[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

I’ve become hesitant in starting to watch psychological anime and I think I know why.

It would help if you give a few concrete examples, otherwise we'd be discussing in general terms. In which case...

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

The directors of these works seem to believe showing abstract images and a focus on non-verbal storytelling are a good way to make the shows open-ended and have the audience think.

Yes.

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

Well, psychological shows are thought-provoking but not in the way the makers of these anime probably intended. I usually find myself thinking too much trying to make sense of the chronology and characterization in such a title...

That is the point.

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

The abstract visuals are just another cause for confusion regarding this type of anime.

To put it another way, you aren't meant to think in any one way at all. Especially with film, it has been described as a "dictatorial", "tyrannical" art form because many movies present only a director's point of view and don't give room for members of an audience to come to their own, personal conclusions. Post-modern, abstract art films are made specifically to counter that trend. European arthouse movies are particularly known for this. They are highly infuriating (many would say stupendously boring) to watch. That is the point.

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

Of course, story progress and characterization are not the defining traits for my appreciation of a series.

Yes indeed. You, the viewer, are highly encouraged to make whatever meaning you wish out of it. Outside of anime, take, for example, the closing scene* of Space Odyssey 2001. It's notorious for its use of psychedelic imagery. Make up your own mind what it means. Art gives you the freedom to think, not to have meaning dictated to you by a Maker.

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

Yet how am I supposed to extract themes that are only implied when the show cannot even properly demonstrate its explicit concepts those being the narrative and characters?

Meaning is subjective, deeply personal and totally unique to each individual.

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

Isn’t a philosophy best understood when there’s a story and cast to give it context?

No. Not always. Especially when it comes to aesthetics and the philosophy of art.

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

Doesn’t an idea become more thought-provoking when it relates to the viewer?

No. Not necessarily. Again, what provokes thought is subjective and intensely unique to each individual. Not for a Maker to dictate.

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

The lack of material in a psychological anime is further exacerbated by its frequent choice to focus on non-verbal storytelling. Using an indirect method of storytelling to communicate a message that’s barely implied is unneeded confusion that tries to hide non-existent content.

Concrete example needed.

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

My usual problem with psychological anime is not that they’re hard to understand; it’s that, often, there’s nothing to understand.

Not understanding is part of the human condition. Understanding what makes us human is also a function of art.

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

The messages derived from these shows should be a consequence of their story and characters instead of the point itself.

So, in your opinion, art must have a point, otherwise it's not art?

Must art always be meaningful? Must art be beautiful?

Originally Posted by Akito_Kinomoto

Observant and curious people will remember what I said at the start, look at my favorites list, and what do you know? My position is better understood or at least it should be. Have a nice day.

That's curious, because you're deliberately leaving your actual position abstract and you expect me to guess what you really think. Hmm... pot calling kettle black?


Note: The answers may sound brusque. That's deliberate, in that I'm trying to demonstrate a point about the philosophy of art. No offence is intended. Apologies in advance if you feel otherwise.


* "The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."