I think the first anime that I saw knowing what it was (Voltron was on US TV on Saturday mornings when I was a kid, and I also caught a few episodes of Speed Racer here and there, but had no idea that these were even from Japan) was either Akira or Vampire Hunter D, both of which I watched on VHS when I was in high school. I was impressed with and enjoyed both. But the first series that really got me hooked was the original OVA series of Ranma 1/2, which got me to watch every episode of every series eventually (as terrible as the quality eventually got), and then to watch the entirety of Maison Ikkoku and Urusei Yatsura. My Takahashi-mania was thoroughly quashed by Inuyasha, though. Boooooring. I watch a huge variety of stuff now, mostly comedies and the occasional feature film. I think I've seen about 350 series in their entirety, and perhaps 100 movies.