Comics
The Batman Ninja Collaboration Project Promises to Transcend Anime
When I walked into the Batman Ninja panel, I expected an anime where Bruce Wayne (or his equivalent) was born in feudal Japan and trained to become a bat-themed ninja because his parents were killed by a vaguely Joker-like Oda Nobunaga. However, what I saw in the panel was very different. I think I prefer what I witnessed to what I originally pictured.
So, what is Batman Ninja? Basically, it’s an anime that “transcends anime,” made as a collaboration between Warner Bros. and Warner Bros. Japan. Longtime anime fans will recognize many of the names attached to this project, including screenwriter Kazuki Nakashima (Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill), character designer Takashi Okazaki (Afro Samurai), and director Jumpei Mizusaki (Dragon Quest, JoJo;s Bizarre Adventure). While the idea of a Batman anime has apparently been tossed around for a while in Japan, nobody ever tried to make a feature length show or movie(the anthology Batman: Gotham Knight notwithstanding). But then Warner Bros. approached Nakashima and Okazaki and asked, “Hey, wanna make an anime where Batman is a ninja?” And thus Batman Ninja was born.
So, if Batman Ninja isn’t about a Japanese version of Bruce Wayne becoming a ninja, what is it about? To put it simply, Batman, his allies (Robin, Red Hood, Nighwing), and his enemies (Penguin, The Joker, Two-Face, Harley Quin, Gorilla Grodd) time travel to feudal Japan and bring all their technology with them. That might sound like a weird story that has no place in the DC Universe, but The Flash has his own time machine that’s basically a track machine powered by him running really fast, and plenty of characters have a myriad of ways to travel to alternate realities and fight their evil doppelgangers. In other words, time traveling to Japan is actually more than plausible for Batman and company. Plus, this plot lets the creators keep the characters as faithful to the source material as possible. Especially Gorilla Grodd; apparently he’s the favorite among Batman Ninja‘s creators, probably because Grodd was reportedly difficult to animate, but they also really like their version of the Joker as well.
Even though the showrunners behind Batman Ninja are known for anime, they claim the movie isn’t an anime but a means to show Batman through the eyes of Japanese filmmakers. A good example of this is how the fights were choreographed in the movie. Instead of characters just being drawn, actors were hired to fight while being filmed, and their actions were translated into animation, not unlike rotoscoping but much cooler.
Batman Ninja will release in 2018 with both English and Japanese voice overs. While I got a good listen to the Japanese voices, I look forward to watching the movie in English, especially since the filmmakers claim the person they got to voice the Joker is the best one to date. A bold claim, but one I look forward to seeing proven right.
Even though trophy support for older games on PS Plus Premium isn’t always great, you can always count on Sony’s first-party games to have it.If you like collecting these digital trinkets, you’re in luck, because today’s big PlayStation Plus update includes two classic games that can now be used to earn Trophies.
Each trophy list for Ape Academy 2 and Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror includes the platinum cherry on top. You can look at their respective listings here and here if you’re interested.
The list for Dark Mirror appears to be quite simple—you can basically earn them all by finishing the game. The trophies in Ape Academy 2 appear to be a little more complicated, requiring you to complete particular objectives in card battles and advance to specified rankings. Nonetheless, it doesn’t seem too difficult, so we’re looking at a couple of quite simple platinums.
Ridge Racer: Type 4 is this month’s other premium classic game; sadly, it does not offer trophies. But it makes up for it by being a complete banger.
However, will you be obtaining some of these trophies with a nostalgic flavor?
This year, Sony produced some truly outstanding work, releasing four high-profile games on the PS5 and PS4 (not to mention the numerous PC ports). The earliest of these, Horizon Forbidden West, arrived in February of 2022 and got the year off to a strong start. One of Aloy’s sophomore journey’s greatest strengths, among the many other things we like about it, is its excellent art direction. The Art of Horizon Forbidden West allows you to now delve deeply into the game’s visuals.
This coffee table book, which was published by Dark Horse Books, contains 200 pages of concept art and developer commentary. It provides an inside look at the process used to develop engaging characters and settings, and Forbidden West is certainly not lacking in either.
There will be two editions of the book: standard and deluxe. Both are hardback books, with the deluxe edition having pages with metallic edges and a unique slipcase. These are now up for pre-order and will go on sale on April 25, 2023.
Bloody hell, it took a while, but The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s long-awaited PS5 release date has been announced. The updated role-playing game will go on sale on December 14th, and CD Projekt Red reiterates that PS4 owners can get a free PS5 upgrade.
The “next-gen” game will have a physical edition at a later, as of yet unspecified time.
The next-gen update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is coming on December 14th, free for everyone who already owns the game.
For more details and gameplay reveal, tune in to REDstreams next week on https://t.co/IpFERTohi9. pic.twitter.com/fg3yfGeNih
— The Witcher (@witchergame) November 14, 2022
Though we still lack specific information about what the current-gen version will offer, don’t worry; it appears that all of our most pressing questions will be resolved soon. Next week, the developer says, will feature a livestream that will feature gameplay and more details. Hence, something to anticipate.
But in all honesty, we’re just relieved that this PS5 edition won’t be delayed any further. Will you play through The Witcher 3 again right before Christmas? Post your thoughts in the section below.
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