In the West, Toonaminote is an animation block dedicated to action-oriented anime and western shows. But over in the East, Toonami isn't just a block... it's an entire television channel!
Launching on December 1, 2012 and airing 24/7, Toonami Asia (referred to as such to distinguish it from the other Toonami channels and blocks internationally) is dedicated to airing action shows in both Japanese and English. This isn't the first time that a Toonami channel was attempted. The United Kingdom tried their hand at a Toonami channel, though that didn't turn out so hot in the end. The success of this channel, however, led to the launch of other Toonami-branded channels in India and, beginning in 2016, France. However, the Indian channel was re-tooled into a classic cartoon channel airing content from CN and Warner Bros. (including the Hanna-Barbera and Turner libraries) until it was shuttered in 2018.
Quite unlike its western counterpart, Toonami Asia focuses much more on western animation, from CN originals (Thunder Cats 2011, Sym-Bionic Titan, and Generator Rex), to comic book-based superhero shows (Wolverine and the X-Men (2009), Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Justice League Unlimited), to other western shows (Transformers: Prime, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Xiaolin Showdown), with a little bit of Japanese animation thrown in (Dragon Ball Z and Deltora Quest).
The channel is run by NAMI (not to be confused with another Nami), an artificial lifeform from the future. There was a contest held that allowed fans to submit ideas for Nami's backstory, with the winner having his concept produced into an animated clip and a comic book. Recently
, promos revealing NAMI's appearance have been uploaded, as well as introducing a storyline involving the end of "The Age of Superheroes".
Unfortunately, it was announced that at the end of March 2018, Toonami Asia would shut down.
- The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold
- Ben 10
- Beyblade Metal Fusion
- Blue Dragon
- Deltora Quest
- Dragon Ball Z
- Dragon Ball Super
- Generator Rex
- Green Lantern: The Animated Series
- Hot Wheels: Battle Force 5
- Inazuma Eleven
- Iron Man: Armored Adventures
- Justice League Unlimited
- Kamen Rider Dragon Knight
- Max Steel
- Megas XLR
- Mix Master Final Force
- Samurai Jack
- The Secret Saturdays
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Superman: The Animated Series
- Sym-Bionic Titan
- Teen Titans
- The 99
- The Superhero Squad Show
- Thunder Cats 2011
- Transformers: Prime
- Wakfu
- Wolverine and the X-Men (2009)
- Xiaolin Showdown
- Yo Kai Watch
- Young Justice
- Young Justice: Invasion
Tropes related to Toonami Asia:
- Big Bad: The unnamed, shadowed figure from the Origin promo is most likely this.
- End of an Age: In-universe. The Age of Superheroes, to be specific.
- Expy: Nami, the host of Toonami Asia, is one for both TOM and SARA.
- Hope Bringer: In-universe, NAMI describes herself as "Earth's last hope".
- Irony
- The Toonami Asia channel is available in several different Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia... but not in Japan.
- A few of the shows airing on Toonami Asia are very highly requested for Toonami on [adult swim].
- Lighter and Softer: While it isn't currently known if any of the shows are subjected to Bowdlerization, Glenn Bartlett, the man who runs the channel, has stated that Toonami Asia is aimed towards kids (and it shows, with most of the programs being American cartoons that were aimed at kids to begin with and don't require any censorship at all), unlike the more mature Toonami block currently airing on [adult swim] in the states.
- Massive Multiplayer Crossover: Might not look massive, but the Origin promo shows characters from Justice League Unlimited (and by extension, Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series), Ben 10, and Generator Rex all existing in the same universe.
- Tron Lines: NAMI's body.
