Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo
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| Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo | |
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 Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Michael Chang Ben Jones Matt Youngberg |
| Produced by | Glen Murakami David Slack |
| Written by | David Slack |
| Starring | Scott Menville Khary Payton Greg Cipes Hynden Walch Tara Strong Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa |
| Distributed by | Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Animation DC Comics |
| Release date(s) | TV: September 15, 2006 DVD: February 6, 2007 |
| Language | English (with some Japanese peppered in) |
| IMDb profile | |
Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo is an animated film adaptation of popular DC Comics superhero team Teen Titans. It is set in the milieu of the animated series' Teen Titans that ran from 2003-2006. The film premiered on Cartoon Network on 15 September 2006. Teen Titans head writer David Slack returned for this movie, having left the series after its fourth season (which was intended to be the last at the time).
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[edit] Plot
The Teen Titans spring into action when a new threat, the dichromatic ninja Saico-Tek, appears in their city. A chase across the city ensues, ending at Titans Tower. Saico-Tek is interrogated by Robin with the aid of a translation program, and reveals the identity of the one who sent him. The ninja then escapes his bonds and vanishes after destroying a fire sprinkler, and the Titans' only lead is to head to Japan and search for his mysterious master - the shadowy figure known as Brushogun.
Beast Boy is overjoyed to finally get a vacation, but once the Titans are in Tokyo, the language barrier poses some trouble until Starfire uses her inherent skill to absorb language by kissing a passer-by (much to the shock of her team-mates (not really Raven), especially Robin). With directions to Shinjuku thus acquired, the team heads off, but they don't get very far before trouble shows up in the form of "Gorgo," a gigantic reptilian monster that is tearing its way through the city. The monster shares the regenerative powers of Saico-Tek, and the Titans' abilities have no effect on it; thankfully, Tokyo's own super-normal defence force - the Tokyo Troopers, led by Commander Uehara Daizo - arrives to stop the beast in its tracks with an energy cage.
Daizo shows the Titans around the Tokyo Troopers headquarters, and when Robin questions him on Brushogun, he informs the teens that he is nothing more than an urban legend. Left at a loose end, the Titans can do nothing more than bow to Beast Boy's desire to enjoy Tokyo as tourists. Cyborg takes in the local cuisine, while Raven's desire for reading material leads her to a bookshop where she learns of the myth of Brushogun. Beast Boy, meanwhile, attempts to visit the publishing house of his favourite manga, only to find it closed - instead, he relaxes with a manga on the steps of the building, and soon catches the eye of a cute girl, who leads him to a karaoke bar with an audience that loves his performance.
Robin and Starfire, meanwhile, visit a video game arcade, where Starfire's game skills attract a lot of attention. Afterward, she and Robin retreat to a rooftop to discuss more intimate matters - Robin recalls how Starfire kissed him when they first met, and now understands that it was to learn English, but Starfire has now learned that on Earth, the action means "much more." Robin, however, is focused on his mission to apprehend Brushogun - he and Starfire are heroes, and for now, much to her dismay, they cannot be "much more."
Investigating alone, Robin is attacked once more by Saico-Tek, and their fight ends with Robin pummelling the ninja into the ground. But when Saico-Tek does not rise, the crowd watching believes Robin has murdered his opponent. Commander Daizo apprehends Robin, despite the hero's protestations of innocence, but as he is transferred, a slip of paper bearing the name "Brushogun" flits into the armoured car carrying him and explodes, freeing him. Now on the run, Robin co-opts the identity of a Shinjuku mugger who tried to shoot him, and reunites with the other Titans, who have themselves been attacked by strange creatures that look like they leapt straight out of a Japanese comic book. He and Starfire spend another tender moment again... which is suddenly interrupted by the other Titans, as Raven reveals to them the legend of Brushogun.
Brushogun, Raven relates, was an artist who fell in love with a woman he had drawn, and attempted to bring her to life using Japanese black magic. But the spell turned against the artist, and his flesh became as paper, and ink flowed through his veins - ink that he could use to bring any creation he could imagine to life. With this new information, Robin has no trouble deducing Brushogun's hideout: the manga publishing house. Breaking in, the Titans discover a horrifying sight - the frail, withered form of the man called Brushogun, wired into a printing press that draws on his powers to create the enemies the Titans have been faced with. But if Brushogun is imprisoned, who is the true villain? The answer, as Robin deduces, is Commander Uehara Daizo, who has used Brushogun's powers to create the villains and monsters that his Tokyo Troopers were made famous by capturing.
A massive battle between freshly-printed versions of Brushogun's creations ensues, culminating when Robin faces Daizo on a walkway above the factory floor. With no options of escape left, Daizo hurls himself from the catwalk, into the ink reservoir of the press below - in doing so, taking control of Brushogun's powers and transforming himself into a giant, hulking mass of ink and machinery, with Brushogun himself at the centre. As the other Titans battle the warped creations that Daizo hurls at them, Robin frees Brushogun from the monstrous conglomeration; as the old man fades away in his arms like ink fading with time, his powers disappear and Daizo is left defeated and exposed.
In the wake of the battle, Robin tells Starfire that this whole experience has shown him that it is possible to be something more than a hero. As he stumbles out an explanation of his feelings, Starfire simply says, "Robin, stop talking." Then Robin and Starfire kiss, to approval from the other Titans. Cyborg even declares "Well it's about time." A short time later, the Titans are awarded medals by the mayor for their actions, as the inhabitants of Tokyo welcome their new heroes. In this scene Robin and Starfire are seen tenderly holding hands. Beast Boy then declares that next year, he wants go to Mexico, bringing Raven to smack him off the screen, concluding a long-running gag and the movie.
[edit] Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Scott Menville | Robin Japanese Boy |
| Khary Payton | Cyborg |
| Greg Cipes | Beast Boy |
| Hynden Walch | Starfire Mecha-Boi |
| Tara Strong | Raven Computer Voice |
| Yuri Lowenthal | Japanese Biker Scarface |
| Robert Ito | Bookstore Owner Mayor |
| Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa | Brushogun |
| Keone Young | Commander Uehara Daizo Saico-Tek Sushi Shop Owner |
| Janice Kawaye | Nya-Nya Timoko |
[edit] References to pop culture
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This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (June 2007) |
- Several of Brushogun's monsters are thinly-veiled versions of Japanese icons. The first creature is a gigantic lizard closely resembling Godzilla. The humanoid robot villain sent after Starfire is Mecha-Boi (a possible throwback to Astroboy), Raven's villainous spiritual opponent is based on No-Face from Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, Cyborg's robotic assassin is based on Boss Borot from Mazinger, Beast Boy's assassin is Nya-Nya (a shapeshifting catgirl based on the cat twins Anna Puma and Uni Puma from Dominion: Tank Police Her name ,nya, is the japanese onamotapeia for a cat's meow.). Saico-Tek's suit design has many elements in common with the various Kamen Rider heroes, and the first time Saico-Tek appears he is half blue and half red like 'Kikaider.
- One of the background characters seen in the movie wears a red jacket with a capsule logo on it, identical to the ones worn by members of Shotaro Kaneda's biker gang in the famous anime movie, Akira. Also, the scene where Robin brings his motorcycle to a stop is reminiscent of the film's poster.
- Commander Uehara Daizo wears an outfit similar to that worn by Inspector Zenigata of Lupin III, and at one point adopts the same stomping, open-legged gait that Zenigata uses when frustrated.
- In the arcade scene in which Starfire was earning the high score of a game that seems to combine Dance Dance Revolution, whack-a-mole and Guitar Hero (or alternatively, the similar Japanese game Guitar Freaks), a few characters in the background possessed many traits of different anime shonen martial arts characters, such as Mousse from Ranma ½, Rock Lee from Naruto, and Lum's Stormtroopers from Urusei Yatsura. There are games being played in the background that appear to look like Super Mario Bros and Asteroids respectively.
- Following the series's history of Blade Runner references, the building that Daizo and the Titans ascend strongly resembles the Tyrell Corporation headquarters.
- Ami from Puffy AmiYumi (part of the group that sings the show's theme) makes a cameo based on her cartoon counterpart in Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi.
- The chef that attempted to kill Cyborg at the all you can eat buffet is very similar to Cyborg 006 from Cyborg 009.
- A Japanese letter, (あ; "a") was on a cover of a mint box Starfire opened. It was red colored and had a Exclamation mark at the end of the Japanese letter, making it represent the "あ!"'s from Azumanga Daioh. As the mints were small and round and in a round tin, this could be a reference to Altoids, which uses a round tin for its line of sour mints.[citation needed]
- As the Tokyo Troopers make their move on Brushogun's monster, we hear a theme similar to the theme song of Thunderbirds. Although a British television show exported to Japan, the series became extremely influential in various parts of Japanese pop culture.
[edit] Japanese Culture
- The first time Beast Boy meets Brushogun's henchwoman, who is disguised as a schoolgirl, she calls him an "otaku" (Roughly translated to "fanatic", more commonly used in the US as "anime/manga nerd"), which he mistakenly interprets as meaning "cute". She later calls him "Kawaii" (cute) when battling him for the first time in catgirl form.
- Many references to Japanese culture are included in the film, including the ganguro style, neon arcades, bōsōzoku and cherry blossoms.
[edit] DVD Release
The DVD release date was February 6, 2007. The special features included are "The Lost Episode" and a game.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- The scene after Robin is rescued by Starfire marks the only time in the animated series in which Robin's unmasked eyes are revealed, albeit superdeformed.
- In the karaoke club, Beast Boy sings the English translation of the Japanese-language Teen Titans theme song. The entire team sings it over the closing credits. The lyrics are quite different from the English version and nonsensical.
- When Starfire kisses a Japanese citizen to learn Japanese, the boy is dressed in the same colors as Robin.
- Teen Titans Go #39 is the first story set after the movie.
- Brushogun's name comes from a combination of 'Brush' as in paint brush and 'Shogun'
- Robin's booking number (DC 38-04-40) refers to his first comic book appearance: Detective Comics #38, cover date April 1940.
[edit] References
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