I can never forget my first time. The lights were low, it was just the two of us, and my heart was beating heavily. I knew this was leagues different from anything I had ever seen, right from the first moment. My first time is encased as an idealized memory -- free from any blemishes, awkward moments, or pain at not understanding what was going on.

It's hard to believe the whole thing lasted 86 minutes. It felt like an eternity, that's for sure -- as though I was transported to another world -- but nearly an hour and a half? That was surprising. Sadly, many times after that would be significantly shorter: a half hour, and more recently, only five minutes. Sometimes it'd last two hours, but that was a rare occassion, and I was completely drained afterwards.

Still, even now, separated by all those years, I look back fondly on my first time and am filled with nothing but warmth in my heart when I consider those special moments I shared. I can remember every sound, every sight, and every wonder of that night almost perfectly.

I wish I could cuddle up next to Totoro once again. Of course, I'm talking about my first time watching anime. I was lucky to be introduced into anime through one of Miyazaki's great titles, My Neighbor Totoro, and even now I can remember the setting, holding the VHS tape in my hand, and everything about it. I recently showed the film to my 3-year-old nephew, and he was similarly entranced when it came on. It quieted him down like nothing I've ever seen before.

We all have a lot of firsts when it comes to the stuff here on Japanator: first j-drama, first Kurosawa film, first Japanese CD or even your first trip to Japan. Whatever fits in the category of "your first time," we'd like you to take to the community blogs and write about it.

All throughout the month of September, we'll be looking for your stories to put up on the front page, and the staff will recount their own first times as well. Be sure to start your posts with the header "My First Time:". Make it interesting, make it sensual, make it fun and entertaining. I look forward to reading all your stories this month!

[Image via Engel-of-Chaos]