Review
Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League
Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League
Studio: Warner Bros. Japan
Release Date: March 18, 2025 - Digital; April 15, 2025 - 4K, Blu-ray, DVD
Seven years ago, in 2018, a new animated direct-to-video movie titled "Batman Ninja" was released. Batman, a few members of the Bat Family, and several of his Rogues Gallery were accidentally sent back in time to the Warring States Era of feudal Japan by Gorilla Grodd's Quake Engine. Embracing the ninja arts over his over reliance on technology, Batman and company overcame Grodd, Joker, and the other villains and returned to the present. All was well. Character designer Takashi Okazaki, screen writer Kazuki Nakashima, composer Yugo Kanno, director Jumpei Mizusaki, and animation studio Kamikaze Douga created something special for the Batman mythos. In the sequel titled "Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League", Batman finds Gotham City under attack by Japan, now a floating island controlled by a yakuza family composed of Ra's al Ghul and alternate criminal versions of Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman. Now Batman has to stop Ra's from destroying Gotham and undoing the alterations to the space-time continuum all without getting taken out by his former allies! "Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League" is a worthy sequel and superior across the board in all aspects, perhaps even more accessible to DC fans who love a good Elseworlds-esque story.
"Batman Ninja Vs. Yakuza League" takes place literally right after "Batman Ninja" concludes. Damian Wayne wakes up with a head full of hair instead of one shaven and stylized after samurai and there is no such thing as a Justice League. They soon discover Ra's al Ghul was aware of Gorilla Grodd's machinations in the first movie and improved upon the design of his Quake Engine (maybe right after he read a copy of The Fold: Leibniz and the Baroque by Gilles Deleuze). He manages to take the lead of the ruling Yakuza family running Japan and eliminates most of the competition. To make matters worse, four members of that family are four alternate versions of Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, and Aquaman who grew up completely different lives and are criminal enforcers. Luckily, Wonder Woman still adheres to a sense of honor and justice and helps the Bat-Family and even Harley Quinn. Batman has no choice but to use precautions he came up with in case the Justice League ever turned evil, came under hypnosis, and the like and race to Ra's device before he completes his goal of flattening Gotham City to rubble with Japan.
Whereas "Batman Ninja" leaned into jidaigeki style samurai sword fights and a wacky take on mecha, "Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League" is a bit more recognizable to DC fans. Superpower vs. superpower and a battle of Bat wits. Aquaman or Ahsa uses a trident, manipulates water, and uses sea animals to help him. Diana has the power of an Amazon and her golden lasso. Green Lantern uses her power ring. Flash is super fast. Superman has his super strength, flight, and heat vision. Batman uses his plans to neutralize the Yakuza League and aspects of the Bat Family's ninja training in the first movie come to play. Ultrasound is used against Aquaman. The flashy Nightwing armor cuts through Green Lantern's hard light constructs but it's all just a ploy and she's taken out with a tranquilizer dart. Same with Flash, Red Robin and Red Hood manages to slip a VR controller on Flash and outrace him through a false Tokyo. Like clockwork, Flash throws a tantrum and has to recoup his energy with a quick snack so he stops at a vending machine. Except it's one of Red Hood's tricks and he easily darts Flash. For me this was definitely the most unexpected and hilarious ninja tricks of all and pair that with Red Hood executing it, was just gold. You would think Batman would go straight to Green Kryptonite to take out Kuraku but nope, in an elaborate manipulation of the Man of Steel, Batman uses red sun radiation to strip Kuraku of his powers and make him feel some real pain. Of course, it wouldn't be a Batman Ninja movie if there wasn't some bonkers action set piece. Using Yakuza mobsters as human bullets or trying to launch the island of Japan and later a tower into Gotham from a space-time portal sure checked that box off.
A lot like "Batman Ninja", the sequel is a nice mix of references to both DC Comics lore and Japanese history and culture. The Yakuza League definitely will remind DC fans of alternate universe Justice Leagues like the Crime Syndicate from the comics or even the Justice Lords from the Justice League animated series. And Batman already having devised methods of defeating the Justice League just in case is right out of the Tower of Babel storyline that also involved Ra's al Ghul. There's even a few neat easter eggs here and there. Case in point, near the start of the movie, as Bruce and Damian walk through the Batcave there's a whole line up of Batmobiles from various eras of Batman like the 1966 live action series, the 1989 movie, the Tumbler in the Nolan movies, and later in the movie, Batman uses the Bat-Tank from the Frank Miller tale The Dark Knight Returns. Talia, the daughter of Ra's, gets a name drop later in the movie. The head of a rival Yakuza family was Doomsday! Red Hood sports both his New 52 and Red Hood: Outlaw era costumes. The most surprising and amusing of references was the homage to the cover of Detective Comics #38, which first introduced Robin, but in the movie Harley is in his place, and Diana in Batman's. After first appearing as one of the villains in the first movie, it's fitting Harley Quinn is a bit more in the gray area in the sequel but ultimately helps the Bat-Family find the Four-Dimensional Origami System just in time. Or Nightwing's disco suit form the comes is reworked as a suit of armor designed to distract Green Lantern. In terms of Japanese references, naturally, there's the inclusion of the Yakuza but also a nice feature on Inokashira Park and name check of Benzaiten, a Shinto goddess associated with water and snakes, and good luck, the arts, wisdom, and love. Alfred's video about the Bat-Phoenix is a loveletter to old-school Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Diana sings in a lovely sequence that pays tribute to the traditional Enka genre. The movie takes a stab at Japan's opinion on the California Roll and makes hilarious use of its vending machine culture. Design-wise, you can see Yakuza culture in Diana and Green Lantern down to the kimono and the latter's tattoo. Whereas Harley's is a nod to Sukeban girl uniforms. Batman's mech suit even reminded me of a mecha that appeared in Gurren Lagann.
Thankfully, the Yakuza League aren't entirely evil like the Crime Syndicate and there are some nuances to them. Aquaman or Ahsa the Aqua Dragon is a childhood friend of Diana and yearned to rule the entire ocean but ultimately decides to stick to his lake. Superman Kuraku the Man of Steel staunchly believes he must be as ruthless and criminal as he can in order the save the world and thus follows the orders of Ra's al Ghul without question. The ensuing battle between Batman and Superman is another entertaining slug fest that takes inspiration from the famous battle seen in The Dark Knight Returns where the Bat-Tank is literally used but a uniquely Japanese mech suit is then used with the usual Batman trickery to fool Kuraku into helping set himself for defeat by red sun radiation. The big coup de grace and surprise is Batman wins by using Kryptonite brass knuckles straight out of the Batman: Hush comics. However, the fight is layered well with a philosophical challenge as well. Batman rejects Kuraku's beliefs and admits to admiring Superman's character and heart. Another welcome twist is the Yakuza League seeing their counterparts and deciding to help Batman save Gotham City and destroy Ra's base, the Yakuza Tower, and his device in order to set the universe back into its rightful place.
It was a tad disappointing Joker had a very small role in the movie or that Robin was sidelined for the majority of it. On the other hand, it is understandable the production team had to juggle a lot more with the inclusion of the alternate doppelgangers of the Justice League and they do manage to get in a funny meta reaction from Robin about being grandstanded by Diana in his big moment. With the Joker, in 20/20 hindsight, it was fine to give him a break and should a third movie get greenlit, they left him in a good spot to revisit. He saved Batman in this movie because only he can kill Batman in his head. Maybe in a hypothetical third movie, he once again tries to kill the Dark Knight. The first movie featured an altered past. The second, an altered present. Could a third deal with a jaunt to the future? Hmm. I'm never against a new take on Batman Beyond. The only other issue is the structure of the movie is lot of exposition, action, lot of exposition, action but it isn't as blaring an issue thanks to good pacing. Though if you're not used to the m.o. of anime "overexplaining" things or 3D cell-shaded animation for that matter, it may feel too much for the uninitiated.
Like with the first movie, you can watch "Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League" in either Japanese with English subtitles or in English. Unfortunately, there is some controversy with the latter. The first movie's English dub was Union but in the past couple years Warner Brothers' recent anime dubs have been non-Union. The returning characters have been recast with new English dub voice actors. Nothing against this movie's cast, this is more of a a systemic issue in the anime industry than a knock against the movie but it's still a bit of a white elephant in the room. It's a way to pinch pennies and the studio saves money but also limits the talent that can be used. Does this hurt the movie much? In the eyes of the beholder. I had no beef with the returning characters sounding different. More so with the gap in releases for both movies. In actuality, I watched the movie more times with the Japanese cast anyway.
The movie has two special features about aspects of the making-of-the-movie. "Bringing Justice to Japan" centers on character designer Takashi Okazaki as he reveals his process for designing the Yakuza League. He also delves into inspiration he took from both DC lore and Japanese culture like making Green Lantern's stuffed bear a nod to Simon Baz or Aquaman's look being a mix of Tupac and fish marketers in Tsukiji. He also reveals Lady Snowblood's influence on Wonder Woman as well as a Yakuza movie called Hibotan Bakuto. It clocks in at 7 minutes, 26 seconds. "Anime Action: Choreographing the Fights" focuses on the making-of-the action sequences. Storyboards are shown throught as the writer and directors talk about how to level the playing field when it came to the battles and putting in a lot of effort for the awakening in the finale. Shinji Takagi compliments Kazuki Nakashima for writing such a precise script that he didn't have to change much. It is the longer of two at 9 minutes, 7 seconds. While both are informative, it still feels like just the tip of the iceberg for this movie's production. A gallery of various production art, more interviews focused on others like the screenwriter or composer, or a commentary track with the writer, directors, and some cast would have been a lovely addition to the special features section.
"Batman Ninja Vs. Yakuza League" takes it cues from its predecessor and delivers another bonkers story laced with comic book action and an over-the-top sci-fi threat that only Japanese anime could envision. As long as you're game for a non-Western, non-grounded take on the traditional DC mythos, you're good to go and buckle up for an affectionate love letter to American comic books and Japanese anime that doesn't take itself too seriously with a great mix of action, heart, and humor. In 4K with a decent sound bar, this movie is amazing and takes your senses on a journey. The release could have used more special features but with the current trend in movie releases, we get what we get. One minor quibble is the digital release only having a choice of Japanese end credits. "Batman Ninja Vs. Yakuza League" released on digital this past Tuesday on March 18 and releases on 4K/Blu-ray/DVD on April 15, 2025. Highly recommended purchase.
Rating
Main Feature: 4 out of 5
Special Features: 3 out of 5
Average Rating: 3.5 out of 5