In my case, I first saw Speed Racer in the early 70s. Then Battle of the Planets. (even back then I think I wanted 7-Zark-7 to die... "Stop TALKING and let's
get back to the good stuff!")
Ironically, Star Blazers took over the broadcast slot of Battle
of the Planets in the Dallas area! But the station was actually cool about it - they actually had promos for the new show and said when it would start
broadcasting. At first I was dissapointed to be losing BOTP. But THEN I saw the promos and WOW... I wanted to see what this new Star Blazers was all about. Star Blazers first broadcast in 1979, first Monday in
September, Labor Day in the states. A holiday. So not even school had the possibility of interfering.
I've waxed poetical about how this changed my life before, so... moving on.
It wasn't until Star Blazers came along that I started figuring out that these shows had a common source in Japan.
I was watching the end credits of Star Blazers one afternoon and noticed "Originally titled "Space Cruiser Yamato" in the credits. Along with all the Japanese names.
As I was into plastic model kits of things like WWII Battleships at the time, and the show even acknowledged in the story that the ship was originally a WWII
Battleship, I was intrigued. Not having heard of the Yamato before then, I did a little research (pre-internet - I had to look it up in the library!) and found
reference and pics of the original Battleship Yamato.
Anyway - moving along again, because I think I've mentioned how this all got me into Anime Fandom by 1983 before.
So - first fansub? Hmm...
That would have to be possibly the earliest fansub of all time. The subtitled Lupin III - Castle
Cagliostro that made the rounds of anime clubs and early "Japanimation" rooms at conventions in the early 80s. I don't know of any
subtitled anime that came before that one.
"Castle C" wasn't the best by far. The subtitles were a mono-colored white and even if the tape was an early-gen copy, the white lettering would
sometimes get lost in some of the backgrounds. Still! Better than nothing! And at most showings, early on, if you lost something, sometimes there was a
knowledgable fan who had seen the thing before in the room to explain what just happened.
The only other major fansubs during that period was the one they made for My Youth In Arcadia and
the 1984 Macross Do You Remember Love movie.
get back to the good stuff!")
Ironically, Star Blazers took over the broadcast slot of Battle
of the Planets in the Dallas area! But the station was actually cool about it - they actually had promos for the new show and said when it would start
broadcasting. At first I was dissapointed to be losing BOTP. But THEN I saw the promos and WOW... I wanted to see what this new Star Blazers was all about. Star Blazers first broadcast in 1979, first Monday in
September, Labor Day in the states. A holiday. So not even school had the possibility of interfering.
I've waxed poetical about how this changed my life before, so... moving on.
It wasn't until Star Blazers came along that I started figuring out that these shows had a common source in Japan.
I was watching the end credits of Star Blazers one afternoon and noticed "Originally titled "Space Cruiser Yamato" in the credits. Along with all the Japanese names.
As I was into plastic model kits of things like WWII Battleships at the time, and the show even acknowledged in the story that the ship was originally a WWII
Battleship, I was intrigued. Not having heard of the Yamato before then, I did a little research (pre-internet - I had to look it up in the library!) and found
reference and pics of the original Battleship Yamato.
Anyway - moving along again, because I think I've mentioned how this all got me into Anime Fandom by 1983 before.
So - first fansub? Hmm...
That would have to be possibly the earliest fansub of all time. The subtitled Lupin III - Castle
Cagliostro that made the rounds of anime clubs and early "Japanimation" rooms at conventions in the early 80s. I don't know of any
subtitled anime that came before that one.
"Castle C" wasn't the best by far. The subtitles were a mono-colored white and even if the tape was an early-gen copy, the white lettering would
sometimes get lost in some of the backgrounds. Still! Better than nothing! And at most showings, early on, if you lost something, sometimes there was a
knowledgable fan who had seen the thing before in the room to explain what just happened.
The only other major fansubs during that period was the one they made for My Youth In Arcadia and
the 1984 Macross Do You Remember Love movie.