Animation Blocks and What Makes Them Interesting

R

RizZa

New member
qubo, Kids WB, [adult swim]; this are only a few of the many animation blocks created over the years. Many of these blocks are created in order to bring together shows with similiar content. They may be created just to showcase primiere episodes.

Regardless, animation blocks have probably been a part of many of our lives so I thought it would be interesting to see what makes a block successful for anyone here.

For me, I like these two things to be a part of a animation block.

1. Host/Mascot: A host for a block can really help make a block familiar. Given them a likable personality is also a plus.

2.Interactivity: I love when blocks let viewers partcipate. Things like sweepstakes to win prizes or whole events, such as Toonami's Intruder special. Things like this make a viewer feel at home.

3. Memorable Brands: Things that I won't forget after a block eventually retires. I don't think I'll ever forget the great branding of blocks like Toonami, 4Kids and Kids WB.
 
I love blocks that have episodic promos. It really helps you feel a sense of...I don't know, camaraderie, for lack of a better term, between the shows and the block.
 
They need a theme in order to matter to me. Toonami, for instance. Or Cartoon Cartoon Fridays (does that even exist any more?).

If it just has a bunch of unrelated shows, then I won't really care about it.
 
Branding is good, though content always seals the deal for me. Toonami once had an excellent brand and then kind of lost it once a lot of the exclusivity that it used to have was taken away. Today it airs pretty decent cartoons, but it's not like in 2000 when it could say without dispute that it was home to the finest action cartoons on TV.

Sci Fi Channel has the issue reversed for Ani-Mondays. The programming is and will be getting very good, but the packaging and advertising is very standard. If they ever start plugging specific shows and make it look as legit as anything else on the channel, it will have "arrived" so to speak. If I didn't know anything about animation or anime, I don't think an Ani-Monday commercial would necessarily grab me. Though, it can't hurt to be preceded by Star Trek: The Next Generation...
 
I like showcase blocks, where they showcase the best of what they have, whether everything is randomly created. Either way, programming blocks almost seem like the new primetime, since the networks seem to place a lot of value and marketing importance on them...Just something I noticed.

Programming blocks are where the REAL FUN is (case in point, Toonami, Jetix, and Adult Swim)

and GWOtaku in his last post summed up the art of the programming block well. It's a Brand New Artform.
 
The main reason why I would watch a black is the shows that are on it. Secondary things are hosts and the bumpers that come in between the shows. That's what made Cartoon Cartoon Fridays so cool.
 
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