I worked with Java from 2009 until now. I can't account for the 01-09 timespan, but I'd say the big gap between say java 1.5 and 1.8 was less about stagnation and more about letting other languages feel things out. I like that Java is never too far ahead or too far behind.

I do think the "hip" side of tech has started to warm back up to Java, both as the language adopts some of the niceties that python/ruby/kotlin/scala/etc have shown are quite ergonomic and also as the community, I think, warms back up to the idea that static typing can be net helpful and that maybe a good JIT compiler is nice too.