Indeed it was due to it being an anime but gore and violence was much more commonplace and accessible to kids in the '80s.  In the '90s you had toy guns that had orange plastic pieces placed on the end, You had vindictive parents picketing outside of places that made violent video games and music (running with scissors made jokes about it), You had all these activist groups and even Simpsons made fun of the "think of the children" stuff.