User blog:TheIkranRider/My Toonami Retrospective - 22 Years

Man, I had a feeling it was gonna turn 20 sometime this year; and seeing that people are just celebrating it, I've decided to describe my own experiences with this epic anime block. This could be a long entry, so prepare yourselves...

It all started when I was 10; it was during the summer vacation. Believe it or not, it all began when I kept hearing that ThunderCats was airing. It was actually on the Preview channel; the one that used to show all those scrolling TV listings. Anyway, seeing how good it was, I decided to try it out. After that, I was hooked to the series. That was only the beginning when I first came across Toonami. The presentation really got my attention as well, when Mortar, and eventually Tom, went crazy with the sound effects, voice acting, and the dazzling music and visuals.

Shortly after, more animated series have caught my interest. Next came The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest as they were doing a full hour of it titled Re-Quest. It all started with a sneak peek of an episode, and I liked it ever since. The first episode I saw personally was "Besieged in Paradise," and it became a favorite of mine. Then, on August 21 1997, came the date I first saw the premiere of Dragon Ball Z. Right off the bat when Raditz injured Goku and captured his son, it, too, was amazing from the very start. Since then, it became Toonami's own flagship, and that was officially the place to go for awesome shows! To see how much I liked the series, check out the tetralogy I've written with The Bouncer. I also remembered recording some of the episodes of the first two cartoons on VHS as well.

I was disappointed that a few of my favorites eventually left, one after the other. But, that was the opportunity to try something new. A perfect example was when I saw a promo of ReBoot. When Mortar described being inside a computer where Guardians defended the cyber world from viruses, I became very enthralled. I was also attached on that as well; which is obvious considering I made some crossovers with that. I'm still very ecstatic that it'll have a revival next year in Canada, and I hope that Toonami will lead the way!

For a good, long while not much has happened. Sure, there was the Daemon saga, the movies of various shows, a review for Final Fantasy X, and of course the awesome speeches; but 2001 marked the year I suffered from growing pains. I kinda fell out of the spotlight after that. Yet still, I treasured Toonami so much because of the outstanding experiences. Then, on the internet, I heard it was coming to an end. I was very upset since it was a pivotal part of my childhood and my life. I wasn't entirely desperate for it to make a return; as I moved on to other things. And then, I heard that so many fans' prayers have been answered when it'll be on Adult Swim in 2012. The lineup wasn't too impressive, though. Until, I caught a glimpse of another prodigy, Cowboy Bebop.

Back then, there were rumors that Keanu would have the role of Spike, so I wondered what the anime was like. I was lucky I was able to find it; however, I did NOT like the airing time. When I watched it so late, I was just drained during the day. I never liked the schedule very much. I eventually got used to it overtime, and Bebop was awesome, much like the other shows I've seen. Then, there were some disappointments like Inyuyasha and Space Dandy. And finally there was not much else. Except the speeches from time to time.

Even to this day, excepting the flaws, I'm grateful that Toonami brought me such great memories. I would never trade them for anything in the world. I should really give my thanks for going on 20 years. I hope it'll stay strong for years or even decades to come. And despite the declining ratings, they should listen to the fans: like give a more promising lineup, or air it more early so viewers wouldn't be busy or exhausted every Saturday night. Maybe put in some throwbacks to keep the nostalgia going. That's what all this is about, nostalgia. Hopefully future generations would look upon it like we did growing up. I wish things will get better soon and not go through another system crash. Especially with the corporate condition of Cartoon Network; the oversaturation of Teen Titans GO!, the ignorance from Christina Miller and those stubborn dinosaurs in Turner, and the death of television.

That's the challenge, and I find this question to be unanswered/improved: With CN's ship sinking drastically, how would Toonami be affected? I hope the executives there are aware of this; would it move away from Cartoon Network/Adult Swim if the dying channel persists? Or would it fade away entirely along with everything else? I really wish Toonami would see the bigger, more dire picture.

I'm The Ikran Rider, and I'd like to see others share their thoughts and experiences with Toonami as well. The future may look brighter than it ever had before, and I'm greatly hopeful. Long live Cartoon Network's outstanding block!