What do you look for in an Anime?

[[GMOD]Vedicardi]

I was just wondering what makes everyones' favorite animes their favorite animes, and what they look for in new animes. Like do you like action with a romantic twist, giant mechs, uniqueness, good story, or perhaps just well drawn characters.

Now get to discussin'.

[KeybladeWarrior]

A good story for one. Like some character developement. If it is action, It needs some good fighting scenes. Another thing would be the animation and content.

[bigsleepj]

Good story, good character development. Excellent fight scenes would be an extra.

[jon_jinn]

I look for a fast-paced, more action/adventure type of anime with an interesting, original plot, cool, memorable characters, lots of fighting and/or action, catchy music, and good animation.

[Puguni]

It's hard to say it definitely. I like to watch non-mainstream shows, mostly. Sometimes I'll tune into Naruto. I guess it's mostly what I feel like watching. I do a ton of research on an anime before I watch it, so I usually get a good feeling about the shows I watch. I haven't had time lately though. :<

[Scarecrow]

Artwork is probably what I look for first. If the art looks good, I'll check it out. If it looks like crap, I don't care how good the story is, I wont watch it. I'd rather read a book version of the story and make up the visuals in my head if the visuals are crap. If the story is boring I'll toss it after the first 3-4 episodes. Needs to have a good or interseting story to keep me going. Could be romantic, could be action packed... or just plain weird... as long as the story is keeping me watching, I like it

Ah My Goddess is probably my favorite series atm. Awesome art/animation, interesting plot, and its funny.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Good artwork, interesting characters, some depth of story, a bit of a unique quality.
Something with minimal fan-service, some good action, laughs etc without sacrifice of depth. There are some exceptions - Noir pretty much style over substance (but in that rare case it works).

[Kamille]

Interesting, complex characters. I'm really not into the whole "good-guy bad-guy" thing. When I write, my charcaters almost always have a shread of both sides in them, although some have more good than bad and vice versa. And my favorite anime characters all have their share of triumphs and tragedies.

Kamille

[mitsuki lover]

Pretty and Intelligent heroines that might be a bit ditzy and/or klutzy.Heroes that
come across as believable.Good intriguing stories.Humor/drama blended well.
Someone that I can identify with(e.g.Geneshaft Mika Seido).But on the whole just something I will enjoy watching.It doesn't matter what the genre is as long as it is something that I personally will enjoy.The fact is sometimes I find myself enjoying
a show that others detest.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

Let's see...

Science fiction content. There are plenty of exceptions, of course, but I'm more inclined to pick up a SciFi anime than any other kind.

Tight writing. By that, I mean anime where they plot develops quickly and actually resolves itself. For this reason, I'm more inclined to like anime movies than TV shows. Cowboy Bebop and Kino's Journey are among the few shows to really please me, writing wise, since they both concentrate on individual, bite-sized plots rather than sprawling epics that lose momentum.

Fluid animation. Another reason I like movies better than TV shows most of the time. Nothing ruins a good action sequence more than multiple close ups of people's faces while they go "AAAAAAUUUUGH!!!!!" and loooong shots of the combatants standing around talking. On a related note, that extra-sterile digital look is a real turn off. If an anime at least LOOKS like it was hand painted, I'm interested.

Low fanservice. I'll tell ya where you can stick your harem anime, buddy...

Interesting/likable characters. I can actually stomach failure to meet any number of the above criteria if an anime really manages to nail this one. Conversely, a show can have any number of the other requirements but be full of unlikable stock characters and I won't be interested (exuberant and naive protagonists are the bane of my existence)

[/RANT]

[the_wolfs_howl]

Story, story, story. That is THE most important factor I look for in any entertainment (whether that's anime, movies, video games, or books). The best animes always have an engaging, inspiring story. I never watch 100-plus episode animes, because that's almost like a big yellow sticker on it that says, "Drawn-out story that's not worth experiencing!"

I like humor, but in an anime I generally prefer it if it's embedded within seriousness. I can definitely handle an anime that has little to no humor; I find it much harder to watch an overly-funny anime.

I think just about everyone's mentioned characters, and I'll agree with that. The best animes have characters that aren't just stereotypes, but have some kind of substance to them. I have my favorite sorts of characters, but generally like those that have an interesting backstory. Believable, motivated bad guys are always a plus too.

The things I don't really care as much about are the style of drawing (while I like clean, sharp animation, it doesn't make or break a good anime for me), the music (it's always nice when they have a catchy opening song, but I don't really care), and the action (always fun, but not essential - see Haibane Renmei).

I would also like to note that Fullmetal Alchemist meets all these criteria, and that's why it will always be my favorite anime.

[Kamille]

Yeah, that's a good point. Good characters can only take you so far if the plot stinks.

[Debitt]

Characters - What always catches me in regards to a series is how much I enjoy the characters. Characters interesting designs and quirky personalities hook me pretty fast, so if a series has a great cast with believable characters then I'm happy.

Setting - I reaaaally enjoy historical and steam punk settings. They make me smile; throw in supernatural or mythological elements makes things all the more appealing, in my opinion, which is probably why D.Gray-man is my current favorite series.

Beating Each Other Up - I tend to see most shoujo manga as vapid and boring - Oh...does he love me? Will he ever notice me? -doki doki- Oh no, love triangles! ...please. I rarely have the patience for that. =P I definitely prefer swords and smacking people and explosions. <3 Yay.

[Kaligraphic]

I look for cute, large-breasted chicks with glasses, same as everybody else.

A little more seriously, though, KoDai stole most of my answers, except that I've not seen D.Gray-man. I also like well-developed worlds, like Twelve Kingdoms, and I like sword-fighting. Not so much Rurouni Kenshin-style, special attack swordfighting, but actual back-and-forth, preferably with some strategy involved. Really, I like strategy and tactical thought in all forms of combat.

[Doubleshadow]

I prefer intellectually engaging anime, and this can take on a variety of forms. I usually have tendency toward drama, although I love witty and observational humor, and look for aspects of the anime that stimulate further thought about the story itself or a general topic; whether it is because of a character driven plot, a complex, intriguing story-line, philosophical introspection or debate, or a moral dilemma. I also have a distaste for the gaudy and ostentatious and, although I love a well executed action scene, I have no patience for over-the-top, exagerrated fights.
I also look at the art. I prefer at least nominally realistic character designs.

[Fish and Chips]

I am a major proponent of cohesive, well-developed worlds and/or realities for any series that relies heavily on story telling outside of life as we know or understand it. Good characters are another must. And I demand my action scenes have both substance and style, not just random, filler skull-crackings for kicks.

But ultimately, I just like what I like, whether it fits anyone's criteria or not. Who knows, maybe such and such a series will break the mold.

[Sparx00]

A good stroy line, good animation, action, it's gotta be clean, and at times, funny.

[mitsuki lover]

It doesn't hurt if there is an element of redemption in it either.

[Alexander]

It doesn't hurt if there is an element of redemption in it either.

Definitely agree.

For me, I look for story overall. Even in light stories that don't have the deepest plots or even go to childish level of simplicity.

I suppose what I really look for is how the story is told, that being flow, how the characters are breathed out, and the atmosphere and themes of how the story is flowed through.

I have noticed something interesting while reading other people's opinion in this topic: No one looks for art in the Anime. It's almost as if it's a second thought. Although I do take as much time as I can to admire it, the art style or frames per second doesn't matter to me as much as for the story.

How curious...

[AsianBlossom]

I do; if an anime looks too weird, then I'll tend to shy away from it. Beautifully animated anime is one of the things I tend to look for, but if it doesn't have a good story or is littered with objectionable content, then I stay away even if it's drawn in the most artful way.

Basically, I look for: well-drawn, a good story well executed, not a whole lot of objectionable content, and believable characters. Thankfully, I have found some of these; the four Ghibli movies I have (Nausicaa, Whisper of the Heart, The Cat Returns, and Porco Rosso) are very close to this, even if not in every way (but I guess some of the villains actually are believable, save for perhaps a few seaplane pirates in Porco.)

I also look for comedy if I can find it ^^ Comedy and (clean) romance.

[Blitzkrieg1701]

I have noticed something interesting while reading other people's opinion in this topic: No one looks for art in the Anime. It's almost as if it's a second thought. Although I do take as much time as I can to admire it, the art style or frames per second doesn't matter to me as much as for the story.

How curious...

I don't know. In my case, it takes a LOT for the story to overpower deficiencies of the art. After all, animation is a visual medium, so weakness in an anime's visuals also threatens its ability to tell its story effectively.

That said, Kino's Journey is often underwhelming in technical department, and you know my feelings on that subject... Like I said, it takes a LOT

[EricTheFred]

Number One would be, something I haven't seen before. I can almost always start naming off the previous shows or animes they're ripping, so I'm not saying it has to be utterly original, but it doesn't inspire me much when I can't find anything else.

My favorite Anime are all over the map, usually intended for a wide number of audiences, and in several different genres, but they will often have the following elements:

A continuing story. A bad-guy-of-the-week format only works for me when the larger story arc has some cohesiveness to it, or I get bored.

Consistence of technology, magic, etc. Everything in this world has limits.

Resolution. If a mystery or key mover kicked the story off, it better be resolved by the time the story ends. Beyond the more obvious issues of 'Please Twins', for example, it really bugged me that the whole set up device (three potential twins with identical pictures of the same two kids) was left completely unexplained at the end. If one of the girls wasn't related, why was the same photo left with her at the orphanage?

A willingness to break the bounds of your genre. Be something more than a such-and-such story. I loved how "Noir", seemingly at its start a generic babes-with-guns action/adventure, rapidly turned into a deeper story about guilt and redemption, or how a monster-of-the-week story called Inu Yasha is actually a vehicle for a very sweet love story.

A sense of fair-play, that despite all the negatives of the world, an underlying positive exists. Not that everything will turn out happy in the end (one of my all-time favorites is Now and Then, Here and There, for example) but that hope is legitimate. In this vein, two of my all-time most DISliked anime are 'Alien 9' and 'Shadow Star NaruTaru'. Honestly, I didn't finish either one, but I've been assured by people who have that they don't get any better in the end, and I was right to give up on them. If you are writing an Anime for me, the one impression you don't want me having is "This writer must really hate kids."

[mitsuki lover]

Well to be frankly honest it's not like I was going to take said anime out for a date or anything.But having fun has to always be a main point.Ratings don't matter to me as long as I enjoy watching it.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Oh! Another thing I just thought of (why didn't I think of it before?): voice acting. I'm pretty sure we've all seen our share of poorly-acted or poorly-dubbed animes. When the voices aren't that great, I usually either get really irritated with it or stop taking it seriously. More so with dubs, since I can actually understand what they're saying lol. My strongest reaction like this was for Escaflowne: A Girl in Gaia (the movie).

A couple good/original Japanese voices that come to mind are Kiba from Wolf's Rain and that harp/guitar player guy from Scrapped Princess. Good English dubs would include Sonny Strait for Hughes (fits his character) and Aaron Dismuke for Alphonse (more so in later episodes) of Full Metal Alchemist.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

[Aleolus]

Tough question. Well, good music is a must. "Good" being a relative term, of course. A fairly in-depth plot is also quite helpful, as is a nice dose of humor. Action is also good to have, though not a lot of gore. Pretty much the only thing I don't like in an anime is lots of suspense or horror. Romance is always a plus. Fanservice doesn't hurt, as long as it's kept light, and in tune with the story. That's all I can think of for now, I may post again if I think of more.

[mitsuki lover]

Speaking of fanservice,I have to admit that Colorful was one of those shows that I didn't think I was going to like too much when I first saw it on AU after reading about the fanservice in it,but when I did see it I couldn't help but laugh all the way through.Though it is one of those series that you have to have a warped sense of humor to enjoy watching.

[EricTheFred]

Oh! Another thing I just thought of (why didn't I think of it before?): voice acting....
A couple good/original Japanese voices that come to mind are Kiba from Wolf's Rain and that harp/guitar player guy from Scrapped Princess. Good English dubs would include Sonny Strait for Hughes (fits his character) and Aaron Dismuke for Alphonse (more so in later episodes) of Full Metal Alchemist.

Anyway, those are my thoughts.

What a great point. My most recent experience with GOOD voice acting is the Japanese version of Haruhi Suzumiya. I'm one of the few Anglos who'd already read the book before seeing this, I'll bet. I happened across a fan-translated version of it while researching Rainobe (Japanese serialized 'light novels'. Sort of Manga without pictures) which is where Haruhi got her start.

Every single character (in Japanese) sounded exactly like I had imagined them while reading. Actually, the English-language dub was pretty well done, too, except for Mikuru. I really don't think the English Seiyuu for Mikuru understands her character.

For me, another great voice acting for both English and Japanese is 'Full Metal Panic,' where both Kaname and Sousuke make their respective parts that much funnier through sheer talent of acting. Coincidentally, this is another series that started as a Rainobe. I wonder if having the book to read up front helps the actors prepare?