Ah yes, I too had a "WTF the Wizard of Oz / Heidi cartoon was an anime?!" moment.
Real talk tho, anime probably peaked around the late '80s - late '90s. Some BEAUTIFUL work was done then with intricately detailed frame after intricately detailed frame. I imagine the working conditions and hours were pretty horrid, however. Say what you want about the industry going digital affecting quality, but it definitely improved the QoL of the people in the sweatshops studios making 'em.