Star Wars: Visions

Disney has been taking over the movie industry step by step, so naturally it wasn't long before they show an interest in anime. What resulted is their first original anime based off a popular franchise that they purchased the rights to about a decade ago, Star Wars: Visions. Deciding to make an anthology about Star Wars was an interesting idea, and they decided to hire seven different anime studios to animate nine short self contained episodes. This resulted in nine episodes of varying quality, but the decision to compile short stories itself had its own strength and flaws.

Let me get this out of the way. ... I am not a huge Star Wars fan in general, and outside of the three main trilogies, Rogue One, and The Mandalorian, I don't know anything else about the universe. So perhaps there are a bunch of references to other shows or books, but I wouldn't know. That being said, I found the episodes with obvious easter eggs to be of lesser quality than the other episodes. Additionally, I can say that one doesn't need to be really familiar to enjoy this anthology.

The pros of short self contained episodes is that it gives more imagination to the creative team and that if one person doesn't like an episode, they can watch the next and perhaps enjoy it. The cons of this style is that people that prefer a narrative and recurring characters might not get invested and that having a one-shot even that one enjoys can become unsatisfying if their isn't more.

Likewise, some episodes in this anthology focus more on story while others focus on style. Depending on what type of person one is will impact which shorts one ends up liking. So I will briefly get into the individual episodes.

The first episode, The Duel, is animated by Studio Kamikaze Douga and is a nice enough introduction. It is very style heavy and utilizes experimental animation. It isn't deep, but the animation and coolness of the characters influence how much one likes it.

The second episode, Tatooine Rhapsody, by Studio Colorido, has the most amount of references to the main series, but it ended up being the most disappointing. This is doubly true once finishing the anthology and realizing how different it is, and not in a good way. It's aimed much more toward a younger audience with its cutesy and dull animation and doesn't have any stakes worth caring about. It's more of a musical, and leaves more inconsistencies and questions than one would like.

The third episode, The Twins, by Studio Trigger, is what most people expected it to be: an insane sakuga fest of zany action. The story's focus is very narrow and it just sets up the two twins to fight. Interestingly, it serves as an clever contrast to the original Star Wars trilogy. Sort of like a "what-if" scenario. It is easy to poke holes at some things that happen, but it's Trigger, so that isn't the point. Like why does an android need an astronaut helmet in space? The underlying story and action make the episode a fun adventure in the anthology.

The fourth episode, The Village Bride, by Studio Kinema Citrus, has the best soundtrack of the series, composed by Kevin Penkin and has one of the coolest characters in the anthology, simply referred to as "F". The story isn't that compelling, but the atmosphere set up by the animation and soundtrack make a good showing with a bombastic finale with great action.

The fifth episode, The Ninth Jedi, by Studio Production I.G., is possibly the overall best piece in this show. It contains a full story, sets up a potential sequel, and has elements of action, mystery, and suspense. Constructed around a interesting cast of characters, especially the lead, it all culminates in a finely told story which will definitely surprise the viewer. This is the episode that feels like it could have deserved a full series.

The sixth episode, T0-B1, by Studio Science Saru, is cute and fun, but it doesn't do much besides that. The animation throughout the episode is pretty good, especially in the action scene, but it's mostly style and little substance.

The seventh episode, The Elder, once again animated by Studio Trigger, is very different than their previous short. It's more substance than it is style. It is a slow burn, or at least relatively compared to the runtime. It's mainly the two main characters bantering in conversation. Towards the end though, a new character makes an appearance and some chaos ensues. It could have benefited with more of a story, but the calm story and characters makes an interesting contrast to their previous episode.

The eighth episode, Lop and Ochō, by Studio Geno Studio, was one of the more highly anticipated episodes of this anthology, along with the Trigger episode, and this episode is an easy contender with the fifth episode as the best of the show. The animation style, the characters, and the story are brought together in a truly engaging tale of two adopted sisters finding themselves at odds with each other. It could have benefitted with a longer runtime, but that's true with all of the shorts.

The ninth episode, Akakiri, once again by Studio Science Saru, is another instance of extreme contrast between same studio episodes. While the first they did was colorful and cheerful, this is a lot darker in both color and tone. It also plays to their strength of trippy animation. That being said, it's mostly style and if it wasn't for the unpredictably dark cliffhanger at the end, it would end up as a complete turn off of a final episode due to being a very weak stand alone. As it turned out, the dark ending might be why they left it for last.

So that's all the episodes. They all could have benefitted from a longer runtime, but they are shorts for a reason. In general, the longer ones were better than the shorter ones, which makes sense.

It's not easy to score an anthology, as there are strong entries and weak entries, but overall, I would say that whether one is a fan of Star Wars or not, there is enough content of different variety that most people will find at least one episode that appeals to them. Again, the episodes that one ends up liking will depend greatly on personal tastes and whether one prefers substance or style.

I am scoring this anthology an 8. I enjoyed it enough to keep me watching without stopping and there are storylines that I am highly anticipating seeing sequels to if they ever come.

I’ve been so apathetic towards Star Wars for a couple of years now. I didn’t hate the new Disney movies, however the constant yearly releases, and the constant arguing from fans, by the time episode 9 came out I was just done with Star Wars. I didn’t really wanna have anything to do with it anymore.

However, with the announcement of this anthology series, I felt happy about Star Wars again. The trailer really grabbed me. I was still skeptical, of course, but I was more happy about this than other Star Wars media because this was going to be something unique for the series.

And I ... was right to be happy about this, because this set of mini Star Wars stories were, for the most part, really great. It just feels fun to be happy about Star Wars again.

My ranking of the episodes from best to worst goes like this: 8,6,4,1,3,7,2,5 and 9. The only one I really disliked was episode 9, however, even that one had some moments. It’s difficult to rate overall, since it’s an anthology and all. But I feel like a 9/10 is good for it. It’s just so great to see all these different takes on Star Wars. And it’s no secret that Star Wars is somewhat inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s samurai movies, so this feels like it’s come full circle in some ways.

It’s difficult to talk about this without spoiling by things but yeah. I really enjoyed it, Lop is the best Star Wars character, and I really hope we get more of this anthology series. Maybe even some continuations of the episodes here. Especially for episode 1, 2, 5 and 8. Those I would love to see more of.

Story: 8/10
Overall, the stories were all pretty damn solid. The only major problem being that there’s not enough of it! I need more of these stories! The highlight for me in the story department is episode 8!
Art: 9/10
It’s the main reason I decided to watch it, and it doesn’t disappoint, it’s worth watching for the animation alone. The highlight for the art is either episode 3 or episode 6 or 8… or 4. It’s a tough decision.
Sound: 9/10
I’m not great with deciding if music is good or bad, but I enjoyed it in this, the soundtrack for episode 4 is the highlight of this.
Characters: 7/10
While characters have only a 7/10, which is the lowest of the scores I’ve given here, they are still great. There are just a lot of two dimensional characters that I didn’t really like, but also a lot of great characters, so it evens out. Lop from episode 8 is my favourite, but the Jedi F from episode 4, Kara from episode 5 and Ronin from the first episode are also pretty amazing characters.
Enjoyment 10/10
I was not bored for a second. I had fun even with the few flaws I had with it, especially episode 9, but still. I’m definitely rewatching this soon, and this time with the original Japanese language version.
Overall 9/10
Go watch it. This is super important. If it gets popular enough, Disney might let these studios or even more studios have a go at playing with the Star Wars IP. It’s a wonderful anthology!

First off, let me state that I'm a huge fan of star wars. When it comes to reviewing the product, I try to be as neutral as possible, but undoubtedly, theres going to be bias there, as there is with anything. With that, lets see how this newest instalment to the cultural phenomenon stacks up.

It's good. Like pretty good actually. Now in my head, I had imagined this to be 9 long form products (movies or series) that would each be marked on their own merit, but I must of missed something somewhere. I was a little upset when I realised it was 9 short ... stories. But nevertheless, I hoped for the best.

Each short story has its own thing its trying to do, and they all do it to varying degrees of proficiency. The first is mostly an art piece based around the CGI, the 3rd is exactly what you would expect from trigger (hype, themes and good animation) etc etc. All except for the 9th one. The 9th one is weird. It has ideas on destiny and choice, but then seems to give a nihilistic ending. Now as far as i'm aware there is no second season planned. So this 9th episode is just very weird and I don't really understand the point of it.

It's hard to talk about any aspect on a consistent level as it varies from episode to episode. But for me: episode 1 was the best visually and atmospherically, episode 4 was the best on a music level, episode 7 was the best "star wars" episode and Episode 3 was the best overall. I really liked the aesthetic of episode 6 (sort of an Astro Boy feel), but the pacing was really fast on that one, which ruined my enjoyment a bit. Episode 8 was also really solid all around, and with a bit better execution could of been the best overall. A few episodes peak up to 10's in some aspects, and very few drop below a 5 or 6 on any. Most end in this sort of 7-8 range.

Overall, I'm pretty happy. I even would of liked to see some of these in more of a long form. I would happily sit down and watch a 13 episode series for episode 1 and 7, a movie for 3 and 8 etc. So yh, if you like star wars, give it a watch.

For the purposes of agility, I'll review each episode separately, since it's from the same world, but entirely different studios for each one.

The Duel (Ep. 1) 9/10
The animation style of this one, my god.

It's a short watch of a small scale little conflict. Of course, breaking rules of the Jedi universe; but that doesn't really matter. You can look at this little bubble and stare in awe as this small animated project pertains an elegant dogfight between two siths. The combat resembles a fight in the amazing game "Furi" as counters fly, strategies pertain a certain flare of elegance while being dirty. The use of ... intelligence in an unlikely manner and the samurai themes.

It all worked perfectly well, only I didn't care for the characters, sometimes in a short you can't have a goal or an interesting plot. This is a situation and it remains as that.

Tatoouine Rhapsody (Ep. 2) 3/10
I mean, I get why it's the most hated, but it wasn't absolutely terrible.

The animation is fairly ok, but this conflict becomes too dumb at the end to make an actual emotional point. It does present an interesting narrative, and it may be how I personally dislike musical numbers and the power of friendship solving problems. It could've ended in a much grimmer note, and I'd work better but, the Disney here limits the style of narrative it could've been.

I don't hate it, but it certainly wasn't good.

The Twins (Ep. 3) 7/10
It was the spectacle.

As expected from Trigger. The love and care put into something you can easily and simply describe as hype is outstanding. It made watching this one worth it, but of course, the simplicity clearly makes for jarring results. Star Wars had a set of rules set in space physics to a degree. Breaking that into bits, chucking it into the void and making shit up as you go along... can work.

With this episode, it didn't work entirely, it feels like hype for the sake of it. The score, the animation, it's perfect. As a fan-project of sorts, it's great, but yeah... too much for its own good, maybe too illogical as a working story. At least it had a clear conflict and interesting ideas, but nothing to be extreme about.

Perfect everything except logic, rhyme or reason.

The Village Bride (Ep. 4) 8/10
A small scale, emotional conflict.

It was an interesting tale about what people do in the face of sacrifice. A very much explored theme, it felt like a pilot for a first episode of sorts. It was pretty good; simple, slightly emotional and holding a heart. Animation wise it was simply good, it works, nothing to gawk or hate. The voice work is alright, an all around ultra solid work.

It's just a solid narrative with a beginning, middle and end that feel clear with a lesson.

It's good.

The Ninth Jedi (Ep. 5) 9/10
A full-on episode in size, with an actual fascinating narrative.

Now this felt like an emotional arc, an evolution of character. We have moments of clarity, a twist, amazing fight choreography. I really enjoyed this one and is probably the one to actually recommend anybody.

The colors and the meaning in them, how they change. The animation works with each and every part of this moving story. Even some of the camera work held meaning, changing to handheld for intense effect. I loved this one and away from style, this is pure substance with enough style to hold it together.

T0-B1 (Ep. 6) 5/10
It was just okay. The animation was probably the only saving grace here.

The story was picking up pretty good all the way until the end, presenting a simple, heart-warming story. However, right at the last portion when he got his saber, It fell right off. The short started to feel so weird and absolutely rushed to hell in a quest to end fast. It was probably a time constraint that I can't blame on the people behind it.

Not only that, but the sound effects were so jarring and out of place. It was like a whiplash between how nice it was. I don't recommend it all that much, not a waste of time, but not an interesting one either.

The Elder (Ep. 7) 6/10
An alright story, only thing is; these stories about a planet in a conflict being solved by Jedi's is getting a little stale.

This one doesn't have an outstanding animation by any means, yet it doesn't really need to. Some scenes of quiet tension as enemies look at each other had a great mood. The episode felt like a quiet conflict that sets up a chain of events of sorts. My favorite part being how I do believe this people are acquainted with each other.

I liked it, but not that much because of being a bit boring sometimes.

Lop & Ochō (Ep. 8) 9/10
Probably the best short as of now.

This was an intense, escalating problem of family; finally something fresh. The fight choreography; mesmerizing. The animation; stellar. The story; quite interesting, no doubt. It all came to the end satisfyingly with a feeling of beginning and end. I loved this one to bits, and it didn't feel rushed at all.

Maybe some of the Deus ex machinas are the only thing holding this away from perfection, but how can you solve them in a short? I don't hold it against them, yet, it did take me out.

Akakiri (Ep. 9) 6/10
I liked the ideas present on it; the rest is alright.

It's a short about what can lead you to the dark side in a very contained style. We have the Anakin story to tell us, how can one get into what he did, and some people believe it, some don't. I was pretty skeptical about it (Without knowledge from clone wars, just the films), yet, this one is a much easier narrative to follow and believe.

Apart from the narrative, the art style is good, the fight is good, everything is just good. It doesn't really stand out from the other ones in any way possible, and feels like a short rather than a piece from the whole.

Good, however, not the best one to end it in.

Overall 7/10
A mixed bag of shorts about some stories to be heard. It was okay sometimes, the lowest lows are just 1 chapter. The highest highs are almost perfect, but lack some elements to really push them or heighten them. Recommended for sure.

Fun Star Wars content in an experimental anime. It shows off things that newer anime studios can do. Studio Trigger's episodes "The Elder" and "The Twins" had the best action... Geno Studio's "Lop and Ocho" had the best story by far. Quality heavily varies each episode, so it is hard to rate, but an overall good time regardless. I would rather watch this again than the movies. I highly respect Star Wars for trying out new ways to express their stories and hope they do a full-fledged anime soon. This is also a good anime to get new anime watchers interested in the genre.

Star Wars visions, although not perfect, is a beautiful love letter to the Star Wars franchise as a whole. It complements the themes and dances around it magnificently, being able to take pride in being in the Star Wars universe. Each episode of visions has its own unique direction and storytelling method that stands out on its own, from a samurai story to a journey of a band and even a stunningly breathtaking tale about a devastating torn of a family (which is probably my favorite episode). A lot of the characters were able to engage with the audience, getting to know their personality/goal by ... a “blink and you’ll miss it” show not tell method, or through dialogs between characters, or simply just by letting the action scenes speak for itself. Speaking of the action scenes, the fights were greatly animated, and a lot of times, it was also capable of adding to the story beat.

However, I do think that it isn’t flawless. Some people may point out the pacing issues it had, but for me, that makes sense since it was mostly around 12+ minutes an episode. There are also some people who might notice the over repetition of some plot points, but the way each episode was able to tell its story their own way with their own unique style, characters, animation, and message, ultimately shine the most out of the series, in my opinion.

Overall, I would say this series was worth the watch and I would give it around a high 8 / low 9

Star Wars: Visions (2021)

What a challenge laid down, one that makes me wonder what didn't make the cut since at least two of them were trash in my opinion. I mean the last one was so bland I just couldn't believe it and episode 6 was the same in that it was just plain boring.
That said, the other 7 are absolute banging, and show the brilliance of what could be if it is renewed for more. For me, this is the Disney+ version of Netflix's Love Death + Robots.

The art styles range from superb and brilliant to dull and boring. It had a ... really strong start that weakened to a disappointing finale. Katana lightsabers are incredibly awesome, especially episodes 1 and 8. In episode 7 you get an amazing steam effect coming off a lightsaber in the rain too.

With sound, we don't really have an OP or ED but you do get a very varied soundtrack that is mostly pretty amazing.

The characters they introduce are sometimes unexpected and deep with amazing stories in such a short time. Others are just a waste since I felt nothing in episode 6 or 9 since it was such a lame conclusion.

I would say the only thing episode 9 had was an unusual story that was refreshing but at the same time, it was dull, just so dull. Instead of worldbuilding for three-quarters of the episode actually develop the story in the time given. You do get amazing moments through the series and one of my funniest thoughts is episode 3 where the people on the other Imperial Star Destroyer must just be stood there like damn that could have been us.

Overall, the series is strong but weak. In 7 of the 9, they are 9/10 out of 10 but the 6th and 9th were just so bad sitting around 1 or 2 which brings the score down to settle at 8 for me since I don't want to take too much from those that were great.

8/10. Let's have a season 2 with more story vetting.

Star Wars has been really really disappointing lately, especially when I refer to sequels like just no, I can't tolerate sequels.
Anyways leaving my whiney ass behind, I loved this concept, two of my favorite things coming together, I had mixed feelings when I saw the trailer.
Not gonna lie, it seemed like that they could screw up with this one too.

BUT I.WAS.WRONG.

Every episode comes with a new and a unique animation, and the series never seized to disappoint. The lores are not connected to the main universe, there is no good or evil, this series has no sides at all, in one episode you'll see a ... sith and in another you'll see a bounty hunter, a jedi and whatnot.

It's fresh, the animation style is unique, loved it.
Sometimes story slacks a bit, but overall, loved the show.
Second best thing after in the post disney star wars after The Mandalorian.
Do give it a watch even if you're not a star wars fan

Star Wars: Visions is yet another medium in which star wars is expanding into and experimenting with. I think that based off some of these shorts, I could definitely see a full-length star wars anime working.

That said the shorts themselves had some problems overall. The vast majority were not satisfying short stories, they were more like pilot episodes for extended series. And this may make some fans enjoy them more because they can imagine how entertaining that particular story would be as an extended series, but as self-contained, satisfying stories in their own right some of these shorts fail miserably.

But I don't get why ... so many are judging these shorts together. Each one is completely different and deserves its own mini-review. And I'm going to do just that.

1: The Duel 8/10
oozes style. Black + white cell shaded CG that looks so good you can barely tell it's 3d. Story is classic kurosawa but set in the star wars world. A good short story with a coherent and satisfying ending.

2: Tatooine Rapsody 5/10
probably the weakest short in the entire anthology, it just blows my mind that someone made a star wars idol rock anime. The sheer audacity alone deserves respect.

3: The Twins 7/10
Trigger do be trigger. This show isn't very star wars, but it's very ball to the walls trigger madness. If you wanted to see Star Wars Promare, then this is exactly what you would imagine it to be. It's more of a pilot episode than a short though.

4: The Village Bride 9/10
This short is respectful of the star wars lore and even builds on it in new and interesting ways while being an actual short story with a proper resolution.

5: The Ninth Jedi 9/10
Another very Star Wars short (although it has a lot more anime tropes than 4), this short also does some interesting things with the star wars lore that some more hardcore fans might not appreciate. Overall the story is pretty contained and satisfying, however it does seem to set up an extended series with its open-ended conclusion, which in some ways feels a bit arrogant considering this is a short.

6: T0-B1 6/10
Astro Boy in the star wars universe. A very childish and goofy short that felt somewhat lightweight and unimpressive. However it does feel pretty conclusive and contained, and so functions as a proper short story.

7: The Elder 10/10
My personal favourite episode. It felt like a short story ripped straight out of the star wars prequels (in a good way). It's concise, satisfying, and conclusive. This is what I was expecting from a Star Wars short anime.

8: Lop and Ocho 7/10
A story about family told within the star wars universe. And yes. There's a bunny girl. Overall it's not a bad story, but it didn't really feel very tight or conclusive. A lot of forced drama occurs and character motivations are all over the place. I feel like this could have easily been one of the better episodes if it had focused more on the two surrogate sisters, Lop and Ocho, and their moral dilemma rather than focusing solely on Lop's struggle.

9: Akakiri 9/10
This short is very kurosawa esq, but also explores the dark side in an interesting and relatable way. This short is concise, satisfying, and conclusive in the best way possible. This is probably the most conclusive short story of them all, actually telling a complete and whole narrative in its 14 minute episode duration.

Overall, I'm glad this anthology series exists, even if it doesn't end up leading anywhere.

To think I'd see star wars content as an anime. I am very impressed that we had such a diverse group of people working on different star wars content. I was looking forward to this and I wasn't disappointed only by the fact that it was limited to time which may have affected some of the story's content. If I would have rated all 9 I'd give the top 3 from best to good starting with episodes 5 7 and 1.

Episode 5 because It fits so well with the story albeit with some minor alterations with how things work in the world and it ... would be an awesome series This was my favorite short of the series. I think this story is set up in such a way that it just kept me wanting more. Kara had a better backstory and introduction than Rey, and the music by Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi had glimpses of her theme throughout the episode. I think the speeder chase and lightsaber battles kept the story fast-paced and exciting, even though it was the longest of the series with a runtime of 22 minutes. And of course, I can’t forget how cool the moment, in the end, was when the temple flipped to reveal the hilt of a lightsaber.

As for episodes 7 and 1 both really caught my eye with how they used and depict the lightsabers. Episode 1 was a great way to kick off the series. The animation style drew inspiration from old westerns but made it action-packed with the pops of color from the weapons. The music by Keiji Inai created a true cinematic experience despite it only being 14 minutes.

Episode 7 had one of the best villains of the series. The Elder was ruthless, savage, and absolutely creepy. There is one point where his eyes look so sunken into his head, showing how dark this Elder has gone. Tajin and Dan reminded me a lot of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan with their relationship, and it was fun to see those hand communicators from the prequels being used. I think PT fans will rank this short as one of their favorites.

If there would be an honorable mention I'd give it to episode 3 I liked how it explored the dark side twin's story and the dynamic of a family caught in a power struggle. The droids, R-DUO and B-20N were clearly inspired by R2-D2 and C-3PO, but they worked so well within the story. I really enjoyed how they used actual R2 sound effects for R-DUO. I could definitely watch a whole movie or series of these characters and loved how the ending left you wondering what comes next.

With that, I do think Every studio certainly deserves applause for how they played their cards into their own take in the Star Wars Universe. They really nailed it on the female leads in 22 minutes or less you get a decent character exposition. What I would hope to see if there's another season is a studio exploring more on the SITH side than the JEDI I love star wars and I hope it wouldn't just revolve around the good guys what they really missed out on was exploring more of the past Old Republic I am hoping they don't limit themselves to the skywalker era.

I don't care too much about Star Wars. I liked the movies enough when I was younger, some less than others. I've never been interested in the extended universe, the lore, or anything else about it really. What I do like though, are shorts compilations. And animation, obviously. I was pleasantly surprised when recently viewing The Animatrix; I like the Matrix movies but didn't think I would care for alternate stories or spin-offs. But turns out The Animatrix was merely an excuse to put out compelling visuals and narratives, experimenting with CGs on a short format, and not that much about "respecting" the original premise. ... I've been anticipating the release of Star Wars: Visions, expecting just that: imaginative variations on a theme. I've been on various degrees of hype depending on what we knew of the studios and directors beforehand, but there were some surprises for sure.


EPISODE 1 - The Duel - (Takanobu Mizuno / KAMIKAZE DOUGA)

The first shot of the episode made me soft-facepalm (a concept I just invented) as the graphics went for a cheesy old-silent-movie type grain. Often a sign of ill-advised nostalgia. I didn't feel very comfortable with the animation as well, as it had a strange "drawing over CG" vibe where you kinda instinctively expected the characters to move in a drawn-animated way (because of the graphics' effects), but then the actual animation is clearly CG. Not really clunky per se, but not very fluid. I also disliked the extremely grey and serious tone, that felt as if it tried to emulate "adultness" real hard. But that is clearly a personal preference, and probably why I don't enjoy s e r i o u s ronin stories for their atmosphere alone...
Anyway, as it went along I warmed for the episode a bit; I still don't like some of the esthetic choices, but there are actually a lot of cool visual and cinematic ideas. This was well directed, the action was nicely staged. This was made for an audience that clearly isn't me, BUT it was cool enough.

EPISODE 2 - Tatooine Rhapsody - (Taku Kimura / COLORIDO)

Here comes the first real disappointment - and the worst episode in my opinion. I usually enjoy the Studio Colorido shorts. They're colorful and refreshing, experimenting whilst keeping a fun side to them. It's a cool studio really, if you happened to dislike this episode please don't give up on them. This episode though... the music was not only boring to my ears, but I felt Kimura failed at giving it any cinematic intensity. This was filmed very blandly. I didn't care for the characters' designs and personnality. Sadly this was a chore to get through.

EPISODE 3 - The Twins - (Hiroyuki Imaishi / TRIGGER)

Ah, episode 3... By far the one I was anticipating the most, and lowkey the only reason I watched the whole thing in the first place. Leading up to the release my mind went like "I don't care about Star Wars, but if Imaishi's involved tho...". I'm a big Trigger fan and an even bigger Imaishi fan. As someone who especially enjoys what Imaishi's capable of in short formats (Cutie Honey episode 1, SEX and VIOLENCE with MACHSPEED, Dead Leaves...), I was thrilled to see him come back to the shorties.
So The Twins was... OK, I guess. I mean, the actual fight scene was nice, there were the Imaishisms I love, but toned down. Yes that's it, the whole episode felt like a watered-down version of Trigger's usual braggadocio. The exposition and build-up to the actual fraternal confrontation failed to interest me. The final slicing was great at least, the destroyed shp shot was beautiful. But I wanted more. Maybe Imaishi didn't want to alienate Disney with his rather extreme and often crude choices?
Better than the first ones for sure, but when the credits rolled I was prepared to think of Star Wars: Visions as an overall underwhelming experience.

EPISODE 4 - The Village Bride - (Hitoshi Haga / KINEMA CITRUS)

So just when I was starting to lower my expectations, the 4th episode surprised me with great world-building, nice sceneries and overall cool esthetic choices. And, spoilers, turns out all episodes remaining were good (and some were great), phew! So much for my growing grumpiness. About The Village Bride: the first time we see the couple hiking though the forest is such a great moment, you can immediately feel that there is some sort of tradition behind the way he transports her, and this tradition is made sensible though the vibrant interactions of the couple. In a few minutes this planet feels alive, and the sweet slice-of-life side is neatly contrasted with the mysterious presence of the other two protagonists. I'm usually not the greatest fan of such coloring and shaping where every element in the scenery feels filtered though an ethereal filter and the shapes end up feeling angular and vague, but Kinema Citrus did it justice in this episode. A good surprise!

EPISODE 5 - The Ninth Jedi - (Kenji Kamiyama / PRODUCTION I.G)

And as my faith renewed, Star Wars: Visions hits me with what might be the best short of the bunch (top 2 at least). Production I.G shines through and through with this beautifully animated, carefully directed and overall greatly structured story about some wandering Jedis being summoned to receive lightsabers in a time when they went extinct. To those praise I'll add that I actually enjoyed the dub. Sadly, most of Star Wars: Visions' dub was painful to my ears. I don't doubt the dub actors' skills or anything but I've never been able to really enjoy dubbed anime and Visions didn't change my mind about it. But The Ninth Jedi went through with the honors- except for the main young Jedi guy. Aside from that, everything here is beautiful, the fights are great, the chase is great (those frozen lake sceneries, damn). This is one I would particularly like for it to be expanded upon, either on a TV show or in a full-lenght movie. Kudos to Kenji Kamiyama & I.G.

EPISODE 6 - T0-B1 - (Abel Góngora / SCIENCE SARU)

After watching the very disappointing last Masaaki Yuasa movie (Riding Your Wave) at the theater the week before, I was going into the two Science Saru shorts with of bit of apprehension in my heart. Fool was I, because both are good. And T0-B1 is particularly charming with its first part full of childlike wonder, truly beautiful, shapeshifting, colorful animation (as excepted from Science Saru). This feels like a Star Wars/Astro Boy crossover, with a cute little story at its center. The second part of the short is a heroic battle against a Sith. If felt a bit forced after the first part, like artificial conflit, but it's so well directed and animated that it's forgivable. If I had one gripe against this short it would be that the pacing felt a bit too fast - understandably since Abel Góngora had a lot he wanted to show, but it breaks the immersion at times and some scenes don't feel as intense as they could. But that's really a nitpick on my part, this was a really great short. I would really like to see a future version with twice the runtime.

EPISODE 7 - The Elder - (Masahiko Otsuka / TRIGGER)

Hey, second Trigger short! I wasn't expecting much after The Twins, but this one was pretty good. Didn't feel at all like a Trigger project though. The first scene had me concerned since it only features the two main characters having a bland discussion in a bland cockpit, but as soon as they land on the planet then the goodness really starts. The environments are magnificent, the textures feel so vibrant... I also loved the way they handled the fight. It was not too showy (it is really Trigger?), a dry fight with few hits but all of them mattered. The narrative reminded me of the way Hidetaka Miyazaki (from the Souls series, Bloodborne, Sekiro...) evokes past greatness by using old decrepit remnants as ominous fragments of the past. As such, the old Sith is a great character. He is fearsome enough whilst being only a shadow of his former self. That leaves us to imagine what ancient Sith power might look and feel like. Great storytelling technique.

EPISODE 8 - Lop and Ochō - (Yuki Igarashi / GENO)

When I saw the Disney+ preview, I thought this would be trash. Probably because because of my bias against furry character designs (which doesn't mean anything since I liked Beastars, BNA and Odd Taxi, but old habits die hard). And what a fool was I (again!), as this ended up being my other favorite of the bunch. Stellar production overall, it feels like they poured a whole movie budget into those 19 minutes. Each shot transpires high effort and dedication. The character design is amazing as well (I thought it wasn't at first, but that's actually because the sister dub actor is super annoying, her design is actually gorgeous), the sceneries and environments are painfully beautiful and detailed. We don't learn much about the actual planet, apart from the conflict with the Empire, but so much is made vibrant and alive through those backgrounds. It truly made me want to see this becoming a full series or a full film. Top 1 or 2 of the whole bunch.

EPISODE 9 - Akakiri - (Eunyoung Choi / SCIENCE SARU)

And here comes the last one, and second short from Science Saru, directed by none other than Eunyoung Choi, co-founder of the studio along with Masaaki Yuasa. Unsurprinsingly, this one is a beauty. Amidst all those realistic-looking animes it feels very refreshing to have Science Saru remind us why animation needs fantasy and flexibility. Looking cartoonish is not a bad thing. Akariri looks quite cartoonish (though not as much as T0-B1) whilst also telling a pretty dark and moody story - despite the comedic duo. The contrast feels quite nice, the oniric scenes (what seems at first like PTSD hallucinations from the Jedi protagonist) are very well rendered - the Studio excels at that -, and the unexpected finish was a great idea. This one also calls for a sequel...
I'll just finish with adding that the short scene where the cast ride through rain was so beautifully animated it left me actually jaw-dropped. Another good short.


So yeah, finishing thoughts. This was surprising in more ways than one. Good and bad surprises, but in the end way more good than bad thankfully. That's why I love shorts, the effort put into this format is really different from conducting a whole TV show, or a full movie. It's often a way for a creator or a whole team to experiment, to go a bit wild, to try things without the pressure of having to develop the concept further. Star Wars: Visions surprised me for sure, but in truth what I deeply wanted was probably to be surprised. Even if it is kind of a mixed bag (let's say it's the opposite of front-loaded), I will remember the good parts with time and forget the bad. Simple as that.



PS: Too bad they didn't consult each other about which Star Wars references they were going to use. Hearing the "I have a bad feeling about this" meme on 7 of the 9 shorts was getting a bit tiring.

As a huge fan of both Star Wars and Anime I personally loved Visions. I enjoyed every episode and even the ones I didn’t enjoy as much were still incredibly well put together, and I couldn’t really fault them as I just personally didn’t find them as interesting as the other story’s.

The fact that I didn’t dislike a single one of the story’s honestly really surprised me as it being in an anthology series I was expecting there to be at least one or two that I just wouldn’t like, but I was pleasantly surprised. This stands in staunch contrast to a friend of ... mines impressions which were very mixed.

The animation was breathtaking the whole way through and I really loved how each short had its own distinct style and feel (like every story's take on the lightsaber). Minor side note, I’m surprised how many people I’ve seen mention that the shorts feel very similar, which is weird since I had the exact opposite impression.

Overall I loved Visions for being a unique, creative and innovative take on Star Wars storytelling. I personally would love to see more hopefully in the form of a second season.

My Top 3 Favourite Stories Were:
1: Lop and Ocho
2: The Dual
3: The Ninth Jedi
in that order

I have always loved star wars even with the disappointment of the sequels. When I found out this was made I was really excited because it is a star wars anime. I enjoyed most of this show and found it cool that some parts were drawn for japanese culture. The art was really good in most of the episodes like 1, 3, 4, and 7 where they just worked so well for me. The soundtrack is really good with the battles having captured lightsaber fights perfectly with the sounds. The characters that really stood out to me were F from episode 4 and the dynamics ... between Tajin and Dan. My favorite episodes had to be 1,3, 4, 5, and 7 which I really enjoyed.

Overall) 7.4/10 - I'm really glad this series exists and I definitely want some of these episodes to get their own series' or films' in the future. The length of the episodes seemed to be the biggest cause of issues aside from some of the dub's voicework


The Duel) 6.5/10 - Interesting with (mostly) great visuals but not very captivating and definitely not flawless. The voice acting was mixed

Tatooine Rhapsody) 6/10 - It's consistent and interesting with a few small laughs, but it's really hard to build a meaningful connection with characters in ~14 minutes and conventional rock music feels a little too out of place ... in Star Wars and it feels too "safe" to be engaging. The voice acting was mixed

The Twins) 7/10 - It looks incredible, very interesting concepts, I'd love to see it adapted into an actual show with more character development and explanations for things like breathing in space, but the dialogue felt a bit forced and it had way too many callbacks

The Village Bride) 8/10 - It's predictable with one or two very minor issues, but it's beautiful, emotional, the music was perfect, and I'd love to see this turn into something more than just one episode

The Ninth Jedi) 8/10 - Apart from a bit of rough dialogue and a small amount of distracting CGI, I loved everything about it and I'd love to see more of this story

T0-B1) 8/10 - Stellar sound design, music, and visuals. Aside from a few too many callbacks and a couple of imperfect moments it's excellent

The Elder) 9/10 - The voice acting could use a little more emotion, but otherwise the episode is damn close to perfect

Lop & Ocho) 7.5/10 - Definitely the most beautiful episode, but the story and characters fall a bit flat. I'd love to see it adapted into a series with better character development

Akakiri) 6.5/10 - There's not much to criticize but it didn't really invest me in the characters or the plot, and the visuals weren't as appealing as the other episodes

This was such an exhilarating watch for me as it was the perfect union of two of my favorite things: Star Wars & Anime. The original storytelling and the compelling immersive vision. This put Star Wars through a new lens and I was here for it!

The visuals, voice performances, and overall narratives of each episode were such unique stories, it was hard to choose one to be a favorite, but ultimately it came down to two episodes: The Village Bride and The Ninth Jedi.

I wrote an entire article about how "The Ninth Jedi" would make the perfect Star Wars Anime. Check it out ... here: https://www.cbr.com/9th-jedi-star-wars-visions-anime/

I can't wait to see more Star Wars stories being told through the anime medium!

all the art styles where unique and apart from episode 1 the duel i liked them all. If your a star wars fan this is defiantly worth a watch and if your not its 13 to 23 minutes and episode and they can all be watched independtly of each other so its still worth a try. The main thing that stoped me from enjoying this show more is each episode is its own complete story meaning there isnt to much time to set up for the story leading to predictable endings without much build up each studio used their time brilliantly but they didn't have ... long enough to leave a large impact.

Star Wars Visions really captivated my inner fandom in me. As a huge fan of both genres and mediums (Star Wars and anime) this is a dream that is being fulfilled by many fans worldwide and it puts the icing on the cake really nicely. Also, top anime studios, like Trigger to Science SARU, captured the artistic vision of what Star Wars should look like according to of course, their vision. The passion and love for their work, as being revealed in the interview video by Lucasfilm, that the team being set up are huge Star Wars fans and being part on their huge anime ... projects to their respective anime studios.

Star Wars Visions really bring me some nostalgia as it was being presented on some episodes, as it brings back some references, quotes, and even tropes from the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies, in a certain point of view. (Pun intended).

Also, every Star Wars fans must know this to turn off the canon laws of the timeline - everything is meta and fun to watch, because, it's their vision of Star Wars.

Story: 9 - every episode of SW Visions has its unique, yet consistent story line. It shows the focal point of the series itself, producing philosophies, perspectives, and even how the story is being told. Of course, everyone has its own favorite on what episode that they loved the most. I liked the Episode 1, The Duel, Episode 4, The Village Bride, Episode 5, The Ninth Jedi, Episode 6, T0-B1, and Episode 8, Lop & Och. These episodes that I mentioned really take the story to another level and it gives me the feeling to expand the story more, even its not canon or not official to the timeline.

Also, lightsaber fight scenes will give you a gaping wide jaw, because it is action packed.

Art: 10 - of course, every anime studio bring out their best on their trademark artstyle. What I liked the most is coming from studio Trigger with aesthetics, especially on Episode 3, The Twins. It really captivated me to see such beauty and it gives me the nostalgia from its popular series like Gurren Lagann and Promare. Also, the samurai-inspired art in Episode 1, The Duel, is a "chef's kiss" art - every detail though grey, black and white color scheme, it's fantastic to see. And you can even see the detail and easter eggs - to all episodes as well in accordance to their unique art style.

Sound: 8 - nothing to much to be discussed here. Everything is on harmony and on good flow.

Character: 10 - you've had a wide variety of characters that you will love. They will always give you the mind blowing chills and even shiver down to your spine. Of course, if you watch it, you have a loveable character into your hands, and everyone has one. I mean, yes, everyone has one.

The characters on every episode gives you something to ponder on - by understanding their philosophy, purpose, emotions, and other things, you can adapt to their mindset or even relate to them, as it will show you the light and the dark side of things.

Enjoyment: 9 - it is true that this show is not everyone's cup of tea - either by the episodes or the whole show itself. But from what I see, this show really enjoyed my inner fandom of the two big and influential shows in today's generation. For many years, I loved Star Wars in my whole life, and it become the part of my life. I mean, I even watched crossovers of Star Wars, like the Phineas and Ferb crossover, and it turned great. For here, in the anime, it's also great, as two of my favorite things being combined.

But also, to be fair, not all of the episodes of SW: Visions really liked it, in accordance of my expectations. Some of it went my mind boggling, despite I put myself into a position where I disregard canon laws of the Star Wars timeline. But, overall, I enjoyed it.

Overall: 9 - if you're a Star Wars fan but not watching anime, this could be a start for you, as every anime studio being presented there, they have a reputable, popular, and favorite respective shows coming from them. This is a stepping stone to see Japanese culture, tradition, ideology, philosophy, art, literature, beliefs, and many more, because they put it right here: as a promotion to their country and see their perspective among things.

If you're an anime fan but plans to watch Star Wars, this show right here is your beginning or the introduction to the Star Wars Universe, as you will see of why fans adored Star Wars for many years - included your parents, grandparents, other relatives, and even your friends. Also, the Star Wars lore is very great to expand and learn on, as you will see of why the Jedi hate the Sith, what is the Galactic Empire, what is the concept of light side and the dark side, and many more from it. This is really a win-win situation for the fans of either side of the coin.

But hey, this comes from my passion, dedication, and adoration from both sides - anime and Star Wars. And I thank for every studio who participated, created, and visualized their vision for Star Wars. This is a huge milestone to all.

A long time ago in a galaxy , far away.....
It was an Iustin . Iustin was a huge Star wars fan and an anime fan . That's me Iustin Makihige , even if Makihige is just an alias for internet media . I am here to disscus about Star Wars Vision . My opinion is subjective so don't write me in the comments that my review isn't good .
Now let's start !

Story : 9/10
This was hard to rate because every episode was with a different story , production and with different applied themes . I really loved some episodes but some episodes didn't seem Star ... Wars !
For Example : episode 2 "Tatooine Rhapsody" it was an really good episode but it was more a childish episode i like it but i feel it wasn't Star Wars even if i saw Jabba The Hut And Boba Fett .
Another example that didn't seem a Star Wars it was episode 6 "T0-B1" an really good episode as well but again to childish for Star Wars and it was more like to Astro boy .
Then It was an episode who was boring probably the worst episode from Star Wars Vision and that's episode 7 "The Elder" i just feel like a bit to much clichee the themes for this episode weren't good and it wasn't my cup of tea .
Now let's speak about the epic episodes in Star Wars which i truly love .
The Best episodes from Star Wars Vision it was clearly episode 5 "The Ninth Jedi" which it gave me the same feels like in Star Wars episode 4 " A new Hope " from 1977 . I really loved that episodes Thx Production I.G for doing a great Job .
The second place of the best episodes from Star Wars Vision is episode 8 "Lop and Ochou" which it gave me the same feels like in Star Wars episode 3 " The Revenge of Sith " from episode 2005 , btw episode 9 from Star Wars vision "Akakiri " really feels like Revenge of Sith .
Episode 1 was Really good episodes it was just dark and white , the themes were very good aplied .
Now i didn't Speak about Episodes 3 and from Star Wars Vision which are great and very good . Episode 3 "The Twins" and episode 4 " The Village Bride" it feels like Star Wars episode 6 "Return of the Jedi " from 1983 .
In every episodes i can see different themes from the original series and i really like it .Honestly i really want that Episodes 5 "The Ninth Jedi" and 8 "Lop and Ochou" from Vision to receive an anime sequel .

Animation : 10/10
The animation was very consistent in evey episodes i really love how all the 6 anime studious managed to make the animation very good and consistent .

Sound:10/10
This is clearly an 10/10 just listen to the original songs from Star Wars and different sounds from anime studious .The sounds of lightsabers were really Great . The Voice actors were really Great :))))

The Characters: 9/10
Every Character were good . My favorite characters from Star Wars Vision where : Lop , Kara and Karre

The Enjoyment : 10/10
For me an Star Wars fan and an anime fan it was a pleasent gift for me

Overall :10/10
I really recommend this anime if you like anime and you are a Star Wars fan . Star Wars vision is a great anime with a fantastic Cast .

It's a wild ride to be sure, but a welcome one. Its a collection of stories not set in the new star wars canon or old 'legends' timeline either. So it gave the studios complete freedom to craft whatever unique stories they wanted, in whatever unique art style they wanted, and make unique stories they did.

There are a wide variety of stories some will be for you others wont be. Dont go in expecting to enjoy every episode its not meant for that. Simply see which ones you enjoy and enjoy them, don't hate on the ones others enjoy just prasie what you like. ... Definetly the right first step for star wars anime. (aside from the great fanmade tie fighter anime on youtube)

Its hard to review this because its 9 episodes given to 7 different studios who each made at least 1 episode each having their own story and characters. the episodes are 15mins on average which is obviously way too short. the episodes are hit or miss. in my opinion there are
4 really good ones (better than almost anything else in the franchise)
2 were ok
1 was bad
2 were really bad

music is as expected form the star wars franchise.

all in all for the good ones i wish there was more. i hope this is some kind of pilot season and that theyll license out full seasons of ... anime with 12-24 episodes down the line.