I'm sure there's a point where I say, "there are too many Harley Quinn things, let's stop for a while," but we sure as sugar haven't hit it yet. As a fan since her debut in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Batman: The Animated Series, I have thoroughly enjoyed the modern Quinnaisance that started with the Arkham games, led us to Margot Robbie's turns on the big screen, and has continued into projects like the Harley Quinn show, the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Suicide Squad game, and now, Suicide Squad Isekai. This is a show that, literally right there in the title, promises to do things differently. I just hope it figures out who the show is for and commits to the bit.Suicide Squad Isekai is an anime, as you might have guess from the title. 'Isekai' is used in anime to describe a character who is taken from their mundane world into one of wonder and excitement. Away from anime, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Forspoken, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Pokemon: Legends Arceus, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Super Mario Bros. Movie could broadly be deemed as isekai too. But it's not often used in the title, and it's unclear right now if this really is an isekai or is using its literal meaning (different world) to underline that this takes place in an alternative universe. Under James Gunn's stewardship, he has stressed that DC would have projects outside the main continuity under the Elseworlds banneꦦr, and it's pretty clear that this fits the bill. I reckon it's just a reimagined Suicide Squad rather than taking Joker, Harley, Amanda Waller, or anyone else from 'our' universe and transplanting them into that one. Then again, the screen🐽play was written by Tappei Nagatsuki, author of one of the most popular isekai stories in Re:Zero, so who really knows? The main thing is for the show to figure out who its audience is.
The pitch seems to be 'what if Harley Quinn and Joker were in an anime', which is a pretty solid one. The names attached to it and the fan jargon title suggest this is going to be true anime, not just using anime aesthetics. Look at 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Cyberpunk Edgerunners, where the Japanese animation studio at the helm was trusted to carry out 🐭its own creative identity. If that's the case, it could be one of DC's most inventive upcoming shows. It could be the Star Wars: Visions of DC's roster.
Alternatively, as has been the case with far too many DC projects recently, it could also end up a mess of corporate interference and focus-group targeted demographic hit🍃ters, meddling with the ingredients to create something blander and less inspiring. In short, if DC wants these creative works to succeed, it needs to leave them alone.
There are a few reasons to be hopeful from the trailer. While modern Harley stories have left her connection to Joker behind, exploring it in a whole new way could be as fresh as ditching it altogether. The designs are excellent too 🐲ജ- Joker has huge drawn-on jaws that give him a menacing look without going into the ridiculous territory of Jared Leto's or ditching the clownish visage for grotesque horror as Heath Ledger's and Barry Keoghan's do. Harley's look has a lot of bounce and fun to it too, feeling modern and befitting of the fantastical setting, while still recognisably Harley.
We only see a few snippets of the action, but what impressed me most was the detailing. There are flying dragons, medieval knights, and boar warriors to contend with, all full of splashes of colour. Once the show zooms in though, there's a real attention to the craft. Whether it be a card twisting between the Joker's fingers, Harley's eye twitching as her cheek seeps blood, or the car's gear stick rumbling as the wheels bounce on the road, there seems to be a clea🐼r affection for the art of animation here, not just a desire to slap an aesthetic on two iconic characters and wait for the ღmoney to roll in.
Suicide Squad Isekai is one of the most intriguing superhero projects in years, even if it's destined to have a fraction of the budget and audience than the big ✤blockbusters. All I want from a Harley Quinn and Joker anime is for it to actually be an anime, and hopefully that's not too much to ask.