So I've been thinking lately about the way that a lot of people on youtube and what not usually do anime reviews based on a few basic categories, Animation/Art, Music, Characters, Story, and I've even seen some that add on to setting.

To me though, this begs the idea of how much each of these categories even matter? I've seen people drop overall ratings due to things like the art style or specific characters because they were "underdeveloped," or else they just didn't like them, where as in contrast the actual plot of the story they've given max 'points' for. I find this strange, because to me, personally I could X out art styles and music as things I find important in a show. I wanted to know your opinions on this and tell how much you think each element matters in making a good anime. Feel free to use examples.

Wow. Oh shit. This thread.
I know I'm not going to verse these things very well on here because typing doesn't work like that and I'd probably revise this a bajillion times before posting it but I don't have the time nor the attention span and so I'll wait for other people to post their thoughts and I'll go off those cause they'll say it way better than I will. lol

I must say though that originality is probably the thing I look for most. If a show is filled with vapid tropes and uninteresting plot devices, I'm not gonna give a fuck. Do something innovative that hasn't been done before (or at least done as well) though? I'm willing to give it a go, and chances are it'll be a good watch.

Generally speaking, I "rate" anime using a combination of the technical critique-y stuff and my own enjoyment of it. In short, I account for both objective and subjective factors. As far as the technical aspects go, for me, story and characters are *usually* the most important, followed by the ideas, concepts, and themes the show deals with, followed by everything else.

I've noticed that I'm often drawn to anime that are "different" and do things or explore ideas that I haven't seen done before. Even so, my rating of any show is based more on enjoyment than anything else mainly because a show could have excellent art/animation, music, intriguing ideas, etc. but still be incredibly boring to watch. Anime uses video as a medium, so when I watch it, first and foremost I want to be entertained. If it also has good story, characters, and whatever else, then that's all the better.

I'm not able to explain the thoughts in the previous paragraph as well as I'd like. I know that the objective aspects and the subjective aspects of a show aren't really completely separable.

>>1 Thanks for the thought-provoking topic!

I was just thinking about this earlier o-o Whelp, I'll sum up the cycles I usually go through prior to watching, while watching, and after watching an anime as far as judging it goes:

1. Plot idea originality
>What's your opinion based on written descriptions of the story?

2. Art
>After looking up screenshots, what does the art seem like?

3. First Impressions
>Is the music in the first OP/ED interesting? What about the episode's music?

4. Animation
>Now that you're watching it, how good is the animation?

5. Character originality
>You're farther in now; are the characters interesting? Original?

6. Plot development
>Is the story just as interesting as it was at the start now? More so? Less so?

7. Soundtrack
>Has the music been fitting to the series this whole time?

8. Character development
>Are the characters just as interesting now that you're this far into the series? Is the MC static or dynamic?

9. Finale
>Was the series tied up well? Did the ending fit the plot?

10. Enjoyment
>Despite the answers to the previous questions, did it enjoy watching the anime? Did your enjoyment cancel out the faults it had, or were the faults too huge to ignore no matter how much you liked it? Did everything seem perfect according to the previous 9 questions, yet you just couldn't get into it?

That's basically my mental process. Some portions an be cancelled out by enjoyment like your saying >>1, but that is subjective and depends on the anime.

The numbers I used above reflect when I judge something rather than how important it is.

Answering your question, though, I'll write what I think are the most important things in order:

1. Originality
>Is this series original? Are the characters unique? How often has the story been done before? This is the most important.

2. Story
>Putting originality aside, is the story interesting nonetheless? Is it fun? Quirky?

3. Art Originality
4. Art Quality
>These are both very important, though one is more important than the other. For example, let's look at Maria + Holic. That art! I could care less about some nose-bleeding lesbian falling for some blonde with a dick (<-that story). Anyway, the art was extremely original as well as very high quality. I have, however, seen animes that have HQ art... but it's just not interesting. It's not original. That's why having original art is a lot more important to me rather than having HQ art.

Let's look at some other animes.

Interesting and quality art: Maria + Holic, Bakemonogatari, Ergo Proxy, Redline

Interesting but lazy art: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, The Count of Monte Cristo

Expected but quality art: Munto TV, Nyan Koi, The World God Only Knows

Expected and lazy art: Naruto, Bleach, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Middle of the road: One Piece, Naruto Shippuden, Kuroko no Basuke, and a lot of others that I'm too lazy to list.

Anyway, you get my point. Moving on.

5. Characters
>Are the characters realistic? Original? If not, I probably won't enjoy the story as much as I want to.

The rest of it all kind of melds together. As much as I appreciate good animation, I would never refuse to watch an anime for its animation (especially if it's an older one). The same goes for the rest of the points that I brought up earlier; if it has a bad sound track, it's not going to make me stop watching it, so it's not really important enough to bring up here.

I lied; there are some animes that I refuse to watch for their animation. I just can NOT stand CG animation or anything that is even reminiscent of an attempt at 3D animation (like the Final Fantasy movies and anime). They just bother the fuck out of me. It's only a personal preference, though; it's one of those pet peeves I have. I don't mind it in games, but I don't enjoy it in anime/cartoons.

Now im sure all of the things mentioned apply, But has anyone ever like 'felt' for an anime? Im not talking emotionaly or etc. as in the anime has a good feelign to it? the plot may be disjointed, average art and dodgey stuff but it has a feeling to it that is like refreashing? I dont know the word, it just makes you want to keep watching aha the 'feeling' may be created through a collaboartion of all the things previously listed but still, A personal example of this would be Naruto and Bleach, Naruto's art, plot and character creation is debateably better then Bleach, but bleach just feels better? even in the sad moments I feel connected and its more pleasureable? Dont get me wrong I love both animes and if you dont like them whatever but thats my example ahha. I cant quite explain it XD

>>6 Well-done small CG segments are okay if they are mixed in properly, but sometimes it just makes me want to puke.
>>7 Hm, I know what you mean. Sometimes you just feel like you need to keep watching it, even though it lacks something you look for in a good show. It's odd.
I classify good anime in much the same way as I classify a good novel. Character development is super important to me, as is originality and creativity. I crave good writing and coherency like a heroin addict craves their next dose.
Another thing I like is when everything connects. I don't mean that some dead character has been leaving secret messages to you all this time - I mean that it's been cleverly written in a subtle way that prompts deep thinking.
Also I love smooth animation with all my heart.
Fitting soundtracks and nice art are like the icing on the cake - I could live without them, but I don't want to.
So basically everything that's already been said.

>>7 That's what I was talking about with the last part of my first post. Enjoyment.

Sometimes, I find myself not caring about the anime's flaws. My mind just kind of goes blank, and I get completely caught up in the episode. This is enjoyment. Bad art/animation, shaky story, troped characters - none of it matters if you happen to find yourself enjoying it nonetheless.

My favorite anime is Naruto, because I think it has a lot of likeable characters, a plot with some pretty good twists and a lack of plot-holes, and some of the best action in any anime I've seen. However it does have it's flaws. The amount of flashbacks and unnecessary explanations could drive a person insane.
Then there's Bleach. It use to be my favorite anime for all the same reasons Naruto is. But I just felt like it dragged on for far too long. Eventually I got bored of it and stopped watching.

Every anime has its flaws, but what's important is if you can accept its flaws and still enjoy it.