“Sometimes i do feel like I’m a failure. Like there’s no hope for me. But even so, I’m not going to give up. Ever.”

–          Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, My Hero Academia (Ep. 01)

The Toonami Trending Rundown for May 5-6, 2018. In an event that fans have been anticipating for up to the past two years, the smash hit Shonen Jump anime in Kōhei Horikoshi’s My Hero Academia finally makes its debut on the better cartoon show. And what a night it was, as Deku finds himself to have no quirk abilities, but vows not to give up his dreams of becoming a hero, while Jotaro gambles against D’Arby, and Asta argues with the Silva elite(ists)…at least until zombies attack the Capital City.

Unfortunately for us, the Great Trending Drought of 2018 continues as on Twitter, only Space Dandy would successfully trend in the US. On Tumblr, Toonami would trend as with #BNHA, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Hunter x Hunter. We’ve had periods like this before due to changes in trending algorithms and tough competition, and while they stink, all i can say is just continue enjoying the block as always and I’m sure the pendulum will swing back our way before long.

This week, Toonami showcased a second part of their behind the scenes video on the production of the FLCL sequel series. Due to time constraints, an extended version of the interview that was shown on TV was released on the Adult Swim YouTube channel, which you can see below.

  • This Memorial Day Weekend on May 26, Toonami will be marathoning all 6 episodes of FLCL in a row beginning at 10:30 pm EDT/PST and again at 1:45 am, to get fans prepared for the premiere of FLCL 2 Progressive on the following week on June 2nd.
  • A little heads up regarding scheduling for the night of May 19, as episode 6 of FLCL has a 45 minute length, every show after will be temporarily shifted back by 15 minutes. No shows will be pre-empted, but for those recording Toonami on their DVRs, you might want to keep this in mind and adjust your recordings accordingly if needed.
  • Those watching the premiere of My Hero Academia who have previously watched it on other sources may have noticed that there were a few minor language edits in the dialogue (ie. a few “shit” bombs were changed to “crap” bombs). According to Jason DeMarco: “We didn’t edit the episode so that’s how it was sent to us I guess.”

Despite being one of the most popular anime franchises right now, with high streaming numbers, DVD and Blu-ray sales, and high manga readership, some thought that My Hero Academia’s road to the top would not be complete without a broadcast on the better cartoon show, hence why it became one of Toonami’s most requested shows in recent memory.

As I mentioned when Black Clover joined Toonami, My Hero Academia didn’t come to Toonami earlier simply because they chose Black Clover or another show instead, but rather the show hit a significant snag in regards to internal politics with the distributors and competition, among other things hurt its chances of airing on TV for awhile. Some will mention that that the show’s popularity didn’t start blowing up until around the time season 2 started premiering in Japan that Toonami started seeing massive requests for the show. Unfortunately by the time the show reached Toonami’s radar, Hulu had a exclusivity deal with FUNimation that prevented a broadcast for an undisclosed amount of time, among other issues that we’re not privy to. But as the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait, and eventually Toonami and FUNimation finally got the opportunity to get the job done.

As Deku never gave up on his dreams, fans never gave up on seeing the show airing on the block, and were eventually rewarded, and MHA’s road to joining Toonami could give hope to the fans of Sailor Moon, Mob Psycho 100, Blue Exorcist, Tokyo Ghoul, Darling in the Franxx, as well as fans and other popular shows who are currently facing similar snags that are preventing said shows from reaching Toonami at this time. It’s why we say that if you want to see a show come to Toonami, keep supporting the block and the industry overall, let Toonami and the distributor know you want a show there through their social media outlets, and be patient. Nothing is impossible and if there’s a significant demand for a show, anything can happen.

Unfortunately due to the time it took for My Hero to reach Toonami, we’re 3 seasons behind from where the dub is currently at on FUNimation Now. But since Toonami plans to air all 3 present seasons successively, and since MHA has seasonal breaks (a la Attack on Titan and SAO for instance), it should be roughly a year or so until Toonami will be able to catch up with the current broadcast. Of course, that all depends on when season 4 starts among other things, but considering the difficulty it was to get this show here in the first place, I’m sure the wait will be a breeze in comparison. Starting from the beginning does have a benefit as it will welcome in newcomers to the show such as myself, which is why many fans wanted Toonami to pick up this series in the first place.

What will My Hero Academia bring us with these 3 seasons and more to come, I’m not sure, but as those who have seen the show through streaming and DVDs will attest, i’m sure it will be a fun ride for many newcomers and those watching again as Deku continues fulfilling his dream of becoming a superhero. All I can say is if you like what you’re seeing, keep watching.

Not much else to say other than we’ll see you again on Saturday for another round of the better cartoon show. Later.

Legend: The shows listed are ordered based on their appearance on the schedule. Show trends are listed in bold. The number next to the listed trend represents the highest it trended on the list (not counting the promoted trend), judging only by the images placed in the rundown. For the Twitter tweet counts, the listed number of tweets are also sorely based on the highest number shown based on the images on the rundown.

United States Trends:

  • #SpaceDandy [#9]

Tweet Counts:

  • #Toonami [4,817 tweets]
  • #DragonBallSuper [2,935 tweets]
  • #DBZKai [1,036 tweets]
  • #MyHeroAcademia [10.5k tweets]
  • #FLCL [1,528 tweets]
  • #JoJosBizarreAdventure [2,072 tweets]
  • #HunterXHunter [2,594 tweets]
  • #BlackClover [1,083 tweets]

Tumblr Trends:

  • #Toonami
  • #BNHA
  • #JoJos Bizarre Adventure
  • #Hunter X Hunter

Notes and Other Statistics:

Special thanks to @myanimewaifu and others I forgot to mention for spotting some of the trends on this list.

Only Toonami on [adult swim] on Cartoon Network.