Star Wars: Visions first landed on Disney Plus in the fall of 2021. It is an anime-styled anthology series with Lucasfilm commissioning Japanese animation studios to architect their own “short films”. Each chapter is self-contained and almost exclusively consists of new characters not previously depicted in Star Wars canon.
For the first two seasons, all 18 chronicles had no attachment to each other, or any Star Wars content. Now in its third run, Visions has decided to revisit some of the most beloved stories from the past. Three particular episodes bring back protagonists from Volume 1, with one particular short expanding into a larger narrative.
The opening chapter of Season 3 is a direct follow-up the very first segment of Star Wars: Visions ever presented, “The Duel”. The first “Duel” was a black and white, Akira Kurasawa inspired rendering, recalling the master auteur’s samurai classics like Seven Samurai and Yojimbo, where villagers are attacked and are in need of protection. Of course, George Lucas has been very vocal about Kurasawa’s influence on his Star Wars creation, back in the 1970’s.
The original “Duel" splashes stark radiant reds across the gray animated design, especially during the titular showdown between two Sith fighters. One leads the bandits who pillage and the other is a ronin, likely a former Sith. The ronin's saber pierces the villain and he saves the town.
“The Duel: Payback” continues the exploits of the ronin force-wielder. This time he faces off against a former Jedi from his past who has gone mad with revenge and whose body parts have been mostly replaced after a previous encounter with the protagonist. The ronin even teams up with a Sith he was in the process of hunting in order to defeat the powerful foe.
Following “The Song of Four Wings”, a one-off chapter with a more contemporary flair, given its dazzling color palette and tech-based soundtrack, the tertiary tale is yet another sequel. “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope”, aptly succeeds “The Ninth Jedi” segment from Volume 1. The original charts Juro’s plan to reignite a Jedi Order by gifting lightsabers to seven Jedi. Zhima crafts the weapons, but is seized by adversaries while his force-sensitive daughter, Kara, escapes to deliver the sabers. Most of the recruits turn out to be Sith imposters aiming to wipe out the Jedi Order.
Even after Juro, Kara, and a few other Jedi defeat the Sith, “The Ninth Jedi” is left open since Zhima remains captured under Sith rule. Four heroes set off on a mission that is then picked up in “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope”. Kara is separated from her team and she tries to help a droid reconnect with his master. Instead of a direct narrative path, the plot takes a detour, leaving Kara to explore a more personal journey, but eventually the same Jedi hunters that took her father come for Kara.
The ending of “Child of Hope” serves as confirmation that more Star Wars anime will be coming in the near future. Either Visions will be renewed for another round of shorts or “The Ninth Jedi” will spinoff into its own series. Kara reunites with her team and she vows to find her father, with a final title card reading “to be continued…”. If Star Wars: Visions is picked up for a fourth cycle, a third act of “The Ninth Jedi” is likely to be included.
After “Child of Hope” viewers are treated to some tense interactions in “The Bounty Hunters” and emotional moments in “Yuko’s Treasure”. Then fans encounter other familiar faces in the sixth episode. “The Lost Ones” has a connection to “The Village Bride” from Visions’ rookie year.
That story began with visitors on a planet with an abundance of nature, crossing paths with newlyweds whose village is under attack. The bride agrees to go with the marauders in exchange for her people’s safety. When the deal falls apart and innocents are threatened, the visitors are revealed to be heroes; one is a Jedi, named F.
F is back in “The Lost Ones”, now in a different location. This time she is saving other villagers from natural disaster – echoing the themes of nature from “The Village Bride”. More of her Padawan backstory is unveiled and she rousingly comes face to face with her former master. The remaining shorts in Volume 3 stand on their own, yet are no less stimulating. The more experimental finale, “BLACK”, is a unique highlight due to its visual creativity and singular style.