Lycoris Recoil is one of the most, if not the most, popular anime in Summer 2022. The story of cute high school girls blasting bad guys left and right with their handguns and assault rifles was such a massive hit. It managed to beat other top contenders for the season, such as the sequels to fan favorites series like Overlord and The Devil is a Part Timer, and claimed the top spot as the most popular anime of the season. Not bad for a brand-new anime.
However, now that the series has ended, and we get the chance to look back into it, we noticed something interesting. Something that most people might never have thought about before. Lycoris Recoil is actually quite similar to the billionaire hero who roams Gotham City at night, the one and only Batman. It might not be an exact replica, but there are some parallels going on between Batman and Lycoris Recoil. Here are some of them.
A Shared Premise
At a first glance, there’s nothing similar between a relatively bright and cheerful anime series like Lycoris Recoil and a dark and thrilling story of Batman. One has cute high school girls from start to finish, while the other is about a man who dresses in a bat costume. One is a heartwarming story that can make you smile from ear to ear, while the other is a gloomy story that will always keep you at the edge of your seat.
However, both stories actually shared a rather similar premise. A vigilante who secretly beat up criminals in order to protect the average citizens, even if it means they have to act outside the boundary of the law from time to time. Not only that, while they both are also supported by advanced technological inventions, Chisato and Batman are more than capable of finishing the job without it.
Furthermore, both Batman and Chisato spent most of their time working only in one city. Batman in Gotham, and Chisato in Tokyo. They can be anywhere in the world, but they choose to work in their hometown. The average citizens may not know who they are or what they have done to save the city, but they are without a doubt reaping the benefit from the work of Chisato and Batman.
Batman And Chisato
When it comes to personality, Chisato Nishikigi and Bruce Wayne couldn’t be more different from each other. Chisato has a carefree and bubbly nature, while Batman is a gloomy man who always assumed and prepared for the worst. Chisato loves being around her friends and the people that she cares about, while Batman is a loner who prefers to live in a high-tech bat cave.
That being said, they are actually a lot more similar than you might think. After all, both of them are orphans who are trained at an early age to be the perfect assassin, grow up to be some sort of vigilante who will go after bad guys, but refuse to kill them, no matter how dangerous they might be. This “hurting them but not killing them” policy is the ultimate similarity between Chisato and Batman. Because this is the one thing that both characters are so adamant to uphold, no matter what happened or who their opponent is.
Joker And Majima
Another character in Lycoris Recoil that is extremely similar to the one from the Batman saga is the antagonist. Or rather than an antagonist, it’s probably more accurate to see them as the nemesis of the main character. The archenemy, if you will. In Lycoris Recoil, it would be the deranged terrorist, Majima. In Batman, it would be the crazy clown prince of crime, Joker.
Apart from the clown make up, Majima has a lot of things in common with Joker. After all, both of them are unhinged green-haired men who want nothing else in this world but to cause chaos and disturb the peace and balance of the society. They are willing to do anything in order to achieve their objective, with a complete disregard to the life of innocent people.
Another important similarity is their absolute obsession with the main character. To Joker and Majima, the heroes are not just a mere enemy. It’s more than that. Batman and Chitose are their playmates in the endless games of cat and mouse, the missing half of themselves who they need to torture and kill, and the only ones who can keep them feel alive and excited.
Other Similar Characters
There are other characters who share similar personality traits and character development in the two titles. Takina Inoue and Nightwing are the protégé and trusted partner of the main characters who always has their back during every fight. Mika and Alfred are the caretaker and the closest person to the heroes who are genuinely concerned for their wellbeing, but still fully support their action and decision.
And finally, there are Shinji Yoshimatsu and Talia Al Ghul. Both of these characters truly love the main characters. However, there’s also nothing else that Shinji and Talia want in this world other than to drag Chitose and Batman to the dark side. Shinji wants Chitose to be the greatest killer in the world, and Talia wants Batman to rule the underworld together with her.
There are other similar characters, settings, and concepts between Lycoris Recoil and Batman, but the ones that we’ve mentioned above are the most obvious and undeniable ones. That’s why it’s safe to say that the creators of Lycoris Recoil, whether they realized it or not, are clearly inspired by Batman.