Ranked #522

Genius Party

Genius Party represents 7 short animated films made by various talented anime directors of Japan. Unlike 1 minute long Anikuri, creators had 15-20 minutes this time, to fully express themselves and have an impact on spectators. Each episode is special in their own ways so I'll comment laconic on every of them.

Genius Party – What an amazing way to begin the series! Atsuko Fukushima, also known from makin op/ed of Robot Carnival served her job and made an excellent introduction episode. It's very surreal, full of symbolisms and graphic looks also a lot better than in Robot Carnival.

Shanghai Dragon – Yet again we see Shouji Kawamori from the different side. I really love his sense of humour. I enjoyed watching Project Omega in Anikuri and this parody short isn't an exception either. Yea there are lots of mechas, lots of actions but still the main attention is directed to an useless brat which saves the world. Characters really manage to shine in this 20 minutes.

Deathtic 4 – My least favourite part. There's lack of story, depth and characterization. The only thing that makes Deathtic special is 3D graphic. Shinji Kimura was working on it after all. He has done a marvellous job for Steamboy as well, which is the most expensive animated film in Japanese history.

Doorbell – Very unique. First of all I must say that the Director is Yoji Fukuyama , who isn't famous with anime at all. The atmosphere is really intense whole 15 minutes long. The design isn't as strong as the story, though I mostly enjoyed it. Anyway Doorbell is another interesting version of developing Paranoia.

Limit Cycle – Philosophy is always the strongest point of anime, that's why Limit Cycle is one of the best episode. 20 minute of monologue about life, death, religion and etc. But what mostly surprised me was the name of the Director: Hideki Futamura. In most of animes where he took part in, Hideki had a secondary role. So this was his time to shine and he definitely managed to show us his talent.

Happy Machine – Another Surreal addition to Genius Party from Masaaki Yuasa.Yea, he's the one I was looking forward to most and I must admit that Happy Machine didn't disappoint me at all and remains as my favourite short. I also understand that 15-20 minute isn't enough for a build-up + satisfying result + big impact but that's what directors should resolve and Masaaki Yuasa did stand out.

Baby Blue – Baby Blue is another high-school romance with some action elements in it. What also made it outstanding was the characters and sweet soundtrack. In a nutshell Baby Blue is a worthy appendage to Genius Party collection.

So Genius Party is a great chance to get know to some remarkable Directors and their talents. I am sure everyone will find their favourite ones. As for me I think strongest ones were definitely Happy Machine and Limit Cycle. The only thing I was a bit disappointed with was the romance shorts. Anikuri within 1 minute had much more to offer. I mean the episode from Akemi Hayashi (Gainax) exceeded my expectations. Overall the shorts itself are creative, neat and although they do vary somewhat in quality, there is so much to see in such little time that it is more than worth it.
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The cell is the smallest unit of life. Its mechanisms are complex, and only after many years of observation and exploration have we begun to understand their functions. Certainly, the examination of multicellular organisms warrants a much more exhausting amount of research. Even more sophisticated is the existence of life so varied and so involved that it involves taxonomical classification schemes and entire bodies of research. Plants have different organs which serve specific purposes, are able to reproduce sexually, and perhaps most interestingly, transform sunlight into energy for life. Animals consume other creatures and have a conscience, exhibiting specific social and survival patterns and are able to learn from their experiences and transform their sensory input into wisdom. Humans go as far as to have sentience and grammar. Where does the extent of our ability to understand life lie, and what is the attainable extent of life? These questions may not be answered in our lifetimes, or ever. There may be no answers.

Genius Party is a brilliant anthology of mind-stimulating shorts which attempt to shatter modern animation paradigms. Driving the stories is the idea that the human mind is filled with unknowns, and that our universe is clearly incomprehensible. With such obvious observations, it follows that anime as an art need not have its content presented in a segmented and understandable way, for that would fail to emulate the very world we live in. Rather, life is too complex to be understood, and it is through its confusion and novelty that we must wade in order to find the answers. As human nature would have it, we can find meaning in anything as long as we believe in its significance, although whether or not anything truly has significance may be indiscernible.

Commenting on Genius Party as a whole is difficult. It is, after all, a collection of disparate stories from a diverse cast of directors. They all succeed in providing a snapshot of current anime trends and capabilities, but their goals are as varied as their plots. It is without question that all the shorts have the asset of awesome animation, motivating soundtracks and captivating stories. Even if they fail to resonate with the audience, boredom seems distant due to the sheer novelty and excitement of the works.

Genius Party comes highly recommended not only for the anime enthusiast, but for anyone who has even the slightest interest in cinema and entertainment. The audience is certain to pick favorites among the stories - which stories you find interesting may depend on your life experience and perspective. It may serve as an interesting exercise to contemplate why those stories click with you; you just might learn something about yourself. read more