Toonami Stops Airing Major Anime After Two Decades

Toonami has been a major part of anime culture, from its curated list of dubbed anime to the voice of Cowboy Bebop protagonist Spike Spiegel and Naruto antagonist Orochimaru, Steve Blum, as the programming block’s host TOM.

One of Toonami’s biggest names, Naruto, is about to off the year after a total of 19 years of service.

Fans on Reddit, Facebook and other platforms began to give their comments, expressing gratitude for the services Toonami provided by broadcasting one of the most popular long-running anime of all time.

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The English dub for Naruto has had quite a colorful history in the Toonami block, having been aired in Toonami since September 10, 2005. 

However, by September 20, 2008, Cartoon Network suspended the Toonami block but would continue to air Naruto episodes until January 31, 2009, when episode 209 was aired, and it would be the last Naruto episode on Cartoon Network due to the closure of Toonami Jetstream.

Eventually, Adult Swim relaunched Toonami and reran the first 52 episodes of Naruto in an uncut format from December 1, 2012, to November 30, 2013. 

Afterwards, Naruto Shippuden would take its place, beginning in January 5, 2014, this time uninterrupted for the next ten years.

Although the anime itself finished airing on March 23, 2017 after a 10-year run, Toonami would broadcast dubbed episodes of Naruto Shippuden that were never before aired anywhere else, starting with Epsiode 339 by May 2021. 

Toonami became the only other source besides Blu-rays for the English release of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden.

About Naruto

Naruto began as a manga written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto, serialized from 1999 to 2014 at Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump Magazine. The Naruto anime began release on October 3, 2002 by Studio Pierrot (Bleach, Black Clover) under Hayato Date’s direction, who would also go on to direct its sequel Naruto Shippuden, which went on until March 23, 2017. Within its 72 volumes and 720 episodes, Naruto tells the story of Naruto and his journey to become Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village while being burdened as the vessel of the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Sources: Reddit and Facebook

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