TFARCHIVE FORUMS

That Batman anime short film collection thing just came out today.

I enjoyed it; some segments more than others.

The shorts done by Madhouse were the best. I dunno if it was by luck or by design, but they got all the supervillains. Which is fine, because they visually interpretted them maginificently. Killer Croc felt a little hamfisted into the story, but Scarecrow (voiced by Corey Burton!) was glorious.

As I had anticipated, I didn't much care for the segments where Bruce looked like a thirteen year-old boy. Couldn't stand the fact that he and Lucious Fox winked at each other no less than six dozen times in the span of two minutes. God dammit, Japan. Stop. Just stop. The ridiculously curved cowl of his Batman outfit didn't sit well with me, either.

The guy they got to voice Alfred confused me a bit. He sounded like he was doing an Efrem Zimbalist impression rather than a Michael Caine impression. In which case, why not just get Zimbalist? He's still alive and hasn't done anything (according to IMDB) since Justice League.

The casting of Rob Paulson as the leader of the Italian Mafia also took me out of the experience. I adore Paulson's voice...in kiddy cartoons. But perhaps its because he's so synonimous with comedy and children's material that hearing him cursing and trying to sound serious and tough just didn't work for me.


Anyhow, the segments done by Madhouse were worth the price for me and the only parts of the film I was really anticipating. Oddly, the character designs all looked like they were the work of Yoshiaki Kawajiri, but he didn't direct either segment.

I liked "Working Through Pain" the best, and "Deadshot" second. Didn't care for "Have I Got A Story For You", which was just an update of "The Batman Nobody Knows" story from 1973 that was also done on the old animated series. (And is an extra on the special edition.)

If it's Kevin Conroy, it's the real Batman =|

I really enjoyed the different spin on it. Great voicework overall but *that* Alfred voice just didn't work. Agree on Paulson also though just when he speaks he will have all the mafianess of 1980sRaphael. Not much.
It had a few duff moments as Spengs had stated but I really liked the different Batman designs. Although my least favourite was the one with the sharp nose [It reminded me of a fish more than a Bat] it was also the one I found most visually interesting.
Overall really good. Wouldn't mind them doing more.