The non-generic AFA report 2 – Genius party beyond

Here is the second part of the AFA report by Impz. Check the previous report as well! As usual, the same warning applies. If you wish to see your cosplay pictures, you can go to Ooga’s entry about cosplayers. His entry has enough pictures about the cosplayers in the convention, so I prefer to focus on something different. Due to time constraints, there will be a part 3 AFA report, and that will be about Sky Crawlers and a few other miscellaneous comments.

In this part of my report, I like to focus on one of the major exhibit attractions on display: Genius party beyond. If you have not heard of this, it is a series of short clips by famous anime directors to experiment on various themes. Some of them are so experimental that I totally do not understand but all of them have a clear distinct feel that portrays the personality of the director. Here is a small collection of the exhibition, if you missed it.

Genius party beyond is really pushing the boundaries of anime creativity. If you have been tired of the same old fanservice that has been blatant in recent anime, Genius party Beyond is clearly a series of anime that you have to catch. You can read the description on the picture above.

The above picture came from the #1 series, known as Gala by Mahiro Maeda. If you have not heard this name before, I will be very surprised. He has been one of the top contributors at the anime studio GONZO for many years, having directed Blue Submarine No. 6, Final Fantasy: Unlimited and Gankutsuōu – The Count of Monte Cristo. In addition, he is the key designer of the “Angels” in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Some of you might know my distaste of NGE, but this does not detract from the fact that this guy is perhaps considered to be a demi-god in anime circles.

I personally thought that the art style is very simple for the series, but I have not watched GPB yet. I might do that eventually when I have some free time at hand.

The best art work in my opinion among all the Genius party beyond mini-episodes

It’s really quirky, just like the world of Samurai Champloo.

You might not know Kazuto Nakazawa as he is somewhat less prominent than Mahiro Maeda. However, Hollywood fans should remember the anime sequence in Kill Bill vol 1. He directed that part. He is also the character designer of Samurai Champloo. I honestly felt that his ability at detail is almost to a fault, and it’s crazy how something seemingly simple has so much sophistication in the background.

Shinya Ohira probably has the least director experience among the five directors in Genius Party beyond. However, do not let that mislead you to think that he has done little stuff. He has done key animation for Ghost in the Shell 2, as well as the age-old classic, Akira. There is nothing to be mocked at, and the artwork in this mini episode is perhaps one of the most experimental. I must say that I am not too interested in this, as I am a stickler for conventional series with standard animation. I don’t need the moe factor, but …

I have to admit that I have not heard of Tatsuyuki Tanako before. Most of the displayed artwork are sketches though, so I really can’t evaluate it clearly.

Of course, I am leaving Koji Morimoto for the last, since he is the only director that graced our Singaporean shores.

One of the premier directors of Studio 4C, he is perhaps one of the most well known directors in western circles, if not the most well known after his clip in the Animatrix. A director who is not afraid of using raw energy in his animation, his directing style can be clearly seen from the sheer bizarreness of Dimension Bomb. If you remember the total mind fuck from the cult classic, Mind Game (2004), you should know this director very well.

Despite the eccentricity of his style, he is also very detailed in even minuscule stuff. Mind Game is known to be a very disorientated, yet coherent continuous story after joining all the seemingly disjointed parts. Even though he is merely the animation director, you can tell that he is not one that keeps to any form of convention.

Is that Bj0rn I see?

I will leave you with a few pictures of the man himself. I also realize I miss the public showing of Genius Party beyond on the second day. It’s a pity but I guess I just could not muster the interest, and I knew that there would be tons of cosplay during the second time. I just had to give it a miss.

Look at the crowd!

And that’s my part 2. Stay tuned to part 3: Sky Crawlers.