The Batman, Japanimation style -- with top writing talent and anime directors at the helm!

CRITIQUE

Spike and Mike, those wacky purveyors of the Twisted Animation festivals at the San Diego Comic Con, have a word for the anime genre: landfill. Frankly, I can't disagree with the assessment. Despite a childhood fondness for Astro Boy, as an adult anime bugs the hell out of me. Those pointy-chinned characters with expressionless doll eyes would be annoying even if they were presented in flowing, classical 24-frame animation.

Given that anime poses only move once in 12 frames, the resulting "staccato-vision" only makes the sensation less tolerable. (I won't even go into the needlessly convoluted storylines and their deus ex machina resolutions.) So yeah, I'm admittedly predisposed against anime. But…

The massive writing talent behind Gotham Knight features some of the finest comic book scribes in the business: Greg Rucka (Gotham Central) David Goyer (Blade) Josh Olson (A History of Violence) Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets) Jordan Goldberg (associate producer of The Dark Knight) and Alan Burnett (Batman: The Animated Series).

Initially this line-up quelled the prejudices that I'd been holding. I really thought that Gotham Knight would be much, much more than a simple DTV tie-in to the upcoming feature film that's put the whole world on tenterhooks. If that were only the case. I haven't seen this much wasted talent since the debut of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

Following in the footsteps of WB's The Animatrix, (another movie tie-in; to The Matrix) that failed to mine its inner potential, the general idea of Gotham Knight is to present a number of different perspectives on the character which mesh with the "feature film version" of Batman's world. On almost every count, they disappoint.

"Have I Got a Story For You" opens the DVD with a terrific premise. A bunch of skateboarding 'tweens trade stories of their brushes with the Caped Crusader; each version presenting the Batster in a totally different light (i.e. ephemeral shape-shifter, armored soldier, flying savior, etc.). This chapter would've been terrific except for two little things: it never produces an actual story, and... it was already done over a decade ago (much more cohesively, I might add) as an episode of Batman: The Animated Series!

Rucka's "Crossfire" concerns some Gotham cops who encounter Batman during a prisoner transfer to Arkham Asylum. This episode features some terrible dialogue and a long, pointless battle sequence.

"Field Test" is Goldberg's variation, allowing viewers to experience more of secondary character Lucius Fox (the guy who builds all of Batman's high-tech gear). A moral question is posed regarding an innocent bystander's reaction to said gear. Unfortunately Morgan Freeman wasn't called in to voice to Lucius and the episode yearns for his presence.

"Working Through Pain" is Azzarello's thoughtful, almost elegiac flashback tale regarding Bruce Wayne's Knight-in-training. Its pace and subject step off the usual beaten bat-path, seemingly contradicting some accepted Batman lore. Fairly interesting for those who appreciate such attempts; a crashing bore for those who do not.

Burnet's "Deadshot" and Goyer's "In Darkness Dwells" provide the most satisfying tales; in that they hew closest to the comic book version of Batman and feature a handful of his most notorious villains -- Scarecrow, Killer Croc and of course Deadshot. There's nothing here that hasn't been covered in the pulpy pages many times over, so their defaulted attraction is derived from comparison to the [other] segments. None of this material really interlocks into Nolan's Bat-universe, so the story-orientation of Gotham Knight holds limited appeal.

THE VIDEO

Anime, shmanime! Though over production design is impressive in its detail -- as it very well should be -- Japanimation's severe over-stylization doesn't always suit Bats the way it does in the various book incarnations. Though old Animated Series also contained limited animation, its atmospheric, streamlined art deco surroundings remain the benchmark for cartoon Batmania. (Strangely, T.A.S. founder Bruce Timm is credited as one of the producers here. It appears to be in name only as his personal stamp is absent.) Apparently these directors -- such as Shoujirou Nishimi (Akira) -- are famous in their field and command legions of vociferous fans. Well, so does Barbara Cartland... but that doesn't make her romance novels literature.

THE AUDIO

Gotham Knight is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital, effective and much fuller than expected for a direct to video release. Some of the music is decent, but hardly the kind of blood-pumping iconic melodies that Batman deserves. Fortunately, Kevin Conroy returns as Batman's Voice -- (making me yearn for a more traditional, dignified approach). Additional sound tracks include Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai.

THE EXTRAS

Commentary by Denny O'Neil (former batman writer/editor): Fairly interesting. In the 70s, O'Neil redefined Batman comics (which had long since drifted from their moody roots to light fantasy/outright camp). He and artist Neal Adams are wholly responsible for the Dark Knight as he's known today. If only O'Neil and Adams had a hand in this cartoon!

Trailers: Mighty Aphrodite! A DTV version of Wonder Woman is on the way.

Batman & Me - The Bob Kane Story (documentary): Unlike Superman's creators, blowhard Bob Kane had the foresight to copyright Batman as his own creation. For the rest of his life, he took credit for virtually every major innovation that his far-more-talented ghost writers and artists actually produced. Kane may have been the spark -- but the real torch bearers should be basking in the spotlight (and rewards).

Mirror for the Bat (featurette): Explores the evil denizens of Gotham City.

Four Bonus Episodes from The Animated Series: “Heart of Ice,” “I Am the Night”, “Over the Edge,” and “Legends of the Dark Knight.” Sad, but these 'toons reveal all the shortcomings of the new material.

FINAL THOUGHT