Basically, all animation is called 'anime' in Japan, regardless of style.
You seem to have misinterpreted this statement. Which is a basic fact of the Japanese language. It refers to
all animation. There's only one word for it in Japanese, "anime". Regardless of whether it came from America or Japan, regardless of art style and regardless of plot structure.
The term "anime" by itself is meaningless: it originated as a more elegant way to refer to "Japanimation", which was a blanket term for any cartoon from Japan. Things are "anime-traits" because they are popular in Japanese cartoons. There's really no other definition. Any attempt to slice things based on style ("cartoon" style vs "anime" style) breaks down: Tezuka Osamu was the father of anime, and his style was directly based on Disney. So do we accept
Kimba as an "anime" or a "cartoon"? If we call it anime (as is customary), then why aren't Disney cartoons also anime? Similar with
Panty & Stocking vs
Powerpuff Girls. Both have a similar aesthetic, and both are completely episodic. One is classed as anime, and the other as a cartoon.
Sure, some visual styles are common in anime, but there are none that are definitive. And the style evolves all the time: look at eyes from animes from different decades. Eyes are seen as a defining trait of the style, yet the way they're drawn constantly changes and different creators have their own style. Are some Japanese cartoon eyes anime and some are not?
People still refer to all 2D animation from Japan as anime regardless of what the style is like. I think an analogy could be nationality. You can dress up in Lederhosen and wave Liverwurst around whilst drinking German beer on Oktoberfest whilst singing "Deustchland Uber Alles", but that doesn't actually make you german. A German guy is no less German for
not doing any of those things. Similarly, cartoons from Japan will always be refered to as anime regardless of whether they fit any stereotypes or not: you can try and create stereotypically "Japanese" works and demand they get called anime too, but why? What's wrong with "cartoon" or "animation"?