Dragonball Now #1 On Toonami

The Cartoon Network reports that "Dragonball" is now the number one rated program within its Toonami block. Although "Sailor Moon" is now rated number two, its ratings are still better than expected. "Sailor Moon" and "Dragonball" together have lifted Toonami as a whole and are delivering bigger audiences than originally promised to advertisers.

The drop of ratings of "Sailor Moon" was not unusual. The series was entering its second run while "Dragonball" was in its first airing on the network. The Cartoon Network had hoped that the ratings would not drop in the Fall but as we originally predicted, the series does not do well against competition.

Current results for the initial airing of the final 17 episodes of "Sailormoon-R" are not yet available. The Cartoon Network is hoping for a good surge of viewers. (We do not expect a significant surge as their delay allowed local U.S. television stations to program the new episodes ahead of the network.)

We applaud the network's promos for these episodes. After a mis-step or two they ironed out the bugs and put together some pretty effective spots. More of these sort of commercials (in different dayparts) would attract new viewers.

Surprisingly however, the SOS does not believe that the current ratings will have any effect on the decision to dub episodes of "Sailormoon-S." We do however hope that everyone is watching and continues to get new fans.

Meanwhile, The Cartoon Network has given us additional information on their plans for "Dragonball." Please read the end of our original article for the updated information.