This might have been said before (I didn't read all of this), but they are not cliches. They're conventions. Now, we have those everywhere. Worst example is the Stormtrooper effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia in Rambo.

I can't really give any conventions for the anime genre as the whole. You obviously can't compare things like DBZ with Chobits or Elfen Lied. The only thing that sticks out are the huge eyes and very strong romance between the protagonists. But let's be fair, would we watch them if they resembled real life?

I liked this one though.

Schoolgirls who can destroy fully armed military batallions/tanks/helicopters