These days, I have other ways of finding anime. First of all, there's all that lovely manga now available for under $10 a volume. Generally, I'll check out the first 20 pages or so in the store, then buy it if it's still got my attention, and if I like it, I'll start checking out the anime.
Lately, however, I've found two great series another way: browsing the fan art on devArt. Now, just because one of the artists I watch falls in love with a series doesn't mean I'll bother to look into it, but when five, six, or seven of my watched deviants seem to be obsessed with something, I'll give it a try. In the past year, I've noticed a lot of fan art for Katekyo Hitman Reborn! showing up in my watchbox. I'd seen the manga in Borders, but when the back said it was about a mafioso assassin baby trying to teach a hapless kid how to become the next head of the mafia family, I pretty much put it right back on the shelf and moved on.
But then, I started seeing more and more of the fan art, the characters seemed really cool, and lots of people seemed to love this series. Not all series that fans get all rabid about are great, mind you - I don't really get Axis Powers Hetalia, for example - but when you see that many people getting into a series, it's worth checking out. So, I decided to give KHR a second chance... and now I absolutely love it. Sure, there was a major lag when the author decided to spend so much time on a character I absolutely hated, but she's since moved on from her obsession with her own personal Scrappy, moving into a completely awesome story arc. Be forewarned: KHR starts out as an episodic little comedy, but there is, in fact, character development going on, and the real story kicks in around Volume 8. It's even better in the anime - they cut the character that nearly ruined the series for me out entirely. Yesterday, however, I came across a single piece of fan art - one solitary little piece - and found it so intriguing that I just had to look into it more. What was so intriguing? A character's name. I just had to see the guy named Frau.
Enter my descent into 07-Ghost (Frau, by the way, would be the blond guy on the cover there). Since yesterday, I've watched the entire first season (subbed, even!) and am planning an expedition to the book store to hunt down the manga. There's action, great characters, beautiful artwork (in the anime, at least - haven't gotten my hands on the manga yet), and a story that kept me interested through 25 episodes. It's high on drama, but like all my favorite series, it's got enough humor in it to keep it from getting too heavy. Right this second, there would be no better news to me than hearing that 07-Ghost is being dubbed by a good company with fantastic voice actors. That would be amazing, but for now, I'll settle for getting my hands on the manga.
No idea when I'll stumble across a new treasure, but that's part of what makes it fun - and besides, helps keep the cost down if it takes awhile between each new find. Life's sometimes considerate like that. :D
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