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Apparently Gundam SEED is taking a break or is cancelled. RUROUNI KENSHIN will be airing in the 10:30 PM slot, starting in mid October. It will be starting from the beginning, unfortunately. But there it is.
Okay, I'm convinced. Kenshin at 10:30 from now on. (SEED on the 30th was listed as episode 2, "Its Name: Gundam", anyway, so noone's loss.)
OCTOBER PREMIERES/NOTABLES:
10/09
7:30 - Rave Master - Fortress in Flight
8:00 - Teen Titans - Spellbound
9:30 - Yu Yu Hakusho - Kuwabara: Awakening
10:30 - Gundam SEED - The Land of Peace
10/16
7:30 - Rave Master - Fortress in Flight (Part 503)
8:00 - Teen Titans - Revolution
9:30 - Yu Yu Hakusho - Sensui's Fall
10:30 - Gundam SEED - Moment
10/23
7:30 - Rave Master - Out of Time
8:00 - Teen Titans - Wavelength
9:30 - Yu Yu Hakusho - Divide and Conquer
10:30... AND RISING BACK FROM THE GRAVE: Rurouni Kenshin - Handsome Swordsman of Legend
10/30
7:30 - Rave Master - Out of Time (Part i don't know who cares)
8:00 - Teen Titans - The Beast Within
9:00 - MEGAS XLR - Coop D'Etat (hey, maybe they'll air it this time)
9:30 - Yu Yu Hakusho - The Human Race
Guess I won't be seeing SEED for a while. Kenshini's a good show, but still... we've already seen it before and not SEED (although I've seen it all but wish to see it again).
At least they're not ending it on Episode 30 or anything.
First of all, Rurouni Kenshin deserves a place on Toonami. To my mind it should've been in the new lineup in the first place rather than having it removed along with SVES. Even if its only for a little while, I'm glad they're giving a nod to the show and having it back.
Second of all, with regards to Gundam SEED I subscribe to the "season theory," if we want to call it that. Consider the timing. Without giving too much away here -- Episode 26, "Moment" is a clip show that covers things up to that point. The following 27th episode is a quasi-clip show, with a fair bit of new material but also a lot of references back to what happened in the first half (the greater part of the episode consists of a certain someone writing a report on the Strike, which necessarily references Kira's experiences piloting it).
In other words, by cutting things off here they are ending the first airing with a summary, and with a second airing they're leading into it with a recap of previous events along with the beginning of the next series of events that happen. Take it from someone who knows: If their plan is to take SEED off for a break and then pick it up again, this is the PERFECT point to do it. They're stopping at the absolute best place in terms of continuity, and at a point where there's an overall break in action in the series. If they stop sooner its right in the middle of the journey the Archangel takes starting with this Saturday's episode. Far more critically, if they stop later it'll be when the entire storyline is turned on its head, and things change drastically. Trust me, you guys do not want them stopping at any point on or beyond episode 29 and 30. To be frank, breaking it at any point other than the one they've chosen would be stupid. There is no better way to split the show into two halves, period.
What does this mean? Logic seems to indicate that the break is calculated, not at all the as Mobile Suit Gundam getting abruptly yanked at an inappropiate point -- not that post-9/11 sensibilites combined with subpar ratings is necessarily inappropiate, I mean merely the late point the show itself was at.
Thirdly, to believe Gundam SEED is gone for good is to believe that Kenshin is here for the long-term. I don't believe for a minute Rurouni Kenshin is a permanment replacement for Gundam SEED. As I recall it wasn't exactly getting spectacular ratings on Toonami before, and frankly in light of that and what Sean Atkins said about the show I'm a bit surprised (though pleased) its back at all. As such, its implausible that Kenshin is replacing Gundam SEED due to popularity! What I do believe is that given the slight increase in Toonami's demographic (9-14 as opposed to the even younger demographic Miguzi is geared toward) they wanted to give Kenshin another chance and see how well it'd resonate with Toonami's current audience.
I also suspect that Bandai has an interest in this. Gundam SEED's DVD release schedule beyond volume 3 is an unknown, but its possible that as it is the DVD release would fall behind the TV run, which is something Bandai may see as undesirable. By delaying the show a bit Bandai has a chance to catch up and their interests are met, and in the meantime Toonami gets to test the waters with Kenshin, where if it does well it could replace something like Rave Master and if it doesn't than SEED just takes over again and everything is status quo.
I believe there are rational and practical reasons behind what's being done here as laid out above. From where I'm standing it all makes a good deal of sense, and I for one am fine with this. The sky isn't falling, Gundam isn't dead, and CN isn't doing this to make us hate them.
Okay, I'm convinced. Kenshin at 10:30 from now on. (SEED on the 30th was listed as episode 2, "Its Name: Gundam", anyway, so noone's loss.)
OCTOBER PREMIERES/NOTABLES:
10/09
7:30 - Rave Master - Fortress in Flight
8:00 - Teen Titans - Spellbound
9:30 - Yu Yu Hakusho - Kuwabara: Awakening
10:30 - Gundam SEED - The Land of Peace
10/16
7:30 - Rave Master - Fortress in Flight (Part 503)
8:00 - Teen Titans - Revolution
9:30 - Yu Yu Hakusho - Sensui's Fall
10:30 - Gundam SEED - Moment
10/23
7:30 - Rave Master - Out of Time
8:00 - Teen Titans - Wavelength
9:30 - Yu Yu Hakusho - Divide and Conquer
10:30... AND RISING BACK FROM THE GRAVE: Rurouni Kenshin - Handsome Swordsman of Legend
10/30
7:30 - Rave Master - Out of Time (Part i don't know who cares)
8:00 - Teen Titans - The Beast Within
9:00 - MEGAS XLR - Coop D'Etat (hey, maybe they'll air it this time)
9:30 - Yu Yu Hakusho - The Human Race
Guess I won't be seeing SEED for a while. Kenshini's a good show, but still... we've already seen it before and not SEED (although I've seen it all but wish to see it again).
At least they're not ending it on Episode 30 or anything.
First of all, Rurouni Kenshin deserves a place on Toonami. To my mind it should've been in the new lineup in the first place rather than having it removed along with SVES. Even if its only for a little while, I'm glad they're giving a nod to the show and having it back.
Second of all, with regards to Gundam SEED I subscribe to the "season theory," if we want to call it that. Consider the timing. Without giving too much away here -- Episode 26, "Moment" is a clip show that covers things up to that point. The following 27th episode is a quasi-clip show, with a fair bit of new material but also a lot of references back to what happened in the first half (the greater part of the episode consists of a certain someone writing a report on the Strike, which necessarily references Kira's experiences piloting it).
In other words, by cutting things off here they are ending the first airing with a summary, and with a second airing they're leading into it with a recap of previous events along with the beginning of the next series of events that happen. Take it from someone who knows: If their plan is to take SEED off for a break and then pick it up again, this is the PERFECT point to do it. They're stopping at the absolute best place in terms of continuity, and at a point where there's an overall break in action in the series. If they stop sooner its right in the middle of the journey the Archangel takes starting with this Saturday's episode. Far more critically, if they stop later it'll be when the entire storyline is turned on its head, and things change drastically. Trust me, you guys do not want them stopping at any point on or beyond episode 29 and 30. To be frank, breaking it at any point other than the one they've chosen would be stupid. There is no better way to split the show into two halves, period.
What does this mean? Logic seems to indicate that the break is calculated, not at all the as Mobile Suit Gundam getting abruptly yanked at an inappropiate point -- not that post-9/11 sensibilites combined with subpar ratings is necessarily inappropiate, I mean merely the late point the show itself was at.
Thirdly, to believe Gundam SEED is gone for good is to believe that Kenshin is here for the long-term. I don't believe for a minute Rurouni Kenshin is a permanment replacement for Gundam SEED. As I recall it wasn't exactly getting spectacular ratings on Toonami before, and frankly in light of that and what Sean Atkins said about the show I'm a bit surprised (though pleased) its back at all. As such, its implausible that Kenshin is replacing Gundam SEED due to popularity! What I do believe is that given the slight increase in Toonami's demographic (9-14 as opposed to the even younger demographic Miguzi is geared toward) they wanted to give Kenshin another chance and see how well it'd resonate with Toonami's current audience.
I also suspect that Bandai has an interest in this. Gundam SEED's DVD release schedule beyond volume 3 is an unknown, but its possible that as it is the DVD release would fall behind the TV run, which is something Bandai may see as undesirable. By delaying the show a bit Bandai has a chance to catch up and their interests are met, and in the meantime Toonami gets to test the waters with Kenshin, where if it does well it could replace something like Rave Master and if it doesn't than SEED just takes over again and everything is status quo.
I believe there are rational and practical reasons behind what's being done here as laid out above. From where I'm standing it all makes a good deal of sense, and I for one am fine with this. The sky isn't falling, Gundam isn't dead, and CN isn't doing this to make us hate them.
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