Absolutely Bonkers!

Feudal Japan

I received a copy of Batman Ninja for my birthday.  I didn’t know what to expect from the film, I just knew that the animation was visually amazing in the trailer.  This isn’t the first time that Batman was given the anime treatment (That would be the short story collection, Batman: Gotham Knight, 2008), but it is definitely the first one on such a big scale.

SPOILER FREE REVIEW AHEAD!

The story is fairly simple: Gorilla Grodd attempts to set off his Quake Engine in Arkham Asylum in an attempt to transport all of Gotham’s greatest villains to a faraway time so that he can take control of the city.  As usual, Batman shows up just in time to disrupt Grodd’s plans and he, Gorilla Grodd, Poison Ivy, Penguin, Two-Face, Deathstroke, Bane, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, the Joker, Red Hood, Red Robin, Nightwing, Robin, and Alfred all get transported back to Feudal Japan.

When Batman arrives on the scene, he’s two years later than everyone else.  Luckily for him, his Batmobile and some of his other tech made the trip as well and have been taken care of by Catwoman and Alfred.

Batman learns that a power struggle has divided up Gotham’s villains.  Each one has created their own feudal state and have been battling each other for control ever since they arrived.  At the moment, Joker is the top dog, but there is another villain waiting for his chance to strike.

Batman teams up with his old allies and a Bat clan that has been waiting for him to arrive as part of a prophecy to bring peace to their land.  Numerous over-the-top battles ensue, each highlighted by brilliant animation and insane action sequences.  The fights include everything from Power Ranger styled robots that combine to form a larger robot to traditional sword fighting and even a few bats and monkeys.

The entire thing is bonkers.  It shouldn’t and doesn’t make sense.  With that said, it’s still pretty entertaining, especially if you love brightly colored animation.  I’m pretty sure that fans of more traditional Batman stories have a high chance of disliking this movie.  Fans of the Joker will take the absurdity of it all in stride.  Personally I found it to be okay after my first viewing, but with each additional viewing I became a bigger fan of the story.  My son loved it.  It definitely had a few problems I’ll mention in a bit, but it definitely grew on me with time.  I’ll leave it up to you to make your own decision about this film.

Pros:

Animation – I can’t say enough about how wonderful the animation is in Batman Ninja.  It’s vibrant, beautiful, and expertly drawn.  The characters are also excellently styled, especially Batman in his final battle costume and Catwoman in her gear.

The Joker – He’s insane.  We all know that.  Batman Ninja cranks up the insanity with a ton of weapons including the Joker’s traditional acid squirting flower to fanned blades and gigantic robots controlled by the mind of the Clown Prince of Crime.  Coupled with Harley Quinn, the Joker is in top form in this film.

Music – Yugo Kanno’s music shifted from traditional Japanese sounds to high energy guitar-driven music similar to that of the Power Rangers during the battle sequences.  The music aided in the digestion of the insanity unfolding on the screen.

Cons:

Character development – Batman acted out of character multiple times during the film.  Sure, it’s a fish out of water story, but Batman acts nearly helpless whenever he loses most of his technology.  Robin is entirely out of character.  While he’s apparently styled after young and excitable anime characters such as Naruto, any Batman fan with the slightest bit of knowledge about Damian Wayne’s Robin knows that he’s serious almost all of the time.  In this film, he’s nothing like the established DC character we know and love.

Absurdity – I only include this one for fans of Batman who might not have a taste for some of the more insane antics that go down in this movie.  Each battle sequence seems to be trying to outdo the previous one and they succeed in spades, becoming harder and harder to wrap my brain around.

Lack of Rhythm – The story seemed to do a lot of shifting and struggled to find a good rhythm until it was almost over.

Ultimately I believe that this film will divide the audience just as much or more than Justice League and Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice.  It’s an extremely unique tale in the world of Batman that is definitely worth a look.  As I said earlier, the more that I watched this film, the more I enjoyed it.  Give it a chance and you might become a fan as well.

English Dubbing: Roger Craig Smith as Batman, Tony Hale as Joker, Grey Griffin as Catwoman, Tara Strong as Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy, Fred Tatasciore as Gorilla Grodd/Deathstroke, Adam Croasdell as Nightwing, Yuri Lowenthal as Robin/Red Hood, Tom Kenny as Penguin, Will Friedle as Red Robin, and Matthew Yang King as Eian.

As always, thanks for reading.  If you’re a fan of the Joker, I highly recommend this film.  It’s crazy, unhinged, and just as insane as the Clown Prince of Crime.