Has anime gotten worse in recent years?

A common opinion I've heard from casual anime friends and otakus alike is that the quality of anime story telling has deteriorated. Often attributed to an over-reliance of hackneyed tropes and patronising fan service, some feel that the only things series that have come out in the few years have to offer is better graphics.

But impressive animation does not compensate for shows which appeal to the lowest common denominator.

What do you think? If you disagree, comment why and perhaps show examples of recent shows which you'd recommend to others.

There are far more anime series getting released these days - compare the ~33 full-length new series from this season to the ~15 from the Winter 2010 season, for example. A lot of these extra series are budget, trope-heavy or clones cashing in on whatever the big craze is at the moment.

I'd argue that there are just as many outstanding series as there used to be, but the average quality and originality *may* have dropped if you're looking at the season as a whole, due to this larger number of 'meh' series. It doesn't help that a lot of the ones that get really hyped up recently don't have a lot going for them aside from the animation (looking at you One Punch Man, Sword Art Online etc).

Recent series that I personally felt have done a good job purely from a story/character point of view (though many also have nice animation and music, always a bonus) include Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Shin Sekai Yori, Barakamon, Hibike! Euphonium, and even the most recent Gundam offering Iron-Blooded Orphans.

That makes sense. Do you think that there are as many good series being released now as there were a few years ago or does the pressure to compete drive the majority to publish fluff? The Sao books are actually okay . With OPM, I think the way it was portrayed was deliberate. Thanks for the recommendations in your third paragraph.

I'd say the 'fluff' as you call it is certainly more commercially successful, though I'd argue that every now and then you see a really good series arise even from the most seemingly tired and overused genres. Plus there are a few creators who take advantage of the generic fan-pandering shows, by creating something so different that it stands out and gets more attention. So again, I'd say the same NUMBER of good series are coming out each year, even if they're a smaller PERCENTAGE of the ever-increasing anime output.