What Makes An Anime Good (in your opinion)?

Is it the art? Maybe the story is pretty good or the characters really come alive. What makes a good anime, don't be afraid to be specific :P

Well... What makes an anime good is a clear plot ( not all the time), when i feel the need i like to have alot of plot twist that make me go wow every time, you know what i mean by the end of Code Geass. When i watch an anime though here's what i except in a long run, "A nice plot even if its simple", "Humor if you can get some in there", "A nice assortment of characters with different personalities", "The famous pervert in the series if its needed of course", " Romance and Action, if the anime can get it in there without messing anything up". But really i just accept the anime for what it is and try to deal with it i'm not that much of a picky person the only thing i didn't like after Episode 1 was PowerPuff Girls Z, couldn't begin to watch it.

If an anime keeps you 'hooked-in' until the end, its a good anime.

I agree ^^ To me, plot is extremely important. As long as an anime has a good story, be it touching or in your face action or depressing, Ill probably enjoy it. I am a huge fan of plot twist actually (so long as they are good). I like the feeling when you're watching something and go "Oh shit, didn't see that coming".

A good plot and storyline that doesn't get sidetracked, and for gods sake, at the end, real closure. NOT a cliffhanger that there is never a sequel to. If its a good story it doesn't need all the filler and fanservice, not that fanservice is bad though, 'cause fanservice is awesome!

YES! Closure is a big thing, although it seems that a lot of anime that I like seems to lack that...

I would say a good anime depends on its ability to wreck havoc in the audiences' emotions.

あの日見た花の名前を僕達はまだ知らない (Ano Hana) for example, is on the top of my list with Angel Beats!. They didn't squeeze any tears out, but rather, just let the emotions flow inside me until I myself can't take it anymore. The story was well-written, and the anime did well to portray what was to be shown. I actually could not stop myself from whimpering at the endings.

But then there's also other types, 天元突破グレンラガン (TTGL), for example, that makes your blood boil. UBW route in the visual novel Fate/Stay-Night turned me INSANE. I was so affected by the story that I was literally shouting in front of the computer screen.

Then there's also Elfen Lied and 秒速5センチメートル (Byosoku 5cm)...the ones that just make me depressed. All in all, these are all rated top in my collection for their ability to resonate with the emotion within.

I watched Ano Hana a while back and really enjoyed, It portrays emotion so well. HOWEVER, I also agree whole heartily on the UBW ending; the Unlimited Blade Works route has a lot of epic scenes but the ending in general was so cool and it was very touching.

For me. I like a anime to have a good plot to it. If I can get into the story then the anime is great. I don't really care much about art as long as it is pleasing to my eye and I can watch without getting a headache.

It just has to entertain me. It might be random humor, a deep/interesting plot, intense action scenes, amazing art/animation, interesting characters or any other number of things. Must obviously be enjoyable to watch and have some aspect of it that I find pleasing.

I'm rather sadistic when it comes to anime. I like to see some suffering, gore, and tits (not guro). All I need to keep me happy is a good harem. But after a bit, I tend to switch to darker anime Like Another, Elfen Lied, Higurashi and when it comes out....CORPSE PARTY!!! Sometimes I just watch a medicore *Filler* anime if I need a break. Then I need another amazing anime like Madoka.

Amen to that brother!

A story with a lot of depth paired with a main character that is not some dense moron. Throw in a ending that leaves everything nice and open and we have a winner.

there's intense plot, but there's also the relaxing slice of life/comedy types
for some reason i particularly enjoyed anime like
seitokai yakuindomo
a channel
lucky star
k-on
oreimo

and stuff like that.
The plot generally goes nowhere, and that's exactly what I really enjoyed about them.
They are anime in which the focus is the small pleasures of life.
Most of our lives aren't filled with as much suspense as some of these anime anyways, and in reality such situations would probably be extremely stressful.
These peaceful kinds of times won't last forever, and it's really nice to enjoy them while they last.

For one, it has to stay true to the manga if that's where it originates from and that it must be what the artist envisioned the anime to be like.

Art, Music, Characters, Voices would be a bonus.

Nevermind the plot, give me decent characters who are genuine and legit. Great characters can make do with shitty plot.

Dude I'm not gonna lie, that sounds like something my friend would say. He's a big Higurashi fan.

I can't agree with this statement anymore, I'm a big Zetman fan and I was super pumped for the anime but it didn't stay true to the manga. Very disappointed, I was :(

The characters are among the most important to me. Having proper characterization, having an interesting back-story, character development (... depends), realistic, and most importantly being memorable and not cardboard-cut (is that the phrase?). And they should look nice - they don't have to be bishoujo characters, but they shouldn't look positively repulsive. Unless the story needs them to look that way.

The plot should be engaging as well, with preferably no fillers, and is not entirely fanservice. Cliffhangers... I'm on the wall, because on some occasions it's goods, and others it's not so good. See Cowboy Bebop for example. Plot twists are fine too, and should be included for those dark/horror stories - but not so much that the story gets boring or convoluted. (coughTsukihimecough)

Good anime:
Cowboy Bebop
Full Metal Alchemist
Fate/Zero
Angel Beats!

(And for comedy: Carnival Phantasm)