Introduction
Containing shorts that could not be included in the original, Genius Party Beyond weaves stories that are both deep and insightful: the idea all life is relative in size, the consequences of an oppressive government, and how to deal with your darker desires, among others.
From the directors and artists of works such as Samurai Champloo, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Akira, come a multitude of thought-provoking tales, to create a collection equalling the original in storytelling genius.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Audience reviews
5 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
asa-no-tsuyu
Moondrive and Toujin Kit are very, very excellent - former is a very wacky almost Diebuster style thing with colours and explosions, while latter is classic grim "brown" anime a la 2003 Kino's Journey. Highly recommend those two. Moondrive in particular made me feel like I'd been punked (in a good way!)
The other three wwre perhaps not my jam, although #3 adorably reminded me of Boku no Natsuyasumi (or another PS game with forced perspective... Though the themes of that story veered almost into something like Night on the Galactic Railroad by the end). It is charming, though I couldn't really follow along for the most part... +Rep for dog. Good boy.
#1 wasn't bad and reminded me of Buddhist religious imagery, but was too heavy on music and light on story. #5 is a bit too cryptic for me t…
Read at the sourceLogical_Leo
An unwise man once said, "Wisdom lies in the mystique, but do not mistake that for wisdom." If you are here for thought-provoking material, make of that what you will.
You may say art is subjective, which it is, and that Genius Party is a "showcase of animation", but that is by no means an excuse for making it out to be better than it really is. I personally like strange art styles, but I never really hold that as a factor of if I like an anime/manga, unless the art is really bad or really good. The art here wasn't exceptionally bad or good.
Side note: the description says "thought-provoking stories", I disagree with that standing.
Gala (3/10): On a surface level, this piece seems to be striving for the same style as Ghibli, yet results in the feeling of a cheap knock-off. The music was…
Read at the sourceGunToilet
Five visually stunning and mostly-watchable shorts.
Gala - Fine 5/10. A unique premise about the marvels of life, for lack of better words. Good visuals, but nothing too spectacular. Also could've been shorter and nothing would've been lost.
Moondrive - Good 8/10. Entertaining, Lupin III-esque action comedy. Has a plot. Fun cartoony animation style, memorable scratchy linework and backgrounds, decent number of actually funny jokes. Brought down a bit by its less funny sexism.
Wanwa the Doggy - Okay 6/10. Really unique art style that kind of resembles Masaaki Yuasa's short in the first Genius Party. Little more than just a very long chase scene, but the abstract backgrounds and technically impressive animation make it worthwhile, though not something I'd sit through twice.
Toujin Kit -…
Read at the sourceJaniel127
Just like I did in my review for the first Genius Party, i'll give a rating for each short then an overall rating.
1. Gala - 8
2. Moondrive - 8
3. Wanwa the Puppy - 7
4. Tojin Kit - 8
5. Dimension Bomb - 9
Unlike the first Genius Party where 3 of the shorts were bad and the other 4 were good, Genius Party Beyond doesn't have a single bad short. Wanwa the Puppy is the weakest of the shorts, mainly because the animation style can be a tad off putting at times, but it's still a good short. Gala, Moondrive and Tojin Kit are very good, but the best short is Dimension Bomb. It's hard to put into words how great of a short it is, you simply have to experience it yourself and see what you think. Even though I felt like I wanted more than just 5 shorts (the first film had 7), I think Genius Party…
Read at the sourceKalbrik
Like previous Studio 4c collaborations "Batman: Gothic Knight" and "The Animatrix", the Genius Party shorts are less about showcasing deep stories than they are about showcasing the wonders of animation. Unlike the previously listed collaborations, the Genius Party shorts are primarily personal projects made by both established and independent animators. The only thing that can be stated about the shorts as a whole is that they are wonderfully imaginative and colorful, and the Beyond shorts are arguably even more imaginative than the original Genius Party works.
The first short, "Gala", directed by anime regular Mahiro Maeda of GONZO fame, is essentially a music video with an overarching story about a mysterious meteorite which lands in a small village and how the inhabitants react to it.…
Read at the source