>>2818 What you've said about art being a mirror to explore your own feelings was essentially what I meant, so we're basically saying the same thing. I was referring to the person engaging with the art, not the artist when I said that. And I don't disagree that new forms or styles are created and as technology advances to new places fresh concepts can be explored.
However, I can't agree with the idea that an anime director for instance doesn't put their own issues or emotions into their art to some degree, andit doesn't have to be as upfront and in your face as evangelion's psychology or existentialism either. Perfect Blue's story in part criticizes idol and celebrity culture likely because Satoshi Kon had personal feelings about how it negatively affected japanese culture, the choice to explore a deteriorating mental state and how it can completely alter the way a story is told could be seen in the same way. Even stylistic choices of a shows editing or character design could be seen as reflective of the artists personality.
Then again, this is an old tired argument of the death of the artist, and whether that's meaningful to even consider when watching something. And it's possible I might be misunderstanding you in some ways. My point really is that art (mostly) is human, and you can't escape human emotion or ideas when dealing with anime ir any human art form. I don't think it's something you need to consider when taking an anime in even, but I do think the artists feeling and thought process is there, no artist can entirely remove themselves from that.
Unrelated, but what were your thoughts on Ghost in the Shell? That's the latest /cel/ related anime I've seen.