The Suicide Squad anime looks surprisingly great, but years too late

The first full trailer for Suicide Squad Isekai is here, and it's looking pretty good honestly - it just feels like eight years too late.

When I first caught word of the fact there was going to be a Suicide Squad anime, more specifically one that's an isekai, I thought, "yeah, that tracks," but I also felt that it's a little bit behind the times. In case you don't know, the isekai sub-genre is one that sees characters being transported from their own world to a radically different one, typically just from boring old reality to a fantasy world. So it does feel like an appropriately "anime" thing to do with the Suicide Squad, as vague a descriptor as that might be. The characters are eccentric enough and the concept is silly enough that it just might work, and this latest trailer honestly inspires a bit of confidence. It just feels like a weird time for a project like this to finally happen.

Suicide Squad ISEKAI | Official Trailer 2 | DC

Harley Quinn as a character was arguably at peak popularity between 2015 and 2017, the 2016 Suicide Squad film bringing her into the broader public consciousness after she was already becoming increasingly successful as a solo comic book character in her titular solo run.

It's not that she's not still a popular character, she is, but you just don't see her crop up as much as you used to. Admittedly this is a bit anecdotal, but there are a lot less Harley Quinn cosplays and Halloween costumes these days. I do think her animated show that put her in a relationship with Poison Ivy on screen for the first time definitely relit the fandom's flames, but she isn't the powerhouse she used to be.

Which is why Suicide Squad Isekai feels like it's just a bit too late. Sure, there is a Suicide Squad video game due out next year (finally), but the games industry isn't exactly known for being timely, is it? One thing I have to admit is that making this a fully fledged anime, rather than just anime inspired, was a smart choice; anime has never been more popular, and it's a medium a lot of comic fans have moved towards, so a Suicide Squad anime slots in pretty perfectly.

Any which way, I'm up for a slightly weirder take on the Suicide Squad, especially considering Kill the Justice League just looks a bit… meh. But maybe the pair of titles will make 2024 Harley's year.