The first anime you ever saw?

[Codexus]

Hard to remember, whatever was on the French TV at the end of the 70s: Grendizer (known as Goldorak in French), Candy Candy, Battle of the Planets.

What got me started as an anime fan years later was Bubblegum Crisis.

[Unicorn]

If it has to be the first anime that I really experienced as something entirely different than your typical Disney-animations, then it is Tezuka-sensei's "Space Firebirth".

I may have watched other aired animes before ("Speed racer", "Alps no Shoujo, Heidi", "3000 leagues in search of mother", "Captain Future"), but then I didn't really realize what was the special thing about them that attracted me with a special appeal.

[lunasspecto]

Mine was either My Neighbor Totoro or Tottoi, which I believe I saw dubbed in English. Actually, I only remembered some very vague elements from the film, so I put some keywords in Google and found a fairly obscure anime movie made by Nippon Animation....

[Aashtarsrain]

Ufo Robot Grendizer, in 1978, best themes, music and maybe chara design ever !

[Coatl]

Ranma 1/2 and DBZ, both in mexico years before they aired in the states.

[thebackup]

Either Dragonball Z or Sailor Moon during my elementary school days. Shortly followed by Pokemon.

I'm impressed that Pokemon is still on the air, after, like, 12 or so years.
(I lost interest as I got older, though)

[Kelsea]

yu yu hakusho, back before toonami disappeared.

[Der Tor]

The first anime i ever saw must have been Star Musketeer Bismarck... but the English and German versions (Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs) where so messed up and so heavily altered to target little children that i hated it and thought that i was too grown up for a children's show like that (even though i was six years old).

And besides the German version contained almost as many English words as the English version did...

Would i have had the opportunity to watch the original version back then... i am sure i would have loved it, and it would have been my favorite series....

[JinzouTamashii]

Grave of the Fireflies at a film festival.

I love Tezuka for what he did, he was amazing, but he started the practice of anime cutting corners and low budget and not paying the animators properly and I will always despise him for that. Thanks a lot, buddy.

[RayRayTea]

Hard to remember but it was the French imports from the late 70s for me - DevilMan, Conan, Candy Candy, Sasuke, Mazinger and the rest.

Edit: Oh right, and Lupin III, Kimba, Principessa Zaffiro, Heidi, Maya, a few robots that I can't remember the names of...

[Tsundere Lightning]

A Ranma 1/2 paperback bit my hand, I read it, and then I rented it.

Very, very good series for all of three paperbacks.

[JinzouTamashii]

Tsunli, Ranma 1/2 bent my brain around the idea of gender too. XD

If Shadelight ever releases Prodigal Daughter, it will be fun to illustrate that one. I played around with the idea of a reassigned character. It was originally going to be a game where you chose your gender but it became a short story. In some ways, it was the prototype for the plot of SOTP.

I remember seeing Pokemon too, but I liked the games way better than the anime...

[Pantamorph]

The first anime I ever saw?.. If I'm not mistaken was Slayers, then came Dragonball Z series, then I didn't watch anime for a few years until an anime channel appeared and I sat for days watching some animes (YAT Anshin! Uchū Ryokō, Howl's moving castle, onimusha)

[JinzouTamashii]

Howl's Flaying Castle?

Oh, dear... Miyazaki would be rolling around in his grave, if he had one...

[Pantamorph]

Sorry, I'm not from english-speaking countries so I don't know how to correctly call it, in our dub, it was called Howl's flying castle
Edit:
Oh, so I made a spelling mistake, sorry about that