Toonzai

{{Infobox programming block

| name = Toonzai

| image = Toonzailogo.png

| image_size = 200px

| alt =

| caption =

| formerly_known = The CW4Kids (2008–10)

| premiered = {{start date|2008|5|24}}

| closed = {{end date|2012|8|18}}

| replaced = Kids' WB!

| channel = The CW

| division =

| country = United States

| key_people =

| headquarters =

| major_contracts =

| parent = {{Plainlist|

4Kids Entertainment

}}

| sister =

| format = Saturday morning cartoon block

| runtime = 5 hours (7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.)

| website =

| language = English

| footnotes =

}}

Toonzai (formerly known as The CW4Kids from May 24, 2008 to August 7, 2010, or stylized as TOONZAi) was an American Saturday morning cartoon children's television block that aired 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 May 24, 2008 to August 7, 2010, The CW4Kids (stylized as THE 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.{{Citation needed|date=September 2013}} The name is a portmanteau of "toon" and the Japanese term banzai, reflecting the majority of anime programming on the block.{{Citation needed|date=October 2012}}

The block was replaced by Saban Brands' program block Vortexx, which debuted on August 25, 2012. On April 11, 2013, the Toonzai website redirected to the Vortexx website. Vortexx closed on September 27, 2014, and was replaced by Litton's One Magnificent Morning.

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 cancel 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.{{cite web| title =CW turns to 4Kids on Saturdays| work =Variety| date =October 2, 2007| url =https://variety.com/2007/digital/markets-festivals/cw-turns-to-4kids-on-saturdays-1117973235/| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20121111141940/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117973235?refCatId=14| url-status =live| archive-date =November 11, 2012| access-date =September 5, 2012}}{{cite news|last=Weprin|first=Alex|title=4Kids Entertainment Programming The CW's Saturday Morning|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/96778-4Kids_Entertainment_Programming_The_CW_s_Saturday_Morning.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116001646/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/96778-4Kids_Entertainment_Programming_The_CW_s_Saturday_Morning.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 16, 2010|access-date=October 20, 2012|newspaper=Broadcasting & Cable|date=October 3, 2007}}{{cite news|last=Ball|first=Ryan|title=4Kids Gets CW Block|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/4kids-gets-cw-block/|access-date=October 20, 2012|newspaper=Animation Magazine|date=October 3, 2007}} Kids' WB was discontinued 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.

File:The CW 4kids official logo.png

At the time of the block's launch, 4Kids also programmed the competing 4Kids TV block for Fox, until that network canceled 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.{{cite news|title=Fox Ends Saturday-Morning Cartoons|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/business/media/25kidstv.html|access-date=October 20, 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=November 24, 2008}}

On April 27, 2010, 4Kids announced that it would rebrand The CW4Kids as Toonzai, which took effect on August 14, 2010.[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-04-27/4kids-to-rebrand-thecw4kids-block-on-saturdays 4Kids to Rebrand The CW4Kids Block on Saturdays], Anime News Network, April 27, 2010{{cite news|last=McLean|first=Thomas J.|title=4Kids Reports Losses, Rebranding of CW Block|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/tv/4kids-reports-losses-rebranding-of-cw-block/|access-date=October 20, 2012|newspaper=Animation Magazine|date=August 18, 2010}}

=Takeover by Saban Brands and closure=

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.{{cite news|title=4Kids Sells Yu-Gi-Oh!, CW Network-Related Assets Jointly to Konami, Kidsco|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-06-26/4kids-sells-yu-gi-oh-cw-network-related-assets-jointly-to-konami-kidsco|access-date=October 20, 2012|newspaper=AnimeNewsNetwork|date=June 26, 2012}} On July 2, 2012, it was announced that Saban Brands, through Kidsco Media Ventures, would begin programming the block, which would be relaunched under the name Vortexx.{{cite news|last=Wallenstein|first=Andrew|title=Saban Brands to rebuild CW toon block|url=https://variety.com/2012/tv/news/saban-brands-to-rebuild-cw-toon-block-1118056206/|access-date=July 7, 2012|newspaper=Variety|date=July 2, 2012}}{{cite news|title='Power Rangers' Backer Saban to Reenter Kiddie TV|url=http://adage.com/article/media/power-rangers-backer-saban-reenter-kiddie-tv/235978/|access-date=July 12, 2012|newspaper=Advertising Age|date=July 12, 2012}} Toonzai quietly shut down 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 closed.{{cite news|title=Saban Brands Partners with The CW to Launch Five-Hour Kids Television Block|url=http://www.sabanbrands.com/pdfs/Saban_Network_Announcement.pdf|access-date=July 7, 2012|newspaper=Saban|date=July 2, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122211721/http://www.sabanbrands.com/pdfs/Saban_Network_Announcement.pdf|archive-date=January 22, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Marcucci|first=Carl|title=The CW signs Saban Brands for kids block|url=http://rbr.com/the-cw-signs-saban-brands-for-kids-block/|access-date=July 7, 2012|newspaper=Radio & Television Business Report|date=July 3, 2012}}{{cite news|title=Saban builds CW kids' block|url=http://www.c21media.net/archives/84226|access-date=July 7, 2012|newspaper=C21Media|date=July 3, 2012}}{{cite news|last=Dickson|first=Jeremy|title=Saban and The CW launch kids TV block|url=http://kidscreen.com/2012/07/03/saban-and-the-cw-launch-kids-tv-block/|access-date=July 7, 2012|newspaper=KidScreen|date=July 3, 2012}}

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.{{fact|date=June 2025}}

=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, while 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 only exception was in Boise, Idaho, where they had two CW networks (both The CW and The CW Plus), The CW Plus affiliate (now a MeTV affiliate) KNIN-DT2 carried the block (also aired an hour earlier), but the main CW affiliate (now a Fox affiliate) KNIN-TV declined to carry the block or the block's predecessor Kids' WB upon becoming a charter CW affiliate after the affiliation switch from UPN in September 2006, as the station did not clear for daytime CW programming including weekends; KNIN-TV instead carried syndicated E/I programming in the station's Saturday morning timeslot, making Boise one of the only television markets where Kids' WB and The CW4Kids was not available through over-the-air analog broadcasts before the KNIN-TV's analog signal shutdown on June 12, 2009.

=Former programming=

==The CW4Kids==

===Programming from [[4Kids TV]]===

class="wikitable sortable"

!Title

!Premiere date

!End date

Chaotic

|rowspan=3|June 21, 2008

|July 10, 2010

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ‡

|August 7, 2010

Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

|September 6, 2008

Viva Piñata

|rowspan=3|September 13, 2008

|October 18, 2008

Dinosaur King ‡

|rowspan=2|April 10, 2010

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's ‡

GoGoRiki^E/I

|September 27, 2008

|November 14, 2009

Sonic X ‡

|January 3, 2009

|August 7, 2010

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

|June 6, 2009

|September 12, 2009

Winx Club^E/I

|July 18, 2009

|July 17, 2010

Yu-Gi-Oh! † ‡

|September 5, 2009

|May 22, 2010

Magical DoReMi^E/I

|April 24, 2010

|July 17, 2010

Cubix: Robots for Everyone^E/I † ‡

|July 24, 2010

|August 7, 2010

===Acquired programming===

class="wikitable sortable"

!Title

!Premiere date

!End date

Will and Dewitt^E/I †

|rowspan=3|May 24, 2008

|April 4, 2009

Magi-Nation^E/I † ‡

|September 20, 2008

rowspan=2|Skunk Fu! †

|October 18, 2008

May 29, 2010

|July 10, 2010

Tom and Jerry Tales †

|rowspan=5|May 24, 2008

|September 6, 2008

The Spectacular Spider-Man †

|January 31, 2009

World of Quest †

|rowspan=3|June 14, 2008

Johnny Test †

Eon Kid †

The Batman †

|June 21, 2008

|August 2, 2008

Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight

|December 13, 2008

|rowspan=2|December 26, 2009

Huntik: Secrets & Seekers

|January 3, 2009

RollBots

|September 19, 2009

|January 23, 2010

† - Program transitioned from Kids' WB!

‡ - Program transitioned to Toonzai

==Toonzai==

===Programming from [[4Kids TV]]===

class="wikitable sortable"

!Title

!Premiere date

!End date

rowspan=2|Cubix: Robots for Everyone^E/I † ‡

|August 14, 2010

|February 12, 2011

February 18, 2012

|August 18, 2012

Sonic X † ‡

| rowspan="4" |August 14, 2010

|August 4, 2012

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles †

|August 21, 2010

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's †

|September 10, 2011

Dinosaur King †

|October 9, 2010

Yu-Gi-Oh! † ‡

|September 4, 2010

|August 18, 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

===Acquired programming===

class="wikitable sortable"

!Title

!Premiere date

!End date

Dragon Ball Z Kai ‡

|August 14, 2010

|August 11, 2012

Magi-Nation^E/I †

|February 19, 2011

|February 11, 2012

† - Program transitioned from The CW4Kids

‡ - Program transitioned to Vortexx

=Short-form programming=

Pat & Stan
Magical DoReMi Witchling Sing-Along
TMNT: Mayhem from 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 (part of Full Hours). Title is a parody of The Fast and the Furious.
Double Vision Saturday (10am–Noon) – consisting of two episodes of Sonic X and two episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! (part of Full Hours).

=Special programming=

Kirby: Fright to the Finish!! (September 12, 2009){{cite web|url=http://www.4kids.tv/buzz/view/kirby-fright-to-the-finish-movie-on-tv-septemb/9.0.0|title="Kirby - Fright to the Finish" Movie on TV September 12!|publisher=4Kids TV|date=September 8, 2009|access-date=October 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100301193431/http://www.4kids.tv/buzz/view/kirby-fright-to-the-finish-movie-on-tv-septemb/9.0.0|archive-date=March 1, 2010}}
Turtles Forever (November 21, 2009, March 20, 2010, May 29, 2010, and August 28, 2010)