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RULES THAT ALL GOOD ANIME FOLLOW
First of all, I'd like to mention the general "rules" or "principles" that I value the most when it comes to animation. These are 1). "Show, don't tell" 2). "Use the medium best suited for the idea" and 3) "Don't preach".

Let's start with "show, don't tell". This isn't really a rule that always should be followed, but I feel like too many anime shows gloss over this one. Modern anime in particular, generally has too much exposition and/or dialogue in situations where you easily could have used visual means to explain instead. This is most common in the first episodes of new shows, so called "exposition dumps". Anime is already a visual medium so I don't get why there are so many average directors and scriptwriters out there, that are unable to be a bit more subtle or creative in the way they tell their story (think most of the seasonal anime).

The second "rule" that I mentioned, "use the medium best suited for the idea", is usually not a problem actually. In this case it refers to the notion that animation, as a medium, only should be used when live-action cannot fulfill your desired idea. Recreating something in animation that already exists in our physical world, is seldom more interesting than creating something that doesn't/can never exist. In other words, animation exists so that we can create what live-action cannot, and should only be used for that purpose. For example, if you want to make a slice-of-life movie where the story is set in a high school environment, you most likely don't have any reason to use animation as a medium, as it easily could have been made in live-action instead. Obviously there are exceptions where a story seemingly is better suited for live-action, but can/should be made in animation. A common one is when you want a specific art style that fits the theme of the show (think Ping Pong). Another one is when you want to exaggerate movement or reactions. In any case, the use of animation as a medium needs justification (in my eyes).

REVIEW OPINIONS

As of summer 2021 this does no longer represent my opinion. I'm just too lazy to take my time re-writing all of this. That being said, I'll most likely do that sometime in the future.

Anime (and a lot of other things), can according to my viewpoint, be reviewed in two ways: enjoyability and objective value*. The best shows out there include both of these aspects, of course. Objective value refers to the grading of the aspects that build up the animation, such as art, animation (quality/fps, etc.), sound and story. A high objective value might result in higher enjoyability for some people as well.

Sometimes there are shows out there like Serial Experiments Lain (I'm just using this anime as an example because it appears frequently for the point I'm trying to make). This show has, according to a lot of people that I've stumbled upon, a high objective value but low enjoyability. While some admit that the objective value could be a 10/10, they still didn't enjoy it enough (because of their personal preferences). This can be summarized by saying "The show was good, but it just wasn't for me". The opposite is also possible. Some people enjoy watching heavy fanservice/low effort plot stories because they're easy to watch, i.e don't require you to focus a lot, or for other reasons that lie beyond my understanding.

*= You may think that using the word "objective" is stupid here, since we are talking about art after all. While you're not exactly wrong, I'd go as far as to say that there is no such thing as objectivity to begin with, from a philosophical standpoint. This does not mean that the word cannot be used; most people will understand your point anyways since we are all accustomed to using it. I highly recommend you watch Akira Kurosawa's moive Rashomon (1950), as it explores objectivity as it's theme.
The possibility of breaking down a subject and apply reasoning to it brings us closer to objectivity in my opinion, which is why I use the word. That, and the fact that I couldn't come up with a better word to describe my thoughts (a way too common occurrence). Perhaps "Technicality" would have been better?

CONCLUSION
To sum it up, animation is best used when you want to create/show something visual that either doesn't exist in our (physical) world, or when there is something that the camera can't really show or replicate. A perfect example of a contemporary director that has a good understanding of this is Masaaki Yuasa.

When you review something, both enjoyment and objective value are important. You are not likely to give out a high rating without a show having both of these aspects (according to you).

Anyways, feel free to start discussions with me (friendly or non-friendly, but preferably friendly) on basically any subject, as I'm sure we'll both be able to get along and have a good time.

日本語でおk