Review Tuesday: STAR WARS: VISIONS - Season One

 

STAR WARS

VISIONS

Season One

Disney hired various Anime Studios to produce Star Wars shorts. 

With so many things being disappointments, these days, I decided to go back to something that received rave reviews a while back: STAR WARS; VISIONS. 

Imagine this? Disney went around and hired various prominent Anime Studios to produce short films with a Star Wars flavor. They are NOT canon. They, mostly, don't deal with any major characters. Hell, most of these episodes aren't even consistent in any way with what we know as the Star Wars Universe. 

HOWEVER...

Despite being non-canon anime based short films, they feel more faithful to the source material than the Disney Star Wars films in many ways. I should say right NOW, if you don't like anime, you probably won't like these shorts. While they have Star Wars flavor, they are deeply rooted in anime standards. 

Episodes:

E01 · The Duel - A wandering stranger with a mysterious past defends a village from powerful bandits. While taking them on, the truth about his past is revealed.

E02 · Tatooine Rhapsody - A band with big dreams must save one of their band mates after they are captured by Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett.

E03 · The Twins - Twins born into the dark side clash aboard a massive Star Destroyer when one gains possession of a powerful weapon.

E04 · The Village Bride - A Jedi on the run is summoned by an old ally to take in the unique customs of a remote village under threat by a warlord.

E05 · The Ninth Jedi - The daughter of a lightsaber-smith is pursued by dark forces while on a dangerous mission to deliver newly crafted lightsabers.

E06 · T0-B1 - A cybernetic boy, who dreams of being a Jedi, discovers a dangerous truth about his creator that could ruin their peaceful existence.

E07 · The Elder - A Jedi and his Padawan track a dark presence to a small village on an outer rim planet and stumble upon a horrifying truth.

E08 · Lop and Ochō - A family is torn about what to do when the Empire encroaches on their planet, with one family member forced to choose sides.

E09 · Akakiri - A Jedi returns to his forbidden love to help defend her kingdom from a Sith-like Shogun. Consumed by haunting visions, the Jedi discovers that his destiny may not be what he expected.

I think I can safely say that not all the episodes are great. Tatooine Rhapsody can be the story of any rock band trying to make it, and doesn't need to be placed in placed in a Star Wars setting. That was also the episode that featured the most actual Star Wars characters within it. Some may have issues with lightsabers needing to be sheathed and the lightsaber umbrella. Those were all things I kinda found fun as it wasn't anything I had previously considered. 

 I would say this would be best for fans of anime who might want to dip their toe into Star Wars. If you are a Star Wars fan who likes anime, you should get a kick out of it. Me, as a lifelong fan of Star Wars, I adored this series. It was the little details, an image here, a sound there, that reminded me of the wonder I had as a child watching the original trilogy in theaters. I would recommend this series.

You can find it on Disney+