With Toonami back in action, lots of requests come up for what should be on the block so here are ten shows that should be must haves for the block.
10. Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes
Marvel is wasted in the hands of Disney and with the insane popularity of the Avengers it would be an easy choice to make.
9. Batman the Animated Series
Kinda ironic that DC, market most of their shows to Cartoon Network but has never broadcast it's best cartoon, and seeing as the original X-Men still gets reruns 20 Years from it's original run I think it's about time the best Batman cartoon came back as well.
8. Black Cat
A Shonen Jump series with enough slapstick to not be too serious and enough action to please the programming block.
7. Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple
Kid being bullied for being weak suddenly becomes a martial arts genius through the training of several different masters, hilarity ensues. Come on, it's got Toonami written all over it.
6. Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld
I've mentioned before how much I want this series to be a reality and with the likes of Sailor Moon & Cardcaptors having graced the action slot, it's about time the westerners show what it's really capable of.
5. Sengoku Basara
Over the top action with impossible moves and memorable characters, and hearing "YOUR LORDSHIP!" shouted on Toonami is too good to pass up.
4. Gurren Lagann
Speaking of awesome isn't it about time Gurren Lagann made an appearance on the Network? Might make up for the lack of mecha at the moment and runs nicely along side Sym Bionic Titan.
3. Scott Pilgrim
It does count as it was briefly animated but should they try a full series it would be an easy choice for Toonami and isn't reliant on a translation first.
2. Tiger & Bunny
Superheroes are a staple of a good Toonami block and Tiger & Bunny can fill up both that and anime. And with that animation style as well, it certainly makes Toonami look more professional.
1. Fairy Tail
But to be a household name you need a powerhouse series, not one that's been done before (Naruto), not one who's seen itself lose it's fans due to decay (Bleach), not a series with such a difficult dubbing history (One Piece) nor a series that's out of date (Dragonballz) or needs remaking (Dragonball Kai).
What we need is a fresh series that is as good as all the Shonen Jump classics but doesn't push things too far in terms of being overly violent or bad language. Get it now Toonami, you don't even need to edit it.
Ah Toonami, many can trace their first anime experiences back to the world famous Cartoon Network block but over the years you'll find that not everything they shown seemed to fit the mold, so today looks at the top ten most unusual Toonami shows.
Special Mention: Fairy Tail, wondering why it isn't on Toonami yet.
10. Prince of Tennis
I've never pictured Toonami as one for sports anime, but I'd expect them to pick Hajime no Ippo, Eyeshield 21 or even Inazuma Eleven; Prince of Tennis though is a strange choice.
9. Superfriends
A 70s Hanna Barbara Cartoon about the DC Universe heroes, this show is better suited to Boomerang. The show itself hasn't aged well either.
8. Blue Submarine No.6
This film was the big highlight of the late 90s and played almost as much as Cartoon Network's other films at the time, based on a 60s manga about a Submarine crew attempting to stop a scientist from flooding what's left of the earth, while I have seen the film I barely remember anything of it. So why choose something so obscure?
7. Powerpuff Girls
How the Powerpuff Girls ended up in Toonami is a mystery seeing as it's the only Cartoon Cartoon show to ever show up on the block yet it already had a home on the normal Cartoon Network.
6. Jackie Chan Adventures
Arguably the most successful cartoon about a celebrity that's ever been made, re-imagining Jackie Chan as a cartoon character in a mystical quest to save the world from various Asian artifacts. In all honesty I'd always pictured this show on a different channel.
5. Dai-Guard
Originally picked up by ADV Vision but it baffles me that this was on Toonami and listed under their giant robot special, it wasn't even that popular.
4. Gigantor
Speaking of giant robots this show is OLD! I can't remember if they played the old show or the reboot but this show is ancient, so old that it first broadcast in Black & White.
3. SD Gundam
Very misguided choice considering it's history in the States, I don't wish to remind people of the Doozy Bots.
2. Hamtaro
A show more suited to girls, not that there is anything wrong with that, Cardcaptors & Sailor Moon had huge audience figures, what baffles me about this choice is that there is nothing in Hamtaro that would be considered action or suspense, more like solving basic everyday problems and learning what human life is about, I can't really picture this on the same time slot as the likes of Dragonballz or Gundam Wing.
1. Wulin Warriors
It's a Taiwanese puppet show. It's one of the most famous shows in Taiwan but misguided producers tried to give it a place on Toonami but barely lasted two episodes before the production was cancelled. This was Toonami's lowest point (Other than it's first closure)
This review is probably the most significant one I've ever done so read carefully, and as Dragonballz is huge I'll review this by Saga.
If you've been around Cartoon Network for a while then at one point you've probably seen Dragonballz but if you remember your history you'd realize it's been edited to suit a general audience so this review compares the edited version to it's full uncut release sort of done in a little contest.
1. Raditz
Edited: Obnoxious over confident and who can forget "Keep your eye on the birdy"
Uncut: More mature and more intimidating and more intelligent actually explaining the plot properly.
Winner: Uncut
2. Gohan's Journey
Edited: Cuts out the long dragging scenes and avoids a couple of death scenes.
Uncut: Actually explains some of the reasons behind some of the issues but are largely unneeded.
Winner: Edited
3. Goku's Snakeway Run
Edited: HFIL is a poor edit but it does cut out some bizarre scenes as well.
Uncut: I'm glad for the title HELL but the Russian Roulette scene is strange.
Winner: Tie
4. Training Scenes
Edited: Gets to the point and sets things up quickly.
Uncut: Shows more from different points of view most notably Tien & Yamcha
Winner: Tie
5. Nappa & The Saibaman Fight
Edited: Plays out just fine, no Tien arms don't grow back.
Uncut: Deaths are more believable when you see the bodies.
Winner: Uncut
6. Vegeta Fight
Edited: Again plays just fine.
Uncut: About the same, does a couple of time waster scenes but mostly the same.
Winner: Tie
7. Prelude to Namek Saga
Edited: Gets to the point very quickly and within a couple of episodes were already in space.
Uncut: Bulma's uncomfortable first meeting with Mr Popo doesn't help dispel the myth that he's a racial stereotype.
Winner: Edited
Results: It's a tie between the two, although I don't like many of Dragonballz's edits, I can also see why the scenes were left out and in some respects since watching the uncut version you realize just how much they pad out the episodes with pointless nonsense and unfunny humor.
You see a series like Dragonballz is heavily reliant on it's action scenes being packed to the brim with such extreme fighting. However it can't always create a story from it without either going extremely violent or sacrificing the action, while it is possible to do both, Dragonballz can't so it's frustrating when you have to go through an episode of Goku passing his driving test or playing tag with the Red & Blue Oni. The point I'm getting at is that if I was shown the uncut version first I wouldn't like it, so the edited version actually allowed me to enjoy whats there, while Dragonball Kai sets out to do the same as the edited version remember that I was watching this a good 15 years ago and that the whole franchise is older than me.
Final Verdict: It's a worthy start to a big series but tries to pad out too much with filler and that's where the edited version deserves it's credit.
