Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League Review

DC villains aren’t known for the practicality of their evil schemes: laughing fish, stealing worldly by twos, leaving down a hint successful the signifier of a riddle, things of that nature. But it says thing astir the sensibility of Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League that, erstwhile confronted with the villainous crippled of the main atrocious feline (which involves firing gangsters into the aerial with a elephantine gun), a kidnapped Damian Wayne quips, “This is truthful dumb. You guys are retired of your damn minds.” You whitethorn perceive “Batman warring yakuza” and deliberation it sounds similar a badass transgression drama, but this is not that. And it’s each the amended for it.

Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League is simply a gleeful tribute to American comic publication nonsense and – this is meant with thing but affection – anserine anime tropes, adjacent much than its 2018 predecessor, successful which the Bat-Family went backmost successful clip to feudal Japan and had to combat aggregate robotic castles fused unneurotic into a elephantine Joker mech. There’s an impromptu philharmonic fig truthful 1 quality tin explicate her emotions, 1 leader gets a Super Sentai-esque suit upgrade that’s ne'er explained, and the trusty Batwing is replaced with a needlessly complicated, multi-vehicle combiner happening that’s introduced successful a genuinely unthinkable 2D-animated homage to Super Robot cartoons similar Voltron.

That series successful peculiar whitethorn beryllium the standout infinitesimal of Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League, which revolves astir the Dark Knight battling evil transgression versions of his closest friends. Presumably owed to the time-wrecking events of the erstwhile Batman Ninja movie, Japan has disappeared from the Earth and reappeared floating successful the entity supra Gotham City. Batman needs a mode to alert up to it, truthful Alfred introduces… not the caller Bat Phoenix combiner conveyance itself, but an OVA astir however chill the Bat Phoenix is. The full lengthy start-up series of everyone being carried to their spot by the benignant of elephantine tubes that anime fans person seen countless times isn’t truly happening wrong Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League. It’s conscionable Alfred saying “Look astatine this video I made.” As Damian says: It’s truthful dumb, but it’s besides precise fun.

Nobody progressive successful this task seems to person taken immoderate portion of it peculiarly seriously, but they bash play it arsenic consecutive arsenic they would if this were a much mean Batman communicative – which makes it each the much entertaining. It’s a movie that starts with the Gotham constabulary unit warring disconnected a “Yakuza Hurricane” (think Sharknado, but with gangsters), and everyone acts similar that’s a mean thing. Batman Ninja takes a portion to get goofy, leaving its intended code a small unclear. Its sequel doesn’t fuss checking to spot if you’re successful connected the joke. You either are oregon you aren’t, and if you are, you’re successful for rather a ride.

Comedy aside, this is besides an enactment movie, and a beauteous bully 1 astatine that. Granted, Batman or the Bat-Family warring the Justice League is simply a happening we’ve seen many, galore times now, but there’s immoderate added extent present owed to the information that the Yakuza League isn’t needfully evil. Batman doesn’t privation to termination oregon adjacent imprison them, helium wants to effort and prevention their souls, which ties successful with the movie’s repeated references to “ninkyō,” oregon the expected codification of grant among yakuza.

The quality designs aren’t rather arsenic melodramatic arsenic the samurai armor and katanas of Batman Ninja (a present-day mounting volition bash that), but the eponymous Yakuza League members each propulsion from a somewhat antithetic aesthetic, and they’re each great. The yakuza Superman wears ceremonial bluish robes and has a reddish overgarment implicit his shoulders (to reflector his cape, of course), and helium completes the look with large aviator sunglasses to marque it wide that he’s a gangster. It whitethorn beryllium 1 of the champion “evil Superman” looks ever. Going with the Jessica Cruz mentation of Green Lantern alternatively than the amended known Hal Jordan oregon John Stewart opens up immoderate absorbing costuming avenues, too. She wears layers of greenish robes with immoderate benignant of maniacal-looking teddy carnivore strapped to her back, but the standout diagnostic is her hair, which is held up with pins that look similar the Green Lantern emblem and were intelligibly conjured by her powerfulness ring. It’s a thoughtful plan that takes her powers and property into account.

If there’s thing antagonistic to accidental astir Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League, it’s that it doesn’t person a full batch to connection beyond the face-off promised successful the title. It’s junk food, similar a batch of superhero worldly and a batch of anime, but it’s delicious and tooth-meltingly saccharine arsenic acold arsenic junk nutrient goes. And astatine a clip erstwhile fashionable civilization is dominated by superheroes, concepts similar this 1 are somewhat rare. The assemblage for a movie with Batman successful it is truthful large that a little superior outing similar this runs the hazard of alienating viewers who expect thing large and important from the Caped Crusader. It’s a affirmative motion that there’s inactive abstraction for silly amusive successful this fictional universe.

Case successful point: This movie doesn’t adjacent truly attraction astir Batman Ninja canon. The antecedently defeated Joker people appears successful Yakuza League, but it’s conscionable to assistance get Batman retired of a scrape truthful they tin someday combat each different again later. Batman’s reaction? “That’s dumb.” Everything’s a small dumb successful this movie, but Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League is astir however overmuch amusive it tin beryllium erstwhile everything is simply a small dumb.