Once upon a time, anime fans outside of Japan were a fairly close-knit group in terms of what they liked and what was available, and so it continued for many years until eventually reaching the point we see today where two people who call themselves anime fans may have entirely different tastes to the point that one of them might not ever see any of the shows that the other has watched. With the sheer amount of shows out now, not to mention manga lining the shelves at bookstores, it can be an extremely daunting task to try something new and different.

As any champion featherweight boxer would tell you, the first step is the biggest one, and it requires you to actually desire to learn more about anime. It doesn’t matter if you live in the middle of nowhere and can’t obtain new shows without considerable effort or if you have a contact in Japan who can send you anything you want upon request. What’s important here is an active desire to see beyond what you know already about anime and manga. If you’re just passively waiting for someone to change your mind, then you’ll just keep on waiting.

So you have the drive but don’t know where to start. Well I say to you that anime has an approximately 40 year history, and manga longer than that. If you cannot find new shows that are actually new, look backwards. If there’s a show you really like, you might be able to trace its lineage back in a variety of ways. If you like, say Inuyasha, why not take a look at Takahashi Rumiko’s previous works, such as Ranma ½, or Maison Ikkoku? If you’re a fan of Naruto or Bleach, why not take a look back into the history of Shounen Jump and watch Hokuto no Ken or Saint Seiya? If you’re an older fan who’s seen the oldest of the old, I’ll tell you to look forward, and don’t be afraid of the changes that have occurred in anime over the years. If not, maybe you’d want to look at some of the work done by your favorite creators outside of your preferred genres, or even go in the other direction and see how works such as Macross/Robotech have influenced anime as a whole. Pick a direction and go.

Reading this article means you have internet access, which of course means you have one great resource at your disposal. Sites such asFunimation and Hulu now carry anime of all sorts. Sites such as Anime News Network provide basic information on staff and cast, as well as reviews (though you might not necessarily want to be influenced in that manner), and there are a huge variety of anime blogs out there. If you’re not comfortable looking at things online, see if you can trade DVDs with friends and mature your anime knowledge in tandem. You can also go to your local public library and see if they have a manga selection. You might be surprised, and if it turns out they don’t have anything, you might be able to request it.

How far you take your anime fandom and where you take it is ultimately up to you. Show the world what you can do.