I respect what the creative teams behind this lackluster effort were going for. In a perfect world, this would have enabled an American audience to witness Batman, as seen by Asian culture. Unfortunately, despite their lofty intentions, this turkey doesn't fly.
A lot of other reviewers have taken to providing an episode by episode breakdown. I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to get to the meat of the problem with this film.
Batman is a distinctly American creation, not an Asian one. I have no problem with anime and can count several anime titles in my DVD collection. However, as much as I like the style, it doesn't fit the character. Worse, it doesn't fit the voice actor.
Anime is, by nature, hyperkinetic and bombastic. People don't get shot in anime. They blow the f--- up. Bad guys aren't just punched. They go flying through the air and, quite often, through walls on the way to the ground. This style of animation and storytelling can work with some of our comic book characters (I'm thinking the Hulk or the Flash). However, it doesn't work with Batman--especially seeing as how this is supposed to be the hyper realistic Batman Begins version.
The lack of fit between the character and the styles in which he was rendered became even more glaringly obvious when he spoke. Kevin Conroy is the penultimate Batman voice actor, in my opinion. Yet, in this anthology, he was all wrong. This was not his fault, because, according to the commentary track, the animation was already done before he started recording audio. Therefore, a lot of the time, his voice doesn't quite line up with the character's mouth. This is pretty much the same for all the other actors. But, since he's taking on the lead role, it becomes doubly obvious with him. Also his calm, collected, and driving tone, while still the sh--, does not quite flow with the over the top visuals either.
Then there's the art style itself. With respect to the creative teams involved, episodes 1-3 were bad, in both style and writing. On their own, with another property, they more than have merit. But, seeing as how this is a Batman story, they just weren't on track. They made this longstanding pop culture icon appear to be paunchy, then monstrously musclebound, and then, finally, a little less than masculine, with their visuals. With their writing they made him out to be somewhat mentally obtuse, alternately dangerously arrogant, and, once again, a bit less than macho. Thankfully, the latter three episodes were by far better. But, by then, the damage was already done.
A lot of tremendously creative and talented folks invested themselves into this, and I definitely respect their courage for trying something original. But, sometimes, you have to be honest with yourself and admit when things aren't working out. Some things just don't fit, no matter how much you force it.
A lot of other reviewers have taken to providing an episode by episode breakdown. I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to get to the meat of the problem with this film.
Batman is a distinctly American creation, not an Asian one. I have no problem with anime and can count several anime titles in my DVD collection. However, as much as I like the style, it doesn't fit the character. Worse, it doesn't fit the voice actor.
Anime is, by nature, hyperkinetic and bombastic. People don't get shot in anime. They blow the f--- up. Bad guys aren't just punched. They go flying through the air and, quite often, through walls on the way to the ground. This style of animation and storytelling can work with some of our comic book characters (I'm thinking the Hulk or the Flash). However, it doesn't work with Batman--especially seeing as how this is supposed to be the hyper realistic Batman Begins version.
The lack of fit between the character and the styles in which he was rendered became even more glaringly obvious when he spoke. Kevin Conroy is the penultimate Batman voice actor, in my opinion. Yet, in this anthology, he was all wrong. This was not his fault, because, according to the commentary track, the animation was already done before he started recording audio. Therefore, a lot of the time, his voice doesn't quite line up with the character's mouth. This is pretty much the same for all the other actors. But, since he's taking on the lead role, it becomes doubly obvious with him. Also his calm, collected, and driving tone, while still the sh--, does not quite flow with the over the top visuals either.
Then there's the art style itself. With respect to the creative teams involved, episodes 1-3 were bad, in both style and writing. On their own, with another property, they more than have merit. But, seeing as how this is a Batman story, they just weren't on track. They made this longstanding pop culture icon appear to be paunchy, then monstrously musclebound, and then, finally, a little less than masculine, with their visuals. With their writing they made him out to be somewhat mentally obtuse, alternately dangerously arrogant, and, once again, a bit less than macho. Thankfully, the latter three episodes were by far better. But, by then, the damage was already done.
A lot of tremendously creative and talented folks invested themselves into this, and I definitely respect their courage for trying something original. But, sometimes, you have to be honest with yourself and admit when things aren't working out. Some things just don't fit, no matter how much you force it.