I like anime.

What I hate is when I tell people about anime and how good it is, I usually think of stuff like "Neon Genesis Evangelion", "Ghost in the Shell" and "Naruto", and they are thinking of "Pokemon", "Yugi-oh" and "DragonballZ". And then they tell me anime sucks.

So, you see, as with plenty of other things in life, there is 'good anime' and there is 'bad anime'.

Watch good anime. Don't watch bad anime.

Why do I like anime?

The simplistic style forces the creators to be detailed and inventive on other levels. The story is much better and the characters deeper than compared to a mainstream movie.

(Conversely, when the anime is bad, it's much worse than compared to a mainstream movie. Mainstream movies usually have good looking women to add some substance to the film.)

I think that will suffice as a primer for anime...
Find out which are the good ones and start watching!