Hello, my friends. 2021 may not have arrived with inhuman-like swiftness due to all of the horrid things that the previous year has thrown at us, but it’s time that we take our lessons learned from the past and start our way back up to the regular speed that we’re accustomed to within regular life. As such, I’ve decided to give the Dark Knight a much-deserved return to these hallowed halls and allow myself to dive into a tale that takes place outside of the regular boundaries of both the long-running DC Universe Animated Original Movie line, as well as his modern-based municipality. On that note, we’ll be seeing the Caped Crusader and company go on a Japan-sized adventure within a tale called…
Originally premiering at WonderCon on March 24, 2018, it would eventually get its Digital Download release on April 24 before coming out for DVD & Blu-Ray on May 8. Eventually, it came out in Japan on June 15. For the purpose of this Junpei Mizusaki-directed flick, I’ll only be covering the English dub, just like when I reviewed the entire “Marvel Anime” line. With all of that out of the way, let us travel towards the perils that awaits us.
We open at Arkham Asylum as a familiar Feline Fatale narrates about how we haven’t seen a Dark Knight story like this before. From there, it shifts over to Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman (voiced by Roger Craig Smith) who’s attempting to stop Gorilla Grodd (voiced by Fred Tatasciore) from setting his mechanical “experiment” into motion. After getting tossed out, Batman notices Selina Kyle a.k.a. Catwoman (voiced by Grey DeLisle-Griffin) making her way inside. Suddenly, Grodd’s machine activates as the whole facility gets encased within a massive ball of energy. He attempts to make his way back while the building gets warped around him before he uses his grappling hook. Unfortunately, he’s too late to stop the machine’s machinations as he and the entire asylum completely vanishes.
He then suddenly finds himself in a quaint village as he soon discovers a piece of parchment at his feet, taking notice of the Japanese text on it as well as his facial image. Suddenly, he’s approached by a trio of samurais wearing familiar face masks who attempt to attack him.
Fortunately, he easily defeats them before he holds the last guy up at blade point and orders him to explain himself. After learning that they were ordered by their master “to find the man dressed as a bat” and execute him, Batman knocks him out after he notices several more familiar samurais approaching. As such, he uses a smoke pellet and takes out his grappling hook before he realizes that there aren’t any tall-enough structures nearby for him to aim at before he simply slinks away.
Following the opening title sequence, we shift to a short time later as Batman is outside of the main village. He attempts to access his Bat Computer system, only to discover that there’s no signal as he realizes that he’s in Ancient Japan. By the time he gets to the main pagoda, night has fallen as he reaches the rooftop before his automated cowl zooms in on a familiar figure talking with a samurai, where he discovers that it’s the Joker (voiced by Tony Hale). Suddenly, he’s discreetly approached by the genuine article before finding out that Harley Quinn (voiced by Tara Strong) was in disguise.
Batman then demands an explanation for what his foe is up to. Joker explains that the citizens have called him Diruku Tin Mao a.k.a. the Demon King. Not only that, but he’s become a Japanese Lord and it’s all because of Grodd’s machine that he wound up in this position. From there, he attacks with his acid-shooting flower as Batman dodges it before they take their fight into the nearby forest. After a brief scuffle, Joker takes out some razor-tipped fans and throws them at the Dark Knight, who manages to evade the numerous strikes while the projectiles are only able to cut down several trees.
From there, Harley and two of his fellow samurais join him in order to provide him with a seat and some water. Afterwards, Batman asks him what he’s going to do now that he’s dodged every one of his lethal fans. Soon enough, he finds himself surrounded by seven of Joker’s samurais. Fortunately, he’s able to fend one off before firing his grappling hook into another goon, where he proceeds to swing him into the rest of the armored guards. Afterwards, he’s able to make his escape. Harley then asks Joker if they should pursue their foe, to which he says that there’s no rush since they have their “people”, in addition to “all the time in the world”.
Meanwhile, Batman is able to hide while Joker’s group of samurai head out to find him. Afterwards, Bruce is met upon by Catwoman. From there, he learns that she also arrived in this time period via Grodd’s machine two years ago. With Batman puzzled as to how that’s even possible, he decides to look over some information that he managed to acquire prior to the time jump. As such, he and Selina learn that Grodd had gathered the Joker as well as a few other notable felons in order to show them his newest machine.
Not only that, but a few of Batman’s familiar allies were there as well. From there, Grodd unveils his Quake Engine, which was intended to help him conquer all of time and space. Shortly after the Dark Knight intervened, the security footage cuts out due to an explosion caused by Grodd’s machine. Just as it gets to Batman taking on Grodd, the file suddenly ends as he realizes that the Joker managed to benefit from this event.
As they take their leave, he wonders why he and Selina had a two-year difference in arrival if they were both at Arkham Asylum. He then deduces that because of Grodd’s action towards him, it affected Bruce’s own time jump just enough for him to arrive later than everyone else. From there, he asks Catwoman why she was at Arkham at that moment. She explains that she followed Grodd in order to learn what he was up to and even steal whatever the fiend had. She then says that because the gathered criminals wound up in this time period as well, they managed to usurp the various “Sengoku Daimyos” in order to take control over Japan’s numerous regions. Batman realizes that this was when the country was in “a feudal era of warring states”. From there, Selina explains that each one of his fiends is attempting “to conquer and unify Japan” under their own rule. Oswald Cobblepot a.k.a. Penguin (voiced by Tom Kenny) is in charge of Kai and is feuding against Echigo’s ruler: Pamela Isley a.k.a. Poison Ivy (also voiced by Tara Strong). Over in Natsu, that area is under the might of Slade Wilson a.k.a. Deathstroke The Terminator (also voiced by Fred Tatasciore). Finally, Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two-Face (voiced by Eric Bauza) is in charge of Omie and has also become Joker’s “vassal”.
However, Joker and Harley are the ones who’re the furthest along in their attempt to unite Japan under their rule. With different villainous factions attempting to rewrite history under their iron fists, Batman says that they must track down Grodd. Catwoman says that she hasn’t seen the intelligent gorilla, but she and Bruce will have a better shot of finding him if they team up. As such, they agree that they must get into Joker’s tower since it’s where the Quake Engine is being held.
As dawn breaks upon the land, Selina has managed to disguise Bruce as a missionary as she explains that several Christian missionaries had flocked to Japan during this time period. They make their way towards an industrial area within Joker’s territory as Batman discovers that coal has been mined to power his operation. Later, he brings up the notion that their foe is already altering history since the country’s industrial revolution didn’t occur until much later (the 19th Century, or 1868 to be exact during the Meiji era), to which she says that the Joker is doing this in order to become a Shogun. Just as Bruce says that he’ll need some weapons in order to stop the fiendish clown and the rest of the familiar foes, he’s then offered some tea. Suddenly, he realizes that it’s his butler Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by Adam Croasdell). After letting Batman know that this meet-up was Selina’s idea, Alfred presents him with his makeshift Bat Cave as it’s revealed that the Batmobile survived the time jump. Catwoman explains to Bruce that because Pennyworth was waiting within the famed vehicle when Grodd’s Quake Engine went off, they fortunately came across each other and knew that Batman would ultimately catch up to them.
Suddenly, Bruce hears a screeching sound as he dives for cover alongside Alfred. It turns out that Joker’s samurai squad managed to discover the hideout and are pelting it with cannonballs. Fortunately, our main group survived the surprise assault as Batman tells Catwoman to keep Alfred safe while he goes after the Joker. From there, he drives the Batmobile through the water and easily reaches the other side where he takes out Joker’s men before he heads out towards his foe.
Later, Harley warns the Joker that Batman is approaching within his signature car. As such, he’s easily making his way through their defenses, as neither the gunmen nor a series of spikes are able to remotely stop the Dark Knight.
With the Caped Crusader closing in, Joker tells Harley to “activate Arkham Castle”. From there, she summons a fellow samurai who presents them with a familiar device.
Just as Batman begins to arrive, he suddenly sees Arkham Castle coming to life as it grows some mechanical arms. Even as she views this from afar alongside Alfred, Catwoman is perplexed by what she’s seeing.
Joker then controls his mechanized hideout into throwing some massive shurikens. Even though Batman manages to weave around them and begins to make his way inside, the Clown Prince of Crime manages to pick up the Batmobile within his mechanical grasp and begins to crush it.
Fortunately, the Dark Knight manages to escape within a pod that transforms into a Batwing before zooming back around to open fire on Arkham Castle. Unfortunately, the Joker counters his attack by using a pair of retractable poles to pierce the plane’s wings.
Thankfully, the Caped Crusader manages to get out again thanks to the last configuration which turns out to be the Bat-Cycle. From there, he drives up the arm and storms into the castle as he tells his foe to stand down. However, the Joker takes out a comically sized switch and diverts our hero’s attention towards a helpless woman & her child who’re in danger of being crushed by his mechanized hand. As such, Batman decides to be the hero and attempts to save the weary mother & her kid.
Suddenly, he’s met upon by a massive sumo wrestler who turns out to be Bane (voiced by Kenta Miyake, who’s one of three actors to be in both the Japanese and English dub of this film), as he catches the Bat-Cycle and throws it with our hero on it across the yard. Fortunately, he safely lands upright before he drives towards the muscle-bound fiend. Along the way, the Bat-Cycle transforms itself around the Caped Crusader and helps him become Armored Batman. From there, a brief struggle ensues before Bane gets thrown into a tree and ends up knocked out.
Afterwards, Armored Batman manages to reach the woman in time and hold up the mechanized hand long enough for her to make it to safety. Unfortunately, his mechanized suit doesn’t have enough power to hold up the opposing palm for much longer. As such, Batman gets ejected from it before he’s forced to crawl away in the nick of time.
However, he’s soon met upon by the damsel in distress who turned out to be a disguised Harley Quinn as she smacks him with her mallet. Afterwards, the Joker slides down while his samurai squad surrounds the weakened Dark Knight as he and Harley mock him for falling for his noble nature. He then taunts our hero with the fact that he has no more modern-day gadgets to use and that he doesn’t have any allies to help him out of this jam. Suddenly, Quinn warns him of something else approaching them, which turns out to be a swarm of bats as they proceed to disorient the fiends. Not only that, but Harley notices some “Ninja Batmen” that’ve suddenly appeared and are protecting our hero. From there, they help the Caped Crusader escape as they vanish just as quickly as they arrived.
Later, Batman is on a special boat as he manages to reunite with Dick Grayson a.k.a. Nightwing (also voiced by Adam Croasdell) and Tim Drake a.k.a. Red Robin (voiced by Batman Beyond himself, Will Friedle). They explain that not only have they made the time jump to Ancient Japan, but Red Hood and Robin have done so as well. For now, Red Hood is away on a recon mission in order to learn what’s going down within the country’s feudal states. As for Robin, he’s meeting up with Alfred & Catwoman in order to bring them onto their team. From there, Batman gets introduced to Eian (voiced by Matthew Yang King), who’s the leader of his own ninja team called the Bat Clan of Hida. Eian goes on to explain that his group is motivated by a prophecy that foretells of “a foreign ninja wearing the mask of a bat” who’ll “restore order” to Japan. Now, Batman is being looked upon as the “great shinobi from across the sea of time” who’ll help them fulfill this grand destiny.
Later, Batman is overlooking the ninja clan’s base alongside his familiar allies. He tells them that his vehicles have been destroyed by the Joker as he wonders how they’ll been able to “regain the advantage”. Afterwards, they’re met upon by Damian Wayne a.k.a. Robin (voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) who informs the Dark Knight that his monkey friend named Monkichi (voiced by Anna Mugiho) has a message that came “from someone in the mountain”. As such, Bruce reads it and discovers that Grodd has requested a conversation with him.
As night falls, Grodd is relaxing in a hot spring with several monkeys before he’s met upon by Batman who demands to know why his primal foe invented the Quake Engine in the first place. He explains that the gathered criminals of Gotham were originally going to be used as unknowing guinea pigs and that he was going to scatter them across the time stream in order for him to have an easier time conquering the city. However, Batman’s interference has caused them all to wind up within Ancient Japan. Grodd then says that they must team up in order to make sure that they get back to their original time period. As such, Batman agrees and says that he’ll lure the Joker out of hiding.
Sometime later, Grodd is out on the water before he’s met upon by a massive boat that’s under the control of the Joker and Harley. As he demands for Batman’s location, he soon finds the Dark Knight emerging from his disguise while the Bat Clan reveals themselves to have surrounded their vessel. However, the Joker was anticipating this maneuver as his samurai pop up and fire away at Batman’s backup, with also Harley joining them as she even uses a grenade as well.
Afterwards, Joker takes out a massive Gatling gun and opens fire at Batman and Grodd. Fortunately, they somehow miss as the Bat Clan’s boat reveals itself and rams into Joker’s vessel.
From there, Eian leads his clan as they board the ship, alongside Robin, Red Robin and Nightwing. Harley wonders how the ninjas are still alive, to which it’s reveled that her group attacked decoys.
From there, Catwoman shows up and proceeds to fight Quinn. Harley tries to shoot her, but Selina manages to dodge the opposing gunfire until her foe runs out of bullets. Eventually, Kyle manages to get the best of her.
Meanwhile, Nightwing, Robin & Red Robin manage to engage the opposing samurai and take them down.
Also, Grodd makes his way towards the Joker before Batman surrounds his foe and attacks him. From there, Grodd delivers a fierce uppercut that sends the Joker flying into the air before Batman catches him within his line and pulls him back down onto the boat.
Later, Joker’s entire armada has been defeated. He then warns Batman that Grodd could betray him before he gets gagged. As if on cue, the intelligent gorilla thanks the Dark Knight for his help before he takes out a familiar headset and attempts to control the ninja clan into attacking our heroes. Fortunately, Eian explains that the entire group has been trained to prevent outside forces from compromising their self-control over body and mind. However, Grodd soon reveals his back-up plan.
Suddenly, a barrage of cannonballs appears and smash into the ship as they soon discover that it came from a nearby vessel under the control of Two-Face. With Grodd having teamed up with the fiend, he manages to leap towards his comrade’s boat. Unfortunately, our heroes are unable to follow due to the constant cannonball attacks upon the Joker’s ship, as well as their own vessel.
Meanwhile, Grodd and Two-Face are met upon by Catwoman. Not only that, but she has a particular device that she managed to swipe from Harley during their scuffle. Because it’s a key component to the Quake Engine, she’s willing to team up with him in order to get back to their time period. Back aboard the Joker’s ship, Batman tells his comrades that they must evacuate at once. Suddenly, he notices that Joker and Harley have escaped their bonds.
From there, they get his attention from up on the mast with a massive explosive barrel in their grasp. Red Robin tells him that they have to go, but Batman tells him to leave with the rest of the team and that he’s staying put in order to make sure that they don’t escape. However, Joker has Harley light up the potentially dangerous barrel before kicking it off. From there, it tumbles towards the flaming ship and explodes on impact as Batman gets caught in the blast.
Meanwhile, Two-Face, Grodd and Catwoman see the Joker’s boat blow up and sink towards a fiery demise, unaware of the swarm of bats that’re adjacent to the scene.
We then cut to the next day as the Penguin, Poison Ivy, Deathstroke and Two-Face oversee the renovations upon their temples. Over at Arkham Castle (which is also undergoing its own renovations), Grodd tells a fellow samurai to inform the four Damiyos that they’ll engage in a grand battle over at Jigokukohara, or the “Field of Hell”, for the right to see who’ll become the rightful Shogun.
Afterwards, Catwoman asks him when they’ll be returning to their original time period. Grodd assures her that it’ll be soon enough, since they need to reclaim three power converters from Oswald, Pamela and Slade in order for his Quake Engine to be properly powered. From there, the scene ends with Grodd disposing a banana peel into a vase.
We then shift over to the Bat Clan’s headquarters as Bruce finally wakes up after being out for the past two days. He then sees a new bat mask as Alfred informs him that Eian brought it into his room for him to ultimately wear, since it’s “the legendary mask of the Bat Clan”.
Later, a fully recovered Batman makes his way to the nearby cliff as he sees Alfred conversing with two fellow ninjas. From there, he talks to his familiar allies about how the past events saw him lose both his modern-day vehicles and weapons, thus forcing him into a desperate alliance with Grodd, only for him to be taking advantage of. As a result, they lost some of their fellow ninjas. Despite that, the clan still looks up to him as their “Master”. When Nightwing asks him what he’ll do next, Batman assures them that he’s still going to fight back, especially since he has everything he needs to pull through: his mind, body, spirit and the supportive help of his present Bat Family. From there, he removes his damaged cowl and tosses it over the cliff.
At that moment, the sun rises upon the land as Bruce dons his new mask and tells his comrades that they’ll fully adjust to “this time and place” in order to finally prevail over their enemy. He promises to preserve the clan’s faith in him and that they’ll “master the ways of the ninja”. After some proper preparation, he’ll look to “turn their legend into reality”.
From there, the Bat Family proceed to set their operation in motion. It starts off with Nightwing informing Batman of the clan’s effective ninja techniques. As such, they should be able to combine the group’s martial arts prowess with their own “modern innovations and combat” for a style that’ll surprise Grodd. Later, Red Robin tells Bruce that they’ll out-maneuver their foes, should they be attacked by their own fortresses. Tim assures him that the clan has their own blacksmiths with an outstanding level of craftsmanship that places their own weapons precision over what’s normally available back in the present. Sometime afterwards, Batman is met upon by Alfred who lets him know that he’ll craft a special “high protein” diet out of the exceptionally good wild game and produce at their disposal. Afterwards, Robin returns and tells Bruce that Monkichi has a new message for them. Specifically, it’s about Red Hood finding their targets. As such, Batman heads out to rendezvous.
Later, Jason Todd a.k.a. Red Hood (also voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) arrives at a farm out in the country and asks the couple there if he could have some water to drink. With the pair being revealed as Joker and Harley, they actually offer to help him out as she kindly goes to get him a drink.
Suddenly, Red Hood grabs Quinn and threatens to break her arm as the Joker tearfully begs him to stop before he’s forced to reveal his face to him. However, he admits that he doesn’t know why he’s being referred to as Joker. From there, Jason shoves Harley onto the ground as the befuddled Clown Prince of Crime rushes over to comfort her. Red Hood then says that he doesn’t buy their attempt to pass themselves off as farmers before he proceeds to assault them.
Despite their beating, the Joker is still befuddled by this supposed mistaken identity. As such, Jason places his gun and aims it at point-blank range towards his foe’s head. Suddenly, a shot was fired, but it ended up missing its target. It turns out that Batman arrived in time to intervene as he confirms Joker & Harley’s location due to them being reported as “foreign farmers in the area”.
Later on, he asks the Joker if he remembers anything, to which he says that neither he nor Harley are able to recall their own pasts. Not only that, but they came to this mountainous area in order for them “to live a peaceful life”. Red Hood tells Batman that he shouldn’t believe this lie, but Bruce feels convinced by the Joker’s confession. From there, he tells out heroic duo that working on this farm with his lady offers a feeling of personal cleansing. Suddenly, Harley tells him that a sprout has grown on their land. Despite Jason’s claim, Batman assures him that even though he’s been tricked by them in the past, they don’t have the same deceitfulness within their eyes.
Meanwhile, Joker and Harley take joy in the fact that they managed to grow a simple sprout upon their land. From there, Bruce assures Red Hood that they lost their memories as a result of the boat explosion, thus they’re no longer a threat. As they head out, Wayne informs Todd that they’ll eventually take them back to their time period but will keep an observational eye on the pair for now. From there, the scene ends with the sprout blossoming into a flower and spreading its seeds out towards them. However, their pleasant giggles slowly turn into familiar and devious laughs.
One month later, the renovations to Arkham Castle have finished. As such, Grodd and Catwoman are ready to reclaim the power convertors for the Quake Engine. From there, they set their plan into motion as Arkham Castle shifts into its mobile form and heads out.
Meanwhile, the rest of the devious Damiyos have also begun to mobilize. With the Penguin, he proceeds to get his Trojan Birdman Castle moving.
Over with Poison Ivy, she refuses to let her plant-based paradise be conquered by her male adversaries. As such, she mobilizes her Juroku Plant Poison Castle off towards the battlefield.
At that moment, Deathstroke decides to head out in order to become “the most powerful warlord in Japan” as his Gakuju Sharaso Castle begins its mechanical march.
Finally, Two-Face also begins his trek towards the Field of Hell as the Fudo Omote Two-Face Castle proceeds on its course.
Over at the Bat Clan’s headquarters, the distant rumbles are felt as Batman and company meditate in preparation for the big battle ahead. After he suits up, Bruce unveils their vast arsenal for his comrades to use. From there, he tells his Bat Family that they’ll stand a fighting chance if they’re able to infiltrate the gigantic machines and take out the fiends operating within each of them. As such, he’s ready to fully embrace the clan’s prophecy. From there, all five of them head out with Eian and their fellow ninjas as Wayne takes on the role of “Sengoku Batman”.
Meanwhile over at Jigokukohara, the feudal Damiyos proceed to clash with each other. After withstanding Deathstroke’s cannon blasts, Penguin proceeds to charge right at Poison Ivy. Following a brief struggle, Oswald transforms his Trojan Birdman Castle into a fighter robot. Pamela responds by having her Juroku Plant Poison Castle do the same before they resume their tussle.
Deathstroke decides to join the transforming robot fun as he makes Gakuju Sharaso Castle into a multi-barreled machine before he fires away at them. Suddenly, he’s approached by Grodd and his Arkham Castle. From there, Two-Face arrives within his Fudo Omote Two-Face Castle as he proceeds to stand between them.
After withstanding the opposing barrage, he transforms his mobile palace before he proceeds to tangle with Deathstroke. During this, Batman and company arrive to see this unexpected battle.
Suddenly, an opposing armada shows up in front of them. Fortunately, Eian offers to take their fellow ninjas into battle against them. However, Red Hood notices that more of Grodd’s forces are approaching them from behind.
With Arkham Castle in his sights and a steep cliff in front of them, Batman decides to lead the charge as he and his Bat Family ride down towards the opposing fortress.
Meanwhile, Two-Face and his castle continue to withstand Deathstroke’s firepower as Grodd appreciates his loyalty to him. Just as his mobile fortress prepares its multishot bow-and-arrow, Harvey’s fateful coin flip has him ultimately choosing to turn on him as he redirects his aim. However, Grodd counters as Arkham Castle grabs his traitorous partner’s robot’s face.
Back with Batman and company, they deicide to take to the air as they soar upon their built-in Bat-Gliders and make their way towards their target. During this, Grodd’s mobile fortress proceeds to throw Two-Face’s robotized castle as our heroes manage to avoid it before it slams right into Deathstroke’s roving citadel.
Afterwards, Grodd decides to pull this off again as Arkham Castle grabs both opposing robots and tosses them at Penguin and Poison Ivy, who wind up on the receiving end.
He then gets his mobile fortress into position above the fallen Damiyos before he unveils a hidden console set.
With all four foes now under his mind control, he then sets his ultimate plan into motion.
As he places certain pieces onto his console, the other transformed robots get into position as Grodd explains to Catwoman that he manipulated those fiends into creating their fortresses. As such, they were unaware that their buildings were actually “pieces in a larger puzzle”. Just as Selina says that she’s fine with this scheme serving as their ticket back to their time period, Grodd reveals that he has no intention of honoring this request as he intends to conquer Japan. From there, he’ll turn the whole country “into a kingdom of monkeys” and ultimately “rewrite the history of the world”. With the other four mechanized castles put into place, he prepares to lay down the final piece to his combiner plan.
Suddenly, a ball comes in with a recorded laugh as a familiar flower pops up and emits its toxic gas, causing Selina and Grodd to keel over. From there, a hot air balloon arrives as Joker and Harley announce their restored return.
As Batman and company are surprised to see this devious duo back in action, they proceed to infiltrate Arkham Castle as Joker tells Grodd that he intends on paying him back for his actions over on the lake. Harley then informs Catwoman & Grodd that their paralysis is only temporary before Joker announces his intention on taking control over Grodd’s plan.
Afterwards, Batman and company notice Selina & Grodd getting tossed out as they slide down the retractable blowout before they’re forced to hang on for dear life. Bruce and his comrades spring into action before Catwoman & Grodd proceed to begin their death plummet. Fortunately, Batman, Robin, Nightwing and Red Robin manage to use their ropes to catch Grodd while Red Hood was able to save Selina.
After touching ground, Batman checks up on the would-be victims as Catwoman confidently confirms her well-being. Back inside Arkham Castle, Joker and Harley prepare to take advantage of the mind controlled Damiyos and combine their mobile fortresses together.
From there, all five mechanized buildings proceed to join together and become one massive robot. With the hot air balloon serving as the final facial cherry on top, the main mechanized being gets formed as Batman and company see the towering figure that stands between them and their way back to their time period.
For his first act, Joker proceeds to unleash the Super Robot’s massive firepower as our heroes are forced to fall back. Suddenly, one shot landed ahead of them as the resulting shockwave nearly sends Monkichi flying. Fortunately, Robin is able to save his friendly primate. Unfortunately, a massive boulder flies in and is about to crush them. Fortunately, Grodd uses his remaining strength to hold it back and save them.
Despite having our heroes on the ropes, Joker decides to take a break by having a nap. Meanwhile, our heroes are hiding out as Grodd lies wounded from the paralyzing gas and the boulder. He then offers his flute to Batman and says that it’ll allow him to control his monkey armada in order to fight back against their common foe. However, the Dark Knight remembers his act of betrayal and refuses. Grodd then says he owes him for saving his life and he promises not to backstab him again. As such, Batman ultimately takes the flute as Robin offers to be the one who uses it since he and Monkichi know how to use it.
Later, Joker gets broken out of his slumber as his radar detects a massively sized group approaching them. It turns out to be millions of armored monkeys that were summoned by Damian and Monkichi.
The numerous primates proceed to make their way onto the massive robot with their intent to get inside. As such, Joker has his mechanized figure move around in order to shake them off and halt their attempt.
As our heroes are initially bummed by this setback, they’re then approached by Monmi (voiced by Juri Nagatsuma) as Monkichi gives Robin an idea.
From there, they proceed to give a new command upon the flute as the monkey armada unite themselves and form one giant monkey being. Joker fires a missile at them, but the unified primates are able to work together and allow the projectile to safely pass through their formed being’s head. Afterwards, the unified monkey proceeds to punch the giant robot with enough force to knock it over.
Batman and the Bat Family then proceed to dash towards the fallen mechanized figure as Robin leaves Monkichi & Monmi in charge of the flute. Catwoman is also able to join our group as Bruce forgives her double-crossing act.
However, Joker manages to recover as his Super Robot picks itself up. Fortunately, the monkey armada offers to help Batman and his comrades.
Joker notices this as he tells Harley to take care of their foes. As such, he aims the robot’s flamethrower cannon at them and unleashes a scorching shot. While the monkeys manage to shield them, they also begin to lose several of their kind within the intense heat and piercing flames.
Suddenly, a massive swarm of bats arrive to extinguish the blaze. Not only that, but Eian and his fellow ninjas have returned from their battle against the opposing forces. From there, the bats start to swarm the robot as Joker attempts to shoo them away.
Afterwards, they come together to form a massive bat symbol before merging with the unified monkey armada as they form a literal figure of Batman that Eian recognizes as the Batgod.
Harley attempts to incinerate the newly formed figure, but it manages to withstand its ground and protect Batman, as well as his comrades.
From there, both the Batgod and the Super Robot wind themselves up in order to deliver a massive punch. Though their fists collide, Batman’s construct is able to dish out a far-more fierce strike as it shatters the opposing fist before hitting the robot’s balloon face. The impact forces Joker up against the wall, where he finds himself pinned there by a series of Bat Daggers. Afterwards, Batman makes his way inside the robot as he intends to finish this confrontation.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Bat Family also managed to infiltrate the mechanical being. Nightwing proceeds to confront the Penguin, while Red Hood decides to duel with Deathstroke.
Elsewhere, Red Robin is about to clash with Two-Face, while Robin gets eager to tussle with Poison Ivy.
Back with Batman, he admits that he’s surprised to find his fiend with his memory restored. Joker admits that he did lose his memory, but it was absolutely necessary in order to trick his foe. As he frees himself from the wall, he explains that he hypnotized himself and Harley in order to have them believe that they were other people. It was only through the pollenated essence of his special flower that helped restore their memories. In a quick flashback, it shows the devious bud doing just that as they breathe it in and reclaim their original identities.
Back in the current time period, he manages to disappear from Batman’s sight. He proceeds to taunt the Dark Knight as he throws more of his flowers at our hero before he drops down from the ceiling and proceeds to engage his adversary.
Meanwhile, Harley oversees this before she’s suddenly approached by Catwoman who’s more than eager to get back at her for the brief paralysis.
During all of this, the Bat Family finds themselves locked in combat. Dick is able to hold his own against Oswald, Tim manages to best Harvey, while Jason gets to outduel Slade.
Finally, Damian’s swordsmanship allows him to disarm Pamela and defeat her.
Back with Selina, she clashes with Harley for a bit before Quinn briefly gets the best of her with her mallet. Unbeknownst to them, the monkey armada manages to infiltrate the Super Robot and successful sabotage it. The resulting explosions distracts her long enough for Catwoman to retaliate and ultimately take her down by flipping her into her console.
With the Super Robot disabled, Batman and Joker ultimately take their fight up to the rooftop of Arkham Castle. They decide to conclude their confrontation with a duel as they unsheathe their swords as they proceed with their climactic clash.
Their brawl takes them all over the rooftop as they swap blows and nearly knock each other off. Joker even attempts to tease Batman for his heroics before they struggle for a bit with Bruce’s cape.
They continue their fight as Batman manages to get in a few hits, but the Joker is able to cause some damage onto Bruce’s armor. They then clash again and even briefly disorient each other with a fierce head butt.
Suddenly, Joker attempts to go for the kill shot. Thankfully, Batman managed to catch the fiend’s blade in time before he shatters it with a fierce palm strike. He then goes on to disarm his foe, only for the Joker to discreetly throw the shattered sword and throw it with enough force to piece Bruce’s chest plate.
After seeing his enemy fall off the side, the Joker becomes convinced that he finally bested his longtime adversary. Suddenly, Batman appears right behind him. They end up resuming their fight as every time Joker appears to hit the Dark Knight, he seemingly vanishes within a group of bats only to reappear and resume their tussle. Ultimately, the Clown Price of Crime finds himself surrounded by a massive swarm of bats as the Caped Crusader prepares for the finishing strike as he fully becomes Ninja Batman.
From there, he proceeds to disarm the Joker and beat him up before he grabs onto his foe and prevents him from falling towards a fiery demise. The Joker then tempts him to let go to which Batman ultimately does. As he falls towards a charred finish, the Joker calls his foe out for breaking his heroic code. Thankfully, Bruce surprises him by throwing down a rope, where he manages to wrap it around the fiend’s leg as he saves and defeats him.
Later, the final battle has ended as Batman thanks the entire Bat Clan for their help, with Eian assuring him that their country will now return to its proper order and that they’ll always remember his great deed. Meanwhile, Robin gives his good-byes to Monkichi and thanks his primate friend for his stellar help. Thankfully, he’s able to dry his tears as he reunites with Monmi.
From there, Batman, Alfred, Catwoman & the Bat Family head inside Arkham Castle, where they activate the Quake Engine and proceed to head back to their time period. Shortly after our heroes’ departure, Eian, the two monkeys and the entire Bat Clan notice the entire swarm of bats gathering above the nearby mountain to honor the Dark Knight by forming his symbol.
During the end credits, our heroes have arrived back in present day Gotham as our heroes hand all seven villains over to police custody.
Later and within a mid-credits scene, Bruce gets reminded of his formal meeting with the mayor. In order to get there, he’ll be riding in his Japanese horse driven Batmobile.
Meanwhile, Selina is at an antique store where she receives a hefty payout for a familiar vase that she managed to save. Afterwards, she proceeds to head out as she narrates that she wasn’t leaving ancient Japan empty-handed.
And so, the film ends with the old-fashioned Batmobile making its way through the street as Bruce relaxes with some tea in preparation for his mayoral meeting.
Now that our trip across time is complete, let’s delve into my character analysis. Starting this off, we have Batman himself. For this stand-alone piece, he starts off as his traditional self with an emphasis on having modern-day gadgets helping him out. As the story progresses following his trip back to Ancient Japan, he’s forced to adapt and change how he’s going about his crime-fighting venture. By being in this time period, he reinvents himself with the various techniques and craftsmanship of old that his enemies (and by extension, modern society) have gotten away from due to the advancement of technology over the centuries. His arc can serve as some kind of commentary about how humankind must preserve the time-tested crafts and styles that’re grueling yet are ultimately greatly satisfying when they pay off. Not to mention, being forced to rethink and change up what you’re normally accustomed to doing for so long. Because it seems like Bruce has been at this crime-fighting business for a good amount of time, that’s not too much of a concern for him. Maybe if the film showed him attempting to change up his style but he struggles with it along the way, then maybe that aspect could’ve been a fascinating detail for him to nail down. Aside from that, the movie also deals with his own matter of trust. To a lesser extent, Catwoman breaks off from him in favor of Grodd since she believes that this will serve as the more efficient path towards getting back to her present time. On a greater scale, the temporary alliance with Grodd gets shattered once Joker & Harley are initially defeated. There’s even an alternate version of this where Batman is unaware that his ultimate adversaries have come up with a way to restore their memories after a convincing method that places amnesia blocks upon themselves. It does get addressed when a physically strained Grodd protects Robin from massive debris that resulted from the firepower from Joker’s Super Robot. However, it’s ultimately resolved due to the fiendish primate being unable to do anything after his noble act and also due to him giving his word. In the end, it felt like it ends up resolving itself due to the situation at hand. Aside from those two bullet points, Batman still has a nice amount of command throughout the tale, especially when it comes to juggling his Bat Family and the entire ninja clan. Not to mention, his final duel against the Joker was a thrilling battle that sees him overcome some bumps along the way in order to ultimately prove to his foe that being a hero isn’t as restrictive as he thinks it is. For having the chance to voice the character in a more-adult tale, Roger Craig Smith was pretty nice throughout. Yes, he tackled the role for the Batman Unlimited trilogy, but he handles himself in a serious manner and comes through with a natural delivery that felt genuine throughout the entire picture. In the end, it feels like he genuinely enjoyed tackling this role and gave his audience an enjoyable time with the Dark Knight’s journey.
Next up, I’ll be talking about the main menace of this tale: Joker. Although he initially starts out as one of five Gotham baddies who were originally assembled by Grodd in order to be taken out of the picture so that he could have an easier time conquering the city, Batman’s interference serves as the ultimate catalyst for why this story is taking place. Because of his random and unexpected nature, he’s able to become a top-tier feudal lord, especially since the Dark Knight arrives two years after he’s established enough of a groundwork for his empire. Most likely, that two-year head start allowed him to plan out his growing conquest, as well as possible back-up plans should certain confrontations go awry for him and Harley. Speaking of which, he treats her as nice as possible for this scheme. Although he’s the more prominent one for this story, he lets her in and makes her important to his overall machinations. On a peculiar note, the only times we ever see them is when they’re confronted by Batman in some way, shape or form. This is where their banter and informative dialogue comes into play in terms of fleshing out what they’re all about for this story. In total, they mainly have five major scenes overall to make their presence count: the two confrontations at Arkham Castle, the riverside rumble, their amnesia-driven encounter and the final battle at Jigokukohara. He and Harley show their ability to be flexible, depending upon how a situation plays out. Throughout the film, he chastises Batman for restricting himself just because he’s being a hero. He sees his own position being far more beneficial since he’s not held back by any moral or societal rules, which also allows him to be an unpredictable menace towards anyone who could either stop him or limit his own gain while working with a fellow felon. By not being bound to rules that could hamper anyone else, he’s able to adapt his style towards his position and become a powerful lord who’s able to properly go up against his fellow Gotham felons and withstand their attempts to usurp him. As I mentioned when I talked about his opposition, his climatic clash with Batman was neatly presented and serves as a proper capstone towards challenging his heroic stance. By the end, he gets defeated by an unpredictable act where he gets saved from falling towards a fiery death that also serves to prove him wrong about the heroic code being entirely restrictive. For his performance, Tony Hale gives a nice range. He goes from upbeat to fiendishly serious with some humble caring for good measure. With what he’s bringing to the table, he’s able to make his intonations fit within whatever the situation or scene is in a natural way. For the purpose of this tale, he’s able to deliver his role very nicely and ultimately makes a neat impact upon the viewing audience.
Finally, we’ll bring up our secondary villain of this tale: Gorilla Grodd. Unlike the Joker who’s an unpredictable terror, he’s an intellectual being with a set goal in mind. While he did have a takeover plot in mind, it got sidetracked due to Batman’s interference. As such, he’s forced to rely on the assistance of others to help him with his goal. Unlike Batman who’s able the rely on the trustworthy assistance of his Bat Family and the Joker who gets to take comfort with his right-hand woman Harley, he’s not able to make partnerships last. He turns on the Dark Knight once the Clown Prince of Crime is temporarily out of commission, Two-Face turns on him due to the constant probability of his coin and he ultimately tells Catwoman that he has no intent on helping her get back to the present. It’s only when he and Selina are surprised attacked by the devious duo that he ultimately gets his one moment of redemption, which allows Batman and company to acquire the means to have a massive monkey armada help them out. Just like Penguin, Poison Ivy, Deathstroke and Two-Face, he’s not able to make his main objective work due to his self-serving attitude. Also, his mind control is only effective against those who’re lesser than him in mental strength. We never do see him attempt to use that technique on either the Joker or Harley Quinn, especially since there’s no explanation as to why he can’t even try it on them. While their chaotic faculties may be the reason, Grodd’s other downfall may come from the fact that he’s lacking in options once his main plan hits a major snag. He spends the whole film attempting to recover and trying to secure his main seat of ultimate power that he never accounts for anything to suddenly pop up and sweep the rug out from under him. As such, it’s why the Joker and his unpredictable nature ultimately gets the better of him and allows him to be the main baddie here instead of Grodd. Sure, he’s not having to deal with someone who has super-speed. After all, he’s regularly a Flash villain. However, his overconfidence with his genius intellect, mind-controlling power and carefully laid-out scheme doesn’t make him flexible to deal with things that pop up in the moment in order to keep them from interfering with his attempt to reach his end goal. Fred Tatasciore brings a confident sophistication towards his performance, allowing him to portray Grodd with an air of intelligence that makes him feel like he’s better than every human within this story. He professionally delivers his lines throughout and brings a confident quality that helps him stand out. For portraying a famous fiend who’s usually associated with another DC hero, he helps this primal fiend stand out within this tale.
The story is mainly coherent throughout and is powered by the themes of unity & teamwork. With Batman, he has his faithful butler and his Bat Family to depend upon to help him out with their main objective. Though the Dark Knight does face some expected bumps in the road, his persistence with that philosophy ultimately pays off for them. Catwoman initially goes against this when she joins Grodd, since she believes that this would be an easier path for her to take back to her time period. However, his over-confidence and his plan’s lack of adapting to changes that come up in the moment leads to her ultimately siding with the Caped Crusader again, where she’s able to reach her end goal by the end. Joker gets some success initially, since he has Harley to confide in. After all, their own unique states of mental craziness are able to sync up with each other. Unfortunately for them, they don’t get the benefit of having strength in numbers. Sure, they get the Gotham criminals on their side, but it’s only through the mind control that was already set up for them. Outside of that, they don’t have the samurai squad for the climax like they did when Arkham Castle remained still. I know that they were coming off of having their own memories restored and that their hot-air balloon is crucial towards the ultimate combiner robot, but part of me wishes that Joker & Harley had some of them on board in order to help them operate it in addition to guarding it. As for the remaining criminals, their attempts at conquest aren’t all that successful. Sure, Grodd’s mind control gives him a leg up on Penguin, Poison Ivy, Deathstroke and Two-Face. Not to mention, Grodd’s own attempts at teaming up with somebody else falls through. However, they all end up below the Joker on this film’s villainous totem pole and become cogs for his maniacal machine. The animation styles are colorful and fluent throughout, with the main one having its own nicely executed range of motion. It handles the cool moments of downtime, the rush of action scenes and the bombast that comes from both the gigantic tussle against the super robot & the frenetic rooftop climax between our main hero & villain. While the lip-sync was initially a problem for me since I was reminded that this was also made with the Japanese in mind and thus it would be more in line with the Japanese cast, that problem quickly went away and never resurfaced. As for the animation style that it uses when Joker & Harley have their temporary amnesia while on their farm, it’s a unique way to present this part of the story especially since it’s also the first time that Red Hood physically shows up within this tale. It has a pastel look to it that can sometime look rough, but it’s still visually coherent for that scene. Both styles also help in pacing the narrative as it moves at a good clip, balancing the informative downtime with its ever-increasingly growing stakes that permeates within its action scenes. Finally, the cast functioned as one collective whole. Everyone plays off each other very nicely, especially given the central theme that’s driven throughout the flick. Most of the main characters are recognizable figures from the comics and they carry the movie, but there are a few individuals that’re exclusive here. Eian is the major human here, especially since he’s the original leader of the Bat Clan. It would’ve been nice if he had development for his own, but this movie is already stuffed with familiar faces. Not only that, but he’s also a supporting character and he only exists in Japan’s feudal era. As such, I’m not sure what kind of arc he would’ve had without diverting attention away from our main character. For what he has to do here though, it’s fine. Also, in terms of those who’re made for this flick, the two main monkeys (Monkichi & Monmi) serve their assistance duties to Robin here and are loyal buddies. Not only that, but they’re also two of three characters whose voice actors did both the Japanese and English versions, which was a nice touch. Combined with our central cast, it completes a synergy that the familiar names & voices mainly carries yet compliments them enough with the right amount of support. In the end, I didn’t notice a weak performance amongst the whole group as their veteran skills came through for their respective roles with satisfying results.
Overall, this is an interestingly good tale for the Dark Knight and his chronological journey. The characters are recognizably enjoyable, the vocal performances manage to slip into their roles with ease, the animation styles were very well-handled, and the action is mainly coherent, thrilling & sometimes bombastically entertaining. It blends the familiar elements that come from the Caped Crusader with the high-energy anime action to create a unique experience that both kinds of audiences can enjoy. If it piques your interest, then take your own time travel and give this a watch with your own Damiyo domain.
Batman (created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger) and all related characters are owned by DC Comics.
