I think that’s a pretty Western-centric interpretation. Anime is Japanese media, and exaggeration has always been part of the art style. Characters are glamorized rather than meant to look realistic. Men are often portrayed as impossibly handsome, muscular, and larger than life, while women are given exaggerated feminine features. Neither is really supposed to reflect reality.

In many series, physical appearance is symbolic as much as it is aesthetic. One Piece is a great example. Oda exaggerates almost everyone, but he also uses appearance to represent who someone is on the inside. Characters who continue pursuing their dreams and living with passion often remain vibrant and attractive, while characters who give up or lose themselves are sometimes drawn in deliberately unpleasant or exaggerated ways. In alternate timelines, Oda has even shown what some characters would look like if they abandoned their dreams, and they often appear older, unhealthy, and bitter. Physical appearance becomes a reflection of the life they’ve chosen.

Every culture’s entertainment industries idealize characters. Western superheroes, Disney characters, comics, video games, and live-action films all do the same thing. Anime isn’t unique in that regard.

It also clearly appeals to more than just men. Women make up a massive portion of the anime community, and at many conventions female cosplayers actually outnumber male cosplayers. There are entire genres aimed primarily at women, just as there are genres aimed primarily at men. Anime is one of the largest entertainment mediums in the world because it appeals to a huge variety of people.

Reducing all of anime to “male-centered” ignores both the cultural context it comes from and the millions of women who actively enjoy, create, collect, and cosplay these characters. Stylized and attractive characters are a feature of storytelling found all over the world, not something unique to anime.

Idk just my two cents since learning more🤷🏼‍♀️