Cartoon Network toonami introduced anime to generations of fans at an early age, and the best shows ever aired are now available to stream elsewhere. While it’s currently Adult Swim’s late-night animated block, running from midnight to 3 a.m., it spent the year 1997-2008 with both the 5-hour Midnight Run and the audience-oriented afternoon block. young. It also airs music videos and American cartoons, such as Thundercats and The Powerpuff Girls, but is most famous for showing various cartoons.
English dubs of many classic anime are broadcast on the Toonami block. The Toonami Animation Module (aka TOM) is an entertaining and devoted host who broadcasts a series of hit shows to viewers on Earth from a futuristic spaceship. his. While Toonami still exists and remains an important tastemaker, in the age of streaming, fans now have to manage their own viewing and the popularity of anime on streaming services. Various online can help with that.
10 Samurai Champloo – Hulu, Crunchyroll, Funimation, Amazon Prime
Shinichiro Watanabe’s secret prequel series about Cowboy Bebop aired on Toonami in 2016, introducing new viewers to another group of people’s journeys. Swordsmen Mugen and Jin accompany Fuu in her quest to find a samurai whose face she cannot remember. The three encounter countless mistakes as they uncover the mysteries of their past.
Samurai Champloo, like its predecessor, is notable for its setting. The trio travels through an alternate version of Japan’s Edo period (1603 – 1897), mixing samurai swordsmanship with old-fashioned costumes and traditional Japanese action and music with contemporary hip-hop. grand. However, as Fuu and her bodyguards travel across the country, they not only have to face opponents in combat, but also face the ever-present flaws of society.
9 Sailor Moon – Hulu, Amazon
Sailor Moon has inspired many other fan-favorite magical girls anime, which became even more popular in 1998, when its English dub was first released. premiered on Toonami. It remained a mainstay of the block for 200 episodes and three films, with the exception of the fifth and final season, were never licensed for release in the United States. Even so, it has remained one of Toonami’s top offerings for many years.
Outperforming most other Saturday morning anime, Sailor Moon combined traditional magical girl anime genres with elements of tokusatsu and Super Sentai shows. Surprise hero Usagi Tsukino can be silly and panicky at times, making her a favorite with audiences. But when it matters, she becomes Earth’s strongest protector.
8 Mobile Suit: Gundam Wing – Hulu, Crunchyroll
Still going strong to this day with The Witch from Mercury, Mobile Suit Gundam is one of the most popular anime franchises of all time. Its mid-90s entry, Gundam Wing, revolves around pilot Heero Yuy and his friends during the Resistance of the Space Colony. They traveled to Earth to end the tyranny of the United Earth Alliance behind the control of their Gundams.
Gundam Wing aired and rerun on Toonami from 2000 to 2002. It remains one of the most popular on the block and in the franchise because of its clear depiction of war and its impact on with people thrown into it. Action, as always in Gundam, is prominently featured, but political intrigue is constant throughout the film.
7 FLCL – Crunchyroll
Pronounced and often stylized as Fooly Cooly, the English dub FLCL is the ultimate example of anime localization in the right direction. Young Naota Nandaba desperately wanted to be seen as a normal adult. In the end, he adamantly ignores that his town is actually the pinnacle of weirdness, fueled mainly by Haruko, the alien living in Naota’s house.
The original OVA aired from 2000 to 2001, and its dub premiered on Toonami in 2013. Fans love the series for its fun nature and top-notch action sequences. Just a six-episode OVA, it’s short and sweet, never too long (unlike Haruko).
6 Cowboy Bebop – Hulu, Tubi, Crunchyroll, Netflix
Another genre-bending classic from director Shinichiro Watanabe, Cowboy Bebop follows the bounty hunter crew of the Bebop ship as they struggle to escape their past and make a living. Its context is full of futuristic technology, but society is not so advanced. Despite all the technological marvels, humans still live by the rules of the Wild West.
Toonami and Cowboy Bebop have a complicated relationship. It is a sequel to Adult Swim’s anime block, notably the first anime ever featured on Adult Swim. Toonami has put it on and off block many times when the network won and lost distribution rights and replaced it with other shows, and it usually doesn’t air episodes in order: for example, it was first shown with episode 14!
5 Bleach – Hulu
Ichigo Kurosaki has always had the ability to see mysterious ghosts. A chance encounter with Shinigami Rukia Kuchiki gives Ichigo her powers, and he is drawn to the world of warriors who guide the souls of the dead to their final destination. . To hone his newfound abilities, he makes lifelong friends and pits himself against increasingly formidable foes.
One of the “Trio” of manga and anime of the late 1990s and early 2000s (the others being One Piece and Naruto), Bleach was a very late addition to Toonami. It first succeeded in 2012 when the original run ended, starting with episode 255 of the series before the Thousand Years of Blood at a count of 366. Still, it brought with it a dedicated fan base. himself, continues to be one of Toonami’s films. Biggest cartoon.
4 Dragon Ball Z – Crunchyroll
One of the top anime classics is also one of Toonami’s all-time favorites. Dragon Ball Z didn’t find its people in the first run of the English dub. However, after it began re-broadcasting on Toonami in 1998, it achieved such a wide popularity that it remains a favorite to this day.
The show adapts the last few seasons of Akira Toriyama’s original manga. Dragon Ball Z chronicles the death and adulthood (in that order) of the hero and Super Saiyan Goku, one of the most powerful characters in shounen anime. What makes Dragon Ball Z even more popular than its predecessor is the introduction of fan-favorite characters, such as Goku’s sons Gohan and Goten and the villain turned brother. Hero Vegeta.
3 One Piece – Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
When the world’s greatest pirate was executed, he promised his title and hidden treasure to whoever found it. At the height of the Great Pirate Era, Monkey D. Luffy leads his Straw Hats on a hot treasure hunt. Despite his inability to swim but what his strength gives him, Luffy lives his life on the high seas fighting to become the next Pirate King.
Two dub versions of One Piece aired on Toonami. Its 4Kids dub aired on Toonami’s Cartoon Network section from 2005 to 2007, and then its Funimation dub appeared in Adult Swim in 2008. The series was a huge hit. has outlasted Toonami itself, with many viewers turning to various streaming services to watch Luffy’s toughest battles in One Piece.
2 Yu Yu Hakusho – Crunchyroll, Hulu, Tubi
When a delinquent Yusuke Urameshi shocks both the mortal world and the spirit world by sacrificing himself to save a child, he is given a second chance. He might come back to life, but as a God Detective, hunting down supernatural villains. Now, he must hone his newfound powers to take down the greatest threats to both worlds.
Mangaka Yoshihiro Togashi’s predecessor Hunter x Hunter (whose long-awaited English dub premiered on Toonami in 2016) is one of the best anime of the 1990s. Its dub has been aired. live on Adult Swim for the first time in 2002; in 2003, when it switched blocks, it was heavily censored for Toonami’s audience. In addition to streaming services, Yu Yu Hakusho recently received a Blu-Ray release on the occasion of its 30th anniversary.
1 Naruto – Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV, Peacock
Naruto Uzumaki has always dreamed of becoming Hokage, the powerful and respected leader of his shinobi village. However, he still has a lot of work to do before he can think about it. Between increasingly powerful villains to fight, friends turning enemies, and the village’s own hatred of him for being the host of the Nine-Tails demon fox, Naruto is tested every step of the way.
Konoha’s first hyperactive ninja story first debuted in English on Toonami in 2005. It originally appeared in Cartoon Network’s Toonami, but moved to the Adult Swim time slot. a few years later, the reboot was uncensored from the start. Its sequel series, Naruto Shippuden, begins and ends in the Adult Swim time slot.
Despite numerous cancellations, Toonami has survived to this day as Western audiences are craving more anime. Lucky for nostalgic fans, most by toonami best anime available on multiple streaming platforms.