Genius Party/Genius Party Beyond - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Genius Party/Genius Party Beyond



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
As I mentioned back in June of this year when I reviewed Shout Factory’s release of Modest Heroes I really hope that more anthology anime films will be released. However, moving forward on that promise is not the ONLY way to achieve that goal. 2007’s Genius Party and 2008’s Genius Party Beyond is a massive anthology set that anime nerds have been begging for a U.S. release for over a decade. What had happened those 11-12 years ago was that the best animators and anime directors of the early 2000s got together and released a set of 12 short stories focused around the idea of creativity, in order to inspire more creativity in their market. What came about was a literal dream project of varying styles, with each of the 12 directors taking the single word concept of “creativity” and running with it, crafting 12 unique stories that range from romantic interludes, alien experiences, tearful dramas, and stream of consciousness high art stories. Each tale ranges from 5 minutes to 15, with each director utilizing that time space how he sees fit.

While the series is a bit more “different” than regular anthologies in the fact that the stories sometimes defy logic and reason, raising more questions than they actually answer, they have been highly sought after by anime collectors over the last 12 years. Most of us were subject to the import “tax” of having to import pricey region free Japanese imports, or making do with fansubs and other less “mainstream” methods of getting the stories. Now Shout Factory as taken both sets of films and put them onto one Blu-ray release to enjoy. I was a bit saddened to see that there was no extras on the set, and that the subtitles were simple yellow block text, but in some ways I’m glad they didn’t try to cram a ton of extras onto a disc that already housed 166 minutes of short stories, as that means less compression.

For those wondering if I’m going to break down the 12 stories I really can’t. Or I should say, I really SHOULDN’T, as the stories are best experienced rather than told. Needless to say, this is not an anthology for someone looking for some cutesy animated shorts as is the case with many anthology boxsets. The collection stems from greats like Masaaki Yuasa, Shinichiro Watanable (Cowboy Bebop fame), Shoji Kawamori and 9 more, with each of them taking the concept of “creativity” and running with it. Each story is completely unrelated and totally up to the whims and high art concepts of the creators, rendering each story completely unique, both in visual art form and well as storytelling. There’s a ton of kinetic visual styles displayed on screen, as well as varying themes such as romance, aliens, high art abstract stories and many more. Each one is fascinating, even if they don’t all conclude in a nice and neat package. In fact, many of the stories actually raise more questions about life than they actually answer, and this means the collection is aimed more for the anime autuer rather than someone looking for action or cute Studio Ghibli stories. Shorts like Futamura’s Limit Cycle is stream of consciousness philosophical tale revolving around mathematical and religious themes, all told through a nonstop barrage of random imagery as seen from the point of view of a Japanese businessman. It’s fascinating to watch, but definitely a case of style BEING the substance of the story. It’s a bit esoteric and bizarre, which will contrast with some of the more normal stories included in the set.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




Video:

Being that they were produced over 11 years ago, Genius Party and Genius Party Beyond looks pretty good on Blu-ray. The 1.78:1 AVC encoded Blu-ray is very stable, with little to no artifacting, and a strong color base. Since each of the 12 shorts is animated completely differently, they will also look differently in how they’re colored and the level of saturation as well. Detail levels can vary, but the hand drawn (and some CGI) animate looks very stable, with clean and consistent detail levels, and solid blacks. There’s some episodes that will look more murky than other due to the animation, and others that will look psychedelic and heavily color saturated, but overall it’s a very nice looking Blu-ray.









Audio:

The 5.1 Japanese DTS-HD MA track is a bit lackluster, mostly because it’s so uneven. It’s a heavily dialog driven track most of the time, but some of the shorts have varying degrees of dialog volume, making it a bit annoying to raise and lower the volume ever 10 minutes or so. There’s some sonic busts of LFE in the more intense scenes to fill out the dynamics, but this really a rather forward heavy mix that only utilizes the surrounds in rare circumstances. It’s not a bad mix really, but rather an inconsistent one, with various shorts having better or worse quality than the others.








Extras:

•

Final Score: ​

Genius Party/Genius Party Beyond is a 12 short story collection comprised of the best of the best artists and directors around in an effort to push the limits of creativity. Each story is wildly different, and pushes the limits and boundaries of natural storytelling, creating a unique blend of visual stories that are truly amazing to look at. Those looking for traditional storytelling or traditional shorts may not enjoy it as much, but then again, this entire project was aimed directly at those who like experimental storytelling and pushing artistic boundaries. In that realm, both Genius Party films are a rousing success, and Shout Factory is to be commended for bringing over such a unique collection of anime shorts and releasing them after so many years. Their Blu-ray release is very solid, with good video, decent audio, but a distinct lack of extras. I have a hard time blanket recommending this collection to everyone because it IS experimental storytelling, but those looking for something different and off the beaten path will definitely be intriqued and SHOULD check it out. Recommended with a disclaimer.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Tomoko Kaneda, Rinko Kikuchi, Kaoru Mizuhara, Lu Ningjuan, Yuya Yagira, Arata Furuta, Akiko Suzuki, Urara Takano, Shoko Takada
Directed by: Various
Written by: Various
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 AVC
Audio: Japanese: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: NR
Runtime: 166 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: October 15th, 2019

Recommendation: Recommended with a Disclaimer

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I don't mind seeing experimental storytelling so will check it out.