Sources at Funimation have confirmed to ICv2 that Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball, and DBZ will return to the Cartoon Network's popular late afternoon Toonami Block starting on January 5.  The SD Gundam series will lead off the block at 5 pm (ET, PT), followed by Yu Yu Hakusho at 5:30, DBZ at 6 pm, and the original Dragon Ball series at 6:30.  The Yu Yu Hakusho series will start with episode #1 and proceed chronologically.  In April the Cartoon Network will show the second season of Yu Yu Hakusho, the so-called Dark Tournament Saga, for the first time.  Funimation has issued the Dark Tournament Saga on DVD, but the second season episodes have not received any exposure on American TV so far.

The return of Yu Yu Hakusho and DBZ is good news for retailers since there is a lot of product available for both properties.  Viz has manga editions of Yu Yu, DBZ and the original Dragon Ball, while Score has produced CCGs based on both Yu Yu and DBZ, and Jakk's Pacific has an extensive line of toys based on all three properties.   The appearance of Yu Yu Hakusho should be of particular help to Score, which is trying to establish the Yu Yu Hakusho CCG in a crowded marketplace.