What do you think is needed for a good anime?

[jonli]

I want to know what you people think is needed for a good anime.

In my opinion I think it needs at least a decent story that has a certain degree of originality, interesting characters, visually appealing designs (for worlds, machinese and people) and most importantly...great directing.

[elniro]

It must have good plot and good character depth, and it should have a blend of several genres

[seiftis]

Originally Posted by elniro

It must have good plot and good character depth, and it should have a blend of several genres

That, and great character design+development.
We're all greedy eh?

[Cornel]

A title like Blench or Samurai Champloo.

[elniro]

Originally Posted by seiftis

That, and great character design+development.
We're all greedy eh?

O yea your right, that too lol

[音楽は死んだ]

lil fanservice never fails either

But it has to be orginal! Another done to death type of show like DBZ or a panty shot show isnt going to be very interesting.

[UserName]

A good plot, not so many annoying characters, and very unpredictable and not so much romance.

[Filez]

A good solid anime should have a great story-line, excellent character development and design. It should also have a mix of different genres, like action, romance and comedy.

[ShikaShika]

My tip on manga adaptations is to be as faithful as is possible. Both my favourite animes are very faithful to their manga counterparts (which I hadn't read when I saw them), and the reverse could be said for animes that aren't faithful.

If the anime catches up, then stop and go with OVAs. It's god damn worth it in the long run.

[7thMethuselah]

everyone says good plot good characters and so on. Those are always a good point to start out with but are far from enough to make a good anime. Even good stories and characters can be brought/represented in a bad way.
In order to have a great anime it would need to be enjoyable to watch first. If people see an anime with lousy chars, no story etc, but they like it then they are more inclined to like that anime than one in which it's the other way around.
A stupid example : many people will like Yumeria more than for instance Lain, althoug it's onvious that Lain has the better character and story, especially since there are about 1000 anime like Yumeria. However Yumeria is alot easier and for many alot more fun to watch.

So I'd say : fun to watch first, and if it happens to have a decent plot/characters, it becomes a great anime.

[Radd]

It really depends on what sort of anime I'm in the mood for, and what the show is trying to accomplish.

Sometimes blending genres can creat something new and complex, other times it creates a muddled mess.

A good tournament shonen, in my opinion at least, needs a large cast of characters, each bringing a very different personality and outlook to the story. More important than that, I hate it when they settle on a couple "super moves" that the characters rely on throughout the show. The whole "power level" thing found in DBZ and Naruto is also overdone and annoying. They did that sort of thing in Kenshin, but there it was presented better and not nearly as overdone.

For sci-fi shows, I like good mecha designs. And I don't just mean robots, I count ships, vehicles, and props amongst mecha designs. If everything looks generic, I lose interest in the visuals fast. If everying is overdone (giant robots with an impossible number of guns everywhere ah-la Gundam Wing), looking like they were designed by a 15 year old fanboy I also lose interest. I prefere a bit of class and style, as well as originality.

I tend to prefere character developement and personality in the show's cast, no matter the genre. However, if the show is extremely light hearted, or extremely action oriented, I'll be a little more forgiving

Also, in all shows I prefere unique and interesting art styles. When a show looks just like every other show in the past couple years, I tend to pass it over for something more that looks more interesting.

The less cliches present, the better. Schoolgirls in sailor outfits, young boys getting to fly giant robots, stereotypical anime face falls meant to tell the viewer that something funny has happened so they should laugh, main characters that are inexplicably better at what they do than anyone else right from the get go (Pirnce of Tennis, Bleach, DBZ, and many others), all cause an anime to lose points with me, with few exceptions in that I do like a lot of the classics that may have originated some of these trends like Tetsujin 28, Giant Robo, etcetera.

And, of course, good music can definitely help a lot, while bad, reptative, or annoying music can hurt a show to some extent.

[Zvuv]

Realism. And I don't necessarily mean the absense of magical powers and bizarre "end of the world"-plots, but I'm thinking about the characters. They must behave naturally and plausibly. I hate seeing dumbed down, clichè-filled conversation. Too many shows are riddled with such basic and uninspiring dialogue, and thus detracting from my ability to sympathize with the characters.

Strange plots are allright, as long as they have some level of coherency and believeability, and gives me that feeling that what's happing has a reason (not like Madlax). Also, I hate when plotlines seem too contrived, like Naruto atm, where they conveniently face harder opponents, one by one. That clichè is so annoying.

Off course I want all the other things mentioned too.

[Bvgquack]

I do not believe there's one universal ingredient that makes an anime good. After all, salt can accentuate or ruin the taste dependin' on what food it was used on.

So I say any anime that stays faithful to its purpose, aka genre, has the definite characteristic that might make the anime good. Honestly, shonen anime doesn't have to have cutting-edge, and thought provocative storyline to be considered a good anime. ("I want to be Hokage no matter what!" come on, buddy). Colorful characters (gomu-gomu man), interestin' concept (substitute death god? GOD DAYUM) are sometimes enough to make a legendary anime. Blend of different genres may heighten the enjoyment, but if not used frugally, it can become a double-edge sword. Sometime I get confused on whether I'm watchin' Greek tragedy or saturday night live, and that's not pretty.

[Sushi-Y]

Yeah, there isn't one "foolproof" formula for successful animes, but it has a lot to do with the anime's "purpose". Just like movies, there are animes that are primarily meant to make you laugh, some are meant to make you excited, some are supposed to make you sad, etc. Most animes are not as monotone as that, like earlier posters said, most animes are mixes of several genres. For example, combining action with comedy with some drama on the side. However, it's true that an anime has to know its role, and trying to be something it's not can usually backfire.

Having said that, once an anime figures out what kind of anime it wants to be, I believe it's very important to populate it with well-developed characters. The key here is personality, because everything a character does and says is determined by his/her personality, and the story as well as the whole flow of the anime revolves around these characters. If the character is a stereotype (ex. ditzy girl who screws up a lot/nice guy who's always clueless), it makes everything he/she does very predictable, and it would ruin everything. For supporting characters this is less important, but stereotypes should generally be avoided.

The other important thing is the plot, because after all, the story is what propels the characters. The plot doesn't have to be realistic or "make sense", but it should be interesting and more importantly, unpredictable. (Animes like FLCL and Saikano comes to mind) Comedies might be the only genre exempt from this, while for other genres, the plot is obviously far more important. (Animes like Azumanga or Excel Saga has no plot whatsoever, but still enjoyable to watch) This is why "filler" episodes in animes are usually comedic in nature.

Finally, the plot and the characters has to work well together and show it. We watch animes to see different circumstances and events from the story befall on our characters, and how they deal with them. If the viewer can reasonably predict what happens in the end, then the anime becomes boring to watch. For example, when a bad guy shows up somewhere in DBZ, doing bad things, it's pretty obvious that the good guys will beat the bad guy in the end, however many episode it takes for them to realize/prepare/confront/charge up/fight, and then another bad guy will show up somewhere, and repeat.

Character designs and musics are more of a personal preference, because no matter what, there will always be peoples who love them and whose who hate them. But it helps to have something that stands out. An anime with the above qualities makes it an original, when you ask someone who had watched it "what is it like?" That person shouldn't be able to say "well it's like Anime-A with a little bit of Anime-B."

[Bvgquack]

I would like to add more on your character section. I always liked to see "character growth". Anime is considered good in my book if the characters come to realization of their humanly flaws, and come out triumph emotionally. I find that steroetype characters (not only they are predictable) hardly have any growth, or are usually already enlightened from episode 1.

[Zvuv]

Character development is definitely important, as long as it's not one of those typical sequences that they, in example, apply to every other character in Naruto. "I never had any friends, boohoo, until i met him/her, boohoohoo, then i a. realized the importance of friends, or b. realized that i'm not completely useless. Now I can a. die happily after gaining courage, or b. live in joy forever (b. translates as: being removed from the plot).

The bottom line: anime devoid of clichè has ten-fold more chance of being great.

[Tsu]

It really, really depends. For example, you can't except a comedy to have a deep, intricate story and well-developed characters. On the other hand, what good is a drama that doesn't have at least some character development? In other words, what is needed for a good anime depends on the type of anime.
That said, though, I do think there is one thing that all anime need; likable characters. (Note: 'likable characters' as in characters that are likable as characters, not neccersarily as 'people'). To use some overly expensive language with very little actual meaning: if you can't at least like your interface through the fourth wall (which is one of the roles a character fulfills), your view on what lies beyond the fourth wall will be distored in a negative manner. Well... that and you simply won't care what happens to the character.
Hmm... While I used the word 'anime' in this post because it's the topic of the thread, I'd say that this goes pretty much for all forms of storytelling, not just animation.

[GG_Luna128]

It should have...

· originality
· some drama or suspense
· no sex at all (only Elfen Lied breaks this rule)
· no filler eps (die, Naruto =P)
· no cliches

Ah, like 7thMethuselah said, it must be fun. That's the key, really.
Good chars are not needed, in my opinion.

[babbito2k]

Originally Posted by Tsu

I do think there is one thing that all anime need; likable characters. (Note: 'likable characters' as in characters that are likable as characters, not neccersarily as 'people').

That pretty much does it for me. If I don't care whether or not the main characters get what they want then anything else a show has to offer really doesn't help.

I also expect to see something creative in the visual storytelling. It's always possible to go beyond simple realism even without intensely animated sequences. There's no point in merely imitating live action.

[jonli]

Hmm. I see...

Can you guys name a few successful animes that lives up to it's genre?

For example Full Metal Panic Fumoffu was successful at being a comedy.

Etc. Just for the sake of discussion