doin'. Now, this isn't the same as criticism. Criticism serves a healthy function. Sometimes it can even help you get better. That's because it comes from a good place. Hatin', however, is when someone just wants to cut you down; they want to watch ya fall. Toonami's had a lot of criticism, and a lot of haters in our time. We welcome the criticism, because this is a work-in-progress, and we want to hear what you guys think, because we love you. But, when it comes to haters, ol' TOM learned his lesson a while ago: you can't let them get to you. So keep your head up! Keep doin' what works for you, and don't be afraid to listen to your critics; but always-ALWAYS ignore the haters."
"It's funny how people say "Toonami is nothing without *show name*." No, kiddies. Without Toonami, said shows would not have succeeded here."
"I wonder if any other 6 hour block of TV has an audience as energized as #Toonami? Love ya'll. Enjoy the night."
— Jason DeMarco, commenting on the social media buzz Toonami generates.
"Good dude."
— TOM 3.5, on TOM 4.
"So settle in, and remember, these buttons don't push 'emselves"
— TOM 3.5, noting the manual use of the buttons.
"People are saying that Toonami sucks without DBZ. Hilarious, considering that people are complaining about it not being on Toonami despite that they could just watch it on Nicktoons and the fact that DBZ didn't originally thrive in the US until it aired on Toonami, it’s more like DBZ sucks without Toonami."
"Their immediate reaction [to the revived Toonami] is "This isn't what I grew up with. Therefore it's worse." and I think that's a bad impulse that people have with nostalgia and I have always fought against it in my own in the things I loved as a kid. I recognize that the reason I love them is because I loved them when I was a kid and they made an impression on me. But that doesn't mean they're amazing works of art as an adult. You know you have to learn to separate true aesthetic value from nostalgia."
— Jason DeMarco, in regards to the Nostalgia Filter.
"We say that anyone who tells anyone else they're not a "real fan" is not worth talking to. Anime fans can be their own worst enemy in this regard...If we want to spread the gospel of action toons, great anime, etc, the only way to do that is to be inclusive and welcoming of newcomers. Toonami is (and will always be) a "gateway drug" for action and anime designed to appeal to the broadest audience possible. Ideally this approach can create fans who then enter into their own journeys of discovery. That’s how it should be."
— The Toonami tumblr, in response to a question if Toonami fans are "real anime fans".
, in response to a question if Toonami fans are "real anime fans"."It's the second best thing you can do by yourself"
— TOM 3.5, in this promo, making a not-so-subtle joke.
, making a not-so-subtle joke."We’re not the moe anime block. we're Toonami, a [programming block] designed to appeal to a BROAD audience of action cartoon fans. Which, luckily, is what we’re doing."
— The Toonami tumblr, in response to a question if the block would broadcast non-action oriented anime.
, in response to a question if the block would broadcast non-action oriented anime."Here's something they don't often tell you in movies or TV shows, sometimes the bad guy wins. It happens. But you can't let that stop you. You can't just give up and not try anymore. You have to do your part to fight back. Not with your fists, but with your words and your actions. Don't just sit there. Get up. Raise your voice. And let the world know that you're not gonna take it lying down. You're gonna try, you're gonna help, you're gonna make things right. Because together, we can do anything."
— TOM 5, in "Sometimes the Bad Guys Win" motivational speech.
"It's time to talk about growing, not your physical size, i'm talking about your character. Like everything it's gonna be hard. But you gotta keep trying new things, taking on new challenges, don't let a fear of failure keep you from trying at all. You're gonna have setbacks but that's part of the journey. Get out and learn a language, take up a hobby, start something new. The possibilities are endless if you put in the time. Nothing worth having comes easy, so quit sitting, and start doing."
— TOM 5, in the "Growing Homily" motivational speech.
"Welcome to the televised revolution,
As we drift through outer space aboard the Absolution,
With TOM back in active duty as captain,
In charge of bringing superior anime action.
Yeah... Toonami's back, bitches,
To celebrate TOM's return to television."
As we drift through outer space aboard the Absolution,
With TOM back in active duty as captain,
In charge of bringing superior anime action.
Yeah... Toonami's back, bitches,
To celebrate TOM's return to television."
— Richie Bransonnote
