A Toonami Classic is Replacing Dragon Ball Z on Adult Swim

Toonami might have been canceled on Cartoon Network in the past, but the programming block roared back to life thanks to gaining a spot on Adult Swim. One of the biggest anime series that helped push Toonami to the forefront was Dragon Ball Z, as the story of Son Goku was first introduced to many, thanks to this platform. The shonen sequel series has, in some form or fashion, remained a part of Toonami to this very day, routinely gaining spots on its schedule. In a shocking development, it seems that Dragon Ball Z Kai is preparing to take a bow from its usual spot on Cartoon Network, set to be replaced by another juggernaut in the anime realm later this month.

As of February 23rd, Sailor Moon is set to take the spot previously held by Dragon Ball Z Kai on Cartoon Network’s Toonami. If you’re unaware of when the revised iteration of the shonen sequel aired, it would routinely run at 5 AM Eastern on weekdays. The Sailor Scouts are no strangers to Adult Swim, as the shojo anime series first aired in 1998. Most recently, Sailor Moon was a part of “Toonami Rewind,” an afternoon block that attempted to bring back animated classics to the forefront after not airing for years. While “Rewind” was eventually canceled due to lack of ratings, perhaps Sailor Moon will find more luck with this new schedule when it begins later this month.

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Sailor Moon x Toonami

While Sailor Moon might be taking Goku and his fellow fighters’ spot on Toonami later this month, Dragon Ball has far more going for it in the future than the Sailor Scouts. Earlier this year, Dragon Ball’s Genki Dama Festival confirmed that not only would Dragon Ball Super return with a brand new anime arc depicting the Galactic Patrol storyline, but the franchise had another ace up its sleeve. Later this year, Dragon Ball Super: Beerus will arrive on the small screen, remaking the anime film, Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. Using Toei Animation’s latest techniques that have helped One Piece rise in the ranks, Beerus has already shown that it is cranking up the animation from its original story.

Sailor Moon has yet to confirm if we’ll see Usagi and her cohorts return to the anime world, with the last time we saw the Sailor Scouts in action being in 2023. Sailor Moon Cosmos was spread over two films, adapting the grand finale of the source material. Should the anime franchise return to the screen, we have to imagine that it would do so as a reboot, considering all of the manga stories from creator Naoko Takeuchi have been covered.

Ironically, Takeuchi will make headlines thanks to projects that she does with her partner, Yoshihiro Togashi, who created the likes of Hunter x Hunter and Yu Yu Hakusho. While we’ve never seen an official crossover from the couples’ characters, there’s always a chance.

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