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In the case of series that are more grim overall like Code Geass, service and some light-hearted humour is needed every now and then. If you make every moment too intense, you will weaken the impact of climactic moments since the mood was on a high anyway. You need to create a lull to enhance those highs and to give the viewer a chance to relax and see the characters in some every day aspects, character development and to feel the rise in the pace and the tension. You can't keep going at a million miles an hour all the times and have everything feel Over 9000 for those reasons. Slower episodes are usually necessary for the WTF revelation at the end of that episode that will have fans talking like mad until the next episode - it will feel that much more important since the episode was leading you to believe it wouldn't be of much importance.
Which leads to my first gripe - 1. Pacing. This can easily kill a show if it's done wrong. Allow the climactic moments to feel that way but don't let the other times feel snail-like. Weave character exposition into scenes were something else is happening - don't let a scene become static. The ending of a series needs to have some major impact. The beginning has to be engaging - set some intrigue and spledour. Series I like will have me sold in 1-2 episodes. Series I don't will lose me within that time usually. If you want a viewer to want your product, get them engaged at the start and maintain it.
2. Prejudice. People of a different race, gender, sexual orientation, political orientationc, etc. that still sits within the boundaries of law, morality and not hurting any one that cares about them - those things are alright. They are not reasons to be hated. Until recently, yuri has been given the 'silly teen fling' or 'this is wrong' treatment. It's being seen in a better light in the last few years. Female characters in general are now being given more prominent roles and males are becoming more varied in personalities. The idea that male characters can only be the 'I'm awesome and I'll conquer the world' or 'I'm spineless yet liked' types is antiquated. Outsider views of anime also disgust me sometimes. That some people think Miyazaki is the only maker of anime that is worth watching or that anime is only hentai/long running shounen series tailored for young kids - that frustrates me.
3. Big star name = only reason to watch. Any industry needs new talent to regularly emerge and provide the industry with more plusses and perspectives. You can't rely on the same old, same old to sell a series/movie. A series not having a high-profile seiyuu shouldn't be a death blow - I get annoyed when seeing comments in various places that a series not being voiced by Rie Kugiyama, Kikuko Inuoe or Yui Horie is instant don't like. Or that it doesn't have a director like Miyazaki or Hideaki Anno. If those views were subscribed to, the good talent that emerges would go unnoticed and eventually the industry would fall. Judge a series by its merits, content and quality.
4. Aloofness. Each to their own. Liking genre A but not genre B doesn't mean that you're automatically better than someone who likes genre B. We're all people with the right to form our own opinions and have our own tastes.
5. Destroying the original manga. Anime series made from a manga that end up being an abomination make me really mad. Hideaki Anno turned Masami Tsuda's manga into an anime that made a mockery of what her title stood for - to the point she barred further material from being made. Yuna Kagesaki's manga Karin (known as Chibi Vampire in the West) was a light-hearted sweet shounen romance that got turned into an ecchifest at the anime level and left her stunned at the results. Saikano's brilliant mix of angst and sexual humour was turned into an emofest at the anime level, utterly ruining the message and vibe Shin Takahashi gave in the manga. The list goes on. Adaptations should consider the original authour's intent to a fair degree.
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