Blog Talkback: Toons of the 2000s: Top 5 Toonami Programs

I take it this list is slightly different from the general Anime on TV list in that these shows didn't have to come from this decade, merely premiere in America during it.

I'd want to put Samurai Jack, Rurouni Kenshin, and The Big O on the list myself, but what to take off it? Toonami really was a "Better Cartoon Show" much of this decade.
 
I like Naruto, but I'd rather see DBZ or Dragonball in the number 5 spot than it. Otherwise I can't argue too much with this list, although I was never a fan of the original Justice League.
 
Very anime heavy list, but Justice League absolutely deserves the number one spot. Excellent call there. I'd have thrown Samurai Jack on the list in place of Naruto, but otherwise nice list.
 
Much as I like the Miyazaki movies and that month long event, I don't think that event deserved a spot on this list.

Otherwise, some fine choices. Seems to be heavily influenced by the early 2000s Toonami shows, which were quite groundbreaking IIRC.
 
I'm glad that the month of Miyazaki was mentioned since it was a pretty cool event. It might have been a nice idea to give that event an honorable mention and give that slot to a series, but I'm pretty happy with that. I had a feeling that Justice League would be on this list, but I didn't think that it would be at the number one spot. It was a really great show and I think that it did deserve some spot in this list.
 
I pretty much agree with this, I thought that the Toonami retrospective would have been on it's shows, rather than events like this, especially since most of the movies that aired during that month were made before 2000. Other than that, I thought it was a nice list, a little wordy, but still gets the point across.
 
No Dragon Ball Z?

That was a staple of the block for .... ever.

A list about stuff that defines Toonami isn't complete without DBZ. Toonami built its entire hype around that series and was even featured in one (maybe two, I don't recall for sure) New Years Marathons.

It demonstrated Toonami's intent and ability to effectively bring series back from the dead and even bring us newly translated, never seen before episodes.

Sailor Moon and Reboot may or may not deserve mentioning for many of the same reasons.
 
I know lists like these all break down to personal opinions, and as such, someone will always have some nitpick of their own, but I am a little surprised that Dragon Ball Z didn't get a mention on the list. Regardless of whether one was a fan of the show or not, there's no denying that DBZ is one of the things that made Toonami the hit block that it was, and it introduced a lot of American viewers to action anime. Not a complaint, merely an observation.

Kudos for mentioning Outlaw Star, though. I've always felt that the series was underrated, but well done. And while I liked the show, I was really surprised to see Justice League make #1. That was a nice surprise. I'm sure I'm in the minority with this, but I actually preferred Justice League before it went Unlimited.
 
Well, our threshold was for programming that came to Toonami after January 1, 2000. DBZ, Sailor Moon and Reboot came to Toonami in 1998 and 1999 in Reboot's case. While DBZ was huge and would easily make any all time list, it doesn't belong to this decade.

On Month of Miyazaki, my personal sense is that it was really the last time something aired on the block that expanded its boundaries, and the films in question are undeniably excellent. Quite a few excellent series could have fit the slot, Toonami's history is that rich. But MoM was a big event, and I feel satisfied that we decided to acknowledge something outside of the block's normal routine.

Very glad that most people seem to enjoy this one.
 
DBZ did a lot for Toonami and defined a lot of the potential of the block.

It's fair to say that it started in 1998, however, look at this way; the first time Toonami offered us a truly new arch was Saturday, April 8th, 2000 with the start of the Toonami: The Rising Sun.

Focusing on the fact Toonami actually was able to bring not one, but three series back from US Extinction is truly at the heart of why the block was so popular.

Daemon Raising was another good example of this. It was shown starting on Nov 11th, 2001. Not only did Toonami finish a series never aired in the US, they actually got a whole other season made in the form of two movies. Toonami is likely the biggest reason why Reboot will finally get a new series next year.

When I think about Toonami over the years, it's largely about how series have grown and thrived thanks to the hand of Toonami. It's just something that very few other networks ever did. They took those gems in the ruff and gave them the venue to live and grow.
 
Well then how about Dragonball? It only aired in the 00s.

Still, pretty fair list I suppose. Sad that IGPX, the show made for Toonami didn't make the list but then again it wasn't really that great. Megas XLR on the other hand...
 
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