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Because even if his anatomy wasn't always great there was still an effort made to make the people look like they actually lived in their world - adventurous kids had muscular legs rather than awkward broken twigs, clothes were practical first and distinctive second, bags were reasonably sized rather than being tiny purses that look like they have 3 pockets at most, and other props were functional things rather than just something to pose with. Hell, the pokemon had better characterization through showing the way they behaved with variation between artwork rather than giving them such set personalities that they felt like singular characters rather than individuals of a species. Plus the water color stood out from all the pure digital artwork everyone else started adopting back then and has totally taken over today.
