Jan 11 2009
#13 - #15: “Batman,” “Nadia,” and “Ninja Scroll”
“Batman: Gotham Knight” is a interconnected group of short cartoons all set within the world of “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight.” It is done in a way reminiscent of “The Animatrix,” with stories that are not only set in the world of Batman, but which connect to the two live-action movies and expand upon the stories they tell. Each animated short is done by a different director and artists, so each has its own unique look and feel to it. I really enjoyed this DVD. The stories were well written and the animation superbly done. I’m hoping more will be done in the future to fill out the Batman universe even more.
“Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water” is an older animated TV series, with 39 episodes in total. It centers around a young inventor who becomes entangled in the life of a mysterious circus performer while attending an exhibition in Paris. The animation style here looks alot like that found in Miyazaki films, such as “Kiki’s Delivery Service” or “Spirited Away.” The bad guys are more silly then evil, and the circumstances the main characters find themselves in are less dangerous then exciting, but the story is still pretty good. This wouldn’t be the first thing I would watch if I was in the mood to view some anime, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
“Ninja Scroll: the Series” has been around for a while now, but I never got around to watching it because someone told me once that it wasn’t anywhere near as good as the original animated movie “Ninja Scroll.” And while this 13 episode series certainly looks different then the movie, and doesn’t have as dark and intense a feel to it, I really enjoyed watching the first episode. Wandering ninja Jubei is just as non-commital and aloof as ever, even when asked by a village of warriors to protect their most precious commodity, a young warrior girl whose destiny has aroused the interest of some people with less than honorable intentions. The animation is much crisper and cleaner than that from the movie, but the style hasn’t been changed so much that you can’t relate the series to the source material. From what I’ve seen, this show is well done continuation of the film.
