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“The Earth just draw the attention of some of the most despicable beings the universe has to offer. If something isn’t done soon, we could find ourselves in a lot of trouble. what can we do? We could try to wish our enemies away, but even the great Shenron might be powerless against their tremendous strength. Goku is the greatest Warrior the Earth has ever known. Yet to these Saiyans, he’s nothing more than an inconvenience. I wonder if King Kai’s instruction will even help? Until Goku returns, it seems Gohan is our best hope. He’s young though, and there’s so little time.”
– Kami, Dragon Ball Z Kai (Ep. 04)
The Toonami Trending Rundown for March 2-4, 9-10, and 16-17, 2024. The 27th anniversary of the better cartoon came on a somber note, as it was reported on March 8th that Akira Toriyama, the creator of the Dragon Ball franchise, had passed away on March 1st at the age of 68 due to acute subdural hematoma. Dragon Ball is considered to be Toonami’s greatest success story, as since DBZ first aired in the lineup back in 1999, the show led the charge to bring about the 90’s-2000’s anime boom and the overall popularity of anime in the west today.
And as the anime world paid their respects to a legend, Toonami fans celebrated the life and legacy of Toriyama the best way they knew how, by enjoying Dragon Ball Z on Toonami. Toonami made a quick tribute to Toriyama during the night of March 9 as the news came on short notice for the Toonami staff. But for the following week on the night of March 16-17, following the regular schedule (save for One Piece and Naruto which took the night off), Toonami aired a marathon of the first eight episodes of DBZ Kai.
In regards to social media buzz, For the night of March 2-3, #Toonami trended in the United States on Twitter alongside Ninja Kamui, Demon Slayer, and Lycoris Recoil. #Toonami also trended on Tumblr alongside Naruto Shippuden. Later, on the night of March 9-10, #Toonami also trended alongside Ninja Kamui, Demon Slayer, and Lycoris Recoil; with #Toonami and Demon Slayer trending alongside the late Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball Z, and DBZ. And on the night of March 16-17, #Toonami trended on Twitter alongside Ninja Kamui, Lycoris Recoil and DBZ Kai. #Toonami also trended on Tumblr.
As a bonus, this rundown includes a list of trends that occurred when we got the news of Toriyama’s passing to showcase his impact to the world. Besides Akira Toriyama, #Toonami and other Dragon Ball related content trended as fans made their tributes to the Dragon Ball creator.
On a more positive note, on March 8, Viz Media and Toonami announced that Zom 100, the hit new anime series by Haro Aso and Kotaro Takata, will be airing on Toonami beginning this March 30, 2024 at 12:30 a.m. Zom 100 will be replacing Demon Slayer on the lineup, which will be going on hiatus from the block after completing the Entertainment District Arc the week before on March 23. There is no word when Toonami and Aniplex plan on airing the show’s next season, the Swordsmith Village Arc, at this time.
zeno: child of sumeru city on Twitter: “ZOM100 COMING TO TOONAMI?!?! https://t.co/dl1kUoLhne / Twitter”
ZOM100 COMING TO TOONAMI?!?! https://t.co/dl1kUoLhne
In an interview with Variety released on March 22, James Gibbons, President of Warner Bros Discovery’s Asia-Pacific division, revealed that WBD plans on increasing its anime output for 2024 and beyond, saying “We have a Japanese anime studio, which has been producing five or ten anime series per year, over the last few years. […] We’ve approved expansion to take that to more than ten series per year.” How many of those titles Toonami itself will get to broadcast is yet to be seen, but it’s a good sign that WBD remains committed to anime overall.
Variety on Twitter: “Warner Bros. Discovery to Expand Anime Production in Japan: ‘The Genre Is Increasing Reach and Relevance Globally’ (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/yQDGdILPai / Twitter”
Warner Bros. Discovery to Expand Anime Production in Japan: ‘The Genre Is Increasing Reach and Relevance Globally’ (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/yQDGdILPai
Tune in tonight for the finale of Demon Slayer’s Entertainment District Arc, among other great moments. Do note that as the season finale of Demon Slayer is 45 minutes long, every show after will air 15 minutes later than usual tonight. Stay gold as always, and Toriyama-san, may you rest in peace in the Other World and thank you for everything. Until we meet again.
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.
March 2-3, 2024 Trends
United States Trends:
- #Toonami [#6]
- #NinjaKamui [#3]
- #DemonSlayer [#11]
- #LycorisRecoil [#10]
Tweet Counts:
- #Toonami [3,490 tweets]
- #DemonSlayer [3,256 tweets]
- #LycorisRecoil [1,812 tweets]
Tumblr Trends:
- #toonami [#4]
- #naruto shippuden [Trended with #toonami]
March 9-10, 2024 Trends
United States Trends:
- #Toonami [#9]
- #NinjaKamui [#10]
- #DemonSlayer [Trended with #NinjaKamui]
- #LycorisRecoil [#9]
Tweet Counts:
- #Toonami [4,435 tweets]
Tumblr Trends:
- #toonami [#1]
- #DemonSlayer [#6]
- #akira toriyama [#7]
- #dragon ball z [Trended with #akira toriyama]
- #dbz [Trended with #akira toriyama]
March 16-17, 2024 Trends
United States Trends:
- #Toonami [#5]
- #NinjaKamui [#8]
- #LycorisRecoil [#Toonami]
- #DBZKai [#Toonami]
Tumblr Trends:
- #toonami [#2]
If you wish to send me a tip for the work on the trending rundown, donations can be sent to PayPal.Me/DanielLimjoco.
Only Toonami on [adult swim] on Cartoon Network.
