by New PV for anime ‘Ninja Batman vs. Yakuza League’ unveiled at NY Comic Con 2024, revealing participation of Sakura Ayane, Otsuka Akio, and others
“Batman Ninja” is a Japanese animation work born from the concept of “Batman x Ninja.” It is an entirely original story in which Batman travels back in time to the Sengoku period and takes the place of a Sengoku warlord to face the evil ambitions of the Joker and supervillains competing for supremacy. It was released worldwide in 2018.
This is the new work of “Batman Ninja,” and the creators of directors Junpei Mizusaki and Shinji Takagi, screenwriter Kazuki Nakashima, character designer Noriyuki Okazaki, music Yugo Kanno, and animation producer Kamikaze Douga have reunited to produce it. As in the previous work, Koichi Yamadera will be Batman.
At the New York Comic Con 2024 held at the Javits Center in New York, a video presentation and talk show titled “Bats in Translation: Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League and Batman Azteca: Choque De Imperios” was held, where a specially edited version of the opening footage of this work (only available at the venue) and a new PV were released (this event was a joint panel with the Mexican production “Batman Azteca: Choque De Imperios”). With over 2,000 enthusiastic fans filling the venue, directors Junpei Mizusaki, Shinji Takagi, and screenwriter Kazuki Nakashima appeared and were greeted with thunderous applause.
After the three of them greeted the audience, a specially edited 11-minute video of the opening of the main story was screened (only available at the venue), and a Q&A session was held. Director Mizusaki humorously commented, “Six years have passed since the last film, and the same members have gathered again.
Furthermore, Takagi Shinji, who directed the previous film, has taken on the role of co-director, so the team has become even more stable and robust. Character designer Okazaki Noriyuki could not attend this event due to his busy schedule. Still, I think he will become even more popular with this film and become a god (laughs).” Director Takagi expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “In the previous movie, I was a part-time director, but I will participate as a director in this film.
This means that my responsibility has increased, and I have been the one to take charge of Nakajima’s script and Mizusaki’s ideas. It is not yet completed, so I will do my best until the end to deliver good work.” Scriptwriter Nakajima introduced the film’s highlights: “The previous movie was set in the Sengoku period, with ninjas and robots, but this time the Justice League, who have become Yakuza, and the Batman family are in a fierce clash. We are pursuing the fun of an action movie.
Both are traditional Japanese Yakuza movies and American DC characters, and we have successfully incorporated such historical elements and made it more exciting and crazy by “misunderstanding” them in an interesting way. Finally, Director Mizusaki said in English, “Make sure you’re in good shape when you watch this movie.”
As Nakashima-san wrote such a story, so much is happening that you may feel dizzy, so be careful, OK?” excited the audience. In addition, a new PV was released. “Yakuza heavy rain warning!!” Batman and his friends returned to the present from the Sengoku period, but the abnormal phenomenon continued here. Countless Yakuza assassins rain down on Gotham.
The Japanese archipelago appears in the sky above, and the story takes an earth-shattering turn. Then, as Batman and his friends fight the Yakuza who have taken over the city, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Flash, who have all turned into Yakuza, stand in their way. What on earth happened to this world? What is the “new world brought about by the Yakuza League” that Ra’s al Ghul talks about? It’s a breathtaking 90-second performance with a barrage of action and even an enka performance by Wonder Woman (Park Romi).
In addition, the cast information for new characters has been released. Sakura Ayane will play Green Lantern of the Green Light, Otsuka Akio will play Aquaman of the Water Dragon, Hiyama Nobuyuki will play Harihi of the Idaten (Flash), Park Romi will play Oana of the Great Eagle Tennyo, and Yamaji Kazuhiro will play Ra’s al Ghul. The anime “Ninja Batman vs. Yakuza League” will be released in 2025. The full comments from the cast, including Ayane Sakura, Akio Otsuka, and Nobuyuki Hiyama, are as follows:
