For a lot of Anime fans, myself included, our love for
Anime was sparked by a little galaxy of television awesomeness known as
Toonami. Toonami first debuted as an
action oriented block on Cartoon Network and featured several classic action
hits like Thundercats, Voltron and Johnny Quest. But not long after, it began to delve into
the realm of Anime. More and more shows
began to trickle in and by the summers of 2000 and 2001, Toonami was almost
entirely made up of Anime that were massive hits with viewers everywhere. I reveled in those summer days from 4-7pm
when they had arguably their best block of shows. Toonami was aimed at teens and in 2001 a more
adult centered block was formed for late night tv viewing (but we’ll get to
that next week). This was on my mind a
bit the last few days. So figured id do
a top 5 of my most cherished Toonami shows from that era.
#5-Robotech
Before Toonami got real Anime heavy, we were treated to
some of the Americanized 80’s classics like Voltron. Robotech was something different though. The action was more fast paced. The Veritech
fighters were incredible. And the
characters were something else I hadn’t seen before. I think this was the first Anime I watched
where a main character bought it and didn’t come back (at least not in a so so
English dub where references of DEATH had to be omitted). Wont say who, but it’s in the infamous
Macross Saga and it involves Pineapple Salad…sniff. The second and third sagas of Robotech were
hit and miss but the Macross Saga is the one everyone remembers fondly. This was one of the biggest gateways into the
Giant Robot Anime Genre for me. And that
opening theme was my alarm ringtone for about a year…best wake up music ever.
#4-Ronin Warriors
I got super excited when I saw the promo for this
one. I actually first saw Ronin Warriors
a few years prior, one summer when it ran in rare syndication and then
vanished. I never thought of it as Power
Rangers Samurai, but rather as a whole other level of cool. The adventures of Ryo, Rowen, Sage, Cye and
Kento are still near and dear to me and I long for the day I can find the
English Dub (the original Samurai Warriors Japanese Dub is out there if you can
find it). I can say though that I knew
about Ronin Warriors before it was cool.
And I cant wait for the announcement of any studio picking it up to
share with us all once again.
#3-Sailor Moon
Yes, this one was, and still is, a favorite of mine. In a time dominated by dudes who kicked ass,
what was there to not love about a quintet of pretty girls with super powers
and skirts battling space demons? Even
better was when the S and Super S seasons debuted and introduced us to
everyones favorite “affectionate cousins” Uranus and Neptune. Yeah even in a heavily edited dub for kids,
it was obvious to anyone that Haruka and Michuru were more than just
“cousins”. Thankfully the new dubs
coming out rectify this little outrage.
Still, the Sailor Senshi were just as cool as the Gundam Pilots and
Z-Fighters and gave girls an in to the Anime genre. Nothing wrong with that at all.
#2-Dragon Ball Z
Does this one need any explanation? Dragon Ball Z still remains today Toonami’s
biggest show and has one of it’s longest running stretches of episodes. So many big moments in every kids Anime
childhood came from Dragon Ball Z: Goku vs Vegeta, Frieza, Super Saiyan Goku,
the Androids and Trunks, Cell, Majinn Buu, the Fusions. I’m sure you can find at least one moment in
this series that was your defining moment as a blossoming anime fan. For me, it may very well be the day when,
after nearly a year and a half of running the same 53 episodes over and over
again, Toonami held Z-Day: The long awaited arrival of new episodes that would
see Goku battle the Ginyu Force and, FINALLY, Frieza. You were not a cool kid if you never watched
Dragon Ball Z. And even if you weren’t,
there was always another one waiting to introduce you to it. Books of information, binders of pictures
printed from the next, VHS tape trades by the week. Many attribute the boom of Anime in the US to
Akira. But for me and many others, it
will always be Dragon Ball Z.
#1-Gundam Wing
It all started with one 15 second trailer: battle cries,
transformations, robots shooting bullets from chest placed guns and the
cryptic, “Those who have laid eyes on a Gundam shall not live to tell about
it”. Who would have thought how big of
an impact this show would have on me?
Gundam Wing is probably the only show besides Sailor Moon to rival
Dragon Ball Z in popularity on Toonami. And
for me, it holds more than a special place in my heart. This is the series that convinced me to
become a writer. I know Wing isn’t the
most beloved entry by die hard Gundam fans.
But me? I am a die hard Gundam fan because of this show. I loved the characters (especially Heero and
Duo). I loved the mechs. I loved the twists and turns. I wanted to write a story like this one day. And now I spend my time reviewing Anime, not
a bad trade off if I do say so myself.
And no one need look no further for the impact of Gundam Wing on my life
than my online handle…Gundam. Dragon
Ball Z may have gotten me into Anime.
But Gundam Wing taught me how to fall in love with it.
Next Wednesday we’ll take a look at Toonami’s older
brother, who Toonami also shares a slot with now, Adult Swim.
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