Six stories, each by a different team of writers and artists, this collection of Batman stories helps to bridge the gap between Batman Begins and new movie, The Dark Knight.
The DVD is cited as being a feature length movie, but it is actually a collection of short stories drawn by different Anime artists that are well known in Manga / Anime circles. The first of these stories, "Have I Got a Story For You", uses unrealistic proportions and styles on the characters, yet really good looking backgrounds. The story for this one is very cliched and is very similar to a story from the 90's animated series as a group of 4 children recount their memories of seeing the Batman in action (each one remembering him slightly differently).
The second story, "Crossfire", features far better animation and the people actually look as you'd expect them to as it looks more like the American style of cartoon drawing but with an Anime influence. The story again features little screentime for the actual Batman and focuses more on a couple of officers from Lt. Gordon's MCU (Major Crimes Unit) taking a recently captured criminal to Blackgate until they are caught in the crossfire between two rival gangs.
"Field Test" is definitely a typical example of Anime style and is the first with Bruce Wayne in it. The purpose of this episode is so that we can see Lucius Fox demonstrating some new technology to Wayne that uses electro-magnetic fields to deflect bullets when a sound over a certain decible is detected - this may of course mean it might not detect "silenced" shots. Events then happen during the episode that means we may not see Batman using the technology again.
"In Darkness Dwells" has some truly amazing visuals from the word go, ot paints a darker picture of Gotham that is reminiscent of the dark future we see in Blade Runner. The two MCU officers we saw in an earlier story again turn up here on the trail of a "lizardman". Anyone familiar with the Batman mythos will immediately think of Killer Croc, although Batman believes at first it could be a hallucination brought on by the same gas that Doctor Crane (aka The Scarecrow) used (see Batman Begins). What's really good with the story here is that we see Batman doing more detective work and is actively helping Lt. Gordon solve the crime. Unlike the version we see in Christopher Nolan's re-envisioning of Batman, we see Scarecrow in a costume close to what he wears in the comics, although Killer Croc bears no real resemblance to his comic counterpart.
Next we've got "Working Through Pain" where Batman is suffering injuries and as the title suggests is trying to work through the pain. The episode shows him trying to make it back to the batcave, and through each part of his struggle we see flashbacks to previous events that shows him learn how to deal with pain and sutre wounds. The detail in some of the scenes is absolutely amazing, one such example is when he first goes to meet Cassandra after the Fakir won't teach him how to block out pain. Another great scene is when we see Cassandra standing outside a temple in India just as the sun is rising, not only is the detail here great but the imagery is stunning. One interesting thing to note about this episode is the choice of design for the Batmobile - rather than it being the tumbler from Batman Begins we see the design from the original Tim Burton Batman movie starring Michael Keaton.
The last episode, "Deadshot" refers to a character that has been part of the Batman mythos for some time. He is a mercenary for hire who "never" misses a shot. One of the most prominent stories he's been featured in was the "War Games" story arc. When we see him in this story his costume and appearance is somewhat different, but I think it could be for the better as it's not quite as ridiculous.
Overall it's a good collection, and it's a welcome return having Kevin Conroy doing the voice of the Batman as he did throughout the Batman, Superman and Justice League series; and also Bruce Timm is back as the Executive Producer. The only "episode" I didn't really like the style or story of was the first, though as it was a style I'm not used to seeing there could be people that have seen it in other animations and understand it better. Anyway, if you're a fan of Batman or Anime then I recommend watching it.
What comes with it depends on where you get it from, I bought mine from Play.com and it came with a 128Mb USB Pendrive containing a number of TDK images, and a small DK guide to the characters.
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