One of two groups of things:
A) An interesting premise, an engaging plot that keeps making me want to go to the next episode (suspense, hooks, cliffhangers, etc.), a story with a discrete beginning/middle/end, characters that are well-developed or at least not annoying, and decent animation/music/voice-acting.
Examples: FMA '03, FMA '09, Scrapped Princess, Fafner, Last Exile, Gungrave, Kurau Phantom Memory, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Planetes, Solty Rei, Paranoia Agent, Wolf's Rain, Figure 17, Cowboy Bebop, Spice&Wolf.
B) A premise and setup that lets me know exactly what to expect in terms of plot and character types, "well-developed" characters, hot girls, cute girls, moe, tsunderes, catgirls, high melodrama, zettai ryouiki, fabulous/over-the-top or "what do you mean it's not awesome" action sequences, pantyshots, harems, sudden girlfriend appearance... you get the idea. Actual plot developments and good endings aren't as important, as long as the show hasn't led me to expect them. For instance, if I hear a show described as "Girl who blushes a lot cross-dresses at school to act as a butler for her rich childhood friend, but her secret is discovered by the gynophobic male lead," I know not to expect a real ending.
Examples: Yumeria, Magikano, Girls Bravo, Star Driver, Code Geass, Stray Cats Overrun, Sister Princess, Kanokon, Shuffle!, RahXephon, Softenni, This Ugly yet Beautiful World, UFO Princess Valkyrie, Familiar of Zero, Aria the Scarlet Ammo, Aquarion, and possibly the most perfect crystallization I've seen yet of this type, Infinite Stratos.
And the two categories aren't mutually exclusive, either. Shows like Shana, Gurren Lagann, Vandread, Melody of Oblivion, Index/Railgun, Higurashi, and Touka Gettan have managed to successfully (for me, anyway) blend elements of both categories.
So basically, a show doesn't have to have "high art" aspirations for me to seek it out or like it. Rather, it has to know what it wants to accomplish, and do a good job of executing that purpose, whether that goal is to be srsDEEP/oldfag-ANN-and-ColonyDrop-approved anime or a shameless otaku-pandering fanservice fest. |