Batman: The Animated Series 1992

Jesus was Alfred always such a smart ass? also was the show always this dark? I wanted to increase my TV's brightness a lot of times. There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said, watching it now it honestly surprises me with a lot of things. Like the fact that the show does not always take itself too seriously, I love the fact that the creators kept in mind that Batman has had a history of silly plots and gave us episodes that are ridiculous silly plots, kind of like the 60s Adam West show along with surprisingly well done humor. I was surprised to see how little Robin actually showed up, back in my childhood I could've sworn I saw him around a lot more. The creators kept in mind the most important thing about Batman, that he isn't just a crime fighter but a detective as well, a very good amount of time you see Batman trying to figure out how to solve the cases he is investigating. I'd say you even see more mystery solving than action most of the time. Unlike Batman fanboys, the creators kept in mind that Batman is not an omnipotent god of perfection that can defeat everything just by looking at them. He actually has a lot of moments where he makes mistakes, gets captured or needs the help of his allies to accomplish his missions. It takes me back to a time where Batman fans were, believe it or not, tolerable and didn't cry at the sight of seeing their god be vulnerable.

I really liked the fact that it was episodic instead of trying to carry an entire story on every episode's shoulder, each episode was its own story. You could just jump right into any episode and wouldn't have to worry about if you missed any important plot details. I also really appreciate the fact that it doesn't make you sit through the main characters' entire origin stories like every modern day comic adaptation feels like it has to do, details of their origins are shown through flashbacks that fortunately never drag on for too long. The show definitely covers adult themes and sneaks in adult humor here and there. Subjects like domestic abuse, scarred psyches, and obsession are brought up. With characters like Clayface, Manbat and Joker you should definitely be expecting this series to be filled to the brim with Nightmare Fuel though I'd say it has an equal amount of tear jerker and heartwarming moments to balance it out. I would love to talk about the actors' performances but there is absolutely nothing I can say other than this show has what is possibly the most iconic voices for any comic book adaptation in history.

While this series does deserve the global praise it gets I wouldn't call it perfect. There really is a bit of inconsistency in the quality of the animation. Sometimes you can see characters mouths moving as if they were robots or certain mistakes in the animation, which is surprising since this is a series with a lot of work put into the details. Some examples include, Mr. Freeze froze a man's legs while he had clothes on then when he's defrosted he somehow doesn't have shoes, Batman typing on something that doesn't have a keyboard on it, Batman being captured in a straitjacket and not escaping despite having been shown to have studied with a magician on how to escape such things. I felt that sometimes they gave away the surprise of who was the culprit way too early in some episodes instead of trying to hype it up a little in order to surprise viewers. While this series is what brought us Lock-Up and Harley Quinn I don't think the rest of the original villains made for the series were that good, they were pretty bland in my opinion, one was honestly just a copy of Riddler since he left riddles for Batman, Roland Daggett felt like a discount Norman Osborn. One little detail that bothered me a bit, but this is just me nitpicking, is that only Bruce changes his voice a bit for his alter-ego, Dick and Barbara do not.

Due to the fact that this is Batman a lot of episodes like to delve into the theme of the mind, and show different ways that the mind could be affected. Some of my favorite episodes include "Two-Face", having the villain be someone Bruce cares really helps in getting the viewers to start caring about him. "Heart of Ice", this episode is what molded the character of Mr. Freeze into what he is to day. "Perchance to Dream", showing us what Bruce Wayne truly desires in his life. "Harlequinade", seeing Harley stand up to the insane abusive Joker is always awesome. "Almost Got 'Im", 100% pure comedy, possibly has the best joke in the series. While I wouldn't say that this show has bad episodes I will say that some of them are just pretty dull, perhaps it's due to the fact that they had plots that were generic or that they used boring villains created for the show with the lowest point probably being "I have Batman In My Basement". I could on and on praising this show but I think I've said enough. In the end despite the fact that it may not be as perfect as most remember it to be this series definitely stands the test of time and is worth going back and re-watching in your adulthood.