Toonzai

Toonzai was a Saturday morning cartoon block that was broadcast on The CW from May 24, 2008 to August 18, 2012. The block was created as a result of a four-year agreement between 4Kids Entertainment and The CW. The original name for the block from 2008 to 2010, The CW4Kids (stylized as CW4K!DS), was retained as a sub-brand through the end of the block's run in order to fulfill branding obligations per 4Kids Entertainment's contract to lease The CW's Saturday morning time slots. The name is a portmanteau of "toon" and the Japanese term banzai, reflecting the majority of anime programming on the block.

Toonzai

Network	The CW
Launched	May 24, 2008
Closed	August 18, 2012
Country of origin	United States
Owner	4Kids Entertainment
Formerly known as	The CW4Kids (2008–2010)
Format	Saturday morning cartoon block
Running time	5 hours (7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)
Original language(s)	English

On April 12, 2013, the Toonzai website redirected to the Vortexx website. On October 4, 2014, none of 4Kids' shows air on broadcast television anymore, as Vortexx ended its run.

History

Origin and launch

On October 2, 2007, The CW announced due to a joint decision between the network's parent companies Time Warner and CBS Corporation that it would discontinue the Kids' WB programming block, due to the effects of children's advertising limits and competition from cable television, and sell the programming time to 4Kids Entertainment.[1][2][3] Kids' WB ended its run on The CW on May 17, 2008 (Kids' WB, like The WB Television Network that the block originated, then relaunched as an online-only video on demand service). 4Kids Entertainment took over programming the block on May 24, 2008, premiering under the name The CW4Kids. In addition to programming the block, 4Kids also handled responsibilities for its content and advertising revenue.

The CW4Kids logo used exclusively from May 24, 2008 to August 7, 2010. The logo was still being used as a sub-brand to the Toonzai name until August 18, 2012.

At the time of the block's launch, 4Kids also programmed the competing 4Kids TV block for Fox, until that network nullified its time leasing agreement with 4KidsTV on December 27, 2008, due to a dispute between Fox and 4Kids involving 4Kids' failure to pay the network for its time lease, and the network's inability to maintain guaranteed clearances for the block, due to difficulties getting Fox affiliates and stations that would be used as default carriers of the block in markets where the Fox station did not carry 4Kids TV to air it.[4]

On April 27, 2010, 4Kids announced the rebranding of The CW4Kids under the new name Toonzai, a name change that took effect on August 14, 2010.[5][6]

Takeover by Saban Brands and end of Toonzai

On June 26, 2012, Kidsco Media Ventures, an affiliate of Saban Capital Group, finalized a bid to acquire 4Kids' agreement with The CW for the block.[7] On July 2, 2012, it was announced that Saban Brands, via Kidsco Media Ventures, began programming the block, which would be relaunched under the name Vortexx.[8][9] Toonzai quietly ended its run on The CW on August 18, 2012 after a Yu-Gi-Oh! marathon, with Vortexx premiering the following week on August 25, 2012. Some of Toonzai's programming, including Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Sonic X, and Dragon Ball Z Kai continued to air on the block until September 27, 2014, when Vortexx ended its run.[10][8][11][12][13]

Programming

It was the final children's block on The CW to be broadcast only in standard definition, because blocks like Litton's Weekend Adventure on ABC and NBC Kids were broadcast in high definition.

Programming differences

In most markets, CW affiliates used the network's recommended Saturday morning scheduling for the block – though some such as CW owned-and-operated station WUPA in Atlanta aired it on Sunday, instead due to regular Saturday programming. Connecticut affiliate WCCT-TV aired three hours on Saturday, and two hours on Sunday. KMAX-TV in Sacramento, California aired the entire lineup, but it had a four-hour tape delay, running from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. WLFL in Raleigh, North Carolina and WNUV in Baltimore, aired the entire lineup, but it had two hours earlier, running from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. San Diego's XETV-TV, aired three hours from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and two hours from 10:00 a.m. to Noon. San Antonio's KMYS, which affiliated with The CW in 2010, aired it on Sunday and Monday before 5:00 a.m. Other stations preempted portions of the block; Shreveport, Louisiana's KPXJ-TV preempted the final hour of the block. Columbus, Georgia's WLTZ-DT2 preempted the first half-hour of the block.

While The CW recommended that its affiliates carry The CW4Kids/Toonzai block at 7:00 a.m. to Noon Saturday mornings (regardless of time zone), its secondary CW Plus national feed for smaller markets aired the Toonzai block an hour earlier on its broadcast and cable-only affiliates in the Central, Mountain and Alaska time zones, as The CW Plus operates two separate feeds running on Eastern and Pacific time zone schedules.

The CW4Kids

Title	Premiere date	End date
Will and Dewitt^E/I †	May 24, 2008	April 4, 2009
Magi-Nation^E/I † ‡		September 20, 2008
Skunk Fu! ‡		October 18, 2008
	May 29, 2010	July 10, 2010
Tom and Jerry Tales †	May 24, 2008	September 6, 2008
The Spectacular Spider-Man †		January 31, 2009
World of Quest †		June 14, 2008
Johnny Test †
Eon Kid †
Chaotic	June 21, 2008	July 10, 2010
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ‡		August 7, 2010
Yu-Gi-Oh! GX		September 6, 2008
The Batman †		August 2, 2008
Viva Piñata^E/I	September 13, 2008	October 18, 2008
Dinosaur King ‡		August 7, 2010
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's ‡
Gogoriki^E/I	September 27, 2008	November 14, 2009
Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight	December 13, 2008	December 26, 2009
Sonic X ‡	January 3, 2009	August 7, 2010
Huntik: Secrets & Seekers		December 26, 2009
Kirby: Right Back at Ya!	June 6, 2009	July 11, 2009
Winx Club^E/I	July 18, 2009	July 17, 2010
Yu-Gi-Oh!	September 5, 2009	May 22, 2010
Roll Bots	September 19, 2009	January 23, 2010
Magical DoReMi^E/I	April 24, 2010	July 17, 2010
Cubix: Robots for Everyone^E/I † ‡	July 24, 2010	August 7, 2010

† - Program transitioned from final schedule of Kids' WB
‡ - Program transitioned to Toonzai

Toonzai

Title	Premiere date	End date
Cubix: Robots for Everyone^E/I †	August 14, 2010	February 12, 2011
	February 18, 2012	August 18, 2012
Sonic X †	August 14, 2010	August 4, 2012
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles		August 21, 2010
Dragon Ball Z Kai †		August 11, 2012
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's		September 10, 2011
Dinosaur King		October 9, 2010
Yu-Gi-Oh! †		August 18, 2012
Magi-Nation^E/I	February 19, 2011	February 11, 2012
Tai Chi Chasers	September 17, 2011	June 2, 2012
Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal †	October 15, 2011	August 18, 2012
Yu-Gi-Oh! Capsule Monsters	March 24, 2012	April 28, 2012

† - Program transitioned to Vortexx

Short segments

• Magical DoReMi Witchling Sing-along
• TMNT: Mayhem at Mutant Island
• GoGoWiki (GoGoRiki)
• GoTunes (GoGoRiki)
• The CW4Kids Vault (Viva Piñata, Skunk Fu!)

Programming blocks

• Popcorn for Breakfast – consisted of movies distributed by 4Kids Entertainment, like Kirby: Fright to the Finish!! and Turtles Forever.
• Dinosaurs and Dueling (8am–10am) – consisting of two new episodes of Dinosaur King and two episodes of the original Yu-Gi-Oh!.
• Full Hours (8am–Noon) – consisting of one full hour of Dinosaur King, one full hour of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, one full hour Sonic X, and one full hour of Yu-Gi-Oh!.
• Saturday Morning Superstars (9am–Noon) – consisting of two episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, two episodes of Sonic X, and two episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! (part of Full Hours).
• The Fast and The Fierce (10am-11am) – consisting of two episodes of Sonic X. Title is a parody of The Fast and the Furious (part of Full Hours).
• Double Vision Saturday (10am–Noon) – consisting of two episodes of Sonic X and two episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! (part of Full Hours).

Film airings

• Kirby: Fright to the Finish!! (September 12, 2009)[14]
• Turtles Forever (November 21, 2009, March 20, 2010, and May 29, 2010)

Online Papercrafts

The CW4Kids website had a "Papercraft" section, where users could print special themed bookmarks and stationery, and make paper characters and accessories from various 4Kids shows.

Show	Character(s)/Item(s)
Chaotic	Chaor, Maxxor, H'earring, Intress, Zalvar, and Code Scanner
Dinosaur King	Chomp, Max, Terry, Bookmarks
GoGoRiki	Ottoriki, Pogoriki, Rosariki, Docoriki, and Pogoriki Stationary
Huntik: Secrets & Seekers	Dante Vale
Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight	Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, Wing Knight, Torque, and Strike
Kirby: Right Back at Ya!	Kirby, Tiff, Tuff, Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Waddle Dee
Sonic X	Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Shadow the Hedgehog, Dr. Eggman, Rouge the Bat, and Bookmarks
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Michelangelo, Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, Splinter, Casey Jones, Shredder, Foot Ninja, Krang, TMNT Accessories, Bookmarks, and Bookmarks (Fast Forward)
Viva Piñata	Fergy
Winx Club	Bloom (Stationery), Flora (Stationery), Layla (Stationery), Musa (Stationery), Stella (Stationery), Tecna (Stationery), Winx Club Stationery, and Bookmarks
Gogoriki	Pogoriki, Chikoriki, Rosariki, Ottoriki, Boboriki, Olgariki, Docoriki, Wolliriki, Bigoriki

See also

• 4Kids TV - predecessor of TheCW4Kids/Toonzai block ran on Fox from September 14, 2002 to December 27, 2008.
• 4Kids Entertainment - entertainment company that programmed both blocks.

References

1. "CW turns to 4Kids on Saturdays". Variety. October 2, 2007. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
2. Weprin, Alex (October 3, 2007). "4Kids Entertainment Programming The CW's Saturday Morning". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on January 16, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
3. Ball, Ryan (October 3, 2007). "4Kids Gets CW Block". Animation Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
4. "Fox Ends Saturday-Morning Cartoons". New York Times. November 24, 2008. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
5. 4Kids to Rebrand The CW4Kids Block on Saturdays, Anime News Network, April 27, 2010
6. McLean, Thomas J. (August 18, 2010). "4Kids Reports Losses, Rebranding of CW Block". Animation Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
7. "4Kids Sells Yu-Gi-Oh!, CW Network-Related Assets Jointly to Konami, Kidsco". AnimeNewsNetwork. June 26, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
8. Wallenstein, Andrew (July 2, 2012). "Saban Brands to rebuild CW toon block". Variety. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
9. "'Power Rangers' Backer Saban to Reenter Kiddie TV". Advertising Age. July 12, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
10. "Saban Brands Partners with The CW to Launch Five-Hour Kids Television Block" (PDF). Saban. July 2, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 22, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
11. Marcucci, Carl (July 3, 2012). "The CW signs Saban Brands for kids block". Radio & Television Business Report. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
12. "Saban builds CW kids' block". C21Media. July 3, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
13. Dickson, Jeremy (July 3, 2012). "Saban and The CW launch kids TV block". KidScreen. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
14. ""Kirby - Fright to the Finish" Movie on TV September 12!". 4Kids TV. September 8, 2009. Archived from the original on March 1, 2010. Retrieved October 8, 2016.