Snake

I love crossovers, personally, which is wierd, because I have read so many god-awful ones in the past that I should have been put off them forever. The point about clichéness is a good point to be sure, but if you really think about it, it is possible to combine two series that are completely different from each other.

I'll admit, the "dimensional portal" is very cliché, but in some cases, there is really no other choice. If the author uses this mode of crossover, the story can still turn out well, if they do it for the right reasons. That is to say, they have to have a developed plotline and therefore a legitimate reason for the character's transportation, not just because they want to pair two characters together. And while the dimensional portal is overused, you have to admit that the combination of two animes in the same world is overused as well.

Either way, I don't think it matters how the two series are combined, as long as it is done well. If the author fleshes every character out as much as possible, and does their best not to overpower the characters of one anime so that they crush the characters of the other without breaking a sweat, then a crossover can be good. This really bugs me, to tell you the truth. Crossovers in which Naruto or someone else goes off and trains with a character from another universe, and then comes back and schools everyone with his new techniques, are not good crossovers. Hell, they aren't even good stories. A good crossover is about knowledge of both universes, the balancing of power in both universes, and the interactions between the characters. I don't think it is at all about how the two universes meet each other.

Of course, it also helps if you pick two universes that everyone is familiar with, or else you'll get a bunch of reviews stating "HUH WHAT CROSSOVER IS THIS????/"

Several things-

a) Super pairings stories, i.e. stories that simply have to have every person paired up...annoys the hell out of me.

B) Spelling mistakes IN THE SUMMARY. No excuse...really.

c) High School fics...enough said.

d) Stories with no depth, plot, or imagery. Self-insertions, Naruto-raised-by-Jiraiya/Tsunade/Orochimaru and befriends a female Haku...the list goes on.