Adult Swim Officially Make Their Most Surreal Characters Into Anime Icons

Adult Swim might not have originally leaned into the anime market, with the Cartoon Network programming block launching after Toonami, the platform that did house anime on as part of its library. Eventually, with Adult Swim becoming the biggest show in town on the cable network, Toonami found itself becoming a part of the late-night block’s roster. With more anime, old and new, arriving as a part of Toonami, Adult Swim is attempting to play catch-up in a hilarious new way. Rick And Morty: The Anime didn’t take off with fans in the same way that the main series did, so Adult Swim has made two of its newest stars into anime icons.

Smiling Friends has become a massive success for Adult Swim, with the original animated series following Charlie, Pim, and their fellow co-workers as they attempt to bring smiles to the world. During the third season episode, “Squim Returns,” Glep and Alan are hilariously absent from the installment thanks to attending an anime convention. Sporting appropriate cosplay for the event, Alan is wearing an outfit that is clearly a play on Sailor Moon while Glep appears to be sporting a costume that makes him look like a hilarious iteration of Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud Strife. Taking to social media, Adult Swim shared new art of both characters as the perfect anime duo.

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A Smiling Friends Anime?

Hilariously, co-creator Zach Hadel had touched upon the idea of creating a Smiling Friends anime last year. While shooting down the idea of an official anime focusing on Charlie, Pim, and their surreal friends, Hadel did hint at using a similar style for future episodes, “I don’t know if it would necessarily be ‘Smiling Friends The Anime’, but we’ve talked about doing that as a style. It would be something that we would need to nail, it couldn’t be lame or a 90s version of the show. It would have to be done right and not cringey. It would be horrible, don’t watch it.” 

Recently, Adult Swim had shown the Smiling Friends as a part of the Dragon Ball Z universe, going so far as to imagine the surreal characters as the Z-Fighters and their villains. Specifically, the short saw Glep as Piccolo, Charlie as Goku, and Mr. Boss as Raditz, with the trio attempting to recreate one of the most shocking moments of the shonen sequel series.

While Smiling Friends’ third season will end this year, the latest season won’t be the last we see of Charlie and Pim. Earlier this year, Adult Swim confirmed that the series would be returning for seasons four and five. In the past, co-creators Zach Hadel and Michael Cusack have hinted that they have an ending for the series in mind, leaving many fans to wonder if the series will end with its upcoming fifth season.

What do you think of this hilarious take on the Smiling Friends? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!