I know it's a little early, but it's getting closer to that time of year again.
With March already here and April 1st on the horizon, I figured I'd start a thread to speculate on what the annual prank will be for Adult Swim this year.
Especially since this year is the first time since the 2012 Toonami revival (which also spawned from an April Fool's joke) that the night of the prank falls on a Toonami night.
I've heard a lot of speculation and ideas for what the prank could be, including a re-airing of The Room (sort of a reversal of the 2012 prank), going from Toonami to Adult Swim Anime for the night by using the old ASA bumps and promos (and possibly doing one-shot licenses of a few old ASA shows), bringing back a previous version of TOM, and at times, bringing back Moltar and airing shows from the 90's (though with C. Martin Croker dead, this last one is definitely not happening).
Also, will they air a Sunday prank for the pre-midnight hours on April 1st like they did last year? Or was last year a special exception because of the Rick and Morty premiere?
Also, feel free to discuss past pranks that Adult Swim has done.
I personally think they may do an Easter-themed prank since this year April Fools Day is also on Easter Sunday.
I'd love if they did a prank themed around the old ASA heyday complete with 2005-era bumps and old shows from that era (both ones they already have the license to like Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop, and maybe they can fill in the gaps using those one-episode licenses similar to the ones they used in 2012)
Also, an Easter-themed April Fools prank may seem a little tacky but at least it'd be seasonally appropriate and it'd be better than the last two pranks we had, where one was not a prank at all and the other one was just random sound effects that made everything sound like a cheap 2009-era YTP video.
Gavin Rivera
Adult Swim Jr.
Jaxon Edwards
This does seem the most likely option, in all honesty.
I doubt they'd do that again, but given DeMarco's love of marathons and Adult Swim's love of pissing off the Anime/Toonami portion of their fanbase, I would not put it past them.
I could see a bunny prank similar to 2013's cat prank or an Easter Egg Hunt in the manner of the 2014 Coin Hunt if they went with the Easter theme.
Also, I just realized that Toonami's birthday is on Saint Patrick's Day.
Kayden Morris
Might be possible if they aired old CN shows that CN has no intention of ever re-airing, but otherwise such a prank would interfere with Williams Street's policy of not cross-mixing the CN and AS shows.
Lucas Cooper
The premier of GKND
Xavier Davis
Forgive my ignorance, but what is GKND?
Do you think Toonami will do anything for their birthday/St. Patrick's Day since March 17 is on a Saturday this year?
Back in 2013, they aired the first Rebuild of Evangelion movie and all the bumper text was colored green to honor the holiday, but I doubt we'll ever see another Evangelion movie on Toonami (hell, even a cheapo movie would be a bit of a crapshoot)
I dunno, maybe TOM will make some remark at the beginning of the block about Toonami's birthday or Saint Paddy's Day or something.
Jeremiah Martin
It would only make sense to replace Toonami with this on April Fool's.
Matthew Wilson
The Room with Funimation voice actors >Greg and Wiseau voiced over by Vegeta and Goku
Brayden Richardson
I hadn't considered the possibility of the prank being Adult Swim Jr., but in all honesty it is the most likely option.
If the prank wasn't on a Toonami night, I'd guarantee that the prank would be Adult Swim Jr.
I would love to see a "Toonami Jr." prank, where the bumpers have TOM 2 instead of the current TOM 5 and they air kiddie anime from back then using one-shot licenses. Or alternately, just bring back Miguzi for that night.
On another note, does anybody else miss the campy 90's dub of Sailor Moon that aired on the original Toonami?
Jayden Lee
That would make a lot of sense, actually.
Caleb Adams
I would love this
Thomas Hernandez
Same here
Gavin Morris
Replay that Naruto episode with the talking ostrich over and over again for the whole night.
Hunter Gomez
The Room is too mainstream now.
This is likely.
Would be best.
Brayden James
I dont think there will be anything this year. they realized not doing anything is not a bad thing from last years all hype no show event.
Brandon Bailey
24 hours of pickle rick
Blake Nelson
I dunno why, but I always really loved the 2D-drawn stills that would sometimes pop up on that. I wish I could get a hand on some higher resolution versions.
Grayson Stewart
>They start playing the pickle Rick episode >Gets to the point where he starts screaming I'M PICKLE RICK >The IIIII sound is looped repeatedly, so that he never actually finishes the word >After every commercial break, it cuts back to that exact bit >He still isn't any closer to finishing saying his own name >Only manages to finish a few minutes before Adult Swim has to go off air >Episode cuts off abruptly after he finishes to transition to Cartoon Network How would you feel about this?
Henry Price
sad that toonami died for it
Hunter Carter
Is Adult Swim Jr
Andrew Butler
Something using their earlier bumps would be pretty neat, not the original pool stuff, but the ones that came a couple of years after those.
Juan Perry
What if they try to pull another Rick & Morty and air the first episode of FLCL2 on loop
Mars of Destruction gets its Toonami premiere, back to back to back again
Jaxon Cooper
it would legit ruin FLCL2 for me.
I cant even watch R&M anymore because of that 8 or so hour long marathon of the s3 first episode
what the fuck thats not funny or interesting thats just fucking mean
Anthony Sullivan
>Forgive my ignorance, but what is GKND?
Galactic Kids Next Door.
Evan Robinson
They air the first episode of a new Samurai Jack season over and over again. Ashi is never mentioned and the ladybug at the end was Aku all along
Jayden Phillips
Who cares? It's just going to be some stupid and unfunny "joke" aimed at the retards who still watch Toonami
Lucas Hughes
The cancellation of Toonami. What better way to go? Reborn as a prank, and died as a prank. We all have seen the ratings, and we were supposed to get a new show reveal last night but there wasn't one
that seems worse than toonami getting canned, who the fuck likes venture bros besides mike lazzlo?
Matthew Russell
>still caring about AS April fools pranks Literally why? How many years has it been since they actually did something creative and funny?
Daniel Cooper
12oz Mouse revival, a la PHF
Tyler Richardson
Last years prank itself was weak, but the ass ravaging it caused the Toonamifags who think the sun revolves around their shitty block made it all worthwhile. Since this years falls on Toonami night, it's certain have a similar effect
Isaiah Thompson
Let me dream that Turner Broadcasting did some back alley deal with the Government to get the rights back and are waiting for April 1st to tell everyone.
Daniel Nguyen
Pop team epic marathon
Jonathan Evans
This. When there is an opportunity to fuck with the Toonami audience, there are going to be laughs. What's better is the Toonami watchers think this is their year for a prank, not realizing AS will probably hijack it for their own thing.
Jacob Brooks
>implying Demarco would break his restrictive action only rule, even for a prank >implying Demarco would spend money for something he would air the entirety of in one night >implying Demarco would allow a good show to air on Toonami
Ayden Bell
I don't think the prank is going to be Adult Swim Jr. It's starting to look like it might be an actual thing.
With FLCL Seasons 2 and 3 still not aired yet and the fact that Toonami's contract is in effect until 2021 at the earliest, I doubt they would cancel Toonami just yet, even with the ratings being what they are. Especially on a prank night.
It would take something very drastic (and I'm talking 2007 Boston Moonite Scare levels of drastic here) to kill Toonami off for good before 2021.
Even if Demarco got shitcanned, I could see AS playing lip service to Toonami and keeping it as an anime rerun farm until 2021, sort of like how ASA was in in the very late 2000's (and even with the few premieres in 2010 and 2011, it was still pretty much a reruns slot).
A Toonami that is post-Demarco but pre-2021 expiration date would be all reruns with no premieres and maybe a very cheap movie for Christmas if you're lucky (like when they aired one of the Bleach movies for Christmas 2009).
Chances are that the prank will be something cheap and unfunny this year. After the backlash of the 2016 no-show prank, they will do something for the prank.
However, my guess is that it would probably be a cheap prank like re-using old ASA bumpers from 2004 and 2005 (stuff like those tilt-shift photos of Japan and maybe use that old "The Dawn Is Your Enemy" bump at the end instead of LATER like they normally do) with normal Toonami programming.
Ideally, this would be their best bet. It is a popular suggestion for a Toonami prank, and unlike bringing back Miguzi, re-airing The Room, stealth premieres of Rick & Morty (or Venture Brothers) or any other ideas proposed, it would literally cost Adult Swim nothing to produce. Especially if they don't go for any actual ASA shows and solely use the bumps with normal programming.
It'd be a low-effort prank on their part that would keep the Toonami fans happy while still saving money and time on the part of Adult Swim.
No dude the delayed is what makes it obvious its a prank. Its delayed to april 1 2018
Tyler Morgan
>keep advertising it as a real thing They want you to think it's real. What the fuck production issues could block packaging have?
Hunter Robinson
World Peace Season 2
Carson Miller
>Toonami >contract Are you retarded? Demarco said they have PLANS till 2021. Nowhere was that a guarantee they last till then.
Connor Lopez
My guess is that the prank will be either Adult Swim Jr. (although given the fact they've been referencing it since February, I doubt it) or they'll do ASA bumps paired with normal programming, as that would literally cost them nothing.
Honestly, a new ATHF episode with an entirely new and not anywhere near matching voice cast would be pretty great
Jason Nguyen
This wouldn't be the first time AS has built up a prank months in advance. The entire concept of AS jr is too stupid to be real
Jack Fisher
My bad, I didn't mean contract. That was poor phrasing on my part. I apologize for not being more clear on the matter.
I meant that AS has plans to keep Toonami in effect until 2021, like you said. And with FLCL Seasons 2 and 3 still on the horizion, I actually believe they will hold themselves to those plans barring something drastic happening.
As much as FLCL sucked in retrospect, it's one of the few anime that the higher-ups at AS actually like (the other being Cowboy Bebop), and I'd wager they would hold true to waiting until they air S2 and S3 of FLCL before they even consider pulling the plug on Toonami.
After FLCL S2 and S3 finish their run or 2021 arrives (whichever comes first), it's anyone's guess as to how long Toonami will have left.
True, but the last time AS built up a prank in advance, it turned out there was no actual prank, just a bait-and-switch.
Alternately, it could be a two-part prank like last year, with a cheap low-quality Toonami prank (most likely the ASA prank since it wouldn't cost them anything to re-use old bumpers) on the night of March 31-April 1, and then on April 1st itself, air Adult Swim Jr. from 8:00 PM to Midnight.
Chances are that the Toonami prank will suck and that Adult Swim Jr. will be a big load of nothing, so I'm not too concerned about the April Fools prank.
I'm wondering if Toonami will do anything for Saint Patrick's Day, as it would be Toonami's 21st Anniversary, and since St. Paddy's Day is a notorious drinking holiday, you could probably play that up with "Toonami Turns 21" or something.
But then again, I doubt they would do anything at all for that day either. Last time St. Patrick's Day fell on a Saturday was when they aired Rebuild 1.1 for the first time, and that was when Toonami had a lot of energy and positive buzz surrounding it. Times have changed since then.
But that's wrong too. Plans mean they just have a few ideas scribbled out for the future. Keep in mind, these are Demarco's plans, not AS. All it means is they have some framework for the future, if they last till then. Big O also had plans for an S3, but as we all can see, plans can be shelved and forgot.
FLCL is going to premiere and end this summer. The horizon is now. And with how many resources they have dumped into these seasons, if they don't do really well, it's really going to hurt Toonami's chances of continuing on
Joshua Cox
You mean the episode held exclusively by Hulu? The current Toonami can't even afford to fill its schedule, you really think AS is gonna start another anime block?
Brody Reyes
I'd love to see that, but the master recordings of the old 90's dub are long gone (that is why Viz won't release DVD's of the old dub, even if they recognize the nostalgic value it may have) and the Viz remastered Dub is in Hulu's court, so unless they use a special one-shot license like they did for the 2012 prank, I doubt we'll see Sailor Moon on Toonami at all, even as a one-time prank.
Which is a real shame, because Sailor Moon was the first anime to make it big on Toonami and it helped pave the way for later anime shows on the block.
Toonami's been around for 20 years now. They're not going to shitcan it as long as CN is still a thing. It's part of the channel's culture.
It's been back for two years longer than it was ever gone.
Cameron Kelly
>they aren't going to shitcan it >exactly what they did in 2008 That aside, you are right. It just eventually get cut down to 1 hour of just Super and some rerun. May as well be dead by then
Nicholas Ortiz
Yea oh no they aren't airing more nostalgiabait no one will tune in for. I sure love being at midnight and having the schedule full of shit from 4pm
Eli Howard
If FLCL was going to air this summer, we would probably hear about it by now, unless they are saving the announcement for either April Fools or Saint Patrick's Day/Toonami's Anniversary.
Plus, again FLCL and Cowboy Bebop are the two anime shows that Mike Lazzo is confirmed to actually like, so barring something drastic, I doubt AS would fuck with Demarco's plans in regards to FLCL.
Anything after that, and you are absolutely right.
I cant find the twitter post but yeah its due for this summer. and high chance of it being teased in aprils anime event someplace or whatever
Jaxon Jenkins
What the fuck is adult swim jr
Evan Roberts
If DBZ is anything to go by, Sailor Moon could actually draw in ratings.
DBZ and Sailor Moon are both nostalgia bait, but unlike the other nostalgia bait shows Toonami airs, they actually have appeal among normies and casuals due to the whole "90's Kids" memes and the fact that both Sailor Moon and DBZ are about as close to mainstream as anime can get.
Sailor Moon Crystal probably would not be a draw, but the 90's version of Sailor Moon would, similar to DBZ Kai.
However, both Crystal and the redub of the 90's Sailor Moon are Hulu exclusives for the foreseeable future.
Probably shouldn't be referencing Kai since it's been dumping viewers like crazy the past few months
Aiden Wright
Based on their description, it's essentially a Teen Swim. Shit too much for CN, but still too juvenile for AS. Think most of the trash Toonami is currently airing for reference
Carter Lopez
Point taken
They did acknowledge St. Patrick's Day back in 2013 when they aired the Evangelion 1.1 movie by having the bumper text in a green font instead of the traditional red font that was used at the time. It was a minor acknowledgement, but still.
The only reason I mention St. Patrick's Day this year is because Toonami will have it's 21st Anniversary this year, and since the holiday is associated with drinking, you could have some witty remarks from TOM about Toonami turning 21 or something. Nothing too fancy.
But even new dialogue from TOM is unlikely at this point.
Samuel Bailey
True, but for most of its existence on the block, DBZ Kai was a ratings juggernaut and it's bottoming out now because the Buu saga drags on too long even by DBZ standards, and it's pretty obvious we're reaching the end zone of DBZ.
Plus, Super has essentially fulfilled the niche Kai once held.
However, the point still stands that much like DBZ Kai, Sailor Moon has a significant following among normies and is nostalgia bait outside of the anime fandom as well as within it.
If it weren't for Hulu making it exclusively theirs, Sailor Moon would've been a good fit for the block. Demarco even admitted as much, saying that Toonami came really close to getting Sailor Moon back in 2014 or early 2015, but was outbid by Hulu at the very last minute.
I think Adult Swim Jr. is nothing more than a recurring in-joke referenced in the bumps.
At best, it's a fake-out for the actual AS prank which will probably be a lot more underwhelming.
Ayden Richardson
>outbid at the last minute And thank fuck for that
Jayden Kelly
It's what most rational people think too. Toonamifags are latching on because they think it's their salvation from shonenshit, even though the whole reason Toonami airs it is because Demarco willing chooses to
Easton Cruz
Best case scenario: Venture Bros season 7 episode 1 followed by VB marathon with classic ASA bumpers. Would drive Toonami fags hog wild, we’d get a VB marathon out of it and confy ASA bumps.
John Wright
That's where the DIC/Cloverway dub of Sailor Moon (IE the superior dub) can be used.
Jackson Flores
I would honestly love it if it was a 6 hour Easter Egg hunt in the style of coin quest.
Justin Green
No one holds distribution rights to that
Isaiah Edwards
How about a hour-long marathon of My Knight and Me?
Carson Powell
>who the fuck likes venture bros >FLCL sucked
Are people really this dumb?
Luke Lee
Won't happen but it would be a pretty good one
>Adult Swim about to start as usual >Sudden glitching happens >GKND hijack Adult Swim and air KND all night >Bumpers are cryptic messages from the GKND and other individuals
The normal boadcast schedule but with Dust Devil playing in the background and progressively getting louder and the a/v quality getting worse and all sorts of crazy shit
James Clark
I can't believe this delusion about GKND still exists
Charles Phillips
Toonami will be subs only. The audio will be in a variety of different languages, but none will be in Japanese.
Jace Cox
Fishcenter live stream with Jason Demarco hosting.
I think Viz acquired the rights to the old dub, but several of the master tapes are badly damaged and cannot be used, and since they can't release the old dub in full, they won't release it or otherwise can't release (there's also the fear of upsetting Takeuchi, who pulled the license for Sailor Moon from Cloverway back in the early 2000's because she didn't like the dub's edits)
The normie following Sailor Moon has would've be a ratings godsend for Toonami and would have been a welcome change of pace for the block from Jojo's Bizarre Meme Show and the never-ending dead horse zombie ride that is Naruto: Shippuden.
