User blog comment:Fadingsilverstar16/Gigi's Top 10 Least Favorite Things (About Her Favorite Things)/@comment-1153194-20110214202400/@comment-1874924-20110215050539

Sprink, I think the main reason for the superiority of Asian animation lies in cultural norms. In the West, animation tends to be pigeonholed as "kid stuff", whereas in Asia (especially Japan) it's seen as a serious art form worthy of adult attention. One might expect this attitude to influence the storytelling, even with kid-targeted series.