Suicide Squad Isekai

Back in July 2023, when the first teaser for Suicide Squad Isekai released, it raised more than a few eyebrows. Many dismissed it from the jump, but I’m happy to say I managed to hold out hope before I got to see the show for myself. Now that this very short, ten-episode season has concluded, and I’ve been able to gather all my thoughts, I definitely feel like this anime had potential, but went in the absolute wrong direction for realising it.

In this review, I’ll be going over all that Suicide Squad Isekai had to offer – the good, the bad, and the downright horrible. I’ll also be avoiding spoilers, so if you’re thinking about diving into this show, feel free to read ahead and make your mind up afterwards. With that being said, I have a lot to say about this newest DC animation project, so let’s get started! (as a disclaimer for non-anime fans out there, ‘isekai’ essentially means ‘another world’ – so basically, it’s a genre term used for stories that involve going to ‘another world’)

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The Review

Image by WIT Studio

The Suicide Squad has had a lot of adaptations in recent years, some successful, and some…not so much. The team has had a tumultuous representation in the media in recent years. 2021’s The Suicide Squad was one of my favourite superhero movies in recent memory, and restored my faith in the band of baddies after the disastrous 2016 adaptation. Then, the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League game came out, and well…the less said about that the better. To be completely honest, I can’t help but feel like all of this Suicide Squad content is a grand scheme to capitalise on the ever-present fame of Harley Quinn as a character – and Suicide Squad Isekai does nothing to alleviate my concerns in that regard.

To be clear, this whole anime could be rebranded as ‘The Harley Quinn Show’, and it would all still make sense. The character is front and centre in almost all of the show’s advertising, and she gets a lot more attention throughout the storyline than anyone else. Luckily enough, the character is fairly well-represented here, and I enjoy this take on her – we’ve now got another strong version of Harley Quinn to add to the lineup. I personally watched the subbed version of this anime, where she was portrayed by Anna Nagase, who did an excellent job with the voice work. I did look into the dubbed version, just to check all the boxes, and it does seem like Karlii Hoch is also holding up on her end, so overall, this is an enjoyable version of Harley Quinn.

To give this show credit where it’s due, a few cast members here are great versions of themselves, and really get to shine. Clayface in particular is a standout, and brings a lot of life to every scene he’s in. The Thinker also gets some time in the spotlight, and when he does, it’s a pretty great time. Peacemaker is Peacemaker – I think the character is well-represented here, but I think that John Cena set the bar so high, it was a little impossible for this version of him to meet it. There’s very little for Enchantress or Katana to do here, though they do take an interesting route with Katana, which livens up the character. The Joker is also here, and unfortunately, we don’t get to see much of him. From what we do see, he’s not very funny, so I’m going to go ahead and mark him down as one of the series’ weaker characters.

Image by WIT Studio

The Joker is far from the weakest character here though. Some characters don’t fare well at all, and fans of their comic counterparts may not be too happy. Deadshot is a thoroughly confusing character, who can’t decide whether he’s stone-faced serious, or a complete jokester. King Shark has thoroughly smashed the fine line between endearing cluelessness and annoying stupidity, and the less I say about Ratcatcher the better. Rick Flag finds himself in the unfortunate, ‘cool-headed guy holding it all together’ role, and almost all of the anime’s original cast of characters are completely forgettable – which brings me to the main issue with this series.

The isekai environment was a complete misfire for this show, which is ironic given its title. Not only are isekai a fairly dismissed genre of anime nowadays, but the setting that these characters were thrown into is just so contradictory to the vibe that the show could have, and should have, leaned into. Without giving too much away, as was shown in the trailer, the anime begins in Gotham City, and for what it’s worth, it really should have stayed there. Every time Gotham was shown, even in flashbacks, I couldn’t help but wish we were there, allowing these characters to thrive in an environment more suited to them. Instead, WIT Studio took a risk, and threw the Suicide Squad into a magical land of mythical beasts and princesses – and it just did not work.

For my shonen fans out there, this anime feels like one of those Naruto or One Piece filler movies, where the central cast of characters is strong, and you care about them, but their environment and surrounding storyline is so unfitting for them that you can’t help but sigh each time the focus shifts away from the central team. Suicide Squad Isekai’s plot involving the ‘other world’s royalty is incredibly bland, and so generic, that ten episodes was actually enough to wrap it up satisfactorily – mainly because I could not care less about what was going on in it. The action sequences were excellent, as is to be expected from WIT Studio, but they were somewhat undercut by their frequency and overall meaninglessness.

Image by WIT Studio

I do like to end my reviews on the positives though, and I don’t want to slate this anime completely. This show is absolutely beautiful, and it’s bursting with colour and life, exactly as I would want a Suicide Squad adaptation to be. It feels like if all of the great style that was shown off in 2016’s Suicide Squad’s advertising was brought to fruition, and much like 2016, there’s a lot more style than substance here. Animation and direction are essential to my enjoyment of an anime though, and I need to give WIT their props – they did an incredible job on both fronts.

There’s also a very groovy outro, which honestly cracked me up the first time I saw it, as I watched on in confusion, horror, and admittedly, some intrigue. You really have to see this outro for yourself, but let’s just say…it involves Amanda Waller in a way you’ve never seen her before – we can thank WIT for this one too. Without spoiling, the anime does imply that it may be looking to gear up for a second season, and though I’m a little on the fence about it after this outing, I’m willing to give it a chance. I do hope they move away from such an abstract setting next time though – put these guys in a familiar environment, and I really think they’ll thrive.

So overall, Suicide Squad Isekai is a classic tale of style over substance, with a very weak plot, and a mashing of characters and settings that really don’t mix well. That being said, the show is a visual treat, and many of the characters are great versions of their comic counterparts, in particular Clayface, and the deserved poster girl of the anime, Harley Quinn. Let’s hope that if a second season does come around for this series, the team takes a little time to put more focus into crafting a plot that doesn’t feel ripped directly out of a mid-2000’s children’s fantasy movie. The pieces for this adaptation to be a success are all there – now it’s just about putting them together.

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Where to Watch Suicide Squad Isekai?

Image by WIT Studio

The complete first season of Suicide Squad Isekai can be streamed right now on Hulu and HBO Max – UK viewers can enjoy the show on HBO Max by referring to our guide on how to watch Max in the UK. The English dub of the show has also been made available alongside the Japanese subtitled version, so you can dive right into whichever language you prefer! There’s no confirmation on a second season premiere date just yet, but we’ll be watching out for any announcements!

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