Description

Japan’s insurgent indie animation company Studio 4°C takes its name from the temperature at which water is at its densest. A well-chosen moniker, because their works achieve an incredible density of imagery and ideas while remaining as loose and fluid as the most amazing dreams. The visionary 4°C team can be thanked for MEMORIES, SPRIGGAN, MIND GAME and TEKKON KINKREET, all of which have graced the Fantasia screen. Last year, GENIUS PARTY offered an omnibus of Studio 4°C’s inspired madness, and they’ve quickly followed the seven short films of the first collection with five more, and they’re every bit as exciting and original.

Mahiro Maeda’s “Gala” is, at first glance, the most straightforward offering, following the rules of kiddie fantasy anime—but don’t forget, Studio 4°C’s talents never play by the rules! Kazuto Nakazawa’s comical, streetwise sci-fi jaunt “Moondrive” on the other hand has a funky, gritty rawness to it that nonetheless doesn’t skimp on intense attention to detail. Shinya Ohira’s “Wanwa the Doggy” is a dynamic riot of colour with a distinctive, painterly flair all its own, and Tatsuyuki Tanaka’s “Toujin Kit” is an exquisitely crafted episode of somber cyberpunk shivers. Wrapping things up, and well worth the wait, is the spectacular “Dimension Bomb” by Koji Morimoto, the same guy who once blew our minds with his short film NOISEMAN SOUND INSECT—rest assured he does so here again!

—Rupert Bottenberg