Star Wars: Visions is the first foray the Star Wars franchise has taken into the world of anime.
When Disney Plus first launched in November of 2019, it offered the entertainment titan an opportunity to do things it had never done in the past. With the significant increase in franchise properties it had acquired in the previous decade, it could now make a vast array of content that would appeal to a much wider audience.
When Disney bought the Star Wars franchise, it acquired an absolute bankable property. It did, however, come with a fan base that has very strong opinions about what Star Wars should be and what it should look like.
While the new batch of Star Wars movies have been polarizing amongst fans, the shows that have debuted on Disney Plus have been mostly well received. This streak would be put to the test with the new Disney Plus show Star Wars: Visions.
This is the first time Disney has explored the world of anime. We knew it was going to be a different experience, but how successful was Disney going to be in combining the world of Star Wars with a very distinct medium such as anime?
Disney was smart in bringing seven of the most successful anime studios from Japan onto the project. They wanted this to be done right, and they absolutely succeeded.
Star Wars: Visions is an anthology series of nine 13-22 minute episodes. They each tell their own unique story, so each one is vastly different than the other. And since all of the stories are different, each one is going to be enjoyed on different levels. So here is a ranking of all nine episodes of Star Wars: Visions
There will be SPOILERS so proceed with caution if you have yet to watch Star Wars: Visions.
9: Akakiri
Akakiri simply didn’t land for me. It didn’t feel like a Star Wars story, and the ending I just could not connect with. This is the only episode of the show where I didn’t like the animation style, but there were some redeeming qualities. The lengths people will go to so they can protect their loved ones is always a good story.
Perhaps the biggest issue with this one is where it fell in the order of the episodes. This is the only one that doesn’t end on a hopeful note, and it is the last episode in the series. It just left a bad taste in my mouth.
8: TO-B1
TO-B1 really isn’t bad, but connecting to this one was difficult simply because it was the most anime of the bunch in my opinion. This one leaned far more on tropes from the anime genre than it did anything from Star Wars.
The story got better as it was fleshed out, and the idea of an android Jedi is certainly intriguing. But in general, I could have done without this one.
7: Tatooine Rhapsody
Almost every episode of Star Wars: Visions is excellent in every way, but if we are ranking the episodes, just because this one isn’t at the top, it doesn’t mean it’s bad.
It’s a funny, quirky story of an intergalactic band whose guitar player has a bounty placed on him by Jabba the Hut. We get some familiar faces in this one with Bobba Fett being the bounty hunter Jabba has employed to bring said guitar player in.
Bandmates being bandmates, they don’t want to see their guy get executed by Jabba, so they appeal to Jabba to allow them to play one last song. Jabba agrees, and the band successfully wins over the Tatooine crime lord to let their bandmate go so they can go about becoming the greatest band in the galaxy.
It’s the only episode that gives us familiar characters, but it’s also one of the least Star Wars stories of the bunch. Depending on how important that aspect of these stories is to you, this episode might be further up your rankings.
6: The Twins
Another really “anime” episode, and it plays out like you might expect with a lot of anime type tropes. The Twins might be the most bonkers story Star Wars: Visions tells in this short season. It basically goes the opposite of Luke and Leia as it tells the story of twins, Karre and Am, born of the dark side of the Force.
A conflict between the two erupts quickly because Karre, the male twin, steals a powerful kyber crystal off of the star destroyer the two are located on. Am goes about trying to get it back, and an epic battle ensues.
But the battle takes place in space, outside any type of transport. It basically ignores all the laws of physics to bring this battle between the two to the screen, and offers one of the most epic lightsaber battles seen in a Star Wars property.
5: The Village Bride
The Village Bride might be the best combination of the two competing types of stories being told. This episode of Star Wars: Visions blends both Star Wars and anime themes together as well as any of the episodes.
There are two competing storylines in The Village Bride. One involves the marriage of a couple who might be celebrating the last happy memory they make due to the bride being given over to a separatist leader to ensure peace for the village. The other is a female Jedi taking refuge on this planet.
As the Jedi sees the events unfold, there’s little doubt she’ll step in and save the day. But watching her do so is visually stunning throughout the episode.
4: The Elder
Honestly, I could have thrown the last four in a hat and just picked any order. They are all so very good, and are by far, the best of the series.
While some of these episodes were far more “anime” than many others, The Elder was much more “Star Wars” than any of the others. It’s got so many of the standard Star Wars tropes many fans have come to love.
It’s a classic Jedi mater versus Sith duel with a padawan who is a little too anxious to get into a fight thrown in for good measure. It’s as good of a Star Wars story you’ll find told in such a brief format.
3: The Duel
The Duel is a samurai story disguised as a Star Wars story. It’s even in black and white (for the most part) to pay homage to the classic samurai movies from a time since past.
This episode involves what appears to be an imperial set of troops invading a small town on a remote planet being led by some sort of female Sith. What we presume to be a Jedi comes to the town’s rescue, but we quickly learn in the duel between the Sith and this mysterious hero that he is no Jedi. We get something in The Duel we almost never get in a Star Wars story, a lightsaber battle with blades of the same color, in this case red.
The mysterious hero referred simply to as Ronin saves the day and reveals the collection of kyber crystals he has accumulated. We don’t know if they are just from Sith or both Sith and Jedi (most likely all Sith because all of the kyber crystals are red), but it makes for an interesting conclusion to the episode.
2: The Ninth Jedi
I thoroughly enjoyed The Ninth Jedi. It does something that most of these episodes do and that’s provide a unique spin on some of the things we’ve come to know about the world of Star Wars.
In this episode, Jedi no longer have lightsabers, as the supply of kyber crystals has been reduced to next to nothing. As a result, Jedi no longer are able to craft their own lightsabers. This leads to the first sabersmith (at least the first that I’m aware of) of the Star Wars Universe.
The most interesting take on lightsabers in this episode is that the sabersmith develops these lightsabers with the ability to reflect the person who wields them. It makes for one of the coolest reveals at the end of the episode, when all of the lightsabers turn red when turned on at the temple by supposed Jedi. They are obviously revealed to be Sith by the color of the lightsabers, and an epic battle ensues.
1: Lop and Ocho
I won’t lie, I’m sure I have this episode of Star Wars: Visions much higher than most. There’s something about a story dealing with family and what it really means to be a family that gets to me every time.
What’s great about this episode is watching how in such a short time, the patriarch of the family, who was hesitant to allow Lop, a member of an alien species, into their family, but the daughter Ocho, was excited to add her.
So for them to change roles in the end, and for Lop to receive the treasured family lightsaber from the father after Ocho turned her loyalty to the Empire was truly inspirational, and just a little bit heartbreaking. You could see the pain and anguish this was causing the father, and the story was told beautifully throughout the episode.
What were your thoughts on Star Wars: Visions? Which episodes did you like the most? Let us know in the comments section below.