How do you choose what to watch?

I was wondering how you all choose what anime you watch. I'll even extend it to how you choose your manga/live action etc.

For example to you read reviews on it or do you look at its rating on sites such as MAL? Or is there another way you choose your stuff?

Mostly from recommendations from the internet and a few trusted friends. But not the anime fan-sites, as I often like different things in my anime from what traditional fans like. Especially long-running ones like Naruto and Bleach. They're completely in the 'not for me' category of shows, even though I understand why other people like them.

I started watching Cowboy Bebop and FLCL because of coverage on The AV Club; Samurai Champloo and Steins;gate because of friend recommendations; Fullmetal Alchemist and Neon Genesis Evangelion because of their lofty reputations across the entire anime community, and not just a sub-group.

Recommendation's from friends or maybe sometimes I go with a Random anime or pick something good that is still ongoing... :3

^Ohoh, Kirito. :'D

Anyways, for the newer/to air series I choose my anime (and series in general) based on their short summary on the season preview list. That in combination with the promotion picture put next to it might already give me an idea if it's something for me. I say that, because the artstyle is a major factor to me when it comes to watching/reading something. I don't care how good a series is, if the artstyle is not to my liking chances are high I won't watch it.

Usually I don't find that many series in the episode preview, but this fall season that was quite different. I stumbled on a site that had the trailers. So, that counts as well.
(K, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun)

For the older anime, I rely mostly on recommendations from other people. It's how I found D.Gray-man and Fullmetal Alchemist.
Sometimes the opening song might play a role as well (Saiunkoku Monogatari, Hiiro no Kakera) or pictures, reviews that can be found on the internet. Sometimes I check out the "if you liked X you might also like ..." on MAL. : > It's worth a try now and then.

You know that list that comes out that has brief synopses of the series for next season? That's typically what I'll reference first to see if the show is going to have a plotline that I'm going to enjoy. Then I'll check out MAL or Anime News Network reviews for the first couple episodes. If a show passes those tests, then I'll try the first couple episodes. Usually (unless the show is really horrible) I'll then stick with it for the entire season.

Of course, anything with "Precure" in its title automatically becomes a "Watch" for me.

No idea.... but if i like something, like Gundam SEED, then I'll check out all related Gundam Media. Same for yugioh.

I watch what the internet tells me to watch.

I rely on recommendations from friends usually (which were the main reasons of why I watched Darker Than BLACK and Tales of the Abyss - The Animation) , I'll pick something depending on how interesting it looks or an anime/manga will just randomly come up somewhere and I'll get curious (like with Fullmetal Alchemist). Or I'll pick something random and hope it's as good as it looks.

My time seems to be very crucial in this matter because too often do I try to watch something and I stop watching it because it wasn't the right time or I wasn't in the right mood to watch it. But usually, I keep what my friends have said about an anime in mind and if I feel like possibly look it up on my own time. If I'm in the mood and it's the right moment I might get hooked, just watch it casually, or forget about watching after a few episodes. Doesn't mean I don't like it! Just... not in the mood for it.

But sometimes I would just watch something for the heck of it (Pokemon) and then woah what happened suddenly I'm hooked and I can't stop. And it had nothing to do with what anyone before me has said.

It depends- if it's a name I'm familiar with either by watching a previous entry in the series or having read the manga, then I'll watch it if I liked it before. Sometimes my friends will recommend something to me, and I'll watch it at some point (I'm REALLY bad about adding something to my To Watch list and letting it sit there for months/years >_>).

And of course, sometimes I just happen to stumble across something that manages to catch my interest.

Well, there are a lot of factors for me. Critical acclaim will put a series on my radar, as will recommendations from friends, widespread recognition from a rabid fanbase, as well as the content of the series. Familiarity with a franchise helps as well, as will familiarity with a group or author. Seeing a series pop up randomly on my MAL dashboard or in automatically generated recommendations doesn't hurt, and ads included with the DVDs will pique my curiosity for many of the titles advertised. And sometimes I just pick something up because it looks interesting on the cover or the title catches my eye in the store.

Friends/parents/internet recommendations might consider watching but if 1st or 2nd episode gets me bored then I don't finish the anime. My standard for a good anime would be funny, ecchi-ish, and most of all it must have a good story. Good story like Yosuga no Sora, SAO or the one in my signature.

I sometimes search for specific genres at anime sites like MAL and choose anime that look well animated and that seems to have a decent story or well developed characters; I can't really watch stuff that's on the same level as pokémon without feeling a bit nauseous lol. No offense to people who like the pokémon anime, mind you. That, or I look at recommendations from anime I've already watched. Sometimes I take suggestions from friends :3

I usually look for new shows to watch every season. I simply visit many different anime sites to see which manga is going to get animated or if a certain anime is getting a green-lit for another season. I'd even check seasonal charts just to see the complete list of new anime for a particular season. After checking the list of anime available for a certain season, my list would usually end up with 10 shows which unfortunately decreases to 3 ~ 5 after watching the first three episodes. There's hardly any good shows popping out nowadays so I'm turning to old anime series that I've never considered in the past.

I got a few friends to recommend me new titles to watch every now and then so that's something new for me since I'm usually biased when I pick the shows that's going to be added to my watch list. I read a lot of reviews from many different sites (MAL, AP, etc.) but it's not very often that a review can get me to watch a new anime series or movie.

I aim for recommendations from friends, trending anime shows, or even high rated anime. Most of the time, I get so curious as to why people like an anime that I haven't gotten to watch yet. The higher the rating/recommendation, the higher chance I'll end up watching.

Extra points go to anime shows with loads of action. I gotta have action, or the show will suck for me. D:

I just go with whatever interests me, depending on the premise and genre. I used to like Mecha, but I find most Mecha shows have little story and too much action.

I like Drama more than I used to, and comedy is still my all time favourite. Science-y stuff too like, Steins;Gate, which was great for me as it had all three things in one package.

Also, Evangelion = :3

Anything adapted from a novel/visual novel. Things that trend or have high reviews and I also choose random anime's from time to time.

Honestly, I get reccomendations from friends on what to watch, or look for something that was close to the genre to the anime I watched last. It usually works out best.
Or, go quickly onto /a/, find a title to an anime I've never heard of, and look it up. :P