First, with this being a new show: POTENTIAL SPOILERS
Sorry if this is "have you seen this show" overkill (I think this would be the 3rd or 4th thread I've started with that question), but I figured if anyone had seen it in the communities I frequent, this would be the one. After 3 episodes, here's where I stand.
I'm glad we finally have a new serious Batman show after 5 years or so. I like that they are focusing somewhat on his early career (though, between this show, Arkham Origins, the Zero Year arc in the comics, and an upcoming movie reboot that storyline is going to get real old, real quick), and on lesser known villains. The actual writing is good, probably on par with The Batman, however, I'm not a huge fan of the whole backstory. I think the thing that will turn off a lot of the comic nerds like us is that you hear a lot about Batman being protected by plot armor, and how he seems to get more "fantastic" with each iteration; well, this show doesn't do much to change that. After watching this third episode, there's one point where Batman sees a boot print left on the nose of the Batmobile from an earlier incident. He uses a Q-tip to wipe some of the print off and analyze it. This leads him to a series of clues that ultimately lead him to the main villain of the episode. That's the short and sweet version, but watching it, it was almost at CSI levels of over-the-top ridiculous.
The voice acting isn't bad, at least among the main characters (wasn't real impressed with Magpie in the second episode). Bats' VA does a pretty decent job of differentiating Bruce Wayne from Batman, though a truly intelligent character (should) would still catch on. Some of the lines could be seen as "made for the kids", but I think overall the characters don't "talk-down" too much.
The biggest thing I don't like is the animation and style. For one, I'm about done with CGI animation, but beyond that I really don't care for the art style, and the animation isn't all that impressive. To me, it has Star Wars: Clone Wars art with Beast Machines-era animation. Some people like one or both of those, I hated both. Considering what we've seen with the cutscenes in the Arkham line of games, I'm kind of disappointed animators don't go for that style with these cartoons.
Overall, I'd have to give it a B-. There's enough that I enjoy that I'll probably keep watching (namely that it is back to being a more serious version of Batman), but it's going to be real difficult with that art/animation style. Hopefully, as time goes on the ridiculous leaps in investigating will be toned down.
The floor is now open for discussion.
