[Matt_Colly]

this has probably already been a thread, but as i was replying to another thread i got to thinking...it would be intersting to know what anime it was that started you down the path of the otaku? Might not have been your first series, but it may have been...

personally, mine was my first (and so far favorite and VERY nerdy) love hina. I had just lost someone very close to me, i took a year off of going to college and just worked at a job as hard as i could muster. The plight of Keitaro and the similarities i was able to draw to that of my own struggle were uncanny, and because of that i felt each of his ups and downs and found myself watching and rewatching episodes as they suited my mood. Since then i have seen the series (in completion) 27 times and it has yet to become old to me.

From there i moved to your run of the mill gundam, bebop, trigun, etc. But love hina (while most certainly not perfect or by any means anime legend material) will always hold a special meaning to me.

and yoooouuuuu all?

[Atasuke]

I'm not quite sure what mine was, as I've been watching anime since I was like 1-2 years old. ^^'

[Behemoth666]

My first Anime was Captain Future, but that one, what makes me an Otaku (or something like that),
was definitely Hellsing.
during the airing in Germany (2003), i begun to love Animes,
and it was really cool, when i saw Alucard with his really huge pistols (like carabiner),
during killing the evil ones.
i saw this Anime ~5 times,
not so often like you Matt seeing Love Hina, but i think it?s enough.^^
(by the way, i saw Love Hina 3 times, i don?t have the time to watch Animes 30 times)

[Inkwolf]

I had seen a few anime movies--Princess Mononoke kept me looking for more good stuff--but the one anime that I totally fell in love with, which gave me a hunger for more anime and is still my #1 favorite, is Fruits Basket.

[Filleraol]

I probably watched sailor moon, pokemon and stuff when i was small....but the show that started my anime addiction was One Piece....After that i started watching naruto and bleach and similar, but after a while started to watch all kinds of anime, and now, well I shouldn't say anymore....I don't think i will rewatch one piece (too long) ^_^' but who knows :P

[Matt_Colly]

I had seen a few anime movies--Princess Mononoke kept me looking for more good stuff--but the one anime that I totally fell in love with, which gave me a hunger for more anime and is still my #1 favorite, is Fruits Basket.


fruits basket was great, but wasnt it incomplete? arent there characters that the anime failed to mention? i have always thought there shoud be an oav or second season to wrap it up, but all in all i enjoyed it. i am a cutsie tootsie anime fan...if at the end i say "awww" outloud, i'm happy.

conversley, if i go "HOLY **** THAT WAS $^%&(*& NUTS!" i am just as happy.

[AMVP]

this has probably already been a thread, but as i was replying to another thread i got to thinking...it would be intersting to know what anime it was that started you down the path of the otaku? Might not have been your first series, but it may have been...

personally, mine was my first (and so far favorite and VERY nerdy) love hina. I had just lost someone very close to me, i took a year off of going to college and just worked at a job as hard as i could muster. The plight of Keitaro and the similarities i was able to draw to that of my own struggle were uncanny, and because of that i felt each of his ups and downs and found myself watching and rewatching episodes as they suited my mood. Since then i have seen the series (in completion) 27 times and it has yet to become old to me.

From there i moved to your run of the mill gundam, bebop, trigun, etc. But love hina (while most certainly not perfect or by any means anime legend material) will always hold a special meaning to me.

and yoooouuuuu all?


That's cool, Matt. I myself was really into love Hina for a while there. I would actually get so into the story, I'd give myself a headache. I've never seen the anime, and I'm not really commiting to, but the manga still holds a place in my heart.
The one that got it all started, though? That would have to be Cowboy Bebop, on Adult Swim. Nightly, over the course of the summer (this was about 5 or 6 years ago, I think) I would sneak into the living room and watch it with the noise turned way down low, so as not to wake the folks. The rest, as they say, was history...

P.S.: Fruits Basket was the getter for my sister: a college friend of hers turned her on to the anime, then she got into the manga, and it just kinda snowballed from there.

[Matt_Colly]

i am totally in the same boat! i watched bebop every sat night throughout high school (having to wait 26 weeks to finish a series it TORTURE). i remember distinctly the jupiter jazz part 1 episode (where spike is left for dead in the streats of calisto) where after the final credits finished i sat awake and repeated to myself "WTF he CANT be dead...can he? WTF!" haha, but i think because of it i appreciated the series more.

the love hina manga was/ is incredible. i loved every page ;D

[AMVP]

ithe love hina manga was/ is incredible. i loved every page ;D


Yeah, it's just a shame that no other manga has been able to do for me what Love Hina did (except Azumanga daioh, which was just to short. I even cried a little at the end). However, if we breach into the world of graphic novels, the "Cerebus" series is definately a strong rival.

[Stichez]

Actually, the first anime I really liked that made me want more was Excel Saga for obvious reasons. :)

[Inkwolf]

Actually, the first anime I really liked that made me want more was Excel Saga for obvious reasons. :)


Stichez, Excel Saga is my all-time second-favorite. It's the first anime that I HAD to own the series myself. :D Are you reading the manga, too? I'm halfway through #16.



fruits basket was great, but wasnt it incomplete? arent there characters that the anime failed to mention?


Yeah, but I still liked the sorta-ending they used with the anime, but am loving waiting for each manga to come out and see what happens to the characters. :D (Nobody spoil me, if you've already read the Japanese version, please.)

[oppdis]

Well, my first anime were Pokemon and all that (when I was young), but I guess a few animes started my craze for anime.

First there was Cromartie High School, but they stopped airing on Anime Unleashed. I got pretty ticked off.

Than, thanks to an AMV with a song by Strong Bad in it, I was introduced to what I didn't know was called Azumanga Daioh, the best EVAH!

However, I have gotten around to other anime like Excel Saga (I can't spell), Lupin III, and even a small SMALL bit of Lucky Star. Sadly, that one didn't catch my interest.

-oppdis

[Split Second]

My first animes was probably either Cowboy Bebop or Tenchi Universe. Come to think of it, just about everybody's first would be something on Cartoon Network. I'd say the first one that made me feel nerdy/otakuish would be Azumanga Daioh, because it was the first anime I watched that wasn't in English and was the first one I couldn't pronounce at first. Since then, I'm always watching an anime. Hm I want to know what everyone's watching now so I'll post a new topic so I don't change the subject for this thread.

[Atasuke]

My first animes was probably either Cowboy Bebop or Tenchi Universe. Come to think of it, just about everybody's first would be something on Cartoon Network. I'd say the first one that made me feel nerdy/otakuish would be Azumanga Daioh, because it was the first anime I watched that wasn't in English and was the first one I couldn't pronounce at first. Since then, I'm always watching an anime. Hm I want to know what everyone's watching now so I'll post a new topic so I don't change the subject for this thread.


My first wasn't on Cartoon Network. Mine was on Fox Kids, Crayon Shin-chan in 1995.

[AMVP]

[quote=???????? ]

I remember when Fox briefly aired "Escaflowne", the t.v. series. That was really cool, and I would have watched more of it had they not pulled it three or four episodes in (I saw the movie a while back. Didn't really do anything for me.)

[Atasuke]

[quote=???????? ]

I remember when Fox briefly aired "Escaflowne", the t.v. series. That was really cool, and I would have watched more of it had they not pulled it three or four episodes in (I saw the movie a while back. Didn't really do anything for me.)


We (England) don't get Fox. However we had a channel called Fox Kids (Which got took over by Jetix a few years back) that was basically an anime channel, it showed; Crayon Shin-chan, Medabots, Sailor Moon, Flint the Time Detective, Monster Rancher, Hamtaro, and many many more.

[AMVP]

[quote=???????? ]

I remember when Fox briefly aired "Escaflowne", the t.v. series. That was really cool, and I would have watched more of it had they not pulled it three or four episodes in (I saw the movie a while back. Didn't really do anything for me.)


We (England) don't get Fox. However we had a channel called Fox Kids (Which got took over by Jetix a few years back) that was basically an anime channel, it showed; Crayon Shin-chan, Medabots, Sailor Moon, Flint the Time Detective, Monster Rancher, Hamtaro, and many many more.


We've got Jetix over here too, only instead of replacing Fox Kids, it took hold of ABC Family's cartoon lineup.
Seriously, can you believe how much children's television is based on anime these days? Not that I'm complaining.

[Atasuke]

[quote=???????? ]

I remember when Fox briefly aired "Escaflowne", the t.v. series. That was really cool, and I would have watched more of it had they not pulled it three or four episodes in (I saw the movie a while back. Didn't really do anything for me.)


We (England) don't get Fox. However we had a channel called Fox Kids (Which got took over by Jetix a few years back) that was basically an anime channel, it showed; Crayon Shin-chan, Medabots, Sailor Moon, Flint the Time Detective, Monster Rancher, Hamtaro, and many many more.


We've got Jetix over here too, only instead of replacing Fox Kids, it took hold of ABC Family's cartoon lineup.
Seriously, can you believe how much children's television is based on anime these days? Not that I'm complaining.


We don't get ABC either. Our Jetix is a whole channel, shows a ton of awful stuff, but also a few anime. Though one is edited to **** (Naruto, same dub as America, but with weaponplay, and blood edited out). Also you won't believe this but, we get anime on our Nick, Yu-Gi-Oh. =P

[Matt_Colly]

can we...uh...fix quotes please? haha! (it was doing this to me earlier...it is more of those board ghoasts...i'm tellin you.)

[UNOwen]

First anime was DBZ for me. I lost interest later. Then, it was Pokemon. However, once they got beyond 250, it just fell out for me. I used to have the Poke-rap memorized, plus Weird Al's Polka-mon! I guess the anime that truly made me otaku for good would have to be Trigun. Loved it so much I actually went out and paid for the box set. That's love right there. I look damn good in a skull and crossbones eye patch, too! ;)

[Issitheus]

First i think Pokemon... then DBZ... then Yu-Gi-Oh!...Then Case Closed/Detective Conan, then Naruto and CC/DC... and now those and Death Note... oh yeah and Azumanga

[Matt_Colly]

azumanga is great. am i a bad person for wanting more?

[Corpsegoddess]

I am an old fart. My first anime I ever saw was "Battle of the Planets", followed by "Star Blazers" and "Galaxy Express 999". Then, of course, "Robotech".

[Atasuke]

I am an old fart. My first anime I ever saw was "Battle of the Planets"


Ahh! I forgot about Battle of the Planets, I think I may have seen that before Shin-chan. Though I don't recall what channel used to air it here.

[Corpsegoddess]

I am an old fart. My first anime I ever saw was "Battle of the Planets"


Ahh! I forgot about Battle of the Planets, I think I may have seen that before Shin-chan. Though I don't recall what channel used to air it here.


Battle of the Planets and Star Blazers first aired in the late 70's, which is when my brother and I got to see them. We were hooked. ;D

[DicyDax]

must've been either Dragon Ball or Spirited Away...

[DicyDax]

uhh... Or Pokemon the movie! I remember waking up at like 2 AM (being like 6 years old), and running to my mother crying, shouting ''I wanna watch Pokemon again!!!!!!'' And she got like pretty freaking angry at me telling me about how ''That's just some japanese junk ...'' Yeah right, she never really understood the beauty of Hayao Miyazaki, which Walt Freaking Disney never understood... However it was mostly his son who sucked ass...

[AMVP]

azumanga is great. am i a bad person for wanting more?



You should give Yotsuba& a look, then.

[Matt_Colly]

azumanga is great. am i a bad person for wanting more?



You should give Yotsuba& a look, then.


i'll look it up, thanks ;D

[Issitheus]

azumanga is great. am i a bad person for wanting more?



if you are, then i should have the death sentence...

somebody get me Light!

[RainSage]

Definitely started with common animes(Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Loved Digimon) and didn't even know what anime was till like... Sixth grade, then spent months reading it. I really started off with Rurouni Kenshin, and went my way on, purchasing hundreds of dollars of anime every year. Glad it slowed down.

[Matt_Colly]

my buddy's first was Evangelion, i can only imagine the twisted take he must have on anime because of it...

[AMVP]

Evangelion really had me in the beginning. I would stay up until 1:30 in the morning (and on a weeknight, no less) just to catch the new episodes on Adult Swim. I believe it was about the time that the Eva started eating each other that I just stopped caring.

[masterage]

mine was the Sailor Moon/Dragonball block the local WB had...waaaaay back in the day. Interestingly enough, it's late-night anime block consisted of Dirty Pair and random movies, one of which I really wish I knew the name for...

[beriorgar]

first anime i have ever seen was spirited away, but i didn't get hooked until i saw gundam wing

[Matt_Colly]

first anime i have ever seen was spirited away, but i didn't get hooked until i saw gundam wing


spirited away was GREAT, and gundam was a good hook. the first time i saw death syth, i knew that anime was the ****

[PeanutSteak]

I sorta started way back in when I was a kid when they had Dragon Ball Z syndicated on one of my local television stations. Throughout my childhood I saw other animes but didn't really think too much of the genre as being something special.

Then when I was in sixth grade there was a Saturday morning in September that would forever change my life. I always anticipated that new shows that would be airing and was really excited to see what I would be spending the next months seeing, but I had no idea what was in store for me that day. It was the first time that I saw the show entitled "Escaflowne". When it began I wasn't really expecting that much of it but when the half-hour was over my mouth was completely agape. It was literally the best show that I had ever seen in my life, anime or not. I spent all week anticipating the next episode, spending that week thinking about the one that I had see the previous Saturday. Then one fateful morning I turned on my TV...and it was gone. Most likely due to the amount of violence, the show had permanently been taken off of the air. After that my love for anime just slowly faded away.

A couple of years later my brother had started hanging out with a bunch of people who were into anime. Really they were just into the usual stuff at that time like DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Inuyasha. That was the year when I finally got the internet (yeah, it's pretty bad that it was 2003 before I got internet access). I started to get into anime again and started watching those shows but really didn't care all that much for it. Then my brother came how one day saying how a friend of his was willing to give him Escaflowne on DVD. Suddenly my memories of that show came flooding back and how much I loved it and needed to see the rest. Needless to say, I bought all of the DVDs and over a few days watched the whole series.

Ever since then I've loved anime, I've realized that there are far better series than Escaflowne out there but it's still the on that started it all for me.

[Arden Jace]

my buddy's first was Evangelion, i can only imagine the twisted take he must have on anime because of it...


If you start from April, which is when I first got into anime in full force, then you could say NGE was my first. NGE, followed by Nadesico, followed by Excel Saga. After that my memory goes foggy.

If you start from when I was watching Gundam Wing and Outlaw Star on Toonami when I was 10, then those would be my first.

I'm not sure why (and I don't mean to sound like a pretentious jerk here) but I've always felt that I've got a pretty good grasp on what's going on in NGE. When I meet other people who've seen it, or when I get other people to watch it, they seem to not pick up on some of the more simple aspects of the show. Hell, once, a buddy of mine asked me, "So what exactly was Second Impact?" That's one of the few things they tell you straight in that show. I guess I like it because it gives you just enough information to figure out the plot on your own, but you have to think about it and come to some of your own conclusions and such; that's what was intended with it, after all. That, and I probably relate to Shinji a little too much to be healthy. >_>

[AMVP]

I sorta started way back in when I was a kid when they had Dragon Ball Z syndicated on one of my local television stations. Throughout my childhood I saw other animes but didn't really think too much of the genre as being something special.

Then when I was in sixth grade there was a Saturday morning in September that would forever change my life. I always anticipated that new shows that would be airing and was really excited to see what I would be spending the next months seeing, but I had no idea what was in store for me that day. It was the first time that I saw the show entitled "Escaflowne". When it began I wasn't really expecting that much of it but when the half-hour was over my mouth was completely agape. It was literally the best show that I had ever seen in my life, anime or not. I spent all week anticipating the next episode, spending that week thinking about the one that I had see the previous Saturday. Then one fateful morning I turned on my TV...and it was gone. Most likely due to the amount of violence, the show had permanently been taken off of the air. After that my love for anime just slowly faded away.

A couple of years later my brother had started hanging out with a bunch of people who were into anime. Really they were just into the usual stuff at that time like DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Inuyasha. That was the year when I finally got the internet (yeah, it's pretty bad that it was 2003 before I got internet access). I started to get into anime again and started watching those shows but really didn't care all that much for it. Then my brother came how one day saying how a friend of his was willing to give him Escaflowne on DVD. Suddenly my memories of that show came flooding back and how much I loved it and needed to see the rest. Needless to say, I bought all of the DVDs and over a few days watched the whole series.

Ever since then I've loved anime, I've realized that there are far better series than Escaflowne out there but it's still the on that started it all for me.


I know what you mean. Escaflowne was a big one for me too; the tv show, that is. The movie didn't really do anything for me.

[PeanutSteak]

I sorta started way back in when I was a kid when they had Dragon Ball Z syndicated on one of my local television stations. Throughout my childhood I saw other animes but didn't really think too much of the genre as being something special.

Then when I was in sixth grade there was a Saturday morning in September that would forever change my life. I always anticipated that new shows that would be airing and was really excited to see what I would be spending the next months seeing, but I had no idea what was in store for me that day. It was the first time that I saw the show entitled "Escaflowne". When it began I wasn't really expecting that much of it but when the half-hour was over my mouth was completely agape. It was literally the best show that I had ever seen in my life, anime or not. I spent all week anticipating the next episode, spending that week thinking about the one that I had see the previous Saturday. Then one fateful morning I turned on my TV...and it was gone. Most likely due to the amount of violence, the show had permanently been taken off of the air. After that my love for anime just slowly faded away.

A couple of years later my brother had started hanging out with a bunch of people who were into anime. Really they were just into the usual stuff at that time like DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Inuyasha. That was the year when I finally got the internet (yeah, it's pretty bad that it was 2003 before I got internet access). I started to get into anime again and started watching those shows but really didn't care all that much for it. Then my brother came how one day saying how a friend of his was willing to give him Escaflowne on DVD. Suddenly my memories of that show came flooding back and how much I loved it and needed to see the rest. Needless to say, I bought all of the DVDs and over a few days watched the whole series.

Ever since then I've loved anime, I've realized that there are far better series than Escaflowne out there but it's still the on that started it all for me.


I know what you mean. Escaflowne was a big one for me too; the tv show, that is. The movie didn't really do anything for me.

The movie really wasn't done well at all and I was very disappointed in it.

[Inkwolf]

I am an old fart. My first anime I ever saw was "Battle of the Planets"


Ahh! I forgot about Battle of the Planets, I think I may have seen that before Shin-chan. Though I don't recall what channel used to air it here.


Battle of the Planets and Star Blazers first aired in the late 70's, which is when my brother and I got to see them. We were hooked. ;D


Oh, yeah....I was a major G-Force nut case, and Zoltar ranks among the greats in my eternal, um, appreciation for melodramatic villains. :D But I don't really consider that my first anime (despite the copious BotP fan comics I drew as a kid) because i never knew what the heck anime was back then. And never learned about Gatchaman till earlier this year. So it didn't really influence my current anime hunger.

[TheEndOfAllThingsGreen]

been watching anime for about a month now.

started with elfen lied then azumanga daioh, and now im just about done with chobits. then ill watch eva.

[AMVP]

been watching anime for about a month now.

started with elfen lied then azumanga daioh, and now im just about done with chobits. then ill watch eva.


That has got to be one of the most tangent anime scheduals I've ever heard of.

[Arden Jace]

been watching anime for about a month now.

started with elfen lied then azumanga daioh, and now im just about done with chobits. then ill watch eva.


Don't watch it when you're not alert. Trust. Me.

<--- watched EoE at 4am. Bad. Idea.

[UNOwen]

been watching anime for about a month now.

started with elfen lied then azumanga daioh, and now im just about done with chobits. then ill watch eva.


That has got to be one of the most tangent anime scheduals I&#39;ve ever heard of.
No kidding. The only thing that would make it any stranger is if in between Azumanga Daioh and Chobits, he squeezed in "La Blue Girl".

[Matt_Colly]

la blue should be required viewing for anyone under 6...i&#39;m down for putting it into middle schools even to teach sex ed. ;D

[jopojelly]

Hmm, I was actually Vice-president of my schools short-lived anime club when I watched my first anime. It was during lunch at a meeting.

It was an OVA about how Japan was overflowing with old people, and a new old-person care machine that was a bed that basically got rid of the need for a nurse was made. Then the machine went all crazy assimilating other objects and causing havoc as it roamed the streets of Tokyo growing bigger and bigger.

Now that I think about it, it&#39;s sorta like Katamari meets Mecha.

Anyone know what the title of that is? I can&#39;t figure it out.

Anyway, after that I watched Ranma 1/2 from my city library and Cowboy Bebop from my friend.

And the rest is history.

[Issitheus]

You watch anime in history class?! what school do you go to? im transferring!

[Ellen Feiss]

so... what animei got you into animei shows?

[jopojelly]

You watch anime in history class?! what school do you go to? im transferring!

No, that was what was happening in the OVA, I was hoping someone could help me identify it.

[The Real Inferno]

I used to watch alot of Speed Racer when I was little then out came Ronin Warriors and Samurai Pizza Cats (I dont know if thats an anime but it looks like one)

[Issitheus]

I used to watch alot of Speed Racer when I was little then out came Ronin Warriors and Samurai Pizza Cats (I dont know if thats an anime but it looks like one)


Oh yeah! I forgot!
I LOVED Speed Racer, even way back when i was four or so! That was my favorite show! I remember waking up at 4:30 and turning on the TV and what was on? You guessed it!

But I seriously didn&#39;t know it was an anime!

[Ellen Feiss]

omg speed racer it was the best but then it got old but now that i think about it i realy liked DBZ it was awsome and i still see it from time to time but i would like to watch it every day but we cant get what we want :&#39;(

[yagsnave]

That would have to be Cowboy Bebop. Happened to tune in to the tail end of a Thanksgiving series marathon of it at ep 24 as I recall. I decided "wow, this is really good. I think I&#39;ll wait until I&#39;ve watched the rest of the series before I watch the last ep." Great decision on my part.

[Ebellester]

Tenchi Muyo back in the 90s. It was then I was on a quest to find more.

[JDavis]

Man, most of you people make me feel old :-\

My first anime is a little hard to pin down... Speed Racer, G-Force (AKA Gatchaman), Voltron, I watched all of these without really realizing that they were anime (or, rather, "Japanimation", as we called it back then). It was a pretty awesome time for cartoons (TMNT, Pirates of Dark Water, The Real Ghostbusters, etc.)...

The first time I believe I watched any with the knowledge of "this is from Japan" was way back when... When Cartoon Network did a "Night of the Vampire Robots" thing, with Robot Carnival, Vampire Hunter D, and Twilight of the ****roaches.

Then came Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon is the anime I&#39;ll credit as giving birth to my otaku-ness (at least on the anime side... I was already hooked on video games). My sister, being 3.5 years older than me, was in Jr. High at the time, and both she and all her friends got hooked on it. As such, she brought some VHS tapes home that she borrowed from her friends, and the two of us watched them... Then I was hooked as well. It didn&#39;t take long to figure out that USA was airing the show in the morning, around 15 minutes before when we needed to leave for school. Every single day after that, our routine became one of setting up the VCR to tape the show, watching the first half before heading to school, and then watching the entire episode once we got home.

Then, of course, Toonami (which I was already watching) started showing "new" episodes of Sailor Moon, then Dragonball Z, Tenchi Muyo, and so forth. The rest is history.

[moretoast4me]

mine was hamtaro!!! HE&#39;S JUST SOOOO CUTE!!! ;D