Batman: Gotham Knight

Think of this initial concept from the perspective of a Batman fan: Six anime directors, along with writers from Hollywood, are joining together to create six different shorts rooted in the Batman universe. They will work as a bridge to detail what was happening in Gotham City between the superlative films Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Fans of Batman would welcome the Caped Crusader’s venture into the realm of anime, where talent could bring its world to life. Some grandiose expectations have been established, and given the quality of the recent theatrical movies, you know you’d better damn well live up to them.

Do you remember The Animatrix? The idea of Batman: Gotham Knight is a concept similar to that one. And the conclusion made upon the announcement of this, even though Gotham Knight doesn’t have the same caliber of directors (not to say they aren’t talented), is: The Animatrix is to The Matrix as Batman: Gotham Knight is to Batman. It’s a perfectly logical conclusion, sure. But if these are your expectations then you’re in for a world of disappointment.

Gotham Knight opens with Have I Got a Story for You, a short written by Josh Olson (A History of Violence) and animated by Studio 4°C (Spriggan, Tekkon Kinkreet) It’s loosely based on the comic episode The Batman Nobody Knows, by Frank Robbins. This story is about four children telling their stories to each other about seeing Batman in action. The aspect that makes their stories interesting is their wonderfully imaginative take on Batman himself. For instance, one of them sees him as a man-machine amalgam, while another as a full-on vampire in a bat suit. The real thing makes an appearance at the end of the episode, to the delight of the children, and debunks their theories on him.

The story is a great concept in itself, but the unfortunate thing here is that it’s already been done, and done better. The Batman: The Animated Series episode Legends of the Dark Knight, utilizes the same concept, except that episode features stories that are more fully fleshed out and, needless to say, much more interesting (P.S. It’s also included in the package if you purchased the 2-Disc DVD set or the Blu-Ray edition). The episode also contains a word-for-word homage to Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns, which always makes for an interesting take on the Batman universe (and a treat for fans who wanted to see that short animated). Still, that doesn’t stop Have I Got a Story for You from being an entertaining short, and it’s one of the better ones on the disc.

This is immediately followed Crossfire, directed by Futoshi Higashide and animated by Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Blood+). Here, the story focuses on Detectives Crispus Allen and Anna Ramirez (the latter of which also makes an appearance in The Dark Knight), who have been given the responsibility of taking the Man in Black safely to Arkham Asylum under the orders of Lieutenant James Gordon. Though he’s aware of who captured the criminal, Allen doesn’t trust Batman at all. Ramirez, his partner, wants to make him understand that Batman is a benefit to Gotham City, and has made the city a more livable place. Both of them run into problems with The Russian on their way to Arkham, where they both must put their lives on the line.

You can hand it to Crossfire for its achievements; the animation and character designs are excellent. The gun battle that takes place between the heroes and villains is well directed and fluidly animated, making it a delight to watch. Yet it falls short in the most important aspect: the story. Crossfire is completely predictable from start to finish, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see that most people had predicted the ending by either reading the concept or watching the first five minutes. It’s fun to watch once, sure, but it’s something you’ll forget about within a day or two.

Next is Field Test, written by Jordan Goldberg, directed by Hiroshi Morioka (IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix), and animated by Bee Train (Noir, .hack//SIGN). Bruce Wayne decides to field test (hence the name) an electromagnetic shield generator created by Lucius Fox that deflects bullets. He decides to test it in his battle against the Russian and his crew aboard a cruise ship.

Field Test is probably the most confounding short in the package, and not in a necessarily good way. Though the character design is good, for the strangest reason Bruce Wayne looks about 5 years younger compared to the other shorts (except for Working Through Pain, though that one is mostly a flashback), despite the fact that all of them take place right behind each other. Not to say there’s a problem with different character design, but there is a problem with inconsistent character design. Also, Batman seems more inexperienced here, and makes some careless mistakes during his battle. And does he really need a shield that deflects bullets despite dodging them fearlessly in Crossfire? It’s why Field Test feels dissonant compared to the others, and feels like it should’ve been either a prequel or left out completely.

Gotham Knight delves into a horror-lite genre with In Darkness Dwells, written by David S. Goyer (Death Warrant, Blade: Trinity) and animated by Madhouse (Ninja Scroll, Trigun). Here, Batman journeys to the underground to rescue a cardinal who’s been kidnapped by Killer Croc. He also runs into the Scarecrow, who condemns the cardinal’s act of helping the homeless.

In Darkness Dwells succeeds where it needs too, in that the horror aspects are indeed harrowing enough to make the short involving for its short running time. The character designs, with the exception of the Scarecrow’s, are odd. Killer Croc also visually looks like a character that was slapped together in a few minutes, as opposed to his detailed Batman: TAS edition (which is more than ten years old as of this writing). The animation is excellent, and it’s enough to be entertaining.

Fifth is Working Through Pain, written by David S. Goyer and animated by Studio 4°C. Batman is still within the sewers from the last episode, and while he struggles through the underground labyrinth injured, he thinks back to when he first started volunteering to help others work through their pain. He reminisces about assisting a doctor in performing surgery (complete with violence that’s pushing the PG-13 rating), and thinks about when he learned to deal with pain.

This entire short is actually quite emotionally effective, and it uses its runtime to accomplish everything it needed to. This isn’t one where the animation shines, as it has the least action of any of the shorts. But it’s so tightly written that it doesn’t need any to carry it, unlike some of the others. It’s not quite on the same level as some of the best Batman: TAS episodes, but it’s very close, especially with the way it ends.

The series of shorts wrap up with Deadshot, written by Alan Burnett and animated by Madhouse. It’s revealed that Deadshot, an assassin, has been hired to carry out a hit someone has placed on Lieutenant Gordon. Batman seeks to stop him before Deadshot accomplishes his job.

The plot here is pretty barebones, but it’s enough for a short like this. There’s also the fact that some details can’t be discussed without ruining some of the other shorts. Deadshot is very well animated, and the battle between Batman and Deadshot provides the biggest visual delight in any of the shorts. Deadshot is also an interesting character for the time the short takes to tell the audience who he is and what his intentions are. Batman’s motivations here are also driven by his troubled past.

Batman’s voice is provided in every short by Kevin Conroy, who also voiced him in the series. He’s still pretty good, and is still the most recognizable voice for Batman/Bruce Wayne in animated form. His voice fits some renditions of Batman better than others here. Also, look for Will Fredle, who voiced Terry McGinnis in Batman Beyond, in a couple of minor roles. The voice acting as a whole is very good for every character involved.

Nevertheless, Batman: Gotham Knight is a mixed bag overall. By the time the best shorts start to come in, it’s already too late to redeem it. The viewers are forced to watch three underwhelming shorts and an average one in a gamble hoping they won’t eject the DVD out of their drive in disgust before the best comes in. And it’s a crying shame, because with the budget and studios available for animating the entire package, it could’ve been on the same pedestal as the movies that it’s tying together. Instead, we’re given a wonderfully missed opportunity. None of the shorts are on par with the Batman: TAS episodes that are included as extras in certain editions.