[RKitagawa]

Hmmm, the maturity? intelligence maybe? I find that anime is much more mature compared to American animation. It's also more visually appealing to me.
Animation in America is generally geared towards children and teenagers. The fact that I actually have to think to understand what I'm watching is something that I like about anime.

Shows like: Evangelion, FLCL, or Serial Experiments Lain. They're thought provoking and intelligent (or at least, most of us are fooled into believing that they are).

And then there's the more lighthearted shows that are all about fanservice and moe. Which I honestly don't mind every now and then. But even these less intelligent shows are more "mature" than most American animation. They're usually funny, and they're not afraid to talk about more adult (not in the pornographic sense) content than what is generally allowed in America.