It is a legend of Anime…a series that virtually everyone
in the world knows whether they are or aren’t an Anime fan…you know it’s
name…and for Toonami, it is the Forever King, the show that made Toonami push
forward with its nigh Anime exclusive run for years. This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is Dragon…Ball…Z!!!!
Based on the follow up to the popular Dragon Ball series
in Japan, Dragon Ball Z tells the story of Goku, one of Earths mightiest
fighters who learns a shocking truth about his past.
This propels Goku and his allies into some of
the craziest and most brutal battles of their lives, battling intergalactic
tyrants, cyborgs and demons, most of whom will stop at nothing to get their
hands on the seven magical Dragon Balls and gain any wish they desire.
Like Sailor Moon around the same time, Dragon
Ball Z got its start in the States with a very edited syndicated run that
removed or toned down much of the shows excessive violence.
Still, word of mouth was strong and when
Dragon Ball Z arrived on Toonami in 1998, it blew minds and instantly became
the show you rushed home as quickly as you could to see after school.
There was one problem with this popular title in the
beginning.
For a while, Toonami only had
the first two syndicated edits of Dragon Ball Z to run, plus the first three
movies that were aired both as featured and as TV edited miniseries.
While all content was popular, fans were
begging to see more of what had only been whispered about from Japan.
In 1999, Dragon Ball Z truly cemented its
status as the King of Toonami.
In
September 1999, Z-Day was announced, featuring the world broadcast debut of
brand new episodes of Dragon Ball Z, picking up where the first two seasons
left off.
At last, fans who had waited years to see
Super Saiyan Goku battle Frieza on Namek got their wish and Toonami rose to
become one of the most watching programming block in the country.
One could attribute all of Toonami’s success to Dragon
Ball Z alone.
Its ratings were always
unbelievably high, it basically always had a spot in the line up, either in the
afternoon or on the Midnight Run.
Even
after the series reached its end in 2003, it continued to air alongside its
fellow franchise siblings:
Dragon Ball and
Dragon Ball GT.
In return, Toonami being a home for Dragon
Ball Z contributed to its success.
Its
continued runs at any given time across Cartoon Network brought the greatest
exposure the show could ask for and Dragon Ball Z soon became more than just an
Anime title, it was a worldwide sensation.
Subsequent Toonami airings saw the series return to its first episodes
in a brand new unedited format and the epic collection of 13 theatrical Dragon
Ball Z films were also shown as well.
With all this exposure and airtime, it was pretty much
impossible for me to miss Dragon Ball Z (save for strict parent rules about TV
from Monday-Thursday which kept me from seeing Goku go SSJ for the first time
BUT!!!!). It was an unprecedented
success that Cartoon Network was not going to ignore. If one Anime could generate such immense
positive response, what about others?
Like I said, the floodgates were opened…though there was one show just
before DBZ that also got the ball rolling AND even brought in a new demographic
that probably wasn’t on their minds at the time. Next time, the girls get to join in on the
fun as the Gundam Anime Corner bows to the Queen of Toonami (if DBZ is the
King).
Sailor Moon is up next on Toonami
Flashback Friday, see ya then.
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