It can not be understated just how influentialCartoon Network’s Toonamiblock was in helping anime gain mainstream attention. Obviously the biggest hits from the block wereDragon Ball ZandSailor Moon, two franchise that are still popular to this very day. Toonami also introduced American audiences to the Gundam franchise withGundam Wing, and the Toonami airing of.hack//SIGNhelped make that multimedia cross project the success it was at the time. What about the more questionable shows on the block though?
Tenchi Muyo(while a hit with viewers) was a questionable choice on the block due to the sexual humor of the show.Cardcaptorsaddition would feel more at home if fans weren’t painfully aware of the far superior uncutCardcaptor Sakurathat existed on the DVD market. Perhaps the most controversial show on the block though wasHamtaro, a show geared for young kids about hamsters going on fun adventures. The series was not action oriented and was clearly geared towards children instead of teenagers (it was even rated TV-Y). Even Toonami’s host Tom introduced the show with perplexity and confusion. Which begs the question: how DIDHamatrowind up on Toonami?!
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What is Hamtaro?
Hamtarois a slice-of-life anime about a hamster and his everyday life. The hamster is named Hamtaro, and he and his buddies (known as the Ham-Hams) have a variety of different adventures each day.
Some of these adventures include playing in bad weather, building a special clubhouse (run by Boss), and learning how to get along. Most of the time the Ham-Hams sing songs throughout the episode. This is all happens while Hamtaro’s owner Laura is oblivious to the adventures Hamtaro has throughout the day.
Why Did Toonami Pick it Up?
In a rare instance the people who were behind the programming of theToonami blockwerenotthe ones who decided to airHamtaro. According to Jason Demarco, parent company Cartoon Network forced the show on the block. They did so for two reasons. The first is that Toonami was known as the block that aired anime, and they figured it would be a good fit there. The second is thatHamtarohad merchandise potential for kids, so Cartoon Network wanted the series on their network just in caseHamtarowas the next “big thing.”
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According to DeMarco this ended up being a huge mistake that would be a black eye on Toonami’s legacy. While Toonami did air a lot of anime, the crew running the block always saw Toonami as an action block and NOT an anime block! The fact that more anime was airing instead of American cartoons reflected the lack of action series being made in America at the time, not that anime was that much more popular (the block happily airedBatman BeyondandJackie Chan Adventureswhen those shows were popular, and would gladly have aired more like them if they were being made).
The Legacy of Hamtaro
Whether or not the showbelonged on Toonami in the first placeis likely to be debated for quite some time, but one thing that is certain is thatHamtaro(despite the ridicule it received by the Toonami faithful) was quite successful. It may be the most successful show to premier on the block (Dragon Ball ZandSailor Moongot their start in syndication). While most Toonami shows began and ended with Toonami, not to re-air until Toonami was revived years later,Hamtarowas aired on Cartoon Network for many years afterwards. Granted, the series was mostly aired in the early morning hours and early afternoons (where it arguably belonged in the first place), where it always seemed to have an audience.
Toonami viewers may not have enjoyed it, but once it got away from the shadow of that particular audience by all accounts kids really did love this show. That may be the worst part about this story: had it not premiered on Toonami it might have been the big hit out of the gate that Cartoon Network needed it to be to make the merchandise they wanted to make so badly. By putting it on Toonami it became a bad trivia joke for the anime faithful, and the series found its audience too late. Despite all this thoughHamtarodid find an audience after Toonami, and that audience has fond memories of the series to this day!
