Toonami Infolink - Major DeMarco Q&A!

Toonami co-creator Jason DeMarco answered a ton of Twitter questions regarding the future of the block! He answers questions about SARA, old shows like Outlaw Star and Big O, a possible new CD, and more!

Forum member goku262002 gathered all of these, so thanks to him for that.

(Click "Read More..." for the whole thing.)

Why Samurai 7?
Because it's great. Why not?

Is FLCL still going to be on the schedule in a few weeks?
Don't think so.

Will Casshern be re-run after it ends, or will we get a new anime to fill the time slot?
We are going to try not to re-run stuff when we don't have to.

My main question is: have the Toonami Faithful come through for you guys in terms of ratings? And has the show been growing?
We've been solid overall. A little better than AS Saturday nights used to do. We're not going anywhere for a while.

Any chance #toonami could get the 9PM-12AM slots if ratings stay stable/improve? Current timeslot cuts into sleep real bad.
Highly doubtful.

So since your bringing back Samurai 7 will you be bringing back other old animes and why replace Deadman with that.
We didn't want reruns, and Samurai 7 is a great show we've never aired.

Is Cowboy Bebop rerunning again after it finishes its current run?
Likely, yes.

Any chance Toonami would should none action anime's like Clannad & K-On? Only half serious about this one
Nope.

Any chance of Thundercats moving to #Toonami?
We are looking at ALL possibilities.

could it be possible to aquire a few more anime like samurai 7? it would make a huge difference to toonami
We're doing everything we can.

What factors do you consider when making new acquisitions like Deadman Wonderland or Samurai 7?
Is it a good fit? Is it available? Have we run it before? Will it need an insane amount of edits? How much $$ does it cost?

Does Neon Alley mean we are less likely to see more of Viz's anime on Toonami?
Not particularly, no.

...are we growing or has the ratings hurt our cause?
Growing just a bit.

Are there any shows, or anything that you would like to see personally on #Toonami?
There are MANY shows I'd like to see on Toonami, both American and Japanese. Too many to list!

Will we see more series that have already been released on DVD in future? (like Samurai 7)
Toonami has always done that. and always will. We are mostly concerned with GOOD before NEW.

Okay since your bringing back Samurai 7 will you be bringing back any others or just that one for this year only
We are certainly planning on more stuff coming this year if at all possible.

Why have you not aired (Insert Show I like) on your channel!
Because we can't please everyone all the time, and Toonami is not a time machine! hahaha

Oh, also will we see a new intro for the block soon?
Not likely.

Well it has been everywhere and it has been out for years. A person could easily watch it on Netflix.
The same could be said for almost any anime and definitely anything on Adult Swim. We can't compete with web availability.

Ok, is it safe to say you guys are playing a little 'safe' in the #toonami line up selection? Too safe= lower ratings...
I don't think that's true at all.

If Stand Alone Complex reruns its first season, are you gonna alter TOM's dialogue to have him not say "2nd Gig"?
Ha! Yes we need to fix that!

I love it. Next question: Since Deadman Wonderland & Casshern Sins are coming to an end soon, will it be repeating episodes?
We are trying not to repeat shows where possible.

How did you find the new voice over announcer Howard Parker? Will we be hearing him promote Samurai 7 soon?
We've worked with Howard for years (see the Big O Season 2 promos for example). You'll hear him promote it soon!

will the best ones be from Funimation, Ganzo, Viz Media etc.
They'll be from whomever has a good library and will work with us on a good deal.

Any chance for Durarara!! or Big O to make return?
Eventually, probably. But not in the near future.

Have you been thinking of using some of the classic logos from time to time?
Probably not. We want to move forward. we may though, you never know!

What's the chance on stuff already aired on Toonami/AS before like Trigun or Outlaw Star?
Those shows are unlikely, although I'd love to see Outlaw Star on again!

Think we"ll get a wallpaper for that "Toonami'sBack" TOM image on the main website?
Working on it!

"Almost" being the key word. You managed to get DMW after it was freshly dubbed and that was a decent success.
Look, we can't afford, nor is there enough new anime we like being made to fill the block. That's not going to be possible

is SARA coming back?
We hope to bring her back some day, but it won't happen for a while, if at all!

you say you are trying not to repeat shows when possible, could that apply to gits or cb?
WHERE POSSIBLE= when we can afford it. We own GITS and Bebop will not leave our air any time soon.

Will Toonami's block remain 12-3 with new episodes and then reruns for at least the next month?
Yes.

Last from me! Why keep GitS SAC? Ratings?
We own it, we love it. It may rest at some point though.

Can you encourage showing fan stuff during toonami's timeslot. I'd love to do a fan animation for you guys :)
That's pretty hard in this day and age. We're trying to think of ways to do that though, promise!

when or if sara returns will she look similar to what she looked liked in the past or a whole new look?
I'd want a new look for her.

While it's open forum, I dunno how many people ask you thisso I'll be the 9000th to ask... Any chance for another Toonami Cd?
Nope but I'm planning on another Black Hole Megamix when I can get around to it? Maybe a Xmas present?

Any chance for movie nights? Like Bleach 3 or FMA Sacred Star of Milos?
We may do that but for now it's not worth the $$$ for one night of content.

Fair enough! Oh, Champloo? Possible return? Thought that'd be one you guys wouldn't let go of.
Love Champloo, so you never know!

when bleach is over with (which will be awhile) will it get a rerun?
too soon to tell.

Any new anime coming to Toonami after Deadman Wonderland finishes?
Samurai 7!

Id say for a significant percentage, it's true. I've been a long time fan, so i keep watchin. Just missing shock value is all.
We're not interested in "Shock value".

What about Gurren Lagann?
I dig that show.

So ever thinking about bringing old shows from the weekday and saturday line up from the 90s like S-cry-ed or Yu Yu Hakusho...
Something we're considering, of course.

Any chance Gundam might return? BEI USA closing, it might be harder to get, but I'd love to see Toonami & Gundam back together
So would I. Gundam is not something we can get right now though.

Oh man, will there be a Bleach promo? I know a lot of new viewers don't give care about it, but with it going back to canon..?
We're working on that.

Safe to assume doing edits for swearing isn’t too big an issue for you guys? Given early episodes of Deadman…
Nope, not too big of an issue.

any chances of a non-anime series coming to #Toonami in the future?
Chances? Yes. I want to have some non-anime on so if we can make that happen we will.

Have you ever had a interview with one of the VO's talking about the show?
No, we've never done that.

Any chance for the aspect ratios of shows to be fixed? Like FMA or GitS?
That's not on us. That's something the distributors would have to deal with, up to them to decide if it's worth the expenditure.

Do you plan on licensing any more long running shonen series for Toonami, like bleach.
Of course we are hoping to to do that, yes. We'll see.

ok also if we miss watching #Toonami live, does watching it on dvr and adult swim gold also count for ratings?
That all counts, yes.

I do not know if you have answered this yet, but the way Toonami's ratings are are you concerned that it could be canceled?
I'm ALWAYS concerned. But we're good for a while, unless things get markedly worse.

Any chance of doing music videos again?
You mean like a night of them? Probably not.

You ever get amused by the stuff #toonami fans say on twitter? Like Casshern = Casshew jokes, etc...?
Often!

Samurai 7 is a bit older. Will you guys be pursuing older shows for the time being? Also, will it be in HD?
It'll be HD. And mostly older shows, yes.

Is Toonami doing well enough to get more shows in the future or is it too soon to tell? #toonami
Too soon to tell.

Any chance of something like Naruto Shippuden or Fairy Tale ever being on Toonami?
EVER? Yes. SOON? No.

Is setting up an official live stream too difficult/expensive for now?
Yes.

Can we always trust the Adult Swim schedule like that one time it saiD FLCL will be on this saturday.
No, you can't. We change our minds sometimes.

sailor moon ? Money or own by someonelse I assume ? Or shugo chara it's new and like it. Or is it too girly?
It's had it's day. I'll always love it but that one is a little *too* old, I think.

Batman vs Superman. Who wins? Go!
Always Batman.

Also, will #DeadmanWonderland get a second run? It seems to be off the schedule.
Probably not.

[Sailor Moon] is getting a new series.
Yeah I heard. We'll see how that one turns out.

By "own" do you mean you basically have perpetual rights to air GitS:SAC, and it won't expire? Is it the same for Bebop?
I DO mean that with GiTS. Not the same for Bebop.

Ok, real question time. Are you guys gonna continue using the '04 bumps for the foreseeable future?
You mean that look? Yes.

Will you guys be accepting fan made music in the future for #Toonami ?
Probably not. But if anyone has music to send me, do it, and I promise I'll try to give it a listen.

did the Previous AS ratings just carry over when it became Toonami, or did they improve at all?
They improved a bit.