PLOT: As a first formal venture into anime, each Star Wars: Visions short bears a unique Japanese sensibility, which in many ways aligns with the tone and spirit of Star Wars storytelling. From the beginning, stories told in the Star Wars galaxy have counted Japanese mythology and the films of Akira Kurosawa among their many influences, and these new visions will further explore that cultural heritage through the unique animation style and perspective of each anime studio.
REVIEW: Since the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm, the Star Wars franchise has primarily been focused on brand synergy rather than creativity. The Force Awakens was a welcome burst of nostalgia, but each film released after seemed to dilute rather than enhance the saga. With The Mandalorian, Lucasfilm seemed to have finally found a way to explore George Lucas’ mythology in the way the expanded world of novels, comic books, and video games had done for decades before. The first animated project not directly linked to the main saga, Star Wars: Visions brings together the most popular creators of anime to tell nine unique stories that are unlike anything we have ever seen featuring Jedi, Sith, or the Force. Seeing as Lucas found inspiration for Star Wars from the films of Akira Kurosawa, especially The Hidden Fortress, it is perfect to see the saga come full circle back to its Japanese roots.
Star Wars: Visions is a beautiful collection of stories, each clocking in around fifteen minutes with the longest entry still less than half an hour. Within these limited running times, each animation team manages to cram in a feature film’s bounty of action and storytelling. Some stories focus on the Light and Dark Sides of the Force with Jedi and Sith as protagonists and villains, sometimes in ways that you would not expect. The stories also vary from dark and violent (“The Ninth Jedi”) to light and fun (“Tatooine Rhapsody”). But, every single tale manages to evoke it’s own perspective on what Star Wars is and can be. Of all these episodes, not a single one fails to deliver on the title of the series as each represents a vision of Star Wars.
The primary reason that this approach to Star Wars works is that it is not connected to the Skywalker saga directly. Aside from appearances by Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett (voiced in the English language version by Temuera Morrison himself), these stories take place at various eras through the Star Wars timeline and never once reference Luke, Leia, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or any other major players in the eleven feature films released to date. The connections to Star Wars instead are focused on lightsabers, Kyber crystals, stormtroopers, and Star Destroyers as well as familiar planets and alien species. With episodes taking place at times during each of the trilogies, these filmmakers were much more focused on using the narrative elements of the series rather than adding to what we have already seen.
The styles of these stories vary across the spectrum of what anime has to offer. Visions works almost like a crash course in Japanese animation and hopefully will spark interest from those unfamiliar with it. Others will likely be confused as to how different these creators have taken Star Wars. For example, “T0-B1” from Science SARU and director Eunyoung Choi tell the story of a young droid who yearns to be a Jedi. the design of the characters is very similar to Astro Boy and looks nothing like any Star Wars robots we have seen. It has a childlike sensibility with voice work from Kyle Chandler and Jaden Waldman that comes across closer to a children’s story despite some intense lightsaber action. Similarly, “Tatooine Rhapsody” from Studio Colorido and director Taku Kimura feels much closer to an episode of Pokemon. The voice work from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bobby Moynihan is far sillier and lighter than the other episodes, but it still fits into the broad scope of what Star Wars can be,
There are also standout episodes here that will become instant classics amongst Star Wars fans, including the first episode in the series. Animated predominantly in black and white, Kamikaze Douga’s “The Duel” features Brian Tee and Lucy Liu as two warriors fighting over a small village. I am not overstating that this fifteen-minute story showcases one of the best lightsaber fights we have ever seen in Star Wars and includes a weapon that would make Darth Maul and Kylo Ren drool. Likewise, the pair of episodes from Studio Trigger, “The Elder” and “The Twins”, are visual spectacles that skew more traditionally Star Wars and feature some solid voice work from Neil Patrick Harris, Alison Brie, and David Harbour. “The Ninth Jedi”, from Production I.G., and “Lop and Ocho” from Geno Studio both blend the lighter aspects of anime with creative action for stories that could easily be expanded to feature-length should this anthology prove to be the hit it should be.
Star Wars: Visions offers an alternative to the Clone Wars/Bad Batch style of animation we have been seeing from Lucasfilm and invigorates the franchise. This is a beautiful effort from all seven creative teams that showcase the wide scope of anime and the power that traditional animation is capable of. This is a perfect introduction to the world of Star Wars that requires no knowledge of the feature films but still enhances the experience for those who have been invested since 1977. Visions is easily the best thing to come from the world of Star Wars since the Disney acquisition and will hopefully continue to broaden the creative options set in a galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars: Visions premieres on September 22nd on Disney+.