It’s been truly remarkable to watch how anime has evolved from a niche interest in America to one of the most popular forms of content, with several streaming services devoted to this form of animated content. Back during the late ‘90s, there were barely any means to encounter anime in America, but the advent of Cartoon Network’s new Toonami block made serious strides to change this.
Toonami has experienced many changes over time, but it’s still one of the premiere destinations to watch anime on television. The current series on the Toonami block are some of the most popular anime that are currently airing, but the shows that kicked off Toonami tell a much more interesting story.
10 ThunderCats (March 17, 1993)
ThunderCats is the bizarre mix of sensibilities that manages to take eccentric cat-like warriors and make them seem like accessible heroes. It’s so strange that it works and there’s a reason that the series has recently been rebooted. 1985's ThunderCats is a strange anomaly since it has American origins with an American audience in mind, but it's animated by a Japanese studio with a Japanese director and production manager on board. This combination of sensibilities makes ThunderCats a bit of a cheat, but also an oddly perfect show to debut on Toonami, signaling Cartoon Network's slow transition towards Japanese animation.
9 Robotech (January 12, 1998)
Robotech may seem old fashioned or simplistic to modern audiences, but it's a formative anime series and a fantastic gateway into the mecha genre. For that reason, Robotech was an ideal anime to be one of the first series to hit Toonami, but its sprawling story of humans, aliens, and technology didn't necessarily catch on. It likely didn't help that Toonami only aired the Macross and Robotech Masters arcs, rather than the whole series. Mecha anime would eventually catch on with Toonami, but it’d take a little more time.
8 Sailor Moon (June 1, 1998)
If Dragon Ball Z was one of the first major anime series on Toonami to appeal to the male demographic, then Sailor Moon was meant to appeal to the female crowd and help diversify the programming block. Sailor Moon actually hit syndication in 1995, two years before it would premiere on Toonami.
Sailor Moon is one of those anime series that was very emblematic of the 1990s and while the magical girl series may not fit with Toonami's programming, it was a crucial leg of the block back during its start.
7 Dragon Ball Z (August 31, 1998)
There's no other anime that feels more representative of Toonami than Dragon Ball Z. Toonami didn't just help popularize the action anime series in North America, but it's remained a staple of the block and is still used to anchor Toonami's programming. Toonami’s success with Dragon Ball Z helped open up anime in general to the mainstream with everyone trying to find the next big series. Goku's continued adventures against evil forces were just what budding anime fans were after and the series has helped inform Toonami's makeup for years to come.
6 Ronin Warriors (September 27, 1999)
A major component of the Toonami lineup isn't just its focus on anime dubs, but also the figure TOM who has come introduce the block for many years. TOM wasn't always a part of Toonami, but his first appearance coincides with the premiere of Ronin Warriors. Originally known as Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers in Japan, Ronin Warriors comes from Sunrise and almost plays like a more masculine version of a magical girl series. Ronin Warriors remains a curious footnote for Toonami, but it hints at the direction the block would go in.
5 G-Force: Guardians Of Space (January 2, 2000)
G-Force: Guardians of Space is technically the first anime to ever air on Cartoon Network back in 1995. Guardians of Space is an Americanized version of Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. The series is very much a response to the trend that Battle of the Planets ignited in America, but the space travel series was treated more like filler for Toonami.
It was a program to take up a slot after Robotech and Voltron ended and only a handful of episodes were shown rather than a more complete run. It's likely the most obscure anime from Toonami's earlier slates.
4 Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (March 6, 2000)
Gundam Wing isn’t the first mecha series to air on Toonami, but it’s the most popular that helped kickstart fascination with the series. Gundam Wing is an edgier take on the Gundam franchise with brooding teenage pilots that seemed like perfect figures to be on Toonami. Gundam Wing was also the first Toonami series to air with an edited and unedited version, with the uncut version airing exclusively on Toonami’s Midnight Run block, which set a helpful precedent for more adult anime series.
3 Tenchi Muyo! (July 3, 2000)
A lot of the anime that air on Toonami skew more towards action series, but Tenchi Muyo! shows the block trying to do something else by testing a series that's more slice of life or a harem anime, yet one that still features chaos in space. Tenchi Muyo! is wildly popular in Japan, but it's more laid back and comedic nature didn't play as well on Toonami. The anime's sequel series, Tenchi Universe and Tenchi in Tokyo, followed in July and August respectively, but it's unlikely to ever air on Toonami again.
2 Blue Submarine No. 6 (November 6, 2000)
Blue Submarine No. 6 feels like a serious anomaly in terms of what Toonami currently airs. Blue Submarine No. 6 is a four-episode OVA series rather than a full season of an anime, which they almost never indulge in now. The series takes a post-apocalyptic look at a bleak world where oceans have flooded the planet and vicious animal hybrids roam the world. Blue Submarine No. 6 signals Toonami trying to take more risks with its choices, but the OVA trend would quickly end for the block.
1 Outlaw Star (January 15, 2001)
2001 brought a lot of new anime to the block, with a handful of more Gundam series, the original Dragon Ball, and cult hit The Big O. Outlaw Star may seem derivative of other space travel anime series where unscrupulous pilots, bounty hunters, and pirates soar the universe, but it helped mark a turning point for Toonami where they became more receptive towards anime of this nature. The anime also caused major Toonami controversy with the removal of the anime’s infamous hot springs episode. Outlaw Star also experienced a surprise return to Toonami in 2017, in brand new HD.