Interview with Toonami Host Steven Blum

Toonami made it's triumphant return on May 26, 2012. Have you been tuning in every Saturday night? I have and it's been a blast. Paste Magazine caught up with Steven Blum to get his thoughts on Toonami's comeback and ask how he feels about the work he's done over the years. A tidbit from the interview.


Paste: When Toonami originally went off air back in 2008, what were your thoughts? How did it feel to say goodbye?
Steve Blum: I had very little prior notice that it was shutting down, maybe a week or two. I think we could all feel the end coming, but [at least I] chose denial. I remember the last recording well. It physically hurt to say those words. I’m not ashamed to admit I cried in the studio. What happened a few months later was worse. I was a guest at an anime convention. Some of the fans literally cried in front of me. These sweet kids in elaborate cosplay costumes, literally mourning the death of their childhood—and all I could do was stand there in disbelief and empathy. Having recorded all those years in a padded room, over the phone, I never realized how many people Toonami touched until it was all over. I can’t tell you how many thousands of people have told me that I “raised” them. Those feelings of overwhelming responsibility and sadness and joy all at once were something I never expected from being the voice of an animated robot. It was, and still is, truly humbling.

Check out the full interview here.