Fenxy

1. Great Characters that develop
2. An Artistic style. It doesn't have to be gorgeous, it doesn't have to be super detailed, it doesn't have to be hand drawn, or cg... it just has to have a style. Something that you can identify with that anime. It could be as simple as the character design, or as involved as picking a certain limited colour scheme, or using non traditional means to animate (check out mononoke)
3. An ending. God spare us from endless serial fan exploitative rumiko takahashi-esque crap. Don't get me wrong, I like some of her characters, but the lady does not know how to tell a story with an ending.

Some top picks

Kino's Journey
Scrapped Princess
Honey and Clover
Stellvia of the Universe
MushiShi

Good voice acting.
Believable and likable characters.
Awesome music.

Those are my picks. I second:
Honey and Clover
Mushishi

I am a sucker for cyberpunk, tech, and ninja and magic anime. I agree that character development is a must, decent voice and sound adds to my enjoyment. Some of my favorites (please no eye rolling) are:

-Spirited Away
-Castle in the Sky
-Howl's Moving Castle
-Appleseed
-Ghost in Shell movies and series.
-Pom-Poko
-Gantz
-Ninja Scroll (sorry, campy but I like)
-Vampire Hunter D
-Tenchi

I am still pretty young in my anime appreciation, its just a great medium and I have a friend that is addicted so I pretty much can watch most anything which is cool.

Any suggestions?

@Ozone24, excellent requisites. I would have to append that last one with "good". It would definitely need a good ending to be a great anime.

@Micheal, would the voice acting need to be good in English and Japanese, one or the other, or just Japanese?

I disagree that the characters need to be likable in a good anime. I think a good anime can also elicit hate or loathing towards a character. I don't necessarily need to like a character as much as I need to connect on some level or be able to feel something towards them or with them.

@Cappuccino, if you like good ninja/ magical anime check out Basilisk. It kicks Ninja Scroll (the series and the movies) square in the nunchucks.

If the voice acting in Japanese is terrible then there is a good chance that the anime itself will be terrible. A bad English voice cast should not be a reason to dis a an anime outright.

@Animeblog, not all characters have to be likable but anime's with noting but disingenuous whiny ass characters really turn me off. An example of the opposite would be Planetes. Dr. Locksmith (head researcher) is one of my favorite characters yet in the anime he is one of the most hated/contraversial persons by the people in the show.

I guess in the end it comes down to if the characters seem genuine. Takemoto was a bit of a wimp in the begining of the show but his intentions were genuine so he was one of my favorite characters. Plus he is super nice.

I've never been much for anime, but I do have a few favorites like azumanga daioh, yakitate japan and ebichu.
Neither of these have much of a plot (except maybe yakitate), but thats ok. They manage to pull it off just fine, and they're funny while they're at it.

I've been through the whole giant robots and epic fighting stuff and in the end it just bores me.

Well the characters have to illicit some type of emotion from me. I just don't want them to be there to be there. I don't care if I love them or hate them, but you have to feel something towards them. Also (surprised this hasn't been said) there has to be a plot to get behind. You want the protagonists to achieve whatever the plot's goal is and during this there has to be times that truly put you on the edge of not knowing whether or not they will actually accomplish that goal.

And surprisingly when I think about the great animes that I like there is usually some sacrifice involved. Good people die to develop the story, when that happens I seem to back up the story even more. I do enjoy happy go lucky stuff like Trigun as well, but nothing beats something that brings a bit of pain to your heart.

When it comes down to it, the anime just has to be entertaining. That doesn't necessarily mean it has to be "action," but rather anything that keeps the audience watching. I was bored to tears watching Cowboy Bebop, despite everyone's rave reviews of it, and the fact the series is really well animated with high production value. On the other hand, a series like A Cheeky Angel (Tenshi na Konamaki) had me laughing the entire time, and I loved every minute of it. The characters in Tenshi na Konamaki were outstanding, and the story wasn't so bad either.

So what makes a series entertaining? I feel it just has to be put together well; it's not just one answer like animation, sound, or character development. The entire anime has to be well made with a focus on characters, story, and the things that make it entertaining (ie: humor, fighting, sports, etc). I hate to use a football analogy, but it fits with what I'm trying to say. It doesn't matter if you have a great QB, it takes an entire team to win. So the great anime series all have to have great characters, a compelling story, and the entertainment factor.

In the end I suppose it's a matter of preference. Things like Berserk, One Piece, Kenshin, Full Moon, Hajime no Ippo, and many others are among my favorites. They all have the 3 things I mentioned.

@Scrivs, plots are good and all but some anime is random. Would random anime, like Cromartie High School or Azumanga Diaoh not be able to make it to the Anime Hall of Fame for lack of plot? It's not as if they're earth-shattering in their awesomeness but they are pretty memorable. Is a concrete plot a must? I think most great anime do have solid plots, but is having a plot a requisite? Just throwing that out there...

@fusiongtdotcom, to be good, anime must be entertaining, but what does it need to achieve the status of anime godhood? The movie, Anchor Man, was entertaining as hell, but I'm doubting it will be classic. What gives anime that extra push that makes it classic, in your opinion?

Like any American comedy, Cromartie works because of its humor. It's even funnier due to the lack of plot, which is something not every genre can do. How many great animes can you name that don't have characters you empathize with and a plot that doesn't exist? In my mind, Cromartie is the exception, not the rule.

Ah what makes a classic. I read your entire post but my eyes totally missed the last bold sentence :)

Some of the classics in my opinion are Rurouni Kenshin, Grave of the Fireflies, Akira, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Slam Dunk, Hajime no Ippo, Escaflowne, GTO, Fruits Basket, and Berserk. There's more but I'll just list those. I'd say I consider those classics because the time they were released, they outshined practically everything. I can watch any of those series/movies today and still be awe at the wonderful stories and characters. In fact, I have seen all of those countless times and each time they got better and better.

What makes them great I feel is the "uniqueness" for when the story was made. No one gives a crap about Dear Boys, they only care about the original Basketball drama, Slam Dunk. RahXephon is a good series but the unfair comparissons to Evangelion really hurt it. 2004 Samurai Champloo? No thanks, give me 1996 Rurouni Kenshin. Beck and Death Note have good computer animation? Yea right, if I wanted to see dark shaded animation I will pull out my black crayon. They are butt ugly compared to Grave of the Fireflies and Akira, both made in 1988 - almost 20 years ago.

It's hard to say the exact forumla for making a classic. It has a everything to do with the actual content; but like I mentioned, it does matter when it was released. When similar series are released side by side with each other, it's hard to consider them classics. Unfortunately I can't think of a good example of that, maybe because it's 4am!

What I'm trying to say is: A classic needs to excel in story and characters and be unique in its time. It has to be a anime that makes you rethink what anime is capable of. It has to make you really feel for the characters to the point that you are rooting for them. What they accomplish, the viewer accomplishes. A classic never gets outshined by another similar anime; instead, it's what everyone compares it to.

@Scrivs, too true, too true. I actually can't name one random or slice-of-life anime, besides the two I listed, that I enjoy.

@ fusiongtdotcom, Aren't many anime timeless? I get that perhaps it's a matter of timing, but wouldn't two action series released at the same time still be classics if they have those things that make 'em shine?

Most people already said what needs to be in an Anime for it to be considered classic, so instead of repeating their words, I'll say which things don't have to be in one, for it to gain popularity, unless the Anime itself is ecchii, or hentai.

• Big breasts
• Overused Japanese expressions
• 300 rerolls of the same flashback
• Super Duper Mega Transformations of Doom Mach 3 Turbo!
• A pervert character

Yet most modern animes usually overuse at least 3 of those things on any given genre. Tengen Toppa has them all...