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[TamerVirus]

I guess for every masterpiece that was animated lovingly over many years, there are hundreds of generic blob anime to fund said masterpiece

[Neonivek]

I guess for every masterpiece that was animated lovingly over many years, there are hundreds of generic blob anime to fund said masterpiece

It is basically how everything with media works.

Anime isn't unique in its "mostly garbage" aspect. As I've said before The Golden Age of Hollywood also had the most garbage ever produced.

Mind you IMO the worst garbage is the "Barely above average" blob... When things being released are either REALLY BAD or REALLY GOOD that is what I prefer.

[Zangi]

I'd have to say harem-esque stuff.  I like Log Horizon, but I reckon it irked me that there are at least 3 females that 'love' the protagonist.  There may even be more lurking somewhere... waiting to show themselves! 
(Though, oddly I have no problem with that other guy who has a guild full of em.  Maybe cause he is not the protagonist and they arn't doing the one-true-pairing song and dance either...)

So to be more specific.  Harems around the protagonist.  I'd strike that.  But yea, losing the whole trope won't be much of a loss in my opinion.

Honestly if Western Animation has a strong focus on continuity as standard or at least didn't make shows with continuity incredibly rare... I'd probably watch a LOT less anime.

This. ...  Maybe.

[Parsely]

-you're actually considering watching it because you "like anime" and want to watch anime.

That just sounds like torture to me, it's the root of my frequent complaints about people I know watching entire seasons of something they clearly despise. I don't think I'll ever understand it. The person I live with is addicted to watching shitty horror movies and when one's over I spin around in my chair (because I can't help half listening when I don't have my headphones on) and we complain about it together and once we're done I always ask: "so why do you still watch them?! e.e" and she always just shrugs and puts on another. *tears at hair*

Maybe it's because I have a strong will to explore and try new things, but I've never managed to put myself in that kind of position when it comes to entertainment. The only reason I would waste my time and play a video game or watch a movie I thought was bad is because I went into it with the expectation that it was going to be good. Recently I did run out of good old games to play so I made a thread and people found some more for me and I'm currently enjoying them, and during that interval in which I didn't have any good games to play I was reading other mangas and watching anime that I enjoyed!

If there was one trend in anime/manga that you could completely remove, what would it be?

I would rid myself of (pseudo)adolescent protagonists. I struggle to think of the few anime where the protagonist wasn't a teenager or small child: Mushishi, Baccano!, Samurai Champloo, Cowboy Bebop, Planetes (pretty sure Hachi and Tanabe were in their mid to early 20s at the beginning of the show but I could be wrong), Space Dandy, Trigun.. Is it a coincidence that they all happen to be among my favorite anime of all time? >:I

[Lord Shonus]

I would rid myself of (pseudo)adolescent protagonists.

This seems odd coming from someone with what appears to be a Gundam avatar.

[Furtuka]

guni tends to prefer the grunt sidestories to the main series.

[Lord Shonus]

Ah, that would make sense. It just seemed odd since main-line Gundam is pretty much the most "adolescent protagonist" series ever made.

[Neonivek]

I can't really justify eliminating adolescent protagonist in my own mind.

It isn't like Harem where all the good series that effectively use harems could be counted on one hand.

[Parsely]

I would rid myself of (pseudo)adolescent protagonists.

This seems odd coming from someone with what appears to be a Gundam avatar.

That's correct it is a Gundam avatar, and yes I do like most of the shows despite the adolescent protagonists.

Furt's correct, I often complain about the Gundam protags. I don't think I've ever come across a Gundam protagonist I liked aside from Seabook Arno and Loran, as well as the guy from Hard Graph. The MCs in 08th MS Team, War in the Pocket and Stardust Memory I enjoyed most of the time (I tended to like the side characters a lot more than the main characters in those), but they still had their moments of childish ambivalence that really grinds my gears. Conversely, the IGLOO protagonists weren't anything special and they were all in their 20s or 30s aside from the kid who piloted an Oggo, IIRC.

guni tends to prefer the grunt sidestories to the main series.

^^This. I love a good grunt story.

I can't really justify eliminating adolescent protagonist in my own mind.

It isn't like Harem where all the good series that effectively use harems could be counted on one hand.

That's true. There's a lot of great anime and manga with adolescent protags (Spirited Away, Yotsuba, Now and Then Here and There), but those are generally ones that wouldn't have worked with a protag of a different age. So I guess what I really mean is, I hate shows (like Gundam) where the character is absurdly young (15 year old soldiers in a world where nearly all the other pilots are of a more typical age) and it doesn't do anything to help the story.

[Furtuka]

It does serve a purpose though. Coming of age stories are a popular thing for a reason, and one of them is that since the protagonist still hasn't fully developed, it allows them much more room to actual learn something about the world, and thereby impart that message to the audience. Not to mention larger opportunities for character development. Heck one of the reasons Amuro and Kamille are regarded so legendarily is the large amounts of growth exhibited by them as time passes. Changing the nature of the protagonists would intrinsically change the type of story that is being told.
The fact is that in the end Gundam actually is aimed at teens and kids, (and in the case of Tomino shows especially aimed at kids despite appearances). And in the end the shows really are more about the message (and selling merchandise) than the actual setting and war aspect, despite what some parts of the fanbase like to believe. The rest of the gritty stuff in the main series is really more there to give people enough to latch onto that they'll be able to take it seriously enough to get to the important bits.
Not to mention one of the main themes of the franchise as a whole is how the younger generations have to clean up and deal with the consequences of the mistakes and selfish decisions of the previous.

[Lord Shonus]

That's true. There's a lot of great anime and manga with adolescent protags (Spirited Away, Yotsuba, Now and Then Here and There), but those are generally ones that wouldn't have worked with a protag of a different age. So I guess what I really mean is, I hate shows (like Gundam) where the character is absurdly young (15 year old soldiers in a world where nearly all the other pilots are of a more typical age) and it doesn't do anything to help the story.

The UC Gundam series, and some others, do at least justify it with the TOGA principle.

[Reelya]

Not even "Mushishi", Vector? There's literally nothing but SnK since 2004 that you've liked? I agree that most shows are either really bad or just forgettable, but there are still a few gems here and there that make it worthwhile for me.

Everyone is right, there are a small handful of good shows per season, and it's pretty spot on sturgeons 10% rule. Sampling only new shows from the last 12 months, I can pick out about 4-5 per season which stand out. Even then some of these shows have their own issues, but at least try and be original, or they have really good art design.
 
Not counting any sequels/ongoing, these were the best of 2014, for me:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://anichart.net/winter-14
Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha
Noragami
Space☆Dandy
Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta
http://anichart.net/spring-14
Hitsugi no Chaika
Ping Pong The Animation
Sidonia no Kishi
Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii
http://anichart.net/summer-14
Aldnoah.Zero
Ao Haru Ride
Barakamon
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
Nobunaga Concerto
Sabagebu!
http://anichart.net/fall-14
Akatsuki no Yona (interesting 1st episode, but a little slow since then, hoping it picks up)
Gugure! Kokkuri-san
Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
Shirobako
Gundam: G no Reconguista (possibly, haven't started watching it yet)

~30 new shows come out every season, and I can find ~ 4-6 that I like, plus some sequels of ongoing shows. So usually I find ~8-12 things per season I'm enjoying, which is more than enough to go on with. Anyway, let guys let me know if there's any 2014 show that's worthwhile that I missed hearing about.

[Neonivek]

Ping Pong The Animation

 

Huh... what is this?

[Reelya]

Oh you missed that? Ping Pong the animation is from a 20+ year old sports manga by a guy known for his "unique" art style, and the anime adaptation was done by Yuasa Masaaki (Tatami Galaxy, Kaiba, Kemonozume, Mind Game, Cat Soup). Both the director and mangaka are known for a similar trippy retro art style, so apparently people had been talking about this particular match-up well before the anime was announced.

Most anime kiddies were horrified because this anime doesn't have the cutesy designs, big puppy eyes, and everyone having smooth perfect skin. Ugly people are fugly in this show.

[Boksi]

Since you guys are talking about cliches, I'd like to take the opportunity to plug Jitsu wa Watashi wa again. It starts with a high school student working up the courage to confess to his crush, only to have his confession derailed when he discovers that she's secretly a vampire(well, half-vampire)! Thus begins a series of harem romcom hijinks, featuring such staples as the stern class rep girl, the childhood friend girl, the perverted girl and the little girl who's really a thousand years old but still acts like a child. And it's freaking great.