What Was Your First Exposure To Anime?

Disclaimer: Okay, so apart from my reviews, I plan on creating little segments where we can just sit down around an invisible table around buttonsmashersblog.com and just talk about stuff pertaining to anime and otaku culture in general.  These little segments can be about anything, and it will be a lovely little cotton field where we can each share our opinion.  As such, everyone has different opinions on a particular subject, so please be mindfull of that fact.  Without further ado, I would like to welcome one and all to DivideByZer0’s little anime segment:  the T.A.R.DIS, or “Thematic Anime-Related DIScussions” (yes, I am a Whovian).

So, shall we begin?

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OH NOSTAAAAAAAALGIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

A lot of anime fans eventually run into the topic of what was the first anime you have watched, or how did you discover anime, or something else pertaining to your initial thoughts.  There’s just something about our history with anime that really lets us reconfigure how we came to love this Japanese medium of art, and we, as otakus, eventually relate to each other pertaining to how we have come to love anime.  Thanks to the different forms of media that we have, more and more people are getting into anime, may it be from Toonami on TV, or from Crunchyroll (or some other anime-streaming site) on the Internet, etcetera.  Some people have a more colorful history with anime, some don’t, and some have rather unique experiences with it.

As for me, I had a pretty…average history.

When I was a kid, I watched whatever “cartoon”(because I did not recognize them as anime at that time) was on TV.  I watched the usual Pokemon, Dragonball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh, Digimon, and so on and so forth.  I remember seeing bits and pieces of old sports anime like Slamdunk and Prince of Tennis.  However, I really didn’t get into any of them in particular.  The first anime I recognized as an anime was Naruto, and I loved it as a kid.  I would run around the school park, weaving hand signs and running ninja-style like there was no tomorrow.  Towards the end of my days in the Philippines (my home country), my cousins introduced an anime that they couldn’t stop talking about:  a shonen called Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and, after viewing a few episodes, I started to love it for being action-packed, funny, and, well, badass.

Oooooh, what’s this “anime”-thing people have been talking about?  Looks pretty cool…*this was my initial reaction, btw*

After I migrated to Canada, I still liked KHR and was even able to convince a new friend to watch it.  Eventually, I don’t know how or why, I thought to myself:  “Hmmmmm…what if I tried a new anime?  I guess it won’t hurt”.  And I did.  Boy, was I a genius.  Fairy Tail captivated from the first episode.  I marathoned that thing until early mornings.  After a while, I started to wonder what other awesome anime may I watch.  Then, I discovered this anime called “Sword Art Online”, and, again, its first episode captivated me.  Upon my classmates’ behest (and hype), I tried more and more anime, from Angel Beats to Toradora.  From then on, watching anime ,and anime in general, became a good hobby of mine.

Whatever your first anime was, what matters is the journey that you have, and are still, taking.

So that was my story.  I would like to know yours, if you don’t mind sharing it.  What was your first exposure to anime?  Leave a comment down below pertaining to your thoughts on this review, the topic discussed, or if you would like me to discuss about anything.  And, speaking of “liking”, give the T.A.R.DIS a like if you enjoyed it.

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Ken

21 Comments

  2. As I popped out of bed to check this i think it’s only fear that I be the first to comment here. T.A.R.DIS ………. Brilliant name bro (i’m also a Whovian).

    As for my anime roots you would be surprised but we actually started out pretty similar. I too didn’t know the difference between an anime or Cartoon as a Kid as I watch them with my little sis every Saturday and sometimes on Sundays. I believe my first Anime experience was Rurouni Kenshin and then I got hooked on Pokemon. When I Finally knew the difference between Anime and Cartoons was when I was introduced to DBZ and that was where i became hooked. I would go hunting on weekends with 2 friends for DVDs for the series as at the time i didn’t have internet. We covered most of our country looking for those DVDs in those days. Post DBZ hunting days I met quite a lot of my current social circle due to those adventures and found some series that I wouldn’t guess were my taste like Ouran High school Host Club and the mind blowingly funny School Rumble. My love for anime has now over flowed into a love for the source material that is manga and now i spend more time reading than watching.

  3. Haha.. Same as you actually. I watched anime on tv which I also thought were the usual cartoons like all the rest. But, I wasn’t into anime until I watched Naruto and I never stopped watching Anime from then forth. >_<

    1. Haha, nice nice ^__^ Typical shonen like Naruto are really the first anime we go into ^^__^ Why? because they’re so easy to “(Shonen)JUMP” in //I know it’s bad, oki?//

  4. I can thank my uncle for getting me into anime. He always used to rave on about Mazinger Z and would rent VHS tapes for me to watch for shows like Voltron and Robotech.

    I stopped watching anime for a bit, but got back into it when Sci-Fi channel used to air anime on late night UK TV. Once I got a job I started to buy DVDs (starting with Cowboy Bebop and Bubblegum Crisis 2040.) At first there wasn’t much to buy, but the popularity of anime seems to have grown thanks to companies like ADV and Manga.

  5. Growing up in Asia automatically made me an anime fan. But when I moved over to the US I kind of lost that because I didn’t know where I could get more anime other than the dubbed stuff on Toonami. I only got back into anime once I got access to high speed internet and discovered torrents.

  6. Anime has always been a part of my childhood. My friends introduced me to it and I have never looked back since. I can’t get into the big 3 as they are called I much prefer the 12 episode series and movies. My favorite is Special A you should watch it if you haven’t seen it yet.

  7. Lupin III and Rurouni Kenshin on CN, oddly enough. The former’s remained my number one favorite ever since. I just love the episodic zany antics and adventures.

  8. My gateway anime are pretty typical really, a lot of similarities with the stuff you wrote. As a young child I was a big fan of stuff like Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh. My sister also showed me Inuyasha and I kept up with that pretty regularly on Adult Swim, but much to my dismay I never actually did complete it so I really should get back to it one day. But what really got me into anime was definitely Naruto above all else. Naruto was a series I thought was the greatest thing in existence for a time, I remember it was something I was constantly fixated on in fifth grade. It’s even the main reason I got involved with forums and online anime communities, so I really owe a lot to it for all that’s happened with my anime life.

    Funny how different my favorites are now. I still have a bit of a soft spot for Naruto but it’s not one of my top favorites or anything like that. My top anime as of now would be Gurren Lagann, Code Geass, Clannad, Steins;Gate, and White Album 2, all of which are very different from Naruto in terms of style and content. Seems like a long time since I first got into Naruto, and it’s scary to think that it’s almost gonna be done.

  9. In my country when I was a kid, they showed Japanese cartoons (before the term anime became popular) like Daimos, and Voltes V regularly on TV. And then we had titles Dragon Ball Z and Yu Yu Hakusho. But what really got me interested in anime was Ranma 1/2.

  10. I was into Digimon and Beyblades when I was younger. I didn’t really like Pokemon or Yuu-Gi-Ou, and stuff like Naruto wasn’t on TV (or it might have been satellite-only).

    The first subbed anime I watched was Steins;Gate, upon recommendation by someone in an online forum. That was about a year ago, and I haven’t stopped since.

  11. My first anime that I loved was “Astroboy” that I watched on B & W TV in 1964. I’ve always liked Japanese animation, but never became passionate about it until about two years ago.

  12. well 1st anime would had to be “Voltron: Defender of the Universe” on the old school Cartoon Network/Toonami era when i was 3 back in 1998 but at the time i didn’t that this show was “anime” then because it was nothing but a cartoon and after that i watched other shows over the years,and i grew up watching a lot of cartoons that were american.

    my 1st subbed anime: F-ZERO GP LEGEND on youtube in 2012 cause i remember seeing a little bit of it on tv (it on the fox box channel before it was cancelled and i used to play the game on my GBA but that kid stole it from me *sigh*)