Coming off the acclaimed heels of "Gotham by Gaslight" (see Feb '18), DC/WB presents another alternate-reality, "Elseworld" adventure, this one with a startling, time-travel strand.
The installment, directed by Junpei Mizusaki and scripted by Kazuki Nakashima, is "Batman Ninja" and depicts Bruce Wayne being sucked through time via Gorilla Grodd's teleporting Quake Engine. The Caped Crusader lands in (of all distant and exotic places) feudal Japan. Much to his surprise, he discovers that the Joker (make that, Lord Joker, Demon King) is also present, mounting a warped stronghold, enforced by clown-masked Samurai.
Along with Batman and Joker, we have time-displaced versions of Robin (both Damian Wayne and Timothy Drake); Red Hood (former Robin, Jason Todd); Nightwing (Dick Grayson, of course); Catwoman; Alfred Pennyworth; Harley Quinn; Deathstroke; Penguin; Poison Ivy; Two-Face and even a sumo-wrestling Bane! For the record, Grodd does make the power-hungry trip back, and why not? He's the tale's prime catalyst.
As one might deduce, more than a few DC icons have stumbled through the simian's invention at various points, with the Joker having already gained a head start in altering the ancient realm. This includes a robotic Arkham Castle and weird, out-of-the-woodwork weaponry which mixes the best of old and new to fulfill one's quirkiest mashup and/or steampunk fetishes. (Some of the offbeat sequences play like spaghetti-western filler, adding further to the uncanny feel. This is nothing novel, however, since "Samurai Jack" initiated the same, dreamy technique nearly two decades prior.)
Takashi "Afro Samurai" Okazaki designed the film's hybrid semblance, but it's still the Red Sun/manga flavor that dominates, even down to the modern, superfluous use of character names appearing whenever one makes an initial entrance. To boot, the film's color scheme, sometimes soft and willowy, works in wondrous contrast and unison with the martial-arts battles, of which there are many. (Even when the brawling becomes a feudal "Transformers" knockoff, a dignified, ballet-like quality pervades the outlandishness.)
Though the displaced, Gotham-character inclusion is the film's novelty, it might also be a perceived as a set-back to some judgmental viewers: opposing Caucasian icons influencing Japanese design, presented in a cinematic age where political correctness has arguably gone awry. (The same predicament could be aimed at "The Great Wall", but its lowly U.S. performance kept any chance of controversy well under wraps.) Anyway, with Batman more popular than ever, it wouldn't be surprising if critical disdain accompanied the film's high-profile release (and Lord knows there are always SJWs in wait to degrade any superhero outing). Then again, has criticism of any sort ever stopped the Dark Knight from thriving?
No matter what its possible opponents might say, Mizusaki, Nakashima and Okazaki's collaboration is unlike any Batman adventure to date, whether on film or printed page. Yes, it may utilize various Batman/comic-book cliches here and there, but the overall package is unique and therefore groundbreaking.
With "Batman Ninja" and "Gotham by Gaslight" now official parts of the home-viewing sector, the odds further favor more DC/WB alternate-reality experimentation. Few could dispute that the companies' animated niche is unmatched in its exciting scope, rivaling anything that their current, cinematic and television counterparts offer. If one has any doubts, just give "Batman Ninja" a try. If this one doesn't make one a believer, nothing will.
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