Toonami has been one of the most influential parts of Cartoon Network’s history since it debuted nearly 30 years ago, but there are a few anime franchises that never quite got the same amount of attention that other shows have. The programming block has been ye in introducing entire generations to many major anime shows, and the most successful debuts have gone on to taking over the world stage at large. But that’s not a story for every show that happens to air on the block. Some of them are just nowhere near as lucky.
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There are some shows that made it to Toonami over the decades that have since gone on to be forgotten in that time. For one reason or another, these five shows just did not get enough attention in the United States. Whether they were overshadowed by some of the other bigger franchises such as Dragon Ball Z and Naruto, or just didn’t find an audience, read on for a few Toonami shows that should have been much bigger.
5). Hikaru no Go
Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata’s Hikaru no Go seemed like it was set up for success as it was a Shonen Jump series with nearly 80 episodes, but it never got a real shot with Toonami. Instead releasing exclusively with the short lived Toonami Jetstream streaming platform in the United States, the final three episodes of the anime never even fully premiered when the service was shuttered.
It didn’t make it to TV, and thus likely was not even noticed by the majority of the Toonami fans who were watching the block every week. Being about Go didn’t help matters as it’s a game that’s fairly complicated to get into, but it would likely have a much better shot now with those fans who love non-action, yet full of action strategy heavy anime like this one.
4). Duel Masters
Duel Masters is another situation where the final episodes of the series never quite aired on Toonami, but it’s also got the kind of English dub that’s fallen out of style. It purposefully stood out from the rest of the children’s card game anime releases of the time by adding a ton of new material to the English localization. Taking many serious elements out of the original Japanese version, and adding all sorts of new jokes and fourth wall breaks, Duel Masters didn’t look anything like the original.
This might have been why it didn’t really strike a chord with audiences at the time, but the series also had a poorly defined card game because of these changes unlike the other shows. Yu-Gi-Oh! and the like got even more intriguing with more intense stories and more defined rules, and Duel Masters went the opposite direction. But there really was a potential there for both kinds of approaches.
3). Eyeshield 21
Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata might have gone on to take over Toonami with later projects like Dr. Stone and One-Punch Man, but Eyeshield 21 was kind of criminally buried with its attempted release in the United States. Yet another show exclusive to the Toonami Jetstream platform, this American football based series seemed like a perfect fit for the Toonami audience.
But only five episodes of the anime ultimately released before disappearing from the platform. It’s not just a loss of potential, but an incredible loss for anime fans who didn’t get to see it outside of Japan until it streamed on other platforms long after.
2). MÄR
Nobuyuki Anzai’s MÄR, otherwise known as Märchen Awakens Romance, was a success for Toonami Jetstream by comparison. It debuted on the streaming platform, but did make it to the official Toonami broadcast as well. Set in a magical world inspired by fairy tales, it follows a young boy who uses a magical kendama toy as a weapon to face off against dark threats. It was the kind of fantasy series that ran for over 100 episodes and even got a sequel manga release, but fans probably don’t really recognize it.
This magical show was kind of swallowed by other franchises also running at the time. It wasn’t the most intense set of situations or characters, and thus was hard to compete. Then not long after MÄR came to an end you’d get stuff like Fairy Tail that did much of the same kind of exploration to much more fan acclaim, and MÄR sadly was further buried down in the years since.
1). Zatch Bell
If there’s one show that deserved more of a chance with Toonami, it’s Zatch Bell. Makoto Raiku’s manga turned anime made its debut with the block in 2005, and got a fairly long run considering that it never did air the second half of the anime. Only airing about 77 of the 150 total episodes for the anime, there’s a huge contingent of Zatch Bell fans who likely have no idea how the anime eventually ended. And with a sequel manga out now, that’s even more egregious.
It’s a little tough to argue that it deserved more of a chance since it got a lot longer of a run that some of the other Toonami shows that didn’t make enough of a mark, but Zatch Bell felt like the next big thing. It’s a little hard to explain if you weren’t there actively watching it back then, but it seemed like a cool idea that married intense action with the same kind of collect-a-thon vibes you’d get from monster partnering shows like Digimon. It’s a shame that it didn’t really seem to make a mark despite its opportunities.
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