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Star Wars: Visions

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Star Wars: Visions
Genre
Based onStar Wars
by George Lucas
Country of origin
  • United States
  • Japan
Original languages
  • Japanese
  • English
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes9
Production
Executive producers
  • Jacqui Lopez
  • James Waugh
  • Josh Rimes
  • Justin Leach
ProducerKanako Shirasaki
Animators
Running time13–22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkDisney+
ReleaseSeptember 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)

Star Wars: Visions[Jp. 1] is an anime anthology series created for the American streaming service Disney+. Produced by Lucasfilm Animation, the series consists of nine short films produced by seven Japanese animation studios, Kamikaze Douga, Studio Colorido, Geno Studio, Trigger, Kinema Citrus, Production I.G, and Science SARU, each telling their own original stories based on the Star Wars universe. The anthology was released on September 22, 2021, and has received generally positive reviews.

Premise

Star Wars: Visions is a collection of animated short films presented "through the lens of the world's best anime creators" that offers a new, diverse perspective on Star Wars.[1]

Episodes

No.Title [2][3]Directed by [4]Written byAnimated by [2]Original release date [2]
1The Duel
Transliteration: "Dyueru" (Japanese: デュエル)		Takanobu MizunoTakashi OkazakiKamikaze DougaSeptember 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)
Set in an alternate history, 20 years after a war between the Feudal-Jedi Empire and a renegade Jedi sect called the Sith,[5] a lone wanderer known only as the "Ronin" witnesses a legion of former stormtroopers attempt to besiege a small village. The Ronin fights the leader of the bandits, a self-declared Dark Lord of the Sith armed with a heavily-modified lightsaber while his droid saves the villagers; the Ronin, a former actual Sith, lures the bandit leader into a trap and kills her. The Ronin, shown to be collecting red kyber crystals from each Sith he has killed, decides to give the leader's crystal to the villagers, citing that it can ward off evil.
Cast : Ronin (Japanese: Masaki Terasoma; English: Brian Tee), Bandit Leader / Kouru (Japanese: Akeno Watanabe; English: Lucy Liu), Village Chief (Japanese: Yūko Sanpei; English: Jaden Waldman)
2Tatooine Rhapsody
Transliteration: "Tatuīn Rapusodi" (Japanese: タトゥイーン・ラプソディ)		Taku KimuraYasumi AtarashiStudio ColoridoSeptember 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)
During the Clone Wars, a Jedi Padawan named Jay attempts to escape from the war, only to stumble upon a Hutt named Gee. Gee offers to take Jay in if he becomes the lead singer of Gee's rock band, Star Waver, and Jay accepts. Years later, during the reign of the Galactic Empire, the members of Star Waver are hunted by the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Fett eventually captures Gee and reveals that Gee's relative, Jabba the Hutt, wishes to execute him due to Gee not wanting to be a part of his family's crime syndicate. Jay inspires the other members of Star Waver to go to Tatooine and attempt to save Gee; they manage to convince Jabba to let them play one more song together before Gee's execution. The song is loved by the execution's audience, and Jabba ultimately spares Gee and becomes the band's first sponsor.
Cast : Jay (Japanese: Hiroyuki Yoshino; English: Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Geezer (Japanese: Kōsuke Gotō; English: Bobby Moynihan), Boba Fett (Japanese: Akio Kaneda; English: Temuera Morrison), K-344 (Japanese: Masayo Fujita; English: Shelby Young), Lan (Japanese: Anri Katsu; English: Marc Thompson)
3The Twins
Transliteration: "Tsuinzu" (Japanese: ツインズ)		Hiroyuki ImaishiHiromi WakabayashiStudio TriggerSeptember 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)
In the aftermath of the Empire's defeat, the remnants of the Imperial military begin the construction of two conjoined Star Destroyers that house a large superlaser capable of destroying planets. Using Sith alchemy, they are also able to create two Force-sensitive biological twins named Karre and Am, who they then train in the dark side of the Force. The twins eventually become the leaders of the remnant and plan to use their superweapon to destroy the New Republic. However, Karre goes rogue on the day the weapon is supposed to be fired due to him having a vision of the future involving his sister's death; he also steals the large kyber crystal that powers the superweapon. Am confronts Karre outside of the Star Destroyers in outer space and they duel. During the battle, the crystal is split in half and Am uses a piece to power a metal exoskeleton. Using his X-wing and the power of hyperspace, Karre is able to destroy Am's sliver of the crystal and the superlaser; he crash-lands on Tatooine and vows to rescue his sister from the dark side.
Cast : Karre (Japanese: Junya Enoki; English: Neil Patrick Harris), Am (Japanese: Ryoko Shiraishi; English: Alison Brie), B-20N (Japanese: Tokuyoshi Kawashima; English: Jonathan Lipow)
4The Village Bride
Transliteration: "Mura no Hanayome" (Japanese: 村の花嫁)		Hitoshi HagaTakahito Oonishi & Hitoshi HagaKinema CitrusSeptember 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)
Years after the Great Jedi Purge, a fallen Jedi named F is drawn to a remote planet by an explorer named Valco.[6] Valco explains that bandit raiders have reprogrammed old Separatist battle droids and are holding a village hostage; the village chief's daughter Haru and her fiancé Asu intend to surrender to the bandits as collateral the following morning, while Haru's sister Saku wants to fight the bandits. The next morning, the bandits reveal they have captured Saku and attempt to execute her, but F and Valco intervene and kill all of the bandits. F then departs the planet.
Cast : F (Japanese: Asami Seto; English: Karen Fukuhara), Haru (Japanese: Megumi Han; English: Nichole Sakura), Asu (Japanese: Yuma Uchida; English: Christopher Sean), Valco (Japanese: Takaya Kamikawa; English: Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), Izuma (Japanese: Yoshimitsu Shimoyama; English: Andrew Kishino), Saku (Japanese: Mariya Ise; English: Stephanie Sheh)
5The Ninth Jedi
Transliteration: "Kyūninme no Jedai" (Japanese: 九人目のジェダイ)		Kenji KamiyamaKenji KamiyamaProduction I.GSeptember 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)
Many generations after the Jedi Order became mostly extinct, Margrave Juro - the Jedi ruler of the planet Hy Izlan - invites seven Jedi to his aerial temple in order to receive lightsabers; whose design has been lost to time. Juro's droid gifts the first lightsaber to a Jedi named Ethan, promising the other Jedi that they will receive theirs once they are completed. On the planet's surface, hunters working for the Sith capture the sabersmith Lah Zhima. Zhima's daughter Kara, who is also Force-sensitive, escapes with the finished lightsabers (including one for herself) and presents them to the Jedi. However, the six Jedi accompanying Ethan reveal themselves as Sith impostors, who killed the Jedi invited by Juro and came pretending to be them in order to murder Juro as well. Juro (who had been disguised as his droid all along), Ethan, and Kara fight and kill five of the Sith; but spare the sixth, Homen, who is revealed to be an old friend of Juro's (and the only survivor of the six Jedi the Sith killed) that had been corrupted by the dark side, but has now returned to the light. Ethan, Kara, and Homen join Juro's new Jedi Order and prepare to rescue Zhima, who is being held on a Sith-controlled planet.
Cast : Lah Kara (Japanese: Chinatsu Akasaki; English: Kimiko Glenn), Margrave Juro (Japanese: Tetsuo Kanao; English: Andrew Kishino), Homen (Japanese: Hinata Tadokoro; English: Patrick Seitz), Lah Zhima (Japanese: Shin-ichiro Miki; English: Simu Liu), Ethan (Japanese: Hiromu Mineta; English: Masi Oka), Roden (Japanese: Kazuya Nakai; English: Greg Chun), Niizo (Japanese: Rina Satō; English: Eva Kaminsky), Narrator (Japanese: Akio Ōtsuka; English: Neil Kaplan), Hen Jin (Japanese: Daisuke Hirakawa; English: Michael Sinterniklaas), Hanbei (Japanese: Jin Urayama; English: Adam Sietz), Toguro (Japanese: Ryota Takeuchi; English: Kyle McCarley)
6T0-B1
(Japanese: T0-B1)		Abel GóngoraYuichiro KidoScience SARUSeptember 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)
Shortly after the Great Jedi Purge, a droid named T0-B1 (Tobi) lives on a deserted planet with his armless creator Professor Mitaka, and dreams of becoming a Jedi Knight. One day, Mitaka tells him that in order to become a Jedi, he must find a kyber crystal so he can forge a lightsaber. T0-B1 scours the planet, but finds nothing. He defies Mitaka's orders to never enter his basement, discovers a starship, and accidentally sends a signal that alerts a Sith Inquisitor to their presence. Mitaka reveals himself to be a former Jedi and hides both T0-B1 and his old lightsaber hilt. When T0-B1 leaves his hiding spot, he discovers that the Inquisitor has ransacked Mitaka's lab and killed him. T0-B1 continues his research and successfully terraforms the planet, but is confronted by the Inquisitor. Upon fixing Mitaka's lightsaber, T0-B1 is revealed to be powered by a kyber crystal and designed by Mitaka to be able to wield the Force, and igniting the lightsaber, kills the Inquisitor in a duel. He then departs the planet to explore the galaxy and uphold Mitaka's legacy.
Cast : T0-B1 (Japanese: Masako Nozawa; English: Jaden Waldman), Mitaka (Japanese: Tsutomu Isobe; English: Kyle Chandler)
7The Elder
Transliteration: "Erudā" (Japanese: エルダー)		Masahiko OtsukaMasahiko OtsukaStudio TriggerSeptember 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)
Centuries after the death of Darth Bane and the initial extinction of the Sith, Tajin and his Padawan Dan are sent to explore the Outer Rim when Tajin senses a disturbance in the force. They land on an isolated planet and arrive at a remote village, where they learn of a mysterious elder man who hiked onto the mountaintop. Dan follows the Elder's trail and meets the man, who reveals himself to be a former Sith who left the order before it fell apart. The Elder wounds Dan, and Tajin arrives to fight the Elder. Tajin narrowly manages to kill the Elder, who decomposes into a rocky sediment and detonates an explosion that destroys his ship as he dies. As they leave the village upon Dan's recovery, Tajin tells Dan that being a Jedi means being kindhearted so they do not end up like the Elder.
Cast : Tajin (Japanese: Takaya Hashi; English: David Harbour), The Elder (Japanese: Kenichi Ogata; English: James Hong), Dan (Japanese: Yuichi Nakamura; English: Jordan Fisher)
8Lop and Ochō
Transliteration: "Norausa Roppu to Hizakura Ochō" (Japanese: のらうさロップと緋桜お蝶)		Yuki IgarashiSayawakaGeno Studio
September 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)
During the reign of the Empire, a rabbit-like alien slave named Lop escapes her captors on the planet Tau and is discovered by the planet's clan leader Yasaburo and his daughter Ochō, the latter of whom convinces the former to adopt Lop as his daughter. Seven years later, the Empire has occupied their planet and is exploiting it for its natural resources; Yasaburo wants to drive the Empire off their planet, while Ochō wants to cooperate with the Empire. After failing to convince Yasaburo to join her, Ochō enlists in the Imperial navy despite Lop's protests. With Ochō gone, Yasaburo passes down the family treasure, an ancient lightsaber given to their ancestor and passed down the generations, to the Force-sensitive Lop, and departs to confront Ochō. Ochō blinds Yasaburo in a fight, but Lop arrives and injures Ochō, who is forced to flee. Lop then vows to return Ochō home.
Cast : Lop (Japanese: Seiran Kobayashi; English: Anna Cathcart), Ochō (Japanese: Risa Shimizu; English: Hiromi Dames), Yasaburo (Japanese: Tadahisa Fujimura; English: Paul Nakauchi), Imperial Officer (Japanese: Taisuke Nakano; English: Kyle McCarley)
9Akakiri
(Japanese: 赤霧)		Eunyoung ChoiYuichiro KidoScience SARUSeptember 22, 2021 (2021-09-22)
Prior to the initial extinction of the Sith, a Jedi named Tsubaki, who has been suffering from visions of an unidentified individual dying in front of him, reunites with his old love Misa, a princess who has been overthrown by her dark-side-wielding aunt Masago. With the aid of guides Senshuu and Kamahachi, Tsubaki and Misa make their way to the royal palace. Masago captures Tsubaki's friends and overpowers him, then attempts to convince him to join her as her apprentice. When Tsubaki refuses, Masago's masked henchmen attack him; Tsubaki kills them, but also accidentally kills Misa dressed in their uniform, just as he had foreseen. Completely broken, Tsubaki agrees to join Masago, forming a dyad to resurrect Misa, and departs.
Cast : Tsubaki (Japanese: Yū Miyazaki; English: Henry Golding), Misa (Japanese: Lynn; English: Jamie Chung), Senshuu (Japanese: Chō; English: George Takei), Kamahachi (Japanese: Wataru Takagi; English: Keone Young), Masago (Japanese: Yukari Nozawa; English: Lorraine Toussaint)

Production

Development

On December 10, 2020, it was announced that Star Wars: Visions was an anime anthology series of ten short films by different creators set in the Star Wars universe.[7][8] It was previewed by producer Kanako Shirasaki and the executive producers at Anime Expo Lite in July 2021.[9] At the event, it was revealed that the number of episodes had decreased from ten to nine, due to The Ninth Jedi originally starting development as two films, before being combined later on to achieve something on a grander scale.[2]

Star Wars: Visions stories were not required to adhere to the established Star Wars timeline:

We really wanted to give these creators a wide creative berth to explore all the imaginative potential of the Star Wars galaxy through the unique lens of anime. We realized we wanted these to be as authentic as possible to the studios and creators who are making them, made through their unique process, in a medium they’re such experts at. So the idea was, this is their vision riffing off all the elements of the Star Wars galaxy that inspired them — hopefully to make a really incredible anthology series, unlike anything we’ve seen before in the Star Wars galaxy.

— James Waugh[2]

The story of The Duel was specifically billed as "an alternate history pulled from Japanese lore".[10] Lop and Ochō is set during the reign of the Galactic Empire between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.[11] The Elder is set "sometime before" The Phantom Menace while The Twins involves "remnants of the Imperial Army" after the events of The Rise of Skywalker.[11] The Ninth Jedi explores "what became of the Jedi Knights" after The Rise of Skywalker.[11]

Music

In July 2021, it was revealed that Kevin Penkin will be composing the score for The Village Bride,[12] and Michiru Ōshima will be composing for The Twins and The Elder,[13] while Yoshiaka Dewa composed the score for Lop and Ochō and Tatooine Rhapsody, Keiji Inai to compose the score for The Duel, A-bee and Keiichiro Shibuya compose the score for T0-B1, U-zhaan compose the score for Akakiri, and Nobuko Toda and Kazuma Jinnouchi will be composing the score for The Ninth Jedi.[14]

Release

Star Wars: Visions was released on September 22, 2021, on Disney+.[2]

Tie-in media

In March 2021, it was announced that Del Rey Books will publish Star Wars Visions: Ronin, an original novel written by Emma Mieko Candon which builds on the story of The Duel. It is set to be released on October 12, 2021.[15][10]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 95% approval rating with an average rating of 8.20/10, based on 44 reviews for the first season. The site's critical consensus reads, "Gorgeously animated and wildly creative, Visions is an eclectic, but wholly enjoyable collection of Star Wars stories that breathe new life into the galaxy."[16] Metacritic gave the series a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[17]

Aniruddho Chakraborty of Film Companion wrote, "The nine-episode show is not so much concerned with being an integral part of the Star Wars universe, as it is with creating something new within that universe."[18]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: スター・ウォーズ：ビジョンズ, Hepburn: Sutā Wōzu: Bijonzu

References

  1. ^ "Future Lucasfilm Projects Revealed". StarWars.com. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Anime Expo Lite: 20 Things We Learned from the Star Wars: Visions Panel". StarWars.com. July 3, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "日本のアニメスタジオとスター・ウォーズのビッグプロジェクト始動！『スター・ウォーズ：ビジョンズ』特別映像と7つのスタジオ、配信日を発表". disneyplus.disney.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  4. ^ STAR WARS: VISIONS | SPECIAL LOOK | DISNEY+. Star Wars. July 3, 2021. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ "A Mysterious Former Sith Wanders the Galaxy in Ronin, the Upcoming Star Wars: Visions Novel - Exclusive Reveal". July 8, 2021.
  6. ^ "Anime Expo Lite: 20 Things We Learned from the Star Wars: Visions Panel". July 3, 2021.
  7. ^ Collura, Scott (December 10, 2020). "Star Wars: Visions Anime Is Coming to Disney Plus". IGN.com. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "Film and TV Projects Going Into Production - Star Wars: Visions". Variety Insight. Archived from the original on March 28, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "Explore Star Wars: Visions at Anime Expo Lite". StarWars.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "A Mysterious Former Sith Wanders the Galaxy in Ronin, the Upcoming Star Wars: Visions Novel - Exclusive Reveal". StarWars.com. July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Robson, Daniel. "Anime Star Wars: Visions Will Include What Became of the Jedi, a Rock Opera, and More". IGN. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  12. ^ Penkin, Kevin [@kevinpenkin] (July 3, 2021). "I'm composing for a Star Wars anime. Specifically, an episode of the new Disney+ series "Star Wars Visions", which is a collection of original animated shorts based in the Star Wars universe. Beyond honoured. Please enjoy "The Village Bride" by Kinema Citrus, this September. https://t.co/J1eVLLkZeO" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021 – via Twitter.
  13. ^ 大島ミチル MichiruOshima [@OshimaMichiru] (July 5, 2021). "#StarWarsVisions I composed the music for 2 titles「THE TWINS」and 「The Elder」. https://t.co/yvqcTHpFF3" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 6, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2021 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ @kazjin2612 (July 3, 2021). "Super excited to announce that I and @NobukoToda are composing for an upcoming Star Wars anime.The episode is cal…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Dwilson, Stephanie Dube (March 24, 2021). "Upcoming 'Star Wars' Anime Already Spinning Off Original Novel". Heavy.com. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  16. ^ "Star Wars: Visions - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  17. ^ "Star Wars: Visions". Metacritic. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  18. ^ Chakraborty, Aniruddho. "Star Wars: Visions, On DisneyPlus Hotstar, Is A Fantastic Addition To The Star Wars Canon". Retrieved September 30, 2021. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= requires |archive-url= (help)
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