Batman Nina vs. Yakuza League - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:

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Movie
2018’s Batman Ninja was a fun jaunt into the world of Anime for the DCAU. It was a bit bizarre. A bit crazy. But it most definitely was a fun little side jaunt for everyone involved and we got to see a Batman’s legendary martial arts prowess on full display. That being said, I didn’t foresee a sequel any time soon, but was pleasantly surprised to see that Warner/DC was working on a sequel early this year. So I sat down, pulled out the popcorn, and in between trying to save me wife’s car from a blown transmission, plopped down in my recliner ready for some more good old Ninja fun.

Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League is one of those films where as you’re watching the movie you’re constantly asking yourself “am I really seeing this”? And the answer is of course, yes, yes you are. Amping up the crazy to level 11, the film starts out with Batman and Robin (the Damian Wayne variant) getting transported back into the future after their time in feudal Japan, only to find out that the present has been changed somehow. It seems that Japan has been separated from the world and floats above the earth in an inter dimensional rift that can’t be seen by the normal eye. However, they continue to send over suicide bomber Yakuza members to try and take over Gotham. Helping Gordon tamp down on the ninja assassins from the other side (which to the normies on Earth looks like random people falling from the sky) Batman and Robin also come to realize that the Justice League is no more. Not that they disbanded, but the time shift meant that they were no longer in this universe, at all.

After investigating into the rift that for some reason he and Damian can actually see, they find that Japan is floating in inter dimensional space, and is run ENTIRELY by Yakuza families. And it looks like the missing Justice League members are members of the Yakuza clans. The largest clan is run by Superman as a ruthless mob enforcer, Aquaman as his lake dwelling subordinate, and The Flash as the fastest enforcer alive. However, HOW this actually happened is the focus of Batman’s investigative faculties, forcing the intrepid crime fighter to dig deeper and deeper until he finds out just who really is pulling all of the strings to effectively rewrite history.

Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League is a barrel of fun and a half. The film does NOT hold back in any way, blending in elements of classic anime, Japanese crime cinema, and even a few 4th wall winks and nods to Anime fans as they make this about as bizarre and out of this world as FLCL, while still keeping it grounded as a DCAU film (barely on the grounding part though). The animation is slick and glossy, though it sometimes feels a bit too CGI compared to many modern anime films and shows. The sword fights are a blast, and pitting Batman’s infamous emergency plans against the Justice League against some of the most super powered heros alive was a nice change of pace.

The film isn’t always perfect, but at least it tries to be something more “Japanese” than Batman Ninja was in 2018. The best way I can describe the film is that it takes the crazy elements of modern Anime and fuses it into traditional Batman story lines in a way that is both confusing, and hilariously fun at the same time. While I loved Batman Ninja for being an Anime version of Kurosawa film, I love Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League for being full blown zany over the top anime craziness.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

The 2160p image is razor sharp, with a nice clean digital look to it (even though the digital Anime animation style tries to imitate the roughness of hand drawn anime line art) and wonderful colors. The film is over the top in its color grading, with lavish greens fore Jessica, purples and blues for Harley, and deep blacks, blues and reds for our Bat family. Fine details are good for the style of anime, though the CGI animated movement feels a bit cheap compared to actual modern Anime for the most part. That being said, the Dolby Vision really does enhance the film, especially with the black levels as I saw no major signs of banding anywhere (which is always the bane of the DCAU animated films for some reason). There’s a little bit of crush in the background, but overall this is a fantastic release for Warner in the video department.







Audio:

And here’s for the weird part. I popped in my disc and when choosing audio tracks noticed that the English audio mix was in lossy 448 kbps Dolby Digital. Thinking that they kept the lossless mix for the Japanese track since this IS basically an Anime, I switched over to find the same thing. Confirming with a few other reviewers online that this is not just my copy, we also confirmed that the Blu-ray has 5.1 DTS-HD MA for the English track, and 640 kpbs Dolby Digital for the Japanese track, which most likely means this was a good on Warner’s part during creation of the masters.

That being said, I have to grade the audio with what we were given, and as such it doesn’t live up to the hype of most of the DCAU films. Usually I give a 4/5 or a 4.5/5 for those tracks, but this time I have to give it a 3.5/5. The audio is good for a DVD level audio mix, with solid bass for the fights (check out sonic boom as the Batmobile tries to escape near the end), and the surrounds are good. But personally, I felt that the track was a bit thin and not as rich as it could have been. Dynamics are good, but slightly squashed in the dynamic range department, and I felt the LFE was a bit harsh to the ear. Overall a solid mix, but being limited to DVD level audio bitrates constrained it a bit.







Extras:

• Bringing Justice to Japan
• Anime Action: Choreographing the Fights

Final Score: ​

Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League is a worthy successor to the 2018 film, and actually expands upon the concept a lot more. There’s more of everything in this one, with more action, more colors, more weirdness, and more Batman kicking butt. The 4K UHD disc looks great, sounds….well...OK, thanks to the audio issue, but overall it’s a fun watch. The audio issue may stay some people, but until it’s confirmed that this is a mistake I can only recommend based on what we have. And what we have is pretty good for the most part. Fun watch.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Yuki Kaji, Akio Otsuka, Ayana Sakura
Directed by: Junpei Mizusaki, Shinji Takagi
Written by: Kazuki Nakashima
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: NR
Runtime: 89 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: April 15th, 2025

Recommendation: Solid Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will have to check out the first one Batman Ninja and then this one.