Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League Was Inspired By This Classic Actor

Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League might be putting a new, Japanese spin on The Dark Knight, but the anime movie was inspired by this classic Batman performance. The upcoming anime movie is the sequel to 2018’s Batman Ninja, which was well-received by critics but somewhat divisive among the DC fan base. Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League looks even bigger and even better, thanks partly to this classic Caped Crusader. Speaking to Anime News Network, directors Junpei Mizusaki and Shinji Takagi revealed that one of the oldest Batman performances influenced the new CG anime movie. “I think we drew more on Adam West in the original live-action TV series for both Batman Ninja and Yakuza League,” Nakashima explained.

The late Adam West played Bruce Wayne in Batman, a live-action TV series that aired 120 episodes from 1966 to 1968. West also played and voiced The Dark Knight several times after the show was canceled, including in The New Adventures of Batman (1977), Legends of the Superheroes (1979), and most recently in Batman vs. Two-Face (2017). Unlike modern, dark iterations, Adam West’s Batman was colorful and campy and introduced amazing gadgets like the Shark Repellent Bat-Spray.

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It’s easy to see the parallels between Adam West’s Batman and Batman Ninja. In addition to their colorful palettes and designs, the sheer cartoonishness of the concept feels like it was ripped from an episode of Batman. Batman Ninja was 2018’s unexpected Isekai hit. The movie transported Batman, the Robins, and his rogue’s gallery to feudal Japan. The film featured the classic Batman vs. Joker storyline but with katanas, shurikens, incredible straw hats, and a giant mech suit made of bats.

What Is Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League?

Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League expands upon the first film, throwing in the entire Justice League (or, at least, their Yakuza equivalents). The first official trailer for Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League has revealed the film’s bonkers plot. After a “yakuza storm” floods Gotham, feudal Japan floats upside down over the city, causing the Yakuza League to infiltrate and “save” Gotham. Standing in their way is Batman, with some new high-tech gadgets. Batman Ninja took Batman to feudal Japan, but Yakuza League is bringing feudal Japan to Batman.

Unlike in DC Comics, where Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and Wonder Woman are Batman’s closest allies, Yakuza League flips the script. Let’s hope Yakuza League includes Batman’s “Tower of Babel” contingency plans, as he’ll be facing down the Yakuza equivalents of his old allies. Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League releases on digital and Blu-ray in 2025.

H/T: Anime News Network