Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League
review by Bobby Blakey
The DC animated universe continues to deliver some amazing films with one of the most unique being the 2018 film Batman Ninja that took an anime approach of throwing the Dark Knight into feudal Japan. Now they are returning the Japanese themed world for the follow up Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League directed by Jumpei Mizusaki and Shinji Takagi from a screenplay by Kazuki Nakashima, with character design by Takashi Okazaki and music by Yugo Kanno.
Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League follows The Batman Family who has returned to present-day Gotham City after traveling back to the warring states period and saving history from being altered in the previous film, Batman Ninja. The next day, they witness a startling event – the Japanese island has disappeared, and a giant island called “Hinomoto” appears in the sky over Gotham City. Soon, countless Yakuza descend from the sky and attack the people of Gotham City. And, the Justice League has disappeared. Detecting a strange energy reaction in the sky, Batman heads for Hinomoto to find its underlying cause. There, the Dark Knight finds a world where the Yakuza war with each other, and brutality reigns without honor or humanity. At the top of the world is the Yakuza League, a group of superpowered individuals, who look suspiciously like the Justice League. The Yakuza League is invading Gotham and, to save the city, Batman and his allies are in for the fight of their lives!
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From the first film alone, I was already sold just in the theme and art style, but admit I was a bit worried that it wouldn’t live up to the hype I created in my own mind from the first film. How was it going to repeat the same idea without it just feeling redundant and offering something fresh. This next chapter does the smart thing of continuing using the fallout from the
previous entry and offering up a whole new world because of it. This not only gets us back to a similar direction but lets them do all new things with the story and these characters pulled into the story. If I was to have a complaint it is that I am not a big fan of Batman’s voice tone here. The performance itself is fine, but just the sound was off for me for some reason.
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I have been a fan of the Elseworld’s DC Universe and Batman Ninja fully embraced it while still telling a story that could have been something that happens in the standard continuity. This latest chapter does the same but turning the Justice League into a new group of villains of sorts but with the Japanese twist. Imagine the Injustice Gang idea and slap some Japanese and Yakuza flare on it and you have the direction of these iconic characters. Doing this new timeline also allows them to keep the Bat-family of characters in their modern attires and timeline while still infusing that Japanese vibe.
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Once again, the animation is insanely awesome, bringing so many familiar elements of the Manga world to the forefront while still being something fresh and new. The character designs are amazing and the attention to detail to bring the full Japanese epic to life is insane. Every character is recognizable but still stands out as something new. It’s interesting to note that there is a light art difference to some of the characters in the animation style that helps to differentiate between universes in a cool way. Despite the big superhero battles and over the top action, this one felt more toned down from the Mech chaos fun of the previous film’s finale.
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This film won’t necessarily connect with everyone, especially the change in animation at one point, but it is a must see for fans of the Dark Knight. I hope they keep diving into this mythology or at least the other Elseworld’s stories to keep things fresh and unique.
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​In addition to the film, this release offers bonus content including featurettes taking fans behind bringing this next chapter to life. Join the fight in the past and grab your copy of Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League available now on digital, 4K, Blu-ray and DVD from Warner Bros Discovery Home Entertainment.