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Toonzai - TV Tropes

  • ️Thu Aug 09 2012

Toonzai (Creator)

Where Epic Anime Lived

Toonzai, formerly The CW4Kids, was a Saturday-Morning Cartoon block on The CW replacing Kids' WB! that began under its original name in May of 2008 before its rebranding in August 2010. Run by 4Kids Entertainment, Toonzai ran a mostly anime programming block that tailored to a younger audience.

It bit the dust in August 18, 2012, in favor of a new Saban-run block, Vortexx. The block ended with a Yu-Gi-Oh! marathon.

Notable programs aired by Toonzai (Kids' WB holdovers marked with *):

This animation block provided examples of:

  • The Artifact: Most of the Kids' WB! shows the channel had in the beginning were only there to air the remaining episodes Kids' WB themselves couldn't. Quite tellingly, they were removed after they fufilled that quota.
  • Darker and Edgier: Despite being heavily Edited for Syndication, Dragon Ball Z Kai is still quite violent and was intended to be a Gateway Series for viewers looking for more edgy fare on the block.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: As is noted above, before it was fully rebranded into Toonzai, a good chunk of its first couple of years was spent basically finishing the run of many Kids' WB! shows that started before that block's demise.
  • Expy / Follow the Leader: Of Toonami. Al Khan even cited it as an inspiration.
  • Grand Finale: As stated above, its final broadcast was a Yu-Gi-Oh! marathon, marking it as this both for the block and all of 4Kids' blocks in general. An ironic, yet also fitting end given prior to the lawsuit surrounding it, Yu-Gi-Oh! was one of 4Kids biggest properties in their prominence.
  • Last Of Its Kind: Prior to its demise, this block was the only remaining children's block on American broadcast television which consists of new content meant to entertain, rather than years-old Reruns of Edutainment Shows (CW stations usually fill the deadest spaces weekday mornings with E/I content on their own, usually from DiC). However, rather than let its demise mark the end of these, the honor was passed to its successor, Vortexx.
  • Lighter and Softer: Than Toonami, its inspiration. It's also worth noting that many shows aired that didn't originate on the block were this compared to the originals. Heck, Dragon Ball Z Kai managed to be this compared not only to the original Japanese version, but even to the Nicktoons edit.
  • Saturday-Morning Cartoon