So we've got a thread here talking about what people's favourite anime are, but I'm kind of curious to know what draws you to a series in the first place, and what keeps you watching. To be more specific, what can make or break a series for you? Oh, and just a warning - I'm going to ramble. A lot.
For me, the visual aesthetic is critically important. I really need the visuals to be reasonably decent in terms of quality, otherwise I'm going to get distracted and spend most of my time watching critiquing the art rather than paying attention to the narrative. On the flipside, if the visuals are really well done, I can get completely distracted drooling over them. For example, the first time I watched Redline I had no idea what was actually happening because every damn frame was a complete feast for the eyes. It wasn't until my second run through that I actually had any grasp over the plot. So basically a bad aesthetic will make me ragequit quickly, whereas if its awesome I'll keep watching even if every other aspect of the show is really weak. Along these same lines, I really want the aesthetic to be quite unique as well, as if its like everything else I've ever seen that's a big part of my experience that I lose - I can't sit there and try and work out how they go about creating the shows visual style because I've already done that. So something like Sword Art Online is instantly disengaging because it looks as unthinkably generic for 2010s anime these days, and this just makes me focus on the plot more. Which in SAOs case, in my opinion, isn't a good thing. For comparison, something like Serial Experiments Lain is instantly striking with its quiet, almost awkward, atmosphere, the fact that in areas of heavy shadow there appears to be watercolour or blood drops, and its obsessive focus on wires. The only exception to this is probably anything by Clamp because I just adore their art style in general, although it still does change per series.
Next important thing is how closely the series sticks to the conventions of its genre, or basically "How much does this feel like every other show I've seen?". If I'm watching something and I feel I can predict exactly where the story is going, and it doesn't subvert my expectations, then I'm going to move on because there's probably not much point in watching. Shounen in particular really needs something different because it often has such a distinct formula and feeling. There are plenty of ways to go about making something unique of course, with being a deconstruction being the obvious one, especially if I'm really familiar with the genre its messing with. Madoka Magica completely messed with my childhood and it was awesome. Another thing that makes series feel unique is having an anachronic order, like Baccano for example, as it instantly sets up point of intrigue by making me wonder how they ended up at this point. Or you could combine genres in ways that I haven't seen before - Hyouka is a slice of life anime that contains a lot of mystery elements, but they're usually centred around everyday lighthearted mysteries, which is something that I haven't really seen before it. There is an exception to this of course - if I care enough about the characters then I will stick around, but only if the show holds my attention for long enough for me to get to know them. Noragami is a good example of this - it felt very shounen with nothing really to set it apart, but I quickly became really interested in the character Yukine and how he develops over the course of the series so it no longer mattered how generic the show felt as long as he was on screen.
The last point I'll talk about (because I could write a freaking novel on this subject, and nobody wants to read that) is how human the characters are. We humans are inherently flawed creatures and are deeply complex, so when some character comes along who demonstrates neither of those qualities I disengage immediately as there is nothing in them to relate to. I also don't want these things explicitly spelled out to me, even if it means I might not notice as it just feels like the writer wasn't skilled enough to work their behaviour naturally into the narrative. Probably one of my favourite examples of this is in the character of Lelouch in Code Geass. Lelouch makes some really stupid decisions sometimes, which clashes with his presentation of being a really logical intelligent chessmaster kind of guy. Except that most of these occur when someone he's emotionally attached to is involved, and suddenly these mistakes make a lot of sense. It makes him human and believable because without these moments he'd come across as being a psychopath like Light Yagami (although with Light, I'd argue that its the point to make him seem as inhuman as possible, but that's a different topic). It also helps that whenever Lelouch gets into combat in a Knightmare he usually gets his ass handed to him. And all of this happens without the show rubbing it in your face, and its great. In comparison, someone like Otonashi from Angel Beats doesn't even feel like a character to begin with and its instantly off putting. Its one of the main reasons why I kinda hate the series - he feels like a void where a character should be, and anything he does only happens because he's following some generic anime protagonist code of conduct rather than anything meaningful on his part. He's just not human, and I just can't pretend he is.
So if you're still reading this because I have no concept of restraint when it comes to things like this, what kind of things keep you interested in an anime? Are you the kind of person who can be sold on something just by the presence of swords or something, or a certain genre, or just a bunch of stupidly complex specific things?
For me, the visual aesthetic is critically important. I really need the visuals to be reasonably decent in terms of quality, otherwise I'm going to get distracted and spend most of my time watching critiquing the art rather than paying attention to the narrative. On the flipside, if the visuals are really well done, I can get completely distracted drooling over them. For example, the first time I watched Redline I had no idea what was actually happening because every damn frame was a complete feast for the eyes. It wasn't until my second run through that I actually had any grasp over the plot. So basically a bad aesthetic will make me ragequit quickly, whereas if its awesome I'll keep watching even if every other aspect of the show is really weak. Along these same lines, I really want the aesthetic to be quite unique as well, as if its like everything else I've ever seen that's a big part of my experience that I lose - I can't sit there and try and work out how they go about creating the shows visual style because I've already done that. So something like Sword Art Online is instantly disengaging because it looks as unthinkably generic for 2010s anime these days, and this just makes me focus on the plot more. Which in SAOs case, in my opinion, isn't a good thing. For comparison, something like Serial Experiments Lain is instantly striking with its quiet, almost awkward, atmosphere, the fact that in areas of heavy shadow there appears to be watercolour or blood drops, and its obsessive focus on wires. The only exception to this is probably anything by Clamp because I just adore their art style in general, although it still does change per series.
Next important thing is how closely the series sticks to the conventions of its genre, or basically "How much does this feel like every other show I've seen?". If I'm watching something and I feel I can predict exactly where the story is going, and it doesn't subvert my expectations, then I'm going to move on because there's probably not much point in watching. Shounen in particular really needs something different because it often has such a distinct formula and feeling. There are plenty of ways to go about making something unique of course, with being a deconstruction being the obvious one, especially if I'm really familiar with the genre its messing with. Madoka Magica completely messed with my childhood and it was awesome. Another thing that makes series feel unique is having an anachronic order, like Baccano for example, as it instantly sets up point of intrigue by making me wonder how they ended up at this point. Or you could combine genres in ways that I haven't seen before - Hyouka is a slice of life anime that contains a lot of mystery elements, but they're usually centred around everyday lighthearted mysteries, which is something that I haven't really seen before it. There is an exception to this of course - if I care enough about the characters then I will stick around, but only if the show holds my attention for long enough for me to get to know them. Noragami is a good example of this - it felt very shounen with nothing really to set it apart, but I quickly became really interested in the character Yukine and how he develops over the course of the series so it no longer mattered how generic the show felt as long as he was on screen.
The last point I'll talk about (because I could write a freaking novel on this subject, and nobody wants to read that) is how human the characters are. We humans are inherently flawed creatures and are deeply complex, so when some character comes along who demonstrates neither of those qualities I disengage immediately as there is nothing in them to relate to. I also don't want these things explicitly spelled out to me, even if it means I might not notice as it just feels like the writer wasn't skilled enough to work their behaviour naturally into the narrative. Probably one of my favourite examples of this is in the character of Lelouch in Code Geass. Lelouch makes some really stupid decisions sometimes, which clashes with his presentation of being a really logical intelligent chessmaster kind of guy. Except that most of these occur when someone he's emotionally attached to is involved, and suddenly these mistakes make a lot of sense. It makes him human and believable because without these moments he'd come across as being a psychopath like Light Yagami (although with Light, I'd argue that its the point to make him seem as inhuman as possible, but that's a different topic). It also helps that whenever Lelouch gets into combat in a Knightmare he usually gets his ass handed to him. And all of this happens without the show rubbing it in your face, and its great. In comparison, someone like Otonashi from Angel Beats doesn't even feel like a character to begin with and its instantly off putting. Its one of the main reasons why I kinda hate the series - he feels like a void where a character should be, and anything he does only happens because he's following some generic anime protagonist code of conduct rather than anything meaningful on his part. He's just not human, and I just can't pretend he is.
So if you're still reading this because I have no concept of restraint when it comes to things like this, what kind of things keep you interested in an anime? Are you the kind of person who can be sold on something just by the presence of swords or something, or a certain genre, or just a bunch of stupidly complex specific things?
). Conflicting motivations, tough decisions, emotional struggles- above all, strong character development and dynamic change in the characters is what matters. If we have static, unrelatable characters, we are disconnected from the events of the story and thus, we do not care what happens to the world of the anime and what happens to it, or its inhabitants. 
