OFFICIAL NEWS General 'Visions' News, Rumours, & Chat Thread

I only watched The Duel yet, absolutely fantastic. I really dig the art and the atmosphere.

 

My thoughts so far, having seen three episodes:

The Duel

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Reminds me a lot of the identically named short from Halo Legends, which was also fantastic. There's just something kinda neat about seeing these familiar fictional locations reimagined with a feudal Japan flair.

The fight itself was fine, and the story was barebones though cool. One thing I really liked was that the fight was not between a Jedi and sith, but apparently two sith! Very cool.

Tatooine Rhapsody

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This just... kinda rocked? Like, it was silly, very silly. The art, the rock, it's not something I'd like to see in a mainline film of course. But it was just cool, I really enjoyed it. Probably my favorite of the three I've seen, really.

The Twins

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Probably my least favorite so far. Felt kinda like a DBZ fight in how over the top it was. I had no qualms with the fight itself, and the presentation was actually kinda neat- but I think this would've paid off quite a bit more if I had an ounce of context or actually cared about the characters. When the action is this over the top, a fight feels a lot less weighty, so having paper-thin personalities involved just made the whole thing feel a little too pointless to me. Again, there were some really cool ideas at play here, the whole package just didn't quite come together.

Spoiler: General Observation about aesthetics

One weird thing I've noticed is how many of these seem to co-opt the aesthetics of Star Wars with what seems to be none of the context. Most puzzling to me is the use of what seems to be Galactic Empire iconography- Star Destroyers, stormtroopers, etc. I realize that none of this is canon, but it's weird to see anime versions of stories trying to sell themselves as Star Wars by using these images, but simultaneously kinda losing me in the process. Like, the Galactic Empire exists in a specific context in Star Wars, but the approach here with Jedi and Sith feels much more Old Republic.

Does that make sense? Like, a lot of these stories could be told in the High Republic era and be arguably canon (or at least not really clash with existing canon). But seeing two Twins battle it out in an anime fight atop stormtrooper-laden ISDs just feels kinda strange. Like, I get why they did it, but I kinda wish that they hadn't.

 

I watched the Visions and I am also glad they are not cannon. However, some of these are amazing! The art style, the new innovative way they made the lightsaber more katana like, even the new species and vehicles are kinda cool.
The Duel was, by far, my favorite. Just the style was amazing!
Tatooine Rhapsody I just didn’t get drawn in.
The twins animation reminded me of Gurren Lagann. Wasn’t bad though.
The village bride and the ninth Jedi both had great animation and story. As well as the elder, and Lop & Ochō. The latter being my second favorite.
I feel like all of these were done SO well. Every studio should be commended. All in all, as long as your not vested in everything being super accurate to Star Wars history and are open minded, I would recommend these to SW fans and anime fans alike.

 

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The battle should have been inside the ISD rather than outside, other than that, it reminded me of allot of anime for example, Mobile Suite Gundam or Knights of Sidonia.

 

My favorites:

1. The Village Bride
2. Lop & Ocho
3. The Ninth Jedi
4. Akakiri
5. The Duel
6. The Elder
7. The Twins
8. Tatooine Rhapsody
9. TO-B1

The animation, the musical score, and the stories all topnotch. Awaiting official announcement for season 2, but this time around I would like canon Star Wars tales
in all eras, High Republic, Prequel, OT, and ST that expand the universe.

Star Wars Visions reminds me of another popular franchise that got the anime anthology treatment, The Animatrix. Which also contains 9 animated short films four of which were written by the Wachowskis.

I haven't purchased a blu-ray in along time,I usually buy digital media but I'll definitely get this on blu-ray, hopefully a collector's edition.

 

Got through the first four episodes with my friend! (On top of catching up on What If...?)

His ranking from favorite to least:
Episode 2 - Tatooine Rhapsody
Episode 4 - The Village Bride
Episode 1 - The Duel
Episode 3 - The Twins (aka "the Kill la Kill episode")

My ranking:
Episode 4 - The Village Bride/Episode 2 - The Duel
Episode 3 - The Twins
Episode 2 - Tatooine Rhapsody.

Overall, I'm liking it far more than I thought I would! Granted, I was afraid I'd hate it despite having wanted some anime influence in Star Wars for years now, so liking even a small part of it was a major success in my books. We'll finish the show this weekend, but for now, my thoughts:

The first and fourth episodes did the most for me. There were some moments in the first that my friend and I called and alluded to right before they happened, while others we didn't see coming at all.

Spoiler: Episode 1 Spoilers

The Umbrella Saber was the main part we sort of saw coming, and it happened right after we were like "hey, remember the Helicopter Saber in Rebels?" so it was extra funny.
This episode worked for me because I enjoy the Yojimbo/Fistful of Dollars/"A Wanderer Comes Into Town" storylines at times, and this was definitely one of those from the jump. The Ronin isn't a clear-cut Jedi or Sith, but he is one who won't be extra mean to those who help him, so that's a plus (yay for human decency!). And him collecting Kyber Crystals was a great twist - is he a Dark Side user who is polite? Or is he taking them out in order to get their crystals? Is it so clear-cut?
The black-and-white old-samurai film aesthetic absolutely works for me, as did the in-work aesthetic. Honestly, it had a more unique aesthetic than most of the ST, and I loved the different ratio of Samurai to Western in this, something we don't often see in Canon Star Wars proper.

I'm a little sad the Dark Side Warlord died, as Star Wars has a habit of killing off cool and interesting antagonists, with the ones of color seeming to always be on the chopping block...and this one was no exception. Sure, this isn't canon, but the trends are still there.
The CGI was also a little choppy in some places, but overall the fights were good and the story was there. I was pleased.
IF this episode was Canon, I'd place it around the same time as The Mandalorian.

The Village Bride was an overall win. Other than some annoying-but-necessary exposition and a few shape changing earrings, this was easily the standout in terms of story, emotion, and completeness. No major spoilers here, although I do hope to see a certain character return.

Spoiler: "Canon" Placement

If I had to place this in Canon - which I really, really want to do - I'd say this is either post-ROTS with a Jedi who survived Order 66 and was at the temple when it happened, hiding from the newly formed Empire. The other placement I really like is pre-TFA, with a survivor of Luke's Academy searching for her Master while hiding from the First Order.

The Twins was the most anime episode in a series that's full-on anime. And even then, it feels like some more bombastic anime like Kill la Kill, Gurren Lagann, and FLCL...which makes sense when you find out that the director of Kill la Kill and Gurren Lagann did in fact direct this episode.

Spoiler: The Twins Spoilers

I like the reflections of Luke and Leia in this episode, as well as the direct homage shot to the Holdo Maneuver from TLJ. The fight itself was pretty good albeit hammy, and the ending was solid. I'm not so sure about the theme, but I liked it nonetheless.
If I had to place this in Canon...well, I have an idea for how to do so, but as long as I'm holding on to the delusional hope that one day I can try and pitch my ideas to Lucasfilm, I'll keep my idea for how to meld this one close to the chest.

Tatooine Rhapsody was my least favorite, which really isn't fair to the episode. This episode probably had the best non-person backgrounds and detail, and the details on the characters was exquisite. The episode itself had that pure Shonen-first-chapter-but-I'm-not-sure-we'll-get-a-second-chapter energy and plot, and I enjoyed the former for what it was. But I wasn't a huge fan of the plot, and plot and characters make or break a lot of things for me. Regardless, I'm happy my friend loves it, and I wouldn't mind seeing these characters return.

Spoiler: "Canon" Placement

If I had to place this in Canon, it has the entirety of Post-ROTS to Pre-ROTJ to work its magic. I originally though that the main character Jay was older than Luke, which wore off some of that Shonen magic, but I could also see this happening around the time that Kanan meets Hera, so ten years after ROTS but 4-5 years before ANH. I think that timeframe works out best.

 

I watched them all after work last night! In general, really enjoyed the whole series - the different art styles, the stories, the anime take on Star Wars. Thought it's just incredible how every episode managed to tell a story in less than 20, sometimes even less than 15 minutes. Amazing.

If I had to rank them, this would be my list:

Loved:
The Duel
The Ninth Jedi
The Village Bride
The Elder

Liked:
Lop and Ochō
Tatooine Rhapsody

Didn't really care for:
Akakiri
T0-B1
The Twins

 

agreed. Have seen first 3. The Duel definetly is the best.
The animation, characters and music! are absolutely sublime. So mysterious and gorgeous.

The best part, I guess, is everyone can have their own perspective. Have seen first 3 but in my mind The Duel could easly be in my personal canon and I wouldn't mind to see a length feature film of it. It's insane. Loved it.



Tatooine Rhapsody was weird at the beginning. Didn't expect that. Athough its original, certain character steals the protagonism. At the end I guess is a tribute to SW, Tatooine and anime intro shows.

 

I've made it through the first three. I must admit anime has never really been my thing, but a huge tip of the cap to the artists and art directors on the execution. Having each in a totally different style is a masterstroke -- separate stories, separate feel; allows each to live on its own. And I've seen a lot of cannon talk here. I'm glad these aren't cannon. With the writers and artists free of certain cannon "rules," creativity is allowed to soar unrestrained. Being these are basically tales inspired by Star Wars, they can really let it fly.

 

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Ok, someone help me out with the Twins episode: they are fighting in the vacuum of space on top of the dual ISD's, both of their battle suits are gone, and when the droid comes to rescue Am after the battle, he's got a helmet on????? Is this some sort of anime thing? I mean it's a droid, why the heck does he need a helmet? And why don't the twins need them? My children thought this was the funniest thing btw

 

yeah lol I thought really? hahaha That was weird


With 6 episodes in, now The Ninth Jedi is by far my favourite with The Duel.
Absolutely loved the story and the time period when it happens. The theme could be something really cool to see in a movie. Definetly could be canon for me. A very original touch of one of the most iconic "things" of the saga. Looooved it!

TO-B1 was really good too, like a very-wellknown child tale.

The Village Bride was kind of strange, cause seems unclear and not focused in one tied story.

 

Really enjoyed The Duel and The Ninth Jedi

 

Ha! I was thinking the same thing but I chalked it up to the fantasy aspect of anime. That and (like I mentioned previously) it's not cannon so they're free to play it fast and loose with such things. I decided to not let it take me out of the story and just moved on.

 

My biggest takeaway from this experiment is how much story telling opens up when the storyteller isn't constrained by a rigid timeline/lore. For those of us who have been begging to get away from the Skywalker Era, Visions is a good example of how exciting new stories could be... Star Wars has thousands of years of area to play with and it would be great to tell us some new stories in live action.

 

Anime follows the Rule of Cool a lot.

Think Dragon Ball Z, where Vegeta and Goku might fly up to space and fight without helmets, too.

I guess that was kind of a neat part of it. Definitely more of an anime thing than a Star Wars one, but I guess that's the appeal of this project.

 

My thoughts about the shorts:

"The Duel" - wow. Loved the aesthetics. Looking forward to the "Ronin" novel.

“Tatooine Rhapsody” - OMG. The band gave me Fall Out Boy/Hoobastank/The Killers vibes (and nothing beats Boba slam!!)

“The Twins” - so many influences. So awesome.

"The Village Bride" - wow. The music gave me vibes of Within Temptation/Enya and the themes were so powerful.

"The Ninth Jedi" - lot of ROTJ vibes, the music was powerful, majestic and inspiring. It has "hope" written all over it and that final shot: it's poetry. (and I-see-what-you-did-there with the girl's name, just change a vowel lol).

"T0-B1" - The nod with the name awww (Tee Obi-Wan?). So sweet and endearing. Mitaka using a lot of Yoda quotes and I could see some subtle nods to Astro Boy/Pinocchio/Edward Scissorhands too. Also poncho T0-B1 FTW.

"The Elder" - Simply outstanding. The dual blades were awesome. And the master gave me Qui-Gon vibes.

" Lop and Ochō" - OMG tears. The music is so powerful. Gave me vibes of other Star Wars and even Marvel stories.

"Akakiri" - The music: percussions galore! Why, star-crossed lovers... simply magnificent.

 

I get it, just the part of my brain when I saw the droid with the helmet on was like


I'm getting old.

 

Having watched them all twice now my top 3 haven’t changed - The Ninth Jedi and The Duel were just pretty-much perfect for me, and Lop and Ochō was near-perfect, just left me wanting more a little too much (watching the behind then scenes videos helped me deal with this, understanding it was a partially intentional thing).

By the way, anyone who loved The Ninth Jedi: I highly recommend an anime series called Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit by the same director.

The Village Bride is my 4th-favourite right now, the music (by Kevin Penkin who composed the amazing music for Made in Abyss) and wide landscape / horizon shots in that really get me especially.

But the other five, really just won’t settle into an order (Jedi, First, or otherwise, ba-doom-tish). I did enjoy T-0B1 a lot more second-time round, and The Twins maybe a little less, but I think in both instances it was more down to my own mood more than anything. Tatooine Rhapsody is very funny to me, but I can see why it’s too silly for some people.

I think The Elder and Akakiri were both very interesting and might take a few more watches to appreciate more. I didn’t personally connect to their art styles quite so much, though both had their own great moments visually, but the ideas in both stories were fascinating on the subject of power, perhaps two sides of a cautionary coin. I think Akakiri was very much

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a beautiful yet tragic concise re-telling of the fall of Anakin to save Padmé, and the ‘red mist’ that descends upon both character and screen was stunning

. But maybe

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a bit of a downer to end on if you watch them in order?

Genuinely love all of them though, and I can see myself re-watching them all many times in future. Very happy with how they turned out and I really hope we get more.

 

I'm watching the Ninth Jedi again, one of my favorites. These tales are not canon, however what took me back a bit was that Jedi build their own lightsabers and color, the Sith turn the stones red from what I can remember, for someone else to create one for you is rather odd... other than that, it is still one of my favorites.