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March 17 marks Saint Patrick’s Day, celebrated in Christendom as the feast day of Saint Patrick, the foremost patron saint of Ireland. For fans of Toonami and anime fandom in the United States, March 17 also marks the day the influential programming block Toonami first aired on Cartoon Network in 1997. This St. Patrick’s Day 2022 marked the 25th anniversary of the hit programming block, and to commemorate the silver jubilee, Toonami gave its viewers several treats commemorating its past and looking forward to the future, including the announcements of a new Total Immersion Event (TIE). In addition, first revealed on Variety, Adult Swim announced that they will be producing two brand new seasons of FLCL, in addition to an original horror anime series, Housing Complex C.
During the past four weeks, Toonami showcased Cosmo Samurai Part 2, a four-part non-canonical anime short that is the sequel to the original four-part Cosmo Samurai short that premiered on February 6-27, 2021. But that wouldn’t be all Toonami would be giving viewers regarding TOM and SARA’s adventures. During last Saturday’s broadcast of Toonami on March 12, Toonami posted on AdultSwim.com that they will be airing a two-part canonical Total Immersion Event (TIE) titled “The Return.” Part 1 will air this Saturday, March 19, while Part 2 will air the following week on March 26.
Toonami head Jason DeMarco has stated that while “We had Cosmo Samurai 2 planned a while ago, but decided it wouldn’t be right to let it pass without some sort of classic “Total Immersion Event.”” Unfortunately, this will also be the last TIE for the foreseeable future, as the block’s present on-air budget has gotten too small to produce high end CGI of such scale. The block’s hosts, TOM and SARA, will continue their hosting duties for as long as Toonami remains on the air.
SPIRAL CURSE DEMARCO on Twitter: “And this will be the last one of these for a long time. I won’t say “ever” because you never know, but generally our on-air budget is getting too small to handle high end CGI. But TOM and SARA’s adventures will continue as long as Toonami does! / Twitter”
And this will be the last one of these for a long time. I won’t say “ever” because you never know, but generally our on-air budget is getting too small to handle high end CGI. But TOM and SARA’s adventures will continue as long as Toonami does!
Fans who enjoyed the FLCL sequels FLCL: Progressive and FLCL: Alternative back in 2018 will be happy to know that following their success, Adult Swim has ordered two new seasons of the cult hit franchise. FLCL’s two new seasons will be titled FLCL: Grunge, which will be directed by Hitoshi Takekiyo and animated by MontBlanc Pictures; and FLCL: Shoegaze, which will be directed by Yutaka Uemura and animated by Production I.G x NUT. The new seasons will premiere on Toonami in 2023.
Adult Swim released a teaser for FLCL Grunge, featuring Haruko and the original ending theme song, “Ride on Shooting Star” by The Pillows. Further details, including the storyline and characters (besides Haruko), have yet to be revealed.
Housing Complex C is a new original horror anime series directed by Yuji Nara with script and original concept by amphibian. Housing Complex C will be animated by studio Akatsuki, and will debut on Toonami later this year.
According to Variety’s Joe Otterson, “Housing Complex C” centers around Kimi, who lives in a small, low-cost housing complex located in the seaside town of Kurosaki where trouble seems to follow her wherever she goes, and horrific incidents begin to occur. Is an ancient evil stalking the residents of Housing Complex C?
Jason DeMarco and Maki Terashima-Furuta from Production IG USA serve as the producers for all three shows.
https://twitter.com/MakiTerashima/status/1504490543769800706
As part of the anniversary festivities, Toonami and Adult Swim are also showcasing special features on their social media and on-air, including among other things, releasing remastered versions of classic Toonami trailers.
What are your thoughts on the 25th anniversary news? Are you excited for more FLCL and Housing Complex C? Let us know what you think in the comments below or directly on our social media.
