Toonami: Rising Sun

Toonami: Rising Sun was a short lived Toonami programming block that premiered on April 15, 2000. The block initially ran Saturday mornings from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. On September 9, 2000, the schedule was moved to Saturday mornings from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. In late November, the block lost one hour, airing from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM until March 2001.

The block was initially canceled in early March of 2001. However, the Rising Sun was revived in February of 2002 in a late night/early morning time slot. The revived block aired on Sunday mornings from 2-3 AM and consisted of only Superman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series for its entire run until 2003.

Programming

 * Batman: The Animated Series
 * Dragon Ball Z
 * Gundam Wing
 * The Powerpuff Girls
 * Ronin Warriors
 * Tenchi Muyo!
 * Tenchi Universe
 * Thundercats
 * Sailor Moon
 * Superman: The Animated Series

April 15 - May 6, 2000 Lineup
The initial Rising Sun lineup included the premiere of ''Dragon Ball Z's "Garlic Jr." saga, double airings of Thundercats and Gundam Wing, and an episode of Ronin Warriors. This schedule consisted of: This schedule existed from April 15 - May 6, 2000.
 * 9:00 AM - Thundercats
 * 9:30 AM - Thundercats
 * 10:00 AM - Dragon Ball Z
 * 10:30 AM - Gundam Wing
 * 11:00 AM - Gundam Wing
 * 11:30 AM - Ronin Warriors

May 13 - 20, 2000 Lineup
On May 13th, Batman: The Animated Series and The Powerpuff Girls were added to the lineup, replacing Ronin Warriors and the second airing of Gundam Wing. Also Gundam Wing and Dragon Ball Z swapped time slots. This schedule consisted of: This schedule existed from May 13-20, 2000.
 * 9:00 AM - Thundercats
 * 9:30 AM - Thundercats
 * 10:00 AM - Gundam Wing
 * 10:30 AM - Dragon Ball Z
 * 11:00 AM - Batman: The Animated Series
 * 11:30 AM - The Powerpuff Girls

May 27, 2000 Lineup
On May 27th, for one week only, Batman moved to 11:30 AM pre-empting The Powerpuff Girls for the week. This was done so a second new episode of Dragon Ball Z's Garlic Jr. saga could premiere at 11:00 AM. This schedule consisted of: This schedule only existed on May 27, 2000.
 * 9:00 AM - Thundercats
 * 9:30 AM - Thundercats
 * 10:00 AM - Gundam Wing
 * 10:30 AM - Dragon Ball Z
 * 11:00 AM - Dragon Ball Z
 * 11:30 AM - Batman: The Animated Series

June 10 - July 1, 2000 Lineup
On June 10th, the schedule returned to normal. The Rising Sun was pre-empted on June 3rd due to the June Bugs marathon. This schedule consisted of: This schedule existed from June 10 - July 1, 2000.
 * 9:00 AM - Thundercats
 * 9:30 AM - Thundercats
 * 10:00 AM - Gundam Wing
 * 10:30 AM - Dragon Ball Z
 * 11:00 AM - Batman: The Animated Series
 * 11:30 AM - The Powerpuff Girls

July 8 - September 2, 2000 Lineup
On July 8th, Sailor Moon replaced Gundam Wing in the 10:00 AM time slot and Tenchi Muyo! replaced Batman: The Animated Series in the 10:30 AM time slot. In addition, Dragon Ball Z was moved down to the 11:00 AM time slot. The Rising Sun was pre-empted on August 26th due to the Cartoon Cartoon Weekend marathon. This schedule consisted of: This schedule existed from July 8 - September 2, 2000.
 * 9:00 AM - Thundercats
 * 9:30 AM - Thundercats
 * 10:00 AM - Sailor Moon
 * 10:30 AM - Tenchi Muyo!
 * 11:00 AM - Dragon Ball Z
 * 11:30 AM - The Powerpuff Girls

September 9 - October 7, 2000 Lineup
On September 9th, the Rising Sun was pushed back an hour and began airing from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. This schedule consisted of: This schedule existed from September 9 - October 7, 2000.
 * 10:00 AM - Thundercats
 * 10:30 AM - Thundercats
 * 11:00 AM - Sailor Moon
 * 11:30 AM - Tenchi Muyo!
 * 12:00 PM - Dragon Ball Z
 * 12:30 PM - The Powerpuff Girls

October 14 - December 2, 2000 Lineup
On October 14th, Tenchi Universe replaced Tenchi Muyo! in the 11:30 AM time slot. This schedule consisted of: This schedule existed from October 14 - December 2, 2000.
 * 10:00 AM - Thundercats
 * 10:30 AM - Thundercats
 * 11:00 AM - Sailor Moon
 * 11:30 AM - Tenchi Universe
 * 12:00 PM - Dragon Ball Z
 * 12:30 PM - The Powerpuff Girls

December 9, 2000 - March 3, 2001 Lineup
On December 9th, the Rising Sun lost an hour (10:00-11:00 AM) forcing The Powerpuff Girls and one airing of Thundercats to be removed. In addition, Thundercats took over the 11:00 AM time slot and Sailor Moon took over the 12:30 PM time slot. The Saturday morning version of the Rising Sun aired for the final time on March 3, 2001. Its time slot was taken over by reruns of Looney Tunes the following week. This schedule consisted of: This schedule existed from December 9, 2000 - March 3, 2001.
 * 11:00 AM - Thundercats
 * 11:30 AM - Tenchi Universe
 * 12:00 PM - Dragon Ball Z
 * 12:30 PM - Sailor Moon

Revived Rising Sun Lineup
On February 23, 2002, the Rising Sun was revived as a 1-hour Saturday night (early Sunday morning) block. The initial schedule of Superman: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series remained for the entire run of the block. On April 6th, the Rising Sun was pre-empted due to the beginning of Daylight Savings. This schedule consisted of: This schedule existed from February 23 - October 19, 2002.
 * 2:00 AM - Superman: The Animated Series
 * 2:30 AM - Batman: The Animated Series

October 26, 2002 Lineup
On October 26th, several 1940's Superman short films aired in-between Superman and Batman during the extra hour added by the ending of daylight saving time. The five films aired included: "Superman", "The Mechanical Monsters", "Terror On The Midway", "Volcano" and "The Magnetic Telescope". This schedule only existed on October 26, 2002.
 * 1:00 AM - Superman: The Animated Series
 * 1:30 AM - The Fleischer & Famous Superman Cartoons
 * 2:30 AM - Batman: The Animated Series

November 2, 2002 - January 4, 2003 Lineup
On November 2nd, the schedule returned to normal. Rising Sun aired for the final time on January 4, 2003. This schedule consisted of: This schedule existed from November 2, 2002 - January 4, 2003.
 * 2:00 AM - Superman: The Animated Series
 * 2:30 AM - Batman: The Animated Series