Star Wars: Visions is an anime anthology composed of seven animation studios telling nine stories that take place in an iconic text crawl far, far away. Set to air on Disney+, the episodes range between 10 and 20 minutes each.
Each episode is its own standalone story that exists within the Star Wars universe. You’re not gonna get anime Luke Skywalker, but rather, brand new characters who exist within the ongoing lore that makes up Star Wars.
The studios involved are as follows:
Kamikaze Douga – “The Duel”
Geno Studio (Twin Engine) – “Lop and Ochō”
Studio Colorido (Twin Engine) – “Tatooine Rhapsody”
Trigger – “The Twins”
Trigger – “The Elder”
Kinema Citrus – “The Village Bride”
Science Saru – “Akakiri”
Science Saru – “T0-B1”
Production IG – “The Ninth Jedi”
Some episodes feel like they tell a complete story, others have open endings (that make me want an entire series), and some feel like a team of animators decided to show off their skills via lightsabers and dramatic duels. Some episodes feel straight out of a Star Wars novel and others feel very anime, where loveable robot boys dream of becoming a Jedi and a cute humanoid rabbit can use The Force.
If you’ve ever wondered what it’d look like to have Stormtroopers invade a Japanese village just as a wandering samurai shows up to save the day, this is the anthology for you.
As someone who got introduced to anime and Star Wars at a young age (anime at age 10 and Star Wars at 13), these are both things I never imagined still being a prevalent force in media today. Seeing the two come together is a personal fangirl dream come true, especially when you take into account the Japanese influences within Star Wars.
It’s also the perfect anthology to show to someone who asks the question, “What anime should I watch if I haven’t watched anime before?”
This is a question that comes up a lot when those who are curious about anime wonder what they should watch. There is a lot of anime out there, so instead of giving someone a list of series to watch I try and ask what genres they’re into and go from there. Anime, like media itself, is made up of a variety of genres. Horror. Action. Romance. Sports. There’s something for everyone when it comes to anime.
This anthology perfectly embodies that.
Star Wars is such a large property and we’re well past the point of being able to tell different stories within it. Star Wars: Visions does exactly that while, frankly, showing off the type of work these studios can do, and have been doing for quite some time. Trigger’s episode, “The Twins,” for example, is a wild space battle with a lot of vivid visuals and over-the-top animation. If you’re familiar with the studio behind anime like Promare, you know exactly what you’re going to get. If you’re not? It’s a chance to see Star Wars portrayed in a bombastic way.
If you want something that has more of an old-school samurai tone, there’s Kamikaze Douga’s, “The Duel.” That robot boy I mentioned? That’s Science Saru’s, “T0-B1.” You want a rock band in space? Star Wars: Visions has an episode with that, too, thanks to Studio Colorido (Twin Engine)’s, “Tatooine Rhapsody.”
Hell, I could use an entire season of Production IG’s, “The Ninth Jedi.”
I feel like a lot of newcomers assume that anime is one thing, when really, it’s a storytelling vessel made up of an ongoing list of unique offerings. It’s not just Dragon Ball Z or Sailor Moon, but rather, Dragon Ball Z AND Sailor Moon and decades upon decades of content.
And now?
There’s Star Wars.
(image: Lucasfilm/Disney+)
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