Suicide Squad Isekai Anime Is Better Than Both Live Action Movies

The anime is currently streaming on Hulu and is, in my opinion, better than its live-action counterparts. When it comes to Suicide Squad (2016), that’s not exactly saying much. More impressive by far is The Suicide Squad Isekai‘s ability to outdo even James Gunn’s superior sequel, The Suicide Squad (2021).

For any non-weebs reading this, an Isekai is a popular genre of Asian stories in which one or more people are transported to another world without hope of return. In this case, Amanda Waller sends them to a fantasy land similar to the sword and sorcery setting of Dungeons & Dragons.

The Suicide Squad Isekai follows Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Peacemaker, Clayface, and Rick Flag as they attempt to help a kingdom battle an evil empire. It’s your typical fish-out-of-water stranger caught up in a war that they know nothing about but with a twist. The empire’s evil forces are being led by members of an earlier Suicide Squad Waller lost contact with.

These rogue Squaders—Katana, Ratcatcher, Killer Croc, and The Thinker—have gone all Colonel Kurtz, and it’s up to Harley’s team to take them out. As an added complication, this magical realm enhances the power of metahumans. Ratcatcher, for instance, controls rats on Earth but is capable of manipulating werewolves in the new dimension.

It’s hard to say why putting these familiar characters in a fantasy setting works, but it just does—really well, in fact. That’s not what makes the show better than the team’s live-action outings, though. I’d be a poor reviewer if I ranked The Suicide Squad Isekai over the movies just because there’s a dragon in it.

No, The Suicide Squad Isekai just seems to get the team better than the movies. A weird sentiment for a novelty Elseworlds anime but it’s true. The series does a great job of exploring the character’s criminal nature. These are bad guys. Sure they pull off some heroic deeds but they’re not heroes.

One of the first things the team does in the new realm is get themselves thrown in jail because, of course, they do. You can take the hardened criminal out of prison, but you can’t take the prison out of the hardened criminal. In one episode of The Suicide Squad Isekai, the team parties with a group of outlaw Orcs because they relate to the criminal outcasts.

The Suicide Squad Isekai also does a great job of showing us just why Waller chose this particular band of jailbirds. During the trip to the fantasy world, the gang is separated from their weapons and gear, leaving them unarmed to fend for themselves in a strange world. Undeterred, Harley and Co. prove they’re a tough group of S.O.B.s with or without weapons.

It’s one thing to give Deadshot his guns and let him go to town. Having him survive by his wits alone is another beast entirely. Of course, it’s not like the team is completely without offensive capabilities. They still have King Shark, which brings me to my last point.

REVIEW SCORE

What truly makes The Suicide Squad Isekai superior to the films is its so much fun. James Gunn did his best with King Shark in The Suicide Squad, but animation allows for a freedom that can’t be matched by even the best CGI. Seeing anime Nanue eating enemies like their M&Ms just hits different. That goes for pretty much everyone in the cast. The Suicide Squad started in a pen and ink medium, so it only makes sense that animation would be the best way to adapt the team for the screen.

Between Batman: Caped Crusader and The Suicide Squad Isekai, DC fans who love animation have been eating well lately. You can stream The Suicide Squad Isekai right now in all its glory on Hulu.