Is It Just Me, or Does Most Recent Anime Seem Bland

yep you are exactly right about it seeming bland. I've been waiting for a few good ones to come out. For instance, the rumored Death Note 3 along side other hopeful sequels

Could the downfall in interesting anime be somewhat linked to people downloading/freeloading it from others for free?

I mean, as a creator of shows, it must really suck to put all your hard work into a series and then see its beauty squandered and taken from you without thanks. Without credit, what motivates them to make good-looking, well-scripted anime any more?
Sure there's the passion for their craft, but that can't pay the bills...

I likewise haven't found anything to watch recently, other than (maybe) Angel Beats.

The last anime I really enjoyed watching was Needless, and it was almost a year ago now...

I guess it might boil down to fact that I enjoy more action/drama/mystery things (with bit of sci-fi on the side), whereas it seems comedy/slice-of life/magical adventure is on the roll these days. Of course, it might also be just me slightly loosing an interest after "enormous" boost I had in it for some time.

Regardless, it might be a good time to catch up on all the good shows I missed and which were supposedly good...

I believe your comment, while accurate, fails to take into account the simple fact that each season, TV in general - not just anime - broadcasts a schedule that is made up primarily of mindless dribble with only an occasional jewel. TV works like that, someone makes a hit and suddenly you have a dozen cheap knock-offs. Innovation is risky, and as a result usually avoided like the plague. Anime is no different, but like TV, when you look back you tend to forget this fact because you now have a trove of jewels from numerous seasons from which to choose. You don't tend to go 'back' and watch the majority of shows which failed, only the occasional gem. Those shows you mentioned were their season's gems - I am sure there were far more that faded into obscurity from each of those series original broadcast season.

Yeah right now the series coming out are not that great, the only ones I am watching at the moment would be Angel Beats, Arakawa, Rainbow, and Mayoi Neko Overrun.

I normally would expect most animes besides a few to not appeal to me, I normally just fill in the time between with older series I have yet to watch. What worries me right now is that I am running out of old series and movies to watch while waiting for good new seasonal shows.

I remain hopeful however, normally the summer lineup is not that great and the good stuff takes off in spring or winter (minus 09's winter).

I'm sure you're not the only one.

To answer the topic: It's just you. Anime tends to be bland all the time. Good shows are the exception, not the rule. Sturgeon's Law and all that.

I feel like I wasted my time writing that wall of text previously when you summarized everything so skillfully.

(cx)@-(><Q)

What they need to do is anime Sword Art Online, its an excellent light novel like FMP.

Everybody is saying how bland the new anime is, but noone is naming any names, name some of these shows that are bad.

QFT and BOLDED

this kind of discussion won't even happen in 1990 , even though the numbers of "non-Drama oriented" anime is as much as its counterpart.

Sorry.

I also think its worth mentioning that "great" anime tend to be "great" for a long period of time while the bland stuff is forgotten. People will forget about the bland anime this season, but will still recommend stuff, like Cowboy Bebop, for years to come. So, looking on the bright side of things, the hours of "great" anime are always steadily increasing.