Ignoring the rest of the content for now, factually speaking this is not the first generation “raised on anime” globally or in many places. The history of anime is disputable and what an “anime” is- but well known anime production companies like Toei and Mushireach back to the 40’s and 50’s and while some say anime predates this period, most agree that “anime” existed or came to exist after WW2 at the latest. Anime started to spread through the 60’s. The first major broadcast of anime on US television came in the 1960’s. In Japan and across Asia and other countries many children grew up with anime as far back as at least the 1960’s and 1970’s, and films like “Kimba the white Lion” were fairly well known though not necessarily household names even in America while Europe started seeing more anime as well.
Those who lived through the 80’s would also may have grown up with anime- the 80’s marking a major period of growth in the genre and animation styles much like the 60’s had.
Big titles and world wide beloved classics came about around this time, with titles like Macross blowing up world wide or in America being imported and shown on television modified and mashed up with the super dimension trilogy as “Robotech.” The film “Akira” as well as several Miyazaki films made their way to US theaters and not only brought many new fans eager to consume Japanese animation, but inspired generations of creators. It could be difficult in much of the US or certain other parts of the world to acquire Japanese titles, especially translated ones, In America for example, those living in places like Hawaii or parts of California etc. with regular shipping access to Japan and strong populations of people from Japan and Asia often had better access to products from Japan. Without internet and with a language barrier and other issues of the time, the market could be niche but there were licensed properties in the US and various outlets for anime.
By the 1990’s and into the early 2000’s licensing had picked up and network television across the US and many other places had bargain airing properties like Sailor Moon, Tekkaman Blade (Technoman in the US), Ronin Warriors (Legendary Armor Samurai Troopers) Dragon Ball, Escaflowne, Samurai Pizza Cats, Monkey Magic, and more. Cable and other distributors picked up titles like Street Fighter anime due to the popular games, and most likely looking for a comparable genre property, the less popular or known (in the US) but arguably superior (hehe) Fatal Fury/KOF anime based on those games. Of course the Pokemon anime was picked up in this time and hardly anyone from the generation was unaware. Like the fighting game rush other networks tried competitors like Monster Rancher etc.
Later network titles including things like Card Captor Sakura, Yughio (however it’s spelled..) and many more.
Through the 90’s and early 2000’s Miyazaki films saw wide theatrical releases in the US as well, and some other titles saw more limited theatrical release. The healthy Majority of kids alive at the time probably saw the Pokémon movie, and their slightly younger peers would have seen Digimon in theaters or home movie most likely. When Cartoon Network began to air anime programming blocks, anime really became a household concept and major marketing and chain retailers began to commonly carry products with anime licenses as well as major brands doing product tie ins on a massive scale. Pokémon can probably be said to have really kicked this train into gear as the merchandising and brand power of the franchise showed other companies there could be huge money in “Japanese cartoons.” Similar to how brining Sentai shows like power rangers to the US had created a market that many including Sabban wouid try to tap with “copy cat” Sentai shows or by incorporating similar concepts into original..
.. properties. Anime has definitively spread out and reached more viewers or people aware- brand recognition for more modern properties like Naruto or old fan favorites like dragon ball is not quite that of “Mickey Mouse” but up there with some of the more popular cartoon properties like He-man or perhaps even Ninja Turtles (Hero Turtles UK..). It may depend on where you live and such, I can say most adults I’ve met into their 40’s recall sailor moon or dragon ball being part of their childhoods. Most adults into their 30’s I’ve met recall Pokémon being pretty major in their youth, and for those adults that remember, I can say many adults into their 60’s I’ve met recall astroboy, Kimba, or speed racer if not certain other somewhat obscure older titles.
Access to anime has improved quite a bit and you not longer need to live near a Japan Town or China town or have a friend with or your own connections overseas or beg your friends older brother/sister to let you borrow their blurry VHS
Bootleg and watch whatever is available and maybe only be able to see a few episodes or episodes out of order. Of course many local access channels and local theaters or clubs also showed anime, I recall the 80’s and 90’s these being easy enough to come across. That of course ignores properties like Sanrio or Doraemon which have world followings including the US but some don’t consider Sanrio “anime” and both Sanrio animation and Doraemon weren’t widely available in the US until much later. I’m also ignoring Japanese animated properties that were widely seen by generations but stylistically weren’t necessarily what many consider “anime.” Of course this also ignores that many animators and studios producing anime also did work for or branded as major studios like Sunrise that were behind some of the most iconic cartoons to come out of American media in the 80’s and 90’s as well as being the studios helping with titles like the early marvel animations.
For these reasons I’d have to say that outside very specific geographic areas or areas of a particular subculture group that on the whole we are at least on the second of not third or possibly further generation we can say was raised on anime. If we are speaking of “raised on anime” in the sense that the majority of the generation was raised from birth where anime was the primary or one of the major pillars by consumption making up their media experiences, I would say we still haven’t reached that point globally or in most countries even asides perhaps a select few.
Whichever way you choose to define “raised on anime” I would say that the current generation is most likely not accurately the “first.”
Those who lived through the 80’s would also may have grown up with anime- the 80’s marking a major period of growth in the genre and animation styles much like the 60’s had.
Later network titles including things like Card Captor Sakura, Yughio (however it’s spelled..) and many more.
Access to anime has improved quite a bit and you not longer need to live near a Japan Town or China town or have a friend with or your own connections overseas or beg your friends older brother/sister to let you borrow their blurry VHS
Whichever way you choose to define “raised on anime” I would say that the current generation is most likely not accurately the “first.”