I was making a joke in regards to living during an era where "waifus" exist, but after reading your post I feel like I need to make things clear.
I completely understand what you're saying, but you're also citing bad anime and comparing them to one of the most highly regarded anime ever created.
Attack on Titan I thought started out with potential, and then it just became another shonen and it was mediocre at best. The main character is basically another Naruto with some power that no one else has and blah blah blah. There are still quality anime imo that are great examples of storytelling, but moe culture and shonen are popularized and prevalent amongst basement dwellers.
For example, as Shin stated, Madoka Magica is one of the more recent series that I thought was excellent. It's misleading as the art is cute and they're magical girls, but it picks up around episode 3-4 and all **** hits the fan. My personal favorites are series like Anohana and Welcome the the NHK, which are far more grounded in a reality where the characters are like actual people that are relatable because, you know, good writing.
I think it's natural to just lose interest overall, which is fine. As you said yourself, it just sort of happened, and I'm not criticizing that but... I think it's possible that you've been subjected a lot of modern garbage and have held onto past series that you know are good (I too love Rurouni Kenshin).
I think when anything is used as a crutch, it's bad.
Some people definitely use "waifus" for that. It's easier for anti-socials who don't know how real women work to commit themselves to something that requires no commitment. I'm certainly not arguing that for a second.
My point is moreso to using it as endearment towards a character. Obviously, real people are real and there's no substitution for that (but I'm sure to your point, there are plenty of people who are too far gone and are afraid to actually feel that way about a fellow human and trap their brains and hearts to a realm of comfortable fiction).
Like I said earlier, I'm all about not being like... That. I love being clean. I like being a responsible, functional adult who goes to school and has a job. I like having friends both of the nerd kind and of not. I like dating and having sex with real girls.
I also happen to love taking video games too seriously. I think cartoons are cool. I love watching anime, and I think anime girls, as you said, are damn infatuating. I'm fully aware of the reality of people succumbing to 2D, but like I already said, that fear hit me at an early age and I tried completely separating myself from it... Only to realize it wasn't going away and that I should just embrace that part of me while also being, ya know, a normal person.
But yes, I do agree with all your points. I'm also aware that I could outgrow it myself. However, I haven't, so for now I just enjoy what I enjoy in my free time while being a human other humans enjoy being around.
I thought I'd outgrow video games too. I lost a lot of stuff from my childhood because I felt pressured to put it in the past and "grow up"... Now I'm a moderator for a video game website having this discussion. So clearly trying to denounce these things didn't work for me, so now I just ride it out until maybe I do.
I also can't help but feel that these extremes only occur to people who are... Weak... And that's not in my nature.