Genius Party

Season 1

The seven short films making up GENIUS PARTY couldn’t be more diverse, linked only by a high standard of quality and inspiration. Atsuko Fukushima’s intro piece is a fantastic abstraction to soak up with the eyes. Masaaki Yuasa, of MIND GAME and CAT SOUP fame, brings his distinctive and deceptively simple graphic style and dream-state logic to the table with “Happy Machine,” his spin on a child’s earliest year. Shinji Kimura’s spookier “Deathtic 4,” meanwhile, seems to tap into the creepier corners of a child’s imagination and open up a toybox full of dark delights. Hideki Futamura’s “Limit Cycle” conjures up a vision of virtual reality, while Yuji Fukuyama’s "Doorbell" and "Baby Blue" by Shinichiro Watanabe use understated realism for very surreal purposes. And Shoji Kawamori, with “Shanghai Dragon,” takes the tropes and conventions of traditional anime out for very fun joyride.

Where to Watch Genius Party • Season 1

7 Episodes

"Genius Party" - Atsuko Fukushima
E1
"Genius Party" - Atsuko FukushimaIn a barren desert, a human-like figure with a bird-like mask and appendages interacts with sentient egg-like stones in what seems like a symbiotic relationship.
"Shanghai Dragon" - Shōji Kawamori
E2
"Shanghai Dragon" - Shōji KawamoriA young Chinese boy finds a futuristic device that can make his own drawings come to life, but it is part of a plan by humans from centuries in the future to save their civilization.
"Deathtic 4" - Shinji Kimura
E3
"Deathtic 4" - Shinji KimuraA boy in world of zombies finds a living frog that falls from the sky and he tries to return the creature to its own world.
"Doorbell" - Yoji Fukuyama
E4
"Doorbell" - Yoji FukuyamaA young man encounters other versions of himself causing confusion about his own existence.
"Limit Cycle" - Hideki Futamura
E5
"Limit Cycle" - Hideki FutamuraA salary man, seemingly trapped in an endless cycle of work, makes an existential examination of the world. Illustrated in the manner of a psychedelic hallucination.
"Happy Machine" - Masaaki Yuasa
E6
"Happy Machine" - Masaaki YuasaAn infant suddenly discovers that everything in its nursery is fake and goes out into the world outside where it encounters a range of alien like creatures, some friendly and some not.
"Baby Blue" - Shinichirō Watanabe
E7
"Baby Blue" - Shinichirō WatanabeA bittersweet story about two high-school students and long-time friends who skip school for a day before one leaves for another city.