It's impossible to deny Cartoon Network's influence on the popularity of anime like Dragon Ball in America, especially with its celebrated Toonami block. Its lineup of Cartoon Cartoons were also incredibly iconic, with the likes of Johnny Bravo being so popular that a car was painted with him on the hood and driven by the legendary Kyle Busch for an official NASCAR race.
While both series hold a place in many hearts to this day, few fans of either know of a rare time when Johnny Bravo himself was involved with an episode of Dragon Ball Z that only aired once on TV and is currently lost to the ages. Those dedicated to hunting down lost media are still trying to find this episode of a long-forgotten series — JBVO.
Cartoon Network's Animated Host History
While an animated character like T.O.M. introducing shows and talking about them on Toonami feels normal today, this wasn't always the case. The Moxy Show featured a 3D dog that was Cartoon Network's first original series and their first attempt at a hosted cartoon show. It even led to them bringing the first real-time cartoon to life. With the help of motion capture, a skilled technician, and the voice of Bobcat Goldthwait, the animated character Moxy was broadcasted live during the Great International Toon-In. Despite the impressive efforts of its creators, The Moxy Show only ever had twenty-four episodes and is now mostly lost media itself.
Cartoon Network wasn't willing to give up the idea despite it initially flopping. Johnny Bravo was chosen as the next potential host and was given three separate spin-offs in an attempt to do so. JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show was the first attempt. Johnny would take cartoon requests live through things like phone calls and write-ins. It would be eventually followed by Toon FM which featured Johnny hosting a show alongside Brak from Space Ghost Coast to Coast which featured reused assets from the original show. This wildly lead to a spin-off of the spin-off called Viva Las Bravo where viewers could vote on what shows would be aired during a two-hour segment the day before.
JBVO And Dragon Ball Z
Most of these shows were forgotten and never saw reruns nor home releases of any kind. Despite their relative obscurity, one particular episode of JBVO was remembered by many fans. While only short cartoons were usually shown due to the amount of time allowed by the program, many remembered a special episode where Johnny broke this rule by playing an episode of Dragon Ball Zfrom the Frieza saga due to a request from a viewer named Jennifer. To make the show fit, it was sped up to incredible speeds with Johnny making quips and giving commentary almost like an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
For years there was no confirmation that the episode even existed until a five-second clip was uploaded to the internet in 2017 which can be seen above. While there is potential evidence that the episode was aired more than once, it is still entirely possible it was only played twice while the show aired from 2000 to 2001 as no full airing schedules for the series have ever been found. Finding the episode in question would require someone having luckily recorded it over two decades ago. Only one full episode of JBVO has ever been found and archived with most media surrounding it being nothing more than bumpers. Without the help of many dedicated fans scouring old VHS tapes and a ton of good fortune, it is unlikely the episode will ever be found.
Even if fans were to petition Cartoon Network to release archived footage of the show, it is entirely possible that copyright issues and Toei Animation's notorious dislike of remixed versions of their shows could make it nearly impossible to put out for the public. So while most remember the unique crossover as being extremely hilarious, its impressive comedy may never be seen in full ever again.
The Legacy Of Johnny Bravo & Dragon Ball Lost Media
While most lost media involving Dragon Ball these days mostly extends to episodes of specific and obscure dubbed versions of the show, quite a bit of Johnny Bravo's history is still lost. Mess O' Blues, the short animated feature that went on to inspire the show, has never been shown publicly outside of fifteen seconds of footage which can be seen above. Van Partible has said he has the only VHS copy of the short as well as a digital copy archived on his hard drive but has no plans to release it publicly.