The New Batman Adventures

This sequel is worth watching for a few really excellent episodes. Still, it's not the best.

After watching Batman: The Animated Seres you'll possibly be a little shocked by the first handful of episodes, I was. The one big problem comes at you right away. Most of the new character designs come of as simple and very angular. The Joker being the most disappointing with his pointed chin and his now expressionless eyes which is a stupid decision. The Clown Prince of Crime is a mad comedian, he needs readable eyes!

Two-Face luckily stayed pretty much the same, but explaining the problems with the redesigns would take too long, so let me bring up one case of awesome: The Scarecrow was so creepy and that really worked with his character!

But I must confess one thing, this sequel series had much more darkness to it and not the sophisticated way of Batman: TAS. It's more graphic and less psychological and that's shown from the first couple of episodes.

But not every episode lacked the psychological side: Judgement Day, Mad Love, Old Wounds and Over The Edge are actually really well written in that way, my personal favorites being Mad Love and Judgement Day.

But we still have the solid voice acting skills from these talented actors. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill are amazing as always and a surprisingly sinister performance by Malachi Throne as the new character The Judge in the Judgement Day episode.

By itself The New Batman Adventures succeeds, but as a sequel to Batman: TAS, it falls a little short.

As much as I love Batman and Batman:The Animated Series(one of the best animated shows in general), while there are some undeniably good elements there are one too many frustrating ones too.

Pros: The voice acting is superb, Kevin Conroy is the embodiment of Batman and always has been. Mark Hamill brings menace and gravitas to the Joker. There are some effective villains too, Penguin, Nightwing and Scarecrow were the best ones for me. Likewise with some compelling story lines, the overall standard is not as dark or complex as Batman: The Animated Series and some of the animated movies but there are some well-written ones, Old Wounds, Joker's Millions and Sins of the Father were a few of the standouts. The dialogue has its sharpness also, and the action has some exciting moments.

Cons: The animation is a disappointment. Everything here looks too bright and pointy. The brightness jarred with the dark, haunting atmosphere often associated with Batman, which I also found generally lacking in The New Batman Adventures, and I hated the designs of Joker and Catwoman. The characters vary in terms of interest, more leaning towards the disappointing end of the spectrum, Nightwing and Penguin are the most interesting, however Joker is too thuggish often in manner. Batman occasionally is dark and brooding though this is more on Conroy's part than the writing but he also comes across as too cold. Tim is annoyingly childish and Barbara Gordon feels out of place.

As an overall whole, has the voice acting, a few of the villains and some good story lines in its favour but the animation, lack of atmosphere and the way some of the characters are written makes the show inconsistent and frustratingly so. 6/10 Bethany Cox

This a great update of Batman: The Animated Series. Batman is back after a few years of reruns and he is just as cool as ever. Dick Grayson is also back, but he is now Nightwing. Replacing him as Robin, is Tim Drake. Batgirl is also seen more in this show. The animation doesn't measure up to Batman: The Animated Series, it is more similar to the Superman cartoon. But who cares? The show has great stories and is wonderful delight, as opposed to many of Kids Wb's lame toons.

The New Batman Adventures is the sequel that The Animated Series deserved, and its style-differentiation is justified yet it still feels like the sibling to its predecessor.

The New Batman Adventures has more stylized character designs than before, and while that may be off-putting to some, Batman has never looked sharper than he does here; at least I say that with a lot of love.

Batman has always been empowered with rich stories and The New Batman Adventures continues that tradition beautifully. It is a sequel to Batman: The Animated Series, but it stands its own ground just fine.