What a fun Saturday! Toonami got an English dub premiere of a crossover One Piece episode that no one has seen until now. It was quite the event, and seeing both fans and those within the industry excited about it puts a smile on our faces. However, what else Toonami has up its sleeve now that we are still unsure what the schedule will be as of this writing? There have been many hurdles (some the block is still fighting through), but that hasn’t stopped Adult Swim from providing the best action cartoons to fans. All eyes will be on their Facebook page, and there might be some more on Sentai Filmworks, which has made a significant move in acquiring anime series. Curious about what we are talking about, continuing reading this latest installment of This Week From Toonami!
Adding some more flair during this weekend’s festivities, Toonami debuted an excellent new ID animated in a style that fans had to enjoy seeing. While it wasn’t very long, and these spots tend to get lost in the shuffle, we are always appreciative when new stuff geared toward the block is shown.
For those in the U.S. wondering where they can catch the final season of Attack on Titan, you now have your answer. This week Crunchyroll announced that the first part, titled Attack on Titan Final Season THE FINAL CHAPTERS Special 1 (you can’t make this up), was streamed on their platform. This first part is a one-hour special that debuted this weekend, leaving the actual final part of Attack on Titan to air. And if you’re wondering where or when that will happen, you still have some waiting to do. BUT, it was announced that in the fall, fans would be able to see how this story concludes (we hope). It wasn’t mentioned if Crunchyroll will also be able to stream it since it wasn’t announced, but considering all the Attack on Titan content you can find on the platform, we assume that will be the case. Of course, this leaves us to wonder when Toonami will have the chance to air both the second half and this one-hour episode.
Have you enjoyed JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R video game? Well, lucky for you, Bandai Namco announced their latest DLC character for the fighting game. Keicho Nijimura from Diamond is Unbreakable joins the fray in a short, silly promo video showing his toy soldiers rushing to battle. Now there’s only one character left in the battle pass, and all eyes will be watching on who will make the cut in the remaking of the iconic JoJo video game.
The official Twitter account for Demon Slayer announced the premiere date for the TV anime of the Demon Slayer Swordsmith Village Arc on April 9. It will be one hour long, and the account also posted a promotional video and key visual to get fans ready for the next story. This arc will look fantastic from our sources, and a few friends or staff members of ours has gone to see the theatrical release of the first episode during the Demon Slayer World Tour. While we wish the second season could air on Toonami again, we are excited about the next installment of this global hit and can’t wait to hear more about the series growing by the day.
This story was too funny not to report about this week. In Japan, a racehorse with an odd name called “Hell Shake” has won a couple of races in a row so far. Now for any Pop Team Epic fans out there, that name should be familiar, considering it is named after the “Hellshake Yano” meme that the series made in episode seven. And to add more to the comedy, the stable that raised the horse specifically asked for a rider named Yano to add another layer to this meme, giving it more life than one could expect. We are not upset about this development and hope Hell Shake can continue winning and maybe find its way to the Kentucky Derby.
And while this last piece of news isn’t Toonami-related, we felt it was big enough to report on, considering it could have some ramifications on the relationship between Sentai Filmworks and Toonami (good or bad). AMC Networks reached an agreement with Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS), giving Sentai Filmworks and HIDIVE exclusive rights to stream series and future series in global markets outside of Asia. This big announcement also included current series that the company will get to broadcast and leaves many to wonder what this could mean for both anime fans and Toonami down the line. Many fans were curious during the FUNimation and Crunchyroll merger: how Sentai Filmworks could hold their own competing with a massive entity like that and Netflix and Amazon Prime. This move should help them acquire more content and to be able to share that with fans all over. Of course, this then becomes a question of whether they want to continue to work with Adult Swim or do they feel that this deal, along with their streaming service of HIDIVE, is enough. It wouldn’t be wise to stick with ONLY HIDIVE to air anime for Sentai Filmworks since many casual fans will look at more mainstream streaming services like Netflix or Prime Video. But it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
On the latest episode of the Toonami Faithful Podcast, Andrew “Sketch” Hingson is joined by Paul Pescrillo and Bryan “LaserKid” Johnson to talk about the two DC films that aired on Toonami. Our panelists took the movie Injustice to task, commenting on how it felt like it was trying to be dark only to score points with fans instead of creating a genuine feeling of dread and sadness due to what was happening with Superman in the film. LaserKid would even say how it tried to be “too edgy,” creating a poor atmosphere for Injustice. However, the group went on a more positive route when discussing the Justice League vs. The Fatal Five film, enjoying what that movie brought to Toonami and watching something similar to what fans watched during the early days of the block. Of course, everyone couldn’t contain their thoughts about the special crossover One Piece episode featuring characters from Dragon Ball and Toriko. So if you’re curious about what was said, you’ll want to hear this podcast episode ASAP!
This week our very own CJ Maffris was a guest on Just A Gintama Podcast to talk about episodes 36 and 37 as the main cast is rewatching the iconic series to discuss their thoughts about the series. In it, we hear CJ discuss not only the episodes at length what he liked or didn’t like but what got him into Gintama and why he’s been a massive fan of the property since it was recommended. He has also reviewed the series for Toonami Faithful (the Crunchyroll English dub) and has always been a champion of wishing that it would somehow air on Toonami. We were thrilled to see CJ arise from the shadows and join some fantastic individuals (Doctor, Colton, and Foxy) in a fun conversation about a series like Gintama. Please check out this podcast (or their network of podcast projects) dedicated to the funniest anime ever!
We have a new Demon Slayer Podcast to promote! On the latest episode, host Varun “VLordGTZ” Gupta is joined by staff member Sakaki, his sibling LumRanmaYasha, and Jecka1021 to talk about their experience going to the Swordsmith Village World Tour event in L.A. If you follow any of these remarkable individuals, you would see all of the fanfare and fun they had on what had to of been a magical night creating beautiful memories. It’s crazy that Demon Slayer pulled off an event like this globally, and it only proves how popular it is. We implore that all Demon Slayer fans check this episode out, especially if you couldn’t attend this event in L.A. and other screenings of the Swordsmith Village arc around the world.
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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