+1 on the art style issue. I really dislike the typical anime artstyle (i.e. shiny eyes, multi-coloured hair, thin and stiff bodies) am 90% likely to drop the series if it has that sort of art. If the series has that sort of artstyle, and a major character has bangs covering one eye then I'm 99% likely to drop the series--if he/she is the "dark mysterious type" or is an implied stepford smiler that's up to 99.9%.
I could put out a lot of reasons, actually. Any of these conversations, for starters:
--
A: "I don't know who I am..."
B: "Well I do! A is A! You are you!"
A: [Sudden epic realization that they indeed are themselves]
--
A: [Any sort of fakedeep monologue about the mysteries of the universe as described by a 13-year-old including but not limited to:]
- "There are two types of people in this world... those that [do X] and those that [don't do X]" (No shit Sherlock)
- "We're all the same on the inside... we are all made out of cosmic dust."
- [Idk there's more out there... any time I see the word "for" being substituted for "because" over and over again is usually a good candidate]
--
Villian: "Haha! How miserable you appear! Any final words before I end you?"
Hero [crawling up from the ground]: "No... this is not over. As long as my friends [cue images flashing across screen of friends] and family [cue images flashing across screen of family, although let's be honest, this character's family has already probably been conveniently killed off by this point] are with me, this will never be over."
[A dead member of the hero's nakama appears in spirit form, even though the series has given 0 precedence for the existence of ghosts/spirits/an afterlife/etc.]
Hero: "N-nani? Deadgirl69?"
Deadgirl69: [Doesn't speak, only nods her head and smiles]
[Hero goes super saiyan]
Villian: "N-NANI?"
Went overboard with that convo but you get what I mean