Batman Ninja Home Entertainment Release
Studio: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Release Date: April 24, 2018 - Digital; May 8, 2018 - Blu-ray, DVD
Synopsis: Japan’s finest artists reimagine Batman and his adversaries in this ground-breaking anime feature. In an all-new story, The Dark Knight travels to a land ruled by sword-wielding samurai and ninja assassins. Beginning in Gotham City, Gorilla Grodd’s time displacement machine malfunctions sending a crazed cast of tyrannical villains back in time to terrorize medieval Japan. The most depraved is Lord Joker, who seeks total domination of the feudal states and the final elimination of the legendary Batman. Can The Caped Crusader gain the advantage--without his signature tech-- to keep Lord Joker and the others from rewriting history? Watch as an ancient legend comes to life in this stunningly realized, adrenaline-fueled addition to the Batman saga.
Batman Ninja Enhanced Content
Blu-ray and Digital
-"East / West Batman" (Featurette) – Batman meets the anime medium, as this documentary looks into some of the Western tropes and archetypes, meshed into the world of feudal Japan. East meets West, swords, samurai and giant robots, all playing into the clash between Batman and his Rogues gallery.
-"Batman: Made in Japan" (Featurette) – To make a special film about Batman requires just the right artist to bring the mix of style and energy that is unmistakably anime. The filmmakers discuss the Japanese character models, influences and design that create a fusion experience into this hyper real world.
-"New York Comic Con Presents Batman Ninja" – Meet the talented filmmakers behind Batman Ninja as they discuss their inspirations and challenges in bringing an anime version of Batman to life during a panel discussion unveiling Batman Ninja during New York Comic Con 2017.
Batman Ninja Blu-Ray Review
by James Harvey
Batman Ninja arrives on home video in a nice batch of differing formats courtesy of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, including Digital HD, Blu-ray and DVD. The studio has provided The World's Finest with a Blu-ray copy to review. Please note that, despite being provided a copy by the studio, that did not influence the final outcome of review. Also, be sure to actually watch Batman Ninja before checking out the bonus content. Two of the featurettes do lean heavily into spoiler territory on multiple occasions, and will definitely ruin some of the big surprises in the film's second half. Now, let's see what the Blu-ray has in store!
Looking at the video and audio quality of the Blu-ray release, the studio has done a stellar job in bringing this lush looking animated movie to physical media. The video looks bright, sharp and has a healthy mix of deep blacks and fine, fine detail. The backgrounds in this movie are stunning, and the transfer really makes them pop. Any imperfections to the transfer are minimal and basically unnoticeable. In terms of audio, the English 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is solid is nicely balanced, allowing booming action sequences to rock your speakers while also making sure quieter scenes and the score can be properly heard clearly. The massive set pieces also allows the mix to have some fun with some nice use of directional audio. Like the video transfer, the audio mix is really top-notch stuff.
To note, this release contains English subtitles for the English dub along with English subtitles of the original Japanese audio.
In terms of special features, the Batman Ninja Blu-ray gives the viewer an interesting look at the film's production and inspirations. The "East/West Batman" featurette, which runs over 17 minutes, focuses on how the different approach to Batman in this movie, and how they blended Eastern storytelling styles and motifs with the world of Batman. The roughly 14-minute "Batman: Made in Japan," essentially expands on the first featurette, as it looks as the assorted inspirations used to direct the film's tone. Both featurettes are a mix of talking head interviews, clips and production art. Lastly, the disc also includes the nearly 50-minute "New York Comic-Con Presents Batman Ninja" panel discussion from New York Comic-Con 2017. The panel is littered with cool insight and details of the film, along with fun moments from the creators. All three of these featurettes are worth a watch,no question.
The Blu-ray Combo Pack also includes a DVD and Digital copy of Batman Ninja, along with a small selection of trailers for other Warner Bros. releases.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has given Batman Ninja a solid Blu-ray release, offering up an excellent audio/video transfer, the original Japanese audio and interesting extras. While the featurettes offer up interesting background details on how the film came together, it would've been nice to get a gallery of what I assume is wealth of gorgeous production art. That is just a minor quibble as, all in all, the studio has delivered on yet another worthwhile release for their animated DC Comics titles. Plus, for those looking to pick up the film on Blu-ray, it's available in both Steelbook and regular packaging. If you're looking to add Batman Ninja to your collection, then Blu-ray is the way to go. Highly Recommended!
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