The third volume (season) of the Star Wars: Visions animated anthology is now out on Disney+. Since it’s the third season (and due to time constraints), I decided to write short three-sentence reviews for each of its nine episodes.
Reviews are arranged according to my personal watch order. I found that most of the episodes on Disney+ Hotstar were not in the right order and had their positions swapped with another episode. Japanese audio was not available for me at the time of publication, so I watched Volume 3 in English, unlike Volume 1.
“BLACK”
Director: Shinya Ohira
Animation production studio: David Production
In “BLACK,” the viewer is consumed by the delirious viewpoint of an Imperial. What follows is a raw and unfiltered experience that feels haunting, chaotic, surreal, mournful, beautiful, and as overwhelming as the force of the Death Star.
Watching this stunning animation showcase made me feel like an experimental, Star Wars-themed art gallery (with jazz composed by Sakura Fujiwara emitting from its speakers) had come to life and swept me up in a whirlwind of imagery that’s unendingly mesmerizing, even when I’m not sure how to interpret certain moments.
(Fun fact: Co-producer Jacob Ayres told Crunchyroll News that “none” of the animators on the short are in-house staff, but were “people that Ohira-san wanted us to approach” and “a lot of new and upcoming talent that he found online as well.” It’s an international lineup with legendary veterans [Ohira himself included], formidable presences, and talents as young as 19. Ohira talks about the making of the short in this Annecy video interview.)
“The Song of Four Wings”
Director: Hiroyasu Kobayashi
Animation production studio: Project Studio Q
It’s not a good sign when a lean, 14-minute short has me checking the time less than halfway in, but “The Song of Four Wings” thankfully finds its energy in the second half. In this animation with funky electronic music, a Rebel scout heads out to investigate the arrival of Imperial forces on an icy planet, discovering in the process an alien who is, like her, a last survivor. The setup is sluggish, but the second half provides enjoyably energetic action, plus a speeder that combines with the Rebel as flying armor, giving us mecha girl action in Star Wars.
“The Bounty Hunters”
Director: Junichi Yamamoto
Animation production studio: WIT STUDIO
“The Bounty Hunters” opens strongly, with a past segment that sees its wounded young bounty hunter protagonist witnessing a Jedi-inflicted massacre inside a burning mansion. The rest of the short, which involves the bounty hunter and her droid partner getting involved with a shady corporation, suffers from uninteresting predictability and a lack of flair or sheer production quality to prop up its shootouts. There’s some satisfaction in seeing the grumpy but gold-hearted bounty hunter give a slave owner his comeuppance, and the contrasting dual personalities of the droid character add some vitality, but there’s no bounty to be found here.
“The Duel: Payback”
Director: Takanobu Mizuno
Animation production studio: Kamikaze Douga
Volume 1’s “The Duel” wasn’t a short I remembered strongly, despite its black-and-white film aesthetic, Star-Wars-with-samurai-film-stylings concept, and bonkers umbrella lightsaber. “The Duel: Payback,” on the other hand, effortlessly dyed my mind with its ATAT-walkers-turned-gambling-hall, vengeance-consumed cyborg Jedi, and Ewoks. The first battle on the walkers is the most ambitious and exciting part of the short, but the rest of it is still satisfying.
“The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope”
Director: Naoyoshi Shiotani
Animation production studio: Production I.G
Though “The Ninth Jedi” from Volume 1 wasn’t visually polished, it still stood out with its intriguing premise and mystery, as well as its climactic lightsaber fest. “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope,” though more of a sidequest involving a friend-shaped droid than an ambitious sequel (I suppose that’s because of the upcoming Star Wars: Visions Presents limited series), manages to be an equally compelling watch that gives female protagonist Kara a bit of character growth.
Visually, however, it’s a bit of a mess — we have environments that wow with their scale and composition but horrify with their questionable textures, while the melee scuffle at the end suffers from clunky movement.
“The Smuggler”
Director: Masahiko Otsuka
Animation production studio: TRIGGER
In a kingdom subjugated by the Empire, a smuggler finds herself taking a request to transport two people away. While the premise is simple, there’s a sense of adventure, plus sturdy character design work and animation, that enamored me and gave me the desire to see a movie version. Its badass old lady, one of the main characters, is a standout.
“Yuko’s Treasure”
Director: Masaki Tachibana
Animation production studio: Kinema Citrus
A young kid’s life with his bear droid guardian is disturbed when pirates come knocking on their door, and he teams up with another kid to set things right. It’s a solid adventure with a found-family theme, but a cut with slightly exaggerated movement made me wish there was more zestiness in general. The bear droid sure is cute, though.
“The Song of Four Wings”
Director: Hiroyasu Kobayashi
Animation production studio: Project Studio Q
An impetuous Padawan is painfully humbled and has to learn to set herself on the right path. It’s a sound premise ruined by inelegant dialogue that’s much too painful to make this a worthwhile journey. The weakest of the shorts, though there are some attractive visuals.
“The Lost Ones”
Director: Hitoshi Haga
Animation production studio: Kinema Citrus
After aiding survivors of a planet dying from the effects of over-mining, the wandering Jedi F from “The Village Bride” finds herself facing the Empire and her past. Deftly balancing its focus between the regular people of Star Wars and F’s personal conflict, and boasting strong production values and an immersive Kevin Penkin soundtrack, the ingredients of “The Lost Ones” make it my second favorite of this volume’s shorts after “BLACK.” The backgrounds from Totonyan are one of the highlights, with the short featuring cold spaceship interiors, a dead yet still beautiful city, and an arresting field of roses that look slick yet painterly.
Overall thoughts
There are a number of shorts from previous Star Wars: Visions Volumes that I loved or enjoyed, but I still find myself looking at the anthologies as a whole with ambivalence, due to the presence of stories that lack lasting impact or shorts that suffer from low production quality. Volume 3 is no different, but it does distinguish itself through the presence of “BLACK.” Ohira’s Star Wars offering is the first Visions short that I consider to be an absolute must-watch, and the first that I’ve rewatched in its entirety. Even if every other short was a stinker, “BLACK” alone would make Volume 3 worth it.