Review of Batman: Gotham Knight (2008) by Samantha M — 04 Jan 2009

Uneven, but also somewhat refreshing take on Batman. It's amazing that it took this long to take Batman into the realm of anime. It's just a shame that it ended up being so unpolished. Highlights include Kevin Conroy's return to voicing the Dark Knight, some beautiful artwork on a few of the sequences, and the fascinating interpretations the Japanese studios imposed on the mythos of Batman.

The downsides are that, ultimately, these sequences add up to not much more than vignettes that have no impact on the storyline of the Nolan films or really anything in general. Other than Conroy, some of the voice acting is also very stiff.

If you don't like the occasional anime, Gotham Knight will likely not change that, but if you can get over the uneven quality, there is a very interesting project here, and I believe that this could have been a knockout had they chosen an unbridled, solitary direction with a consistent style.

Get Shinichiro Watanabe on that idea!