it started subconsciously when Nickelodeon's after school programming featured shows imported from japan.. The truth is those shows were probably already 10 years old so I'm sure they go tthem cheap.

I'm talking about Grimm's Fairy Tales, Noozles, and a few other that were shown.. These shows were so excellent. Much better than the garbage on tv these days. Anyway, here's a link to Grimm's Fairy Tales.. This stuff was the bomb. My sister and I loved this stuff without ever knowing that it was Japanese.

Grmim's Fairy Tales --- YouTube - Grimm's Fairy Tales Classics Puss 'N Boots Part 1/4
Noozles Japanese intro --- YouTube - The Noozles
Adventure's of Little Koala ---- YouTube - Adventures of the Little Koala - intro
Little Bits ---- YouTube - The Littl' Bits Intro

Good stuff. Great programming for children.