Probably Pokemon or Dragonball Z.

Before I knew what anime was, probably something like Speed Racer.

First “let’s see what this anime thing is about” anime that I watched: Ghost in the Shell (the OG movie). It was a good choice.

Ever? Or first after knowing about/wanting to get into anime?

I certainly saw plenty as a kid before I knew anime was a distinct thing. Super old stuff like Kimba, speed racer and voltron.

I think a much later first was robotech, even if it’s a edited/remixed version of Macross.

Oh no how dare you remind me lol. Wolf’s Rain here’s episode 1 https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x82c7kc the theme SLAPS but the whole things lowkey furry bait. still good, kinda wanna watch it again.

The Wizard of Oz was the first, before I knew there was some sort of a difference between this or that animation.

The first “proper” one was either Spirited Away, Chobits (by recommendation) or Bleach. I adore Miyazaki’s work still, Wizard of Oz has a special, nostalgic place in my heart and I want to see it again sometime, Bleach I probably couldn’t bother to watch anymore (soooo much filler and pointless fan-service aimed at teenaged boys, I couldn’t stand all that stuff even then), Chobits I might give a spin sometime just to see if it’s at all not-horrible, but it’s been a while so I can’t really remember. The whole virgin-boy wants sex angle and fan-service thing never appealed to me and ruins so many animes that would be good or even great otherwise.

It’s been pretty long ago for either interpretation, so my memory might be off.

The first ever was probably Heidi or Biene Maia.

The first ever not explicitly produced for a western audience was probably Captain Tsubasa.

The first after having a concept of anime vs. cartoons was one of Akira, Ghost in the Shell or Blue Lagoon.

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It depends on what qualifies as “watched”. If you mean “what was the first anime you watched all the way through” it would be some 2012 anime like Code Geass or something. The first anime I ever remember watching seasonally was Parasyte: The Maxim, because a friend of mine told me I might like it but it turned out there was only 1 episode of it out. That’s definitely when the infection my passion for anime began. I started watching everything I could get my hands on seasonally then. Parasyte is still a 10/10 show by the way, and it 2000% holds up today.

Hard to say for sure but probably Speed Racer. Dragonball Z is definitely the first one I followed consistently. But Speed Racer would have likely been the first I came across.

It would have been playing on Cartoon Network pre-toonami when I was a kid. Back before the US thought there was any difference in Japanese Animation vs US animation.

Spirited Away is what set me to going out of my way for more. But Toonami gave me Gundam Wing, Outlaw Star, .Hack//Sign and Inuyasha while Adult Swim got my Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Wolfs Rain, etc.

I saw Spirited Away in a theater in the mid 2000s and started downloading stuff left and right.

Saturday morning cartoons: DragonBall Z, Gundam Wing Endless Waltz. Friend then introduced me to Pokémon. But I just watched these casually.

A few years later, high school friends got me to watch Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Ranma 1/2, Great Teacher Onizuka, Azumanga Daioh, Love Hina, and several Studio Ghibli movies. I’m sure there are more that I’m forgetting, but high school was when it started for me. Action, drama, comedy, romance, slice of life, everything.

GTO is still one of my all time favorites. I’ve rewatched it a few times, read the manga, and watched the live action remakes. This class is known for getting teachers to quit, but Onizuka sensei is a former gang member that has a totally different perspective on life. Because of his background, he has a very different approach to teaching and relating to his students.

There have been a lot of good anime with great stories, animation, comedy, etc. GTO isn’t the best anime ever, but I connected with it on a deeper level, so it holds a special place.

I have a vague recollection of seeing part of Princess Mononoke as a child, so I guess that would be my “first”, although what really got me interested in anime was watching the first couple episodes of Attack on Titan at a high school club.

The first anime I watched fully knowing it was an anime is Vampire Hunter D back in the late 80’s. I still have a soft spot for it.

Dragon Ball and Toonami pulled me back in hard. I loved anime but didn’t have much access to it until Toonami.

I had watched some anime adaptations (Voltron, etc) when I was younger, but I had no idea what anime was back then, and not sure those would count.