Anime Beginnings

It all had to start somewhere. At some point in your life, someone turned you on to the world of Japanese animation. The rest, of course, is history, as anime has become mainstream entertainment in the U.S.

What was your first anime?

For many of the older readers, you may remember Tetsuwan Atom (Astroboy), which premiered in the early to mid '60s. Created by the visionary Osamu Tezuka, it ran for 193 episodes and is considered to be the "founding father" of the anime revolution.

G-Force found us in the early '70s and displayed the popular mecha style that had surrounded anime during that time. Giant robots and high action made this an anime favorite.

Mobile Suit Gundam followed suit (no pun intended) in 1979 and gave us just over 40 episodes of robot-butt-kicking action. Although remade, Gundam is still around in one form or another today and remains one of the all time favs among hard-core anime fans.

Robotech and Captain Harlock appeared in the 1980s and anime fans were hooked. While the mecha trend was still alive and well, anime was beginning to evolve into something bigger and yes, better.

The '90s saw an anime explosion, with the release of Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon to name a few. DBZ remains one of the top anime series ever in the U.S. and is one of the most widely recognized shows across the country.

What will the 21st century bring? We continue to see an anime explosion with greats such as Tenchi Muyo, .hack//SIGN, Lupin III and Trigun. The Anime Network, the first all-anime 24 hour cable channel is making strides across the country. Anime is everywhere, thank the good entertainment gods and it just keeps getting bigger.

So.... what was your first anime?