Toonami Announces Dragon Ball Marathon in Honor of Akira Toriyama

Toonami has announced they will be hosting a marathon of Dragon Ball Z Kai in honor of creator Akira Toriyama's monumental legacy! It was unfortunately revealed over the weekend that Akira Toriyama, famed creator behind Dragon Ball, Dr. Slump, Sand Land, and much more had passed away at the age of 68. The creator leaves behind a massive impact with fans around the world, and that includes many other creators with storied careers and legacies of their own. Following the news, tributes for Akira Toriyama have been pouring in over the weekend as fans gather to celebrate the life of the late creator. 

Adult Swim's Toonami block shared a tribute message of their own over the weekend with their condolences for Toriyama, and now they will be celebrating the creator's legacy in a whole new way. With Dragon Ball Z Kai back in regular rotation with the block as of last month, Toonami has announced on their official Facebook page that they will be holding a special marathon of the series in Toriyama's honor, "As a tribute to anime legend Akira Toriyama (1955-2024) we're celebrating his legacy Saturday night with a DBZ Kai marathon from 2a to 6a. May he rest in Super Saiyan power." 

Toonami Hosts Dragon Ball Z Marathon for Akira Toriyama

The broadcast schedule for Toonami's upcoming Dragon Ball Z Kai marathon with Adult Swim on Saturday, March 16th breaks down as such (in EST):

• 12:00AM – Ninja Kamui (English Dub)
• 12:30AM – Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Entertainment District Arc
• 1:00AM – Lycoris Recoil
• 1:30AM – Ninja Kamui (English Sub)
• 2:00AM – Dragon Ball Z Kai
• 2:30AM – Dragon Ball Z Kai
• 3:00AM – Dragon Ball Z Kai
• 3:30AM – Dragon Ball Z Kai
• 4:00AM – Dragon Bal Z Kai
• 4:30AM – Dragon Ball Z Kai
• 5:00AM – Dragon Ball Z Kai
• 5:30AM – Dragon Ball Z Kai

This special marathon will feature eight episodes of Dragon Ball Z Kai airing back to back for four straight hours beginning at 2:00AM EST, but if you miss out, the series is once again a regular part of Toonami's rotation on Saturday evenings. The line up will be shaking up even further through the rest of the month and beyond, so it's the perfect time to tune in! 

Will you be checking out Toonami's Dragon Ball Z Kai marathon? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animation and other cool stuff @Valdezology on X (formerly known as Twitter)!