What's The Oldest Anime You've Watched?

One of the reasons I love Twitter/X is that I can reach hundreds of J-List customers and ask their opinions on a topic. One day I was wondering what the oldest anime they’d seen was, and was impressed with the many replies I received. Keep reading to see the oldest anime J-List fans have seen!

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One reason I love animation is that it’s timeless in a way that live-action can never be. While I’m not very likely to re-watch TV shows or most movies from the 1980s or 1970s, I’m more than happy to re-watch a beloved classic anime to see how it holds up decades later, to compare to how animation in those days with the modern era. And if you don’t like the art style in a classic anime, no problem! Just wait a few years, and it will probably get re-made from scratch.

What’s the Oldest Anime You’ve Watched?

My introduction to anime was Ranma 1/2. It was quite an interesting place to start my career as an anime fan.

Samurai Pizza Cats (the dub). It was absolutely wacky and crazy, a huge departure from the source material and amusing in its own right, but what drew me to it was the art style which I instinctually liked more than TMNT (which this show was lampooning).

Speed Racer (aka Mach GoGoGo) was my first, but I came to love G-Force (Gatchaman) even more.

If by ‘earliest’ you mean the first one I saw it was Heidi, Girl of the Alps. If you mean the oldest anime I’ve seen it would be the original Cutie Honey.

Lupin Iii Castle Of Cagliostro Parody — Image source

Lupin III: Castle Of Cagliostro (1979). It’s such a classic.

The OG Dragon Ball for me.

The classic Pokémon was the oldest anime I’ve seen. I still love it.

Tenchi Muyo!

Gundam Wing was my first anime. I couldn’t get enough of it!

Dragon Ball and the Ghibli films.

Vampire Hunter D (1985). It really got our attention back then.

For me, I started with Sailor Moon, and then in college, I got more into anime with Tenchi Muyo, New Dominion Tank Police, and Ranma 1/2. But Sailor Moon is still my favorite and the one closest to my heart ❤️

My oldest one is also a classic. I’m pretty sure everyone knows this one.

Through my mom’s recommendation, I watched Candy Candy a while ago since she grew up with it. It’s such an endearing and grounded story. It has its sad and happy moments, but I’m glad I will forever be able to have this memory.

What about me? I watched Kimba the White Lion and Speed Racer, but the show that made the deepest impression on me was Star Blazers, aka Space Battleship Yamato. The idea that anime could tell such a dramatic story involving the possible deaths of millions absolutely blew my mind. This early bit of fan service apparently made a deep impression on me at a young age, considering what I ended up doing with my life.

Thanks for reading this blog post asking what the oldest anime you’ve watched was. What was yours? Tell us in the comments below!

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