# Toonami Toonami is a long-running action animation programming block that launched on Cartoon Network in March 1997 and introduced a generation of American viewers to anime like Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Gundam. After Cartoon Network cancelled it in September 2008, a 2012 April Fools stunt and the viral #BringBackToonami fan campaign forced its revival on Adult Swim, where it still airs late nights. ## Origin Toonami was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street for Cartoon Network, launching on March 17, 1997 after programming head Mike Lazzo asked for a new teen action block in the mold of earlier blocks like Power Zone[3]. The first version aired weekdays and was hosted by Moltar, the villain from Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, voiced by C. Martin Croker[3]. On July 10, 1999, the block relaunched with a new host, the Toonami Operations Module (T.O.M.), voiced by Steve Blum[3]. Cartoon Network announced on September 20, 2008 that Toonami would end that same evening due to low ratings, with T.O.M. 4 giving a farewell speech scored to Tycho's "Cascade"[3]. Fans immediately started petitions begging for its return, including a GoPetition thread posted the night of the cancellation that listed Rising Sun, Midnight Run, Dragon Ball Z and Yu Yu Hakusho as what viewers were about to lose[4]. - **Platform:** Cartoon Network (TV origin) / Twitter (viral revival campaign) - **Creator:** Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco (Williams Street) - **Date:** 1997 ## Overview Toonami started as an afternoon action animation block aimed at teens, mixing American cartoons with imported anime and tying everything together with high-budget CGI bumpers, host segments and story-driven event weeks[3]. Its robot host T.O.M. piloting the Ghost Planet Spaceship Absolution, voiced by Steve Blum, became the block's face from 1999 onward and gave the block an in-universe continuity most TV programming blocks skipped[3]. The block is credited by fans with being the gateway to anime for a huge chunk of American millennials, airing Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Mobile Suit Gundam, Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin and Thundercats, plus the late-night Midnight Run that showed edgier titles[1]. When Cartoon Network cancelled it in 2008, the online grief eventually turned into a coordinated fan campaign that forced the network to bring it back, which is the second life of the Toonami story[2]. ## How to Use In meme form, Toonami functions as nostalgia shorthand: fans post the CGI bumpers, T.O.M. monologues, or the "Cascade" cancellation sign-off to signal a specific era of 1997 to 2008 anime fandom. The #BringBackToonami hashtag is still used ironically whenever a beloved block or show gets cancelled, modeled on the April 2012 Twitter campaign that actually worked[2]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Toonami? Toonami is an action animation programming block that debuted on Cartoon Network in 1997 and now airs late nights on Adult Swim, best known for broadcasting anime like Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon and Gundam[3]. ### Where did Toonami come from? It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco at Williams Street for Cartoon Network, launching March 17, 1997 under head programmer Mike Lazzo[3]. ### What does Toonami mean? The name is a portmanteau coined by its Williams Street creators for the block itself; it has no meaning outside the brand, which fans associate with host T.O.M., the Absolution and the Midnight Run late-night anime slot[1]. ### How do you use Toonami? Online, fans invoke Toonami as nostalgia shorthand for late-1990s and 2000s anime fandom and reuse the #BringBackToonami hashtag whenever a show or block gets cancelled, modeled on the 2012 Twitter campaign that actually worked[3]. ### Is Toonami still popular? Yes, the block is still airing on Adult Swim after its May 26, 2012 revival, following the viral #BringBackToonami campaign that convinced the network to reinstate it[3]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCAX4cgszCU]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUYHDGZU4Uc]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/toonami]() 4. [https://www.gopetition.com/petitions/bring-back-toonami.html]() 5. [https://www.change.org/petitions/cartoon-network-bring-back-toonami-on-adult-swim]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/toonami Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library