Developments on the Internet have had profound effects on the anime fan community and the way in which anime is consumed. Additionally, fan interest in anime has inspired many developments in technology.[4] Roughly 68% of fans obtain anime through downloading from the Internet or through their friends, a much larger proportion than in any other medium.[4] As a result, fans have made some of the most sophisticated advances in peer-to-peer software in order to make searching for and downloading anime online faster.[4] Other fans have created websites that uses a custom server to search the internet for video mirrors and new episodes, similar to Google on how they crawl each website and saves the information gathered to the database. The search engine keeps every episodes up to date.[24] VirtualDub, a video capture and processing utility, was first created for use on an anime film adaptation of Sailor Moon.[25] The desire to simulate all forms of media that anime and manga comes in has caused PyTom to create Ren'Py, an open-source software engine that allows for the creation of visual novels without the need for a programming background.[26]

Several online communities have been formed where fans can come together to share and interact. Sites that offer file sharing services are popular and influential where people can gain easy access to anime and manga. Fandom has also resulted in the creation of anime and manga fan communities on sites where people can share fan art, one of the most common ways for fans to express their love of anime.[26] These communities tend to do more than just share files. Like most forums on the internet, they discuss topics that they are interested in and want to know more about. These anime forums are becoming places for people to discuss the plot, characters, and styles of anime and manga.[27]