or better yet, what is it about an anime that makes you want to watch it? It is the characters? Is it the story? The Drama? The Wackiness? The action? { .........anything I missed......... }?

For me, it's the story and the art - anything else that tells it apart is just extra......

For example: Cowboy Bebop, Last Exile, Tenjo Tenge, Full Metal Alchemist, and FLCL are my top anime picks....What do most of them have in common? Awesome art and a good story behind it. Either that, or some freakin' awesome characters and good action(Tenjo Tenge and FLCL).

But what about you guys? What do YOU look for in an anime? LEMME KNOW!!

Well, some drama, good animation, plot and a good premise too.

My brother is very picky about anime, especialy when it comes to plots and coherent writing. =P

i consider story line to be the most important part of an anime, followed by the chars any thing after that is just kina extra, although good fanserivce is allways a plus

Yeah...I agree with you on the fanservice.....as long as it doesn't take anthing away from the anime itself....Like say, eye candy, as compared to "invasive voyeurism aimed towards the audience".....I don't know of any anime that does that(yet), but eye candy, like Faye Valentine, Mizuho, and possibly Naru Narugesawa. Not breasts that defy the laws of physics whenever the lady gets an idea or wants the viewer to intentionally get an eyefull for no reason.....

Action too: If the anime has good action, and it goes with thte story, it almost makes up for any other mistakes...

phew! sorry about my ranting... :P

please continue.....

For me a good story and also interesting characters to that is what i look for in an anime and also fanservice is also appreciated too X3

yes fanservice... I dont like too much action or drama. Action or drama with a nice helping of comedy is what's good.

well i dont like drama so much there are so many real dramas on real world to torture me with fiction ones i seach for a good plot and cool characters, not so baka hentai ones that bored me.
And of course i like having fun with a funny gags

character development, artistic talent, and definitely an awesome plot =]

I usually go with the storyline, character development and art. Can't think of anything else other than that.

Character designs and overall animation quality are probably what I pay attention to the most, but it's a good story that keeps me watching.

I see your point - a good story, good characters, and some fan service....

What kind of story do you like the most though? What genre?

Futuristic/Romance/Comedy? or Sci-Fi/Horror/Action/Drama? OR any standalone ones :P ? (*those examples were just a little over the top...you give your own... )

Story is one of the main aspects of why I watch anime. Ofcourse then there's general visual look, music, and the always-weirder-than-the-other characters. My favorite anime is probably Cowboy Bebop so that pretty much sums it up .

Art - Of course, the drawings should be finely made and clean.
Story - A little mind puzzling situations but not always
Seiyuus - Just as long as they have one per character.
Theme - Action, Adventure, Comedy. I don't like romance and kiddy stuff
Sounds - Anything
Others - more fanservice ecchi stuff

art / animation / story / music

Last Exile, Cowboy Bebop, SE Lain, Chrno Crusade, Saikano

Art / Story / Music / characters / creativity / funny inbetweens / originality

Some I saw but forgot about it.

For me is: animation / storu / music
As genre i live dramas, science fiction and comedy sometimes

Macross, Evangelion, Nausicaä and Full Metal Alchemist

Cowboy bebop pretty much stacked the story-driven anime type up a level and new animes are trying to get up there(Wolf's Rain, for example)

So far, my TOP anime now has to be GitS: Stand Alone Complex. I've yet to see "2nd GiG", but from what I've heard, It still places GitS above most anime in terms of story, art, and soundtrack....

Characters are a big plus, especially if you can relate to them....Take Spike Spiegal for example - he's running from something and he's trying to piece together what's left of his life. He's confused and lonely, and he's waiting for something.

Don't you sometimes feel that way?

That's what, IMO, makes a character likable - relative emotions.

First, a good story that embrace all the episodes with a good end, good animation and nice characters.

The story of course comes first and the probably the character depth. The characters are better if they are more complex like real people instead of simple and boring. If the animation quality is crappy then it hurts a good serious but its also a plus if the music in it is good.

that would be comedy, animation, storyline and the music. That's it

what i look for in an anime is, comedy, drama,action, romance, mystery, horror, and a good plot that may twist here and there. music included makes it better.

The soundtrack definitely fleshes out an anime.

Take for example the beautiful pieces written by Yoko Kanno for Vision of Escaflowne, Escaflowne the Movie, Cowboy Bebop, and Ghost In The Shell:SAC and 2nd GIG

And the insanely wicked soundtrack by "The Pillows" for FLCL.

Those animes were VERY soundtrack-enhanced and often noted as being "in a league of their own" because of it.

Do you remember Any soundtracks in particular that have made an anime memorable?

I'd say story. art is second.
if it just a common storyline and a boring one, I'll just watch da 1st eps den stopped watching it. ^.^"

What I search for in an anime is animation, story, funny stuff, things that say that "this is anime", music, action, violence, and last but not least, Anime girls. That seems to be it.