Major Shonen Anime Plans Toonami Debut

Toonami has long been one of the premier spots on cable television to catch old and new anime alike, as the Cartoon Network programming block has found new life as a part of Adult Swim. With the platform housing the likes of Dragon Ball Daima, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, Dandadan, and One Piece still riding high on Toonami, another major shonen franchise is set to arrive on Cartoon Network later this month. As the streaming anime wars continue, it’s clear that there is still a place for anime on cable television, and Toonami’s recent acquisition proves it.

Toonami announced that beginning on August 23rd, Blue Exorcist – Shimane Illuminati Saga will begin airing on Cartoon Network. Airing at 1:30 AM Eastern, the latest season marked the long-awaited return of the series following the second season’s conclusion in 2017. Since the Shimane Illuminati Saga arrived last year, Blue Exorcist has released another season to further flesh out the story of Rin Okumura and his supernatural adventures. Blue Exorcist: The Blue Night Saga counted as the fourth season of the series, airing late last year and ending earlier this March. With the manga continuing to this day under creator Kazue Kato, Studio VOLN will have more material to adapt should they continue with the anime series.

What is The Shimane Illuminati Saga?

If this is your first time hearing of this Blue Exorcist arc, here’s how the shonen franchise described the storyline that brought the series back after years on the sidelines: “Assiah, the realm of humans, and Gehenna, the realm of demons. Normally, these two dimensions would never intersect, but demons are now intruding on the material world. But among the human race, there are those who can exorcise such demons—the Exorcists.”

The description continues, “Rin and his friends successfully defeated the Impure King in Kyoto and returned to their daily lives at True Cross Academy. However, the Knights of the True Cross begin receiving an increasing number of consultations about demons as a wave of strange events begins to spread across the world. Meanwhile, Rin and the other Exwires work to solve the mysterious phenomenon plaguing the school. But as the True Cross Academy Festival is in full swing, Lucifer, the King of Light and Commander-in-Chief of the Illuminati, suddenly appears.”

Toonami’s Future

This makes for quite the major acquisition for Toonami, which is good news for those who might have been worried about the programming block’s future. In the past, Toonami co-creator Jason DeMarco has stated that the struggle against streaming was an intense one for the Cartoon Network programming block. Acquiring shows like Blue Exoricst and Dandadan was no easy feat, but it seems as though Toonami has pulled off a hat trick. Hopefully, this is a good sign that the platform will still have a long run ahead of it.

Want to see what future surprises Toonami has in store for anime fans? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on Cartoon Network and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

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