Behold, the great seasonal punching bag!
From Wit Studio and Warner Bros, we have a rare but welcome Cartoon-Anime amalgamation.
It gobbles up greedily, ingredients and elements from both Western Cartoons and Anime, however Anime(thankfully) wins this tug of war.
I will preface this by saying I watched in it Japanese.
Without even beginning to watch it, there’s evidently a lot to engage in hostility here for the seasoned hate-watchers(me included);
- A DC/Japanese Fantasy Crossover.
- Western Cartoon Vibes?
- Anime Original
- Harley (LOL) Quinn
- Suicide (LOL) Squad
- 10 episodes??
- Isekai (Garbage??)
- 3D CGI Monsters??? (boogeyman)
- Warner Bros??
With such great potential, my mission ended in abject failure. Somehow I finished it with the only 2 things to critique in any sort of depth from this list being the anime original short story, and the 10 episodes.
My mouth was gaping open, it turns out, the show is actually good. To dislike this show you must truly come in wanting to hate it, and that didn't even work for me. It's a very bony isekai, with the meat in action, dialogue and humor elements that elevate the experience to explosive heights.
This is the kind of Harley you're getting, A welcome surprise..
I get it, we’re all sick of Harley Quinn believe me, ill be the first to say that. This overused, utterly insufferable vixen gets endlessly and shamelessly shoved into each successive addition to this IP so that they can lure in most lucrative demographic (young to middle-aged women) to consume these shows. Consequently they’ve killed off all of the die-hard fans of this series. However this show is a maverick, in this succession of adaptions. It scarcely even feels like she was shoehorned in, she fits the story quite well.
What you have to understand is that whenever a new entry to this franchise is adapted it’s mix and match cast and there’s always too much creative freedom in the story-telling. The greatest mainstay is that lead is always Harley Quinn but the other members are practically whatever the adaption demands. This, of course follows the trend, taking their own editorial spin on the concept. I will say that, this rendition of Harley is probably the best I’ve seen. You get to see how crazy she is, but it seldom neglects her vulnerabilities and nature as a woman. Characters like Joker, Peacemaker and to some extent Deadshot and Clayman were standouts here at just being presented in a very endearing fashion. Their powers are on display but also their limitations as well, there's a consistency to their move sets and capabilities which did wonders for the sound mind. If you love those characters you will be pleasantly surprised. In particular Peacemaker who's fans have been eating good lately with a fairly decent live-action series as of late, on the hand Joker’s farcical, failed, faux-harmonic movie sequel has left fans of the character in total despondency. For fans of Joker, you probably need this fix.
It’s an entirely new premise. It was extremely riveting experience with very eye-catching fight scenes packed with slapstick humor which never reached western levels of cringe. No homosexual themes or hints, minute to non-existent perverted sexual jokes. Yes we have these familiar DC characters but they are portrayed intentionally in a very palatable manner. It’s DC villains and for the most part they’re in character. They’re scumbags they’re boisterous, they’re careless and they do stupid things and it’s all good fun. It’s written like the older type of shows just good entertainment with no ulterior motives, how refreshing does that sound? It truly delivers that experience.
I will quickly summarize:
What are the Pros?
+Very Fluid and expressive and colorful animation, with a welcome stylish edge
+Harley, Joker and Peacemaker
+Funny and Exciting. Smooth and enjoyable character dynamics.
+Barely any Americanized progressive themes.
+Decent characterization with a tame character pool.
+Tactful fight choreography.
+Amazing Soundtrack from Kenichiro Suehiro(Eminence, Fire Force, Re:zero)
+Banger OP and unskippable ED.
+Decent ending setting up a second season with heightened potential.
What are the Cons?
-Very bare-bones isekai plotline.
-Lack of World building, Explaining of elements.
-10 episodes.
-Limited Story/Plot
-Episode to episode direction poor.
-Scenes lacking staying power, fleeting emotions.
-Hard to get immersed, due to cartoonish tendencies.
Well there’s not much to nitpick on, they knew what their job was and executed it quite well. It’s astonishing, they genuinely they did characterization of the main cast better than so many of the Hollywood superhero productions, it’s somewhat embarrassing how much better their efforts were.
37/50 – 7.4 – 7/10 – Recommend to Enthusiasts
You’re thinking, “You sound like you loved it why have you only given it 7”? Well I must confess that I’m primarily a binger. As an honorary binger, the number of episodes as well as the ability for me to get immersed heavily sways my score. I must be able to spend hours on end pressing the next button at the end of an episode without a single thought to really reach the 9-10 mark.
it’s hard to rate so highly a show that I could control my urge to binge, 4 sessions for a 10 episode season, when I’ve done 24 previously in one to 2 sessions for other shows, this, of course heavily affects my score.
I recommend this show to all Isekai connoisseurs and those who are fond of DC comics as gateway to the better medium(Manga and Anime). Honestly this has trumped anything America has come up with for this “Suicide Squad” group, with only the first adaption “Batman: Assault on Arkham” coming close. As a binge it’s not the best as it’s just not too coherent as they bridge between the episodes, a hall-mark of Western cartoons juxtaposed with Anime.
Give it a try, ignore the negative reviews and by the way where is the Season 2 announcement?
Hope this helps.