>>390
>Copying was always a problem in Japanese cultural products. Back in the '90s people were crying about Evangelion clones. And Evangelion was a tongue-in-cheek clone of previous mecha shows to begin with.
wasn't the late '00s simply the time when most anime enthusiasts finally got broadband and were able to stay up to date with the ever-current season? Blu-Ray wasn't adopted to the same extent as DVDs and people also got smartphones. Packaged media started dying, (legal) streaming began.
Also, consider that China took over Japan as the second biggest economy in 2008 and that K-Pop has exploded in the early '10s. Japan just stopped being competitive. Dubs in the USA stopped being made, cons started collapsing. Also there was the depression and now there's another one.
Anime has really hit rock bottom recently. Sure I agree that copying is a problem. However there is a difference between copying some elements of a show and blatantly ripping off a previous work. I think people need to understand that. While obviously it depends on the degree and the amount of elements taken. For instance harem anime usually borrow entire character archetypes, similar plot points, usually add their own specific gimmick and call it a day. It makes harem anime feel similar with no distinction to tell them apart. As an example I'll show how a harem anime could be handled.
>MC isn't a completely pussy
>Girls all get a backstory and each one gets explored.
>Make MC help each girl and her problem.
>Tension between the girls to see who can get the MC
>Try to avoid character stereotypes. I.e tsundere kicking MC these are good to build off of but if you don't build then nothing of value comes from them.
>Make the MC actually choose one half way through the show.
Obviously there are multiple different ways you can do this. One way is giving the characters two personality quirks. I.e Girl A is Mischievous but also caring, Girl B is acting stupid but also surprisingly smart Girl C is serious but also condescending. Give them a flaw and a strength and you can build from there. Most authors just use character stereotypes and it get's boring.

>I also like your point about the technological change on the production side. Don't forget about Korean and later Vietnamese outsourcing either... oh CGDCT means "cute girls doing cute things"... nonetheless there was the technological change of CG.
Technological change exacerbates the problem. The problem with CGDCT anime is that they are simple to make and require little effort from the author other than an outlandish premise. It makes things feel the same, The other side of the coin i.e light novels also does damage to the scene with endless amounts of shows with similar premises all executed the same way. Nothing new and refreshing ever comes and the changes in production makes people be safe and not try anything new and distinct.

Anime Youtubers are a problem as well. As they overthink the shit out of modern anime in order to justify there love for them. It's honestly pathetic. To the point where I'm just watching older anime rather than trying anything new.