Anime: Batman: Gotham Knight

Batman is surely one of the greatest super-heroes of all times (well, the word "super" is kinda used loosely here, since he has no super-powers, like as Superman, Wonder Woman and many heroes in the DC Universe). Now, Batman's fame has reached the sky with the release of the "The Dark Knight" movie (one of the greatest movies, in my opinion),
the new video game "Batman: Arkham Asylum", which is on the World Guiness Book, for being the game with the highest ranks in 2009 both in paper and electronic press among other games, such as CoD: MW2, L4D 2 and its 1st comic book series (Detective Comics) has the long run in the comic book history
(its was released in very lates of 30s and still goes on, even today!!). Also, now Batman is dead in the comics (yup, he is dead!!!). Well, Bruce Wayne is dead, so the 1st Robin/Nighthawk took the heavy burden of Batman's legacy and cape along with Bruce's son, who now is Robin (don't ask me please... I've stopped caring 'bout Batman comics for a long time...).
So, to cash in from this hype, they made this OVA, which is like Animatrix: instead of a full movie, we have a collection of short movies based on a world (in Animatrix's case it's the Matrix movie universe, and this one in Batman's world) of a famous movie and each one of those movies have little to none connection with each other.
Seems this is a new trend that's going on: a famous franchise also gets an anime movie in the form of DVD/Blu-ray Disc.

Like said from above, Batman: Gotham Knight has 6 short movies based on Batman's world. Each one of them has different story, there is no connection between them and each one has different animation. In each one of the films we will discuss about the story and animation, while the voice acting is the same and has great quality.
By the way, be warned: It has only english voices, not japanese so for those who expected Batman speaking japanese, well, you are pretty much dissapointed. =). Also, I give 5 to animation, due to the fact that each story has different animation, which some is bad, some is decent, some is good and you will love some of it and don't. Bottom line:
it's your choice and tastes for the animation here. so.... Choose your animation! (imitating MK anniator's voice) :D .

STORIES

-Have I got a story to tell you: Here, we see some kids who claim to have seen Batman very close, although in each one each kid sees Bats different (they go from vampire to robot!!). This shows how much each person sees someone him from his action and assume of what he is (remember, nobody knows who Batman truly is). I have to
say this is story that I personally like the least from all 6. It has little of Batman, also it has the animation that I like also the least (When it comes to Batman's art, I prefer Jim Lee's work on Batman from the All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder series, written by Frank Miller).

-Crossfire: This one pretty much shows what the Gotham Police officers think of Batman, where on the one side, a newcomer in Gotham City, sees Batman as a vigilante (that's what he really is after all) and a trouble in police's work on crime fighting and on the other side, we have a policewoman who lives her life in Gotham sees in Batman's face the lost hope
that Gotham City has lost a long time ago. The animation in this movie is kinda good and has that dark feeling that surrounds the Dark Knight himself. I almost loved it like Lee's art. Well, too bad it was short =(. Oh hell. let's move on...

-Field Test: Batman gains a new gadget, a EMP that's attached in the belt and can reflect bullets from guns (shotguns don't work). He decided to test it while investigating some murders. I do believe that if they were to make an anime Batman (God, I hope not...), that's how he would like. Both Bruce Wayne and Batman resembled true anime characters, not like some comic book characters.

-In Darknes Dwells: There is a number of kidnappings happening in Gotham City with the latest being of the cardinal O'Fallon, and it's up to Batman to reach to the root of this ... Here we have an appearance of two classic Batman villains: the Scarecrow and the Killer Croc. Personally I found the animation not as good as I wanted in the end. Batman is kinda bulky
and Killer Croc is like a mutant human being coming out from Chernobyl. But, hey that's personal opinion, you can disagree with me.

-Working Through Pain: Batman is being shot by a lowlife scum and tries to work through the pain and contacts Alfred for help. While heading to the meeting point and trying to walk, we see a sigment from Wayne's past before becoming Batman, trying to learn a way to to be able to work through pain with the help of a female Indian guru. Although he learns to stand physical
pain, the psychological pain, the pain of the past is another story as we see in the end. The animation here is pretty good, especially in the parts of Wayne's past.

-Deadshot: In the last story of this OVA, we see yet another Batman villain, maybe not well-known compared to the most famous ones: it's Deadshot, a mercenary who can kill anyone with perfect precise from any distance, moving platform or not. When it's known that his next victim is Commisioner Gordon himself, Batman tries to find him, before he kills Gordon. I was able to recognise
the animation here (well, I believe so...) and it's the same with Ninja Scroll's animation. It's detailed and has some cool CGIs. Personally, I loved it and is my favorite animation from all the whole OVA.

Conclusion: It's a great addition to the Batman media and franchise. It's very good and will be a great watch.

Suggestions:

-Format:
*Animatrix: Here we have some short movies based on the Matrix universe that on the one hand have directly relation with the movies, while others don't.

*Halo Legends: Same deal, expect it deals with the Halo video game series. For the Halo fans, it's good.

-Other:
After all, this is a comic book character, so it's essential that we suggest a few comic books. Here are some of the best suggested by MANY people:

*The Dark Knight Returns: This one is simply one of the best pieces of fiction ever. Frank Miller simply delivers if not the best, surely one of the best
comic stories EVER. It makes what Batman is today: a dark warrior, someone with guts and balls, not a cheap copy of Superman without powers (that how Batman was being treated back then before this). Simply awesome. 'Nuff Said!

*Batman: Year One: Another great comic book, as we see Bruce Wayne's first steps of becoming Batman in a city of great corruption and crime and how he is dealt in the beginning of his carrier.

*Batman: The Killing Joke: Alan Moore is the writer of this one. No more words... We also see a little more mature of the origin of The Joker(or at least that's what is believed to be. Joker's true past was never reviled). It's also one of the first serious, mature Batman story.

*Arkham Asylum: A Serious Trouble on a Serious Earth: A great horror comic book, where Batman goes to the Arkham Asylum for a night, after he agreed with the Joker in exchange for the
freedom of the stuff that was held hostage at April's 1st. We see a Batman kinda weak and succumbing in madness as the story progresses, in parallel with Dr. Arkham's story. Funny note is
that the name of the asylum is named after the asylum we meet in Lovecraft's stories.

If you have ever watched the Animatrix, you will have a good idea of the format of Gotham Knight.
It is, like the aforementioned title; a collection of short films relating to Batman, each made by different studios and ergo have different art styles and narrative approaches.
The time line of these episodes is apparently set in-between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, though I must admit I fail to see any relevance to this point.

Each film is very much it's own story and does not appear to tie in with the other episodes and therefore I will review them individually and ditch the standard format.

*** You can skip down to the bottom for a brief review of the OVA as a whole.

Have I Got a Story for You (Studio 4°C)

The first thing that may strike you about this short, is the art style which is very dynamic and I would say not typical of most Anime.

Four skater kids meet up in a skater park warehouse all claiming to have seen Batman. They each describe their encounters and tend to exaggerate their encounter by adding fantastic attributes to Batman such as being able to turn into a shadow or being a type of killer robot.
All claim to have seen Batman, all but on of the skaters. As the friends recollect their stories Batman burst into the skate park fighting a goon and the kid who didn't have a story to tell now has the chance to experience the super hero up close and personal.

This is one of my favourite of the 6 short films. The minute it starts it will evoke memories of Kid's Story from the Animatrix; which is well placed as both are by the same studio. From the minute the first skater appears to the very subtle use of 3D. the similarities are very apparent.

Rating: 9
_________________________________________

Crossfire (Production I.G)

Two cops from Gordon's crew are caught up in a confrontation between two gangs. Heavily out gun and out-manned, with their care blown to pieces they seem to be heading for certain death when Batman appears on the scene in an attempt to rescue them.

The main crux of the story in this short is about the Police trusting Batman. The story didn't really captivate me much on this one and although the high standard we have come to expect from production IG is present in the animation, I still felt a little underwhelmed.
The look of this Batman is very comparable to the recent Batman Hollywood movie and looks pretty bad-ass in this rendition.

Rating: 6
_________________________________________

Field Test (Bee Train)

Lucius Fox helps Batman to create a device to deflect small-arms bullets off the Bat-suit. Later that evening Batman has the chance to try out this new device as he is caught in the middle of a gang war. As the battle ensues a bullet which is successfully deflected from the Bat-suit, hits one of the gang members.

One aspect that stood out for me is the fairly different approach to Batman's look. His face mask almost reminded me of Griffith's helmet, from Berserk.
The story itself was pretty decent but maybe felt a little shallow.
The animation was good, but I felt the backgrounds were a big forte in this movie.

Rating: 7
_________________________________________

In Darkness Dwells (Madhouse)

A cardinal is abducted by what witnesses claim to be a creature that resembles a giant Lizard who then disappeared into the Gotham sewer system.
Batman goes to investigate and as he literally wades through the underworld eventually facing off against this Lizard man. During this encounter he is poisoned by a toxin and to make matters worse he realises he will have to face another of his arch-enemies.

This is one is one of the more action packed of these shorts and provides many exciting and originally animated scenes. What stands out here is the great use of unconventional camera angles and some very smooth animations.
This films also adds entertainment by featuring two known Batman villains such as the Scarecrow and Killer Croc.
Nice art style which seem very stylised in part due to the heavy use of large areas of pitch black shadows.

Rating: 9
_________________________________________

Working Through Pain (Studio 4°C)

When Batman is hit by a bullet and starts to hallucinate, he starts to think back to a time when he was in India as an apprentice of a woman named Cassandra.
She is a type of guru and after some convincing, decides to teach Batman in the art of managing pain. It is a hard task and doubts start to form in Batman's mind as to whether or not he will be capable or reaching the same level of resilience to pain as his master.

This is short takes upon itself to show you some back story to one of Batman's powers, which is to be able to ignore a high degree of pain. This short takes away some of the action and focuses more on the emotional side of Batman's psyche.
It is interesting to see some of this back story, but the story never seemed to unfold very well and left me feeling somewhat unimpressed.

Rating: 7
_________________________________________

Deadshot (Madhouse)

A celebrity is murdered with a surgical sniper shot taken by the notorious sharpshooting villain known as Deadshot.
After further investigation Batman believes that Deadshot's next victim will be Gordon - the Police chief himself.
Whilst trying to protect his allie in the Police force Batman comes to realise that Gordon was never the true target and turns from the hunter into the hunted.

This final film of the OVA is very much an action packed affair again and succeeds very well in that regard.
Heavy use of CG which I felt was pretty fitting and very well executed.
This Batman is drawn in a classic style and is depicted in his classic blue and grey costume.
Style of this Anime very much reminded me of the Ninja Scroll movie.
Another film which emphasises Batman's dislike for fire-arms.

Rating: 8


*** General Review:

It is hard to write a review with a single score, when all six films are very much unique pieces.
Each episode is very unique and therefore the trip through these six films constantly provides a fresh style to keep you entertained.
There is something here for most types, from the traditional action to some depiction of Batman's more philosophical sides.

Some one-liners are dangerously close to being cheesy, pulled off successfully only by the fact that they are being said, by the Dark Knight himself.

Additionally I would like to add that I felt the soundtrack to these films was very strong and besides being pleasing to the ear also matched the pace of each short very well.

It's definitively a must-watch for fans of the franchise and can be recommended to general fans of Anime for being a showcase of shorts by some of the top Anime studios.
One half of the films felt really solid and memorable where as the other three ranged from mediocre to barely interesting.

At very least, half of these short films will entertain you and at best all six will offer something of interest to the Batman fan.
On the whole, I would say that this marriage of Anime and Batman is a very successful one.