Best Lineup of 2003

[Obi]

2003 was a mixed year for Toonami. On one hand, we got some great shows, like Yu Yu Hakusho, Rurouni Kenshin, and .hack//SIGN - even though the latter two left Toonami without finishing. DBZ finally came to an end, and Toonami even got a new look. However, there were also some bad things - the time slot got cut down by an hour, SVES taking some of their shows (but let's PLEASE not turn this into a Toonami vs. SVES debate; all I mean by this is that He-Man, Transformers, Kenshin, and .hack moved to SVES), and....Dragonball GT.


This year we went through 11 different weekday lineups, not counting special events (such as Giant Robot Week, IGPX, or Clone Wars) or Fridays. Read through the list, then pick which was your favorite and explain why:


December 30th 2002 - January 17th 2003
4 - Zoids: Chaotic Century
4.5 - G Gundam
5 - He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
5.5 - Transformers: Armada
6 - Dragonball
6.5 - Dragonball Z

January 20th - February 21st (following this was GRW)
4 - Zoids: Chaotic Century
4.5 - G Gundam
5 - Dragonball
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Batman Beyond
6.5 - Transformers: Armada

March 3rd - March 14th
5 - G Gundam
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Yu Yu Hakusho
6.5 - Transformers: Armada

March 17th - March 29th AND April 14th - May 30th
5 - G Gundam
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Yu Yu Hakusho
6.5 - Rurouni Kenshin

March 31st - April 11th
5 - He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Yu Yu Hakusho
6.5 - Rurouni Kenshin

June 2nd - June 27th
5 - Justice League
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Yu Yu Hakusho
6.5 - Rurouni Kenshin

June 30th - July 4th
5 - Justice League
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Cyborg 009
6.5 - Rurouni Kenshin

July 7th - August 29th
5 - Justice League
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Cyborg 009
6.5 - Yu Yu Hakusho

September 1st - September 26th
5 - SD Gundam
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Cyborg 009
6.5 - Dragonball

September 29th - October 17th
5 - SD Gundam
5.5 - Samurai Jack
6 - Transformers: Armada
6.5 - Dragonball

October 20th 2003 - January 2nd 2004
5 - SD Gundam
5.5 - Justice League
6 - Transformers: Armada
6.5 - Dragonball



My favorite lineup would have to be March 17th - March 29th/April 14th - May 30th. There was great variety in that lineup - giant robots, the final episodes of DBZ, new episodes of Yu Yu Hakusho, and a show about Japan in the 1800's. Too bad Kenshin didn't perform well in the ratings....

On a side note, I'm rather surprised at how long the current lineup has lasted. I guess they focused more on Toonami Fridays and SVES. They certainly weren't focusing on AS weeknights during those months.

[JTurner954]

Mine would be the September 1-September 26th lineup with July 7th - August 29th as the runner-up. Reason: Those Dragonball Z episodes were episodes I've been waiting a year to watch (I'm fairly new to the show). Before I was stuck with the image of Frieza's top half floating in my mind; now, it's Goku charging at Android 19.

[Sketch]

March 17th because I actually had to tape and/or watch 3 shows every day for a couple of weeks and then 2 shows a day. It was bliss! Its a shame Kenshin didn't do well.

[Will Sturnick]

My favorite is:

March 17th - March 29th AND April 14th - May 30th
5 - G Gundam
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Yu Yu Hakusho
6.5 - Rurouni Kenshin

[Levon]

My favorite is:

January 20th - February 21st (following this was GRW)
4 - Zoids: Chaotic Century
4.5 - G Gundam
5 - Dragonball
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Batman Beyond
6.5 - Transformers: Armada


I love Zoids: Chaotic Century & G Gundam. Batman Beyond is cool too.

[purplehairedwonder]

My favorite was easily:

March 17th - March 29th AND April 14th - May 30th
5 - G Gundam
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Yu Yu Hakusho
6.5 - Rurouni Kenshin

These were all four shows that I liked. It was cool having my two favorite shows on right next to each other. Made me look forward even more to coming home from school. I also liked the one with the Trunks/Androids eps of DBZ (I forget which one) since I hadn't seen them yet. But that one was easily my favorite. You go from "Erupting Buring Finger" to "Kamehameha" to "Spirit Gun" to the Hiten Mitsurugi Style. It was great

[Red]

The Jan-Feb one. 3 Hours, good shows = Great lineup

[ClockStomper]

The Yu Yu and Kenshin power hour. Two of the best Toonami series eve, back to back.

[Duke]

I've got two personal favorites.

January 20th - February 21st (following this was GRW)
4 - Zoids: Chaotic Century
4.5 - G Gundam
5 - Dragonball
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Batman Beyond
6.5 - Transformers: Armada

March 17th - March 29th AND April 14th - May 30th
5 - G Gundam
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6 - Yu Yu Hakusho
6.5 - Rurouni Kenshin

The first one because 1) look what was one at 4PM. It's a big fat duh. And 2) Batman (though not Bruce Wayne Batman but his protegé) is back. And DBZ repeats meant I can watch PTI.

The second one because G Gundam was pretty fun to watch, and YuYu and Kenshin make a great duo.

[Chad Bonin]

January 20th - February 21st
4.0 - Zoids: Chaotic Century
4.5 - G Gundam
5.0 - Dragonball
5.5 - Dragonball Z
6.0 - Batman Beyond
6.5 - Transformers Armada

It's the most varied, plus it's three hours, and it's Gundam and Transformers and DC, oh my!

[Yash]

March 17 schedule, easily.

[Youko Recca]

March 17 schedule, easily.

agreed

[Animation Otaku]

The first one. My favorite. After that would be the G-Gundam/DBZ/Yu Yu Hakusho-lite/Ruroni Kenshin-lite. But I prefer all my shows to be complete.

[BabySealClubber]

I hate having to wait until Saturday night for Yu Yu and Kenshin, so easily March 17, too.

But I might add Giant Robot Week, too. It had been near a decade since I'd seen any "Gigantor".

[Chad Bonin]

Animation Otaku, were the "-lite" comments really necessary? It's no more flame baiting than Fauxnami, and even I've stopped using that.

Seriously, think about it. What good could come from it? Beatdigga (Just pulling a name out of a hat that hated it's Toonami status) to reiterate?

[Animation Otaku]

Exactly. It's no better than 'Fauxnami'. I was attempting to prove a point with that. You're entitled to think SVES is fauxnami(I believe you even used the term 'Toonami-lite' once), but it's not something that you should parade around saying. I don't plan on using those -lite comments again, it was a one time thing.

[Chad Bonin]

Ain't used "Fauxnami" in a while; I think we came to the point where it was just pointless bashing, like "Yu-Yu Hakusho-lite".

Really, though, what point? To show that a term I haven't used in a week or two is still bad? It's just to rile people up. I had used Fauxnami back when I was under the assumption that it had no fans and was still an utterly hated block, especially in the Toonami forum. Since a handful of people spoke up in defense of the block (Which really blew my mind), I stopped using it.

[Animation Otaku]

But the thing is, that SVES and Toonami are two different blocks that have their individual strengths.(Toonami airs 5 days a week with better promos, SVES is 7 hours with original openings and more diverse programming).

Arguing that an editted version of something is as good as the uncut, on the other hand, is stupid. YYH uncut is strictly superior to YYH editted.

[Chad Bonin]

SVES showing original openings is a preferrence, not a de-facto strength (Like the promos, but those are more universally loved).

Don't think anyone is saying YYH Cut > YYH Uncut, but you're not gonna get uncut without DVDs. Also, it's debatable, but don't think many are claiming that YYH cut doesn't get the plot across as well.

[Animation Otaku]

*coughHardFightsforYusukecough*