I and most American nerds of a certain age grew up watching the Toonami block on cartoon network. It wasn't quite my first exposure to anime -- that would be a combination of Voltron reruns and the episodes of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z that ran on the WB in the early 90's -- but it was my first exposure to anime that had been dubbed by people who cared, and edited as lightly as a Y7 rating would allow. Unfortunately, executive meddling took its toll, and by the time Cartoon Network pulled the plug in 2008, it had gone so far south that I barely even noticed. Actually, it had gone so far south at that point that I was surprised to find an article saying it lasted to 2008; I remembered it as dying some time in 2006.
Most people remember it for Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing, but what I really miss about it, and what modern anime blocks like Adult Swim and SyFy's Animonday block are missing, is the older series that came out before anime became a big international export. When I think about the series that I have truly enjoyed, most of them came out somewhere between the late 70's and the early 90's.
This wave of nostalgia isn't completely random, actually. I recently came across a Ustream channel that recreates toonami, using the original bumpers, all uncut anime, and also throwing in the occasional cartoon cartoon or Kids WB cartoon. I'd give a link, but I have a feeling it would go against the TOS; to the mods, is a link to a copyright infringing piece of streaming video okay, or is it only against the rules if downloads are possible? Quite a few of the series they run on that Ustream channel are out of print, and they encourage people to buy boxed sets where possible.
Anyway, I spent two hours watching episodes of Lupin III and Ranma 1/2 yesterday, and not only do they not dub them that well anymore, but Japan doesn't produce stuff like that anymore. It's kind of a shame, really. For discussion value: I don't know, reminisce about coming home from school and watching anime or something. There's gotta be some old fans of Toonami on this site, I'm sure you all have stories.
Most people remember it for Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing, but what I really miss about it, and what modern anime blocks like Adult Swim and SyFy's Animonday block are missing, is the older series that came out before anime became a big international export. When I think about the series that I have truly enjoyed, most of them came out somewhere between the late 70's and the early 90's.
This wave of nostalgia isn't completely random, actually. I recently came across a Ustream channel that recreates toonami, using the original bumpers, all uncut anime, and also throwing in the occasional cartoon cartoon or Kids WB cartoon. I'd give a link, but I have a feeling it would go against the TOS; to the mods, is a link to a copyright infringing piece of streaming video okay, or is it only against the rules if downloads are possible? Quite a few of the series they run on that Ustream channel are out of print, and they encourage people to buy boxed sets where possible.
Anyway, I spent two hours watching episodes of Lupin III and Ranma 1/2 yesterday, and not only do they not dub them that well anymore, but Japan doesn't produce stuff like that anymore. It's kind of a shame, really. For discussion value: I don't know, reminisce about coming home from school and watching anime or something. There's gotta be some old fans of Toonami on this site, I'm sure you all have stories.
