Feudal Japan meets Batman, a recipe for utterly confused success lies within Batman Ninja. A period of time and a comic book character that, ultimately, have very little in common. It is that oddity, a seemingly inspired pairing that, at the very least, makes Batman Ninja and the animation found within it, somewhat interesting. No matter how Batman and the villains around him are glossed up, the story – the absolute fundamental of very pathetic and basic good against evil – is never changed. Much to the dismay of director Junpei Mizusaki and the animation team at the core of this, the only thing to truly change in Batman Ninja is the makeup of a worn concept that now appeals to those interested in feudal Japan.
Such a crossover provides little for the small focus group of people that loved Seven Samurai but believe it would be improved with Batarang’s. An immediate, brief opening sets the film in motion with some clunky “You think you’ve heard every Batman story? I promise you haven’t.” opening narration. Above all the dreck of trying to pump new life into Batman through location choices and little else, the charm of Batman Ninja, its animation and style, falls flat. Horrendous blurs of genuine detail and dedication to the period are crushed into the background by a CGI-like, cell-shaded disaster. Comic and comical, an adaptation of Batman which sees The Joker (Wataru Takagi) as a master of feudal Japan.
Instead of feeling fresh, those elements of one-to-one comparisons between modern Gotham and the presentation here are too simple, too on the nose. Its creativity is not lacking but its lack of joy in presenting a change-up of scenery is all too obvious. Very clunky animation that, despite its brief focuses on the beauty of its hand-drawn style, fails to give it much presence. These are backdrops, paintings for the rough and stuttering CGI focus. Lord Joker, the big and initial reveal that plays up the obvious back and forth that never really changes shows one of many moments where the mask of Batman Ninja slips. This is a Batman story people have heard before, it would be impossible to change the basic premise of good against evil because an audience revolt would be on the cards. Instead, it is what this period can offer to Batman Ninja that should take focus. It does not because it offers very little.
Even when the animation can prepare itself for the big-budget moments, it becomes an animated Power Rangers incident that relies on the early morning cartoons nostalgia. It will work for those that cannot spot fakery when they see it. Batman Ninja feels more like a forgery of what should work for the genre than anything else. Odd choices are made in the directing booth, from the in-and-out focus of the camera when on the field of battle, the final confrontation made blurry and smoke-riddled as if not being able to see adds any form of tension. Batman Ninja is a shame, more than anything, because it has the potential to play into sound moments of real and unique creativity and trades them all in to make a rudimentary back-and-forth like every other comic story. The surroundings may change, but what lies within is identical to all the rest.
