A thought: Getting into Anime

That's a tough question... I think Junior high is about the time. As for how to become a true fan, well you can't fallow the crowd, so to speak. I think you also have to know somebody who knows anime and can introduce you to it. The people who aren't introduced to it by someone else probably watched it when they were a kid. I know one of my friends did. I don't think you have to flaunt that you're an Otaku in public. Cause I'm totally still "in the closet" about anime except to my otaku friends. I guess there could be a certain number of series that you have to watch in order to become a true fan. Or maybe you just need to idolize your time on anime forums. :P

Age cap? Nope. However, I think that a lot of (no data to back this up) adults don't get into anime because they think it is too childish and therefore never give it a chance. A lot of (again, no statistics), adults that are into anime now, I think, were introduced to it at an earlier age and started watching more mature-themed anime as they grew older. I consider myself in the latter category. I started watching anime when I was 8 (Cyborg 009, Astroboy, Rurouni Kenshin, Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!) back then I didn't even know what anime was and thought that all of them were created and animated by Americans. I only became conscious that these belonged to a different category when I was 15 and started watching Bleach and Naruto, both of which I was introduced to by a relative who was 30-something at the time. Later on, a friend introduced me to Gunslinger Girl which was my first morally ambiguous anime series and I was more intrigued by those serious themes than by hyperactive ninjas and angsty soul reapers. I watched Death Note and then numerous others. Today, I still watch some teen-oriented anime if I simply want to be entertained and more serious series if they come along and I want to be challenged to think about issues that I may have overlooked.