Japan’s summer season is prime time for anime on the big screen. This year’s lineup includes Chiikawa Movie: Secrets of the Mermaid Island and Crayon Shin-chan: Strange! My Yokai Vacation in July, followed by Minions & Monsters on August 7 and Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Walpurgisnacht Rising on August 28.
To mark the occasion, Anime!Anime! ran a reader poll asking: “What was the first anime you ever watched in a cinema?” Voting ran from August 7 to 13, 2026. Respondents were approximately 45% male and 55% female; around 40% were aged 19 or under, and about 25% were in their 30s. Where voters named a franchise without specifying a particular film, all theatrical entries in that series were counted together.
No. 1: Doraemon Movie Series — approx. 19%
The Doraemon film franchise took the top spot with roughly 19% of the vote. The series launched in 1980 with Nobita’s Dinosaur and has since become a spring-holiday tradition, releasing a new theatrical entry almost every year for over four decades.
Readers shared a wide range of memories. One voter said they could no longer recall which specific film it was, but had no doubt Doraemon was their first, adding that Nobita and the Steel Troops (1986) — with its theme songs written and performed by Takeda Tetsuya — left the deepest impression. Another recalled that Nobita’s Dorabian Nights (1991) was their cinema debut, noting the film’s surprisingly serious tone compared to the TV series. A third reader said they have watched every new Doraemon film in theatres since Nobita’s Great Adventure in the Antarctic Kachi Kochi (2017), and that the franchise sparked a broader interest in cinema through its trailers.
No. 2: Pokémon Movie Series — approx. 8%
The Pokémon theatrical series ranked second at around 8%. The franchise’s debut film, Mewtwo Strikes Back (1998), remains its highest-grossing entry; its story of a genetically engineered Mewtwo grappling with its own existence resonated deeply with audiences. The film was later remade as Mewtwo Strikes Back — Evolution in 2019.
Votes also went to The Power of One (1999) and Pokémon Heroes: Latios & Latias (2002), both of which placed legendary Pokémon at the heart of their stories — reflecting fans’ appreciation for the grand-scale adventures the films offered beyond the TV series.
No. 3: Precure Movie Series — approx. 5%
The Precure film series placed third with roughly 5%. Theatrical Precure began with Futari wa Precure: Max Heart in 2005, and the franchise’s crossover “Precure All Stars” films — which unite heroines from every generation — have proven especially popular.
One reader described the thrill of watching Precure teams from different eras fight side by side, while another fondly remembered receiving a Miracle Light giveaway at the door and waving it enthusiastically throughout the screening — a uniquely theatrical experience. The latest entry, Meitantei Precure! The Secret Garden and Two Secrets, is scheduled for release on September 18.
Other Reader Memories
- Mobile Suit Gundam II: Soldiers of Sorrow — praised for its expanded new animation, the power of Inoue Daisuke’s theme “Ai Senshi,” and Kai Shiden’s growth from coward to warrior.
- Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn — a reader recalled getting discount tickets handed out in front of their school and using them to persuade their parents to drive the family to the cinema.
- Hakujaden (The Tale of the White Serpent) — Japan’s first full-length colour anime film (1958); one reader saw it during a re-release around 1965.
- Galaxy Express 999 — described as the first film a reader ever saw with friends alone, without adults; they admired Captain Harlock as a role model, and expressed excitement about the newly announced new theatrical film.
- Ponyo — cited as the oldest cinema memory one reader could recall, with the theme song by Fujioka Fujimaki and Ohashi Nozomi still stuck in their head.
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Beginnings — a reader went in expecting a conventional magical-girl story after being invited by a friend, and was completely blindsided by the plot.
- The Quintessential Quintuplets∽ — a reader’s first cinema experience was an advance theatrical screening before the TV broadcast; they were stunned to hear each quintuplet’s voice coming from a different direction in the surround-sound theatre.
Full Top 10
- Doraemon series
- Pokémon series
- Precure series
- Aikatsu! series
- Love Live! series
- Yo-kai Watch series
- Chiikawa Movie: Secrets of the Mermaid Island
- Osomatsu-san the Movie
- Dragon Ball series
- Detective Conan series
The results paint a clear generational picture: Doraemon launched its film series in the 1980s, Pokémon in the 1990s, and Precure in the 2000s — each franchise leaving its mark on a different era of anime fans’ first big-screen memories.
(Poll period: August 7–13, 2026)
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