The Cartoon Network's Toonami Block, which is largely composed of imported anime titles such as Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, Outlaw Star, and Ronin Warriors, has posted impressive gains in viewership over the past year.  Toonami has grown by 43 percent over last year with kids 9-14, and 38 percent with boys 9-14, but it has posted an astonishing 132% gain in ratings for teens 12-17.  This growth in viewers is due in part to a commitment to high-octane, action-adventure programming which is continuing this year with the addition of series such as The Big O, Pilot Candidate, and the original Gundam series.

The show with the best ratings in the Toonami block is Dragonball Z, which is number one in its time period for boys 9-14, teens 12-17, and males12-17. DBZ also regularly tops the Lycos Top 50 List of internet searches.  As a whole the Toonami block is first with males 12-17 among all ad-supported cable networks, topping even MTV.  If you also consider the girls, Toonami ties MTV during its time period as the top network for teen viewing.

The Cartoon Network is now available in some 71 million homes, and with teen viewship rivaling MTV, specialty retailers who choose not to deal with at least the Toonami anime are missing a major opportunity.   In addition to DVDs, videos, and translated manga from Viz, Dark Horse, Central Park Manga, and TokyoPop, there is also a wide variety of imported and domestic anime merchandise including toys, statues, wall scrolls, and posters.  For retailers who already carry anime products, the rise in Toonami ratings means that they should pay particular attention to the ratings of the new series like The Big O, Pilot Candidate, Gundam 08, etc. that the Cartoon Network will be adding to the Toonami block this year.