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Toonami 2003

A Total Immersion Event, often shortened to simply T.I.E., is an animated adventure featuring the Toonami hosts TOM and SARA. However, the fourth T.I.E. did not feature them and instead featured a completely original story called IGPX. There were a total of four T.I.E.s during Toonami's original run on Cartoon Network, and 7 more have aired during its current run on Adult Swim. The Toonami Total Immersion Events have all been produced by Williams Street, the producers of Toonami, with animation coming from outside animation studios.

History[]

Total Immersion Events were created when Cartoon Network launched the "Total Immersion Cartoon initiative" in 2000. The first Total Immersion Cartoon event, Toonami: The Intruder, was a 5-part on-air story that aired during Cartoon Network's afternoon action-adventure block and was augmented by exclusive online content available at Toonami.com. The result was a huge success for Cartoon Network, posting considerable increases from the previous year in several key demographics, including a 50% increase in viewers ages 9-14. Toonami.com's traffic was up 72% from the previous week, with more than 4.5 million page views for the week.[1]

During Toonami's run on Cartoon Network, T.I.E.s were week-long 5-part miniseries with one 2-3 minute episode of the T.I.E. airing on the block each day, Monday through Friday, during a commercial break. The first four T.I.Es followed this model, although The Intruder had two additional episodes that aired at later dates. Additionally, each T.I.E. had a tie-in video game that was playable on toonami.com during the event. Each day viewers could watch the Toonami broadcast, gather game codes and then play the games to further the storyline of the T.I.E.

T.I.E.s returned to Toonami on Adult Swim in 2015 and the format shifted due to the block's new 1-night-a-week format. Instead of airing over one week, T.I.E.s now air over multiple weeks with one episode airing each week during a commercial break. The T.I.E.s aired on Adult Swim are also less interactive for viewers, as no tie-in games have been created for them.

In February 2021, the first non-canonical Toonami Total Immersion Event, Cosmo Samurai was created by Toshiyuki Tsuru and animated by Telecom. Unlike all previous T.I.E.s (except IGPX) which are animated in 3-D using CGI, Cosmo Samurai is animated in 2-D in an anime art style. Cosmo Samurai is non-canonical because the Toonami crew had little to no involvement in its creation. It features the Toonami characters (i.e. TOM and SARA) but does not impact the ongoing Toonami narrative or the characters themselves.

The following year, from February 19-March 12, 2022, Toonami's second non-canonical T.I.E. Cosmo Samurai 2 aired. After the completion of Cosmo Samurai 2, a new canonical T.I.E titled The Return aired in celebration of Toonami's 25th Anniversary from March 19-26, 2022.

List of Total Immersion Events[]

Cartoon Network
No. Title Broadcast Dates Tie-in Game Tie-in Sweepstakes
01 The Intruder September 18-22, 2000
November 6, 2000
November 24, 2000
The Intruder "Absolution Afterburn" Sweepstakes
02 Lockdown September 17-21, 2001 Lockdown "Toonami Lockdown" Sweepstakes
03 Trapped in Hyperspace September 16-20, 2002 Trapped in Hyperspace "Toonami Trapped in Hyperspace" Sweepstakes
04 IGPX (Micro Series) September 15-19, 2003 IGPX "Toonami/Jak II" Sweepstakes
Adult Swim
No. Title Broadcast Dates Tie-in Comic Canonical Status
05 The Intruder II November 7, 2015
November 14, 2015
November 21, 2015
November 28, 2015
December 5, 2015
December 12, 2015
December 19, 2015
Intruder II Canonical
06 The Intruder III November 5, 2016
November 12, 2016
November 19, 2016
November 26, 2016
N/A
07 Countdown November 4, 2017
November 11, 2017
November 18, 2017
November 25, 2017
N/A
08 The Forge November 9, 2019
November 16, 2019
November 23, 2019
November 30, 2019
December 7, 2019
December 14, 2019
N/A
09 Cosmo Samurai February 6, 2021
February 13, 2021
February 20, 2021
February 27, 2021
N/A Non-canonical
10 Cosmo Samurai 2 February 19, 2022
February 26, 2022
March 5, 2022
March 12, 2022
N/A
11 The Return March 19, 2022
March 26, 2022
N/A Canonical

Trivia[]

  • The name “Total Immersion Event” comes from the immersive nature of the event. Providing viewers with more opportunities to interact with the Toonami characters and affect the lore. Including online content such as Flash games that tied into the storyline of the T.I.E.
  • The Toonami T.I.E.s usually result in a look overhaul of the Toonami block. Such as TOM and/or SARA getting a new body, a new broadcasting station being introduced, new graphics for promos and bumpers being introduced, etc.
  • Cartoon Network attempted other non-Toonami Total Immersion Events in 2000 and 2001, such as the "Big Pick" and the "Powerpuff Popularity Contest". However, none were as successful as the Toonami T.I.E.s.
  • Countdown is the only T.I.E. to be aired more than once on Toonami. It was re-aired in its entirety on April 7, 2018.
  • Cosmo Samurai and Cosmo Samurai 2 are considered non-canonical because while they feature the two Toonami hosts, TOM and SARA, the Toonami crew had little to no involvement in the creation of the T.I.E.s and have stated that the plots of these T.I.E.s will not impact the ongoing Toonami narrative or the characters themselves.

References[]

Toonami Events
Cartoon Network (1997-2008)
1997-1998 Superheroes WeekendRe-Quest Weekdays
1999 Lunar EclipseDBZ20XLDBZ Triple FeatureZ-Day
2000 DBZ President's Day Movie MarathonFull CycleDBZ: Garlic Jr. Saga Mini-Marathon
2001 New Year's EvilVillaintine's DayPower to the PeopleMidnight Run: Special EditionZoids Cubed
2002 A Night of New Year's Eve-ilBatman VS. SupermanMobile Game Unit5 Year AnniversaryJoker's DayIn-Flight Movies: Pick-a-FlickHe-Man-athonTransformers: Armada MarathonSamurai Jack Marathon
2003 Zoids: Chaotic Century Final FourGiant Robot WeekDBZ: Best of BuuBest of KenshinDBZ Movies
2004 Dragonball ChroniclesTransformers: Energon MarathonSamurai Jack\Clone Wars Marathon
2005 Clone Wars MarathonNaruto Year's Eve
2006 A Month of MiyazakiNaruto-athonNight of NarutoNaruto Marathon (November 2006)New Year's Eve's Eve
2007 Yu-Gi-Oh! GX MarathonNaruto Marathon (January 2007)10 Year AnniversaryNaruto Marathon (April 2007)KLIK Street Skating TourTransformers: Cybertron MarathonNaruto Independence MarathonNaruto Hundo
Adult Swim (2012-Present)
2012-2013 April Fools 2012Daylight SavingsMonth of Movies (2013)
2014 Space Dandy Premiere-athonAttack on Titan MarathonBeware the Batman BlowoutMonth of Movies (2014)
2015 Kill la Kill MarathonDBZ-AthonMichiko & Hatchin MarathonAkame Ga Kill! MarathonParasyte MarathonDBZ Kai Marathon (December 2015)One Piece Marathon
2016 DBZ Kai Power HourSamurai Champloo MarathonHunter x Hunter MarathonOne Punch Man MarathonGundam IBO MarathonJoJo's Bizarre Adventure MarathonDBZ Kai Marathon (December 2016)
2017 Samurai Jack Season 5 MarathonAttack on Titan S2 MarathonDBZ Kai Marathon (September 2017)Samurai Jack Marathon (October 2017)DBZ Kai Marathon (November 2017)Cowboy Bebop Holiday MarathonDragon Ball Super Marathon (December 2017)
2018 April Fools 2018FLCL MarathonMy Hero Academia MarathonAttack on Titan S3 MarathonDragon Ball Super Marathon (December 2018)Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Marathon
2019 Hunter x Hunter: Fan FavoriteDragon Ball Super Marathon (September 2019)Food Wars! MarathonOne Punch Man Season 2 MarathonDr. Stone Marathon
2020 DBZ Kai: Cell Saga MarathonDragon Ball Super Marathon (July 2020)Adult Swim Con: Toonami EditionToonami: Dark KnightsToonami Audience Takeover BracketThe Promised Neverland Halloween MarathonPrimal: Season 1 MarathonToonami’s night of Wonder WomanCowboy Bebop Marathon (December 2020)
2021 Harley Quinn MarathonDC FanDome Movie MarathonFena: Pirate Princess MarathonToonami's Black Friday Blade Runner Doorbuster EventBlade Runner: Black Lotus MarathonBlade Runner: Black Lotus Christmas Night Marathon
2022 Cowboy Bebop MarathonShenmue the Animation MarathonBatman NightHalloween Marathon (2022)My Hero Academia Season 5 MarathonPrimal MarathonFLCL Marathon
2023 Unicorn: Warriors Eternal Marathon (May 2023)Unicorn: Warriors Eternal Marathon (July 2023)FLCL Progressive MarathonFLCL Alternative MarathonFLCL: Grunge MarathonFLCL: Shoegaze Marathon
Total Immersion Events

The IntruderLockdownTrapped in HyperspaceIGPX Micro SeriesThe Intruder IIThe Intruder IIICountdownThe ForgeCosmo SamuraiCosmo Samurai 2The Return

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