On October 29, the final episode of the third season of the animated series “Star Wars: Visions”—an animated experiment set in a galaxy far, far away—was released. What is it all about and is all three seasons worth watching? We’ll explore this in our review and catch up with those who missed it!
I see “Visions”
Star Wars: Visions is an animated anthology like Netflix’s Love. Death. Robots: each episode is a standalone story, completely unrelated, created by different studios in distinct styles. Some episodes are almost stop-motion, while others are typical anime episodes with the studio’s signature style.
Here, I’d like to highlight the opening episodes of the first and third seasons—”Duel” and “Duel: Reckoning”—produced by Kamikaze Douga. These black-and-white episodes are reminiscent of classic samurai films, which suits the franchise perfectly, given that George Lucas was initially inspired by Japanese culture and the films of Akira Kurosawa when creating Star Wars. Conversely, the first episode of the second season—”Sith” by El Guiri Studios—is like an artist’s canvas, its colors symbolizing the shades of power.
Visions is not a canonical work. Disney gave various studios—from small and unknown to renowned ones—complete creative freedom, but did not include the events of the series in the official timeline. As a result, we got very different works not only visually but also in their message. Some episodes don’t even resemble Star Wars, despite having recognizable attributes, like the final episode of the second season, “Aau’s Song,” from Triggerfish. It simply has to be seen; it can’t be explained.
Episodes in “Visions” average 15-20 minutes (sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little shorter) and are essentially short vignettes, where the creators try to squeeze their unique ideas into a short running time. There are two problems here:
- the quality of what is shown suffers – due to timing restrictions, some scenarios lack detail and turn out to be very chaotic, and sometimes illogical;
- Other episodes really need a continuation – I really want to know what happens next, but more on that later.
Two parts
The first two seasons are a pure anthology with no repeats. The episodes take viewers to a variety of locations and time periods in the galaxy far, far away: from the Old Republic to the Empire and beyond.
Some episodes, like the second episode of the first season, “Tatooine Rhapsody” by Studio Colorido, had a very anime-like feel: the characters literally give hope to the people of Tatooine with their music. Even Jabba the Hutt was inspired and spared the protagonists. While this seems logical—the main characters could bring Jabba a great deal of profit—it’s hard to imagine him doing such a thing in the films!
A great many episodes—the majority, I’d say—dedicate themselves to the confrontation between adepts of the Dark and Light sides of the Force: they have unusual weapons, but even stranger principles. Not all of them are Jedi or Sith—and if they are, they don’t always resemble those we’ve seen before. It’s especially amusing to watch how we’re continually introduced to new adepts of each side, active during the events of the Original Trilogy films. This suggests that not all the Jedi and Sith were exterminated, despite claims to the contrary—though, I repeat, these events are non-canon.
Two episodes can be contrasted as examples: the seventh episode of the first season, “The Old Man” by Trigger, and the fifth episode of the second season, “Journey to the Dark Chapter” by Studio Mir. They perfectly demonstrate the difference in the studios’ approaches and themes for the battle between the Jedi and the Sith. In the first case, we got an episode without context—just a skirmish between light and dark side adepts and their brawl—while in the second, we were treated to a short story with well-developed characters.
There are also references. For example, the sixth episode, “T0-B1,” again from Science Saru, is a major homage to the famous anime “Astro Boy”: a Jedi scientist creates an android boy who is not only able to understand humans but also masters the Force and battles the Dark Lord.
The first season was diverse, with many stories in varying tones. From those we’ve already mentioned to the saga of a Jedi’s fall to the Dark Side, where the episode’s protagonist once predicted this to himself—and realized that resisting fate is futile.
The second season, on the other hand, proved to be dark, a fact evident even in its logo. Most episodes either feature dark themes or depict the brutality of the Star Wars universe, where heroes are forced to sacrifice themselves to achieve their goals. This is perfectly demonstrated in the third and eighth episodes—”Among the Stars” by Punkrobot Studio and “The Pit” by D’ART Shtajio, respectively. Here, we see the mature actions of characters who give their lives to fight the Empire, saving entire worlds and their inhabitants.
There are a couple of “light” episodes, but they serve as fillers to break up the overall tone: especially the fourth episode, “I Am Your Mother,” directed by the animators at Aardman. The episode is simple and a little silly, but very warm and inviting.
The main advantage of Star Wars Vision is that it gives animators the opportunity to realize their imagination, which fits perfectly with the expansive galaxy where every world is unique. This means that audiences will be delighted, too, as this anthology is the perfect way to explore the franchise from different angles. We could say that this is the official “Legends”—what became the old canon, created by various creators before Disney acquired Star Wars.
Season 3: Not so unique anymore?
But the third season is somewhat different from the first two.
It featured continuations of the events of the episodes of the first season: the first episode continues the events of the first episode, the third – the events of the fifth episode, and the sixth – the fourth.
And these sequels proved controversial. The story of a former Sith who began hunting other Sith for the crystals in their lightsabers lost some of its atmosphere: here, he’s less aloof and stern, more of a team player, and most disappointingly, he’s barely fleshed out. However, his opponent turned out to be interesting—here, the writers decided to stage a hunt for a hunter, inverting their original concept. Even if it turned out predictable.
Production IG’s sequel turned out to be quite good, but unfortunately, it’s very close to filler. It turned out to be nothing more than a “story that happened along the way to the main events,” with the end caption “to be continued.” It’s sad, although there are interesting thoughts and even emotional tension here.
Overall, I’d love to see a full-fledged project based on this story. It would be interesting to see how the Jedi Order is reborn hundreds or thousands of years after the events of all the films, including the sequel trilogy. After all, the galaxy existed long before the films and will continue to exist long after them—the potential for development here is simply endless.
The sixth episode, “Lost,” is an indirect continuation of the fourth episode of the first season: they were produced by Kinema Citrus, a studio known for, for example, the anime “Made in Abyss.” But aside from sharing a common main character, the episodes are largely unrelated, though there’s plenty of Star Wars flair in this episode—almost classic!
The main criticism of the third season is that the series has become too banal. There’s less experimentation, and all the stories are simple and predictable—especially the fourth and seventh episodes: “Bounty Hunters” by Wit Studio and “Smuggler,” again by Trigger Studio. In them, it’s easy to understand what will happen next and who is who, especially the prince’s assistant in “Smuggler.” But despite the predictability, the episodes are very heartfelt—they capture and convey the spirit of Star Wars well.
I’d highlight the eighth episode, “Bird of Paradise,” from Polygon Pictures, which depicts the battle and its aftermath from the perspective of a young Jedi. How she confronts and embraces her fear, and then begins to believe in the Force, as her Master taught her. Combined with the colorful art, it’s captivating and even has a touch of philosophy—albeit a familiar one for the franchise.
The exception was the ninth episode, “Black,” produced by David Productions. It’s pure arthouse fare: the episode lasts 13 minutes, during which not a single word is spoken, and the visuals are so psychedelic that they resemble a story about Scandinavian spirits or some other mythological entity.
The second episode, “Song of the Four Wings” by Project Studio Q, reminded me of both Sailor Moon and Transformers: the heroine’s transformation scene was very unique. However, there are references to several moments from the original trilogy, so it’s not all that clear-cut.
Diagnosis
Star Wars: Visions is a fascinating fantasy. Its episodes are often captivating, expanding our familiar notions of what the galaxy far, far away might have been like if Disney hadn’t been so fixated on the Rebel-Empire conflict.
If you’re looking for a fresh take on a decades-old franchise, Star Wars Visions is the way to go. But there are two caveats: the limited runtime of each episode means many stories don’t have time to fully develop, lacking detail and lacking coherence. The sequels that have emerged aren’t particularly impressive: they’re good, but they don’t advance the overall concept.
However, each episode is, first and foremost, an animation with its own unique spirit. Some people don’t like this, and if you’re one of them, you should be prepared.
