The first Batman Ninja was a wonderfully silly time, and the upcoming sequel, Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League, looks to be much the same. But I think Warner Bros. Japan might have ruined it entirely for me—by showing me what I can’t have instead.
As part of the promotional push for Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League‘s release next week, Warner Bros. Japan has released a faux opening for Go! Bat Phoenix, a hypothetical ’70s-style DC riff on classics like Science Ninja Team Gatchaman or Voltes V. The short opening, complete with a classic pop ditty for a theme, sees Batman, Red Hood, Nightwing, and Red Robin team up for a suitably ludicrous and dramatic launch sequence combining their various individual vehicles into the Bat Phoenix, or really, the Batwing on steroids.
The vibes are immaculate. The faux faded effect of the film print, the simplified riffs on Batman Ninja‘s designs (Dick’s hair looking like he could’ve just been pulled from a frame of Speed Racer or Captain Tsubasa? Incredible), the dramatic posing mid-launch sequence. It’s a wonderful love letter to classic anime, but it’s also one that just fits Batman as a character so well.
It’s not like he doesn’t have that kind of retro legacy either—not just an obvious parallel to the re-appreciation of the 1966 Batman TV series in recent years, but in how this feels so reminiscent of Jiro Kuwata’s Batman manga, that kind of swashbuckling hero in the vein of the Western golden and silver age interpretations of Batman. There’s no absurdity here contrasting the Dark Knight with a tone and aesthetic that doesn’t fit, because, well… he does. Extremely well!
And now I have to go on living in a reality where Go! Bat Phoenix doesn’t have a three-season run on Max (yet—from our lips, to James Gunn’s ears). At least we’ve got Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League, out digitally starting March 18, to give as a more modern anime interpretation of the Batfamily to tide us over.
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