by Summer is a season when countless movies are released. This summer, a string of hotly anticipated titles is arriving. July saw the release of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Castle Arc Chapter 1: Akaza Returns,” followed by Disney & Pixar’s latest film, “Erio the Star-Strikes Back,” on August 1st, and “Crayon Shin-chan: The Movie: The Super Brilliant! Scorching Kasukabe Dancers
Do you remember the first Anime you ever saw at the cinema? The experience of being surrounded by a giant screen and powerful sound, utterly different from the screen of a home TV or smartphone, is sure to leave a lasting impression on many. Following on from last year, Anime! Anime! Conducted a reader survey titled “What was the first anime you ever saw at the cinema?” We received responses from 90 people between July 31st and August 7th. The gender ratio was approximately 25% male and 75% female, with a female predominance. The age demographic was primarily young, with approximately 45% under 19 and 20% in their 20s.
A memorable first movie experience! This survey received votes from a wide range of age groups. We’ll introduce some of these films along with reader comments. “Spirited Away” (released in 2001) is a Studio Ghibli film directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It tells the story of a 10-year-old girl, Chihiro, who wanders into a mysterious world and grows up working for the greedy witch, Yubaba, to save her parents, who have been transformed into pigs. Readers have spoken of the film as a memorable one, saying, “When it was released, I was about 3 or 4 years old and my mother took me to see it.
The scene where Chihiro’s parents turn into pigs was terrifying, and I remember bawling my eyes out imagining what would happen if my own family were transformed into that kind of thing.” Others have said, “I only learned as an adult that the story took many twists and turns before it reached its current form. It makes me wonder if the ending could have been different.” Another Miyazaki film, “Princess Mononoke” (released in 1997), tells the story of Ashitaka, a young man cursed with death, who meets San, a girl raised by an inugami (dog god).
“My parents took me to see it because it was a new Studio Ghibli film. There are some violent scenes with heads and arms flying. Still, I remember not really understanding it as a first-grader and just watching it, thinking that that’s how it was,” said one person, demonstrating the popularity of Ghibli films.
Going back even further, “The Great Adventure of Horus, Prince of the Sun” (released in 1968), in which Miyazaki participated as an animator, also received votes. This film was the directorial debut of Isao Takahata, who would later work on “Grave of the Fireflies” and “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” at Ghibli. It tells the story of the protagonist Horus’s adventure to save his village from the demon Grunwald.
A reader in his 60s recalled the time of its release, saying, “I saw it in 1968 at an omnibus screening called ‘Toei Manga Parade,’ but I have no memory of it. All I remember is the simultaneous screening of ‘Ultra Seven,’ even though it’s a masterpiece.” Another classic is ‘Space Battleship Yamato’ (released in 1977). It’s a sci-fi tale about the crew of the Space Battleship Yamato setting out for Iscandar to save the Earth from destruction. It’s a compilation of the TV anime series that first aired in 1974.
A reader in his 50s shared, “It was the first anime movie I ever saw, when I was in the first grade of elementary school, and I went to see it with my brother. Since then, I’ve never missed a ‘Yamato’ film. While ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba’ has become a social phenomenon, the second film, ‘Space Battleship Yamato: Farewell to Space Battleship Yamato,’ released in 1978, was just as impressive.”
The latest installment of the Demon Slayer series, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Castle Arc Chapter 1: Akaza Returns,” is currently in theaters. Many Anime! Anime! Readers first saw the previous film, “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train” (released in 2020), with comments like, “I love Demon Slayer, so going out with a friend to see it is a fond memory now,” and “It was the first time I’d ever gone to the cinema and cried at a movie.”
Furthermore, when votes were compiled by series in this survey, “Doraemon,” which has released a film almost every year since 1980, came out on top. Many readers were unsure which series they had seen, with one commenting, “Doraemon must have been my first movie, but back then, there were no assigned seats, so I vividly remember my mother standing in a packed theater watching it.
