Controversial Idea Behind The Creation of Suicide Squad: Isekai Revealed.

Highlights

Suicide Squad Isekai has gained popularity due to Harley Quinn and Joker’s iconic status in Japan.
The series bridges the gap between DC and anime, showcasing the appeal of gray characters.
Despite early setbacks, Suicide Squad’s rise to relevance proves the success of the creative team.

Suicide Squad Isekai has been a solid project with a unique take that many fans enjoy, but a recent interview reveals that the impetus for the series’ central focus stems from what many fans might consider a controversial statement.

The Suicide Squad has seen an impressive rise in prominence in recent times, going from being an oft-forgotten part of the DC Comics universe to one of the most prominent parts of the massive franchise. This build has been the cumulation of years and years of solid stories and appearances in comic books, TV series, and even films. However, the main ground gained by the Suicide Squad has admittedly come from DC’s various animated offerings, as the group has featured in a few well-received animated projects across the DC animated universe. Most notably, the popularity of Harley Quinn, whose eponymous solo series has survived a catastrophic regime change and several renewal seasons, has been a rising tide that lifted the group’s boat.

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More recently, the group was chosen for an exciting collaborative venture that would see the world of DC overlap with anime in Suicide Squad Isekai, a 10-episode animated series that would see the titular group and other DC characters transported to another world, translated to the Japanese style by the popular Wit Studios, of Attack on Titan and Spy x Family fame. While the ongoing DC anime hasn’t featured too much of the Joker despite DC’s wishes, that character and de facto Suicide Squad leader, Harley Quinn, apparently played a massive part in the Suicide Squad being chosen for this adaptation. In a recent exclusive interview with Comicbook, two producers on the team behind the series gave a lot of awesome insight into the process of creating the show and the unique collaboration that brought it to light. Most notably, Shinya Tsuruoka, a producer on the project from Warner Bros. Japan made a potentially controversial statement when discussing how the series came to be.

Like Ohtani-san (Wit Studios producer and co-interviewee Sho Ohtani) says, the selection of Suicide Squad was proposed by WIT studio. But to be honest, WBJ also considered that the Joker and Harley Quinn are as iconic as Batman and Superman. And considering that these characters have high popularity and recognition in Japan, we believed that it would be particularly well-suited to the Japanese anime style.

This statement might take many fans by surprise, as Batman and Superman occupy a level of icon status that is perceivably unreachable, both now and in the future. However, there might be something to Shinya Trsuruoka’s statement. Both Harley and the Joker have translated perfectly to live-action in the past, solidifying their place in the cultural zeitgeist for casual fans and newcomers to the world of comic book heroes. While there have been several iterations of Batman and Superman, it would be disingenuous to say that any one actor has embodied those roles quite as perfectly as Heath Ledger, Margot Robbie, or even John Cena in his role as Peacemaker. These memorable performances, coupled with the apparent preference for gray or wicked characters that many fans seem to enjoy, have actually shifted the narrative to the point that the Joker and Harley actually do make for better characters in a project like Suicide Squad Isekai. Live action has handily taken over comics, and this might be especially true for foreign markets, where American comic books are even less of a cultural force than they are in the West.

While the journey to get the Suicide Squad to its current level of relevance was an uphill journey that included hurdles like David Ayer’s reportedly great but now-abandoned Suicide Squad cut being overhauled into a commercially poisonous flop, it’s certainly worked. Fans need not agree with the comments made here, but the fact that they were made is a major thumbs up for the creatives and others involved in telling the stories that got them here.

Suicide Squad: Isekai is currently available to stream on Max.

Suicide Squad Isekai

A project direct from WIT Studio in Japan, Suicide Squad ISEKAI is an animated action-adventure series that centers around the titular DC antihero team, with Harley Quinn and Joker being the main leads. Sent to another world, characters like Quinn and the Joker will wreak havoc on a fantasy world where they find themselves inexplicably whisked away.

Release Date: June 27, 2024
Studio: Wit Studio
Japanese Title: Isekai Suicide Squad
Based On: DC Comics
Number of Episodes: 10
Streaming Service(s): Max , Hulu , Disney+
MyAnimeList Score: 6.65