You haven't made the age group for comparison clear. Obviously Fruits Basket, which is designed for 13+ is going to be more meaningful than Tom and Jerry which i watched when i was like 5... Western Animation and Anime are very similar if you're looking at the younger series. When i went to Japan this Summer, i would watch the tv in the morning while i got ready and occasionally caught a show in the same age range as Sesame Street or Rugrats. In the same way, the show is designed to teach a kid what's morally right and to educate. However, Tokyo Mew Mew, for example is designed for 7 year olds but was spectacularly butchered by an american station to accomodate what they thought was acceptable for 7 year olds to view and is also airing on Pop Kids. In that way, the differences are clear in Western and Japanese animation. The same goes for Naruto, currently airing on Jetix Kids, that while the Japanese are happy for their kids to watch the fighting, the English Naruto is cut (badly) so our kids are not susceptable to the violence in the program.
I hope i didn't stray from topic and that this is relevant and helpful.
