Pokemon, the gateway to anime

I suspect that many people started their love of anime through a little show called Pokemon.  While you may not have recognized it as anime back in the day, there's no doubt that it's part of the genre.  In fact, it may be the biggest anime to ever grace TV screens around the world.  Pokemon is a juggernaut franchise that continues to this day, and constantly breaks new records due to its long-running popularity.

I can remember seeing the very first episode of the Pokemon series.  It came on in place of another cartoon that I used to watch before heading to high school.  When the show popped up, I remember being angry that it took over the slot for another show I enjoyed.  Still, I gave the show a shot and actually really got into it.  It was unlike any other cartoon I had seen in the states at the time, and that's saying a lot.

I really loved the idea of the continuing story, and the journey of one young boy out to become the best at something.  It didn't hurt that he was using monsters to battle one another.  That just made the situation even cooler!  Seeing those first few episodes absolutely convinced me that this series was going to become something special.  I just knew it was going to take off.  I had no idea how huge the series would get though!

Of course, my interest of the anime series lead me into playing the first games, and then I was a fan for life.  I may not be current with all the episodes, but I still appreciate the brand and play the games as well.  There's something very timeless about the Pokemon series, which kids and adults alike continue to show support for.  While many thought the Pokemon series to be nothing but a fad, I think we've seen by now that that's simply not the case.

Did you catch Pokemon fever back in the day?  Do you still have it right now?  I'm sure many of you have dabbled with Pokemon at one point in your life.  I'm really curious to see how much you managed to stick with it over the years.  The series certainly isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and I'm interested to see if you're along for the ride!