Toonami Absolution

Jon has dug up another oddity from the Toonami vault: G.I. Joe: Spy Troops, a 2003 animated movie designed to promote a new line of G.I. Joe action figures (which were meant to be their own continuity).  The G.I. Joe team made new remote control weapons. Alas, Cobra stole them, forcing the Joes to get them back before Cobra Commander can use them to cause chaos.  However, despite its sim...

Last week, we left Beast Wars on a cliffhanger with The Trigger - Part 1. Can the second part (fittingly called The Trigger - Part 2) capitalize on the hype or will the weird floating island be nothing more than a brief holiday for our Transformer pals?  We also tackle Spider's Game, one of the oddest episodes of Transformers: Beast Wars to date, as the show takes a sudden and unexpected turn...

A strange double bill of Cowboy Bebop this week. We start with Wild Horses, an episode that reminds us that space is a dangerous place, where anything can go wrong, forcing Spike and Jet to put their flying skills to the test.  This is followed by the creepiest Cowboy Bebop episode, “Pierrot Le Fou” where Spike comes face-to-face with an evil clown who will stop at nothing to take him out. Ho...

Week 16 ends with Trigun: Badlands Rumble. This 2010 movie sees the legendary Vash the Stampede, get entangled in an epic heist that has been planned for years. Can Vaush take down Gasback before he makes off with the greatest prize possible, and just why has Nicholas D. Wolfwood opted to help this notorious outlaw. Plus, we talk about one of the best nights of Adult Swim in history! **** Toonami...

What does it mean to be alive? Well the first of our two Beast Wars' episodes "The Trigger" answers this question with a simple and easy-to-understand answer: Big glowing balls! Due to this, we have our first encounter with "Spark" one of the most important bits of Transformers' lore! After that, we watch "The Trigger Part 1" where a floating island threatens to end the Beast Wars once and for all...

This week, we indulge in a little Mushroom Samba, after Edward decides to feed the other members of the Bebop crew mushrooms with some interesting side-effects. After this, things get heavy when Faye is once against to confront her past Speak Like A Child. Thus, this week's Cowboy Bebop can be summed up in two words: Emotional Whiplash. **** Toonami Absolution is a weekly podcast where Alyx, Jon,...

The idea of a Tony Hawk movie doesn't sound that weird on the paper. However, when you hear "Tony Hawk Movie" you likely don't imagine an animated feature where Tony Hawk fights a group of evil circus clowns. Tony Hawk in Boom Boom Sabotage might the weirdest and worst film we've done so far on the podcast, so grab your helmet and knee pads, as its going to be a bumpy ride! **** Toonami Absolution...

Dark Designs and Double Dinobot are this week's bits of Transformers Beast Wars madness. These episodes are fascinating as we learn that all the Predacons are evil scientists in their freetime and that free will may not exist in the Transformers' universe. Combine this with Megatron getting a big of one-on-one time with his personal Dinobot and you're left with two really fascinating episodes of B...

This week on Cowboy Bebop, Spike steps out of the limelight, allowing the other Bebop crewmembers to shine. In My Funny Valentine, we finally learn more about Faye's tearjerking history and in Black Dog Serenade we follow Jet as he goes on a mission that brings him face-to-face with his past, leading to some of Cowboy Bebop's most fascinating and memorable scenes. **** Toonami Absolution is a week...

Jon ends our Christmas week (or begins our Boxing Day celebrations if you're in the UK) by opting the play the Grinch. Itsudatte My Santa is a 2-episode OVA based on a one-shot manga by Love Hina creator Ken Akamatsu. It is one of the most unhinged things in anime history, as it approaches the mythology of Christmas from a really odd angle, leading many moments that will have you scratching your h...

Alyx's choice for our holiday party is "Comfort and Joy" the 23rd episode of Justice League's second season. This episode follows various members of the Justice League as they enjoy their holiday traditions, from Superman's quiet Christmas on the farm with Ma and Pa Kent, to Green Lantern's unexpected Christmas brawl. Plus, we also work out which DC characters we would want to spend Christmas with...

Welcome to Toonami Absolution's holiday week! This week, we'll be diving into three slices of festive-themed media. Sam is starting the week off with Tokyo Godfathers, Satoshi Kon's legendary tragicomedy that follows three people experiencing homelessness as they race across Tokyo on Chrismtas eve, deterimed to reunite a baby with its parents. Widely conisdered a classic, the film is always an emo...

Shonen anime endings (especially those based on Shonen Jump series) tend to be predictable. The hero saves the day, defeats the evil, and walks off into the sunset with the girl. However, Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa decided to buck the trend, completing the Fullmetal Alchemist storyline by throwing Edward Elric into 1930s Germany and inserting him into a political thrille...

This week, we tackle "The Probe," an episode that turns Beast Wars on its head, reminding viewers that Cybertron (and thus the regular Transformers timeline is still part of this story). We also dive into "Victory" an episode that teases the idea that the Maximals may finally be able to escape the planet and return home. However, due to Victory being the 12th episode of a 26 episode series, you ca...

We pick up Cowboy Bebop where we left off last week, with Jupiter Jazz (Part 2). Will Spike be able to dig himself out of the snow after his encounter with Vicious or will his friends have to come and bail him out? After that, we take a surreal jaunt into Bohemian Rhapsody, as Edward finally gets their chance to shine as they go head-to-head with a mysterious chess player. **** Toonami Absolution...

It is time to D-d-d-d-d-d-duel! After Pokémon made millions at the box office, it was only a matter of time before Yu-Gi-Oh had a crack at the big screen. Alas, despite getting help from an actual Egyptologist, Yugi's attempt didn't go as well. But it does mean Alyx gets to flex her Ancient Egypt, meaning Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light is a rare episode of Toonami Absolution where you may l...

This week we dive into A Better Mousetrap and Gorilla Warfare. So we get to see Rattrap do his best James Bond impression and Optimus Primal go evil for a little bit. Plus, Optimus and Dinobot's strange romance subplot somehow intensifies, to the point that it really doesn't feel like subtext anymore. Plus, Jon has fun explaining why 'slag' the Transformer's fake swear of choice, is really funny f...

In one of the biggest moments of tonal shift we're get this block, we tackle Toys In The Attic to Jupiter Jazz (Part 1). This means we go from a funny, charming parody of Alien to one of the most emotional episodes of Bebop yet, as Spike comes face-to-face with Vicious, leading to one of Bebop's most memorable cliffhangers. **** Toonami Absolution is a weekly podcast where Alyx, Jon, and Sam revis...

This week we're saving the world before bedtime! Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup's big screen outing tackles the girl's origin story including their first clash with the evil Mojo Jojo. We also dig into the movie's weird production history and its surprising links to the early days of Adult Swim, and take a moment to enjoy some very strange critic reviews. **** Toonami Absolution is a weekly podca...

This week on Beast Wars we tackle Fallen Comrades and Double Jeopardy and meet two brand-new transformers in the form of Tigatron and Blackarachnia. Alyx also fills us in on the lore surrounding Protoforms, Beast Wars' newest plot device. One that raises really weird questions about the nature of free will in the Transformers universe **** Toonami Absolution is a weekly podcast where Alyx, Jon, an...

Radical Edward is here! This week's Cowboy Bebop drops us into Jamming With Edward and Ganymede Elegy, meaning we finally get to meet the final (and most memorable) member of the Bebop crew. We also enjoy the most mean-spirited reference in Cowboy Bebop history, as they take a moment to make a dig at a specific magician. **** Toonami Absolution is a weekly podcast where Alyx, Jon, and Sam revisit...

Jon ruins the podcast by picking Bionicle: Mask of Light as this week's movie. Thus, we are forced to quickly come to terms with the fact that Bionicle has massive amounts of confusing lore, and numerous plot points that are only explained in some now hard-to-find comics. Plus, we dive into Toonami's strange Bionicle: Mask of Light tie-in stuff, which included sweepstakes and an exclusive bonus en...

Beast Wars takes a weird twist this week. Not only do we visit Spinal Tap's favorite prehistoric megalithic structure and find it was created by aliens, but we also discover that mountains of Energon are a great way to shoehorn in a clumsy PSA about forbidden chemicals. But at least we get more Dinobot, so that's something. **** Toonami Absolution is a weekly podcast where Alyx, Jon, and Sam revis...

This week's Cowboy Bebop installment sees us tackle Heavy Metal Queen and Waltz for Venus. So, we finally get to see the Bebop crew complete a bounty, and get to experience one of the most emotional Cowboy Bebop episodes in the whole series, as Spike meets an annoying fanboy who is stuck in a deeply tragic situation. We also delve more into Adult Swim's issues scheduling and broadcasting Bebop in...

The Iron Giant is a kids' movie that deserves way more love. This tale of a boy and his robots made us all cry as kids and it is still making us cry over a decade later. We also spend some time talking about how Toonami really had no idea how to market films like The Iron Giant, leading to some very confusing promos. **** Toonami Absolution is a weekly podcast where Alyx, Jon, and Sam revisit the...