Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
Six years ago, we got one of the stranger (but cooler) Batman movies ever made in the form of Batman Ninja. Like most fans of the Bat in Black I was pumped for this. It was something different, something strange and something that included Batman fighting ninjas – who wouldn’t want to see that! But it went from fun weird to really weird fast and I don’t think I’m in the minority when I say it was a bit of a disappointment.
Still, it’s Batman and the final battle between Batman and The Joker was insanely good leading to the inevitable sequel called Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League. Taking up right where the last one left off, Bruce and Damien are back in the present time, but all is not right with their world. Literal Yakuza Hurricanes are hitting Gotham (no you’re not having a stroke, you read that last part right) and as Yakuza rain down from the sky and Japan floats above Gotham (instead of, you know, not floating above Gotham) Batman and Robin are tasked with fixing whatever the hell went wrong and finding the Justice League who have all disappeared.
Let’s start with the animation style, which is something I struggled with in the first movie and it’s even worse this time around. The artwork is not as detailed making it even harder to ignore how wooden everything looks. I’ll just come out and say it, I HATE this art style. It’s been popping up over and over again of late (especially in DC Animation), this blend of CG and some sort of cell shaded colouring. I think the first time I saw this was in the remake of anime Berserk and most everyone I know hates how that turned out. This animation style is just not suitable for action/adventure stories or characters that are known for dynamic movements. When the DCAU’s New 52 era had better action sequences you know you’re doing something wrong.
It’s a shame really because the Japanese-inspired versions of characters like Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Jessica Cruz/Green Lantern could’ve been jaw-dropping to behold. Instead, the colours are muted like a faded painting (which to be fair is sort of the point) and the muddy CG backgrounds are flat and uninspired.
If you liked the first movie, I’m sure this will entertain you, but as both anime and a DC animated movie, this one fails more than it succeeds in my book. Clichéd tropes, bland voice acting by everyone not named Joker or Harley Quinn and a horrible animation style that I really hope dies out soon, I found my attention floating in and out as the dialogue droned on. But it’s a Batman movie and even the bad ones can be entertaining, so suit up and check it out for yourself.
Sommer’s Score: 5 out of 10.
Have you seen Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League? How would you rate it? And you can check out more animated adventures of the caped crusader below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More