i cant remember so old things but it must be one of those things that were shown on tv. like poke/digimon or dragonball. anime is also like cartoons which i like so it wasnt very hard to start watching animes too. the difference i have noticed is that cartoons are usually just funny stuff but animes can have complex stories too
I remember when I was a kid I watched many animes on TV, most of which are 90s mecha animes. I also remember staying up late and accidently watch the first episode of EVA, which traumatized me as a little kid.