Genius Party

Midterms are now over, so instead of playing Pokémon and crying over my Red-Ring-of-Death-infected 360 (my special way of cramming for an exam), it’s time to party… by being sick and watching movies by myself. But Studio 4°C’s Genius Party is, most definitely, a genius party. Whether you’re alone or with friends who appreciate films which incorporate innovative artwork and rhetorical risks, as Studio 4°C is ever so famous for, this energy-packed dose of God-knows-what-drug is the perfect film for stimulating your brain without having to pop open a $100+ textbook.

7 directors. 7 shorts. 7 genius parties.

Seeing as it’s an anthology of seven different films by seven different masterminds, it would be pointless to post the typical Genre, Theme, Director, Studio, etc. etc., but would be redundant to post before going over each segment of Genius Party. Overall, however, each story seems to deal with a sort of spirit – whether it’s a spiritual spirit, inspirational spirit, creative spirit, or that fighting spirit which fuels every hero. It is the spirit of ingenuis creativity and liviness which keeps me watching Genius Party over and over again.

「”Genius Party” – Atsuko Fukushima」

Basically about a guy having a trip about a bunch of little heads having a light show.

“Genius Party” is quite puzzling as a narrative work if you’re looking for a basic storyline consisting of an intro, conflict, climax, resolution, etc. etc., and depending on how you interpret it, it may not have a proper storyline at all.

I enjoy this piece because it is ultimately a 5-minute-30-second-long expression of pure art. Its “story” is simple (what happens, happens), but the theme might not be. If you’re trying to interpret this piece, don’t. You could if you want, since it’s possible to interpret anything - if you can capture one heart, then you’re capable of capturing the hearts of many; to make art is to be inspired by art (strongest possibility); or, in accordance with Socrates, the birth of Love is through Poverty and Resourcefulness. But whatever you see in this, the major core in this fun piece is the artwork and animation.

I would suggest to simply take it as it is and watch with an eye for visual ingeniunity. It suits perfectly as the title of the entire film because it captures the overall cohesive theme of creativity and spirit between the seven shorts. “Genius Party”, which is genius in art and a party in context, is a beautiful piece that makes a perfect opening for Genius Party.

Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

「”Shanghai Dragon” – Shoji Kawamori」

变换！我是正义的战士！观看此，犯罪！

Shoji Kawamori is famous for is mecha designs and co-creation of hit anime series such as Macross and Escaflowne, and there is no doubt that his genius is heavily reflected in “Shanghai Dragon”. He flawlessly gets his message of imagination and innocence through all the action of killer A.I.

This piece is much more fun than ”Genius Party”, seeing as there is a solid plot and dialogue, and although the plot is very stereotypical (some snot-nosed kid becomes the unlikely hero upon discovery of an item which is the key to save the universe), it is so purposefully stereotypical in a sense that it almost borders as a parody of pretty much every action story in history – it has bullies, A.I. invasion, a car chase, a heroic transformation, guys from the future, mecha, explosions, missiles, a cute older/taller girl, androids, everything nicely packed in 10 minutes.

The Mandarin spoken by little kids is just too cute, and the main protagonist, despite the foot-long snot dripping from his nose, is so adorable ♥ This is probably the one of the few times in which an anti-climatic end to a boss battle actually works. Most importantly, Shoji Kawamori was able to balance out the content (action) with the theme of the story.  The rating is a bit off from perfect because of my pet peeve against anything awkwardly CGed into 2D animation.

Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

「”Deathtic 4″ – Shinji Kimura」

Death, Jr. meets The Grimm Adventures of Billy & Mandy meets Nightmare Before Christmas meets Coraline meets... awesomeness.

With its brilliantly styled CG animation, “Deathtic 4″ instantly reminded me of a strange combination of a Russian stop-motion short film called Tale of Tales and the PSP game Death, Jr. For a moment I expected them to speak in Russian. Instead, they spoke what I first thought was an usually soft made-up zombie language, in which I later discovered they were speaking an extremely butchered Swedish. Swedes might not be too happy with it.

This is Shinji Kimura’s first directorial work (not counting his work as an art director for Tekkon Kinkreet), but his repertoire as a background artist for Akira and My Neighbor Totoro accounts for the amazingly captivating zombie-world of “Deathtic 4″. I felt compelled every minute or so to pause and stare at the background art. The art and style is definitely something you wouldn’t expect from an anime studio, even from the envelope-pushing Studio 4°C. While some people detest anything that isn’t cell-shaded-2D anime, I really love this funky, dark but kiddish, CG style. Unlike most CG animation, everything is covered in little details such as freckles, pimples, textures, all the small things CG animations usually choose to omit.

The plot is very simple and the characters, however juvenile (expect a few farts here and there), are your typical team of rag-tag misfits living their deaths to the fullest. “Deathtic 4″ is a good short on its own and adds much of the artistic genius and creativity to Genius Party. Although my bias is quite obvious (seeing as I like dark/underworld media such as Coraline, American McGee’s Alice, certain Tim Burton films, Brothers Grimm, etc. etc.), “Deathtic 4″ is one of my favorites, but only in artwork. Its story and characters are almost too simple and 2-dimensional, despite its 3D visuals. But, it is definitely fun, and is a great part of Genius Party.

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

「”Doorbell” – Yoji Fukuyama」

DAT NOSE.

Definitely not my favorite of the seven, but that may be because the artwork isn’t in a style I like, or because I’m never impressed with psychological thrillers involving a character and his other mental – or physical - representations of themselves/stolen identities (with the exception of Perfect Blue, Fight Club, and perhaps Donnie Darko). And, while the background artwork is great, the character design is rather ugly, and the animation is stiff and disappointing.

In regards to artwork, Doorbell has envoked my greatest pet peeve previously mentioned - awkward CGi vehicles in 2D animation. I cringe horribly every time I see CG vehicles – or even worse, monsters – in 2D animation. CG vehicles are worse than uggs at a business meeting, or Naruto cosplay at a lolita meet-up, or me at a frat party (which I had to attend yesterday, it was horrible). The character design, which probably looks better in a manga considering Yoji Fukuyama’s a mangaka, is rather ugly. The noses aren’t Nobuyuki-Fukumoto-tier in size or novelty, bad on both accounts. I would much rather look at the background than the characters, which has a beautiful watercolor-painted feel, unfortunately obstructed by the solidity of the character design and coloring.

This short is unique in comparison to other psychological stories with similiar storylines in that this one is much more straightforward and lacks the tension seen in psychological thrillers. The character is very calm throughout the story, which is strange but refreshing, and makes sense if you watch. This short described in one word? Quiet. The plot is solid and interesting. It’s a nice pace from the previous upbeat shorts, and makes it fairly worth watching, unless you prefer faster-paced stories and nice artwork.

Rating: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

「”Limit Cycle” – Hideki Futamura」

For no reason whatsoever, the character reminds me of Keanu Reeves.

It’s time to pull out your poincaré maps and Pascal’s Pensées to recall where the main character pulls out his thoughts on life - besides from out of his ass. What is irritating about Hideki Futamura’s “Limit Cycle” is the massive amount of dialogue. Seriously, this guy just won’t shut up.

While I do enjoy depth and meaning, I do not enjoy failed attempts at such in movies, when they aren’t convincing at all. The main character’s rhetoric on life, religion, immortality, and the like is weak, unimpressive, and jumbled. Futamura has proven he studied a bit of Pascal and mathematics, and while he does a fairly good job incorporating the two into one thesis, it does not translate well into a story. 20 minutes of a guy standing in the same place and ranting about life is not as fun as it sounds. While there are many things to look at while he’s ranting, there is little to no correlation to what is being said. If I’m wrong, please correct me, but either way the content lacks the genius of Genius Party. Rather than being genius, genius is the subject being centered around.

“Limit Cycle”, however, might be the most visually detailed and outstanding of all seven. It is amazing to look at and is extremely visually satisfying, with a full use of a variety of animaiton techniques. Unlike its storyline and dialogue, the animation, backgrounds, foregrounds, effects make it worth watching.

Rating: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

「”Happy Machine” – Masaaki Yuasa」

I'm glad I don't have a happy machine ;)

The other runner for my favorite short, “Happy Machine” definitely has Masaaki Yuasa’s style and genius written all over it. It is strong, unique, and avante garde both visually and story-wise, which fans of Kaiba or The Tatami Galaxy (which Flags is so flawlessly covering!) would delight over.

If it isn’t obvious from the preview pictures, the story is funky and fun, but also has its surprisingly dark, creepy moments. The protagonist is a loveable little baby, whose baby-voice makes me melt out of sheer cuteness, or makes me feel like crying when he starts to cry ): The inhabitants of the strange environment are oddly cute and slightly bizarre, but together form a group of happy campers. “Happy Machine” is an adventure for happiness and fun, and, despite its brevity and lack of coherent dialogue, it has a greater impact and a more insightful message than “Limit Cycle”.

The funky story is well complimented by its funky art. Hand-drawn, simple, and lacking details, it is both stylish and well animated. Art-wise, it is already top-notch in its simplicity, uniqueness, and cuteness, but along with its cute and heartwarming tale, ”Happy Machine” is a clear favorite among many Genius Party fans.

Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆

「”Baby Blue” – Shinichiro Watanabe」

A Korean drama squished into 10 minutes.

As harsh as this sounds, sometimes I wonder why “Baby Blue” is part of Genius Party. It is understandable that with Shinichiro Watanabe’s résumé, most notably the classics Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, everyone would be clawing to get him on any project, but this short does not feature anything relatively genius, whether artistically, conceptually, writing-wise, or as the subject of focus. It’s a good short, but is not cohesive with the Genius Party vision.

The artwork is good and has nothing to foam at the moan about, with a beautiful sky and scenery. The characters are conventionally designed and believable, which is always good. For once I actually noticed the music as well, despite my horrible hearing. The sounds are very complimentary for this quiet, lonely short. If only, if only they did not inject those CG cars… though they only appear for a while and aren’t completely, utterly horrible, those cars are just… so distracting.

Throughout the short, I could only think of how I’ve seen this before, not the actual short, but the story. While the extra action scenes are appreciated, the plot and characters are cliché. Actually, the characters themselves have mentioned being cliché during the short – whether that’s supposed to be ironic or not is a mystery. The slowed-down, choppy style featured in the ending is something I’ve seen in Korean and Japanese dramas over and over and over again and again (such as Ai no Kotodama or Sukitomo). I have read reviews which praised “Baby Blue”, which worries me, because I just did not feel it. But there’s a reason why I do not watch Korean/Japanese/Asian dramas anymore. To me, ”Baby Blue” is a fairly typical anime semi-romance-story that you would associate with Five Centimeters Per Second moreso than Genius Party. What I can say positive about the plot is that it is able to get its message across much more successfully than “Limit Cycle” and “Doorbell”, and it is fine to watch, it’s unfortunately just not something I would describe as a genius party.

Rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆☆

There are two things I wish for from Genius Party: the exclusion of CG and the inclusion of “Le manchot mélomane”, by director Nicolas de Crécy, in the DVD. While the CG part might be tough, seeing I have no idea what the budget was, but the exclusion of the French director was disappointing, especially since I ardently adore French animation. But what’s there is there, and overall Genius Party great to watch by yourself or with friends. Either way, it’s a party you won’t get tired of.

/ 6 Commentsleave a comment /

• Flags says:

  May 11, 2010

  This looks interesting, do you know anything about a state-side release? Also, I looked it up, and apparently there is a sequel that contains five other shorts, while still not containing the short you mentioned by the French Director.

  Reply
  • Vivi says:

    May 11, 2010

    Yeah, I was thinking about writing about GP Beyond, but decided to stick to chronological order XD There's an Australian company that released it in English, unfortunately I have a ghetto version of the Japanese DVD (with English subs) haha.

    Reply
• Calpico says:

  May 11, 2010

  Genius party DOES look like a party, hahaha! I think I'll check it out, especially that baby one :D

  And yessss, Nobuyuki Fukumoto is the king of noses!

  Reply
  • Vivi says:

    May 11, 2010

    Fukumoto's noses are the highlight of his manga, they're so deadly :O

    Reply
• Mint says:

  May 13, 2010

  This seems like a must-see in the movie department with all those amazing directors behind it. I want to see "Genius Party" and "Happy Machine" the most, haha. I'm not a huge fan of CG in animation when it doesn't enhance the storytelling, and "Baby Blue" doesn't really seem to fit in with the rest of those shorts (they look like a lot to fun to watch, anyways! Very innovative feel to them). I love watching shorts, but I don't know much about the movie scene, so it's awesome to have you covering these >.<-b This party looks like a fun watch for my next all nighter…

  Glad to know you're feeling better, Vi! Although that's too bad about the RROD :<

  Reply
• code305 says:

  August 3, 2010

  This anime was awesome, its hard at first to understand the short stories but at the end you will see the creative mind.

  Reply