Batman at his very best: Batman the animated series review

The caped crusader, the avenger of the night......he goes by so many nicknames. Batman has earned his rightful place in our society by having many different movies, tv shows, books, and comics done in his name. But do any of them really portray the real Batman?

Take the '60's series, which is cheesy, lame, and a stain on Batman's history. Thanks to that ridiculous show, people started mocking people who liked Batman. The problem with this is that Batman is not a person who makes lots of jokes and so everyone in there feels awfully OOC. '60's Batman=bad fanfiction made into reality is pretty much what it was.

While the movies were okay, I feel that only the movie "Batman Begins" matched up very well with his character. The others feel kind of tacked on and cheesy. Then comes "Batman: The Animated Series." From the second I watched the opening, I could tell something was different about this series. The feel was grim and dark, just like the comics used to be. There were no jokes in this, and Batman looked as stern and foreboding as he should always look, much like an angry judge.

This series is amazing on so many levels because they make Batman's world come to life. Sure, it may be noir style drama, and be angsty and depressing. But it WORKS, thanks to several things: the great characterization, the wide range of voice actors, and the music. Classical music done by Danny Elfman proved to be a great choice, and revolutionizes the feel of superheroes. Finally, for once, here was a show about superheroes that took itself seriously. It wasn't ludicrous like "Superfriends" or "Batman"; it was willing to show Batman as a more human, tragic figure.

Kevin Conroy does Batman and Bruce Wayne in this, and I can't argue with anyone else when I say that he sounds like the best batman ever. Like in this episode when he fights against Mr. Freeze.

The best thing about this series are the characters. The Joker, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze and the other villains are all so fleshed out and well-developed. They are amazingly human and poignant characters, and one can't help but feel for them. Their reasons for doing the things that they do to others are so realistic and well-felt that one can't help but fall in love with this series.

This is an amazing series. I highly recommend it.