| I was honestly just thinking about this today and, as many anime as I have seen, I really couldn't come up with an answer. Even my favorite anime of all time, Steins;Gate, while it has an amazing first episode, it's only amazing once you watch the whole series and actually realize what was happening during that episode. Needless to say, my first time watching the show I was seriously confused. That being said, I propose my question: Which Anime, as a FIRST TIME VIEWER (not going back and rewatching like me and Steins;Gate) had the best "First Episode" in your opinion? Excited to hear your thoughts and opinions! |
| Blanks. |
| GaRei Zero just because of the very good shock factor |
| Generic answer but Attack on Titan's first episode was so good. Honorable mention to Aldnoah.Zero, the ending of the first episode is just way too epic. Too bad it only goes downhill from there lol |
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| Mayoiga, it is great both on first watch and rewatch. It is able to present so much information in a very short time without breaking immersion. |
| maybe gurren lagann. the shot at the end where they burst out of the ground and see the surface world for the first time is so iconic |
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BallisticRiot said: I was honestly just thinking about this today and, as many anime as I have seen, I really couldn't come up with an answer. Even my favorite anime of all time, Steins;Gate, while it has an amazing first episode, it's only amazing once you watch the whole series and actually realize what was happening during that episode. Needless to say, my first time watching the show I was seriously confused. That being said, I propose my question: Which Anime, as a FIRST TIME VIEWER (not going back and rewatching like me and Steins;Gate) had the best "First Episode" in your opinion? Excited to hear your thoughts and opinions! Of course The Promised Neverland. Both first chapter of manga and first episode of anime are the best experience i have gotten from animanga. |
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| San-Gatsu no Lion by a pretty long shot |
| Berserk 1997 first episode so brutal, so haunting, bone chilling definitely the best first anime episode I've ever seen. |
| Kill la Kill by a mile, to me. Lol, the very opening scene is fucking amazing. I knew I loved the show after a minute of it. |
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| Even on first watch, I think Steins;gate first episode was really good. Another good first episode was from Eureka 7, I started it a month ago and the first episode really caught my attention. Honorable mentions: Code Geass, Cowboy Bebop, GTO, Haikyuu!! and Psycho Pass. |
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| Dusk Maiden comes to mind for me. I really liked how it split the episode up between two different perspectives, of ones who could see the ghost and those who couldnt |
| I think the best first episode I've ever watched, technically speaking, was Death Note's. It perfectly sets the tone for the show, manages to establish the MC's personality, goals and motivations, showcases his powers and the internal conflict from using them, and ends by foreshadowing his eventual downfall, all in 24 minutes and without it feeling rushed. It's a masterpiece in itself. Most anime first episodes barely manage to do one of those things. |
AnotherGuyAug 17, 2019 1:02 PM
| Star Driver is one; sad that the story didn’t conclude in gratifying way (typical BONES). |
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| One that immediately comes to mind is Gakkougurashi loved that cliffhanger.  |
Israel_Is_EvilAug 17, 2019 1:16 PM
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Mirai said: Generic answer but Attack on Titan's first episode was so good. angelk99 said: Attack on titan. I loved everything about it Yeah, as a new anime fan, Attack on Titan was my first anime. The strength of that first episode, combined with the novel of never having seen animation done like that before made it an instant hook for me. |
| Made in abyss, and it's not even close. |
| Gakkougurashi/School-Live is probably up there, with the twist at the end of the episode. It's the most memorable one that I can think of at the moment. I actually can't remember the first episode distinctly from others with a lot of shows that I have watched. |
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ugmon said: Oh yes.GaRei Zero just because of the very good shock factor Imaishi said: The first five or ten minutes actually were amazing.Kill la Kill by a mile, to me. Lol, the very opening scene is fucking amazing. I knew I loved the show after a minute of it. Following it Ergo Proxy, Code Geass, Elfen Lied, 91 Days, Baccano!, Paranoia Agent, Blood+ and Cowboy Bebop all of them have great first episodes. |
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| Kill la Kill. I had no idea what to expect but I was hooked from the start. |
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| Haibane Renmei for me. There's so much about the episode to grab on to and get curious about, like Rakka's monologue as she's falling, the wing scene, the coccoon stuff, but to me the most striking part was always that first shot of Reki walking down a corridor, halo above her head, wings on her back, and she's smoking a cigarette. That one scene coupled with the earthy colour palette immediately hooked me and had me wondering about the setting, just because of that cigarette, it causes such a wonderful dissonance with the angelic character design. |
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| I'd say Code Geass. The episode hooked me instantly and I binged the whole thing in 2 days after that |
Once you realize that what others think about what you enjoy doesn't matter, you will finally be free |
BallisticRiot said: Even my favorite anime of all time, Steins;Gate, while it has an amazing first episode, it's only amazing once you watch the whole series and actually realize what was happening during that episode. Needless to say, my first time watching the show I was seriously confused. I stopped watching steins gate after 4 episodes cause i wasnt in mood to watch any anime at that time. Reading this want to watch this and pay hard attention to first episode because like you, i also didnt understand what was happpening. As of topic: For me best first episodes are were something tragic happens. Like in Attack on Titan, Promised Neverland, Demon slayer |
| Re:zero Starting Life in Another World from Zero I jus loved every moment of it |
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| Probably Ping Pong the Animation. It was so good that I didn't get up until I was finished with the entire series. |
 "I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited." ― Jorge Luis Borges [url=]Goodreads[/url] | [url=]Letterboxd[/url] |
| That's a good question but I don't think I can really answer it. For a lot of my favorites I don't remember the 1st episode being particularly standout, and in general I don't pay too much attention to which episodes blow me away because when they do I just keep binging and remember the story as a whole and not as individual, numbered segments. Especially if I don't watch them weekly. Some of the first episodes that I do remember leaving an impact are the original FMA and Tokyo Ghoul S1, but I'm 100% sure I'm forgetting a ton of great ones, especially from less action heavy shows where the impact is subtler. There are some others which were good at getting the hook in storywise, like Attack on Titan, Code Geass or Death Note, but that's mostly because of they set up the story in my opinion. |
| I probably regret this post by now. |
| Gakkougurashi, probably the anime i would choose. |
| SAO. I had watched a lot of anime but its first episode was amazing for me, no other episode had given me a similar impression, I loved everything in that episode. I remember that after it ends, I re-watched it istantly. |
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| Made in Abyss instantly grabbed me with it's first episode with the world and intrigue it set up Osomatsu-san had one of the single funniest first episodes of all time, shame they decided to remove it from the official episode list The twist at the end of School-Live is just fantastic and makes it one of the best opening episodes to rewatch Whatever you think of Erased, that was a damn good hook you in first episode And shoutout to Chihayafuru which while I can't say episode 1 by itself is necessarily in the running (although still fantastic), when you take the first 3 episodes as a whole it's one of the best prologues to an anime ever. |
| You have shit taste, and then I have taste so shit it makes your taste look good |
| Death Note first episode was so good with the thriller and the introduction of the main character/villain. |
| 한 번만 살지만 제대로 하면 한 번이면 충분해요 |
| Mine would be The Promised Neverland. |
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| I honestly don't know, but will start thinking about it now. That being said I do have a favorite episode, not necessarily the 1st ep of an anime. I will check my custom list and get back to you. |
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| I dont really remember most of them, but m 100% sure that "Made in Abyss" has one of the greatest first episodes ever. I was blown away when I heard "Underground River" at the opening credits, it was like the beggining of a great movie. Epic! |
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| Probably Death Note. It's a perfect example of a show being immediately gripping and exciting. The line from Light at the end and the background music playing when he says it always gives me chills: "And I, will become the god of this new world." |
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| Haibane renmei and Texhnolyze for me. |
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| Might be goblin slayer tbh (might get some hate for this one) |
| Zetsuen no Tempest's first episode was flawless in terms of establishing character, tone, conflict, and theme. Even though it was quite an info-dump, Fate/Zero's first episode really set the tone for the series. |
LunaEstlinAug 18, 2019 12:12 AM
 It’s okay to look back at the past, just don’t stare too long |
| Black Lagoon has an amazing first ep if I remember correctly. Really sells you on the show right off the bat. |
| This was tough, I think back and its always the second or third episode that established things enough for me to be fully engaged so.... i think the ones ive looked at are more visually significant rather than me being interested in the story. 3 gatsu no lion had an amazing first episode that roped me in ASAP, the intro did a good job of showing the heaviness of the MC's emotions. that in contrast with the warmth of the sisters. i was rezaly excited to see the story unfold. Mob psycho 100 also, the animation was so nice and the art was very new to me so i kept wanting to see like this interesting style i had never experienced |
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 ☆☆☆ "There's a huge difference between one and infinity. However, compared to the difference between existence and non-existence, one and infinite are nearly the same. I am the child destined to become the best witch... no... The greatest Creator in the world...!" -Maria Ushiromiya ☆☆☆ |
| Shingeki had a very good first episode. Shame that everything that came after it failed to live up to it. Ridiculously common occurrence, this. SAO is another one that had a good first episode and then everything else was shit. Naruto had a better first episode than a vast majority of it's remaining episodes. Yakusoku no Neverland had an almost perfect first episode. Absolutely brilliant. I'd say the same for Death Note if it were not for the fact that the second episode completely shits on the first episode. As for the best first episode I've ever seen in an anime, I'm gonna give that to my original, my first anime episode ever watched: Code Geass R2 (yes, the first anime I watched was the second season of an anime, sue me). The way it just kept building up until it finally broke, so good. |
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| Maybe Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari's first episode was the best I've seen |
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