When a character gains the possession of a giant robot, they immediately know how to control it without prior training.
The main character is always small and wimpy-looking, only to hold a tremendous secret power usually explained to him by a wise old person.
When a character performs an attack, they MUST yell out it's name, therefore giving their opponent the obvious advantage of knowing what they're going to do, but never doing what they can do. If they don't yell out the name, it doesn't count because that's cheating.
The louder said character shouts the name of an attack, the more powerful that attack will be. (ex. Dragon Ball Z)
Internal monologues and/or long emotional conversations may never be interrupted, even if they take place in the middle of world-saving combats.
When in doubt, scream loudly and sacrifice yourself to have no effect on the enemy.
The main character always has the power to save their respective world.
The bad guy always dismisses the main character(s) as a minor annoyance, but never suspect them to have superpowers and might even go so far as to pass up the opportunity to kill or maim him/her on several occasions.
There will always be a samurai and/or ninja somewhere within the show.
If a male character has pink hair, he is either homosexual or bisexual. No other hair colors apply.
If a character's hair is hiding some disfiguring mark, laser beam, etc, no amount of force will move that characters hair until permitted.
You may not start pwning the bad guy until the cool music starts (ex. Naruto)
The more an enemy brags about easily owning the hero, the easier that enemy will be defeated.
Before the final showdown between the main character and the main villain, they must each stare at each other for at least 30+ minutes and review how they got where they are and what they are about to do (in case you missed the entire season). Meanwhile, the other minor characters stand patiently off to the side usually commenting on the two important characters.
The main character must always have some outrageously powerful ability that no one else has, but must never be able to control it.