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IMPress Polly
08-15-2015, 08:05 AM
Toonami is a long-running block of action (mostly anime) cartoons on Cartoon Network. Although my own interest in anime preceded Toonami, the block was instrumental in bringing anime into the American cultural mainstream. It's not just the shows that attract people though: the futuristic style of the presentation just feels cool too. The block is hosted by a space-voyaging robot named T.O.M. and his computer S.A.R.A., who often present the viewer with philosophical musings, video game reviews, and original music videos made with compilations of anime footage. :cool2: Both TOM and SARA have undergone several incarnations over the years, as the block has developed a long-running storyline of its own, separate from and in addition to its shows. Toonami brought anime into the cultural mainstream in the late '90s and early 2000s, but suffered the fate of anime in America itself when it starting falling out of fashion in this country in the late 2000s. Toonami began airing on Cartoon Network in 1997 and was cancelled in 2008, but brought back in 2012 as part of Cartoon Network's Adult Swim nighttime programming on Saturday nights beginning at midnight and has enjoyed a cult following of loyal fans since; myself among them.

Anyway, I wanted to have a thread where we can discuss Toonami and shows airing on Toonami, as it continues to be really the main venue by which Americans access anime. I'll lead off:

The first episode of Akame Ga Kill aired last week and the next one airs tonight. I thought episode one was great! I mean it's not a sophisticated show by any means. There's no real intellect to it and it relies on lots and lots of standard anime cliches. Nevertheless, it works for me. It's basically working class bloodlust. It's about a group of assassins called Night Raid who go around butchering rich people in the capital city of an empire for oppressing the poor. The metaphor the show relies on as its excuse is that the imperial wealthy elite are possessed by demons. :tongue: Shallow though it may be, it satisfies Polly's id. :grin: The ratings suggest that it was Toonami's most-watched series premiere ever, drawing 1.8 million viewers. Episode two airs tonight. You KNOW I'll be watching!

Michiko and Hatchin is also progressing nicely. Last week's episode really made me feel sorry for Hatchin, who seems to always wind up getting saddled with abusive caregivers. Although the overall character development in the show so far is mediocre (there's too much reliance on unplausible extremes, and certainly on sexualization as well), even so we can't help but empathize with both protagonists at this point.

Those are my two favorites out of current Toonami line-up. Is anyone else watching?

The Xl
08-15-2015, 09:22 AM
I haven't checked out Toonami in a while, not since Attack on Titan, but I'll check it out tonight. If something on Toonami interests me, I'll usually find it online and watch it at my own leisure.

Crepitus
08-15-2015, 10:45 AM
I have watched the subtitled version of AGK through, and while you are correct in it not being terribly deep or original it is a shining example of the type. It works for me too.

I have been an Anime fan since catching a back alley screening of Akira in the early 80's.

IMPress Polly
08-16-2015, 01:16 AM
Akame Ga Kill episode 2 was awesome. :laugh:

Our protagonist Tatsumi learns some background info on Night Raid (they're actually employed by a group called the Revolutionary Army that's seeking to overthrow the imperial government) and on his first trainer, the namesake's Akame (who used to be an assassin working as a slave for the empire, but who managed to switch sides and join the Night Raiders instead).

Poor Tatsumi's had a rough (and highly arbitrary) episode, what with his first training mission just being learning to cook and fish and his second resulting in him being rudely disrobed by Akame to check for wounds it was suspected he might be pridefully concealing. :tongue: We shall see how he fares in episode 3 next week. Should be entertaining! :grin: