English Dub Review: Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League

Are you looking for the 1000th multiversal comic book story from DC Animation that takes place directly after it’s Back to the Future predecessor? Well you’re in luck because Batman vs Yakuza League is just that, Japanese adaptations of the Justice League fight an increasingly more Iron Man-esque Batman and his guy-only Bat-Family before two worlds collide causing destruction of epic proportions.

If you’re into the 2.5D look that DC Animation has been doing a lot more lately, you’ll like this, though I actually preferred the anime aesthetic juxtaposition directed by Jumpei Mizusaki and Shinji Takagi that largely goes on in the backgrounds giving this admittedly unique and welcoming look that feels like RWBY meets a 1980s-produced anime series. The action sequences are pretty awesome-looking especially during the well-choreographed fight scenes that features all of the action you’d expect from a comics book adaptation but with the frenetic and chaotic speed of your favorite Shonen. Bruce’s arsenal of bat-toys has never looked better and fans of the franchise’s lore will have fun scouting all of the Easter eggs from DC’s decadent past.

The script features some hokey-ass dialogue at the start of the 90-minute feature-length, but eventually gives way for some pretty deep structure even with some of the corny gags laden throughout. Kazuki Nakashima writes a pretty compelling narrative and makes sure to feature a number of your favorite characters from Batman-lore. The alt-universe stuff may be a bit typical, but overall there’s a good amount of fun to be had.