[Simon]

There are some things I see in anime or Asian film that just make no sense to me - as a rule not major plot points, but little things like why did person X respond to person Y's action in that particular way. Times like that good explanatory material can help, be it TL notes, external commentary, or discussion with more knowledgeable people in a forum like AnimeSuki - even if the answer is "this is a very deep concept, here are some good books to get you started."

There's the whole vexed question there of what purpose a translation serves: should it teach the viewer the cultural nuances, or should it convert them into a form the viewer can understand? Both approaches have their value, although personally I prefer the former because the opportunity to learn about another culture is a big part of why anime appeals to me.

Where things get tricky is when it's not obvious that you're missing something: the whole "we don't know what we don't know" problem. Unless you've actually been immersed in Japanese culture and seen first-hand just how subtly different it can be, I think there's a danger of assuming you understand it better than you do. Arguably it's no big deal if you enjoy the anime despite "missing the point", but again reading commentary from more clued-up people really helps put things in perspective.

So I don't think cultural differences are an insurmountable barrier, as long as we recognise their existence and approach them with appropriate humility and willingness to learn.