The Matrix tried this trick first, throwing every variety of geek media at their Intellectual Property, including a canonical massively multiplayer game that managed to employee Laurence Fishburne just long enough to kill Morepheus for realz.

Still, I was hoping Batman: Gotham Knight could be something more. After all, comic books are the foundry from which modern continuity worship was forged. So why not expand the world of the Batman film by getting some of the modern masters of Japanese animation to work with some top comic writers and make the magic happen? And hey, what if we through in the voice acting of Kevin Conroy, the man who has provided the premiere animated voice of the Batman for almost two decades? What could possibly go wrong?

The fact that the whole project falls flat on its face doesn’t seem to be anyone’s fault in particular. The synergy of all this talent that completely fails to occur, and it ends up dooming the whole thing to being a mediocre exercise at best. The dialog seems wooden, and miss-matched with the gorgeously trippy animation. The stories meander, clearly unable to take advantage of their connection to the film, leaving them to feel disconnected and tentative, if not downright silly. While you can see how this would work on the comic page, some of the vignettes end up being silly. And adding insult to injury, Kevin Conroy’s iconic interpretation of the Dark Knight seems poorly matched to the radical interpretations of the character designs.

It all feels a bit goofy, which, ironically, is exactly the emotion that Batman Begins managed to banish from its earnest interpretation.

As an appetizer Gotham Knights manages to be a little sweet and salty, but doesn’t do anything to whet your appetite for the cinematic main course that’s arriving in theaters next week.

But before we get to the main course we’re going to get an anime appetizer in the form of Gotham Knight, a multi-part anime written by some of the major comic talents of our time.

I’ve put up some previous videos for this, but I’m thinking that the comparisons to Hamlet may be taking things a little bit too far. 

I mean even if it were true, is it possible to bring it up without seeming pretentious?

This one shows a lot more of the plot, and while it does seem pretty by the numbers, it looks better than I expected.

Hi-Rez downloadable versions are available at the official website.

Kings of Power is a little deeper, and far stranger…  But they’re always entertaining and very well animated.

The images are amazing, even if they are very gory, bizarre , and slightly NSFW. It’s clear that his imgination is only bounded by the limits of time and space.

If you want something a little more hi-rez you can find the download links here.

Gundam is an odd duck, even for an anime series.  The “classic” world and characters that began it all aren’t what drives the engine anymore.  Instead, each series is a different “alternate reality” reboot that remixes the archetypes and plotlines of the original series, usually centering around a troubled teenager given control of a powerful robot, and a fascist empire bent on controlling the destiny of humanity.

The statue here is of Gundam NT-1, the mobile suit that started it all.  Perhaps someone will uncover it 2,000 years from now and end up totally perplexed at what exactly it was we were worshipping…

There was an article a few years back that discussed some of the digital camera tricks that they’re going to be using in this film that could, I think, be more ground-breaking than bullet-time. Unfortunately I can’t find that link.

Suffice it to say it’s about using digital trickery to allow you to move between shots without a traditional “cut”. You can see a great at around 1:50, and again right at the end, around 2:23.

If you know the article I’m talking about please post a link in the comments.