Since 1997, Toonami has been one of the few television blocks solely dedicated to animated action series. While it’s featured Western series new and old, like Justice League and Invincible Fight Girl, it’s most famous for its contributions to the meteoric rise in popularity of anime in the West in the late 90s and early 2000s. Hosted by TOM, whose own adventures contributed to the charm of the block, Toonami introduced millions to Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Naruto, and so much more.

For nearly two decades, Toonami has been dwindling in popularity and relevance, largely for reasons outside its control. Fewer people are watching television, and watching anime legally has never been easier. As a result, Toonami feels like it’s living on borrowed time. With licensing the most popular and relevant anime getting more expensive, and disasters like the airing of Uzumaki occurring, it’s doubtful that the block will be able to survive for much longer.

Toonami Was a Juggernaut of Children’s Television in the ’90s and 2000s

Toonami Introduced Countless International Fans to a Wide Variety of Anime

In the ’90s and early 2000s, fans outside Japan had extremely limited access to anime. Those interested in exploring the medium’s offerings had to either purchase VHS tapes from overseas, hunt for extremely limited DVD releases made available in their territory, or attempt to access online piracy websites. These methods all came with their own limitations and difficulties, especially for younger fans. This is why, even if it wasn’t able to feature the most diverse selection of anime, Toonami was a game-changer when it debuted in 1997.

The original incarnation of Cartoon Network’s Toonami block was a much different beast from what it would later become. It featured a balance of Western animated action series, like ReBoot and Beast Wars: Transformers, and some of the most iconic anime of all time, like Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and Voltron.

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​​​​​Over the next ten years, Western cartoons would remain a part of the block, but Toonami would become synonymous with anime. Tenchi Muyo!, Yu Yu Hakusho, Outlaw Star, The Big O, Naruto, Naruto: Shippuden, One Piece, Zatch Bell!, and so many more series were spotlighted, and given the chance to work their way into the hearts of fans. Toonami was able to thrive in an era where it was the single best way for non-Japanese fans to watch anime.

Truly dedicated fans went the extra mile for fan-subbed VHS tapes and DVDs or risked viruses on piracy sites. Most, however, were happy with what Toonami provided. With most fans watching all the same series, a strong sense of community was built around them, and thus Toonami itself. This effect was enhanced by the programming block’s host, TOM, who made watching Toonami feel like a personal experience.

Toonami Struggled as Anime Became More Accessible

There Are Few Remaining Incentives Beyond Nostalgia For Anyone to Watch Toonami

It’s easy to forget but, in 2008, Toonami was pulled from the air, on account of low ratings. By the late 2000s, the block was no longer airing what were once its signature programs, Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon. While it still had Naruto as its main draw, their absence was still felt. Even more detrimental to Toonami’s viewership was the increased accessibility of anime.

DVDs were easier than ever to find in stores, countless anime were being uploaded to YouTube, and piracy sites had become safer and faster. One of these websites, Crunchyroll.com, would wind up becoming Toonami’s greatest nemesis, as it eventually started gaining legal distrubution rights to stream anime, starting with Naruto: Shippuden.

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​​​​Because of fan demand, Toonami was resurrected in 2012, but in a new form. Rather than being aired in the early evening, and primarily targeting kids and teenagers, it became a part of the late night Adult Swim block, and targeted older teenagers and adults. This is the state in which Toonami exists to this day.

In 2025, Toonami is a relic of a bygone era, appealing to an increasingly small pool of nostalgic fans who grew up with it. Streaming anime is infinitely easier now than it had already become by 2008, and there is little practical purpose for the block’s continued presence. It’s frankly an achievement that Toonami has survived as long as it has, while relying exclusively on anime nostalgia, and those who find a charm to watching a curated set of anime episodes in a specific order, at a specific time.

Toonami isn’t Going to Survive For Much Longer – And That’s Okay

Toonami Ending Can’t Take Away the Fond Memories That Fans Have of It

Toonami undeniably holds a special place in the hearts of millions of fans. Shared memories of the block from childhood are powerful, its directly responsible for the rise in the popularity of anime outside Japan, and many of the series it featured rank among the most popular of all time, partially because they were aired on Toonami. Yet, sad as it may be to think, Toonami will inevitably come to an end.

Toonami is far from the only nostalgia-oriented television block of the past decade. Cartoon Network even currently has one for its main set of programming, in the form of “Checkered Past.” What many of these blocks share is that they draw excitement when they’re announced, last for several years as interest in them wanes, and then come to an unceremonious end. Fans are extremely attached to their childhood memories, hence the initial hype around these blocks.

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The inconveniences of live television, however, compared to streaming inevitably bring viewers back to reality. Even apart from nostalgia blocks, television ratings have plunged severely over the past 5 years. Toonami’s advantages compared to its contemporaries, which have allowed it to survive for so long, are its integration into the long-standing Adult Swim block, its teen and adult-oriented programming, and it’s constantly changing its line-up of anime, including new and current ones.

Toonami currently has a fairly strong lineup. It includes FLCL, One Piece, and Blue Exorcist. It recently featured Mashle, Rick and Morty: The Anime, My Hero Academia, and the American-animated Invincible Fight Girl. Toonami’s also brought back the block’s signature anime, Dragon Ball Z Kai, Sailor Moon, and Naruto. Fantastic as most of the series are, there have been definite issues with Toonami’s programming, further straining its already tenuous position.

Toonami’s Newest Problems Stem From its Biggest Properties

In 2024, Toonami aired the long-awaited animated adaptation of one of the most beloved horror manga of all time, Junji Ito’s Uzumaki. Besides being one of the most anticipated anime adaptations for years, this was a big deal for Toonami because it would be airing each of the four episodes’ premieres before they aired in Japan.

This was not the first series to be released in this fashion, that distinction belonging to Space Dandy, but it was a rare opportunity for Toonami to draw new eyes to its programming, and to justify its existence. Unfortunately, the comically poor animation present in several of Uzumaki’s episodes turned what should have been a momentous occasion into a disaster. Toonami is now directly associated with one of the most disappointing anime adaptations ever, and that can’t be good for its ratings.

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Sailor Moon fans get to enjoy their show coming back to a nostalgic block; and hopefully can look forward to more content from the franchise.

Although key to Toonami’s historic success, Dragon Ball, specifically Dragon Ball Z Kai, exposes the block’s current limitations. It was recently announced that Toonami would not be continuing air episodes of the Frieza Saga, and would instead be looping back to the beginning of the series.

Specifically, the channel will be doing this right before the iconic episode where Goku turns into a Super Saiyan for the first time. This suggests that it isn’t financially viable for Toonami to license additional packages of episodes. It could also further harm Toonami, as returning to the Saiyan Saga of DBZ: Kai could cause many fans to lose interest in the block.

There is no telling when Toonami will air its final broadcast. When it does, it will hopefully be a celebratory occasion, rather than a sad one. The block’s legacy will always live on in the hearts of fans, and in the effects it’s had on the anime industry as a whole over the past several decades. Toonami has survived for a longer time than anyone could have predicted, and no tears should be shed when TOM says his last goodbye.

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  Dragon Ball
  

  Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.

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  Sailor Moon
  

  Release Date

  March 7, 1992
  

  Directors

  Junichi Sato, Kunihiko Ikuhara

  Writers

  Sukehiro Tomita

  
  

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