You have very valid statistical points, but I'm not going to bother to reply in the ISML thread to avoid flaming from others. There's no mystery or intrigue to it at all this year and frankly, there's a growing feeling amongst those I know that this year's contest is purely being decided by two countries and effectively isn't 'International' anymore.
Frankly, I don't consider the numbers coming in to be representative versus if a poll was performed from random people or anime communities as a while. The subset of voting is mainly people who have neither the ability or the desire to watch anything pre-2005 - perhaps pre-2009 in some cases. Frankly, the 00s and age of digital animation has created a rift and really spoiled the current generation. There is a growing perception that unless the animation meets the modern standard, it's automatically not worth watching. And I don't want to sound discriminatory by saying the following, but I honestly believe it to be true due to upbringings, cultural values and how the populace views women and what they think they should be in an ideal wife/girlfriend - I find that the kuudere-like, silent, submissive type is the one that conservative Asians prefer (someone like Kanade, Yuki, Kuroneko and Eucliwood), while Westerners/more liberal Asians are more likely to be drawn into someone like Haruhi, Kyou, Tomoyo, Saber, Rin or C.C. because they're characters with deeper/more complex personalities and backstory.
Meh, I just don't really care, now. I've had it with the series that offer as little negativity as possible being the ones that are selling well in Japan and are now causing 2011 anime to be like it is. I haven't found a single title to like from 2011 thus far. I would have to look VERY far back to find another year where that was the case, maybe even as far back as 1975. There used to be an emphasis on anime's roots and where it came from. About stories that were solid, fulfilling and dramatic, which were consistent throughout entire episodes and series. These days, it's all about the mood, money-shot moments and the animation - a complete disregard of where anime came from, how it came to be what it is and the people who were important to animation techniques, character styles, genres, etc.
*shrug* 2011 anime turning me sour and going retro has heavily changed my opinions this year. And Kanade walking on water isn't helping, either.
You have valid points. I'm sure you'll provide a counter-argument to all of this. But I'm not sure I care. As far as I'm concerned, the non-offensive, non-negative characters will have their way and slice of life is already becoming prevalent due to its placid, tryptophanic mood. Helping host a 1975-1979 night tonight was infinitely more electric than recent anime. One episode of Galaxy Express 999 or one Episode of Rose of Versailles or one episode of Captain Harlock - they gave me more fulfillment than the last year of anime. I think if people were able to cross the barrier of non-digital animation, they would be amazed by what they would find in the pre-2000 days and see what people like Tezuka, Nagai and Matsumoto were able to accomplish. I know you've journeyed back to at least the 80s. I'd certainly hope you'd have ventured back to the 70s and 60s, because you seem like the type of person that would.
In closing, I'll actually be presenting a History of Anime panel at the local convention in late July with three friends while two of them are also doing a mecha panel which would also span from Nagai or earlier to the present. I think you'd be someone with enough of an open mind to appreciate them. If you care to see them once they're uploaded to Youtube, I shall send you links.
Peace. No hard feelings, but I simply don't care much about current series anymore and I remind people constantly -
I called Kanade's dominance ONE YEAR AGO! Early into Angel Beats's airing, I said several times in the 2010 ISML thread that Kande and Yuri would be huge in the 2011 contest. Back then, most people thought I was crazy - you certainly thought I was wrong. And look what's happening now. I called this - ONE YEAR AGO! This was too easy to predict! It shouldn't be this way!
In your counter-argument, if you could list some moments that Kanade fans feel are critical to why so many people are voting for her this year, so that I could re-watch those scenes, maybe I could understand. But frankly, Kanade lost me the moment she stabbed Otonashi in Episode 1. I cared far more about Yuri than anyone else when I saw her backstory in Episode 2, her resilience throughout the series while showing some moments of tenderness, but ultimately her ability to remain human and resist the lure of ultimate power, choosing her friends instead, was rather heartwarming. Iwasawa's moments in Episode 3 were also inspiring.