well, sorry for that last post...
I am going to try and rephrase that.
Some anime are just above and beyond perfect. Everybody agrees on which ones those are.
For example, after watching the first episde of Cowboy Bebop you know that it is going to be good. Some are just that way.
Granted, some take more than one episode, Eureka 7 you said needed three and that's really because the first three where basically built as a 1hr special.
Also, an anime should be fun, are you supposed to be a slave to the anime?
After that, it the anime can still be good, but not everybody likes it.
Fefnir, for example, was rated highly on the anime group that i belonged to so i started to watch it and just could not finish it.
I couln't even get passed episode one, it just seemed to be so bogged down to me. However, tons of other people liked it.
Sorceror Hunters is really good but i haven't been able to finish watching it, i don't know why. Eventually i will though.
And then, some anime are just bad. I haven't seen them but this guy seems to hate them (
http://www.needcoffee.com/2007/08/27/five-worst-anime-titles-of-all-time/) Off of the top of my head i can't come up with any becasue a friend usually recommends to me the anime that i watch, not that i always agree with him. Such as Trinity Blood, i found it scattered and non-sensical with ultimately nothing accomplished but he thought it was really good.
so, i messed up saying you should just watch the first episodes, but besides a few anime that get consistently praised, youl just have to try them for yourself.