A Moment to Reflect on the Importance of Adult Swim Action
Before proceeding, it is important to consider the role Adult Swim Action played in the history of Toonami. While Toonami’s success with older audiences was no doubt the reason that Adult Swim included anime right out the gate, it was Adult Swim Action that held the torch when Toonami was off the air. Phenomenal series such as Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell: The Stand Alone Complex, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, FLCL and InuYasha only aired on Toonami once it became part of Adult Swim but their success kept action animation alive on the network for nearly four years.
Those hold-overs from Adult Swim Action continued to delight viewers new and old when they became part of Toonami and formed the backbone of the six hour iteration of the block. They were all worthy of being showcased on Toonami but keeping the seat warm was not all Adult Swim Action did. The Toonami’s crew’s appreciation for Cowboy Bebop lead them to cast Steve Blum as TOM, ASA’s existence heavily influenced what ended up on Toonami and the relationship established between Williams Street and Production I.G. through Ghost in the Shell brought forth Toonami’s first original series. Soon two more co-productions from the studio will join it. Mamoru Oshii’s Sand Whale and Me micro-series and the unexpected sequel to FLCL are bold ventures for the block and they may not be the last.