The thing is, the differences in culters appear when the cultures are seperate. Not only did the Japanese have virtually no contact with the west until modern times, but they had sequestered themselves from the rest of asia for at least a century a couple of times in history. Heck, I'm pretty sure they have a holiday celebrating hurricanes. (If you want to know why, it's because they saved Japan from Chinese invasion twice, but that's beside the point) And, I've got to point out, the only person in this thread who actually isn't immersed in American culture is Dalton, and he finds that he doesn't really like most of the American shows he's seen. He can't specifically say why, but he just doesn't like them. That's the kind of thing that happens when a culture is similar, dut definitely not the same. You get a vague sense of unease, or unbelonging, or just dislike, and you can't figure out why. That kind of thing is enough to put most people off of any show. It isn't that they don't like the show, it's that they just can't get used to it. Also, I totally agree with your point. You DON'T have to be American to like Dexter, but if you aren't familiar with American culture, you may find yourself disliking it for no apparent reason. Or, you could be like a classic Animefag and be "This is the best thing since sliced bread!" Or, you could end up ignoring it and like the show. It all depends on how much culture shock there is, and how long it lasts. And let's face it, I didn't bring up that point properly. I should have focused on things like Sawyer, being a character that isn't cross-culturally compatible, or some things like the fact that European and Japanese TV are both filled with a lot more adult innuendos and actual explicit images, and people in America are like "OMG, they just showed half that woman's boob on national TV! I'm suing their asses off for exposing my kid to inappropriate images!"
