Do You Remember These Shows From Toonami's Early Days?
I had so much fun writing about shows that aired on Cartoon Network in the early 2000s that people have forgotten about, that I’ve decided to tackle the early days of Toonami. Toonami came into play around 1997, so I’m going to include shows that aired on the block from 1997 until 2004. Once again, I’m looking at shows that I find a hard time finding people remember so Dragon Ball Z, Rurouni Kenshin, and Thundercats (among many others) will not be included. Also, I know that I typically do lists of 3, but I decided to do 4 for this occasion.
G Gundam
When I think of Toonami and Gundam, I typically think of Gundam Wing. Others may think of Mobile Suit Gundam or The 08th MS Team and that’s fine as well. I’m pretty hard pressed to find someone who remembers G Gundam though. This show had Gundams, but they were more common and used as gladiators instead of machines of war. The premise was pretty cool, but a lot of the dialogue (like many dubs from that era) just doesn’t hold up. Each country had a Gundam that would fight in a tournament. It was pretty awesome and gave us some cool designs like China’s Dragon Gundam. I wonder if the original Japanese had better dialogue.
Outlaw Star
I think I’ve met two people in my life outside of my brother who remembers Outlaw Star. It was freaking fantastic. It was more sci-fi without going into mecha. You have an outlaw and his crew trying to save the galaxy. It actually reminds me a lot of Firefly with a lot less of the western part of Firefly’s space western and if Mal actually cared about saving the galaxy. Another great feature was the addition of magic into the world that created caster bolts or spells that special guns could shoot. That was the coolest part of the entire show!
Tenchi Universe
I remember this show being ridiculous. Tenchi Muyo! was released before, but I remember enjoying the space exploration story of Tenchi Universe more. This was also my introduction to harem anime. The cast of characters was plenty of fun, and the cool light swords that characters used were awesome to the Star Wars fan inside. Not to mention the ridiculousness of a bunny that could transform into a spaceship.
Ronin Warriors
I have never met a person aside from my brother who remembers Ronin Warriors. This followed 5 high school kids who were also samurai trying to stop the evil Lord Talpa. There were 5 good samurais and 4 evil samurais to symbolize different virtues and vices. The characters were interesting, the fights were fantastic, and the weapons were freaking awesome! My favorite was the green warrior named Sage. I thought his giant sword was the coolest.