# Genius Party (ジーニアス・パーティ)
**Genius Party** (ジーニアス・パーティ) is a 2007 Japanese omnibus animated film produced by STUDIO4℃, in which seven directors each made an original short film with no constraint beyond the instruction to make what they wanted to make. It was released theatrically in Japan on July 7, 2007, distributed by Nikkatsu.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/) • [2](https://eiga.com/news/20070413/13/?lid=movie_news_1)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Omnibus of seven original short films, each 15 to 20 minutes, with original stories and characters[2](https://eiga.com/news/20070413/13/?lid=movie_news_1) |
| Release | July 7, 2007, Japan; distributed by Nikkatsu[1](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/) |
| Runtime | 104 minutes (other Japanese databases list 101 to 103 minutes)[1](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/) • [3](https://lp.p.pia.jp/event/movie/14263/index.html) • [4](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/116821) |
| Directors | Atsuko Fukushima, Shoji Kawamori, Shinji Kimura, Yoji Fukuyama, Hideki Futamura, Masaaki Yuasa, Shinichiro Watanabe[5](https://thetv.jp/program/0000980639/) |
| Voice cast | Yuya Yagira, Rinko Kikuchi, Tomomitsu Yamaguchi, Taro Yabe, Gaku Tohara, Hisahiro Ogura, Hiroshi Mikami, and others[1](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/) • [3](https://lp.p.pia.jp/event/movie/14263/index.html) |
| Music | Kaoru Inoue, Toshiro Nakagawa, Akio Izutsu, Seiichi Yamamoto, combopiano, FENNESZ, Yoko Kanno[1](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/) |
| Sequel | *Genius Party Beyond*, five shorts, released October 11, 2008[6](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/beyond/) |
## Spoilers
### The seven shorts
The film consists of seven shorts, each directed by one of the seven filmmakers.[5](https://thetv.jp/program/0000980639/)
1. **GENIUS PARTY**, directed by Atsuko Fukushima. A barren landscape, a running birdman, and swaying flowers; images surface, vanish, connect, and transform, visualizing "the moment when images are born." Fukushima, formerly an animator and character designer on works such as *Robot Carnival* and the game *Popolocrois*, had long been away from the animation front line, and this title piece marked her return as a director.[7](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1028) • [10](https://intro.ne.jp/contents/2007/06/30_1940.html)
2. **上海大竜 (Shanghai Dragon)**, directed by Shoji Kawamori. In an old quarter of Shanghai, future people appear in a kindergarten with a flash of light. Kawamori, known for *Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?* and the mecha design of *Ghost in the Shell*, drew on a trip to China twenty years earlier to depict lively children.[11](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/genius01/about/director.html) • [12](https://animeanime.jp/article/2007/06/18/1919.html)
3. **デスティック・フォー (Deathic4)**, directed by Shinji Kimura, the art director of *Tekkonkinkreet* and *Steamboy*. A slapstick comedy about a "kimoguro kawaii" (creepy-cute) quartet; Kimura said he wanted to put characters in the same style as his usual background art, and screenwriter Mitsuhisa Takasu participated.[11](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/genius01/about/director.html) • [12](https://animeanime.jp/article/2007/06/18/1919.html)
4. **ドアチャイム (Door Chime)**, directed by Yoji Fukuyama, a manga artist active since the 1970s with a cult following in Japan and Europe. A high school boy, Yu, is tossed about by versions of himself other than himself in an absurd, strange world.[11](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/genius01/about/director.html) • [13](https://topics.cinematopics.com/archives/16289)
5. **LIMIT CYCLE**, directed by Hideki Futamura, who worked on *Perfect Blue* and *The Animatrix*'s Second Renaissance segments. A "visual poem" set in a virtual reality space, with a monologue by Hiroshi Mikami and cybernetic music and sound effects.[11](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/genius01/about/director.html)
6. **夢みるキカイ (Dream Machine)**, directed by [Masaaki Yuasa](https://www.edgepedia.org/masaaki-yuasa), director of *Mind Game*. An innocent baby wanders into an incomprehensible world in a surreal, phantasmagoric piece.[11](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/genius01/about/director.html)
7. **BABY BLUE**, directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, director of *Cowboy Bebop* and *Samurai Champloo*. A small one-day adventure and a secret shared by high schoolers Sho and his childhood friend Hazuki, a slightly bittersweet youth love story.[11](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/genius01/about/director.html)
## Concept and production
The project was conceived by STUDIO4℃, the Tokyo studio behind *The Animatrix*, *Mind Game*, and *Tekkonkinkreet*, as a fully original "party movie" by Japanese animation creators. Each director was given a 15 to 20 minute slot and complete freedom: the only rule was "make what you want to make," with all stories and characters original.[2](https://eiga.com/news/20070413/13/?lid=movie_news_1) Executive production was credited to Eiko Tanaka, and the production company was Beyond C.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/) • [7](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1028)
Producer Yukie Saeki said at the opening-day stage greeting that the voice cast was chosen only by the question of what voice would fit each work, and that each director's first-choice performer was somehow secured without a single refusal.[8](https://www.nikkatsu.com/report/archives/200707/000235.html) The film was also scheduled for screening at the Japan Festival held in Washington, in the United States.[9](https://animeanime.jp/article/2007/05/17/1822.html)
## Voice cast
The film drew attention for its voice cast. Yuya Yagira and [Rinko Kikuchi](https://www.edgepedia.org/rinko-kikuchi) appeared together for the first time as voice actors.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/) Yagira, born in Tokyo in 1990, had won the best actor award at the 57th Cannes Film Festival for *Nobody Knows* (2004), the first Japanese actor to win the festival's acting prize and, at 14, the youngest ever.[14](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/genius01/about/cast.html) Kikuchi, born in [Kanagawa Prefecture](https://www.edgepedia.org/kanagawa-prefecture) in 1981, was nominated for the [Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-supporting-actress) and the Golden Globe for her role in *Babel* (2006).[1](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/) • [14](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/genius01/about/cast.html) The other credited voice performers include Tomomitsu Yamaguchi, Taro Yabe, Gaku Tohara, Hisahiro Ogura, Hiroshi Mikami, and Nanase Iwai.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/) • [3](https://lp.p.pia.jp/event/movie/14263/index.html)
## Music
Each short was paired with music by a different artist: Kaoru Inoue, Toshiro Nakagawa, Akio Izutsu, Seiichi Yamamoto, combopiano, the Austrian electronic musician FENNESZ, and [Yoko Kanno](https://www.edgepedia.org/yoko-kanno).[1](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/) The theme song was "Futakobana" (二千花) as credited by the television database.[5](https://thetv.jp/program/0000980639/)
## Release and sequel
The completed film was shown at a preview screening at the Akiba 3D Theater in [Akihabara](https://www.edgepedia.org/akihabara), Tokyo, on June 18, 2007, and opened on July 7 at Cine Libre Ikebukuro and Shibuya Cine Amuse, with a nationwide rollout to follow.[12](https://animeanime.jp/article/2007/06/18/1919.html) • [8](https://www.nikkatsu.com/report/archives/200707/000235.html) A second installment of seven works had already been announced at the time of the first film's preview.[12](https://animeanime.jp/article/2007/06/18/1919.html)
The sequel, **Genius Party Beyond** (ジーニアス・パーティ・ビヨンド), ultimately comprised five shorts, directed by Mahiro Maeda (GALA), Kazuto Nakazawa (MOONDRIVE), Shinya Ohira (わんわ), Tatsuyuki Tanaka (陶人キット), and Koji Morimoto (次元爆弾), with music including [Akira Ifukube](https://www.edgepedia.org/akira-ifukube), Warsaw Village Band, Minami Nozaki, and Juno Reactor. It world-premiered at the Kennedy Center's Japan Festival in the United States in 2008 and opened in Japan on October 11, 2008, at Cinemart Roppongi and other theaters, produced and distributed by Beyond C.[6](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/beyond/) • [15](https://www.toho-a-park.com/dvd/item/html/TDV/TDV19054R.html)
In North America, GKIDS licensed both films, and Shout Factory released *Genius Party / Genius Party Beyond* on a single Blu-ray on October 15, 2019, presenting all twelve shorts with a combined 166-minute runtime, Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and English subtitles.[16](https://gkids.com/films/genius-party/) • [17](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Genius-Party-and-Genius-Party-Beyond-Blu-ray/247973/) The film holds a 6.9 rating on IMDb from about 1,900 users, and as of recent checks it streams in the United States on [Pluto TV](https://www.edgepedia.org/pluto-tv) (free with ads) and is available for purchase on Amazon Video, Fandango at Home, and the Apple TV Store.[18](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/genius-party)
## References
1. [Genius Party ジーニアス・パーティ, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/1945/)
2. [STUDIO4℃の劇場版アニメ「Genius Party」進行中！, 映画.com news (April 13, 2007)](https://eiga.com/news/20070413/13/?lid=movie_news_1)
3. [Genius Party〈ジーニアス・パーティ〉, ぴあ映画](https://lp.p.pia.jp/event/movie/14263/index.html)
4. [ジーニアス・パーティ, WOWOWオンライン](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/116821)
5. [ジーニアス・パーティ(映画), WEBザテレビジョン](https://thetv.jp/program/0000980639/)
6. [Genius Party Beyond, STUDIO4℃ official site](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/beyond/)
7. [JFDB - GENIUS PARTY, Japan Film Database](https://jfdb.jp/en/title/1028)
8. [日活レポート, 日活 (opening-day stage greeting, July 7, 2007)](https://www.nikkatsu.com/report/archives/200707/000235.html)
9. [STUDIO4℃「Genius Party＜ジーニアス･パーティ＞」, アニメ！アニメ！(May 17, 2007)](https://animeanime.jp/article/2007/05/17/1822.html)
10. [INTRO | 『Genius Party＜ジーニアス・パーティ＞』](https://intro.ne.jp/contents/2007/06/30_1940.html)
11. [Genius Party | 監督, STUDIO4℃ official site](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/genius01/about/director.html)
12. [Genius Party 〈ジーニアス・パーティ〉 完成披露試写開催, アニメ！アニメ！(June 18, 2007)](https://animeanime.jp/article/2007/06/18/1919.html)
13. [『Genius Party』「ドアチャイム」栩原楽人インタビュー, CINEMATOPICS](https://topics.cinematopics.com/archives/16289)
14. [Genius Party | キャスト, STUDIO4℃ official site](https://genius-party.studio4c.co.jp/genius01/about/cast.html)
15. [Genius Party Beyond, TOHO-AMUSEMENT-PARK DVD page](https://www.toho-a-park.com/dvd/item/html/TDV/TDV19054R.html)
16. [Genius Party, GKIDS Films](https://gkids.com/films/genius-party/)
17. [Genius Party / Genius Party Beyond Blu-ray, Blu-ray.com](https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Genius-Party-and-Genius-Party-Beyond-Blu-ray/247973/)
18. [Genius Party streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/genius-party)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Animated and short films › Japanese anime features › Released 1999 to 2013*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license