Moribito Cartoon Network, kickin' into action!

The comedy heavy daily line-up on Cartoon Network may not show it, but from everything we've heard in regards to what Cartoon Network has cooking it is clear that there is a greater focus on action programming. The new 'Har Har Tharsdays' block will supposedly be the sole home for Cartoon Network's comedy premieres and it's just two hours (much like our dear friend Toonami on Saturday night). That could change, but it seems the network likes having smaller blocks than the olden days of 4 to 5 hour programming to showcase their comedy or action premieres. We know for certain that action will be the focus on Friday night this Fall, but what about the other two currently-running action blocks? Well, I think they're going to stay pretty much where they are, though Dynamite Action Squad may end up with a name change if Fried Dynamite's brand is removed from the Friday night packaging. Why have 3 action blocks when there is only one comedy block? Simple. There's more action to be played. Moribito.

Cartoon Network only has two comedy shows in production (Chowder and Flapjack) and only have two action shows in production as well (Ben 10: Alien Force and The Secret Saturdays). However, there are, as usual, a lot more action acquisitions on tap despite Cartoon Network bolstering their comedy acquisition slate with the likes of Chop Socky Chooks, George of the Jungle, Johnny Test, Total Drama Island and Skunk Fu! Naruto and Pokemon will continue to have a steady stream of premieres and along with them comes Star Wars: The Clone Wars in Fall and Batman: The Brave and the Bold in Spring of 2009 for certain. Continual premieres of Bakugan, Transformers: Animated, and Storm Hawks, among others, are likely. Hopefully One Piece will also return. They could fit that all in one block, but to do so would require a rather large block - and as I mentioned, they seem to want to keep things 2-3 hours long at most. So that makes the possibility for up to 3 action blocks very good this Fall, even if they only come to about 7 hours in total programming time. Cartoon Network may yet find more comedies to fill enough hours to expand their comedy premiere offerings but it seems like they're switching directions quite a bit with these developments.

It's a real shame Moribito is Adult Swim-bound because it might have both found a following on Toonami and given the block some real edge. But despite losing that opportunity, it doesn't really seem like Toonami is any worse off. If it lives on, then it will most likely get encore showings of The Clone Wars, which will boost its ratings and keep the block stable in the months to come. I just hope they don't consider smashing the current DAS line-up together with Toonami, bringing Pokemon and Bakugan back to the block in the process… That's one thing Toonami's name definitely doesn't need right now.

A possible return of One Piece and a chance of Gundam 00 arriving on Toonami this year could get Toonami back in business. Without either, it may be hard to keep the block alive. But a user at the Toon Zone's Toonami forum with the handle J'onn J'onzz probably said it best: "I doubt Cartoon Network even cares about Toonami enough to cancel it, at this point." It sure doesn't look like Toonami has much of a future if it remains on Saturday night but Cartoon Network may keep the block around despite that. Search Cartoon Network

So what does the network's newly established focus on action programming mean for Toonami? We'll just have to wait and see, but I expect whatever the outcome the Toonami name will live on in some form and Cartoon Network may have it's most impressive action programming slate in years this Fall.

Source http://www.toonamifan.com/toonamicnkicking.html