In case you haven’t heard, the wonderful people at Toonami decided to release a mobile app for their fans to use on the go. Said app has officially launched today (or last night if you have an android phone), and is definitely generating a lot of buzz. I for one was excited to see a mobile app developed for the Toonami Faithful out there, especially with how connected people are with their phones. So now that the app is available, what can fans do? And what are all the features it comes with? I was very intrigued with what Toonami executives were going to deliver to fans. While people shouldn’t expect the moon (or at least a lot of stuff), since it just came out, but there’s still a lot of neat little functions that fans will definitely get a kick out of, if not think they are some of the coolest functions ever.
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When you first download the app, you are given a small tutorial video featuring the hosts of Toonami (T.O.M and SARA). The two tell users about how the app works like boosting your signal strength, increase your “level”, and about how there are other things that fans can download from the app. It’s like any mobile app game that someone buys from the app store. You’d love to skip these, but hearing the voices of Steve Blum and Dana Swanson made the tutorial fun to watch (I’m sure other fans would agree with me).
After waiting about 20-30 seconds from the video, you are taken to the main menu of the app which looks just as you would expect from Toonami (sleek and all about outer space).There’s also a countdown at the bottom of the screen to show you when Toonami will air. You will also notice the symbol for the action block in the middle of your phone, with little orbs floating around it. Right now it only has four orbs orbiting the Toonami symbol with the hashtags for Toonami, Dragon Ball Z Kai (DBZ Kai), Akame ga Kill, and Parasyte. So what are the purpose of these orbs? You can drag any of those into the middle of the screen and gives you the option to tweet using that particular hashtag. That’s right, the app will sync up with your Twitter account to make things easier to tweet during the action block. The app also has a Twitter icon where you can tweet our your level (progress) with the Toonami app. So it would appear that this mobile app is social media friendly.
This feature will be a great asset for Toonami due to how the executives of the action block and Adult Swim can now keep track of every fan who tweets. This app will be a huge filter that will make sure that people are using the correct hashtags that the action block wants. This can help in the long run as well, considering that the more this app is used/downloaded, the more the numbers could prove that Toonami needs a larger budget and staff. The more you tweet, the more your signal strength is boosted, which means that the action block will have to continue to broadcast. So yes, the more you “spam” on Twitter, the more you do to help. I personally don’t have any problem with Twitter users going off and tweeting a lot about Toonami, so this can only strengthen the fan base. Now Twitter users have an app that will reward you for tweeting a lot. Let the world know that Toonami is here to stay!
If you don’t feel like tweeting, don’t worry you don’t have to. You can mindlessly tap the middle of the main screen to boost your signal strength level. Right now I’m at level 17, but apparently it can go all the way to 9000 (insert typical DBZ joke here). With how bored people can get, some mindless button mashing can help cure any boredom you come across.
Once you are done tapping till your fingers fall off, there’s a small menu on the left side of the screen that will allow users to do a few other things. The first thing that I raced to was the wallpaper and ringtone section. To my dismay there are only six pictures to choose from for wallpapers, which bummed me out a little. The reason was that the Toonami symbol wasn’t an option to pick for a wallpaper. Fans are given two outside views of the Absolution, a hallway inside the Absolution, the title Toonami (that fans would see at the end of their promos), and selfies of T.O.M and SARA. All very cool and very sleek compared to what other apps offer (in my experience). All I can say is that I will patiently await more wallpapers that are developed in the future (please add a Toonami symbol wallpapper).
After looking at the limited amount of wallpapers, I moved over to the ringtone sections and all I can say is…WOW! The developer really put in an extensive list of different ringtones, which was a huge surprise. It starts off with either T.O.M or SARA saying different things like “coming in hot”, or “who loves you baby” (I honestly could not stop laughing with some of the ringtones). I’m sure there are going to be some people out there who will greatly enjoy hearing SARA say a few of these statements. My favorite one involving the two were definitely “we won’t be intimidated by criminal threats”. That added a nice touch for old and new fans of the action block. However, past the talking ringtones, fans are given a few songs that have been played during the bumps through the years. I was so surprised and happy to hear some of the songs that I remember listening to late at night before and after some great shows. I highly recommend downloading and using some of the ringtones because I felt this was the strongest thing offered from the app.
Another cool function is the autopilot option (the icon in the main menu shaped like an arrow). You can tilt your phone to move a cursor to the middle of the screen or use autopilot, to activate the countdown clock when Toonami airs. Tapping the middle of the screen shows fans the schedule of what shows are on the block (including what time they air). I’m unsure if this will change when a marathon will be coming up, but it’s something to look forward to as time goes forward. There’s not much else to do here, but it sure can help new fans of anime or Toonami to know what to expect in the lineup.
The developer also gave fans an alarm clock function in the app. I personally will be using this function more than any other that the app provides. Why not wake up to some cool futuristic noises in the morning (or night depending on your schedule). While I’m not sure if it will wake me up, it seemed really cool to have. To stop the noise you just have to tap the screen and you have “safely exited hyperspace”. The alarm clock itself seems pretty decent, and was a nice extra that was added to the release.
Finally the last function that the app offers is a morse code system. Why, I have no idea. This does bring me back to when I was young playing with walkie-talkies with friends. Some walkie-talkies would offer a guide on how to use morse code, which the Toonami app also provides. So now fans can communicate with one an other through bright flashes. Cool if you know how to use it, but to me felt silly to add it with the app. However, some fans seem to really enjoy this function. Another win for the developer of this app.
To put a nice bow on this new app, Toonami has something extra after the terms of agreement page. If you scroll past all of the boring stuff, you will be shown links on to how to get in touch with the people at Toonami. There’s a link to their Facebook and Tumblr page, which has been said to be the best place to have your voice heard about the action block. I just thought it was a nice touch. So not only can fans tweet about their love for Toonami, but can tell the executives the great job they have been doing.
Now it’s safe to say that this app isn’t perfect. There was no way for it not to have a few bugs. When my phone was disconnected to my wifi, the sounds from the ringtones sounded more metallic, and not as crisp as it was when my phone was connected to wifi. Also, if you phone locks itself with the app still running, you will basically have to close out the app. I did get a screen to pop up to try and reconnect, but it didn’t go as planned and I ended up having to close the app. Also get ready to lose your battery life with this app, it can suck the life out of it. Of course I do blame phones more than the apps people use (still it’s something to keep an eye on). For the future, I am hoping more features to be added. Such as possible streaming services from the phone of Toonami marathons, as well as the action block when it is airing on television. It was wishful thinking that those kind of features would be added in the beginning, but one can dream.
All in all, I was pleasantly surprised with how the app performs overall. Not only are fans given some awesome content with ringtones and wallpapers, but are now given a better way to tweet about their favorite shows. This should make social media and Toonami go hand-in-hand, and help make all the shows more popular. This is great that now fans have a mobile app to show their love for Toonami, and I for one am impressed with the rollout. So please, download if you can and rate it so people know how the development went. So thanks to Toonami, they sucked me into flying into hyperspace with them via phone. I’m excited for the new updates that come along, including a comic about T.O.M 4 and his crew. I call this a resounding success for the Toonami team and highly recommend downloading it.
(Also if you have suggestions or would like to report an issue with the app, please tweet at @SalemSolace The Toonami Mobile app can be found available in the iTunes app store and Android app store.)
C.J Maffris is an editorial contributor for Toonamifaithful.com. He enjoys playing on his phone, and this will only make his battery die faster. Feel free to follow C.J on Twitter @SeaJayMaffris