Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo

Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo
Directed by	Michael Chang Ben Jones Matt Youngberg
Written by	David Slack
Produced by	Glen Murakami David Slack
Distributed by	Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Animation DC Comics
Release dates	15 September 2006 (TV) 6 February, 2007 (DVD)
Language	English

Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo is a direct-to-video 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. The DVD release date has been officially set for February 6, 2007.

Plot

Template:Spoiler The Teen Titans spring into action when a new threat, the monochromatic ninja Saico-Tek, appears in Jump City. A chase across the city ensues, ending up at Titans Tower, which Saico-Tek badly damages before the heroes can finally bring him down. Able only to speak Japanese, 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 and vanishes into thin air, 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 reptillia 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, and Starfire's game skills attract a lot of male 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 Bushogun - 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 identit of a Shinjuku mugger, and reunites with the other Titans, who have just recently 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 women 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 of the piece? 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, which cumulates 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, he takes control of Brushogun's powers and transforms 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. Next year, though, Beast Boy declares he would rather go to Mexico.This last statement causes Raven to smack him off the screen

Cast

• Scott Menville - Robin
• Khary Payton - Cyborg
• Greg Cipes - Beast Boy
• Hynden Walch - Starfire
• Tara Strong - Raven
• 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

Note

• Several of Brushogun's monsters are thinly-veiled versions of Japanese icons. The first creature is a gigantic lizard closely resembling Godzilla. The assassin sent after Starfire is Mecha-Boi (a possible throwback to Astroboy), Raven and Cyborg's assassins are possible throwbacks to several of Hayao Miyazaki's creations, Beast Boy's assassin is Nya-Nya (a shapeshifting catgirl). Saico-Tek's suit design has many elements in common with the various Kamen Rider heroes, and the first time Brushogun appears he is half blue and half red like Kikaider.

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.
• 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.
• 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 figures means "cute". "Kawaii" is actually the Japanese word for cute and/or adorable. She later uses this word 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.
• Many references to Japanese culture are included in the film, including the ganguro style, neon arcades, and cherry blossoms.
• 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.
• 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).
• 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.
• 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.
• Daizo mentions that the Tokyo Troopers have reduced crime by 200%. This is impossible, as you can only reduce 100% of something. Any more reduction would lead to negative crime. Either this is hyperbole, or is intended to mean that crime has been reduced from its original level by 200% of its current level (more correctly, this would be called a reduction of 66%).
• 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.
• 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]].
• The song that Beast Boy performs at a karaoke is a paraody of the Teen Titans theme song rewritten with engrish lyrics.