Announced at NYCC earlier this year, Batman Ninja showcases the best possible outcome for The Dark Knight in anime form. And the new trailer is glorious.
Kazuki Nakashima, the story writer for Kill La Kill (one of my personal favorite anime shows) joins forces with Takashi Okazaki, the character designer for Afro Samurai to deliver an unbelievably intense and radical re-imagining for what could perhaps be the most unique vision for Batman and company in many years. At least when it comes to an animated film, that is.
The trailer above features English subtitles and shows off an incredible design for Batman and the Joker in a world that resembles Afro Samurai (since you know, the same guy who designed Afro Samurai designed Batman Ninja). There are gadgets and modern tech mixed with a feudal Japan and lots of katanas. Lots and lots of katanas.
A must-see for all American comic fans! Announced at New York Comic Con, BATMAN NINJA was just revealed at Japan’s Tokyo Comic Con! Check out the Japanese version of the art and trailer on the official site! https://t.co/mkVxPCIFXr #BatmanNinja pic.twitter.com/TfeMRUTzuw
— DC (@DCComics) December 1, 2017
There trailer below shows some additional footage than the trailer up top, but doesn’t come with any English subtitles. If you pay close attention, you will see Catwoman, Harley Quinn, what looks to be Red Hood, and even Deathstroke.
Both trailers feature the Joker as the primary villain who comes to the realization that Batman and other heroes alike are not able to kill. But as a villain, Joker is not bound by the same constraints and plots to kill The Dark Knight.
This is perhaps one of the raddest iterations of Batman I have ever seen, but that is undoubtedly because I love anime and I love both Afro Samurai and Kill La Kill. Put those genius creators together and you get something special. Throw Batman in the center of it all and that is enough to leave fans speechless. We can not wait to see this later on next year when it releases on DVD and Blu-Ray in 2018.
