Batman Ninja (2018)

[ニンジャバットマン]

Director: Junpei Mizusaki
Starring: Koichi Yamadera, Wataru Takagi, Ai Kakuma

Synopsis:
A time machine constructed by Gorilla Grodd sends Batman and several members of the Rogues' Gallery to feudal Japan.

Impressions:
You see the synopsis up there? If you think the premise sounds incredibly silly, well, that ain't half of it. This film is off-the-walls crazy and if you're willing to kick back and enjoy the ride, you may be cackling like the Joker all the way through, which is what I was doing. I think the negative response the movie gets is from people who were trying to take it too seriously. It's ridiculous and that's what's great about it. I'm usually not a big fan of CG anime, but I really dug the art style and the visuals never fail to impress (though the animation can be a bit janky at times). I enjoyed the performances as well, particularly Wataru Takagi as the Joker and Takehito Koyasu as Gorilla Grodd. The music wasn't bad either. There's a gattai song. I'm not kidding you.

Honestly, the only thing that fell short with me was the other members of the Rogues' Gallery, who didn't get much development, and while it was cool seeing all four Robins together, none of them were fleshed out all that much. I feel that rather than an hour and a half movie, it would've been better to tell the story over a thirteen-episode series, even a six-episode miniseries. Of course, the focal point is Batman's fight with the Joker and everything else is pretty much window dressing.

I had a lot of fun with this, enough that I plan on going out and getting a copy. If you feel like you need a Ninja Batman in your life, you should give this a watch at the very least.

Rating:
Own It