Adult Swim celebrates the 25th anniversary of Toonami today (Thursday, March 17)! The programming block first aired on Cartoon Network in 1997 and introduced anime to a generation of fans in the United States. Since then, Toonami has evolved into the top young adult network’s late-night destination for anime and action fans every Saturday night.
In celebration of the anniversary, Adult Swim has ordered the pick-up of two new seasons of fan-favorite series FLCL — FLCL: Grunge and FLCL: Shoegaze — which are currently in production, and greenlit the original series, Housing Complex C, coming later this year.
“I can’t believe that somehow, against all odds, our little cartoon block has survived for 25 years on television,” said Jason DeMarco, Creative Director of Toonami and SVP Action & Anime for WarnerMedia. “We’ve made it this far with support from our fans and our network, and we are truly grateful for both. Here’s to more adventures to come.”
Housing Complex C centers on Kimi, who lives in a small, low-cost housing complex located in the seaside town of Kurosaki where trouble seems to follow her wherever she goes, and horrific incidents begin to occur… Is an ancient evil stalking the residents of Housing Complex C? The series is directed by Yuji Nara with script and original concept by amphibian. The animation studio is Akatsuki (Hinamatsuri, Tribe Nine).
FLCL: Grunge is directed by Hitoshi Takekiyo (After School Midnighters), animated by MontBlanc Pictures, and FLCL: Shoegaze is directed by Yutaka Uemura (FLCL: Alternative, Saga of Tanya the Evil) and animated by Production I.G and NUT. Both FLCL series and Housing Complex C are all executive produced by DeMarco and produced by Maki Terashima-Furuta (Production I.G USA).
Long-time animated Toonami: Countdown hosts TOM (Steve Blum) and SARA (Dana Swanson) are at the center of Adult Swim’s Toonami celebration. Their characters are featured in Cosmo Samurai Part 2, a four-part anime short, as well as The Return, an all-new two-part special with custom CGI TOM and SARA storytelling piece premiering Saturday, March 19, and concluding Saturday, March 26.
Adult Swim continues to be a pioneer in the anime space by featuring both action programming and English language anime premieres. The network is also known for co-producing original anime productions such as Blade Runner: Black Lotus, Fena: Pirate Princess, Shenmue the Animation and upcoming horror series Uzumaki.
As part of the anniversary festivities, classic Toonami interstitials and specials will be showcased on air, online and on Adult Swim’s social platforms that look back at key moments in Toonami’s rich past.
