Toonami Thanks Akira Toriyama & DBZ For Putting It “On the Map”

(Featured Image Source: Toonami / The Cartoon Network, Inc. / Warner Bros. Discovery)

Last night, Toonami aired a marathon of Dragon Ball Z Kai to celebrate the life of recently passed mangaka Akira Toriyama. Before the marathon, the animation block thanked Toriyama, with mascots TOM (voiced by Steve Blum) and SARA (voiced by Dana Swanson) noting that DBZ put “Toonami on the map.”

TOM: “Man, losing one of the greatest manga creators of all time really sucks.”

SARA: “But Akira Toriyama’s monumental influence on the medium will live on forever.”

TOM: “Back in ’98, Dragon Ball Z put Toonami on the map.”

SARA: “And the Dragon Ball franchise has been our rock ever since.”

TOM: “So tonight, with heavy hearts, we’re paying tribute to Toriyama-san.”

SARA: “With the first eight episodes of DBZ Kai from 2-6am”

Transcribed from the Official Toonami FaceBook Page

While Toonami premiered in 1997 on Cartoon Network, its true heyday wouldn’t start until the action block in 1998 when they added Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon to the lineup. Providing a space for fans to enjoy anime without the hobbyist levels of tape hunting and trading required prior, Toonami would later add iconic anime tiles, including Tenchi Muyo!, Mobile Suit Gundam, Outlaw Star, YuYu Hakusho, and more.

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Akira Toriyama passed away at age 68 on March 1st of this year due to an acute subdural hematoma. His death hit the world hard, as pop culture fans from around the globe shared how much they would miss the creator.

To celebrate Toriyama’s work and the connection between the DBZ and Toonami, they aired a four-hour-long Dragon Ball Kai marathon, showing the first eight episodes of the series. The connection between the two is undeniable, and it was great to see Toonami acknowledge it.

Dragon Ball Z Kai airs weekly on Toonami @ 2:30 AM. It is part of their anime lineup, including Ninja Kamui, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead, Lycoris Recoil, and One Piece.

(Source: Toonami / Cartoon Network)

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