Post by Jmb a.k.a. The Boss on Dec 30, 2015 22:02:07 GMT -6
Toonami Pre-Flight decided to do a Christmas Q&A Special last Friday December 25th, 2015 if you haven't seem it yet check it out here at www.adultswim.com/videos/toonami/december-25th-2015/. Here is a rundown of the questions that were asked on the Toonami Pre-Flight Christmas Q&A Special.
Question 1: Anonymous Submission -
Do you still plan to air the last two films in the Rebuild of Evangelion series when they are available?
Answer: Jason - "We would LIKE to do it, but that is not a plan. "
Note: You can Pre-Order Evangelion: 3.33 You Can (Not) Redo on DVD here - shop.funimation.com/You-Can-Not-Redo-_2 and on Blu-ray here - shop.funimation.com/You-Can-Not-Redo- ,release date is set for 02/02/16. |
Question 2: From @bringfield -
Would it be possible for Logic to make a cameo on Toonami?
Answer: Jason - "So that refers to the rapper, Logic, and he just released an album that many people are praising, and our very own Steve Blum appears as a character.
There's a story in that album. He appears as a character, named Thomas, on a spaceship (no relation) with an A.I. So clearly there's a Toonami influence, although I have not seen, and Logic has talked many time about his love for anime, but I have not seen him talk about his love for Toonami, even though I'm seeing some Toonami stuff in his work.
So yeah I don't think we're going to be featuring Logic anytime soon, but obviously he loves anime and obviously he watched Toonami so, you never know.
Note: Here are 3 official trailers for Logic's album The Incredible True Story which is available on iTunes - smarturl.it/Incredib |
Question 3: From @wesleywhiteside -
Thank you for Intruder II! Are there any dream projects you would like to do with Toonami that haven't been done before?
Answer: Gill - "Get Sara a body and get a new ship! Whether that's called the Absolution or not, and get back into get back into space.
Jason - "I would like to also see Sara have a body. I would also like to see the Clydes come back and play a significant role. So we'll see, if the money can happen for those dream projects, but those are some ideas we have.
Question 4: Anonymous Submission -
What were your favorite presents you got on Christmas?
Answer: Jason - " My favorite present was also the present I spoiled for myself and learned a very valuable life lesson.
So when I was kid LEGO did not have the sophisticated sets they have now a days that are licensed characters. The big thing they had was this LEGO Castle set that's very well known to everyone of a certain era, certain age. It was a giant yellow castle it was a huge LEGO set it was the biggest one up to that time and I wanted it very badly and it was more expensive than my parents could normally afford to get me. and I made a big deal out of it and I usually don't make a big deal out of presents but I really wanted this thing. my mom basically told me she didn't think she could get it cause she was just messing with me, so one day when she wasn't home I looked around looked under the nooks and crannies and I saw it under my parent's bed and I instantly felt terrible and it instantly taught me a lesson that sometimes it's better to enjoy a surprise and I followed that all the way through Toonami.
Gill - I have a very similar story.
Our house growing up had like an an electric eye across the staircase, that was like the security system, and you would flip it like on an…..
….So it was SUPER unsophisticated because there was a banister stair case that went all the way around. My brother is not the fittest individual so I was tasked with shimmying over the banister and dropping down onto the ground, combat rolling and then telling him where all our Christmas presents were. So they'd set it up.
We woke up at like… 2:30 in the morning into Christmas morning, and I got a dirt bike (BMX) and I was super psyched and I don't remember what my brother got. But we got it and we were high fiving each other. So then I climb back up we were super psyched come back down and my dad has this video somewhere and…they were videotaping on the first video camera ever! It's like the one when you have the satchel that had a portable VCR in it and it was hook onto the camera…
..So we already seen it and surprise totally spoiled. We just start opening everything else and my mom like "Ahhh did you not see the bike here?" And I do the worst little kid acting of all time and it's like "Oh my god I didn't even see that!" and my parents were like "You came down stairs didn't you?"
Question 5: From @teryn -
Why haven't any of you at Toonami tried to make Toonami its own channel, apart from Adult Swim?
Answer: Jason - Here's the thing Teryn, we don't own Toonami. We can't decide what happens to Toonami, we can only influence what happens with Toonami. So something becoming its own channel, I think to a layman's sounds like a "what's the big deal?!" but in reality that takes hundreds of millions of dollars of investment and time.
And even though anime is…was very popular at Toonami's height and is still popular enough to keep Toonami going, right now, I think devoting an entire channel to it is a big financial risk with questionable upside and were we even to try or ask it's not really our decision to make. Turner's a very large company that owns many different networks and Toonami is simply one piece of that puzzle.
So I encourage you and everyone else though I'm really appreciative that you love Toonami, to remember that it's just a good thing that Toonami is on at all cause it wasn't for a few years.
And the more you watch it the more you get other people to watch it the better chances of it expanding or whatever you want to happened those good things happen from lots of people watching it and it becoming popular.
Question 6: Anonymous Submission -
Why aren't classic series like Mazinger Z or Starship Yamamoto shown occasionally?
Answer: Jason & Gill - We'll give you a very simple answer… nobody watches!
Jason - Those shows are so old they don't even have blu-ray releases. No one cares…Traditionally very old cartoons do not work anywhere on television.
Gill - A lesson we learned in a small thing called Giant Robot Week.
****Jason - Toonami HAS to be able to hold a casual viewing audience in ADDITION to the hardcore anime fan.
Question 7: Anonymous Submission -
Can you get TOONAMI in Canada please?
Answer: Jason - You know what I loved that idea but again we don't control that. So I urge you to write your local Canadian broadcaster and ask them….if they would be willing to show Toonami. We'd be willing to help.
Note: You can contact [adult swim] Canada here - www.adultswim.ca/contact-us/ |
Question 8: From Matdupreez -
Will we ever see the character NAMI from Toonami Asia?
Answer: Jason - No Next question.
Question 9: From Matdupreez -
Why does it seem Naruto Shippuden and One Piece keep going further back on the schedule?
Answer: Jason - Mat you gotta stop with the complaining man. It's a bad look.
The reason those 2 have been pushed back further in schedule is cause they're doing better later and newer shows are doing better earlier. They're doing well enough to continue on the block and we're really happy because we love both of those shows.
Look nobody has stumped more for One Piece than we have. And it just happens to do well where it is and if those two shows can't hold good numbers at 1 am then they move later that doesn't mean they are out of the block.
So if you love those two shows then you should tell all of your friends to tuned in where they are, and if they start doing amazing gang busters numbers where they are, then maybe they'll move up earlier. That's how TV works. It's YOU the people voting with your eyeballs.
Question 10: From Madman400096 -
Is there any chance the Clydes could make a comeback?
Answer: Jason - We do want to bring the Clydes back and I hope, if Toonami continues the way it's been, you will see Clydes in the future.
Question 11: Anonymous Submission -
How much control do you have over programming decisions?
Answer: Gill - Significantly more than we did…at the Cartoon Network Toonami. We are an active participant. That doesn't mean we get to run whatever we want for a lot of different reasons money, time, availability, dubbing, etc, etc, etc.
Jason - But, we are an equal voice here at Adult Swim with the programming that ends up on our block. We are not the sole decision makers but our opinion is listened to.
We are very grateful to Kim Manning the Head of AS Programming and Mike Lazzo for allowing us to guide the block programming wise and I think it's worked in fairness.
Question 12: From rafslivesonthrume -
Is movie month going to happen at all anytime soon?
Answer: Jason - No rafs next question
Question 13: Anonymous Submission -
Can TOM feel emotions?
Answer: Jason - "Can TOM feel emotions?" is actually a very good question. The answer is yes. TOM can feel emotions.
TOM's programming is a true A.I. He is a thinking sentient being…. ….TOM is a sentient robot, he does experience true emotions, thoughts and feelings and he has a sense of morals. I think it started with a layer of programming and then it's experiential, just like the rest of us.
Question 14: Anonymous Submission -
What can we, the Toonami Faithful, do to repel the weeaboo menace?
Answer: Jason - You what you can do, just be chill. Be the opposite, which is what we do.
Be welcoming. Try to make new fans of this amazing art form. Try to welcome people in and don't make fun of someone because they haven't see a show you think is a classic. Tell them instead "hey you should totally see it you gonna love it!" Suggest things they might like. Be welcoming, be friendly, be cool, don't be a dick.
Question 15: From the-loveliest-lies -
If money was no object would you want to make a TV show starring TOM?
Answer: Jason - Yes! Yeah! I would make a show starring TOM. CGI unfortunately is still expensive. It cost less than is used to, but it's still an expensive medium to try to work in.
So maybe one day you never know, we've got several pitches for TOM shows in the past so we might dig one of those up or start something new.
Question 16: Anonymous Submission -
Will the Samurai Jack series have new episodes or will it just be another rerun of the old episodes?
Answer: Jason & Gill - You're not very bright are you anon. Sadly we made a huge new announcement to just rerun the old episodes.
We announced we're bringing Genndy back and by bringing him back we just mean he worked on the old shit so therefore the old shit's back. It's gonna be old episodes of Samurai Jack presented by Genndy is how we're packaging the new shit.
No it's all new shit anon. Take it easy, you can believe people occasionally.
Question 17 Anonymous Submission -
When can we expect the Toonami App to be updated to support earlier operating systems?
Answer: Jason, Gill, & Shawn - Never! Never seems to be Shawn’s answer. We don't have the money for that right now. There's an update for current operating systems out right now with a newer look and feel. You might expect new activities later on down the line or new additional stuff. But unfortunately we don't really have the money to ball like that to make it available for previous operation systems. We're just not rolling in that kind of cash.
Note: you can go to www.toonami/app/ to get the Toonami App for Android and iOS Devices. |
Question 18: Anonymous Submission -
Why does Dragon Ball Z, Naruto and One Piece only come on TV on Saturdays?
Answer: Jason & Gill - Cause that's when Toonami comes on.
Question 19: From criimsinn -
What do you all do when the English dubbing process is still on-going... and have to wait for more dubbed episodes to come out/be available?
Answer: Jason - We stocked down and we wait sometimes. We wait to put the show on until after it's finished or sometimes like with Space Dandy we take a break. That was always planned to be 26 episodes. It was broken up into two seasons of 13 episodes because they knew we would have to have a break in the dubbing process, so that's usually what we do with the show when it's super popular or we just need to get something put on the air. We'll take a break, wait till it starts to add up again or we will just wait in the first place and wait to premiere it to make sure we have enough to not stop.
Question 20: From greenline743 -
How do you go about acquiring new shows for Toonami?
Answer: Jason - In a number of different ways actually. Sometimes a distributer like Funimation or Aniplex or any number of distributers like Sentai will say we have these shows check them out you might be interested to air them on Toonami. Sometimes it's us hunting shows down. Sometimes it's our head of programing suggesting a show, Kim Manning. Kim is an anime fan. Sometimes she'll say, "I think this will work" or "that would work."
Sometimes a person from another company comes and then it’s all up to how much does the show cost? When is it available? How complicated would the rights be to work out? Do they have an existing deal with Netflix or Hulu or another streaming service?
There's a whole bunch of factors that are involved. It's incredibly, stupidly, complicated but that's how it works.
Question 21: Anonymous Submission -
Are the current episodes of Naruto filler?
Answer: Jason & Gill - We don't believe in filler so who cares.
Question 22: From sonicthecute12 -
Is TOM 4 really dead?
Answer: Jason - Well we only know that the Intruder told TOM 5, that he killed TOM 4 and that he does have TOM 4's voice. So I say the possibility is high, but we have no other evidence. So we're just going to have to wait and see if maybe we figure that story out at some point. But for now, it doesn't look good for TOM 4.
Question 23: From alimialph -
Will you guys consider airing an uncut version of Digimon?
Answer: Jason - I'm sorry but the answer to that is no.
That was a Fox Kids show. We never particularly liked Digimon. It certainly doesn't belong in this version of Toonami and we are not invested at all in trying to get it on Cartoon Network. It is also genuinely a kids show and can't be on Toonami now. So the windows is closed for Digimon and Toonami association.
Question 24: From Dontworryitsharmony -
Is Toonami planning on sticking with only newer anime or will we see some old school shows/episodes here & there?
Answer: Jason - Sure! You're gonna see Samurai Champloo right now. Yeah we like to mix it up but we're not going to go that old though!
But I would argue DBZ is old, the One Piece episodes we are showing are old, Naruto Shippuden is old, they're new to Toonami, but those aren't new shows. Michiko and Hatchin was out for several years.
So yeah, my perfect version of Toonami is; a nice mix of short shows, long shows, obscured shows, new shows, old shows, that are all great and contain action. That's my perfect vision! Sometimes we lean more in one direction or another based on market place forces and things happening.
Note: If you haven't seen it yet here is the promo for Samurai Champloo which will premiere on Toonami this Saturday 01/02/16 at 1:30am. |
Question 25: From arthurmesa -
What is your favorite part of Intruder 2?
Answer: Gill - Good question! The cop out answer, which is mostly the real answer, which is being able to get it on the air. Having enough resources and time and interest, fan interest and everything else to actually make it happen.
In terms of storytelling element, my favorite moment in Intruder was reading Dana when she was reading her VO for when Sara was getting pulled offline, because it was super emotional to hear and she did an amazing job.
Jason - My favorite part is where Tom says, "I'm not down with visitors who don't call first," because I'm not either and I agree with him! That's why I wrote the line.
But I also really liked the new environment and when TOM opens the door. The animators did an amazing job going Star Wars and epic movies of the past! That's a cool moment I think. And yeah, I'm just happy we got the damn thing done.
Note: Here is the Complete Intruder 2 Event: |
Question 26: From isafmobius18 -
If TV censorship wasn't an issue, what adult or mature-rated anime would you want to air that you cannot currently?
Answer: Jason - Not really cause I don't really give a shit about that! I will say that we wanted to air Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine but couldn't because it's got too many boobies even for us! That was one I wanted to put on, and I thought it would be awesome after Michiko and Hatchin, and its new and it's a really great show but it just had too much nudity for our on-air censors to allow.
And maybe Berserk. Berserk would be one, and I don't think we could get Berserk on the air. And we're not hunting Berserk down but Berserk would be one that maybe probably be a little too violent for us.
We have a lot of different people watching so we're not going to go crazy hardcore, it's just not Toonami.
Note: Here is the official trailer for Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine and the first official teaser for Berserk which is has a 2016 release, you can stream Lupin III: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine here - www.funimation.com/shows/lupin-the-third-fujiko-mine/home and buy the complete series on Blu-Ray and DVD here - shop.funimation.com/The-Complete-Series_79. |
Question 27: From shy-biscuits -
Was it difficult getting Sonny Strait back as TOM 1?
Answer: Jason - No it was very easy.
Gill - It was very difficult keeping the secret that it was coming on, not that he was going to tell it. We felt it was a very fun moment that we didn't want to spoil. We went out of our way to make sure that everyone didn't leak it, in this informationally happy era. But I would say that was the most difficult part of the process.
Jason - That wasn't all that difficult, he signed a non-disclosure agreement!
Note: Want to hear more about Sonny Strait and his involvement with Intruder 2 and more, then checkout our Interview with him. |
Question 28: From vernanonix -
Do you guys still have access to the old game resources for The Intuder, Lockdown, and Trapped in Hyperspace? And if so, will you guys ever be able to release them into the wild again?
Answer: Jason - I'm sorry but the answer to that question is no. We don't have any of those game assets.
Those were created years ago by lots of groups of other people. We will never be able to release those games again.
However, the wayback machine has a couple of them you can still play. So you can find them out there but yeah, those games those are done sorry.
Note: You can play The Intruder and Lockdown here lostdata.comuv.com/?TIE_Games, you can only play them on the Internet Explore Browser and you will need to install an adobe shockwave player plugin for them to work. |
Question 29: From dechuriisalwayswatching -
I've been hearing about the return of Samurai Jack and was wondering if there would be any official streaming service?
Answer: Jason - No we are not Netflix. We are actually a network. We are not a fake network or a streaming network, we are a real network.
We will have the Samurai Jack episodes streaming. I'm not sure where. I'm sure at some point they will be up on the Adult Swim streams. I'm not sure when though and I'm sure you'll be able to get them on demand in all the other normal places you would get an Adult Swim show.
But there’s no particular streaming service that would be the official streaming service for Samurai Jack I think if you really want to see Samurai Jack you're going to have to have a cable or satellite subscription.
Question 30: Anonymous Submission -
Why is this vintage series Samurai Jack getting a continuation and being added to Toonami instead of new anime?
Answer: Jason - Because it happened! Who cares?! Why does everything have to be anime? Toonami has always been more than anime. Samurai Jack is an amazing animated show. If you don't like it you don't have to watch it, but it's not our job to make new anime. And we own Samurai Jack, and I think it's wonderful that we get to bring it back! So sorry anon, sorry to disappoint you with one "non anime" show in YEARS and years and years of hundreds of anime that we shown.
Question 31: Anonymous Submission -
When is Adult Swim going to show new episodes of Naruto Shippuden and One Piece?
Answer: Jason - Every week it's new to us! We haven't caught up to One Piece, which is now up to seven BILLION you know.
Gill - If we stopped Japan from broadcasting television and we wait 9 years it would be then.
Jason - We are showing episodes of Naruto Shippuden and One Piece that have not aired on TV at this point.
Gill - And we're not gonna skip ahead for you anon.
Question 32: From allanimated93 -
Since you have the Intruder II event, why not have a rerun of the previous Saturday's Toonami on Thursday nights?
Answer: Jason - Toonami's good! I love that people want to have Toonami more than once a week, but it's usually based on its more convenient for them to watch on a certain night. And right now it's working on Saturday nights.
So I don't see us expanding anymore beyond that night. And I am glad that everyone who wants it to feels that way, but we don't have enough critical mass for that.
Gill - Just keep watching on Saturday.
Jason - We're really happy about Saturday but it is the Adult Swim Network not the Toonami Network, and they do pretty well on their own.
Question 33: From Henry De la Cerda -
Has there ever been a show you regretted putting on Toonami?
Answer: Jason - Only one that we picked, which would be Tenchi Muyo! GXP, because it ended up being a pretty shitty show. And we didn’t think it was, and we didn't see enough episodes and we learned a valuable lesson.
Other shows, shitty shows, that were put on Toonami that were not our decision and we don't consider them our fault. Those would include Hamtaro, which is not a shitty show but a bad fit for Toonami, SD Gundam, which is a bad show AND a bad fit, and Wulin Warriors, which was not a good dub.
Question 34: From Nik Krystopik -
Would you guys like to see a Cowboy Bebop prequel OVA for each character of the Bebop crew?
Answer: Jason - Yeah sure, I mean I think Bebop has such fascinating characters you could totally do an OVA on each of their past. That would be awesome.
Question 35: From Justin Clarkson -
Have you guys ever thought about bringing TOM into the video game world?
Answer: Jason - Yeah you know Cartoon Network, Adult Swim there's been some video games. I mean obviously Adult Swim Games has an incredible amount of amazing games, but they work all on their own, and we don't really need a Toonami game and Toonami doesn't need to be game. So I mean it might be fun but I rather do what we’re doing now.
If you really want TOM in a game, he was in Sly Cooper 2 as an unlockable character. And you can make a TOM in some games. We've done it before. We made an Animal Crossing TOM.
But yeah, I don't see TOM being in the video game world anytime soon. You never know, but yeah it's not something we think about much.
Question 36: From Mark Strauss -
Any particular reason why Akame Ga Kill has soundtrack music OP/EDs instead of shortened versions of the other songs, like with other shows?
Answer: Jason - Sure. That decision was made by Sentai. Those decisions are made by the distributor. I will say, unequivocally we cannot air full show opens. We always do when the show premieres, we make the time because we know fans love it. But we can't do it every week or else there would be no Toonami Packaging. Hence, the Toonami in Toonami would have to be removed. And then you would just be getting your shows, which some people would probably been fine with, but most people wouldn't so we asked the distributors to shorten the opens because we don't want to be the ones hacking it up arbitrarily.
So whatever your beef is with it, ultimately it's their decision to do so. I guess they felt rather than cutting the song in half they would take a soundtrack moment and do that. So if you really like the open for Akame Ga Kill I would say pull up YouTube and watch it till you don't want to watch it anymore because you don't need to see it every week.
Question 37: From Casey Cantrell -
Why was TOM 4's design so drastically different from TOM 1 ,2, 3, 3.5, and TOM 5?
Answer: Jason - That is a very good question! Thomas the Tank Engine, TOM 4, was different because at the time Sean Akins, who ran Toonami, had made a decision. We only had TOM have a motorcycle helmet look because we didn't have the technology at the time to animate lip flaps and eye movements.
The technology hasn't become easier to use. We have a staff and at the time we had a CG staff of 4 people and we can do this every week. Gill and I argue pretty bitterly with Sean about it, and told him this is not going to be manageable week to week. This will result in us not being able to do as much TOM animations, which will result in the block feeling more stale. And we couldn't afford the level to keep that TOM going. We couldn't afford it and he wanted to have more characters!
So we had TOM, D, and Flash, all with facial animations! So doing anything became a huge undertaking, unfortunately for everyone involved. Gill and I were right and Sean was wrong.
Also, growing all the other TOMs. We had comic or some backstory that explains why. Cuz after Intruder we felt Toonami fans wanted a reason that the continuity changed. But Sean was of the mindset that all the original Toonami Fans moved on and a whole new, different generation of kids was watching and they don't give a shit about the back story. But I think that's partially true. But it turned out that there were a whole bunch of people who have been watching and were pissed off when we switched over. And there was this new TOM.
So it was a really good lesson for all of us to learn about how much you can change, and how much you can't and still retain the soul of what something is and people love. But it wasn't a decision Gill and I sort of agreed with, it was a decision we executed because we were soldiers.
Question 38: From Milton Alvarado -
Do you think that Toonami is a good gateway to introduce a new friend to music?
Answer: Jason - You know, I would say generally the answer is yes because I heard over the years from so many Toonami Fans, "Oh I first heard about Daft Punk from Toonami," "I heard about Gorillaz from Toonami," "I also heard about Run The Jewels," I heard it so many times Mastodon. You know I do think Toonami is a good way to introduce a friend to new music if you think they will like it.
Question 39: From Travis Perry -
Is airing fan art-themed bumps on television still out of the question?
Answer: Gill - This is based off of our Fan Art Friday, which you can take part on Facebook www.Facebook.com/Toonami and maybe your name will get on the tape and we will show your fan art every Friday.
Jason - But it's not going to be on TV because we don't want to use the TV to show fan art. Because a lot of the fan art comes from younger folks and when you put it on TV if just feels a little too much like a kid thing. But Facebook we can choose the one a week, that's obvious a very talented person.
If we are soliciting a ton of them we get a decent amount of all kinds of people that use to watch Toonami, or they'll tell their kids to watch Toonami, or that have never seen it. We get all kinds of weird stuff.
Gill - We definitely like the submissions we are getting and we like doing it on Facebook, but we feel that's a digital strategy not necessarily a venue that we want to do.
Question 40: From Ian Isberto -
Does the Intruder have a weakness?
Answer: Gill - Yes! When the ship that he is standing in blows up, he is not as happy as he was prior to that point.
Jason - His weakness was his obsession with TOM.
I think his weakness actually was that he absorbed TOM and TOM's consciousness melded with his. He wasn't prepared for that to happen. He became him, and I think that was the weakness, because otherwise it would have continued absorbing life forms unchecked.
And maybe aspects of the Intruder are probably still out there doing that, but this particular aspect of the Intruder, its downfall, was not knowing that would happen and them becoming obsessed with destroying TOM 5. Which didn't work out.
Question 41: From Eon Brown -
Will we ever be given a tour of all floors on board the Absolution?
Answer: Jason & Gill - Not anymore because it doesn't exist! So the answer is, no, not anytime soon.
Question 42: From Jhett Tiernan -
Can I access the Toonami App from the page?
Answer: Gill - From Toonami.com there is a hyper link to both iTunes and Google Play. So you can access getting the app from the page, but there is no way to access the app itself.
Jason - Yeah it's an app so it's mobile only. There's no desktop version.
Note: you can go to www.toonami/app/ to get the Toonami App for Android and iOS Devices. |
Question 43: From Joe Sam -
Will Dana Swanson still be involved with Toonami going forth?
Answer: Jason - Yes of course she will. Dana is the best!
Gill - This question was obviously submitted prior to knowing that Dana has rejoined the team as the voice of Sara. A bit of a head fake, it's a storytelling technique.
Jason - She's a kinda different Sara now. We're not sure what that means, but she's still Sara and she's still voiced by Dana.