T5W#211-Top 5 Anime I Didn’t Know Were Anime At First

While I generally clock in my Anime beginnings around…1998/1999, whichever year Dragon Ball Z was starting to get big, I know im not alone in knowing that I was watching some Anime before I knew it was Anime.  It stood out from all other cartoons I was watching as a kid but for a long time, I never knew some titles had an artstyle under a very special name I still hold close to my heart.  Recently, ive been checking out some older titles for future reviews on the blog (wayyyy down the line, like maybe a year away at this point) and thinking about that small handful of pre Anime fandom shows I checked out and enjoyed.  I wonder if anyone else will feel the same way reading this list.  So here we are, the Top 5 Anime I Didn’t Know Were Anime At First.

#5-Robotech (aka Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeda)

I used to live in my parents collection of VHS collection tapes containing movies and TV shows they thought would appeal to me and my sister.  One of them was a mix tape containing mostly Transformers material (including the 1986 movie) as well as a little marathon of another kind of Transformer series that wasn’t Transformers.  Fighter jets that turned into giant robots battling aliens, a gigantic battleship that could also transform and kick some serious ass, and some actually likeable characters, I cant tell you how many times I marathoned the first six episodes of Robotech on that VHS tape without knowing I was watching something truly great (or basterdized depending on who you ask).

#4-G-Force: Guardians of Space (aka Gatchaman)

It wasn’t quite Power Rangers but G-Force had a five man team of super teens and a them song that got the blood pumping everytime “G FORCE” cried out on the screen.  I actually don’t remember too much about my few viewings of G-Force besides the intro featuring a Voltron style narraration (though not as cool) detailing who was who on the team.  I’d later find other renditions of G-Force in Eagle Riders, which had a very swift stay in syndication, and G-Force’s predecessor Battle of the Planets, all of which took on separate chapters of the Gatchaman legacy they were adapting.

#3-Dragon Ball (aka…way before Dragon Ball Z)

Long before the days of Super Saiyans and Vegeta, there were random TV Spots for a show featuring a little kid with spiky hair and a red staff battling random robots, dinosaurs and some wild looking warrior I had no idea would become the butt of every franchise joke.  Most may not remember this, but before Funimation became the sole custiodians of all things Dragon Ball, the original Dragon Ball was given a mid 90’s dub from…I wanna say Kidmark.  The dub itself wasn’t bad and some of the voice actors transitioned over to Dragon Ball Z eventually.  Still, the very short 30 second promo that introduced me to this world was just a pinky toe stepping into a much larger universe…I just didn’t know it yet.

#2-Ronin Warriors (aka Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers)

If I thought G-Force had something to do with Power Rangers, how about 5 young men in cyber looking under armor who power up into sweeter and sleeker looking actual Samurai armor with their own unique fighting styles and weapons.  Ronin Warriors had a surprise summer run on a local network and from the moment I jumped into it, I was glued to the screen for much of the initial run.  I couldn’t get enough of the battles and just how cool this quintet of mysterious warriors looked while kicking ass.  So when Ronin Warriors was eventually announced for Toonami several years later, I think I was one of the few who was pumped to see them again.

#1-Voltron (aka Go Lion Voltron Force)

“From days of long ago…from untold reaches of the universe…comes a legend…the legend of VOLTRON: DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE!!!”  God I had no idea just how iconic and important the voice of Peter Cullen would become in much of my Anime upbringing.  Like Robotech, the first five or so episodes of Voltron was cobbled together into a feature length special on VHS and I was onboard with the concept as soon as I saw five robot lions trying to take on giant monsters.  Just on the cusp of discovering Transformers (speaking of Peter Cullen) Voltron was my true unexpected entry point into Anime and it showed that if I enjoyed it at Age 5 and didn’t even realize it, well is it any surprise im here now 25 years later still writing about my favorite medium?