Star Wars Visions: The Ninth Jedi

Writer/Director: Kenji Kamiyama

Summary: The Jedi Order is nearly extinct. Margrave Juro, ruler of Hy Izlan, invites seven apprentices to his temple to receive new lightsabers, each one having a design lost to time. One is given to Ethan, the youngest, as proof that the rest will receive theirs when they are complete.

Meanwhile, sabersmith Lah Zhima is captured by the Sith. But his daughter Kara manages to escape with the finished lightsabers, which she delivers to the Jedi. It is then revealed that all of the apprentices –with the exception of Ethan–are Sith impostors sent to murder Juro. Kara and Ethan save Juro, but it’s revealed that one of the impostors is Homen, an old friend of Juro. The three set out to rescue Zhima.

Review: This one was beautiful and action-packed. Like The Village Bride, it had one of the best scores of the entire series. I liked the pacing of this story. It felt longer than it actually was, almost as if I was watching a pilot for another series. Out of all of the shorts, this is the one that I wouldn’t mind seeing turned into a series.

One more to go! I’m sure you can all guess which one is next. To be honest, both this and the next one are tied for the best out of all of them.

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Book of Boba Fett ep. 3: The Streets of Mos Espa

Writer: Jon Favreau

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Summary: Fett is tasked by water-monger Lortha Peel to punish cyborgs stealing his wares. Instead of punishing them, Fett employs them.

In the flashbacks, we learn that the Nikto gang massacred the Tuskens. The flashbacks are interrupted by Krrsantan, who makes short work of Fett’s security until Shand and the cyborgs gain an upper hand. The Twins return, saying they will leave Tatooine, and leave a Rancor behind. Fett wants to train the beast.

Fett and his new employees go to Shaiz and discover he is working for the Pykes. Fett realizes he must now prepare for war.

Review: I’m beginning to like that the more Fett tries to rule his way, the more complicated the situation gets. The fight with Krrsantan was excellent.

I loved seeing Danny Trejo and the Rancor. Trejo just looks like someone who could tame something that huge. I can’t wait to see Fett actually ride it.

Keep up the great work, everyone!

Star Wars Visions: Tatooine Rhapsody

Writer: Yasumi Atarashi

Director: Taku Kimura

Summary: A rock band called Star Waver is being targeted by Boba Fett because their bassist, Gee, doesn’t want to participate in the Hutt criminal empire.

Review: This was the short that felt the least like Star Wars to me. Now not being 100% like Star Wars isn’t bad, in fact, quite a few of the higher-up shorts didn’t seem “like Star Wars” .

My main problem is this style. I’m not a fan of chibi animation, and hearing the adult voice for Boba Fett seemed wrong. If it had been the voice actor for his younger version, Daniel Logan, I might have not had a problem.

That being said, I did like the band. I especially liked the drummer being a conjoined triplet. It had a more light-hearted feel, but I didn’t mind that.

Overall, I didn’t hate this one. It was different, which isn’t always bad.

Star Wars Visions Review: Akakiri

I’ve decided that for the next 9 weeks, I’m going to review all of the Star Wars: Visions anime shorts, in order from least liked to most liked. I didn’t hate any of these, so don’t think that me placing an episode this low means it’s the worst ever. So let’s start with the one I liked the least, “Akakiri”.

Studio: Science SARU

Examples of Anime created by the Studio: Inu-Oh and The Heike Story (both released in 2021).

Summary: A Jedi named Tsubaki has received visions that his lover, the princess Misa, will die in his arms. He rushes to save her, but is ambushed by her aunt Masago, who is aligned with the Sith.

Review: I felt this one was too short, and I didn’t like the animation style. The beats were too similar to Anakin and Padme’s fates, and I felt the story was too bleak and predictable.

Ranked: #9