The seven short films making up GENIUS PARTY couldnโt be more diverse, linked only by a high standard of quality and inspiration. Atsuko Fukushimaโs 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 โHappy Machine,โ his spin on a childโs earliest year. Shinji Kimuraโs spookier โDeathtic 4,โ meanwhile, seems to tap into the creepier corners of a childโs imagination and open up a toybox full of dark delights. Hideki Futamuraโs โLimit Cycleโ conjures up a vision of virtual reality, while Yuji Fukuyamaโs "Doorbell" and "Baby Blue" by Shinichiro Watanabe use understated realism for very surreal purposes. And Shoji Kawamori, with โShanghai Dragon,โ takes the tropes and conventions of traditional anime out for very fun joyride.