Toonami/YMMV
- Alas, Poor Scrappy: The same fans who spent the last two years referring to TOM 4 as "Tom-ass the Toonami Engine" cried when he left. It was because a simple word ("Bang...") reminded the older audience - the ones who had watched Toonami through all eleven years - that they weren't forgotten. Sure, we thought they had when they started milking Naruto for all it was worth, (practically) changed hosts, and got rid of all the credible shows and original series. But what Tom said - what Steven Jay Blum said - just meant so much more. The fact that a certain imageboard practically broke down during the last hour or so of the final run, overwhelmed with nostalgia and begging each other to do something to stop Toonami from shutting down simply adds to the heartbreak. In short, Toonami with a crappy looking host is still better than no Toonami at all.
- And the Fandom Rejoiced: One of the biggest praises about TOM and the block in general is that they really knows how to please the fans. Such instances include:
- Toonami "returning" as a April Fools joke on April 1st 2012 on Adult Swim, complete with new lines for TOM (not to mention in his third form, in HD no less), Bleach added to the lineup as the hook (a dream that many anime viewers wanted), the premiere of the third Tenchi Muyo OVA, their old bumps and a game review of Mass Effect 3. Even better, Steven Blum hinted at the chance that this could grow to an actual block again. Needless to say, the internet (especially social networking sites) practically exploded with sheer joy.
- Three words: Toonami's Back Bitches. Imagine all volcanoes exploding simultaneously, with several continents being shaken by earthquakes caused by the shouts of joy emanating from tens/hundreds of thousands of people.
- Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: The revival in general, but especially for people who are imaginative. Toonami's Midnight Run is sometimes thought of as the beginning of Adult Swim. Therefore, the revival could be thought of as a son bringing his father back to life.
- Crowning Music of Awesome: The one-minute techno remixes used to introduce each show were so awesome, they eventually put out a soundtrack.
- Dude, Not Funny: Their short-lived Saturday morning all-anime block was called "Rising Sun" and advertised as "A day that will live in infamy."
- Gateway Series: Entire generations of fans learned about anime in general from the network - without it, the anime boom of the early 2000s would likely have never happened.
- Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Toonami was almost single handedly responsible for popularizing franchises such as Gundam, Rurouni Kenshin, Naruto, and above all Dragonball Z in the US. Shows that bombed in Japan like The Big O made it big in America on this program.
- Hilarious in Hindsight:
- At the end of each Tenchi promo, you hear the narrator say, "Love Stinks", keep in mind that that narrator was the voice of the original Optimus Prime! Mr. Robot of Truth and Justice!
- Also this promo for the first Pokemon Movie..."Don't fool with mother nature!" Yeah, says the robot living in a spaceship.
- Back then at the height of the anime boom, some ads ran mistakenly labeled Cowboy Bebop as part of the Toonami block when it was actually part of Adult Swim. Shoot to 2012, took a while to fix but eh.
- Nostalgia Filter: A lot of love for Toonami is because of this. But then again, a lot of this (and love for Toonami overall) is also because it was just that good.
- More Popular Spinoff: Of Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
- Network Decay: In the United Kingdom, Toonami had its own channel for a while. Sounds awesome, right? Think again.
- Periphery Demographic: It's telling that TOM's final farewell closed with a reference to Cowboy Bebop - a show that had appeared on Adult Swim, but never Toonami. Until, the relaunch, that is.
- Replacement Scrappy: TOM for Moltar, and TOM v4 for TOM v3.
- They Changed It, Now It Sucks:
- Most of the revamps got this, but the last revamp was the worst, no doubt thanks to the block being cut down to two hours a week (Toonami started out with fifteen), TOM 4, SARA's disappearance, and (finally) the cancellation of the block.
- The 2012 revival has become a Base Breaker. Opposers complain about the Darker and Edgier - Hotter and Sexier elements, the later time slot, the poor launch lineup, and the fact it's near indistinguishable from Adult Swim's normal anime block. Supporters are just happy that Adult Swim is (showing interest of) returning to it's roots after the whole Network Decay fiasco that ravaged Cartoon Network during the late 2000's, and say that it'll get better shows and an expanded timeslot if it gets support.
- Uncanny Valley: The TOM 4-era Robot Buddies had movable facial features and gave the distinct impression that they would eat your face if you changed the channel. Or didn't change the channel.
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Only Toonami |
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