ICv2 has learned that Rave Master, the anime series based on the manga by Hiro Mashima, will appear on the Cartoon Network's Toonami block in 2004.  Rave Master is Kodansha's #1 shonen (boys') manga series.  Created by Hiro Mashima in 1998 when he was just 21 years old, Rave Master has already spawned 18 volumes of manga, 3 guide books, 2 console video games, and a hit anime series that Tokyopop will be bringing to the U.S.  Tokyopop's Rave Master manga volumes have been frequent visitors to the BookScan Top 50 survey of bookstore graphic novel sales in spite of the fact that there has been no anime series available to date to help bolster sales.  In addition to fostering excellent bookstore sales Tokyopop has managed to get the title into Target, a rarity for manga titles.

Rave Master features sixteen-year-old hero Haru who must assemble the Rave Stones in order to defeat the sinister secret society known as Demon Card.  With a ragtag group of friends and a cute little Rave Bearer named Plue, Haru must overcome all sorts of obstacles in order to fulfill his quest.  Rave Master is the kind of boys adventure series that should fit Toonami's needs like a glove.