We all start somewhere. From a friend. From curiosity. From wanting to watch an adaptation of your favorite manga. We all start somewhere. This is an ode to my adventure with anime over the years.

Vampire Hunter D

This was one of the first anime I watched when I was in high school. I was at a teen club, and it was playing on a lounge tv. I was immediately taken in by the art. The larger than life vampire hunter. Instead of dancing, I sat at the lounge bar and watched the movie. It left me craving more. That’s how I caught the bug. I graduated to the other classics such as Akira, Neon Genesis, and Fists of the North Star.

I lost touch with anime after high school. I went into the Army, got married to someone who wasn’t into the Japanese culture, and had a child. Then, I got divorced and met my now-husband who brought me back into the fold. It was then that I watched my first shoujo anime (Yes, I know that shoujo is a demographic, but for the sake of this post, it’s a genre lol).

My Love Story!

One of the first anime that my husband made me watch to get back into the routine was My Love Story! It’s a cute shoujo anime about a very athletic, very tall, and very intimidating high school student that stops a groper from groping a female student. The girl falls in love with him however, he misreads her intentions for his good-looking best friend. It’s a cute anime and I suggest it if you want a wholesome love story. It was from there that I moved on to my first shounen (Yes, I know shounen is a demographic, but for the sake of this post, it’s a genre LOL).

Yakitate!! Japan

My first shounen was Yakitate!! Japan. It’s an anime about, you guessed it, BREAD. I don’t recall how I stumbled upon it. It’s about a young boy who wants to make a bread that represents Japan. You follow his journey through his bread evolution. It’s silly. Absolutely silly and I loved it. That led me to my first slice-of-life.

School-Live!

This isn’t your typical slice-of-life. It has a dark undertone that took me by surprise. It’s something that you have to watch twice to really see all the clues that the anime was giving you all along. This is one I suggest you watch for yourself, so I won’t go into too much detail other than to tell you it was a great introduction to the day-to-day life of the characters. From there, I graduated to my first isekai.

Sword Art Online

Some would argue that SAO isn’t a true isekai. However, I categorize it as an isekai because the main character is whisked away to another world. Sure, that world is virtual, but he is trapped there against his will. Kirito’s main goal is to make it back “home” and I feel that is a common component of isekai. SAO is divisive. Some feel it is one of the best anime ever produced, while some criticize it. I am on Team SAO. I loved every minute of it. Then, I watched my first music anime.

Your Lie in April

This anime is centered around a psychologically abused young genius pianist that has lost his ability to play the piano. He meets a young female violinist who wants nothing more than to see him play again. It’s a love story that ends in tragedy. The anime has an excellent soundtrack if you love classical music. That led me to my first sports anime.

Yuri on Ice!!!

I fell HARD for this anime. It’s about an anxiety-ridden ice skater who has fallen on hard times. All he wants is to skate in a competition with his idol. Then, one day, his idol shows up at his family’s onsen and declares he is going to be his coach. I was all about the subtle romantic relationship between the main protagonists. And it had ice skating! The music was also really, really good.

How about you?