If you want to do anime or anime-style specifically... Good luck with that. The Japanese tend to not be very fond of non-Japanese people trying to enter their industry (it's already hard enough for their own people to get into it). The only way they accept you is if you're AMAZING. You have to be THE best of the BEST. Either that or radically different (in the best and most original way possible).
If you want to do 2D animation, I suggest making it a hobby because unless you get into the anime industry (which is just TOO hard for a non-JP artist), there isn't a demand for it at all. Not to say it isn't appreciated -- if I could make the world my way, I'd tell 3d animation to sit the fuck down and put 2d animation back at the forefront where it belongs. But 3D animation is king in most other animation production-heavy countries, so if you're possibly considering switching careers and becoming a full-time animator, you're gonna have a hard time putting food on the table unless 3D is your forte.
And even then it's STILL hard because the animation field is so over-saturated with animators. When companies known for animation come to my university, they aren't looking to hire animators, character designers, or concept art people. There's TOO many of those. They're looking for technical people and visual effects artists. People who do the dirty work and/or make things look pretty.
I'm not trying to knock down your dreams and stomp all over your picnic (heh, I just lol'd at the thought of that... teehee
). But I just want to make you
aware. The field of animation is NOT one for the faint of heart, and you'd only be making things even harder on yourself by aiming for Japan's near-impenetrable anime market. If it truly is your passion then seek it out, grasp it, and do it to your heart's content.
But if you want to make it a career... Prepare to
fight to the death: not just with others seeking the same kind of job, but with yourself in order to make your work up to snuff.