A ‘first anime’ can be a gateway into watching anime. Seeing a boppy OP, melancholic ED, cool animation and awesome voice acting can really let one fall down the rabbit hole…
For me, the first anime I remember watching was Yu-Gi-Oh! I watched it on the kids’ channel and ended up seeing the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series probably about three times over my childhood due to screening the same episodes over the years. I also remember watching some Pokemon, but I wasn’t as invested in it as Yu-Gi-Oh! because I didn’t understand what was happening. (How? I hear you asking? How does a seven-year-old understand the convoluted rules of Dueling yet not the cute Pokemon? And to that I say – I saw the first episodes of Yu-Gi-Oh! so it made more sense. The Pokemon episodes I first saw was awkwardly 3/4s through the series. And since this is free-to-air television it’s not like I could find the first ones to watch or understood the concept.) I also watched Bakugan Battle Brawlers but honestly I don’t remember anything except being wowed by how the Bakugan would pop out and having a replica toy and I’d make my mum watch me ‘battle’ while she had been trying to actually do something important. I also watched Astro Boy (the 2003 series) from which I mostly remember feeling conflicted as a child about everyone’s goals and personalities…
But the first anime I saw that wasn’t targeted towards a children’s demographic (despite some of them still being very popular with other demographics) was Guilty Crown. I think it was a great ‘first anime’ for me because it was only 12 episodes long, have pretty characters, a decent story line and concept, and awesome music – perfect for a teenage me! From there I started anime like Death Note, Attack on Titan, Tokyo Ghoul, Hyouka, Death Parade, the Studio Ghibli movies, and Yuri!!! On Ice.
What was the first anime you remember watching? Or what was the anime that got you into anime?
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The Spooky Red Head Blog 
For me, it was Akira and it was love at first sight.
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Akira is so timelessly amazing, I’d love to see more of Akira’s world – maybe something like a series that’s based on Akira’s world in its style and ideals!
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There was rumours of a series coming along at some point. I love the movie and the books, although the books are like a different story altogether, so an adaptation of the books would be amazing.
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My first anime was Spirited Away. My brothers invited me to tag along with them to an anime convention and I happened to wander off into a screening room. And the movie I happen to wander into was Spirited Away! I had never seen anything like it before. I was instantly hooked!
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Ahhh how beautiful! Spirited Away just draws you into its magic so much 😀
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The first anime I remember watching was Teknoman (Tekkaman Blade) even though I didn’t know what anime was at that age.
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Ooooh Teknoman is an interesting first anime I think! Maybe it’s my demographic/genre interests but no-one ever mentions it! Although I believe my dad watched Teknoman back in the 90s? and he talks highly of it
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Yeah, it’s quite a strange first one. Granted, some other series came out close afterwards like Samurai Pizza Cats and Sailor Moon for example, but that’s what I remember first. That could be one anime I should rewatch since I haven’t seen the Japanese version.
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Sailor Moon and Pokemon. I think Pokemon came first, but I can’t remember for sure. I know I started the other because one looked similar to the other.
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I love how Pokemon and Sailor Moon can be such ‘universal’ watches in the regards that they they are long enough that many decades can all grow up watching them 😀
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Speed Racer (Mach GoGoGo) back when it debuted in the US. Yes, I did have to push the dinosaurs aside to watch the old Zenith color TV…
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Wow, that’s awesome! I’m pretty sure that the Wreck-it-Ralph villain’s car was based upon the Speed Racer main character’s car??
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Okay, this is embarrassing, but I haven’t seen Wreck-It-Ralph yet! But I want to!
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Hahah no worries, the first one was great would definitely recommend it! I never did watch the second one though but I know that everyone I know who watched it really liked it as well 🫣
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Pokemon was the first anime I got into as a kid. I think once I saw Dragon Ball Z, this is where I noticed this anime was different than Pokemon and most cartoons I watched.
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It’s awesome how many people watched Pokemon growing up! Such a successful franchise lol
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Yeah and ever since I saw Pokémon, I got to experience other anime growing up. In a way, Pokémon was one of the few anime that was a gateway to other anime.
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