5 classic Toonami anime that are unwatchable today

For a generation of anime fans, Cartoon Network's Toonami block was their introduction to the medium. The original block featured iconic anime like Dragon Ball Z, Gundam Wing and Yu Yu Hakusho. Later, franchises like Naruto and One Piece arrived to launch a whole new era.

As popular as Toonami was, not every series went on to become a massive hit. Several of their best series are unwatchable today, literally. Whether it's because their dubs were products of another era, or the series didn't maintain its popularity into the modern era, several of these series can't legally be watched on streaming services in America.

G-Force: Guardians of Space Was The Best Version Of Gatchaman Possible At The Time

Most modern anime fans don't understand just how important G-Force is to the early popularity of anime in the West, or how important the series is at all. Originally known as Science Ninja Team Gatchaman in Japan, the series was released in 1972 and ran for over one hundred episodes. Eagle-eyed fans will recognize that this series actually pre-dates all of Super Sentai, and is in fact a partial inspiration for the original Sentai anime.

The series came to America in the early '70s as Battle of the Planets, where the series was severely edited to match broadcasting standards, and even added additional scenes and characters. By 1986, a different studio would try to bring Gatchaman over, this time as G-Force: Guardians of Space. A significantly more accurate adaptation, this new version retained most of the same elements as the Japanese version, though it left out the last eighteen episodes.

G-Force: Guardians of Space found its way to Cartoon Network in the mid '90s, and made its way to Toonami alongside anime series like Voltron and Robotech. Ultimately though, once ADV Films created a proper adaptation for Gatchaman that adapted the entire show into English, there wasn't as much need for G-Force. Despite its role in exposing earlier audiences to anime, this version of the Toonami classic can't be found on streaming anywhere.

Star Blazers Was A Hint At Anime's Potential In The West

In the late '70s, America brought over the popular space opera sci-fi seriesSpace Battleship Yamato, transforming it into the series Star Blazers. It wasn't the first anime to receive an English dub, but it was one of the first to show the potential of the medium. The series was filled with long-running plots and character development, demanding viewers tune in every week to each episode.

Star Blazers didn't exactly have a wide release when it came out in America originally, and became known more because it was a great series that barely anyone saw. Still, it came to the online Toonami Reactor back in 2001, just as anime was getting popular in the West. The series was successful enough for them to leave it there even as the Toonami Reactor service evolved.

However, these days, Star Blazers has mostly vanished from streaming services. Even the classic Space Battleship Yamato is nearly impossible for viewers to legally watch. Most likely, this is due to the remake that started a decade ago, which has taken up all the attention and remains widely available on sites like Crunchyroll. While it's nice that the remake has remained popular for so long, it's a bit surprising that a series that was a major part of anime's popularity in both Japan and America can't be easily found.

MAR Never Even Got To Finish Its Run On Toonami

The battle shonen genre had taken over by the 2000s, as the Big 3's popularity led to fans paying attention to other battle shonen as well. Marchen Awakens Romance, or MAR, was another series that saw some success during the 2000s. Unlike many of the other major shonen anime though, it came from a creator that had developed a reputation in the '90s. Nobuyuki Anzai had already created the incredible Flame of Recca manga, and MAR was just his next big project.

The series followed Ginta Toramizu, a nerdy young boy from Earth who was one day transported to the land of MAR-Heaven. MAR-Heaven's weaker gravity granted Ginta super-strength, allowing him to team up with a group of heroes fighting back against the oppressive forces of the Chess Army. After launching in Japan in 2005, the series made its way to Cartoon Network thanks to Toonami Jetstream, the evolution of the online Toonami Reactor service.

MAR was popular enough to eventually make it off Jetstream and go to Toonami proper, but it didn't stay for very long. The series never got to finish airing on television. Anyone looking to go back and see how the story ended is completely out of luck, as these days there isn't a version of it legally available anywhere. Nevermind streaming, even the DVDs went out of print awhile back. Considering the manga was successful enough to get a sequel in MAR Omega, it's surprising that this series has virtually no presence in the West, even as the nostalgia for the 2000s continues to grow.

Rave Master Was Overshadowed By Other Battle Shonen

Longtime Toonami fans might remember Rave Master coming to the block during the mid 2000s as the block switched to the weekends. The series followed the teenage adventurer Haru Glory, who aimed to collect all the Rave Fragments while battling against the deadly group Demon Card. With a manga release through Tokyopop and a release on television through Cartoon Network, Rave Master became decently successful in the West for a time.

Arguably though, Rave Master's biggest problem is it came out just as anime's popularity was beginning to die down in the West. The mid-2000s era is underrated compared to eras before and after it. Then, by the late 2000s, Toonami was swallowed up by the monster that was Naruto, and the anime community as a whole was overwhelmed by the one-two punch of Naruto and Bleach.

When the series faded off Cartoon Network after the mid-2000s, it was only a few years later that Toonami itself stopped its original run in 2008. That wasn't enough time for it to build a major fanbase, which means there weren't nearly enough clamoring for it to make its way to major services. While Rave Master might be an underrated action anime, it's not surprising that it's vanished from major companies like Crunchyroll and Hulu. Meanwhile, it also hasn't yet had a chance to pop up on niche services like RetroCrush, or even free services such as Tubi.

Zoids: Chaotic Century's Popularity Faded After The Mid-2000s

In the 2000s, Pokémon was such a major hit that everyone wanted their own clone both in gaming and in anime. Fortunately, Zoids was a franchise that existed for years prior to Pokémon, making it an easy choice to do a revival. Thanks to Toonami, both Zoids series were brought over in the early 2000s, as fans got to see Zoids: New Century Zero and Zoids: Chaotic Century.

While New Century Zero launched on Toonami from day one, it took some time for Chaotic Century to find a place there as well. Still, the franchise found a place on the block in 2002, just as New Century Zero's popularity had died down. Zoids: Chaotic Century tells the story of Van Flyheight and Fiona, a pair of teens exploring the Helic Republic. The two discover an Organoid named Zeke who can fuse with the mechanical life-forms on their planet known as Zoids, allowing them to defend themselves as the Helic Republic suddenly finds itself immersed in a dangerous war.

Zoids: Chaotic Century might be one of the best toyetic anime that still has a plot. However, like every other series that got popular because of Pokémon, the series didn't maintain its popularity after the early 2000s. Even though there are plenty of other Zoids anime out there currently, none of them are easily available to stream online.