Batman’s appearances in Japanese media began as early as the 1960s, with a manga series in one of Japan’s comic book anthologies. But before manga struck a cord in the West there was Batman: Child of Dreams, a 2000 series by Kia Asamiya that was translated to English in 2003. A conventional Batman story supported by dynamic artwork, it's notable for the changes DC did to make Child of Dreams's appeal to Western audiences.
Story and Art
A Japanese television crew travels to Gotham City to get the scoop on the Caped Crusader. Among them is Yuko, a fledgling reporter and the daughter of a pharmaceutical tycoon who wants to prove she can succeed on her own. However, when they arrive drug-induced mimics of Batman’s villains start attacking the city. It’s up to the Dark Knight to protect Yuko and find the source of the copycats in an adventure that goes from Gotham to Japan.
While the drug storyline gives an excuse for Batman to fight his rouges gallery, it is a nice way of setting up fights without making the story about Joker and company. The idea of people wanting to be The Riddler or Two Face is interesting as well considering the belief that Batman's popularity is due to him having the best villains. But aside from some speeches about dreams the concept doesn't doesn't go far beyond a plot device.
Yuko serves as a point-of-view character for Japanese readers who may be familiar with Batman, but not to the extent Americans are. As a romantic interest though Yuko isn't that likable: For a reporter she spends a lot of time getting used or kidnapped and doesn't contribute anything to solving the case. Outside of the dreams and Japanese perspective Asamiya's story would be comfortable in any issue of Detective Comics - it doesn't shake The Dark Knight's world, but it's entertaining.
Manga's black-and-white arts style works well for Batman. Asamiya's Batman is sleek, but the shading and tone gives the character the menace he needs when facing his equally well-done villains. The action scenes are fast-paced, as the cityscapes and vehicles are very detailed. The only quibble is the rendering of noncostumed characters, whose noses dominate the face as part of Asamiya's art style.
Batman in Translation
Child of Dreams was adapted by Max Allan Collins and altered to read like a Western graphic novel. The pages were digitally reversed, which also reverses the lettering and signs that have to be corrected. Also according to the 2003 hardcover edition some dialog was added because Collins used Asamiya's original script as the base of his translation, instead of just translating what was on the page.
The adaptation is interesting in that DC went beyond the call of duty to tailor Child of Dreams to Western audiences including bringing in Collins, who wrote Road to Perdition, to rewrite the script. Since then, however, manga translation has moved toward staying as faithful to the original as possible. The latest Batman manga, 2008's Batman: Death Mask, kept the translation in the original right-to-left format and doesn't give the translator the front-cover billing that Collins did.
Conclusion
Child of Dreams is an average Batman story that is noteworthy mostly due to the art and circumstances behind it. The book is currently out of print, and there aren't many reasons to hunt it down. However, It is a nicely drawn rendition of Batman as well as an example of adaptation before modern manga translation was formalized.
