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How deep into your anime journey were you when you opened a MAL account

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Dec 10, 3:10 PM
#1
Offline
Aug 2025
243
Just curious. I see some ppl with gigantic lists and a year or few on MAL which makes me think they've been watching for a while before - and I equally see some with very recent accounts and scanty lists which almost makes me think they opened an account when they started to watch anime. Could simply be a case of not watching often and vice versa but I'm curious what your own case was.

For me, I've only been watching for approx. 1.5years before coming to MAL.
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Dec 10, 3:18 PM
#2

Online
Dec 2021
4188
Probably around a year in. Urusei Yatsura, City Hunter, some Angel Heart, Yawara, Igano Kabamaru, and Jigoku Sensei Nube. I don't quite remember everything else, but I'm pretty sure I had these anime under my belt before I made my account.
Dec 10, 3:26 PM
#3

Offline
Jan 2022
1718
Not very deep. About a month from when I started. I realized that I can't track the anime I watched in my head. I also need a profile to build my taste for recommendations.
Dec 10, 3:36 PM
#4

Offline
Feb 2020
1779
Ignoring the 500 or so eps of pokemon and most of yu-gi-oh duel monsters & GX that i watched over a few years when i was younger, it was around 3-4 years that i had been watching anime until i joined MAL. First started tracking anime thru my notes app (which I still do to note down series completion!) a few months before I signed up on MAL, but figured itd be more convenient to switch to an online tracker soon

Living in a household that grew up on anime, it was pretty easy to get into it ngl. Pretty sure i was keeping up on a few seasonals (like BNHA s4 and Ahiru no Sora) well before I knew there were sites that tracked anime by seasons
Dec 10, 3:36 PM
#5

Offline
Apr 2019
78
Made my first account back in 2013, so that's roughly 3 years after I got into anime proper. There's actually a snapshot of my profile on the internet archive from back then so these were my stats:

This current one I made around the time I quit reading chinese and korean webnovels and got back into the medium after a 3 year long break.
QQ3547Dec 10, 10:13 PM
Dec 10, 3:43 PM
#6

Offline
Dec 2025
26
Well this is like my 15th account on this website (I hate this website but keep coming back because I am a masochist) :) My first account on here was sometime early 2022 and I started watching anime in February of 2021 so about a year.
I use Anidb as my main account.
Dec 10, 3:51 PM
#7
Offline
Oct 2014
182
It was at 50% of my CURRENT overall anime experience (by year, not by watchtime or number of titles).
Dec 10, 3:51 PM
#8

Offline
Jul 2016
9358
Maybe at least a couple episodes of one of the Dragon Ball series

+

https://myanimelist.net/anime/2183/Ayane-chan_High_Kick

https://myanimelist.net/anime/1639/Boku_no_Pico
https://myanimelist.net/anime/5391/Pico_to_Chico
https://myanimelist.net/anime/4866/Pico_x_CoCo_x_Chico

https://myanimelist.net/anime/120/Fruits_Basket at least 1 of the episodes
https://myanimelist.net/anime/48/hack__Sign not many episodes
https://myanimelist.net/anime/4262/Koihime%E2%80%A0Musou first episode
https://myanimelist.net/anime/232/Cardcaptor_Sakura not many episodes
https://myanimelist.net/anime/371/Cardcaptor_Sakura_Movie_1
https://myanimelist.net/anime/22481/Hello_Kitty_no_Kieta_Santa-san_no_Boushi
https://myanimelist.net/anime/3503/Kanokon
https://myanimelist.net/anime/17983/Kerokero_Keroppi_no_Christmas_Eve_no_Okurimono

https://myanimelist.net/anime/11827/Kuroinu__Kedakaki_Seijo_wa_Hakudaku_ni_Somaru first episode~

https://myanimelist.net/anime/21105/Love_Stage
https://myanimelist.net/anime/527/Pokemon not many episodes
https://myanimelist.net/anime/528/Pokemon_Movie_01__Mewtwo_no_Gyakushuu
https://myanimelist.net/anime/1117/Pokemon_Movie_02__Maboroshi_no_Pokemon_Lugia_Bakutan
https://myanimelist.net/anime/1118/Pokemon_Movie_03__Kesshoutou_no_Teiou_Entei
https://myanimelist.net/anime/1119/Pokemon_Movie_04__Celebi_Toki_wo_Koeta_Deai
https://myanimelist.net/anime/210/Ranma_%C2%BD not many episodes
https://myanimelist.net/anime/23233/Shinmai_Maou_no_Testament
https://myanimelist.net/anime/30363/Shinmai_Maou_no_Testament_Burst

https://myanimelist.net/anime/1787/Viper_GTS first episode~

https://myanimelist.net/anime/481/Yu%E2%98%86Gi%E2%98%86Oh_Duel_Monsters only the duelist kingdom arc
IpreferEcchiDec 10, 3:57 PM
Dec 10, 3:52 PM
#9
Offline
Sep 2024
66
I started seriously watching anime around late 2019 and earl 2020, if you ignore watching pokemon and inazuma 11 as a child, but I made my MAL account in 2024 cause I wanted to find a way to keep track of the anime I was watching.
Dec 10, 4:00 PM
Offline
Jun 2020
1
I think I created my account after 1 year of watching anime, I hadn't started for long, not counting the anime watched in TV or continued like One Piece or Dragon Ball
Dec 10, 4:03 PM

Online
Jul 2013
12933
This site isn't particularly difficult to find for someone searching up anime btw......
Dec 10, 4:10 PM

Offline
Jul 2021
11273
I remembered all of it, so not very. .
Dec 10, 4:15 PM

Offline
Jun 2017
6762
I'd been a fan since 2002, but i didn't deep dive past Shounen and all that till 2016 and i made my account around 6 months later
My waifu is the most wonderful waifu. Mai Valentine.

We're freaking out that we're running out of time, but to do what? Should i stop and think of that? Is there something i could do to slow it down? Live in a day for once, instead of watch it sprinting by
Dec 10, 4:33 PM

Offline
Dec 2024
34
I've been watching anime since 2016, but since my internet has always been slow and my pace hasn't been that low, I haven't watched that many. Anyway, I think I created my first MAL account in 2021, just when I was able to consume more anime/manga :)
Dec 10, 4:34 PM

Online
Jul 2013
12933
Well when the Facebook discussion groups for anime get boring, then maybe you might create an account on MAL?
Dec 10, 4:36 PM

Offline
Mar 2019
945
I first used MAL in either 2009 or 2010 when I was looking for anime similar to Sailor Moon (I found Fushigi Yuugi). Then I would use it to find out about more anime every so often. However I never made an account until 2019. I've got 49 entries on here that I watched prior to making an account.
Dec 10, 4:43 PM

Offline
Sep 2025
127
I started watching anime in the spring or early summer of this year. I created acc so I can not only track slop I've watched but also sent useless and boring replies to other people.
mrBored0mDec 10, 5:07 PM
Dec 10, 4:51 PM

Offline
Feb 2021
5046
I've been watching anime close to 10 years when opening my account.
"Nobody could laugh at someone who's trying their hardest" -Machio-

Dec 10, 5:01 PM

Offline
Apr 2018
2189
I started regularly watching anime in 2012, and joined MAL in 2018. So it was about 6 years in for me.
Dec 10, 5:29 PM

Offline
Feb 2016
15776
Magpareddi said:
For me, I've only been watching for approx. 1.5years before coming to MAL.

I was the same, with a bit over 100 completed entries.
その目だれの目?
Dec 10, 5:37 PM
Offline
Aug 2025
1019
6 months. I made a MAL account in April 2020 but then deleted it.
Dec 10, 5:43 PM

Offline
Sep 2018
14710
I had around 250 entries by the time I started a mal account. Most of them being longrunning anime.
Dec 10, 6:22 PM

Offline
Feb 2014
5820
Around two years.
Granted, I think that was only 20-40 completed anime, so very little.
And I only REALLY started using it around August 2016, at which time I likely had already watched around 90 anime.
Dec 10, 6:43 PM
lagom
Offline
Jan 2009
108334
i started watching anime on tv back in the 1990s
Dec 10, 7:13 PM

Offline
Dec 2022
583
I made my account when I realized that I had watched so many shows that I needed a list to keep track of them. At that point, I had been watching for about 4 years, and had more than 100 titles completed once I finished filling everything out.
MALoween 2025 Candy: ///
Dec 10, 7:17 PM
Offline
Nov 2022
267
I’d been in the hobby for decades prior to starting an account on MAL in 2022.
Dec 10, 7:33 PM

Offline
Mar 2016
136
A little over half a year. Started watching anime during my first semester of college in August 2015 and then joined MAL march of the next year.

Dec 10, 7:36 PM

Offline
Aug 2011
1243
I joined MAL around 13 years after I got into anime.

I started tracking my anime long before that, though. I had a list on another site from 2002 (ANN’s “My Anime” feature), and I kept a list in a Word document for a few years before that.
Dec 10, 7:43 PM

Offline
Apr 2010
430
Not very deep at all, just the tip.

The very reason for making this account had been specifically because I was starting to watch more anime including seasonals, and wanted a more convenient way of tracking that.

In terms of numbers, about six years and 180 shows.
Dec 10, 8:34 PM

Offline
Dec 2020
1413
Basically 6 months in. I started really watching anime midway through 2020 and I created the account on December.
"Those words are meant for those that dare defy god's final warning... An epigraph of their stubbornness"
- Maho Hiyajo (Steins;Gate 0)
Dec 10, 9:29 PM

Offline
Jul 2024
1242
Let's see...1st anime was c. 1965 when I was in kindergarten. MAL account was 2024. So 59 years.
Dec 10, 9:41 PM

Offline
Oct 2020
1313
Not too much ngl. Probably had watch 20-30 different series before creating one.


 "Hard work is worthless for those that don’t believe in themselves" - Naruto Uzumaki

 I rate by enjoyment
Dec 10, 9:42 PM

Offline
Sep 2022
840
Not very deep for my first one. Maybe, in 2011 with 70 finished?


Dec 10, 10:27 PM

Offline
Apr 2024
334
I've been watching anime well over 15 years before i even discovered MAL.
Dec 10, 11:25 PM

Online
Jun 2013
1953
Pretty deep in already, mostly 90s and 00s stuff. I haven’t added everything I watched back then because of a personal rule: I won’t put it on my list unless I properly rewatch them and can log proper start/finish dates. Silly I know, but looks neat.
Dec 10, 11:27 PM
Offline
Apr 2019
504
A review I wrote on Amazon Prime Video [Japan] about a certain isekai series went viral, only to be suddenly deleted by the platform (probably due to the IP holder's interference) without any notice. So I decided, “Fine, I'll write it in English where those jerks can't see or touch it!” I searched for a good site and ended up here.
But I haven't posted that review in question on MAL yet. The series, which is still going after four seasons and counting, gets more and more ridiculous, and my interest is fading.

Having grown up in Japan, like breathing, I've watched a lot of anime. With the sheer number of titles and my advancing age, I increasingly struggle to recall specific ones, so having lists to easily look things up is a huge help. Plus, I enjoy seeing how people overseas react to things.
aReviewerDec 10, 11:33 PM
Dec 10, 11:56 PM

Offline
Feb 2025
861
I've been watching anime since 2022. I created my account about a year ago.
Dec 10, 11:57 PM
Nostalgia Rules!

Offline
Jun 2008
15808
Let's see this was 2008, so I had already have been watching anime for about two decades at that point. So yeah I was already pretty deep into the hobby, or should I say obsession! 😵‍💫
Dec 11, 12:18 AM

Offline
Apr 2013
38506
When I created my MAL account I had been watching a few shows in Japanese and a lot of shounen stuff on German TV.
The Japanese stuff was what my brother was showing me: Death Note, Bleach, Evangelion.
Else I had watched One Piece and Fairy Tail in Japanese. After I created my list I really got into watching more shows.
Dec 11, 12:26 AM
Offline
Oct 2019
3196
Started seriously in 2014. Reason I have mal younger is because my old one had a plan to watch to big so I deleted it. Still going for my goal of 3000 TV entries completed so far 1259.
Dec 11, 2:31 AM
Laughing Man

Offline
Jun 2012
7116
I only made a MAL account in 2012, but really got into anime in 2005. It wasn't my first listing site, though.

I'm level on MAL-Badges. View my badges.
Dec 11, 3:53 AM

Offline
Feb 2021
8145
I created account in 2021, watching anime and reading manga long ago before doing this.
Dec 11, 4:12 AM

Offline
Jul 2009
89
Maybe 20-ish shows in? I don't really count all the stuff I watched before I was really, specifically, into anime though.
But yeah, I ended up on MAL, because keeping track of things in Notepad started getting chaotic.
Dec 11, 4:13 AM

Offline
Jun 2019
4759
I began watching as an adult in 2012 when I discovered anime streaming sites, Kissanime specifically, and had a kissanime a/c since then. I found mal in 2019 and moved my list here. I only had 147 entries when I started my mal a/c. I now have 1613. I'll credit a lot of that with starting and keeping up with seasonals in 2019, along with ofc covid and lockdowns when I spent a lot of time bingeing anime.
Dec 11, 4:16 AM

Offline
Jul 2021
116
I started watching anime in 2017, but I only created my first list on another site in 2019, and for the next almost three years I kept it there until I created it here. From now on, I have statistics for each year in my profile.
Dec 11, 4:32 AM

Offline
Apr 2024
1556
As my username is supposed to suggest, my actual anime list is elsewhere. I only added in a few of the anime I watched, which is also why my statistic looks weird with two peaks. Been watching for about 20 years.
Dec 11, 6:16 AM

Offline
Mar 2012
8905
I started watching anime on TV in 2003 and I was already addicted to anime at the point I created my MAL account, the only difference is that I slowly shifted to watching anime online after creating my account.
Dec 11, 6:25 AM

Offline
Jan 2023
3376
I had been watching anime for about 5 years when I opened a MAL account (but I've been using the site without an account for longer than that).
Dec 11, 7:08 AM

Offline
Dec 2024
1114
Only about a year when I came to MAL. I never thought about joining but honestly I'm glad I did. MAL is a cool place
Dec 11, 7:32 AM

Offline
Feb 2018
3127

OTAKU/Weeb since Mid-1990's... Joined MAL in 2018;


I Already Had an Entire Teen-to-Adulthood's Worth of Anime Experiences... Well Before i ever even Showed my face around here...
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It’s time to ditch the text file.
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