Isekai Suicide Squad (2024): Harley Quinn's Fantasy Adventure

Isekai Suicide Squad

“Harley Quinn's Fantasy Adventure”

Sometimes, the most noble intentions can lead to the most catastrophic outcomes. Having meant well means little in the face of disastrous results, and those harmed or lost along the way could never be the same. Accepting responsibility, taking the punishment, and trying to make amends are best in these situations. Even if the world doesn’t forgive you, your conscience will gradually build its peace again. You cannot expect others to support you as they used to, and you must rely solely on yourself to persevere through such challenging times.

“Isekai Suicide Squad” is a 10-episode TV anime series that aired from the 6th of July till the 7th of September in Summer 2024. Wit Studio brought it to life, while Magic Capsule, Warner Bros Japan, and ONEMUSIC produced it. Its primary staff included Tsuruoka and Ootani Joe as producers and Yoshinobu Keita and Ariga Keisuke as assistant producers. The 24-minute episodes featured themes of adult characters and isekai, showcasing action and fantasy genres, and received an R-17+ rating for their violent and profane content. The 6th of September 2024 saw the release of a related music video, "Go-Getters." Wit Studio also produced this 2-minute original piece by Mori Calliope, which served as the ending theme for the Isekai Suicide Squad anime series.

The story starts with DC’s Joker and his best girl, Harley Quinn, who just happen to be tearing through the eventful streets of Gotham. Why? They have sacks of cash, and law enforcement is hot on their trail to serve justice. Unfortunately for the city, the Joker himself manages to escape with the goods. By the end of the night, a mysterious woman wielding a katana captures Harley for some strange reason. The tale then switches focus to Amanda Waller, the head of the government security organization codenamed A.R.G.U.S., who had hijacked a supervillain team into another world to carry out a ruthless mission. Unfortunately, Amanda Waller also lost contact with the first suicide squad once they entered the portal. Now it is time for her backup plan: she sends the captured Harley, Deadshot, Peacemaker, Clayface, and King Shark through the portal as the second Suicide Squad, effectively making them the replacements.

Of course, things are never easy for gangs like these; shortly after entering the portal, their helicopter crashes, and they find themselves in the midst of a battle between horse-mounted troops and vicious orcs. Luckily for the Squad, all the A.R.G.U.S. members accompanying them lie dead on impact, giving them all the leeway to break free from their shackles and go on an absolute rampage through the Orc forces. Despite their unintentional assistance to the human soldiers, their only reward is imprisonment. After getting bound by magic-infused shackles, the Squad must find some way to return to the portal from which they came before it’s too late. Why? The reason is that if they don't, the bombs implanted in their necks by A.R.G.U.S. will explode!

Depending on your preferences, you may or may not enjoy Isekai Suicide Squad. If you are a DC fan in the slightest, like me, you’ll probably enjoy seeing these familiar characters within an entirely new setting. The show is inconsistent, though; sometimes, it is cinematic glory, and other times, it’s just washed-out DC in anime style. The pacing in the story department is truly appalling. The plot is very generic when it comes to Isekai; we have the usual Suicide Squad members and Amanda Waller standing there all bossy, saying something along the lines of, “Disobey me once, and I’ll blow your head off your shoulders, heathens!”. For big DC fans, this alone is enough to get you invested, but it’s certainly not enough for everyone.

The gang continues to be full of diverse personalities, and their behavior in this new world is not only exciting but also refreshingly different from the typical animation and anime personalities. They end up helping this Isekai kingdom in the middle of a war, forge some unexpected friendships, engage in cool fights, experience some plot twists alongside us, and, of course, yell out plenty of foul language. However, the show's first half suffers from poor pacing, devoting excessive time to world-building, and allowing viewers to skip these episodes with minimal repercussions. Despite the build-up, the entire show seemed to take place within a single castle, giving the impression of a much smaller universe. The Squad doesn’t explore or adventure much, so it’s like they missed out on the real Isekai experience in this fantasy medieval setting. They could’ve done so much with this world, but alas, the series is only ten episodes long, and only around six episodes actually hold value story-wise. Things get better after the halfway point, leading up to a solid finale and some outstanding action.

The character department is my favorite one. Harley Quinn is the prominent star of the show, and she dominates the entire show, so be prepared to give this crazy protagonist most of the screen time. She develops an unexpected relationship with the medieval princess, but her deep connection to Joker remains dominant even though he’s not physically near her. The dude lives rent-free in Harley’s head, an omnipresent being owing to his significant influence over her, and in this scenario, that’s a positive thing. After Clayface and King Shark, who were cool, Deadshot, Peacemaker, and Flagg were less important. The 10-episode limit may have contributed to this, but I felt that Harley, despite her greatness, received too much attention, undervaluing such great characters.

The Art and Animation department could be more consistent. The art style is inconsistent, with some characters appearing decent, while others, like Amanda herself, resembling carelessly drawn blobs. For some reason, the artist draws some of the main cast in an old-school style, while others appear more modern, leaving the distinction between the two sets of characters unclear. This doesn’t mean the character designs are bad, though, because they look stellar; it just looks like each member of the Squad hails from a different world! The animation starts off mediocre but drops to terrible around Episodes 4 to 5, where we experience a fantasy dragon fight. Actually, I wondered if the same studio worked on those episodes! After that, the story intensifies and culminates in a thrilling finale, anticipated around Episode 9.

Under the Sound and Music department, things are pretty decent overall. The opening theme, "Another World," by Tomoyasu Hotei, is quite memorable for its uniqueness, as it employs an instrumental piece straight out of a superhero action sequence. Mori Calliope, a Vtuber, provides an entertaining ending theme, "Go-Getters," that you can enjoy after each episode. The OSTs make sudden transitions from comedic to non-comedic situations; sometimes, they do not suit the situation very well. These pieces can go from humorous to relaxed to something serious so abruptly that it’s off-putting! I also need to address the comedy under this department because the show seems unsure if they want it to be funny. If comedy is just a subtle element, then a few jokes need to land and not make you uncomfortable, which is exactly what this series casually does. Unnecessary jokes ruined many serious scenes, and it’s made worse because all the comedy is overly contrived and weird. Thanks to this, I’d say even the voice actors’ efforts floundered to an extent, but at least they do a decent job portraying these classic characters in this new bizarre setting.

Isekai Suicide Squad is an odd one, and I can’t readily recommend it or discredit it straightaway. Instead, allocate points to the pros and cons listed below per your preferences and watch it if the pro count is higher. The plot is very generic, and the twists aren’t groundbreaking; the character designs are excellent but are not distinctive. The animation is mostly inconsistent but impressive; the action is solid, especially by the end, and the comedy is painfully unsettling and ill-placed. The lovable DC characters remain largely unchanged, the pacing suffers, and the overall production values are inconsistent. Judge for yourself! Don't approach this show with high expectations; instead, allow it to unfold naturally, and you'll enjoy a relatively enjoyable viewing experience.