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It is a massive understatement to say that Star Wars owes its success to its Japanese roots. The Jedi Order, its design aesthetic, and even the story structure of the first film were all a result of bushido culture and the films of Akira Kurosawa inspiring series creator George Lucas. From those inspirations sprang one of the most successful franchises of all time, the most recent entries of which essentially cemented Disney+ as a staple streaming service through its debut of series like The Mandalorian. While not a “canonical” group of stories, Star Wars: Visions takes its place among the most remarkable stories in the franchise by returning to its roots in Japanese culture, having unique visuals, and bringing fresh new perspectives to our favorite galaxy far, far away.
Each of the first season’s nine episodes takes place in a different time and place from the Star Wars canon that we know. Sometimes that difference is as slight as the simple time and planet, and sometimes it takes place in a continuity entirely separate from the galaxy in the Skywalker Saga. Another aspect that marks that difference is each episode’s unique art style. Seven different animation studios based out of Japan animated the series’ first season and will be going even further international with the recently-greenlit second season.
The episode titles and their respective animation studios are:
- The Duel- Kamikaze Douga
- Tatooine Rhapsody- Studio Colorido
- The Twins- Studio Trigger
- The Village Bride- Kinema Citrus
- The Ninth Jedi- Production I.G.
- T0-B1- Science SARU
- The Elder- Studio Trigger
- Lop and Ochō- Geno Studio (Genocidal Organ, Pet)
- Akakiri- Science SARU
Note that some of these summaries will vary in length depending on the amount of detail in each episode. Spoilers ahead for the series going forward, so click away and take some time to watch this fresh and engaging addition to the Star Wars universe before coming back to read!
The Duel
From the first frame of this episode, it is clear how dearly the crew treasured both Star Wars and the films that inspired it. The animation studio Kamikaze Douga has created programs with visually striking art styles, such as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Netflix’s Sound and Fury. The Duel arrests the viewer within the setting using the unique artistic style, firmly placing this story within an alternate Star Wars timeline reminiscent of feudal Japan. Twenty years before the events of this episode, the Feudal-Jedi Empire fought against an evil offshoot known as the Sith (look changed but not the names).
Major Characters:
- The Ronin
- Bandit Leader Kouru
- The Village Chief
A wanderer known as the “Ronin” (the term for a feudal samurai warrior without a master) comes into a small town to get repairs for his feudal-style R2 droid unit. While repairing the droid, a large group of stormtrooper armored bandits begins attacking the village, gathering villagers in the square and interrogating the acting village chief. Right then, a small group of warriors launches a surprise counterassault on the stormtroopers. However, the bandit’s leader swoops in and proclaims herself a Sith Lord before subduing the rebels. The Ronin turns towards the town and orders the droid repairman to have his droid repaired by the time a kettle in the repairman’s building starts to boil.
The Ronin walks through the carnage and escaping villagers to see the Sith in the middle of the square, wielding an extensively modified lightsaber (which looks like a cyberpunk umbrella). As the Ronin approaches, the Sith Lord disconnects the blade mod leaving the regular lightsaber, which she brings forward to strike, but the Ronin blocks it, revealing himself as a Force-user. The Sith assumes that he is a Jedi, but when he unsheathes his Sith-red lightsaber, she realizes he is an actual Sith Lord, albeit a former one. Their fight goes from the village to the inside of a waterfall. Meanwhile, the kettle boils, and the Ronin’s now-repaired R2 unit rockets into the small town and dispatches the bandits.
As for the leader, she is lured to a shrine inside a waterfall, where the Ronin finishes her off. The Ronin returns to the village, and the chief and other residents thank him for his heroism. However, they are all shocked when he unveils his Sith lightsaber. The Ronin has collected his Sith targets’ red kyber crystals and gives the bandit leader’s crystal to the village chief. He assures the young leader that it wards off evil before hitting the dusty trail.
General reception for this episode (according to IMDB) is one of the highest of the first season. Several reviewers praised the fantastic action scenes, the striking visuals, and the unique artistic style. The final lightsaber battle and the character of the Ronin received particular praise, as the concept of a reformed Sith hunting their kind brings new complexity to the Jedi/Sith dynamic. Many watchers left reviews clamoring for Ronin’s story to be continued in later seasons, and a follow-up novel written by Emma Mieko Candon has since been written.
Tatooine Rhapsody
Unfortunately for those hoping to see tales of smugglers or bounty hunters, this episode is the closest thing to it. The entire first season places heavy narrative and thematic emphasis on the Jedi and the Force, with almost half of the episodes dealing with the aftermath of the Jedi Purge and the rise of the Empire. While Tatooine Rhapsody isn’t my personal favorite, it is one of the more lighthearted and more niche episodes in the series so far.
Major Characters:
- Jay
- Geezer (Gee)
- Lan
- K-344
- Boba Fett
The story focuses on a young Padawan named Jay who, after escaping the horrors of the Clone Wars, is taken in by a Hutt named Gee. His condition for taking in Jay was that he become the lead singer of Gee’s rock band. Some years later, we see that the Empire has taken control of the galaxy. Gee’s band “Star Waver” is being chased out of their venue by Boba Fett (that’s our bounty hunter this season). The hunter tracks down their ship and catches Gee as Jay comes to his defense with his old lightsaber, which breaks down before he can even get close (Though Fett’s got bigger fish to fry than an out-of-work Padawan). As Fett departs, he tells his captive that Jabba the Hutt, Gee’s relative, has ordered his execution for refusing to participate in the Hutt crime family. Jay convinces the rest of the band, Lan, and K-344, to go to Tatooine and rescue their band leader.
Gee is shocked to find his band waiting for him in the familiar pod-racing arena from The Phantom Menace, having convinced Jabba to play one more song together before Gee’s execution. This point is where my summary comes up somewhat short, as I am not very experienced in musical anime, but the two songs made for the episode are well-written and fit nicely within the setting this episode presents to its audience. The band’s final performance receives a standing ovation which motivates Jay to plea with Jabba over the mic (which he made out of his broken lightsaber) for him to become the band’s first sponsor, to which Jabba accepts. The band plays out the crowd, and the episode closes on Boba Fett bobbing his head along to their final song (I wish there were a bobbing/Boba pun there, but the pronunciation doesn’t work, unfortunately).
Immediately following the strongest episode, the reception for this episode was the weakest out of the first season. Viewers were surprised at the series’s more traditionally “anime” oriented episode. Many viewers praised the animation style and voice cast, the English version of which included Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Jay and Temuera Morrison returning as Boba Fett.
The Twins
Keen-eyed viewers will notice some familiar animation design touches with this episode. Studio Trigger had been responsible for hard-hitting action series like Kill la Kill and indie productions like Little Witch Academia, but viewers will most likely recognize visual and mechanical parallels to the former rather than the latter. The convention of a battle suit endowing one with greater than average qualities (Goku Uniforms, for Kill la Kill watchers) is one such parallel. This one might bother the few among the Star Wars fanbase concerned with scientific accuracy, which is kind of silly in a galaxy full of muppets and space wizards (especially for an episode where the final battle is in the vacuum of space without helmets), so for this one, it’s best not to think about it too much.
Major Characters:
- Karre
- Am
- B20N
- R-DUO
The story is focused on twins (go figure), Karre and Am, created by the First Order through Sith Alchemy to become pure instruments of the Dark Side (both even sport Darth Vader-esque exoskeletons). After the Battle of Exegol in The Rise of Skywalker, the Twins’ remnant force unveils their pet project: two Star Destroyers connected by a massive Death Star-style superlaser. They plan to destroy the New Republic with their new weapon, but Karre has a change of heart and steals the massive kyber crystal needed to power the laser. He experiences a vision of his sister’s death and finds himself wishing for his sister to have a life outside the oppressive remnant. Am confronts Karre and engages in the most insane lightsaber fight I’ve ever seen.
Karre’s new design, once he is blasted out of the Star Destroyer by his sister, reflects his shift to the light side, sporting clothing fit for the likes of Luke Skywalker or Han Solo. They struggle through the Force for the kyber crystal and end up splitting it, Am uses her half to power her exoskeleton. In contrast, Karre uses his half to power his lightsaber. The duel is as crazy and hard-hitting as the biggest fights from Kill la Kill, as Karre pleads with Am to live for herself instead of for the Dark Side. Karre exits the duel using his X-Wing and heavily-augmented lightsaber to cut through Am’s crystal and the superlaser as he jumps into hyperspace. Having crash-landed on Tatooine, Karre vows to himself and his astromech that he would rescue his sister from the Dark Side, and the episode closes on the Twin Suns (classic Star Wars).
The reception for this episode was warmer than the second and opened my eyes to some of the creative liberties taken that weren’t immediately apparent on first viewing. For one, several Legends-era theories were utilized in the worldbuilding: the first being the lightsabers are an extension of one’s force ability beyond the color, the second being that some Star Destroyers are so impossibly large, that they have their gravitational pull and can retain some atmosphere in its immediate vicinity, which is one explanation for Karre and Am’s space battle. The visuals and bombastic action were highly praised but the only aspect of the episode criticized in the reviews was the writing, which some viewers saw as over-expository.
The Village Bride
Remember earlier when I said an episode wasn’t my favorite? Well, this episode produced by Kinema Citrus (Code: Breaker, Made in Abyss) wasn’t just my favorite Star Wars: Visions episode, but it might be one of my favorite pieces of Star Wars media. Part of what makes the franchise great for me is whenever the story slows down and gets quiet, personal, and more nature-focused. For example, Yoda’s moment where he explains the Force to Luke and why he is unfit to be trained as a Jedi creates a particular feeling of serenity accompanied by deep character moments. Those moments of serenity combined with character development and the inherent natural quality the Force can bring make The Village Bride such an interesting watch.
Major Characters:
(not many are named besides a few of the villagers)
- F, Jedi Survivor
- Valco
- Haru (The Village Bride)
- Asu
- Saku
- Izuma (Bandit Leader)
This episode puts us in the early years of the Empire, with the Great Jedi Purge still fresh in the mind of our main character. She is a masked Jedi survivor named F, brought to the remote and lush home planet of her former master by her friend Valco. As she finds Valco studying the woods, they both spot a young man carrying a young woman up the mountain. The man is named Asu and the woman he carries is named Haru, the titular village bride. F and Valco follow them to a shrine on the mountaintop and witness their marriage ceremony-stating vows to affirm their kinship with all of nature. They touch the shrine and invoke a power called “Magina” and the shrine emits a striking blue light that spreads out across the mountain ridge, F’s reaction tells us that the newly-weds are Force-sensitives, as the cloud-covered valley is replaced the memories of the newly-weds, preserved by the power (Magina) within the planet and nature. The memory soon collapses as the ceremony ends. Valco explains that the Separatist forces stripped the planet of its resources, leaving the planet scarred and the village with a permanent reminder of what was taken from them.
The wedding celebration is now underway, albeit with a somewhat reserved and bittersweet tone. Valco and a local drunk villager discuss the reason for this sense of dread: a group of bandits have repurposed Separatist battle droids and demanded the village chief as a hostage, but Haru and Asu have stepped up to take his place the morning after their celebration. Haru’s sister Saku then jumps from her seat and tries to rouse the crowd to resist the bandits, but Haru dissuades further violence. Saku storms off with a few of the other villagers and Valco remarks on how she reminds him of F, who knows he is only saying that so that she will step in.
Later that evening, F is levitating a stone in the forest when she is approached by Haru asking if she can feel the Magina as well, and F responds with a classic “I have a bad feeling about this”. However, both Haru and Asu affirm that the rest of the village will be safe and that they will be forever connected through nature. As we head towards the final battle, it is important to note the internal struggle F has been dealing with. As a survivor of the Jedi Purge, she struggles with memories of slaughter and the fear of being discovered. As she looks over the scarred waste, she cuts off her Padawan braid and drops her mask on the cliffside.
The morning arrives as the newlyweds meet the bandits, their droids, and their leader to honor the agreement. However, the bandits announce that they had caught Saku attempting to fight back and decided to publicly execute her before taking the couple hostage. Just as the leader is about to fire his blaster, the screen cuts and opens back on F holding back the blaster bolt with the Force. After rescuing the villagers, she uncovers her hood, revealing her face before engaging the bandits, with long-range support from her friend Valco. The droids attempt to dispatch Valco when he runs out of ammo. Still, their efforts are thwarted when Valco lobs his bucket helmet down into the village. It rockets into the bandits’ control ship, deactivating the droids and scattering the bandits.
The bandit leader then grabs Haru and holds his blaster to her head, fearfully asking F what sort of monster she is. F affirms that she is a Jedi as she pulls out her lightsaber (a very distinct yellow one, at that), and dashes forward, delivering the final blow. The final scene is a montage of F wishing Valco and the villagers goodbye before her Jedi Starfighter jumps into hyperspace. The episode ends on the field of stars left in her wake.
Reception to this episode emphasized how it excels as a greater whole, with several reviewers commenting on the feeling this episode gave them. Every aspect of the story received praise, including the stirring music by Kevin Penkin, many reviewers commented on how they would love to see this story elaborated on in subsequent seasons or its spin-off. Several also commented on how this episode appealed to them despite not having much interest in anime.
The Ninth Jedi
Most readers who enjoy animation will have seen or know of Ghost in the Shell and The End of Evangelion. Those two notes on Production I.G.’s resume speak for themselves in my opinion but all in all, this episode is a very solid piece of animation greatness, and I would put this in my top three from the first season.
Major Characters:
- Lah Kara
- Lah Zhima
- Margrave Juro
(names of the Force-sensitives at Juro’s station)
- Ethan
- Roden
- Niizo
- Homen
- Hen Jin
- Hanbei
- Toguro
This story brings us to a point when the Jedi Order has been extinct for several generations when a ruler known as Margrave Juro invites several Jedi to his orbital station to give them lightsabers and reform the Jedi. Another touch for the setting: the design for lightsabers has been lost to time, but Margrave Juro lives above Hy Izlan, where a saber smith named Lah Zhima has completed the construction of the nine lightsabers.
Lah Zhima also has a force-sensitive daughter Kara, one of our narrative focal points for this episode, and is gifted one of the lightsabers. The logic for lightsaber colors this episode is a bit more fluid: they change based on the person holding the saber. For example, the lightsaber is clear if it is held by someone untested in the ways of the Force, but changes into one of the staple lightsaber colors when it is in the hands of confident Jedi or Sith. Just as she receives her lightsaber, their home is attacked by hunters hired by the Sith, and Lah Zhima orders Kara to escape and bring the lightsabers to the station. She quickly escapes and finds a safe passage up to the station.
Back up in orbit, the seven Force-wielders, including a Jedi named Ethan (the most un-Star Wars name possible) have been waiting in the central atrium for some time, along with the Margrave’s large and imposing servant droid who has already given one of the lightsabers to (ugh) Ethan. Kara delivers the lightsabers to the other six Force-wielders, who upon activating bold red blades reveal themselves as Sith who came to kill the Margrave and any other surviving Jedi upon activating bold red blades. As the Sith close around Ethan and Kara, Margrave Juro’s droid opens and Juro jumps out to their defense, dispatching several Sith very quickly. During the battle, Kara’s lightsaber changes from translucent to green, and even one of the Sith Homen’s lightsabers turns red to purple.
The Margrave reveals that Homen was a Jedi spy among the Sith who fell victim to their darkness and that several other Sith also heard the signal and captured Jedi. They have been taken to the same planet where Kara’s father was taken, though the Margrave can still sense them and others out in the galaxy, wandering. He then encourages Kara to join and help rebuild the new Jedi Order as the “Ninth Jedi”, to restore peace and order. A ship jumps out of hyperspace and our heroes board it, and we end the episode zooming outward from the station, a bright blue beam shooting out from it, giving it the iconic appearance of an activated lightsaber.
This episode is the longest of the season, running at 22 minutes, and had one of the highest reviews of the season. Many reviewers commented on how this story could populate a spin-off of its own. Much praise went to the lightsaber battles, the stirring story, and the twist towards the end. In the end, the highest praise a work of visual media can get is that people want more of it.
T0-B1
One of the most interesting and unexplored facets of the Star Wars universe is the more personal impact the Great Jedi Purge had. In this reviewer’s opinion, Star Wars is not built for high-concept ideas or complex emotions (a la Star Trek) but for the kind of loss associated with the Jedi Purge and the hope for a better future (The Rebellion) that came out of it, Star Wars is perfect for that kind of simple (if sorrowful and bittersweet) emotional journey. T0-B1 is a perfect mix of the bittersweet tone in The Village Bride and the optimism and hope in many of the mainline movies and Tatooine Rhapsody.
Major Characters:
- T0-B1
- Professor Mitaka
- The Inquisitor
Any Devilman Crybaby or Space Dandy fans will recognize this episode’s cozy and simple animation style by Science SARU. The story centers around Tobi (T0-B1), a droid living on a deserted planet with Professor Mitaka, his armless creator, and the scientist planning terraforming the barren planet. Tobi dreams of becoming a Jedi Knight in a time when they are either dead or hunted. Still, Mitaka encourages him anyway, telling him that he must find a kyber crystal and make a lightsaber to become a Jedi. However, he orders him not to look for materials in his basement. After searching all over the planet, Tobi goes down to his basement, finding a starship with a comms beacon he activates that alerts a Sith Inquisitor in the far reaches of space. Mitaka brings him out of the basement and confesses that he is a former Jedi, before hiding Tobi in a smuggler’s hole with his old lightsaber.
Tobi emerges to find his creator’s lab ransacked and that his creator was killed. Tobi vows to continue his terraforming project and succeeds in doing so, right before the Inquisitor returns. During the battle, Tobi realizes that Mitaka used Jedi’s skills to build him so that he could wield the Force, and be powered by a kyber crystal. Tobi powers on his lightsaber and kills the Inquisitor in the ensuing battle. The episode closes with Tobi and other droids piling into the starship, endeavoring to explore the galaxy, and carrying on Mitaka’s work.
This episode’s reception saw much praise for the unique tribute to programs such as Astro Boy. All in all, the unique art style and how “delightful” the viewers felt watching it received high marks in reviews. Except for a few Grinchy fans, reviewers understand that this episode, like Tatooine Rhapsody, is meant for children but goes above and beyond as a children’s story.
The Elder
Another of my favorite aspects of the Star Wars universe is that palpable dread felt at all times during events immediately leading up to the Empire’s rise to power. Good examples are the final battle of Mandalore and Darth Maul’s monologue in The Clone Wars Season 7, knowing that certain people or events are heralding the arrival of an oppressive force ruled by a being of insane and otherworldly power scratches in itch for Greek-style tragedy that I never knew I had. The kind of tragedy where you know what will happen and all events to stop it are futile, but you are invested in the story nonetheless because of that amazing narrative drive. The Elder sets us firmly in a time where the Dark Side is beginning to creep back into the galaxy after centuries of relative peace.
Major Characters:
- Dan G’Vash
- Tajin Crosser
- The Elder
This episode (also animated by Studio Trigger) takes place some years before The Phantom Menace and centuries after the dissolution of the larger Sith Order at the hands of Darth Bane. Jedi Master Tajin Crosser takes his apprentice Dan G’Vash to patrol the Outer Rim for his Jedi training. On their way, Tajin senses a disturbance in the Force, but when Dan suggests it may be a Sith, Tajin brushes it off. After landing on an isolated planet, the pair learn of a strange old man who summitted the mountain some days ago. Tajin suggests that this elder may already be aware of their presence and is hiding his own, therefore they should wait until it is safer to approach. Dan suggests scouting the mountain path as Tajin realizes his ambitious Padawan’s motive, but allows him to go up the mountain while he investigates the Elder’s ship.
Dan finds a massive creature’s corpse, apparently cut down by a lightsaber, while Tajin finds a ship reminiscent of Sith ships from the Jedi archives. Just as the comm link cuts out, Dan turns and faces the Elder. The old man explains that he is a former Sith who quit the order when they fell into infighting. After trading a few blows from his dual red lightsabers with Dan, he surmises that he is not the powerful Force-wielder he was searching for. The Elder quickly wounds Dan to draw Tajin out, and they engage in battle. The Jedi master manages to outmaneuver the Elder and destroy one of his lightsabers before the Elder starts using force lightning on him. Tajin narrowly dispatches the Elder, but his ship is destroyed and his body disintegrates before he can learn anything more about him.
After Dan recovers, Tajin remarks how he must have been a Sith from everything the Elder said. He also states that it was time, old age, and decay, that defeated the Elder, rather than him alone. Tajin imparts this wisdom to Dan, knowing that power is as impermanent as everything in life, but it is still important to use power to protect the powerless. To be a true Jedi, he must hold on to his kindness and loyalty or face the same fate as the Elder. The episode closes as Tajin looks forebodingly at the night sky, awaiting the next threat from the encroaching dark.
The reception to this episode was warm again, with even more demands for the story to continue in later seasons. Some reviewers commented on the fight scenes missing some of the flashy notes of previous episodes, but many recognized that this episode was not about the flashy fight scenes. The unusual Sith lord was one positive focal point of reviewers’ notes. That brought another note of complexity to the Jedi/Sith dynamic and elaborated on what it takes to be a successful Jedi and a lowly Sith.
Lop and Ochō
I didn’t catch this episode until my third go-around of this season, but upon viewing it, it became my second favorite out of the nine episodes. Star Wars conflicts are at their best when the stakes are more personal when someone’s good or bad decisions ripple through the lives of their loved ones. Lop and Ochō has a rich and interesting conflict, animated beautifully by Geno Studio (not a lot of notable works beyond Genocide Organ) and a unique flair to both the setting and the tone of the entire episode.
Major Characters:
- Lop
- Ochō
- Yasaburo
The episode opens during the early years of Imperial occupation on the lush planet Tau. An alien (an anthropomorphic rabbit-person) escapes her Imperial enslavers and is discovered by a leader of the planet’s head clan named Yasaburo, along with his daughter Ochō. She convinces her father to adopt Lop and live together as a family. A holographic picture is taken by a droid called TD, which the camera holds on to as the setting fast forwards seven years into the occupation. Lop is unconscious and (with the help of a Dragon Ball Z-style scouter device) sees bodies all around her in the Imperial refinery sector of the town.
She runs to find Ochō and Yasaburo in a heated argument over whether or not they should accept the Empire’s rule or fight back to preserve their world’s environment. As stormtroopers rush in, Lop and Ochō drive off and Lop implores her sister to try and see things from their father’s point of view, before being stopped by an Imperial checkpoint. An especially slimy-looking Imperial officer at the checkpoint reveals that Ochō cut a deal with the Empire to try and stop Yasaburo from following through on his attack plans. He offers her a place in their greater redevelopment initiative (hostile takeover of Tau).
Lop begs her to stick with their family, but her sister cuts off her family braid and dresses her wingtip makeup with blood before accepting the deal. Lop, bereft, runs off to the clan household in the mountainside and implores her father to help get her sister back. Yasaburo apologizes for not recognizing their true familial connection in the past and reveals their clan’s legacy: a lightsaber handed down through generations, given to them by a Jedi who taught the clan the ways of the force and saber combat to protect Tau and its people. Yasaburo gives the family sword to Lop, revealing her force-sensitive status, and declares her the clan’s heir before confronting the Empire.
An explosion knocks out the power in the city, prompting Lop to rush to her father’s side and engage her sister in battle after her father is incapacitated. Ocho affirms that Lop is no sister of hers and that she is the rightful heir and presses her attack. Lop’s droid friend is shattered by Ochō, spurring Lop to strike the finishing blow against her sister, knocking her back and allowing her to escape in a dropship. The episode closes with Lop’s internal monologue, affirming to herself that they will all be together again.
The reception to this episode was very warm, with many commenting on how the story speaks to the best themes of the Star Wars franchise: redemption, family, and love among them. This was yet another episode that sees viewers clamoring for more. The Japanese influences on the art design of this episode are among its’ highest praised facets, with many reviewers commenting on how this style of worldbuilding in a presumably diverse galaxy has only enriched Star Wars further.
Akakiri
Our final episode, also animated by Science SARU, brings us back to a time just before the dissolution of the Sith. This episode presents a truly “tragic” series of events, in the form of our main Jedi hero named Tsubaki, experiencing visions of a masked individual dying in front of him so we, as the viewer, know how this story may unfold. The tone of this episode feels tragic and out of control, at a certain point, you as the viewer feel as though this story is going to a dark place and there is no turning back.
Major Characters:
- Tsubaki
- Misa
- Kamahachi
- Senshuu
- Masago
The Jedi Tsubaki is saved from certain death by his former flame Misa, a princess-in-exile who was overthrown by her aunt Masago, a being powerful in the Dark Side. Her two sarcastic guides, Senshuu and Kamahachi, escort the former lovers to the royal palace but are captured by Masago’s forces along the way. Masago finally corners Tsubaki and tries to tempt him over to the Dark Side and serve as her apprentice, which Tsubaki refuses. Masago then sends her masked henchman to attack, even though Tsubaki cuts through them all, he accidentally kills Misa, who was posing as a henchman and was now dying exactly as his vision predicted. His resolve is utterly shattered, Tsubaki joins Masago and forms a Force dyad (strong Force connection, think Rey and Kylo Ren) to heal and resurrect Misa before leaving to pursue further conquests.
The reception for this episode was somewhat lukewarm if I were to pin it down. Many reviewers commented on how the tragic path of Tsubaki mirrored and even improved on Anakins’ similar path in the prequels. Some reviewers commented that while the larger story leaves something to be desired, the ending was very satisfying and elevates the rest of the episode.
Star Wars: Visions Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Is Visions Canon?
Answer: No. While some episodes fit neatly within the Skywalker Saga timeline, the series has been officially ruled as an Elseworlds/What-If style anthology. While that may disappoint some fans, I find it refreshing to know that these stories can exist and age without the weight of the rest of the Star Wars franchise bogging down these narratives.
Question: Are there any mainline characters in the show?
Answer: Yes. While the series is non-canon, stapes of the universe such as Battle-Droids and Stormtroopers make an appearance. Not only that, but Boba Fett, Jabba the Hutt, and Bib Fortuna make an appearance, albeit all in Tatooine Rhapsody.
Question: Are the episodes connected in any way?
Answer: Unclear. While the series exists outside of the Star Wars universe, the series and its creators make no mention of the episodes being separate from one another, labeling them as an anthology. I would not be opposed to these stories existing within a similar but separate galaxy, far, far away.
Overall, I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a refreshing Star Wars experience. The success of this series has led to a second season greenlit, this time with a more international scope. Episodes in that season will come from animation studios all over the world. All nine episodes are currently available to stream on Disney+, and if you’re a weirdo like me, all the beautiful music for all nine episodes is available on Spotify and Apple Music for streaming.
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