All you 14 year-old guys looking at this thread while waiting for your newest episode of Naruto to download. All you guys who have that girl you like, but you don't have the balls to even say a word to a girl. All you guys who stick with your group of 7-or-so people and never try to expand the number of friends. This thread is for you.
I used to be like this. I was a little, anime-watching, shy kid who had good friends, but never knew the joys of reaching out to more friends. I would just like for you to know that I changed in about one year. In only one year (8th grade) I well-over tripled the number of people who I can comfortably talk with, stopped watching Japanese episodes of Naruto online, and I even have a girlfriend now (a very pretty girl, at that). These things would never happen if I stayed the way I was.
Of course, I do not mean to bring down anime. In fact, I do still will sit down and watch an anime from time to time. There is, however, a level of obsession that one needs to know to stay away from. You can merely look at the "Anime fags" around your school to see the obsession that I am talking about. Now, if YOU are one of those people, you can still change. In fact, you can change and still keep those friends. I did. At lunch, last year, I sat with a pretty big group of anime nerds (Then again, they pretty much migrated to our table). It all worked out nicely, and I made friends with them.
So, if you are that kid, you can still change. It is actually very easy. Girl-wise, I would suggest not starting out talking to the super-preppy-popular girls. Just start talking with girls you feel comfortable talking to, and you can work your way up to be able to talk easily with the girl you like. Obsession-wise (Whether it be World of Warcraft, anime, or what have you) just stop. No trick to it. Just stop. And friend-wise, start off with small talk. ("Hey, Jeremy, did she give us that packet for homework") After a while, you will easily be able to turn these simple questions into full conversations. And overall, just speak out a bit more. Sit at the front or middle of the class. The losers usually sit in the back. You don't want to be one of the losers.
As a bonus, I would also join a group (In my case, band) where it is almost impossible NOT to make friends. And also try to get into honors classes, because there are usually friendlier people in classes full of smarter kids. So, go out there and be a better you! It will be WELL worth the effort. Trust me.