It’s no secret that George Lucas has been influenced by Japanese cinema. Lucas has mentioned how Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 film The Hidden Fortress inspired the visual style and storytelling of his Star War saga. Knowing this, it’s almost refreshing to see Lucasfilms and Disney team up to bring Star Wars: Visions–an anthology of anime shorts directed by Japanese filmmakers to bring a slice of the legendary movie franchise back to its ancestral home. We’re going to rate the short films from this series from worst to best.
9. Akakiri
“A Jedi returns to his forbidden love to help defend her kingdom from a Sith-like Shogun.”
Directed by Eunyoung Choi, this vignette closes the series but does so underwhelmingly. Akakiri isn’t the only short of the series that employs the cultural aesthetics of feudal Japanese culture as a vehicle to drive the narrative, but it is the one that executes it the worst. The story feels hurried, the artistic style and quality doesn’t seem to hold up against the other vignettes, the fight scenes feel lacking and it’s hard to connect to the main characters in the film’s short runtime. It’s not the most terrible thing you’ll ever watch but it’s definitely the weakest story in the anthology.
8. Tatooine Rhapsody
“A band with big dreams must save one of their own from Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett.”
The successes of The Mandolorian and Rogue One have done well to prove that shifting the focus from the Jedi/Sith dichotomy is something that fans are open to seeing. Still, we’ve rarely seen the everyday machinations of the people in the Star Wars universe. What does a day in the life of fishmongers look like in the Star Wars Universe? What kind of games do people play? Directed by Taku Kimura, Tatooine Rhapsody attempts to correct a history of Force-centered storytelling by featuring a group of intergalactic rockers, on a journey to rescue one of their band members. Unfortunately, a story’s unconventionality doesn’t make a good story. Despite opting for a bouncier and funner feel than some of the other of Visions’ vignettes, whilst also being one of the only shorts to include established characters–the episode devolves into a saccharine positivity that feels misplaced. But maybe I’m just salty because their song would’ve got a Roman Emperor’s thumbs down from me.
7. The Twins
“Twins born into the dark side clash aboard a massive Star Destroyer.”
This anthology wouldn’t be a Star Wars series if there wasn’t at least one familial drama. The Twins follows two siblings that’ve been genetically bred to be Imperial weapons. As the stakes heighten and we realise that this isn’t the stuff of an anti-Luke and Leia, but more akin to the discord between Rey and Kylo Ren. Directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi, the climax of their conflict displays such a grand scale of cosmic pageantry that it’s easy to recognise the signature style that permeates through his past work (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill). Artistically, it is a brilliant feat. The only reason why it’s at number 7 is because the over-the-top display of maximalist spectacle wasn’t enough to stop me from asking, “how the hell are they breathing right now?”
6. Lop & Ochô
“A family is torn about what to do when the Empire encroaches on their planet.”
As one of the most politically interesting stories in the series, Lop & Ochô ends up biting off a little more than it can chew for its 20 minute runtime. Under Yuki Igarashi’s direction, the vignette tries to address familial fracturing, imperial colonisation and the passing of ancestral traditions–touching upon each in passing and each suffering from a lack of deeper, narrative exploration. This particular tale needed at least 10-15 minutes longer to arrive at a satisfying conclusion. Regardless still manages to weave together an engrossing tapestry of characters and some excellent character design. The pacing struck me as a little disjointed and I found myself suffering from a little “duelling as a climax” fatigue but it still left me curious about the character’s lingering fates.
5. The Elder
“A Jedi and his Padawan pursue a dark and powerful presence.”
If I could describe this vignette in one word it’d be: safe. The isolation of this tale means there are no real stakes or meaningful reflections despite the fact that this episode has a sustained build up of most dialogue at the beginning. The art style is satisfactory and although the climactic fight scene is short-lived, it is concluded in a pretty pleasing way. Masahiko Ôtsuka’s direction ensures this story is not terrible, but it’s not particularly sensational either. Just an adequately done story that wraps up nicely with a bow.
4. The Village Bride
“A Jedi on the run takes in the unique customs of a remote village under threat by a warlord.”
Hitoshi Haga delicately helms this vignette, providing a glimpse into the lives of a faraway planet’s people and their indigenous customs. The thoughtful exploration of their spirituality and the way they live in harmonious commune with their environment makes The Village Bride an ambrosial watch and makes you think about all the ways The Force might potentially manifest in the Star Wars universe. The imposition of the Empire brings stakes and anxieties that aren’t always fully realised or explored in some of the other vignettes and in this episode, we see the tyranny at work through coercion, threat and military flexing. We witness the helplessness of those who aren’t technologically advanced enough, violently inclined enough, and morally devoid enough to retaliate against the colonisation of the empire. The Village Bride is perfectly paced, skilfully animated and so well done that it’s physically hurting to only put it at number 4.
3. T0-B1
“A cybernetic boy, who dreams of being a Jedi, discovers a dangerous truth about his creator.”
Joining Tatooine Rhapsody as one of the cuter vignettes in the series, T0-B1 follows the eponymous robo-boy–whose wide-eyed and bubbly personality makes his digitised dreams of being a jedi all the more adorable. The personalities of droids are a quintessential cornerstone of Star Wars lore (who can forget the cheekiness of R2-D2 or the bumbly cowardice of C3P0?) and director Abel Gongora takes that spirit and runs with it, into the welcoming arms of a neo-pinocchio tale. The marshmallowy visual style is cottoningly warm, and even in this episode’s most harrowing moments we can’t help but be stricken with the infectious hope that T0-B1 exudes, and despite accelerating through the plot at an disarmingly fast pace, the story never displays a compromise in narrative or aesthetic quality.
2. The Ninth Jedi
“The daughter of a lightsaber-smith is pursued by dark forces while on a dangerous mission.”
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, The Ninth Jedi is the vignette that captures the quintessential essence of the Star Wars cinematic. A spunky, gutsy, appealing protagonist. A cute, heart-stealing companion droid. Chases through a great, sandy expanse on a speed cruiser. A riveting lightsaber clash. The story is smoothly paced and gracefully accomplished–concluding with a likeable bundle of characters that you’d love to keep following. It’s a simple story. But when simple is executed forensically enough, it can achieve excellence with ease.
1. The Duel
“A wandering stranger with a mysterious past defends a village from powerful bandits.”
The Duel kicks off the series and establishes a standard of brilliance that isn’t quite attained by the rest of the anthology’s episodes. Directed by Takanobu Mizuno, The grainy, hand-drawn textures, weathered grayscale style and cultural aesthetics of feudal Japanese all coalesce together to till a narrative soil of traditionality that, when built upon with one of the most recognisable science fiction technologies and lore (and your classic “tortured, lone swordsman” plot) blooms a simple but compelling story reminiscent of a quintessential Kurosawa tale (looking at you, Yojimbo) to bring a fascinating Ronin’s tale that leaves you with just as many questions that it’s answered.
Have you seen Star Wars: Visions? What's your favourite short of the anthology?
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