Recently, members of a popular Reddit forum engaged in a passionate debate about the first anime they watched and how it influenced their interest in the industry.. This conversation not only awakened nostalgia in many, but also highlighted the importance of the first contact with the world of anime.

For many, the first anime they watch becomes a gateway to a vast universe of stories, characters and cultures. The impact of this first meeting is significantas it can spark an insatiable curiosity to explore more series and genres. This “first love” for anime often marks the beginning of a long relationship with the industry, influencing not only personal preferences but also the way in which the media is consumed and enjoyed.

Forum users shared their personal experiences, highlighting how that first anime left an indelible mark on them. Many shared how they started looking for more related content.and how it led them to discover masterpieces and hidden gems. They also discussed how their tastes have evolved over time and how the first anime they watched still holds a special place in their hearts.

The discussion also covered topics such as the cultural influence of anime and how this medium has helped many to better understand and appreciate Japanese culture. Participants reflected on how their early experiences with anime not only entertained them, but also educated them and offered them a unique perspective on the world.

• “I think Crayon Shin Chan and Kochikame are the best for me. They got me into anime when I didn't even know it was called anime.“.
• “Durarara. I feel like no one I've talked to about the anime really knows about it.“.
• “The first was probably Heidi (but it could also have been Maya the Bee or another 70s anime that aired at the same time on national TV here; there's no way to be sure more than two decades later). And what got me interested in the industry was A Place Further Than the Universe.“.
• “First anime: I don't remember, but it was Pokemon, Yugioh or DBZ.“.
• “Voltron. But my love is Robotech, which aired two years later. It changed my world. People died and showed blood. And it has amazing transforming mechs, aliens, and it's episodic. It has all of that. Not just a few one-off episodes of shit until the end of time. There really was nothing like the day it hit our shores like a wrecking ball. It was a game-changer.“.
• “I remember starting with Robotech, Voltron, G Commando, and Tranzor Z. It wasn't until Naruto and Bleach that I really got into it again.“.
• “Angel Beats saw a girl with a pin in her backpack, asked her, and came back the next day with the program on his PSP.“.
• “First anime: Kimi no Na wa“.
• “Shingeki no Kyojin. My friend basically threatened me, so I watched it with the intention of stopping after 2 episodes and saying “it wasn’t for me”.“.
• “The first anime I watched was probably Doraemon or Sailor Moon. The anime that started my love for anime was probably Cardcaptor Sakura or Shugo Chara. I seem to have watched a lot of magical girl anime when I was a kid.“.
• “My first anime was Yu-Gi-Oh or DBZ, when I didn't recognize anime. But Absolute Duos and Dragonar Academy made me start liking anime and looking for more.“.
• “Mazinger Z in the 80s. Probably the first anime I remember and the one that started my passion for anime.“.
• “High School DxD, and many ecchi anime that followed, maybe Elfen Lied too.“.
• “Yu Yu Hakusho was the first anime I accidentally watched when I was about 8 years old while watching Adult Swim. Inu-Yasha was probably the first anime I actually watched. They both hold a very special place in my heart.“.
• “I grew up with Crayon Shin-chan, NinjaBoy Rantaro, Detective Conan, Chibi Maruko-chan, Tsurupika Hagemaru. I then watched a lot of Ghibli movies, but I didn't bother getting into mainstream anime like the big 3. I started getting into anime after watching Demon Slayer, which I found a bit slow at first. Luckily, I watched all of it because it's one of the best series I've ever seen.“.
• “Inuyasha. My first anime, first love and the beginning of my anime obsession.“.
• “When I was a kid: Pokemon. I watched it every Saturday morning, and other animes too. But I stopped after a while. When I was a teenager: Attack on Titan. I was looking for something macabre. I saw a video of the infamous Blood C massacre. I decided to give the anime a try. I discovered AOT. In the years that followed, I watched a few more, like Kabaneri, Cells At Work, and OPM, but it was still relatively casual.“.
• “The first one I ever saw was a terrible anime called Superbook, when I was too young to know what anime was. It was shown in Sunday school. What started my love for anime was Slayers, starring Megumi Hayashibara as the sorceress Lina Inverse.“.
• “Gundam Wing and DBZ on Toonami/Cartoon Network when I was in elementary school were my first exposure to anime. But I think it was when Naruto started airing in the US that I really started getting into the genre and that made me more interested in it.“.
• “My first anime was probably Pokémon, but the anime that started my love for it was probably My Hero Academia.“.
• “The Garden of Words and 5 Centimetres per Second, which a local TV channel aired in 2017 at a special event or something, were the first animes I watched on my own. I loved them, but I had forgotten their names and didn't know where to find them to watch them again. Until I asked a friend about them in 2020. He searched the channel's website to find the names and told me where to watch them, and another friend recommended Attack on Titan. And today I finished my 140th anime“.
• “The first one was called Dragon League, basically a soccer show where humans and dinosaurs played together to win the Kingdom Cup. Then I watched Saint Seiya, Sailor Moon, Ranma 1/2 and DBZ, and I couldn't take my eyes off them. Thank goodness there was anime on TV when I was a kid, I watched them without realizing how lucky I was.“.
• “Pokemon for the first and Naruto for the second. I liked series like Yu Yu Hakusho, Dragon Ball, Rurouni Kenshin, etc., but I think Naruto was what made me discover anime as a medium, and what made me watch it before the dubbing.“.
• “Princess Mononoke was my first anime. Trigun was my first series. Samurai Champloo sparked my love for anime.“.
• “The first anime I ever watched would be Pokemon, the first anime I picked up independently without having watched it on TV first in dub is Hyouka and the first anime. I loved the medium of Pokemon itself, but a better way to answer this for me would be to talk about the first anime I watched more than 5 episodes of in one day, which would be Charlotte.“.
• “Naruto. Watching Naruto on NC made my day when I was a kid. I found a place to watch everything in Japanese and catch up on what I missed when I got older and wanted to watch it again. This made searching for anime a regular thing for me.“.
• “The first one I saw was Battle of the Planets in 1978, I was 8 years old and didn't know it was an anime. Then around 2019 I heard a lot about Food Wars! and decided to watch it and I thought it was amazing, that would be the first anime I watched knowing it was an anime. The one I liked the most and is still my favorite of all time is Hunter x Hunter, now I'm tired of anime.“.
• “My first anime was Sailor Moon (I think... I was too young to remember if there was anything before that). The anime that really started my passion for anime was the original Full Metal Alchemist.“.
• “I used to watch “cartoons” when I was a kid, Naruto and Miyazaki stories. But the first time I watched an anime, knowing it wasn’t a cartoon, was SAO. I still consider it the most isekai-based isekai.“.
• “Saber Riders. At the time, I was no more than 6 or 7 years old. But Robotech was what got me hooked. Every day I would rush out of school to watch the last 15 or 20 minutes of Robotech.“.
• “Inazuma Eleven was my first anime, but Seven Deadly Sins and Tokyo Ghoul started my passion for anime when I was just over 9 years old.“.
• “As far as I remember, Inuyasha came first. I started Inuyasha and Naruto around the same time, but I think Inuyasha was first. I loved it and I blame my foul language.“.
• “I think the first anime I watched knowing what anime was was Inuyasha. Maybe it's not the best for a 9-year-old. After that, I continued watching all the Ghibli films.“.
• “Pokemon/Dragonball Z was on in the mornings before school. When I was a teenager, Bleach blew me away with its action and protagonist, and opened the door for me to explore more anime, something I still do as an adult.“.
• “The first time was Dragon Ball, but what started my passion for anime was Naruto. My older brother got me into anime and my other brothers also watch anime.“.
• “First anime: Ronin Warriors. Long before anime became popular (or before I even knew what “anime” was), they would show this little gem before school in the morning. I don’t even remember what channel it was on, because Cartoon Network didn’t exist yet. I remember watching a few episodes of the original Dragon Ball around the same time, but I remember Ronin Warriors more clearly.“.
• “The series that made me an anime fan: Dragon Ball Z. I'm not a fan of the series anymore, but there was a time when I would run home from school to turn on the TV and watch the next episode. Nowadays, I make fun of it, but DBZ was my gateway into the great world of anime, and I will be forever grateful for that.“.
• “My friends are huge anime fans, but one of the ones they always talked about was JoJo's Bizzare Adventure. I had never been interested in anime because it seemed too weird to me. But then they asked me to try watching it. At first, I was hesitant because I didn't think I could finish all five seasons. Some long seasons that I finished watching were The Amazing World of Gumball and Slugterra. But after a few weeks of my friends convincing me to watch it, I decided to give it a try and, well, it paid off and it was the beginning of my love for anime.“.
• “Technically, my first anime was Pokémon in 1997, I had a VHS with the episode Charmander in the Rain. Later, though, it was Toonami and Adult Swim anime, like Gundam Wing, Dragon Ball Z, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakisho, and so on. Later, when we finally had cable, I would watch Anime Network and find some of my all-time favorites, like Full Metal Panic.“.

Source: Reddit