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As suspected by what we reported on Monday, May 17 when we discovered contradictions between the Adult Swim schedule’s listing of My Hero Academia episode 84 playing this Saturday and other TV listings, including TV providers, who were listing episode 87, Toonami announced today that they will indeed replay My Hero Academia for the next few weeks. We had gotten word from Wendy Gardner, Sr. Director of Communications for Adult Swim and Toonami, that an official announcement would be coming later today, and this afternoon, the Toonami Facebook page posted the following:
“Heads up, My Hero Academia fans! Starting this Saturday night, we will be showing replay episodes of My Hero Academia. The Toonami schedule isn’t changing, but replays are starting with episode 84 and will continue for the next 3 weeks from 5/23 – 6/6. There are some production issues with everything going on, but don’t worry, the team is hard at work to bring you a new episode! We’ll keep you posted with updates. In the meantime, check out the schedule below and don’t miss Toonami, this Saturday from midnight at 3a!
5/23:
12:00AM – My Hero Academia #84 (replay)
12:30AM – Paranoia Agent
1:00AM – Mob Psycho
1:30AM – Black Clover
2:00AM – JoJo: Golden Wind
2:30AM – Naruto: Shippuden”
As we’ve said before, this isn’t the first delay to hit Toonami and this likely won’t be the last and you can expect delays to continue. Because of these delays, we haven’t seen an episodic promo since episode 84 and we probably won’t see any for the rest of this season, especially considering there are only 2 episodes left. Because of the inability to produce any episodic promos, Toonami has instead produced a new sustaining promo for My Hero Academia which premiered on Adult Swim on May 9th. You can check it out below:
Now, we have addressed this before, but people will probably wonder why they aren’t selecting another show to take My Hero Academia’s lead-off slot or have My Hero Academia switch time slots with another show. Again, new bumps and other alterations to the block’s packaging would need to be created, along with recording additional lines for TOM and SARA, something that would waste the budget allocated to the block. Jason DeMarco has stated on his ask.fm account that reruns like Mob Psycho are a result of using shows they still have rights to in order to help offset budget cuts due to financial losses resulting from the COVID-19 Pandemic.
While these delays may not be what we as fans want, everyone is being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Funimation production crews and voice casts and the Toonami crew, many of which are working from home to bring content to fans to as best as they can. While the process works and it’s fantastic they’re are doing what they are under these circumstances, it’s also not anywhere near as fast as what they are used to and isn’t without the occasional hiccup here and there. We urge fans not to harass or complain to Toonami and Funimation’s cast and crews as they are doing the best they can with the current situation. When Toonami had to rerun episode 85 on May 10th, people were harassing both teams and making comments that they were just being lazy. Comments like these help no one and certainly don’t make the content appear out of thin air. We’re all being affected by this, and while for us as fans, our entertainment is delayed, we’d urge you to remember the people on the other side of the mic and working on the production, some of whom have lost their livelihoods. It’s certainly not a case of being lazy, and we feel confident in saying that if anyone wants to be in the studio recording new episodes, it’s the cast and crew of our favorite Toonami shows. Let’s all try and be patient and weather the storm and look forward to brighter days when we can get back to enjoying new shows on Toonami once again.
Sources/References:
Adult Swim via Email Correspondence
Toonami Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/1440408039583372/photos/p.2308117246145776/2308117246145776/
Toonami Airs New Sustaining Promo for My Hero Academia – https://toonamisquad.com/toonami-airs-new-sustaining-promo-for-my-hero-academia/
FUNimation SimulDub Production Delays Due to COVID-19 Pandemic Cause Broadcast Delay for My Hero Academia on Toonami –https://toonamisquad.com/funimation-simuldub-production-delays-due-to-covid-19-pandemic-cause-broadcast-delay-for-my-hero-academia-on-toonami/
Toonami Announces 30 Minute Cut And Later Start to The Block Due to Delays and Disruptions Related to COVID-19 Pandemic; Says Not to Panic – https://toonamisquad.com/toonami-announces-30-minute-cut-and-later-start-to-the-block-due-to-delays-and-disruptions-related-to-covid-19-pandemic-says-not-to-panic/
Toonami Announces DBZ Kai Cell Saga Marathon to Make up For Delays – https://toonamisquad.com/toonami-announces-dragon-ball-z-kai-marathon-for-april-11-2020/
Industry Delays, Postponements, and Cancellations Due to COVID-19 – https://toonamisquad.com/industry-delays-postponements-and-cancellations-due-to-covid-19-quarantine-funimation-toonami-right-stuf-and-more-affected/
MomoCon Postponed, Toonami Panel Canceled – https://toonamisquad.com/momocon-postponed-toonami-panel-canceled/
