Hello, my friends. Whether it’s within our own realm or on a landscape from either another time or even a different plane of existence altogether, several battles have been waged upon different dimensions. For the Caped Crusader and his familiar comrades, they won’t have much time to rebound from their last massive outing before another kind of grand threat will start to loom large upon their own world. To understand how they got to this point, let me briefly summarize a 2018 film that I already covered back in 2021 known as “Batman Ninja”. In that prior entry, Gorilla Grodd had created a machine that caused himself, several villainous fiends, a familiar Feline Fatale along with the Dark Knight and his close allies to wind up the past, specifically within Japan’s Sengoku Period. With the various villains becoming feudal lords and ultimately clashing against each other in order to take full control over the country, thus changing history for the worse, our heroes had to ultimately subdue those fiends before they all wind up returning to their proper time period. You can check out my prior review for more details for how that went down, while those who’re sticking around can now see how this sequel shaped up within this time and space frame.
Originally released in the United States for digital download on March 18, 2025 before getting its home video release on April 15, Junpei Mizusaki would return to direct yet he would joined this time by Shinji Takagi. As for the screenplay, Kazuki Nakashima came back and managed to get sole writing duties. Just like its predecessor as well as any piece of Japanese animation covered here, I’ll be giving my thoughts on the English dub. With all of that out of the way, let’s become the night and check out what’s in store this time around.
We open at Wayne Manor where Damian Wayne a.k.a. Robin (voiced by Bryson Baugus) gets snapped out of his slumber by a specific alert on his cell phone before he then discovers that his hair has immediately regrown from the Bat-Family’s recent venture. He then reaches the Bat Cave and informs his dad Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman (voiced by Joe Daniels) and their family butler Alfred Pennyworth (voiced by David Harbold) about this abnormal situation. Afterwards, they check out a newscast where Gotham City is under some abnormally adverse weather called a “Yakuza Hurricane”. As Pennyworth has the platform head towards a different part of the underground lair, Bruce informs his son that he checked to see if history had changed following their return from feudal Japan. When he searched for any kind of deviations within said country, he discovered that it had completely disappeared. Alfred then mentions that he tried to contact the Justice League, but reveals that the Watchtower somehow doesn’t exist. Not only that, but Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern and Flash have also vanished. Damian then wonders if they’re on a parallel Earth, yet Bruce assures his son that he checked the “multiverse frequency” and that they’re on their own world.
He then believes that history has somehow been changed before he & Damian suit up and reach the Bat-Wing. After Alfred says that he’s transmitted the coordinates for the incoming Yakuza Hurricane to them, Batman wonders how the Japanese mob is tied to this before they take off.
As they reach Gotham, several Yakuza members descend onto the city with their jet packs before they land in front of a large group of GCPD officials led by Commissioner James Gordon (voice by John Gremillion). After both sides clash for a bit, our heroes arrive as Batman subdues several goons by delivering an electrified shock punch onto the ground.
James then informs the Dynamic Duo that he and his fellow officers had just gone through this exact same situation in the previous day, to which Bruce says that this could’ve only happened had they swapped places with the versions of themselves who regularly fight these Yakuza thugs on their world. Just then, they’re joined by Dick Grayson a.k.a. Nightwing (voiced by Houston Hayes) along with Tim Drake a.k.a. Red Robin (voiced by Nathan Wilson) before they manage to defeat every last Yakuza member.
Later, the Bat-Family regroups up on the rooftop as Bruce and Damian share what has gone down in their world ever since they all returned to their time period. Just then, they all notice a rift in the sky containing an inverted landscape as they discover that it’s Japan floating overhead and that it’s where the Yakuza thugs are coming from. However, James (and by extension, everyone else) isn’t able to see it as Batman isn’t able to find any information about this otherworldly occurrence. They soon realize that they’re the only ones who’re even able to notice it before Bruce heads up to check it out while telling his teammates to confront any further Yakuza attacks. Robin follows his dad before Dick and Tim head out to take care of several more goons descending onto their municipality.
While the Dynamic Duo flies up towards the rift, Alfred informs them that he’s noticed a “strange energy signature” emitting from the sky-based anomaly before he sends some information to them about it. They soon discover that it’s some fallout from Gorilla Grodd’s Quake Engine and that it’s removed Japan from the space-time continuum. Batman then also mentions how despite it seems like the country is somehow floating in the sky, it’s actually drifting within a fissure within space-time. Robin then realizes that they’re able to see it since they went through time, to which Bruce agrees with his son and adds that they’ve been displaced in time just like Japan. As such, they’ll need to regain the Quake Engine in order to restore the continuum back to its normal self. As they soar towards the energy fissure, alternate versions of themselves begin to emanate before they fly right in.
Following the opening credits, our heroes arrive in the alternate plane before they discover a signal coming from the “enemy territory” and are forced to go into radio silence. Suddenly, they’re attacked by a pair of giant green hands before the person responsible for it attaches herself onto one of the aircraft’s wings. Even though Damian notices how she looks like Jessica Cruz, it’s not her as she introduces herself as Zeshika, The Emerald Ray (voiced by Annie Wild) while telling them that they’ve entered an area that’s under the control of the Hagane Family. Fortunately, Batman is able to shake her off by flying towards a sign which forces her to create a teddy bear construct in order to cushion the impact.
As our heroes soar towards the open sea, they’re then confronted by this world’s version of Arthur Curry named Ahsa, The Aqua Dragon (voiced by Cyrus Rodas) who mentions that he’s second-in-command to the Hagane Family. He then uses his trident to send a pair of bladed buckets towards them which manages to smash through the Bat-Wing’s wings and damage the aircraft.
Back in the main world, Nightwing and Red Robin had just defeated the recent batch of Yakuza goons before they spot someone descending onto their city just as the wind funnels quickly dissipates since it had brought over a sinister Scarlet Speedster to this reality. This alternate version of Barry Allen introduces himself as “the fastest man in the Hagane Family” known as Bari, The Fleet Of Foot (voiced by Benjamin McLaughlin) before he uses his super-speed to zip around Gotham.
Back in the other reality, the crippled Bat-Wing is being pursued by Zeshika and Ahsa since they’ve been ordered by their Oyabun (the boss/leader of a Yakuza crime syndicate) to eliminate them. Batman and Robin manage to safely eject from their damaged aircraft before Ahsa sends a deadly torrent towards them, yet they suddenly get protected by a woman with a sturdy umbrella. Ahsa instantly recognizes her before she reveals her golden eagle tattoo (which was carved onto her right arm before getting “polished in the Inokashira waters”) and announces herself as Daiana Amazone, The Eagle Goddess (voiced by Molly Searcy).
After shielding herself from an attack by Zeshika, Ahsa sends one of his giant fish after her. Fortunately, Daiana is able to withstand the strike before tossing the massive creature back towards the opposing Aqua Dragon. After he’s been forced into the air, she then jumps up after him and says that they’re in Kichijoji which belongs to the Amazone Family before she smacks Ahsa back down towards the water.
He then attempts to attack the Dynamic Duo, yet Daiana says that they’re her guests and that she won’t allow any harm to come upon them. Despite order the opposing figures to back down, Zeshika places a sword construct at her neck. Suddenly, they’re met up by Dr. Harleen Quinzel a.k.a. Harley Quinn (voiced by Karlii Hoch) who rides in on her moped while calling herself “Harin, The Wild Jester” and shares her brief backstory which also includes her having met Daiana and battling foes for her. From there, she leaps off her vehicle and confronts Zeshika.
Back on the main Earth, Bari continues to dash across the city before Dick and Tim are met upon by Jason Todd a.k.a. Red Hood (voiced by David Matranga) who provides some much-needed help for his comrades by detonating a bomb that he placed upon a cement truck. Fortunately for them, the liquid cement is able to make Bari slip and fall over.
Back in the alternate reality, Zeshika managed to fend off Harley. However, she notices that her power ring is starting to run low on energy. As such, Ahsa tells her that they must retreat despite her objecting that their Oyabun won’t be happy with their inability to fulfill their assignment. Ultimately, they’re forced to take their leave.
Back over on the main Earth, Tim, Dick and Jason confront Bari before Todd fires a pair of food-themed capsules at the Scarlet Speedster which sticks to him before emitting a particular smoke that he breathes in and gets weaker (or in this case, more hungry and thirsty) as a result. Because he only has enough energy to get back to his reality, Bari is also forced to fall back. Red Hood then demands to know what’s going on with this version of Barry, to which Red Hood & Nightwing tell him that the world is “messed up” and that Batman is in the other reality trying to figure things out.
Back within said dimensional plane, the Dynamic Duo get brought to the Amazone Family’s base by Daiana. Our heroes then learn from her that this version of Japan is entirely composed of Yakuza, to which the country has been specifically divided into different territories for various Yakuza families to run under their own rule. With the various crime families constantly clashing on a daily basis, it ultimately erupted into a territorial war called the “Yakuzageddon”. Japan’s citizens have then been forced into joining one of the numerous syndicates, which led to only the various Yakuza families to instill their own law upon the land since there wasn’t any government or law enforcement agency left to oppose them. Robin then asks Daiana about the Hagane Family, to which she explains that it’s Japan’s most dominant syndicate and that they’ll resort to any devious tactic in order to maintain their iron grip upon the entire country.
She then mentions that her Amazone Family along with the Doomuzu Family were the only ones who had enough strength to properly oppose it, yet Deiō Dōmuzu (voiced by Tesshō Genda, the only voice actor to be in both Japanese and English versions of the movie), who turns out to be this world’s version of Doomsday, was slayed (specifically on April 2, 893) before his crime family also fell. Nowadays, only the Amazone Family respectfully follows the Ninkyo (Japanese code of chivalry) way and “fight for what’s right” in the name of those who live honest lives. Damian then mentions that she & her people are beyond “typical villains” and that she’s similar to Wonder Woman, to which Daiana admits her puzzled confusion over who she is. Batman then asks her if the Hagane Family has a man who has super-speed along with “a flying man who possesses superhuman strength”, to which she says that they do.
While Bari serves as that syndicate’s speedster (as well as a version of Flash), she then brings up the Superman of her world that serves as the group’s leader and is named Kuraku, The Man Of Steel (voiced by Aaron Campbell). As all of them make their way outside, Robin mentions how that they’ve already come across this reality’s version of Green Lantern and Aquaman, all four of those beings along with the Wonder Woman of this world explains how the heroes of their own reality are somehow now in this plane of existence and have mainly become a “Yakuza League”. They then spot our heroes’ world within the sky-based reality tear to which Daiana says that and her family have called it the Amatsukuni (which is actually the same name of “The Land Of Heaven” or “Heaven Plain” in Japanese mythology) or “The Land In The Sky”. She explains that it was approximately a month ago when it first showed up within the atmosphere, to which Bruce realizes that it was around the same moment that time began to diverge. Daiana then says that the Hagane Family won’t settle on just ruling over the country (which is also known as Hinomoto) since they’ve previously attacked our heroes’ reality in an effort to expand their territorial rule. In order for them to reach Amatsukuni, they had Bari use his super-speed in order to create a massive tornado. She then says that if nothing is done to stop them, then the Hagane Family will ultimately overrun and take control over Amatsukuni. Obviously, this is an injustice that she can’t ignore since she and her family have been battling opposing foes while also helping the less-fortunate folks and that such horrible actions being cast onto said people “goes against the Ninkyo way”.
She then presents the Dynamic Duo with an adjacent body of water called Lake Inokashira and that a small piece of land rests within it called Nyogogashima a.k.a. the “Isle Of Women” which is where a specific god known as Benzaiten is at. According to legend, an incarnation of said being will rise up to save Japan from absolute calamity. Daiana then says that she was bestowed a small bit of Benzaiten’s powers before being placed upon this realm with the mission of “protecting Hinomoto and the Ninkyo spirit”. Robin then mentions how she has a similar personality to Wonder Woman and that it’s far-more intact than the other similar figures, to which Batman says that this version of Japan has a reality that’s completely isolated from the rest of the space-time continuum. As such, it had a different kind of “convergent evolution” that caused its heroes to undergo “some evolutionary changes” as a result of this world’s ecology. Damian then wonders if their battle within feudal Japan somehow caused this, yet Bruce says that too many elements would need to have aligned themselves and that it could only happen by somebody getting involved within all of this. From there, Batman asks Daiana for her help in retrieving his Bat-Wing since he needs to repair it.
Later, the Amazone women managed to “carry” the damaged aircraft back to their base before Daiana mentions that her female comrades carried two aircrafts back to their sanctuary as Batman realizes that the second vehicle belongs to Harley. Sure enough, she pops up and assures him that she’s the same Quinn from his reality. As for how she wound up here, she broke out of the Gotham City Police Department and escaped into this plane of existence where she was able to easily blend in before she came across Daiana and was eventually allowed to stay with her.
Bruce then mentions how she couldn’t have been here any longer than half a day before realizing that the Clown Prince of Crime would’ve also broken out. As such, he tells Harley to reveal where the fiend is hiding out to which she calmly says that she doesn’t know. After noticing that he’s becoming agitated, Daiana tells them to refrain from fighting since they’re her guests. Bruce agrees to comply with her request before Daiana calls him a “reputable Oyabun”, to which Quinn even adds that he’s the leader of his own Bat-Family. Afterwards, she takes her leave upon her moped while Batman intends to have the Bat-Wing repaired in order to return to his realm and ultimately enact some plans that he initially has for a rogue Justice League.
Later, the Bat-Wing is fully fixed as Bruce promises to return in order to help take the Hagane Family down for good. From there, the Dynamic Duo begin to ascend towards the space-time fissure before their radar detects a bogey that’s rapidly approaching them. Suddenly, dual beams of Heat Vision bursts through the clouds and causes our heroes to take evasive action. Despite their best effort to elude their foe, the Heat Vision manages to hit the Bat-Wing’s main engine and create a major hole within the cockpit’s rear. Afterwards, the aircraft gets held up their pursuer who turns to be Kuraku before mentioning that he protects the Hagane Family. He then reveals that he’s not the clan’s “Great Oyabun” as he wants Robin to meet his actual master, to which he also brings up that said boss is familiar with the Dark Knight since said leader sees him as a “detective”.
Bruce then realizes that the Hagane Family’s actual leader is Ra’s Al Ghul (voiced by John Swasey) before the Demon’s Head himself makes his presence digitally known. Afterwards, Kuraku begins to rip into the aircraft’s damaged hull in order to retrieve Damian for his master. Suddenly, he gets hit by a clown-looking missile as it’s revealed that Harley has reunited with the Joker (voiced by Scot Gibbs).
They then resume their aerial attack upon the Man of Steel as Joker mentions that he should be the only one who gets to kill the Dark Knight, yet Kuraku is able to withstand the opposing gunfire as he manages to rip Robin out of the Bat-Wing by his seat before tossing him across the sky and towards his master. Afterwards, he throws the damaged aircraft with Batman in it towards Joker and Quinn.
Joker manages to eject in time and head out within his specialized jet pack while leaving Harley to confront Kuraku, much to her dismay. Joker then manages to attach himself to the Bat-Wing’s underside in order for both him and the Caped Crusader to return to their regular realm, even though Batman rightfully calls him out for abandoning Quinn.
With Harley unable to remotely slow him down, Kuraku uses his Freeze Breath to solidify some water droplets and shoot them towards Quinn which causes enough damage to her plane in order for it to explode and leave her in a helpless state.
Just as Kuraku is about to finish her off, Daiana flies in and blocks his strike before using her bracelets to force him away. From there, she manages to save Harley from her deadly freefall before smashing back down onto the ground. Afterwards, she’s met upon by Kuraku and gets told to stay out of this ordeal. Fortunately, she tells him that Quinn is her guest and that she won’t let him harm her. Just then, he gets called up by Zeshika who informs him that she managed to safely catch Damian. After he shares a brief conversation with Daiana about how their Yakuza-based world works, Kuraku ultimately takes his leave. Afterwards, Quinn asks the Amazone leader why she saved her to which Daiana says that she won’t leave a female to suffer, especially when it’s in “the crossfire between men”. She then says that her family serves as a refuge for women in addition to how the “Ninkyo way” is heartfelt, to which a weary Harley appreciates.
Meanwhile, Joker helps the Dark Knight return to their world before Batman demands to know why he’s even providing this kind of support. Joker once again confirms that he wants the pleasure of bumping his adversary off before he detaches himself from the Bat-Wing and flies off. Afterwards, Bruce gets contacted by Red Hood as he, Nightwing and Red Hood spot his return from the rooftop.
Back in the other realm, Zeshika has brought Damian to the Hagane Family’s main tower known as the Hagane Castle where he presents Ra’s with his grandson before being excused. After they both get some food service from Ubu (voiced by Andrew Love), especially with Robin ordering some California Rolls, Al Ghul mentions how “Oral Seasoning” allows for “endless combinations” to be had and thus have some “infinite possibilities” become “a singular phenomenon” for each person. He then has Ubu display a particular moment on their TV, specifically the opening scene of the prior film where the Quake Engine proceeds to send our central characters back to feudal Japan. Ra’s explains that he had already heard about Grodd’s plans to use said device in order to warp the space-time continuum and while he confirms with Robin that this realm was ultimately created by the Quake Engine, it’s actually “far more advanced” since he’s made his own personal tweaks in order to have the device shift the whole continuum itself. Through the use of origami, Al Ghul explains that he would stack various worlds onto each other while also changing their shape. As such, he could create new realities by altering the specific details of various scenarios which ultimately led to this world being created.
For this Superman, Kuraku didn’t land in America following Krypton’s destruction but instead wound up in Japan and was raised by a Yakuza family. With this iteration of Wonder Woman, the aforementioned island full of women located within Lake Inokashira had a godly descendant named Daiana born there. As for this world’s Aquaman, Ahsa’s aquatic-based race lived at the bottom of Lake Inokashira and their queen would ultimately wind up romantically entwined with a Yakuza gangster before they gave birth to a son who not only became the ruler of his initial people, but also a Yakuza lieutenant. As for the man who would be Flash, Bari was a low-level Yakuza thug who got his super-speed after he was struck by lightning while he was in a hot spring. Finally, Zeshika was a gambler who got herself into trouble and had to flee for her life. During her fateful escape, she came across a hidden power ring as well as its energy supply.
He then mentions the device that helped him fold and rework these realms into his own making called the Four-Dimensional Origami System which has allowed him to create a country that’s entirely ruled by ruthless gangsters who were ultimately molded into his own powerful group. As such, he now intends to send them into the Amatsukuni in order to cleanse the other realm of “the plague of humanity”. Damian then asks him if his mother Talia remotely knows about this, to which Ra’s says that his daughter doesn’t have a single role in this scheme. From there, Al Ghul mentions that he had also set things up for him to ultimately pass this eventual rule onto his grandson since he made sure that the inflection point occurred a month prior to Robin returning from feudal Japan. Fortunately, Damian refuses to accept his grandfather’s offer. Unfortunately, his chair was rigged as it proceeds to ultimately capture and place him in a crane game filled with sushi before its claw traps him in its grasp. From there, Ra’s heads out in order to set his ultimate scheme into motion.
Back over on the main Earth, Batman and his fellow Bat-Family members are in the Bat Cave as Bruce creates some 3-D figures of the superpowered Hagane family beings before assuring his teammates that those opposing individuals won’t be a huge problem for them. Since they share similar abilities as their mainline counterparts, the Yakuza League’s biggest problem is that they haven’t been outside of their initial world and that they also don’t have proper combat experience. Batman then tells his comrades that they were exposed to a space-time pulse that was emitted from the Quake Engine during their return from feudal Japan. Not only did it allow them to see the sky-based tear as well as allow them to travel through the fissure, but it also applies to whatever they’re holding. As such, Nightwing mentions that they’ll be able to bring their tech into the alternate realm.
Afterwards, Alfred displays a video presentation done in the style of a Gatachman opening theme in which they’ll operate a combiner vehicle called the Bat-Phoenix before the team heads out.
Back at Hagane Castle, Ra’s compliments Kuraku for smiting Deiō Dōmuzu before they realize that the Amazone Family is the only opposing group who stands in their way and hasn’t embraced “the yakuza’s ruthless way of life”. Kuraku vows to deal with the opposing clan, thus allowing Al Ghul to bring Hinomoto entirely under his rule before they then make Amatsukuni their ultimate humanity purging target. Kuraku then mentions the Bat-Family (along with the Joker) as those who were able to recently oppose them, to which he promises to mercilessly vanquish them while also having Amatsukuni fall against their own warriors. From there, Ra’s has Ubu deliver their prepped sushi to Bari in order to provide him with the energy he’ll need to help carry their operation out.
Over at the Amazone Family’s base, Quinn is resting while Daiana is watching over her. Just then, she gets informed by one of her female comrades that a turtle is at their front gate. Daiana then approaches the giant creature and notices a message carved onto its shell informing her that Ahsa has requested to her to a duel, to which she accepts before the turtle retracts into its shell and rolls away.
She then proceeds to sing a ballad called “All Alone”, which wakes Harley up and causes her to peek out in order to see the Amazone leader perform her song while her members provide some lighting and even filming it. During all of this, Daiana notices Quinn and heads over to her in order to continue with her song. She then allows Harley to sing, but she barely gets a note out before the scene abruptly ends.
Later, Quinn helps Daiana reach the middle of Lake Inokashira as Ahsa wants the Amazone leader to join the Hagane Family especially since they were childhood friends. Daiana instead asks him how he even got involved in the yakuza business since his Great Oyabun comes from the alternate world on the other side of the Amatsukuni, to which Ahsa says that he wishes to rule over “the skyward sea”. He mentions that he’s only ever known the lake’s waters throughout his entire life, to which it feeds into his burning desire to reach the vast ocean and attempt to rule as its king. Daiana then tells him that his ego has become inflated as a result before they proceed to fight each other, resulting in both of them knocking each other back.
Just as she manages to leap and slash her way towards him, Zeshika interrupts the fight by revealing that she’s captured every last member of the Amazone Family. They tell their leader to not worry about them and resume her battle, all while Quinn decides to confront the Emerald Ray herself.
Meanwhile, Ahsa charges into Daiana and drags her across the ground before ultimately pinning her down and holding her at bay with his trident.
Back with Harley, her constant leaping around is getting to Zeshika. Before she can retaliate however, she gets rammed into and also becomes partially pinned by the Bat-Phoenix. She then performs the Kanzashi Flasher in order to slice the aircraft up, yet the Bat-Family is able to separate their own combiner vehicles in time. From there, Batman tells Nightwing to take care of Zeshika before ordering Red Hood and Red Robin to head over to Hagane Castle.
Dick then manages to bounce his vehicle across the lake enough times for Zeshika to lose focus on her construct which ends up freeing the Amazone women as they and Quinn proceed to splash down.
As for Bruce, he confronts Ahsa and manages to wrap a cable around the Aqua Dragon’s hand before getting thrown into the lake. As a result, Ahsa gets dragged into the water before Wayne converts his Bat Tank into a Bat Marine and proceeds to zip around the lake while constantly tugging Ahsa along.
Back with Dick, he tosses Zeshika onto the shore before he emerges from his vehicle along with a special device.
Over at Hagane Castle, Kuraku prepares the Yakuza goons for their dimensional invasion of Amatsukuni with a rousing speech.
Back with the depths of Lake Inokashira, Ahsa tosses his trident at the Bat Marine and manages to partially disable it before he then gets a foothold and begins to drag the vehicle towards him.
Back on the surface, Zeshika creates some dice constructs (a.k.a. Dice Of Hell, The Devil’s Bones) and fires them at Nightwing. He manages to evade her shots before equipping himself with his device, which gives him a new outfit and abilities. Meanwhile, Jason and Tim are approaching Hagane Castle while the Yakuza thugs have placed themselves inside the building’s gattling launcher.
Back with Dick, he proceeds to have a skyward clash with Zeshika. During which, he uses his light-based blades in order to slice through her dice constructs before forcing her back to the ground.
Back within Lake Inokashira, Ahsa has almost dragged the Bat Marine back to him. Unbeknownst to him, Batman activates the piece of the vehicle that was hit as it’s revealed to have another function where it proceeds to trap the Aqua Dragon within an ultrasonic shield.
Back with Grayson, he proceeds to charge towards Zeishika. She responds by firing a barrage of green energy, to which he manages to rapidly slice through. However, she ultimately gets the upper hand and impales him with her green energy. Fortunately, Nightwing emerges from behind the Emerald Ray after he managed to shoot a tranquilizer dart at her. He reveals that he performed the “Science Ninja Technique: Decoy Body” and that he wasn’t even inside the device to begin with as she was fighting his light-based duplicate. From there, Zeshika succumbs to the tranquilizer and passes out.
Following a quick scene at Hagane Castle where Bari starts using his super-speed to provide some wind-based support for the Yakuza goons within the tower’s gattling launcher,…
….we cut back to Lake Inokashira as Ahsa reclaims his trident and frees himself from the ultrasonic shield. He then attempts to reach the surface, yet Daiana wraps his other arm with her Lasso of Truth and helps Bruce drag the Aqua Dragon back to his undersea imprisonment. Afterwards, Wayne proceeds to run some electric currents through the ultrasonic shield in order to separate the water molecules surrounding Ahsa. He then deactivates it which results in the hydrogen & oxygen molecules recombining with each other and resulting in a massive explosion which knocks the Aqua Dragon out, all of which is the result of the “Science Ninja Technique: Eletrolysis”. From there, Batman and Daiana proceed to drag their defeated foe to the surface.
With both Ahsa & Zeshika unconscious and subdued, they then thank each other for each providing a key assist. Daiana then says that the only reason why her Amazone family was attacked is because the Hagane Clan is about to invade Amatsukuni. Bruce then gets contacted by Drake and gets informed that the Quake Engine is located within their enemy’s tower. Daiana is puzzled by this device, to which Dick explains that it’s a machine that’s helped stabilize her country by connecting it to the “interdimensional fissure”. Once they finally destroy it, Hinomoto will return to its regular world. Just then, they notice that Bari’s wind tunnel has reached max strength as Wayne and Grayson proceed to head out. Daiana offers to join them since she’s a Hinomoto native and wishes to deal with this looming threat, to which Batman accepts her request before mentioning how she’s not too different from “the woman” that he knows. Daiana acknowledges that he’s referring to Wonder Woman, especially since Damian had previously mentioned it during their last meeting. She then mentions how she’s had a particular feeling that there was someone like her “out there somewhere”. As such, she vows to honor her by living up to her standards before they all take their leave for the tower.
Back at Hagane Castle, the gattling launcher proceeds to fire the Yakuza thugs up towards Amatsukuni so that Bari’s super-speed enhanced wind funnel can provide the added boost they’ll need to reach the portal and begin conquering Gotham City. Fortunately, Red Hood and Red Robin proceed to amplify the space-time pulse within their bodies in order to help the Bat-Phoenix fly in the opposite direction at a fast-enough rate in order to counter and ultimately cancel out Bari’s Speed Force-induced wind funnel with the “Science Ninja Technique: Tornado Canceler”. It manages to work as the Yakuza goons proceed to fall out of the sky before the heroic duo proceed to shoot at and destroy the gattling launcher. Kuraku then orders Bari to smite their foes, just as Jason and Tim activate the Bat-Phoenix’s cloak mode while also ejecting into a pair of its mobile vehicles.
From there, a street-based chase ensues as they find themselves being pursued by Bari. Todd then fires some food-themed smoke capsules at him, but the Fleet of Foot was prepared for it since he was wearing some nose plugs.
Drake then tries to slip him up with a oil slick, yet Bari is able to leap onto an already-sliding truck before running across the side of some buildings in order to avoid it altogether.
After several more swift twists and turns, the chase makes its way into a sub-level parking garage as the Fleet of Foot keeps getting dangerously close to finally catching up to our heroes, only for them to continuously evade him. He then discovers that he was somehow placed upon a treadmill surrounded by several holograms, to which he gets frustrated once the illusion fades away due to the holograms finally faltering. He also discovers that a device was somehow placed upon his neck to help facilitate the illusion as he vents his anger before he soon finds himself becoming tired and decides to buy a drink from a nearby vending machine in order to regain some energy. Unfortunately for him, it also wasn’t real as Red Hood was using “Science Ninja Technique: Vending Machine” to hide within a hologram of said contraption before firing a tranquilizer dart as it proceeds to knock the fleet-footed foe out before he gets subdued.
Shortly after Red Robin regroups with his comrade, a burst of Heat Vision suddenly rips through the parking garage as they soon find themselves within Kuraku’s dangerous sights. Tim then proceeds to fire a barrage of several missiles from his vehicle while Jason shoots another tranquilizer dart, but Kuraku is able to catch it out of the air.
As for the missiles, they manage to strike part of a building that’s above him and he gets buried within the rubble. Todd and Drake then attempt to escape, yet Kuraku is easily able to reemerge before punching the ground which causes a huge section of the streets and its surrounding sub-levels to cave in.
Both Red Hood & Red Robin find themselves clinging to life before Kuraku slams his foot down and causes more debris to fall down towards them, resulting in both of them to seemingly fall to their deaths. Suddenly, Kuraku gets rammed by the Bat Tank as Batman says that he wants Robin back. Kuraku tells him that the rest of his sidekicks are dead, yet they were thankfully saved by Daiana.
Afterwards, Nightwing speeds in and picks his comrades up before Bruce orders them to go after the Quake Engine in addition to rescuing Damian. Kuraku tries to fire his Heat Vision at them in order to prevent them from fleeing, yet Daiana uses her bracelets to block his shot and even deflects one of them back at the Man of Steel.
After firing a barrage of missiles at him, Wayne tells Kuraku that he’s the only remaining Hagane Family member that’s left. Batman then uses his Bat-Tank to charge at his foe, yet Kuraku is able to hold him off before repeatedly punching his way through the cockpit in order for his fist to get dangerously close towards the Dark Knight. Daiana tries to stop him, yet he evades her punch before grabbing her wrist as she then scolds him for not using his powers to help other people. Kuraku says that he’s been doing that since humanity has “a desire to hurt each other and rule from the moment of birth”. As such, he intends to rule over the world by suppressing their malevolent tendencies within “an even greater evil” before he tosses her into a nearby building.
Wayne then smacks Kuraku away with his Bat-Tank and resumes their fight, yet the Man of Steel slices the cockpit off with his Heat Vision and punches his foe across the city. Batman then converts the cockpit into a mini-mech and withstands another blast of Heat Vision before he tells a recovered Daiana to head over to Hagane Castle in order to take care of the Quake Engine. She ultimately agrees and flies off to help his comrades before Bruce engages Kuraku over the massive city-based crater.
Following a quick scene where Dick, Tim and Jason decide to head up several flights of stairs in order to reach the Quake Engine that’s on the tower’s top floor, Wayne’s duel with Kuraku sees them slowly descending into the massive city-based crater. During their fight, the Man of Steel manages to punch both mechanical arms with enough force to ultimately shatter them. As a result, they split into smaller pieces and attach themselves into the surrounding wall with several more shards doing the same from each strike that Kuraku makes onto Wayne’s mini Bat-Mech. With Batman seemingly defeated, the sun proceeds to rise upon the city while Kuraku calls his opponent out as a fraud. Fortunately, Bruce activates a device as the shards proceeds to connect several beams of light with each other and emit its glow throughout the crater.
Kuraku then attempts to finish his adversary off with his Heat Vision, only to discover that it’s been nullified. Wayne then gets out of his mini Bat-Mech and approaches his opponent as Kuraku tries to punch him, yet Batman catches his fist and tosses him aside. Kuraku then tries to fly, yet is unable to before Bruce proceeds to deliver several strikes upon him. Wayne then tells him that he comes from a distant planet and that he only receives his powers from Earth’s sun rays, while being exposed to Krypton’s red sun reduces him to the strength of a regular human being.
Batman then tells Kuraku that he didn’t destroy his machine, but simply arranged it into the proper positions. From there, those “collection of crystals” are being filtered in a way that helps turn Earth’s yellow sunlight into Krypton’s red light with this entire process actually being a part of the “Science Ninja Technique: Spectral Conversion”. Kuraku tries to fight back, yet Bruce is able to strangle and rough him up in order to make him experience a regular human’s pain. Wayne even tells him that Ra’s has been lying to him about civilians within Amatsukuni being the same as those within Hinomoto, since the majority of people who live within the Amatsukuni aren’t rivaling Yakuza members and are mostly average citizens and that he fights to protect them from criminals. After getting roughed up, Kuraku falls over in fear before Batman says that he’s similar to the Superman of his world yet he would find a way to fight on “through sheer willpower” and continue to protect innocent people if he had lost his powers.
As he gets called out for being beneath Kal-El, Kuraku spots one of the implanted crystal shards as he throws a brick at it with enough force to dislodge it thus disabling the filtered grid. He then feels his powers returning via the Earth’s yellow sunlight as he flies up and charges at his foe. Fortunately, Bruce had a Plan B at the ready as he catches Kuraku’s fist before punching him with some Kryptonite knuckles. As Kuraku lies in a newly-weakened state, Wayne tells him that his world’s Superman gave it to him as a sign of trust should he ever lose control or went on a rampage.
After telling the battered Man of Steel that he doesn’t have a single piece of Kal-El’s pride or even his caring heart, Batman proceeds to subdue him within some hand restraints before he spots a gyro-drone with a camera on it. Knowing that Ra’s Al Ghul is watching from his tower, Bruce says that he’s coming for him before destroying it with his grappling hook. Afterwards, he uses his jet pack to reattach one of filtered crystals in order to keep Kuraku under red sunlight before flying off towards Hagane Castle.
Over within his crane game cage, Robin manages to take out a smokescreen bomb from a hidden compartment within his boot and breaks free before he swipes a small sword from a Yakuza goon and attempts to slay Ubu. Suddenly, he and the rest of the thugs get subdued by Daiana’s Lasso of Truth before she tells the Boy Wonder that his comrades have arrived.
Afterwards, they confront Ra’s in front of his Four-Dimensional Origami System. Just as Wayne flies in, Al Ghul removes a space-time convertor from the machine where it proceeds to fully operate to the point where even Commissioner Gordon finally notices the tower emerging from the sky-based portal. Batman then demands to know what his foe has just done, to which Ra’s explains that he’s deactivated the energy modulator and has sent his machine out of control. As such, it’s no longer able to keep Hinomoto in place and force its Tokyo area to rematerialize on Bruce’s world where it’ll crush Gotham in the process. Wayne warns him that it’ll do far-more widespread damage aside from annihilating the city as the resulting shockwave will bring about a plant-wide disaster. Al Ghul says that the shockwave will get absorbed into the fissure before he eventually brings about his Yakuza-based global takeover scheme.
Daiana manages to acquire the convertor with his Lasso of Truth and attempts to place it back onto the Four-Dimensional Origami System. However, it completely vanishes right before the rest of the Bat-Family finally shows up. Ra’s then tells them that his machine is now operating & sliding within multiple space-time continuums and thus, no one within the plane of existence is able to touch it. Afterwards, the space-time convertor then vibrates out of Daiana’s hand and returns to Al Ghul.
Fortunately, Batman gets an idea as he heads over to where the Four-Dimensional Origami System was and places his hand at the area where he emits an specific energy signature that begins the reveal the machine. He explains that because he and his comrades had their bodies exposed to a space-time pulse that was emitted from the Quake Engine, they can focus their energy on the device in order to re-anchor it within the reality. Damian then joins his father as his added energy emission begins to strengthen their hold upon the machine, to which the rest of the Bat-Family run over to take part of. Ra’s tries to stop them, but Daiana intercepts him with a swift kick before she gets told to keep their foe away from the space-time convertor.
As such, the entire Bat-Family begins to anchor the Four-Dimensional Origami System while the Eagle Goddess herself prepares to properly duel Al Ghul. Suddenly, she begins to receive visions of her various Wonder Woman selves.
In addition, Zeshika gets bombarded by various visions of Jessica Cruz, Ahsa gets his own visions of Arthur Curry and Bari ends up seeing different versions of Barry Allen.
Even Kuraku sees different versions of Kal-El including the one-true Superman as he also remembers Bruce scolding him for needing to rely on his powers while his world’s Supes continued to power through without his abilities. This finally convinces him to forsake his Yakuza ways as he breaks out of his restraints and accepts his true calling.
Back at Hagane Castle, Wayne notices Daiana struggling due to her seeing the visions of her numerous selves as he realizes that she’s suffering from the Origami System’s recoil. Despite risking the machine’s disappearance, Batman rushes to her aid while Ra’s charges at her. Even though she manages to block the blade with his bracelets, Al Ghul’s sword swing is strong enough to send her flying out of the building.
Just as Bruce reaches his foe, gravity suddenly inverts as they and the rest of the Bat-Family find themselves floating up to the roof. Wayne and Ra’s each manage to grab onto the railing as Al Ghul throws a smokescreen bomb at him, to which Batman counters with a Batarang before he discovers that it was meant to help Ra’s escape.
Back in the main reality, the tower is plummeting towards Gotham as James gives the order to evacuate the city while Alfred spots the ordeal from Wayne Manor.
Over on the inverted tower, Bruce chases after Al Ghul on some stairs before part of it buckles and Wayne is forced to use a grappling hook to avoid falling. He then spots several vehicles tumbling from Hinomoto as Ra’s says that Tokyo is now manifesting outside of the fissure and is being affected by Earth’s gravity. Wayne then says that he can still stop this potential disaster by reclaiming the space-time convertor and then use it to stop the device, to which Ra’s agrees before he uses a trigger to help make things worse. It turns out that the tower’s base was rigged with explosives and is now plummeting towards Gotham in order to annihilate the city all by itself.
From there, Al Ghul escapes thanks to Ubu’s timely intervention via a jet. Suddenly, the tower stops falling out of the sky as Batman notices that it’s being held up by a fully-reformed Kuraku. He then gets contacted by Pennyworth who informs him that the entire Yakuza League is now protecting Gotham.
As such, Zeshika uses her power ring to give the fallen vehicles a safe landing while Bari runs around to catch the various Yakuza goons. Meanwhile, Ahsa summons the ocean water to help hold the building up.
Afterwards, Bruce proceeds to go after Ra’s as Ubu warns his master about the approaching Dark Knight. To his surprise, Wayne seems to be floating towards them before the Bat-Wing drops its cloak.
From there, Batman tackles Al Ghul and ultimately retrieves the space-time convertor before subduing his foe while he’s also attached to a parachute.
Afterwards, Bruce flies back to Hagane Castle and rejoins his Bat-Family before they resume their efforts to anchor the Four-Dimensional Origami System back into their reality. Wayne then attempts to toss the convertor back into the machine, but it falls short of it due to them not having enough pulse energy. Outside of the tower, Kuraku is struggling to holding the structure up despite Ahsa’s aquatic assist. Just then, Daiana flies in wearing a newly transformed outfit and helps him out. She then asks Kuraku what made him change his mind, to which he says that he saw “the man” who risked his own life to protect the people of his world and he realized that they’re the same “in heart and soul”. Daiana then says that the Ninkyo spirit is now with all of them and that they must hold on while her “friend” helps Batman.
Inside the tower, the Bat-Family is soon met upon by Harley who tells Bruce that she’s here to help them thanks to Daiana requesting her to do so. Wayne realizes that her brief disappearance was her going to bring Quinn in on this, to which he tosses the convertor to Harley before she leaps towards the Four-Dimensional Origami System. Thanks to her added pulse energy, she’s able to reach the machine and reinsert the convertor in order for the device to get anchored in their plane of existence.
It then proceeds to lift Hagane Castle back towards its reality as Batman tells Kuraku and Daiana to take the massive system back to Hinomoto before they destroy it, thus allowing the island to be freed from the space-time fissure and return their world to its normal state while severing the connection between their respective realities.
From there, the entire Yakuza League proceeds to take the tower along with every Yakuza thug back towards their dimension as Ahsa, Zeshika and Bari’s combined abilities creates a special Hagane technique called “The Rising Dragon Of Valor”. Daiana then thanks Bruce for his help before he tells them that their world will no longer be filled with only Yakuza since there will also be honorable and innocent people there as well. As such, the Yakuza League proceed to take the tower back to their world as Quinn gives her good-byes to the Eagle Goddess. As the entire Bat-Family watch from the Bat-Wing, the fully-reformed heroes take the building back into their reality before the portal finally closes via a space-time pulse wave which lets our heroes know that the Four-Dimensional Origami System has finally been destroyed.
Robin then asks if it means that history has been restored, to which he learns that it has along with his hair style that he initially had from their last outing has also returned much to his shock. Just then, Wayne gets contacted by the Justice League as Diana a.k.a. Wonder Woman, Arthur Curry a.k.a. Aquaman, Barry Allen a.k.a. Flash, Jessica Cruz a.k.a. Green Lantern and Kal-El a.k.a. Clark Kent a.k.a. Superman collectively tell him that he’s late for the weekly team meeting and that they’re all under the impression that he’s just got back from feudal Japan. As such, he promises to attend.
And so, the film ends on a mid-credits scene where Alfred offers a wig to Damian yet the Boy Wonder doesn’t want to be seen and wishes to be left alone.
Now that this dimensional dilemma has come to a close, let’s delve into my character analysis as we start things off with the Caped Crusader himself: Batman. Last time, he and his Bat-Family had to adjust themselves to old-world craftsmanship & techniques in order for them to defeat the Clown Prince of Crime in addition to the featured members of their rogues gallery who also made the trip before ultimately becoming mind-controlled. There is some form of continuation of what they’ve learned in the prior entry since they now apply their techniques to some of their high-end technology in order for each of them to come out on top against each member of the Yakuza League. While they don’t really have much build up towards the use of said techniques within this entry per say, the fact that this film takes place shortly after the initial entry could be seen as a back-handed way of explaining said set up. Maybe if there was a quick display and hint of how Bruce & his comrades were evolving their techniques during the initial fight against the Yakuza goons, then it would’ve made their eventual use a little more satisfying. As it stands, the sudden appearance of a new situation for our heroes to deal with doesn’t provide the proper space for them to show how they’ve evolved during the downtime after their last outing. Unlike last time, there’s not much in terms of new lessons or personal challenges for Bruce to overcome while he’s dealing with a new threat. The appearance of the new opposition along with Daiana’s vast explanation about how her world works seems to put any chance of a possible character arc for the Dark Knight off the table, since he does face some reasonable challenges from the Yakuza League as well as Ra’s Al Ghul’s ultimate scheme, yet he doesn’t seem to have a personal hurdle provided from said situation for him to overcome in some way. It’s ultimately a letdown in that area, yet the high-scale stakes from this otherworldly plot provides enough of an engaging challenge for him and his allies to deal with. In a move that was done entirely across the board, this film forgoes some of the more experienced and wide-ranging voice actors in favor of ones who’ve primarily done anime. I noticed this during the opening scene in the Bat Cave when it became notable that Roger Craig Smith didn’t return to handle the role that he helmed in the prior entry. In this film, Joe Daniels handled the part in an effective manner. The change in voice actors is immediately noticeable if you watch both movies back-to-back, but the vocal adjustment wound up being very smooth and he ultimately turned in a nice performance. With fairly effective vocal tones throughout, he managed to carve out enough of a space that helped him carve out a decent space for himself as Gotham’s main hero and allowed him to be enjoyable for viewing audiences. All-in-all, some nice stuff throughout for Joe.
Moving on, we have the various figures of the Yakuza League. When we first meet these five alternate members of their more familiar counterparts, only Daiana is operating independently from our main baddie and is also serving as the head of the only heroic faction that stands any chance of opposing the Hagane Family. Not only does she operate as (and ultimately become) the Wonder Woman of this alternate world thanks to Batman’s intervention, she even serves in the leadership role that Hippolyta (or even Nubia for modern readers) regularly is as the Amazon’s queen. Like most related tales, we never see how her associated group handles themselves since the Amazone ladies are either serving different duties at their base or are briefly captured by Zeshika before Harley and ultimately Nightwing each step in to set them free. With this film primarily serving as a means to highlight how these otherworldly versions differ from their far-more iconic selves, Daiana was greatly used in this tale as a strong ally to the Bat-Family while also both protecting and influencing Quinn to be a better version of herself, thus allowing Harley to show off more of her heroic side as a result. Molly Searcy manages to deliver a solid performance, which in turns allows her to help this version of an iconic superheroine showcase her feminine strength, her steady leadership and her care towards other ladies which mainly shines upon Quinn. With Kuraku, he ultimately has a redemption arc. Given his vague backstory provided to us by Ra’s, it’s possible that he landed at the Hagane Family and was developed into becoming a powerful player within said crime clan. It’s also possible that his personal caring came from Al Ghul in order for him to feel like he’s important while also being allowed to avoid winding up on the receiving end of his otherworldly abilities & strength. There has to have been some kind of coercion and manipulation from the Oyabun since Kuraku and the other three Yakuza League members all end up following his command throughout the majority of this narrative. Even though his backstory along with the rest of his superpowered comrades are given just enough detail to explain how they either got their abilities or somehow became entwined within the yakuza lifestyle, they could’ve ultimately been fleshed out a little bit more in order for their developments to reach past two-dimensional. As Ra’s left-hand general, Kuraku gets the most crucial interactions with our heroes before his fight against Bruce leaves him humbled by the familiar weaknesses that he’s never had to confront before. Eventually, Wayne’s words along with his encounter with the one-true Superman is what convinces him to forgo his criminal association in order to finally become a true hero. Aaron Campbell brought a somewhat-low bass yet initially intimidating vocal tone to the role, which nicely works for his part. He eventually brought a humbled delivery once Kuraku finally embraces his heroic which also worked to neat affect. In the end, his overall performance was good throughout and worked with the presented material. Finally, we have Zeshika, Ahsa and Bari. Aside from Al Ghul’s provided backstories for them, there’s not much else that the movie delves into aside from the Aqua Dragon’s past friendship with Daiana along with the fact that similarly to how inexperienced the entire Yakuza League is away from their initial land of operations, Ahsa hasn’t ventured too far away from Lake Inokashira and had recently gotten a desire to experience what an ocean is like which ultimately pays off during the climax once he and rest of his comrades do a complete face-turn. For the somewhat small room that they each have to shine, Annie Wild, Cyrus Rodas and Benjamin McLaughlin handle their respective parts pretty well across the board. They all took care of their parts in a professional manner and each brought enough personality to help their characters shine just enough within their supportive roles, thus allowing them to bring enough effective impact to the presentation.
Finally, let’s get to our main baddie for this venture with Ra’s Al Ghul. From what we learn about him and his ultimate scheme, he seems to come from the Bat-Family’s regular world and has also created his own Quake Engine Convertors in addition to building his featured dimensional-affecting device. It’s not explicitly clear how long he’s been operating within this other reality, even though he does mention that he created an inflection point one month prior to his grandson’s return from a two-year stay within feudal Japan. Either way, his end goal does fit in line with past depictions of the character where he wishes to tear a society down before building it back up within his desired image. Compared with the Joker’s history-threatening scheme involving buildings that come together to form a giant combiner robot, Ra’s Al Ghul’s desire to expand his empire at the cost of Bruce’s home city has the bigger stakes especially since his machine serves as a threat to other dimensions. Considering that he regularly has his own ninja group within the League of Assassins (or League of Shadows, whichever you prefer to call), it does feel a little odd that he doesn’t bring them along and pair them up alongside his Yakuza thugs in order to make his regular foot army have a better fighting chance. Maybe it’s because the viewing audience already got plenty of ninja representation in the last film, despite the fact that “ninja” is still in the title to help inform the populace that this is a continuation of the prior entry. Despite that oddity within the vast scale of his entire operation, his crime syndicate still has a proper structure in place where the goons out at the bottom of the totem pole while the Yakuza League members serve as his field generals and occupy his group’s middle tier. His primary scheme doesn’t seem to have any major hiccups in terms of how its been constructed as well as what it’s ultimately designed to do. It’s simple enough, yet reveals its key elements at the proper points in order to keep this master plan as a looming threat. While he doesn’t get physically involved in opposing combat as much as some viewers may have wanted, he still remains precise with his attacks while mainly prefers to let his malevolent scheming do the majority of the work. We also don’t see what happens to him after Batman subdues him within a parachute, so he either winds up in custody or he manages to discreetly escape after he lands somewhere. As such, he does become a lingering thread that the Joker gets to since the Clown Prince of Crime completely vanishes from the story after he helps the Dark Knight get back to their world. Maybe the Joker is subtly setting himself up for a possible third outing, but the audience ultimately gets wrapped up in the major crisis getting prevented before the movie starts rolling credits not too long afterwards. Either way, our main villain was still well-represented as John Swasey’s performance helped him maintain an understandable presence throughout the proceedings. His elegant intonations and steely confidence helped our primary antagonist stand out amongst the moderately sized cast, thus making his presentation worthwhile for the project on the whole.
The story finds itself amongst the trend of superhero media released throughout the 2020s which delves into multiversal and otherworldly scale tales. Despite this situation only affecting two different dimensional worlds, it does leave a massive and overwhelming feel for first-time viewers which does scale back with further watches. After our dynamic duo have their initial encounter with Zeshika and Ahsa, Daiana’s massive exposition fest about about how her reality works along with its major players does slow things down and cause the pacing to drag just a little bit. While it is vital that the audience understands the major players that the Eagle Goddess has to put up with on a regular basis, it felt like some restructuring could’ve been done in order to make it flow better while also informing the viewers on what they’ll need to know for this entry. By comparison, Ra’s Al Ghul expanding on how he technologically manipulated this world into what it would become felt like it visually lined up a little better with his explanation while also maintaining a steady pace throughout. Despite its somewhat inconsistent way of delivering important details, the movie still comes through in letting its viewers know all they’ll need in order to understand the main situation along with every figure that’s vital to this narrative. Speaking of characters, I’ve already talked about the main players of this conflict. In terms of the supporting cast, Alfred has a little less of an active role due to him not also being along our heroes in order for him to more directly help out. Even still, his two major scenes still work for what they are and allow Pennyworth to contribute nicely in that capacity thanks to David Harbold’s vocal efforts. In terms of James Gordon, it’s neat that he’s able to finally interact in some form within the story as opposed to last time where he only appeared in still frames during the end credits. Yes, he also doesn’t have much to do since he’s still limited to the main world and on present day yet John Gremillion still helps him stand out in the little room that he has to operate in. While Nightwing, Red Robin & Red Hood each continue to be crucially helpful Bat-Family members despite them not really having much in terms of further developments of their own (with Houston Hayes, Nathan Wilson and David Matranga respectively handling the parts as effectively as they can) and Damian initially having more to do before he’s captured for a good portion of the film before he eventually breaks out in order to rejoin the conflict (despite a decent outing from Bryson Baugus), Harley Quinn has the most noteworthy change out of the film’s entire slate of minor supporting players. In the last entry, she was on equal villainous footing along the Joker in his scheme set within feudal Japan. This time around, they would both break out of prison before they reached the alternate dimension though they wouldn’t make it said realm together. As a result, it allows her to come across and get taken in by Daiana where her newfound friendship with the Amazone leader would come in handy following her encounter with Kuraku which also saw the Joker abandon her. Because of the Eagle Goddess’ heroic and caring protection of her within said incident, Harley winds up respecting her so much that she’s willing to tag along and even get called in at a crucial moment during the climax to help our heroes out. All-in-all, it was a nice choice of this film to showcase Quinn in a more heroic light (even if not anti-heroic) as Karlii Hoch brings a good amount of her own energy into the role and ultimately makes a fairly effective impact upon the part. As for the movie’s animation, it remained consistent throughout with a few visually impactful moments such as some specific backstory segments (the remaining clan representation section, the superpowered figures’ pop-up book-esque altered origins and the 4-D Origami Machine starting up in the climax). Movements felt smooth throughout as I didn’t notice anything awkward in that area, which manages to combine with a strong color palette in order to help make the film visually appealing in order for it to effectively communicate its primary ideas. Finally, there’s a good amount of action scenes throughout the movie. They manage to last for as long as they need to without overstaying their welcome, they’re pretty engaging with a good amount of thrills throughout and they also help the story progress in a good way. The climax doesn’t have as much fisticuffs as it could’ve had given how massive the stakes ultimately become here, but it still juggles several elements pretty effectively during the massive large-scale event. Maybe there could’ve also been some kind of definitive sense of urgency with a knowing amount of time that our heroes have until Gotham gets wiped out, yet how the climax gets presented here is able to get the job done with several twists and thrills throughout. All-in-all, it doesn’t wrap up every dangling plot thread by the end. Fortunately, the majority of what we’re given still ultimately comes together and leaves its viewers on a satisfying note in order to make this complimentary to its prior entry in order for this to make for a unique double-feature.
Overall, this is a worthwhile follow-up to a thrilling 2018 entry that equally stacks up to it despite not really surpassing it. The characters are enjoyable throughout, the situation is engaging, the animation flows at a good clip, the pacing mostly works and the action is thrilling while also pushing the story forward. It makes a good case to continue what was already established makes a convincing argument with what it has to off. While it doesn’t surpass the prior film and only matches it in quality at best, it still makes for an entertaining entry within the Caped Crusader’s vast catalogue. If you’ve already seen the previous movie, then make the dimensional hop over to whatever lets you watch this in order to give this a go. As such, check this out and see how much of an approval comes from your mental Oyabun by the end of it all.
Batman (created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger) and all related characters are owned by DC Comics.
