There was a time when the animated features and shows were in the hands of DCAU producer and supervisor Bruce Timm, who made some of the most memorable pieces of entertainment in the animation space with characters from DC Comics.
But in his pursuit for greatness, he wasn’t alone, as one of the franchise’s projects, none other than the iconic Teen Titans, was handled by Glen Murakami.
While Timm has been revered in the industry with his breathtaking narrative and animation style, made popular with Batman: The Animated Series, Murakami made a name for himself with Teen Titans, making it one of the best superhero animated shows in history.
But the animations that Murakami managed to achieve by combining comic book art and anime art style in his production was something that even Timm couldn’t do.
How Glen Murakami Managed To Surpass Bruce Timm’s Projects With Teen Titans’ Animation Style
From shows like Superman: The Animated Series to Justice League, screenwriter and producer Bruce Timm has solidified his legacy in the superhero entertainment space as one of the biggest influences.
But following close behind him is Glen Murakami, who brought a revolution in the industry with his unique art style while making Teen Titans in 2003.
In a past interview (via AWN), the showrunner was asked about his unique animation art style that resembled both a comic book animated show, but flowed smoothly like an anime made in Japan.
To this, Murakami claimed that while working with Timm on Batman Beyond, he realized how this type of art style was already made popular by his peer, and he needed something different to stand out.
Thus, since he was very familiar with art and animations used in Japanese anime, he combined both comic books and anime to create a signature style that was dubbed The Murakanime. He said:
“Batman is more filmic and more film noir, and even the kinds of stories that were being told in the two series, I dont think anyone had ever done that with comic books before in an animated context. So, when we talked about doing Teen Titans we wanted to go in a different direction than what Bruce [Timm] had done with the other DC properties. We were fans of anime for years while working on the other shows, and it seemed natural to use that as the new direction to go in.”
Thus, creating a statement with the production and animation of the show, Murakami also managed to etch his name in superhero entertainment history.
How Bruce Timm Became Such A Revered Individual
Starting his journey with his very first animated show, Timm took the reins of Batman: The Animated Series back in 1992, and with certain changes and reforms in the animated genre of superhero entertainment, made himself a legend.
The first major change that he brought with his project was taking away the goofy factor from the series, something that was prevalent back then as these shows were made specifically for kids. Timm was among the first to bring that serious and gritty essence of comic books into animated superhero shows.
And instead of keeping it light-hearted and easy to understand, Timm introduced complex characters and character developments into the show, which was never done before, making audience from every age group attracted to the show. Combined with exceptional storytelling and narrative, the series became a milestone, and the rest is history.
Teen Titans, streaming on Max.
