Curation is Art
The programming block that inspired a generation
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a huge fan of animation. It started when I was a kid and my mom would constantly put on Lion King or Finding Nemo to distract me while she would clean up the house. Once I grew a little older I gravitated towards watching more animated shows like: Dexter’s Laboratory, Teen Titans, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Samurai Jack, the list can go on forever. I found them so entertaining, every show was great and so different from each other.
My usual days as a kid consisted of walking to my best friends house after school, eat lunch his grandma made us, try to finish our homework and then run outside to play for hours until my mom finished working and came to pick me up. I would come back home and realize that once I turned on the TV, I missed all the good shows I liked, or…that’s what I thought at least.
Toonami
There was something so special and captivating about this introduction at midnight. It was the moment that the “regular” TV stopped and went to bed, almost telling me that it’s late and I should be asleep by now. Instead, it took me by the arm and introduced me to a whole new world.
Toonami was a pioneer for bringing Anime to the mainstream in the U.S. It wasn’t just because of the shows they brought on, it was everything that was surrounding it. The curation, the aesthetic and the respectful treatment of the broadcast. It was almost as someone was introducing you to something they had a great deal of passion for, when that passion is brought forward with care, it can become infectious.
Sure, other channels were broadcasting anime years prior, but they lacked the care and insight Toonami had, usually talking down to the kids and dumbing everything down as kids channels usually do.
This is where Toonami set themselves apart.
Curation is Everything
Toonami wasn’t just a block, it felt like a show in and of itself almost. T.O.M would talk to you like he cared about you and even give you speeches about respect, friends, dreams and even give you life advice. He would undergo upgrades and even death sometimes, but he always came back. They had backstories explaining what happened to T.O.M, growing up and changing as the audience did.
The purpose of T.O.M, the host, was to be an older brother to the viewer. He would bring you the best shows, the best music, the coolest things possible and blew your mind every time. Every single detail of the block was hand picked including the voice actor for T.O.M which is the iconic Steve Blum. A voice that is almost, if not just as iconic as Morgan Freeman to me.
Toonami was also known for their very recognizable music. Other channels usually had a set “library” of music they were allowed to use and had the rights to. As you can imagine, the music they were able to use was not that good and very generic. They took matters into their own hands and started reaching out artists to create music for the block.
They thought to themselves “What music do we listen to?” the answer was: Heavy Metal, Drum and Bass and Hip-Hop. Heavy Metal wasn’t fitting the vibe they were going for so they stuck with DnB and old school Hip-Hop. This is where the music for the bumpers came into play.
Good Anime + Good Music = Toonami’s secret formula
Toonami knew what they had to do and this is why it is such an iconic block. Many including me can thank them for introducing them into the world of Anime and modern pop culture.
There’s an art to curation, more than just an algorithm. It comes from a place of genuine love of the craft and a meaningful relationship with the audience.
See you soon!
-SM
post: This was something I’ve been wanting to write for a while but every time I tried I always made it waay too “long and boring”, but I realized nerding out on here is why I made this. Hope you enjoyed.
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