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Animés aficionado since 1974.

At a tender age, I was watching cartoons on cable-TV. L'Araignée (Spider-Man), Les super-héros vaillants (Marvel Super-Heroes), Les Pierrafeu (The Flintstones), Looney-Tunes, Disney movies, etc. I was hooked on cartoons by age 4. Up to my teenage years, I was watching cartoons exclusivly. If the feature presentation on the weekly Disney Show was a live action movie, I wouldn't bother watching it.

The first japanimation series I ever watched was Minifée (French adaptation of Mahoutsukai Sally). Followed by all the classics of animation from the 60-70's. Like Candy (Candy Candy), Belle et Sébastien (Meiken Jolie), Démétan, la petite grenouille (Kerokko Demetan), Goldorak (UFO Robo Grendizer), etc.

Then came along the best one (imho): Albator (Uchuu Kaizoku Captain Herlock), my all time favorite. Same year as Star Wars. I was 7 yo. Like Star Wars, Albator had a huge impact on me. From then on, I was also hooked on animés (and space-operas).

Not that I was making a real distinction between cartoons and animés, at that time. No matter the kind, they were all cartoons to me. I loved them all.

Before my teen years, there was only 2 things I realy was conscious about these cartoons, that made me think they were a category on their own.

First, their distinctive art style. The unique lines and fluidity of the animation were similar to one another, particularly different from "generic" cartoons.

The second thing (which I was not very thrilled about, at that age), was the kind of tales they narrated. Most of them were sorrowful and gloomy, with a lot of psychological violence. Not always fit for a 4-12 yo audience. Must be the reason why i have a penchant for darker stories like Death Note, Monster, Berzerk, Akira, and such...

So I grew up with that. Since then, I never stopped watching animés (cartoons, stop-motion, etc.). From Robotech to Zom 100. Even took some courses in Animation during my Cinéma cursus in University. So today, i can appreciate every aspects of a production.

I'm over 50 now, and my love for animation is as strong as it was when I was 3. And I'm trying to pass that fever to my 9 nefews/nieces.