Welcome back to our latest edition of This Week From Toonami as we say farewell for now to the second season of Made in Abyss! Many things were announced or reported on involving series that have been on the block, which should get a ton of fans excited. We always enjoy having a plethora of news to share with our readers, and we love when we can bring attention to stuff that might pique your interest. Plus, a new episode of the Toonami Faithful Podcast dropped, which is sure to be a fun listen to those who enjoy our ranting on whatever topic we decide on that day. So keep reading to learn everything Toonami fans want to know about this past week!
We have more information regarding the final part of Attack on Titan’s last season. NHK announced that the first half of Part 3 would air as a one-hour special on March 3, and the second half will air later in the year. A special seven-part compilation anime will begin on Feb. 25 that will air for three consecutive nights, which leaves us to wonder, “Toonami when?” It will be interesting to see how this final part of Attack on Titan will be produced and how it will work to broadcast it on Adult Swim. The block is familiar with airing long episodes (just recently with the finale of Made in Abyss), so that isn’t a huge issue. It’s more about thinking aloud if more episodes will be in an hour-long format or if all the runtimes will be janky for broadcast. It’s fun to think about, and we cannot wait to see how the final part of Attack on Titan will look animated.
Name a more iconic duo than Demon Slayer and theatrical releases. That isn’t possible in the anime world, as the hit property is again taking the Japanese box office by storm. However, instead of Mugen Train grabbing records, the Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc, which is getting a world tour run in theaters worldwide, held the number one spot at the Japanese box office in its first weekend earning close to 9 million dollars in those first three days. But for fans in the U.S. that are crazy about Demon Slayer, you’re in luck. Both Crunchyroll and Aniplex of America announced that you too will be able to be a part of this world tour with this special screening happening in North American theaters March 3. But if you’re lucky enough, there will be a red carpet event at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles on Feb. 18. And if you can’t make it to any theaters, a one-hour special will broadcast in Japan, which should mean a simulcast of it should be available for fans outside of the country. We are drawing closer to bringing back the Demon Slayer craze that has swept the nation since the anime first debuted.
Those interested in how well the second Sword Art Online Progressive film performed in U.S. theaters, you’re in luck. Sword Art Online The Movie – Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night earned a respectable $607,000 (according to Anime News Network, reported by Deadline), which helped bring its worldwide total over $8 million. The film debuted in U.S. theaters this weekend, and we even reviewed it (more on that later). Hopefully, you’ve had the chance to check out the latest Progressive film and show your support for one of the most prominent Toonami alums in the world.
A new visual and trailer dropped this week for the upcoming Gridman Universe film! In the trailer, you get a quick peek at what you should expect in this latest installment of the Gridman world and hear the new theme song, “uni-verse,” and the date fans in Japan can see it (March 24). We will be keeping our eyes on this movie to see how well it does in theaters and if we could see a U.S. run with a sequel series showing up on Toonami to help get fans excited. (h/t to AmpRen for informing us on the Gridman news).
Since the release of Overwatch 2, Activision Blizzard mentioned how they wanted to add more seasonal content to the game with cool collaborations, much like what Fortnite has been doing. Well, they will do just that for their third competitive season as they will have a special One-Punch Man event beginning on March 7. A unique skin for the character Doomfist will become available with him dressed as the fabled “Caped Baldy” (Saitama himself), and that might not be the only character skin in the game when the event begins.
Adult Swim released a trailer for the upcoming special Ballmastrz:Rubicon, which is set to premiere on Feb. 20 at midnight. So if you want to watch it before it makes its Toonami debut, that’s the time and place to be in front of the TV. It’s a fun little trailer that should have many fans excited for what is to come on the latest adventure. And who knows, if many people watch it, possibly more Ballmastrz seasons can be produced.
On the latest episode of the Toonami Faithful Podcast, the crew dives deeper into the abyss as Andrew “Sketch” Hingson, CJ Maffris, Varun “VLordGTZ” Gupta, and Bryan “LaserKid” Johnson talk about the latest batch of episodes with the hit series Made in Abyss. CJ mentions how this season hasn’t been as brutal as the previous one, just a tad more depressing compared, while others discuss how that sad feeling in this latest story arc has made this season more brutal in their eyes than the first one. It leads to a fun conversation about the direction of the series and how the storytelling and lore-building within Made in Abyss is one of the best you’ll find in anime. Also, the clever title for this episode was a VLord special, so we hope you take the time to listen to what our esteemed guests had to say about the series!
This week our very own Sketch checked out the latest Sword Art Online film, Sword Art Online The Movie – Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night, and wrote about it! Much like he did for his first review, Sketch breaks down everything you’ll need to know. He’s still a tad concerned about the adaptation since the material in the Progressive novels was skipped entirely. He is unsure about adding new characters like Mito, considering some of the dependency he saw between her and Asuna. However, he did enjoy the film and loves how the quality of things involving Sword Art Online stays the same. Plus, there wasn’t anything cringe-worthy in this film which is a win I’m sure many fans will take due to the property’s reputation. Please check it out while it was still in theaters in the U.S.
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CJ Maffris is the Editor-in-Chief at Toonamifaithful.com. He also produced and directed the Toonami documentary, What Toonami Means To Me. Feel free to follow CJ on Twitter @SeaJayMaffris