Monday, April 26, 2010

Only Toonami


Source of image from: Tom

Remember when you were young and came home from school and wanted something to watch on TV to past the time? I remember there was one television block on Cartoon Network that broadcast the coolest action cartoons on the planet. The channel block was Toonami.


Source of image from: Gamespot

Toonami first premiered in 1997. Its original host was Moltar, a villain from the Space Ghost cartoon.


Source of image from: New Nostalgia

From the beginning, retro action shows like Voltron, The Superfriends and ThunderCats aired during this television block.


Source of image from: Game Bomb

It was not until later that Toonami started airing Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z which increased Toonami's popularity.


Source of image from: Gamespot

In the new year of 2000, TOM, a little robot, took over for Moltar as a permanent host.


Source of image from: Toonami Fan

TOM hosted Toonami from a futuristic spaceship along with a female computer named SARA.


Source of image from: starpulse.com


Dragon Ball Z became its number one hit anime.


Source of image from: Yu Yu Hakusho Legendado

Because of this , Toonami started airing more anime features such as Gundam Wing, YuYu Hakusho, and Rurouni Kenshin.


Source of image from: Maniacal Laughter

The only non-anime cartoons that aired on Toonami were the shows: ReBoot, Superman: TAS, Samurai Jack and Batman Beyond.


Source of image from: Gamespot

TOM has had three different make overs in his time as Toonami's host. In one episode, TOM "died" during an adventure while hosting, and SARA managed to save TOM by rebuilding him and giving him a dark and slicker robot shell.


Source of image from: Photobucket

By 2004, Toonami moved to broadcasting on Saturday nights. TOM received another upgrade making him slightly taller and buffer.


Source of image from: Photobucket

As for SARA, her makeover made her look more feminine and anime-ish.


Source of image from: The Nerd Rage Report

New listings of action packed shows such as Teen Titans, Megas XLR and Justice League began to air.

Toonami was doing well in 2005, but it started to have a hard time finding good anime shows that were suitable for younger viewers.

Source of image from: Photobucket

Things got worse when TOM received another redesign. TOM's new look was too childish and his face looked like something out of Thomas the Tank Engine!

SARA was then replaced with two scene-hogging robots that are hardly worth mentioning.


Source of image from: Naruto Spoilers

At this point, Naruto was the only show that kept Toonami on the air.


Source of image from: Photobucket

By 2008, Toonami came to an end. Despite the fact that it was erased from television broadcasting, it will still be fondly remembered as the 2 to 4 hour block that entertained us with some awesome action packed shows.


Here are links to videos of Toonami from YouTube:

First Toonami Intro

Introduction of TOM

TOM 2 Intro

Toonami Finale

Toonami belongs to Cartoon Network. Other shows that aired on Toonami belong to their rightful owners.

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