Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo Review

Author: Lizard-Man
Date Added: October 14, 2006

Unless you have basically ignored the animation style of Teen Titans since its inception then you've obviously ignored that it is based on Japanese Anime. So its only natural that eventually the Titans would visit Japan at some point in their lives. Face it people you saw this coming a mile away. Muramaki is such a Japanese culture fanatic he pays homage to it everywhere he goes. Its almost sickening. Despite that "Trouble in Tokyo" has come out and everyone is going gaga over it, the R/S fans mostly but still everyone is going gaga in some way or another. So considering I watched the movie the question is how do I feel about it. I'll say this, it was a better series finale the "Things Change"

Notice how I didn't say it was good, or as R/S fans have stated "Rawlz!". I think I'm somewhat more qualified to to give an honest review because I never really cared for the Rob/Star ship. It was too obvious for my taste. Anyway lets start this review off quick.

Film opens like a regular episode of Teen Titans would, typical bad guy in the City causing general mayhem. This time its a red and blue ninja, or pink if you want to get technical. He's got exploding shrunkers of course, what maniac ninja doesn't? And of course who shows up to stop him but our beloved Teen Titans. Cue Robin's usual bad pun and we're off as Ninja boy lifts off into the clouds with a jet pack. Beastboy and Raven at this point are able to make better observations and wither comments towards the situation then Robin ever could. Specifically Raven's tourist comment. Then we are treated to the chase scene through the city streets as the Titans and the colourful ninja character exchange attacks. Beast Boy and Raven moment number one pops up when our favourite green shapeshifter gets hit and starts falling from the sky only to be saved by Raven's flying shadow pad as it passes under him. The moment is cut short however when Raven feels her personal space has been violated and asks if he thinks this is a taxi. Beast Boy acknowledges it isn't because of its flat and circle nature and Raven opens up a hole in the circle and lets poor Beast Boy drop, however he can fly so its okay. This ends BB/Rae moment number one. Sure it was cute but did they really have to make Raven so rude? We'll get back to that later, on with the chase. Anyway we soon find out that the ninja the Titans are chasing can regenerate himself and any damage he sustains. As he demonstrates by growing a lost limb. Oh, Intrigue and Mystery! Then of course the T-Car blows up. What did you expect, it blows up every other episode. How does Cyborg keep fixing it so fast? Starfire tries to engage the flying ninja by sneaking up behind and punching him. However she's a nice girl so she gives him ample warning. This gets her a one way trip down to the ground. Now I know why Dark Helmet said that "evil will always triumph because good is dumb." Of course Starfire is saved by Robin, what a surprise. Note sarcasm levels have reached their limit at this comment. Now riding his motorcycle, Starfire and Robin continue to pursue the ninja through the streets, eventually it all cultivates when the flying ninja heads to Titans tower and begins showering it with grade A explosives! How nice of him. All the other Titans fail in stopping him, but of course Robin is victorious alone. This further drives home the point that this is Robin's movie, everyone else is just here because they're stuck with him. Poor them. Beast Boy begins dramatic foreshadowing immediately after the battle by telling everyone he needs a vacation. Who could blame him, living in a city fighting bad guys constantly is tiring. Especially when you have an obsessive work aholic batman-clone leading the way. Ninja guy starts speaking Japanese and his nearby shrunken turns into a pink little ball. More intrigue and mystery!

Later inside the tower, the Titans complain about the state of their home. Cyborg just cries about his sofa. So many good times on that sofa, so many good times. As Raven begins to clean up everyone joins in, even Beast Boy once Raven hands him a dust pan and brush. Of course Beast Boy is still wondering why they aren't on vacation. And Robin, being the superficial jerk he is, tells him off saying heroes don't take vacations. Because if they did who would stop crime? The police? Please, Jump City PD is grossly under funded and poorly staffed, you can't expect them to do anything right. After fixing a computer the tower's basic systems go back online, (impressive technology, you only need one computer to do everything in a giant T-shaped tower.) Robin goes to interrogate the ninja. After clicking a translator device Robin is able to successful translate the Ninja's words to English. Revealing himself to be Psychotech and that he comes from Tokyo Robin demands to know why he is here. Apparently some horrible criminal mastermind ordered an attack on Titans Tower. Robin implores why and Psychotech lets a name slip, Brushogun. Then Psychotech flips over the table, hits a fire safety device convenient placed overhead and disappears in a spray of water. Even more mystery and intrigue! As the Titans try and find out how Psychotech could have disappeared, (Beast Boy actually provides the right answer, as you'll see later on.) Robin concludes that they must find Brushogun and bring him to justice. Robin is just ticked however because he let a bad guy get away. That's just me though. "Pack your things," Robin says "we're headed to Tokyo." Beast Boy replies to this happily saying "Sweet! We're going on vacation!"

We now cut to a montage of the Titans packing their stuff for the trip. All rather comical as Beast Boy packs up everything he owns, Robin takes a backpack, Cyborg packs his extra body parts (One of them almost being an extra head), Starfire uses an alien device as a purse for all her clothes and Raven just takes a toothbrush. They go through a few trials and tribulations in their fly over to Tokyo, including Beast Boy needing a bathroom break, the Titans not knowing where Japan even is and BB/Rae moment number two where Beast Boy sticks a finger up Raven's nose and takes a picture of it causing her to lay the hurt on him. Perhaps Beast Boy actually likes getting hurt by Raven, more on this later.

So anyway the Titans finally make it Tokyo. Robin isn't interested in sight seeing and Beast Boy just wants to have the best vacation ever. He's even got a touristy t-shit and pants. BB wants to visit a huge Comic Book store in Tokyo (Apparently he has enough strength to pull both Raven and Cyborg at the same time) while Robin wants to lurk around seedy dark alleys in search of bad guys. Hmm... yeah I'd rather take Beast Boy on vacation with me thank you very much. At least then I won't run the risk of getting mugged. However little do the Titans know they are being watched by an evil dark and foreboding figure, who is quite possibly Brushogun. How exactly he is watching them I don't know. He has a lot of invisible cameras everywhere it seems. Figuring Psychotech has talked, he decides to get rid of the Titans. While he sends something nasty their way the Titans are struggling with trying to find their way around Tokyo. However none of them speak Japanese, not even Robin. This is surprising considering he was trained by a superhero for these kinda things. Perhaps he skipped that class on foreign languages, or he failed it miserably take your pick. Beast Boy tries to get directions but soon realizes he also cannot speak Japanese. Before the other Titans can strangle him for his decent attempt Starfire has an idea. She grabs a total stranger and kisses him on the lips. Garning surprised faces from Beast Boy and Cyborg, a raised eyebrow from Raven and completely shocked look from Robin. As soon as she breaks contact Starfire begins speaking perfect Japanese. Robin is still confused as to what  has just happened and Starfire explains her race can learn new languages by simple lip contact. This a nod to comic fans and of course tells us that Tamaranians' will kiss anyone as long as you speak in a different language then them. Hmm, maybe I should take up French again, just incase I meet a Tamaranian one day. With that whole "Robin is Jealous" scene over with we can now begin one of my favourite scenes of the movie. A giant lizard attacks Tokyo! As the Japanese run from this Rubber suited monster the Titans attack. However it soon becomes evident to them that this is no ordinary lizard when Cyborg blasts a hole right through it only for the creature to immediately repair itself. Robin makes the obvious assumption that the monster works for Brushogun and the fight resumes. Once again the Titans all fail miserably in their attempts to stop the monster. Raven can't find a gas guzzling vehicle anywhere on the street because everyone has gone electric in Tokyo. She is grabbed by the Godzilla-look alike and Beast Boy jumps on the monster forcing it to release her. Changing back from his Gorilla form he prepares to change once more. This time he becomes a T-Rex, but shortly after the transformation he hits his head on a bridge just above him and falls flat. Then the monster spews barf on Beast Boy. Gross. Cyborg makes a witty comment about Japan's love for Baseball, rips off a part of a nearby sign to use as a bat and then the sign falls on him. Starfire also fails to stop the monster and ends up as a damsel in distress. Robin saves her by catching the monster's attention and calling the giant lizard's mom a Salamander. Angered that some western spiky-haired punk would make a "Your mama" joke in front of him the lizard takes off after him. Beast Boy in the meantime gets up from his squishy barf filled nightmare and realizes his shirt is ruined. "How will I get hot Japanese girls without it?" He asks. This initiates BB/Rae moment number 3, where Raven gets incredibly close to Beast Boy's face. She begins pointing off several things about Beast Boy, "Your skin is green, you have fangs and your ears are pointed. You're really worried about the shirt?" Oh come on Raven, we all know you were just listing the things you found cute about him. Well at least that's how I interpreted it. It's the shipper leaking through okay. While Beast Boy tries to run after Raven as she flies away and prove to her that chicks dig the pointed ears Robin continues to engage the monster, or run away whatever. In any case he ends up leading the monster on a chase that destroys several building and a train full of pedestrians. Yeah, great hero skills Robin. You can stop rescuing Tokyo now. Before our Godzilla wannabe can finish off Robin a bunch of police men show up and shine their lights on the giant lizard. A dude in a trench coat comes out and orders his men to attack the beast. Laser fire and helicopters come out of nowhere keeping the monster at bay while they put down some kind of weird circle border thing around the monster. With a flick of his katana with a hammer thing on the end, trench coat guy puts up a huge laser wall and traps the monster. Okay since when did the Japanese military actually ever succeed in stopping the monster? Watch a Godzilla movie, you'll see what I mean. Something is so up with this. Anyway the Titans soon find out who this trench coat guy is. His name is Commander Daizo and he leads these guys with funky helmets on who stopped the monster, they're called the Tokyo Troopers.

After exchanging pleasantries the Titans are introduced to the Tokyo Trooper's HQ by Daizo. Apparently these guys are a legion of super cops, who wear really huge friggin helmets. I don't know what the significance of them are. So anyway we see like thousands of them practicing kung-fu below the Titans and we eventually get to the super high-tech central hub of the facility. The Troopers have apparently wiped Tokyo clean of crime almost completely. Although I don't know how you can still have crime if you have reduced it by 200%. Not to mention there wasn't that much crime to begin with in Tokyo. Except with the Yakuza, those guys are a bitch. They cut off your finger if you cross them. BB/Rae moment number 4 is introduced when Beast Boy tried to touch a button on the control board and gets a slap from an angry Raven telling him not to touch anything. Raven really likes dishing out pain to Beast Boy, its almost as if she likes it. More on that later. Robin of course wants to use the Tokyo Troopers to help them catch Brushogun. Daizo however tells them he doesn't exist and they've completely wasted their time coming here. Then he goes off to entertain the Tokyo press and the Mayor while Robin wipes the egg of his face for realizing his pointless excursion to Tokyo. Later expressing himself to be an idiot Starfire tries to comfort him. Unfortunately Robin is inconsolable because his detective skills have now been questioned. And we all know how Robin prides himself on his detective skills. Wanting to ease to boredom and escape Robin's annoying angstyness, Beast Boy decides they should all go to the comic book place he mentioned earlier. Robin is angry because it isn't a clue about Brushogun. Typical AS Robin, Tim Drake would have been having a ball by now, but no we get stuck with Dick Grayson Robin who is such a friggin stick in the mud. However since Beast Boy is more entitled to, you know, actually having FUN he doesn't really care about some stupid villian that is suppose to be a myth. Its comic time now. However he soon finds out the comic store is closed. Sucks. Robin by now just wants to go home, because he's super depressed and incredibly boring. As Cyborg explains to him, this is friggin Tokyo! Its time to "look around and see the town" in Cyborg's words. Thank you Cyborg, if I was going on a vacation I'd take both you and Beast Boy. You two are way more fun and less boring then Robin. But enough about how much of party-pooping whiner Robin is, its time for the Titans to see Tokyo. However, Brushogun is still watching them it seems and he sends in some help to make sure they stay off his trail.

So now we head on over to the Titans and their walking adventures through Tokyo. Cyborg finds an "All you can eat" Restaurant, while Starfire and Robin do-all the fun things couples do in Japan, like watch sumo wrestling, row a boat down a river with cherry blossoms and play a DDR inspired video arcade game. And let me tell you Starfire's alien combat skills do come in handy here as she apparently hits a new high score. She finishes her victory dance with one of the most glamorous poses she has ever done. What did you expect, this is Starfire we are talking about. Meanwhile Beast Boy is musing over his lost chance at entering comic heaven. However he soon forgets that when a Japanese school girl appears and calls him "Otaku." Beast Boy thinks this means he's cute. Unfortunately for him, Otaku is translated into English as "geek." Lucky for him because of the techno-crazed lifestyle of Japan, geeks are cool there. So he's still good. While he chases after his new found crush, Raven is having trouble of her own. She apparently knows every single language on Earth except Japanese. So that means she can't read anything. All she has at the moment is a pack of "Super Twinkle Donkey Gum" given to her by a creepy looking fat guy who winks at her. Sends shivers up both her spine and mine.

Now to R/S fan lip service, the first kiss scene between the two. Robin is still thinking about Brushogun, because he's that oblivious to the fact he has a hot alien girl next to him. Starfire begins to talk about the previous boy and the lip contact she experienced with him. Robin buys the bait and Starfire acknowledges that she has realized the significance of the kissing on this planet. Robin isn't completely dumb so he and Starfire begin checking on their mouths, mainly their breath and teeth. Its cute of course, but I can't stand Robin and Starfire fluff. Yet I support the couple by proxy, meaning I know its going to happen I just don't give a crap. So the two go in for the kill (or kiss) Robin wants to be sure nothing will get in the way of their friendship. However once Starfire says they have nothing to fear Robin does the unthinkable... he pulls away. If you want to call him gay at this point be my guest. I know I did. Robin suddenly realizes that Psychotech was afraid of someone and that someone was in Tokyo. He decides to set out and find him. So now you can see what has happened. While Cyborg ruined that moment in "Spellbound" unintentionally and Beast Boy did it in "Beast Within" by trying to interject humour, Robin has actually done it completely on his own. Moron. Starfire tries to engage in the kiss but Robin explains to her that heroes have no time for stuff like this. So after completely screwing with Starfire's emotions like the insensitive jerk he is Starfire flies off sobbing. I will never understand why girls like Robin so much.

Raven meanwhile is walking down seedy dark alleyways whilst being stalked by something out of a Japanese horror film. Cyborg in the meantime is stuffing his face silly at the all you can eat restaurant with all sorts of nasty Japanese food and trying to out do a crazy chef with a real big nose. Beast Boy of course is still chasing the Japanese schoolgirl. Following her into a club he soon finds himself on a karaoke stage and is cheered on by the crowd to sing. Quickly changing the Japanese lyrics to English Beast Boy begins to sing...the Teen Titans Theme Song! While listening to his singing you may wonder what the hell is going on because none of the lyrics are recognizable. Allow me to explain, Japanese doesn't translate very well when directly translated to English. I have seen many Japanese advertisements from Japan in English, all of it rather confusing. So if Beast Boy singing about obeying the Traffic rules confuses you, relax you're not alone. Still if pop singers like Britney Spears and Christina Agurella have taught us anything its not the song that counts its how you perform. And Beast Boy, being the showman he is, loves playing for the crowd. Whoever thought he was this stylin'? In any case as Beast Boy's little show comes to a close our green Titan is glomped by every single hot Japanese girl in the club. "I love this town" and who could blame you for loving it. Every man in the audience who wants to switch places with BB at this point raise your hand.

Unfortunately now we must return to angsty Robin as he looks at his pink little paint ball, his only clue to where Brushogun is. As he points out the obviousness of the ball not having any screws or bolts or anything (duh, its a ball!) Brushogun gets really ticked off. Mostly because Robin is on his trail but also because he can't stand watching this annoying semi-emo freak anymore. So what better thing to do then to send Psychotech after Robin. As Robin encounters the ninja again a fierce battle on the rooftops of the neon lit city of Tokyo begins. To say the least its one of his more exciting and more interesting bouts. Mostly because the animation is very fluid throughout the scene. However Robin is so distracted by the fact he is fighting the evil ninja once more he doesn't notice that Psychotech is now... pink? What self-respecting ninja goes all pink? As the battle rages on Robin's suit gets totally trashed. Psychotech in the meantime barely has a scratch on him and appears to be very very flexible. How flexible? Psychotech brought his handcuffed hands around to his front and is able to escape them easily. That give you an idea? The battle ends when they both fall to the street and Robin lays the hurt on the ninja. When its all over Robin is covered in what appears to be Psychotech's gooey life-giving blood and is standing in front of a crowd of incredibly shocked Japanese pedestrians. Yeesh, that ain't good for PR. Robin is soon surrounded by the Tokyo Troopers and Commander Daizo arrests him. It appears Robin has just committed murder. Robin now sits in jail for his crime as Daizo explains to him the consequences of what he has done. Robin's attempt to prove he didn't kill Psychotech is futile and Daizo tosses him a Magna comic to read while he waits in his cell.

The Titans are blissfully unaware of Robin's predicament for the moment and are continuing to enjoy their vacation. Raven has stopped by a small local book shop to find out a little more about the Brushogun myth, but the book store's owner tells her its not as much of myth as it has let on to be and hands her a dusty old book for her to study. As for Beast Boy he is enjoying his quality time with some of Tokyo's most eligible ladies. Still he is looking for that one particular girl from before. He tries to escape the hot girls but soon finds out they do not want him to leave. Poor Beast Boy flees the scene as a giant green gorilla with the girls in hot pursuit. Now BB knows how DL feels about being constantly glomped by his fangirls. At the same time Cyborg has ticked off the chef beyond belief by eating everything on the menu (even an old shoe filled with Wasabi) and is about to become chop shui. Running from the mad wrath of the chefs he bumps into Beast Boy and their pursuers merge with each other as they race after them. Meanwhile Starfire is moping about Tokyo and watching two robotic monkeys kiss in a store window. Japan sells weird crap. A young girl decides to lend Starfire a helping hand as the Alien princess explains all of her problems with her 'supposeded' boyfriend. The girl doesn't say anything, but somehow her quiet wisdom re-awakens Star's boundless optimism and determination to win Robin's heart. However her new found vigor is interupted when a news flash comes on in front of her detailing Robin's arrest. Star contacts the other Titans about Robin's imprisonment and they all try to formulate a plan to rescue him. Brushogun however will not give them that chance as he unleashes his evil spies upon them. Starfire is ambushed by a scary blue kid who is a cross between Megaman and Astro-Boy. (Two popular Japanese Robots) Raven encounters the scary looking multi-faced black thing that has been following her... in a graveyard no less... how surprising. Cyborg and Beast Boy face off against two bad guys. One a yellow pudgy robot with knives and kitchen utensils for hands. Which mean this guy gives a whole new meaning to the word "Iron Chef." Beast Boy must face off against the girl he was chasing... who was actually an evil pink cat girl in
disguise. Oh well at least he still has every other girl in Japan.

While the Titans engage their assailants, Robin is being transported in a prisoner truck. As soon as the truck is on the road a piece of paper floats inside, the name on it says "Brushogun." The words then lift off the paper and turn into a shuriken that then explodes successfully taking out the truck and allowing Robin to escape from the wreckage. You may ask yourself how a small piece of paper managed to find Robin so easily? The answer... its magic!

Back to the other Titans, who are embroiled in the fight of their lives against the new bad guys they must now face off against. Cyborg gets chopped up and prepares to become a snack for this hungry robot, Beast Boy is taken out with a kiss and a punch, Raven is enshrouded with with darkness by her attacker and Starfire takes a missile to the face from her attacker's mouth. Sorry but this
really irks me off. How is it that whenever the other Titans engage an enemy in this movie they get their butts whooped? Beast Boy's defeat is especially annoying. Beast Boy is not that incredibly stupid! God how I hate that scene.

However, Beast Boy's unfair treatment by the scriptwriters for this film is not the lowest point of the movie, our next part is. Robin is stranded in the streets of Tokyo with a ripped costume, so he takes out a passing mugger and steals his clothes, mainly his white trenchcoat and sunglasses. His appearance is puketastic, mostly to me of course because I'm a guy and I am so cheesed off with every friggin fangirl calling Robin smexy! He is not! He looks gayer then usual! Almost as gay as the costume that had Robin in short shorts! God how hate his clothes! I wanted to strangle Muramaki for this travesty of a disguise. Anyway Robin goes into a bar and beats some tough looking baddies up for info on Brushogun. Robin finds out that the Tokyo Troopers discourage talks about the Brushogun under the pretext it inspires more bad guys and that the new criminals started showing up when Brushogun disappeared the bar is surrounded by Tokyo Troopers and Robin makes his escape on a motorbike. However he is soon cornered by the troopers on a bridge. Prepared to surrender to them he lifts up his hands in defeat however it appears Starfire has survived and comes to his rescue with an open hand and first class flight to safety.

Arriving at a pagoda Starfire explains they all barely escaped with their lives from their attackers and they hope this place will be safe for now. Handing Robin a new set of his "Not Gay" uniform Robin pulls Starfire into another possible kiss. The scene is interrupted by an excited Beast Boy sliding open the doors. For once, Rob/Rae fans can find a reason to love our dear BB for delaying the inevitable just a bit longer. Oh and you can also see Robin's eyes' are black without pupils, great. Anyway Cyborg has something very interesting for Robin to hear. It appears that the gooey stuff on Robin's Costume was in fact ink, so were the stains on Cy's armour from the Iron Chef, the black streaks Raven received on her cloak from her battle and the kiss cat girl gave to Beast Boy before kicking him in the face. Beast Boy and I are still pissed off about that scene. Raven now has a piece to add to the puzzle, the creator of these villains is Brushogun and she uses that book she found to tell his story. We are treated to very well animated story told by Raven at this point. Brushogun was once just an ordinary artist who dreamed of bringing his creations to life. He drew a lot of girls apparently so I can only assume the reason he wanted that was because he was that friggin desperate. So of course Brushogun uses black magic to bring one of his foxy dream girls to life. Of course every intelligent person knows that every black magic spell has a price. Brushogun became infused with ink all over his body and it gave him the power to bring his drawings to life, of course now he wanted to bring total and utter destruction instead of just going out with hot chicks. This kinda of thing happens when you mess with dark magic but apparently no one told him that. I must say Brushogun's story is probably the best animated scene I have seen come out of this series and it may also be a little mature for younger audiences, I'm not kidding its that good. Robin comes to the realization everyone has already deduced, the bad guys they were fighting were all ink and Brushogun created Psychotech to frame Robin. (So when BB stated earlier in the film that Psychotech wasn't waterproof he was right. The water washed the ink away and Psychotech with it) Thankfully this is the film's high point. For once the other Titans have discovered the answer to the mystery of what has been going on while Robin is the last to know. Congrats to Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy for gathering the evidence, even though some of it was unintentional. Robin finally loses the gay clothes and puts his old uniform back on ready to join the fray of battle once more, find Brushogun and clear his name...I mean the Titan's names of course, lets put everyone in the same boat even though they did nothing wrong. However Beast Boy points out a small hitch in Robin's plan to find Brushogun "Everyone in Tokyo is out to get us!" Almost on cue the walls of the Pagoda open up to reveal the Tokyo Troopers, the chefs, the hot girls and the evil ink bad guys. Begin the wonderfully mad cap chase scene to follow as the Titans run from their pursuers through the streets of Tokyo. I would have preferred if it was played to the song "Turning Japanese" by the Vapors, oh well I can fix that in a fan movie or something.

Soon the Titans discover Brushogun's hideout, the comic book store BB wanted to visit. Hmm, a little obvious actually. Initiate BB/Rae moment number five as Beast Boy explains how they should have taken the tour in the first place and solved all their problems. Raven gives him a smack across the head. Okay by this point it is so obvious that Spazz was right when she said Beast Boy and Raven have a Sado-Machoism thing going on. Why else would she hit him so much? I mean obviously Beast Boy is right that if they had taken the tour they would have been done by now. So Raven, knowing that her world has been rocked, decides to hit Beast Boy to make sure she isn't completely losing it. Once again pay my shipper ness no mind, it is seeping through the seams like so much other stuff.

Entering the comic book factory the Titans hear a noise, follow it and soon encounter Brushogun...strapped to a giant paper press with tubes in his back looking very weak and totally wasted, real menacing. Brushogun is apparently just a tool for the real bad guy who has trapped him in the printing press and is forcing him to make villains to serve the real evil mastermind behind everything. Brushogun sent the first Psychotech to the tower to lure Robin and his friends to Tokyo so they could find and save him. The real bad guy sent a second Psychotech to frame Robin. So who is using Brushogun as a brush? (Hah, get it, its a pun! Brushogun! Ha Ha! Yeah it isn't that funny) Robin realises only one person could benefit from creating villains, the people who catch them. The Tokyo Troopers and Commander Daizo himself are behind everything! What a shocker! Unless you read the spoilers then it isn't so much. Then again it is still kinda obvious. Although Daizo has been caught its doubtful anyone will believe the Titans when he catches them. The troopers attack, Robin shouts "Titans Go!" and so begins the battle of good and evil. As usual a nicely animated fight scene follows, in the course of which we found out the troopers themselves are all made of ink. I guess its easier to recruit that way. Now knowing they don't have to hold back Daizo ups the anti on the Titans by using Brushogun and unleashing hordes of the ink bad guys they fought before. After taking out a few of these anime rejects, Robin finally confronts Daizo, words are exchanged, Robin goes on about being a hero, ya da ya da ya da and now Daizo drop himself into an ink vat and becomes a super huge ink monster of death and now in total control of Brushogun's powers. As the battle heads outside the Titans face even more of the anime ink drawings, now completely mixed and matched from their previous standard colours. Raven deduces that Daizo can't be able to hold on to Brushogun's powers for long and the Titans re-engage the ink drawings as Robin makes his usual crappy oneliner for the battle ahead "Erase him." Geez, does he just sit in his room and write these down on a piece of paper and memorize them? The Titans all do a good job of kicking ink bad guy behind, but Robin apparently takes out more because he's the "HERO" of the story. He clambers up to the place where Brushogun's head is sticking out of the giant ink creature and is told he must remove Brushogun from the mass of black ink before he can stop it. Robin is sucked inside trying to get Brushogun free. Raven, Cyborg and Starfire are now all caught within Daizo's inky grasp, leaving Beast Boy to battle alone! This is it BB, the chance to prove that you can save the world! The chance to prove you aren't a loser! Do it for Mento! For the Titans! For Tokyo! For the hot Japanese girls! For Raven! However my hopes for an awesome Beast Boy mega battle scene are crushed when Robin emerges from the ink beast with Brushogun in his arms. Once again, Robin comes away with being the big hero. Excuse me whilst I scream in anger and curse out Muramaki's name to the high heavens. Brushogun thanks Robin and disappears into thin air as Daizo's ink form collapses along with all his creations. As the Titans rise from their victory Raven gives Robin a smile. Here's what I think she's thinking:

Raven: Why the f--k does he get to be the big hero all the time and we get our asses whooped throughout this entire friggin movie? Better smile to hide my bitterness from him, but later I shall put a kick me sign on his back. That will be sweet.

And now we come to the high point all you R/S fans have been giggling over for the past month. The inevitable kiss between Robin and Starfire, which happens in the rain, with Robin explaining they can be more then heroes and Starfire tells him to stop talking and they slowly go in for a kiss and we watch as camera spins around them. Everyone cheers, whilst I and several others who didn't follow such an obvious ship feel nothing. I can only find solace in Cyborg's words, "Well, Its about time." True Cyborg, very true.

The Titans now receive their medals for successfully exposing Daizo and his Tokyo Troopers for the frauds they were. Robin and Star are obviously together now, Beast Boy is piled on by thousands of rabid fangirls, Cyborg is given an all you can eat buffet by the big nose chef and Raven somehow becomes a mascot for "Super Twinkle Donkey Gum." Beast Boy asks Robin if they'll be staying longer and Robin thinks it over, finally he decides they could use a vacation. Beast Boy suggests their next vacation be in Mexico and this initiates the sixth and final Beast Boy and Raven moment, Raven slaps him silly for his comment. Credits roll, we hear all the Titans sing the translated Japanese song and we close.

So what is the final verdict on it all? Well you can tell by my reactions that this film is not going on my favourites shelf. Will I buy the movie when it comes out on DVD? Yes, but only because I want to see the special features on it. My main problem with the film is of course Robin. He is the main hero,
everyone else seems to be just there because this isn't "The Robin Show." Sure Beast Boy, Raven, Cyborg and Starfire all have their prospected scenes, but Robin is the one who does everything in the film! He's the one who is always the most successful in everything! He gets imprisoned for it, but he is the only Titan able to actually beat his Ink bad guy attacker, he catches the first Psychotech all by himself after the Titans fail miserably, Robin beats the most bad guys in the final fight and of course he gets the girl at the end of the film. I was happy with some points in BB's sub-story and glad that at least Raven and Cyborg were able to solve the mystery of Brushogun and their attackers before Robin was. But as you know I don't like Robin and watching him act as the big hero is bad enough for me, seeing him outshine all the Titans throughout the film just plain ticks me off. Beast Boy at least has gotten over Terra if he's looking for love in Tokyo, that much I can say, and the Godzilla inspired monster was fun to watch. The Rob/Star stuff did nothing for me because I don't care and the kiss was inevitable so I also don't care. The movie overall was good, but it is not great or spectacular by any means. Muramaki has obviously forgotten that we watch Teen Titans for all the heroes and not just Robin. If this film was more team centered and gave equal kudos to all the Titans (For example not having BB get suckered punched after a kiss!) then I would have liked this movie better. What's even worse is how our beloved BB/Rae moments are done. They're cute, but look at me! I have to use my shippy imagination to put them in a favourable light. Sure maybe I'm right and all but it does seem that Muramaki was trying to kill us off once and for all. Ha, sucker. We're too smart for that. Raven never said she was romantically interested in Beast Boy nor did she say she hated his guts! Therefore the uncertain future for our couple remains non-canon but not disapproved and is therefore open for interpretation. Just the way I like it. Besides we have the comics so screw Muramaki and his staff's attempt to kill our ship. We live on suckers! So there you have it, I'm in the middle here. There were high points and low points for this movie. I was disappointed in a lot of areas, but in the end it had some solid animation and good fight scenes. The Rob/Star stuff was predictable and so were some aspects of the story. In the end the movie gets a three out of five from me. I would have scored it lower had Robin remained in his gay white trench coat throughout the film, but I'll let that slide because it at least gave me the chance to laugh at his horrible fashion sense even though I had to endure fangirls shouting that accursed "Smexy" word.

In closing I'd like to ask a favour of my fellow BB/Rae fans. If you are dissatisfied with this movie may I suggest what I do when watch mediocre stuff like this, imagine making the movie better. And if you come up with a fanfic for it please post it somewhere. I'm already in the process of thinking up a rewrite for it all as I'm typing this. That's how much I was disappointed in the movie. But it comes away with a three out of five, so it didn't completely suck. Now if everyone will stop calling white trench coat Robin Smexy we can call it even and put this all behind us. Thank you.