[on film]

Worthwhile Anime:
DVD release of Batman: Gothic Knight delivers in the face of the summer blockbuster

By: Anghus Houvouras

Calling me a “fan” of Batman might be something of an understatement. Of all the comic characters from my youth, Batman is the one that gets me most excited when I hear about adapting the story to other mediums. In 1989 I was first in line to see Tim Burton’s Batman at my local theater. I ended up watching it another half dozen times before it left the cineplex. The film hasn’t aged particularly well, though I still view it through nostalgic eyes.

The sequel, Batman Returns, had remained my favorite Batman film until recently. While I enjoyed Christopher Nolan’s relaunch of the film franchise with 2005’s Batman Begins, I felt disconnected from the film and spent untold hours online complaining about how it lacked an emotional center and contained fight scenes that were blurry, shaky and visually confusing. In theory having Batman fight four ninjas should be the cinematic equivalent of an orgy. However, the visual style of the film and the rapid-fire editing left me feeling as though it was a missed opportunity. On top of that, I could spend at least four paragraphs in a fanboy-fueled rage about how awful Katie Holmes’ performance was.

Like everyone else I’m eagerly awaiting Nolan’s follow up, The Dark Knight. We’ve all heard the hype, and the early reviews have been nothing short of spectacular. Last year, Warner Premiere announced a direct-to-DVD project called Batman: Gotham Knight, which would take an Animatrix-like look at Batman through the eyes of some of the best anime directors working today.

Oftentimes, these projects seem more like rushed marketing opportunities, trying to wring a few extra dollars out of the hype for the release of the accompanying film. The Animatrix was an interesting experiment that fell short of its lofty goals. The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury was an entertaining distraction from Aeon Flux creator Peter Cheung. Along the same lines, the less we talk about the Van Helsing direct-to-DVD animated film, the better.

Batman: Gotham Knight redefines just what these projects can become when handled correctly. It is very much in the spirit of traditional anime, infused with the storytelling tradition of the great Batman animated series of the early 1990s. This is truly a work of art that feels less like a marketing opportunity and more like a project that stands on its own in terms of story, style and entertainment value. The storylines for these six intertwining tales come from a handful of talented creators, ranging from screenwriter David S. Goyer, who provides the script for “In Darkness Dwells,” to some of the brightest talent in comics today, including Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets) and Greg Rucka (Batman, Daredevil). Each story has its own visual style, loosely tied together with a story about a series of Gotham citizens murdered in connection with local gangs. Batman investigates the killing, encountering some second-tier villains and underworld figures including Killer Croc, Scarecrow and fan-favorite Deadshot.

Each segment takes a different look at an aspect of Batman. The first piece, “Have I Got A Story for You,” centers on four Gotham youth swapping stories about Batman fighting a mysterious villain. Their perspectives differ, some believing Batman to be made of smoke and shadow, while another believes him to be a life-sized bat creature, and yet another is convinced he wears a suit of armor. Seeing Batman through the perspective of these children gives the animators the chance to play with the Batman mythos as well as the creative latitude to play with the iconic nature of the character.

“Crossfire” gives viewers some more insight to the story itself as Detectives Crispus Allen and Anna Ramirez discuss the vigilante nature of Batman while on a stakeout. Once again, Batman isn’t the center of the story but a presence that affects the entire city. What works so well in Gotham Knight is the storyteller’s ability to deviate from the traditional three-act structure and examine the character from an outside perspective. The entire angle taken on the first two segments very much reminded me of the comic series Shadow of the Bat.

The perspective switches for the next few segments, giving us a look into Bruce’s past with the Woshiyuki Kubooka directed “Working Through Pain,” a flashback that shows Bruce Wayne training before he dons the cape and cowl, intercut with scenes of a wounded Batman trying to survive a gunshot wound. Though Bruce becomes the center of the story, it gives us some back story that could easily have been included in Batman Begins.

“Field Test” gives us a more straightforward story of Batman trying out some new equipment provided by Lucius Fox that generates an electromagnetic pulse able to deflect bullets. The results are mixed at best. Though it gives him added defensive capabilities, it puts those around him at risk, leaving Bruce with a tough decision. The animation style of this piece is my particular favorite, similar to Kia Asymia’s manga style and almost feeling like an homage to his graphic novel Batman: Children of Dreams.

“In Darkness Dwells” will probably be the favorite among fans, an action-packed sequence that takes Batman into the sewers to face off against the mutilated Killer Croc and revealing a villain pulling the strings in the bowels of the city. There’s not a lot of subtext in this segment, but it delivers the over-the-top thrills anime fans enjoy. The final sequence, “Deadshot” reveals the identity of the killer and once again chooses action over pathos, ending the movie on a slightly ambiguous note. Is it perfect? No. But I commend Warner Premiere and DC Comics for taking a risk and allowing a project like this to exist in the first place. There are a number of directions they could have gone with a project like Gotham Knight, but they deviated from the traditional kid-friendly tie-in and gave fans something worth watching.

This is definitely not for kids, with its graphic violence and blood spilt in every segment. I can almost see the mortified parents who pick this title up ignoring the “PG-13” rating and then watching head’s being decapitated and explosions of blood. This isn’t the “my good chum” Batman from Superfriends, and it makes the Bruce Timm/Paul Dini-produced animated series seem tame by comparison.