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  • Alas, Poor Scrappy:
    • The same fans who spent the last two years referring to TOM 4 as "Tom-ass the Toonami Engine" cried when he left. It was because a simple word ("Bang...") reminded the older audience - the ones who had watched Toonami through all eleven years - that they weren't forgotten. Sure, we thought they had when they started milking Naruto for all it was worth, (practically) changed hosts, and got rid of all the credible shows and original series. But what Tom said - what Steven Jay Blum said - just meant so much more. The fact that a certain imageboard practically broke down during the last hour or so of the final run, overwhelmed with nostalgia and begging each other to do something to stop Toonami from shutting down simply adds to the heartbreak. In short, Toonami with a crappy looking host is still better than no Toonami at all.
    • Say what you want about Swayzak, but Jason's hatred of him is unwarranted. 18 years and still no reappearance.
  • And the Fandom Rejoiced: One of the biggest praises about TOM and the block in general is that they really knows how to please the fans. Such instances include:
  • Audio Erotica:
  • Badass Adorable: TOM 1 and especially TOM 2. Sara 2 and 4 can also definitely count.
  • Broken Base:
    • Both TOM 4 and Swayzak are this, with fans split over if they were genuinely good characters or should be treated like trash.
    • Either Countdown was generally okay, or you're one of the people who hate it, and have a few good reasons Sara shouldn't have been able to become evil.
  • Crowning Moment of Heartwarming: The revival in general, but especially for people who are imaginative. Toonami's Midnight Run is sometimes thought of as the beginning of Adult Swim. Therefore, the revival could be thought of as a son bringing his father back to life.
  • Crowning Music of Awesome: The one-minute techno remixes used to introduce each show were so awesome, they eventually put out a soundtrack.
  • Ear Worm: The music playing in Episode 4 of The Intruder. It was played again in at least one Toonami game review during the TOM 2 era. Nobody knows the name of it or how to find it, so what commonly should done is looping The Intruder episode 4 over and over again until you've had enough of the music.
  • Ensemble Darkhorse:
    • My god, where do we begin with Swayzak. He was generally a mixed bag at first, with some people liking him, some people not, until circa 2016 when a few fans in the community made him the most requested character to return on the AS Toonami, and went on a neverending search to find the game tie-in to his TIE. As a result of these fans' persistence, Jason DeMarco hates Swayzak. Or so it seems.
    • TOMs 2 and 3 are the most popular TOMs in the fandom. No doubt about that.
  • Evil Is Sexy:
    • Swayzak from Trapped in Hyperspace to some, due to his slim body and deep, commanding voice. Taken Up to Eleven in Sara's review of Rez, where he has a higher, British-sounding voice. Sadly, it's just a laugh.
    • TOM 2 when he was infected by Swayzak in the Trapped in Hyperspace game. Take Steve Blum's already sexy voice and make it sound evil (and give him an Evil Laugh to top it all off) and you've got the definition of this trope.
    • Apparently, a few male fans found Future Sara from Countdown sexy... even though she's honestly the worst villain out of the Toonami repertoire.
  • Fan Nickname:
    • As mentioned above, "Tom-ass the Toonami Engine" for TOM 4.
    • "Vindication" for Future Sara due to her Ghostbusters reference in Episode 4 of Countdown.
  • Gateway Series: Entire generations of fans learned about anime in general from the block - without it, the anime boom of the early 2000s would likely have never happened.
  • Germans Love David Hasselhoff: Toonami was almost single handedly responsible for popularizing franchises such as Gundam, Rurouni Kenshin, Naruto, and above all Dragonball Z in the US. Shows that bombed in Japan like The Big O made it big in America on this program.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Memetic Mutation:
    • Almost anything out of Swayzak's mouth is sure to become a meme. Especially the things he said during the Trapped in Hyperspace game; the most popular being "I love it when a plan comes together."
      • TOM's violent head shaking as he tries to resist Swayzak's control when he's being infected by him in the final level.
    • "Toonami's back, bitches!" "Wait, did you just say Toonami's back, bitches?"
    • From The Intruder II: "Uh, no?"
      • "GYARGH! Ugh... AUUUUUUUGH... *heavy breathing*"[1]
    • For some reason, D has become the most memetic character out of all the TOM 4 era characters. "If you leave now, you'll be sad; you'll be all cryin' 'Why did I leave?'"
    • TOM foreshadowed a meme during his review of Dropship: "I've played it, like, 9000 times and I just can't..." The "ehh" sound he makes afterwards has become memetic as well.
    • "Oh hai, Adult Swim! Got the results of the test back, and you definitely have April Fools!"
      • "He's got 99 problems, and these bitches are the main ones."
      • "Pick up the DVDs wherever you can find them."
    • TOM 1's Narmy death scream in the first Intruder: "No, no wait, no, no, NAOOOOOOOO..."
    • TOM talking smack about Jake Long.
    • Future Sara is pretty popular Snark Bait over at a certain subreddit, due to Countdown being written by Batgirl of Burnside writer Brendan Fletcher.
    • The way people were informed of Sara 2's voice actress, Samantha Robson, after Jason DeMarco said he wanted her to remain anonymous.[2]
    • TOM 2 being such a "cutie."
    • TOM 2 is Peter Parker.[3]
    • From a Sensor Room segment on the UK version of Toonami: "YEE-ESS!"[4]
    • "Ah... good ol' DBZ."[5]
    • "Municipalities and homes being wiped away in a flash! Thousands of people burning and dying!"[6]
  • Moe:
    • Sara's pretty moe, isn't she? Especially as Sara 2 and Sara 4, being a magical AI pixie as the latter.
    • TOM 1 also counts, especially in the first Intruder (in more ways than one.)
    • Don't forget TOM 2, who's a "cutie" with his adorable dorkiness and shortness.
  • More Popular Spinoff: Of Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
  • Narm: TOM 1's death scream in the original Intruder. That Big No sounds straight out of Mega Man X4.
  • Nostalgia Filter:
    • A lot of love for Toonami is because of this. But then again, a lot of this (and love for Toonami overall) is also because it was just that good, and because of TOM and Sara.
    • This is also part of the reasons why some fans want TOM 2 back.
  • Network Decay:
  • Periphery Demographic:
    • TOM's final farewell closed with a reference to Cowboy Bebop - a show that had appeared on Adult Swim, but never Toonami, until the relaunch, that is. Of course, Spike and TOM were voiced by the same guy, so...
    • The block has dedicated female fans (which is why Sailor Moon and Hamtaro aired on the block), and the AS block has fans younger than the intended target audience, especially kids who sneak downstairs and try to watch Adult Swim.
  • Replacement Scrappy:
    • TOM for Moltar, and TOM v4 for TOM v3.
    • TOM v3 for TOM v2.
    • "Vindication" (Future Sara) from Countdown for Swayzak from Trapped in Hyperspace, at least when you don't remember Countdown was never meant to have any connection to any other TIE.
      • Even worse, if you google "Toonami Swayzak," at least one of the image results is Future Sara. Even Google is trolling us!
  • The Scrappy: TOM 4 and Future Sara. Also, depending on who you are, Swayzak, no doubt thanks to a few obsessive fans, who have become worried it's all their fault the world hates Swayzak.
  • They Changed It, Now It Sucks:
    • Most of the revamps got this, but the last revamp was the worst, no doubt thanks to the block being cut down to two hours a week, TOM 4, Sara's disappearance, and (finally) the cancellation of the block.
    • The 2012 revival has become a Base Breaker. Opposers complain about the Darker and Edgier - Hotter and Sexier elements (*cough* TOM *cough* if you're that type of person), the later time slot, the poor launch lineup, and the fact it's near indistinguishable from Adult Swim's normal anime block. Supporters are just happy that Adult Swim is (showing interest of) returning to it's roots after the whole Network Decay fiasco that ravaged Cartoon Network during the late 2000's, and say that it'll get better shows and an expanded timeslot if it gets support.
    • Sara not being voiced by Sally Timms or Samantha Robson.
    • Things were like this ever since day one of the TOM 3 era, as TOM 2 had grown onto many fans.
  • Uncanny Valley:
    • The TOM 4 era Robot Buddies had movable facial features (made by Pixar's Renderman software) and gave the distinct impression that they would eat your face if you changed the channel. Or didn't change the channel.
    • Swayzak can definitely look straight out of the Uncanny Valley because of his hard to see pupils.
    • Fuckin' Future Sara looks straight out of the Uncanny Valley. Someone Kill It with Fire!
  • The Woobie:
    • TOM 1 in the first Intruder. His defenses against the blob are useless and he gets eaten.
    • TOM 2 in the Endgame comic, as he gets destroyed by Orcelot Rex and thrown in the garbage. How DARE you do that to TOM 2!
    • TOM 4, Flash, and D in The Intruder II, because they were killed by TOMtruder in a promotional comic taking place before the events of the TIE.
    • We can't forget Sara in Countdown, who dies from being shocked to death in an unknown nebula and turns into a bloodthirsty zombie alien intelligence. ...Yeah. That happened.
    • TOM 5 in The Forge, as he gets shot by the forge commander and dies.

Cquote1

 Only Toonami

Cquote2
  1. TOM's... sounds when his arm is rendered useless.
  2. A fan basically had to broadcast it to the world by dropping it in DMs, stating it on Twitter, etc.
  3. Due to his awkward dorkiness, fans have compared TOM 2 to Raimi's version of Peter Parker.
  4. British TOM's weird way of saying "yes."
  5. From a March 2002 Toonami promo. It has been stated to be "TOM at his dorkiest."
  6. A quote from a fanfic retelling Trapped in Hyperspace written back in 2010. It was... not good.
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