DC is one of the premier names when it comes to American comic books, but the company’s characters are now being transplanted into the world of anime. Upcoming anime Suicide Squad ISEKAI transplants Task Force X into the increasingly ubiquitous isekai genre, complete with a vastly different world from the DC Universe. Unfortunately, this might be the wrong DC property to make the reincarnation jump.
The Suicide Squad has been a bit overdone in recent years, and that’s especially the case for Harley Quinn. With The Joker also in tow in the new anime, this problem is made even worse. Add in the fact that several other DC heroes and villains are far more fitting for an anime, and it makes the upcoming series seem dead on arrival. Suicide Squad ISEKAI already feels like a disappointment.
Suicide Squad ISEKAI Puts DC’s Most Overused Characters In Anime’s Most Overdone Genre
The basic premise of Suicide Squad ISEKAI is that members of the Squad (namely Harley Quinn) are suddenly transported to another world. Said world heavily resembles the typical medieval locales of the isekai genre. This entire concept has a lot of problems, namely due to the characters involved. The Suicide Squad has had enough adaptations as of late, with two movies, two TV spinoffs (one of which is still being developed) and a major video game being afforded to the team. This is despite the fact that it’s only been a “major” DC property for less than a decade, with the group only reaching mainstream levels of awareness or push with the release of the 2017 Suicide Squad movie. This push was furthered by a similar treatment for Harley Quinn and the already popular Joker, both of whom have definitely shown up in far too many outside media to be special anymore.
Given the reception and performances of some of these Suicide Squad adaptations and the fact that a regular Suicide Squad comic book is no longer published consistently by DC, it’s clear that the hype surrounding the property has cooled off. Even Harley Quinn isn’t immune to these diminishing returns, with the Birds of Prey movie that was actually another feature for the “antihero” disappointing at the box office (admittedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however). Thus, it’s arguable as to why the Squad of all teams is getting an anime adaptation. Worst of all, it would seem that Joker and Harley are the main features, with other characters such as Amanda Waller and Deadshot only briefly shown in the show’s trailer. The cherry on top of these problems is the fact that isekai has become the most played-out genre in anime, with the genre dominating anime, manga, and especially light novels. It might be easier to stomach if these productions were particularly good, but they’ve become increasingly generic and inane. Thus, new isekai anime require a particularly interesting hook, and slapping the label of Suicide Squad (a property in a similar situation) label on top doesn’t help.
Several Other DC Characters are a Better Fit for an Anime — Isekai or Otherwise
Issues with oversaturation aside, the idea of a Suicide Squad isekai anime is immediately uninteresting. There’s nothing about the concept or the usual cast of characters that particularly lends to anything that might work well within the isekai genre. Likewise, the trailer for the anime itself shows that there likely won’t be anything done to take advantage of the concept, making the whole affair feel rather slapped together for the sake of assumed “marketability.” A better idea would be to see DC heroes (both iconic and obscure) suddenly transported to a new world that’s far different from the DC Universe. Even if they retained their powers, they’d have to acclimate themselves to a new environment that may not take kindly to their presence. Some heroes might find the chance to shine brighter than ever, while others would focus more on trying to get everyone home. Thus, allegiances would be tested as all the heroes involved would be out of their element. Making things even more interesting would be if villains from the Legion of Doom were also transported to this new world.
The Teen Titans are actually the perfect DC property for an anime adaptation, isekai or otherwise. The classic 2003 Teen Titans cartoon was already heavily inspired by anime, and a “real deal” adaptation could both jump on the anime bandwagon and have a sort of nostalgia for the now-classic 2003 show. Better yet, the world the Titans find themselves in could even be a reality ruled by the evil Trigon the Terrible, ensuring that the anime actually ties into their mythology and isn’t just some random, generic isekai story. In the case of Green Arrow and Black Canary, the former would become even more of a Robin Hood analog than ever before, trading Star City for a world not unlike Sherwood Forest.
Another idea would be for Shadowpact, Justice League Dark, or just a few magical heroes, such as Zatanna and John Constantine, to find themselves transported to a magical fantasy realm. There, the mystical abilities that they’ve been known to use would be far more commonplace, giving even the greatest magicians among them a spellbinding challenge. Better yet, more obscure fantasy characters such as Travis Morgan: Warlord, Princess Amethyst of Gemworld, Etrigan the Demon, or even the plant-based horror monster Swamp Thing would provide for great stories if suddenly thrust into otherworldly environments.
Again, these ideas naturally segue into the particular character or property at hand, something which Suicide Squad ISEKAI is clearly not doing. Of course, if the isekai concept is dropped entirely and a more straightforward adaptation is made for some of these characters, the possibilities only get better. After all, Japan has had previous takes on DC characters and concepts, with some of these being excellent entries in DC’s pantheon. An example that can currently be seen is the anime-esque My Adventures with Superman, which faithfully recreates the Man of Steel’s story through a shonen filter.
It’s a shame that Suicide Squad ISEKAI is being handled by the studio that did the popular series Spy x Family, as the automatic interest created by this would have definitely benefited another, perhaps lesser-known DC property. It’s likely that the project had been in the works for a while, given how hands-on DC Studios head James Gunn is planning on being with DC adaptations going forward. He’s already confirmed that there won’t be a third Suicide Squad movie anytime soon, so the property may be taking a backseat for a while. Sadly, Suicide Squad ISEKAI will delay said rest for a while, even though it means that it’s taking the place of a far more potentially interesting series.
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