Which are the best and worst looking episodes of Batman: The Animated Series?

When Batman: The Animated Series went into production at the beginning of the 1990s, Warner Bros. hired multiple animation studios to animate the show. Some of these studios handled a significant number of episodes, while others animated only a few.

But whether the studios animated two episodes or twenty-two episodes, the important thing was to remain consistent. Everyone involved in the writing and creation of Batman: The Animated Series wanted the show to look good at all times, to ensure it shined, and this meant having the correct animation studios on board.

However, while there was a certainly level of consistency in the animation, the series benefited from using some studios more so than others. And there was one studio in particular that was responsible for delivering the best looking episodes of Batman: The Animated Series.

That studio was TMS Entertainment Ltd – a world-renowned anime studio, often considered one of the finest in the industry. Without doubt, TMS animated the best looking episodes of the series, even if (sadly) it didn’t animate all that many.

The episodes animated by TMS included: 

• Fear of Victory
• Two-Face: Part One
• Feat of Clay: Part Two
• Never Fear
• Over the Edge
• Growing Pains
• Mean Seasons
• The Demon Within 

TMS also worked on the following episodes with fellow animation studio, Dong Yang:

• Harley and Ivy
• The Demon’s Quest
• Read My Lips

If you want an example of Batman: The Animated Series looking its very best, then cast your eyes over one of the episodes listed above. TMS did some fabulous work on the show, particularly with the episodes Feat of Clay: Part Two and Over the Edge, and this is where you will find the series at its most visually appealing.

But wait up a minute, if TMS was the best animation studio involved with Batman: The Animated Series, and Warner Bros. was keen to put out a ground-breaking series, why didn’t TMS animate every episode? Well, it was simply because TMS didn’t want to.

The studio was involved early on, but found the  work-to-money ratio on the series just didn’t add up. Plus, TMS had recently worked on Tiny Toon Adventures with Steven Spielberg, and was keen to work on Spielberg’s next show, Animaniacs, rather than miss out on the opportunity because of commitments to Batman: The Animated Series.

Of course, TMS wasn’t the only studio to provide great animation, the aforementioned Dong Yang delivered some good looking episodes too, as did Spectrum Animation Co. In fact, Spectrum consisted of former TMS employees, so there was a high level of quality from this studio – something evident in episodes such as On Leather Wings, Heart of Ice, and Robin’s Reckoning: Part One.

On the flip-side to all the good, there were a couple of studios who provided the series with some poor animation. One of these studios was Akom Production Co.

Akom’s work on Batman: The Animated Series was very inconsistent, or in some cases simply not up to standard. Writers and directors of the show would be unhappy if their episodes were handed over to Akom because they feared what they’d end up with. 

Eventually, Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm dropped Akom from working on the show. But before the studio was let go, it worked on 13 episodes including:

• Feat of Clay: Part One
• The Cat and the Claw: Part Two
• Be a Clown
• The Last Laugh
• Prophecy of Doom
• Mad as a Hatter
• The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne
• Cat Scratch Fever
• Moon of the Wolf
• Christmas with the Joker
• Joker’s Wild
• What is Reality?
• The Mechanic 

So, are these the worst looking episodes of Batman: The Animated Series? Nope.

While Akom provided some substandard animation, it wasn’t as bad was what was produced by Jade Animation. Thankfully, Jade Animation only worked on three episodes, but three was more than enough.

The episodes included: 

• If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?
• Day of the Samurai
• The Terrible Trio

In the case of If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich? it was a real shame that Jade was involved as this was a brilliant Riddler story. But unfortunately, writing aside, the animation in the episode was all over the place.

Should you wish to avoid the worst-looking episodes of Batman: The Animated Series then shield your eyes from the episodes animated by Jade Animation. The Terrible Trio is arguably the worst of the bunch, because not only does it look poor, it also features one of the worst scripts.

Meanwhile, for the best animated episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, take a look at any episode animated by TMS. Over the Edge is arguably the strongest, because it boasts a great story to go with the visuals.

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Thank you for stopping by I’ll Get Drive-Thru to read this post about Batman: The Animated Series. For more Batman-related content, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.

Alex is the editor and writer of I’ll Get Drive-Thru – a blog which specialises in all things related to Batman and DC Comics. After graduating with a degree in film & television studies, Alex studied journalism, before acquiring NCTJ accreditation. Prior to creating I’ll Get Drive-Thru, Alex was a magazine editor, a senior copywriter, and a freelance writer. He is now, and always has been, a Bat-fan!