Star Wars: Visions

I have mixed feelings on Star Wars: Visions. Some episodes were definitely better than others, with the stand outs being episodes 4 and 5. And as off-putting as the whole furry thing can be, episode eight really does stands out story-wise. Though Visions could definitely benefit from more build up towards the climax in each of its stories, especially in regards to the characters, it still manages to be a fun watch most of the time. But enough thought rambling, here’s a breakdown by episode:

Episode 1: 7.5/10
For a one episode short, this was simple and effective. Very entertaining, but certainly not groundbreaking. A good intro ... for the show.

Episode 2: 5/10
This one was OK. It had its moments - like a certain fan-favorite character chasing down the protagonists - but everything outside of that was pretty lackluster. Enjoyable, but very mediocre and leaves a lot to be desired.

Episode 3: 7/10
There are a lot of people giving this episode crap. If you can suspend your disbelief, and let go of the whole that’s not how physics works thing (which, being real, has never been a staple of Trigger) this one is pretty enjoyable. Visually, this one stands out the most and it’s just a fun mess. Still has its faults though. It does get caught up in being super flashy, and it is difficult to suspend your disbelief on some of the things it reaches for.

Episode 4: 9/10
This episode stands out as a favorite. It has a simple story, good pacing, beautiful scenery, a clear escalation, grounded characters, and the music really moves this episode. This one resonates emotionally, and really sends a tingle down the spine in the last act. While it's tough to care to see more of these characters, more episodes of this type from this studio would be a welcome treat. For a one off, this was perfect.

Episode 5: 9/10
Another highlight. Didn’t have the same emotional high as episode four, but just a very solid episode. Interesting premise and it felt like Star Wars while also feeling fresh. It had a genuinely surprising twist that keeps the viewer on their toes, and has a good pay off at the end with the main character. Unlike episode four, this one also sets up in an interesting way for more episodes. This is going to be an easy one for a lot of people to latch onto and enjoy.

Episode 6: 6/10
Some people will like this episode more than others. It plays off as fine and it's easy to appreciate the homage to Astro boy, but the old man’s character arc and the animation both leave something to be desired. To avoid spoilers, everything that happened with the old man, feels very rushed (sure, it’s a 13 minute episode, so that’s par for the course, it leaves a LOT to be desired - mores than other episodes), and while the animation wasn’t bad, one can't help but feel like it had a lot more potential. (SPOILER ALERT) Also, like Rey, it's tough to get behind somebody picking up a light saber for the first time and beating a far more experienced opponent on merit of unearned skill.

Episode 7: 7/10
this one had a lot of good things going for it. The scenery was interesting, and there's a really engaging character dynamic between the master and the apprentice. For all the build up to the fights, the actual fight sequences feel short and anti-climactic. It's a bit of a letdown to not see more impressive animation or at least more exciting fight sequences for what is essentially a showcase of the studio's capabilities. Very interesting lore-wise though. It would be great to see more of this.

Episode 8: 7/10
This one is pleasantly surprising. The only thing that’s holding this back from being an eight or nine, is the fact that they really crammed a lot into a short amount of time and the story simply isn't suited for such a short episode. Interesting premise and characters, but a story like this one really needed more time for relationships and character arcs to be fleshed out, resulting in bigger payoffs at the climax. The furry element will be pretty off-putting to some viewers, but it's tough to deny that this was a good episode and a remake of this story laid out over the course of a few episodes or even a season instead of one 23 minute installment, could really bring out this episode's potential

Episode 9: 3/10
This might be the most controversial rating given. A lot of people seem to like this episode, but it feels weird. This episode may be a slow burn that has to be digested once or twice, but the third act feels very rushed and it's hard keeping up with what the writer's were trying to go for at the end until it's spelled it out. Additionally, the animation on this one will not appeal to all audiences. The art style is fine, but the light saber movements feel very odd and staggered. Overall, this one just doesn't land very well.

Summary:
This series had highs and lows and everything in between. Overall, it's exciting to see Star Wars in anime format. It would be great to see some of these more fleshed out because the short form really hurt a lot of episodes with much more potential than what was realized here. Still, there are a few great episodes here that are must sees for any Star Wars fan. Here's to the hope for more Star Wars anime in the future.

Star Wars: Visions is an anime anthology series created for the American streaming service Disney+. Produced by Lucasfilm Animation, the series consists of nine short films created by seven Japanese animation studios, each telling their own original stories based on and set within the Star Wars universe. The participating animation studios are Kamikaze Douga, Studio Colorido, Geno Studio, Trigger, Kinema Citrus, Production I.G, and Science SARU. The creators at each studio were given free rein to re-envision the ideas of Star Wars as they saw fit, while receiving guidance from Lucasfilm's executive team.

The anthology was released worldwide on September 22, 2021. Naturally, the critic community ... acclaimed it, but Rotten Tomatoes’ scoring has more than proven how out of touch critics are from actual audiences. So, what was the actual audience reception? It was… mixed. When I say mixed, I don’t mean it in the standard sense that some people liked it, some didn’t – though I’m sure that’s also the case. No, I’m saying that individual episodes were received with varying degrees of excitement.

Being that Visions is an anthology, there is no narrative through-line and none of the episodes have anything to do with one another, and they’re all produced by distinct studios (with the exception of Tigger and Science SARU, who both produced 2 episodes each), so any individual audience member’s mileage will vary greatly with the differing aesthetic philosophies, animation styles, and stories.

Point and fact, episode 1 was my favorite, a black and white experience evocative of the suave film noir aesthetic produced by studio Kamikaze Douga, which prides itself as being a “half-breed studio” specializing in blending CG production with traditional 2D cel animation. They’re known for producing various shorts, advertisements, the Ninja Batman short film, and most notably, the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures opening animation.

My 2nd favorite was episode 3. It’s a Trigger production through and through. A young protagonist & antagonist pair who have some kind of intimate connection, lots of standing cross-armed atop mechs, over the top yelling about ideologies, a final fight in the vacuum of space, and the climax of the battle being a giant Kamehameha energy clash, it’s got it all. I predicted all of these things before I even watched the episode and started foaming at the mouth as they all came true, one by one. The other Trigger production, episode 7, is a lot more subdued and does not feature any aesthetic whose identity you would consider as symbolic of Trigger.

The other episodes were kind of hit or miss. Episodes 2 (Studio Colorido) and 6 (Science SARU) were my least favorite, be it because of the chibi or Doctor Seuss aesthetic philosophies, be it because of the Saturday morning cartoon nature of the stories, there were several things about them that I found did not speak to me and made for an unappealing viewing experience in my case, but I’m sure there is an audience for that sort of thing as well. I’m just not it.

In short, if you’re a fan of the Star Wars franchise or if you’re at all curious about it, by all means, give Visions a go. Anime adaptations of Western media do not have an excellent track record, and while Visions is not a masterpiece, it is certainly decent and there’s something in it for everyone. You’re guaranteed to enjoy at least one of the productions, I’m sure.

So yeah, this exists. Why, you may ask? Cuz it’s an easy way for Disney to make a cash grab and popularize Star Wars in the anime community. And let me just get started: this anime is awful.

First off, gotta explain the concept: 9 episodes, 9 studios making each one of those episodes. Got it? Now this could work, but in the short time each episode has they can only develop so much and the stories do not connect throughout the episodes.

The first episode was… not bad. It felt like Vagabond with lightsabers, the art style was fun and the plot was decent with ... the run time of the episode. Then it all went downhill, with episode 2. The episode was trash, the story was downright awful, the characters were annoying, the art took a major step back. But this wasn’t the worst episode. No, no, no, no. Episode 3 is utter garbage. Not only were the characters uninteresting but the consistency was terrible, I mean they literally fought in space without the effect of gravity or worrying about oxygen. The rest of the episodes kept the same amount of quality, and honestly I might be mentally ill to keep going to watch this terrible anime, but I like to finish things so I did. Characters were bland, bland stories, bland everything. As a huge Star Wars fans this anime dishonors the franchise and it should be burned to the ground so no one has to watch this piece of shit.

So do I recommend this? NO. This is by far the worst Star Wars content I’ve ever watched (yes I’ve watched the Sequels and Star Wars Resistance). Hope this helps :)