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Originally Posted by Vexx
Japan produces anime for Japan... period. Meaning they aren't designing them for the cultural values or tastes of the rest of the world. If one happens to crossover and become popular (as this one did), its just bonus because they'll be more likely to license it to an American distributor. Many anime viewers (particularly the ones who don't just watch simple action anime) are looking for the expression of japanese culture and the novelty of that compared to their own culture. American TV simply doesn't offer much of this kind of story anymore (american tv tends to operate in a "herd" mode.... right now we're being buried in cop'n'law shows all almost identical with only a few of them actually developing their characters).
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Actually, I think things are changing in this aspect; albeit only slightly. Now we have pre-licensed anime which have American distributors owning the rights even before the first episode is aired in Japan. I think it's also the case that some anime are even receiving some funding from american distributors (e.g. ADV) for their production! I don't remember where I read this piece of news, but animenewsnetwork.com seems likely. Regardless, I do think there are some anime which are "designed" for a cross-cultural audience...
Regarding the criticism of Haruhi, I think Shredder is seriously alike Kaioshin in this case. Some anti-"mainstreamist" streak? Even though I've already posted stats showing that SuzuHaru is by no means mainstream... it has had a steady decline in its BT downloads ever since the first episode (120,000 to 35,000).