Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo

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Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo
Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo cover
Directed by	Michael HIHI 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
Distributed by	Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Animation DC Comics
Release date(s)	15 September 2006 (TV) 6 February 2007 (DVD)
Language	English
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, and its DVD release date was February 6, 2007. Teen Titans head writer David Slack returned for this movie, having left the series after it's fourth season (which was intended to be the last at the time)

[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, 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 a "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, 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. At long last, Robin and Starfire kiss, to approval from the other Titans. A short time later, the Titans are awarded medals by the mayor for their actions, as the inhabitants of Tokyo welcome their new heroes. Beast Boy declares that next year, he would rather go to Mexico, bringing Raven to smack him off the screen, concluding a long-running gag and the movie.

[edit] Cast

• 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
• Janice Kawaye - Nya-Nya, Timoko

[edit] Note

• 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 off No-Face from Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away, Cyborg's robotic assassin is based off Boss Borot from Mazinger, Beast Boy's assassin is Nya-Nya (a shapeshifting catgirl based off the cat twins Anna Puma and Uni Puma from Dominion: Tank Police). 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.

[edit] References to pop culture

• 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.
• The scene in which Commander Uehara Daizo jumps into the vat of ink to escape Robin is reminiscient of the famous scene in which Batman causes the Joker to be created.
• At the arcade, one of the first spectators to appear is a boy who looks like Beast Boy without his powers (with white skin, black hair, and rounder ears).
• 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-playing, a few characters in the background possessed many traits of different anime shonnen martial arts characters, such as Mousse from Ranma ½, Rock Lee from Naruto, and Lum's Stormtroopers from Urusei Yatsura.
• Following the series's history of Blade Runner references, the building that Daizo and the Titans ascend strongly resembles the Tyrell Corporation headquarters.
• On the back of a comic Beast Boy reads can be seen the 'Astroboy' looking minion, Mecha-Boi.
• 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) was founded on a cover of a mint box Starfire opened. It had the red color text and even the Exclamation mark at the end of the Japanese letter, making it represent the "あ!"'s from Azumanga Daioh.

[edit] Trivia

• The film was originally scheduled to premiere on July 22, 2006 at 7:00 PM, but due to some technical difficulties, it was delayed until 15 September at 7:30 PM and repeated on 16 September at 7:30 PM.^{[citation needed]}
• In several scenes in the movie, the relationship between Robin and Starfire is expanded on. In fact, at the end of the movie, they finally kiss (with Cyborg commenting, "Well, it's about time!"). The movie ends with Robin and Starfire becoming a couple. This appears to be a nod to the fans, some of whom had been expecting the growing relationship between the two to reach a climax, but had never had the chance, as the show was cancelled. It also seems to be a nod to one of the original comics' story arcs, which involves the (almost) marriage between the first Robin and Starfire.
• During the Japanese animation scene where the Titans go to Tokyo through the Pacific Ocean, Aqualad can be seen making a cameo. This is unusual, as Aqualad is from Atlantis, which is in the Atlantic, not the Pacific. He is still able to traverse the entire ocean and may have a reason for being there.
• When Starfire kisses a Japanese citizen to learn Japanese, the boy is dressed in the same colors as Robin, and even slightly looks like him.
• The first time Beast Boy meets Brushogun's henchwoman, who is disguised as a schoolgirl, she calls him an "otaku" ("nerd"), which he mistakenly figures means "cute". She later calls him "Kawaii" (cute) when battling him for the first time in catgirl form.
• 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 deformed so the color remains a mystery. Even when removing his Robin disguise, he puts on shades.
• Many references to Japanese culture are included in the film, including the ganguro style, neon arcades, bōsōzoku and cherry blossoms.
• Daizo mentions that the Tokyo Troopers have reduced crime by 200%. This is impossible, as you can only reduce something 100% (to nothing). Either this is hyperbole, or is intended to mean that crime has been reduced from its original level by or from 200% of its current level (more correctly, this would be called a reduction of 66%/50%).
• The character あ is transcribed as 'a'. 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 it's line of sour mints.
• 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 Japanese version and nonsensical.
• This is the second time Robin and Starfire kiss; the first time is (in flashback) in the episode Go!. In Go!, however, Starfire only kissed Robin to learn English; in this, they were officially a couple.
• The special features on the DVD are "The Lost Episode" and a game.

[edit] References