The Star Wars franchise has been through a lot over the last 7 years and most of it wasn't good. Four out of five of the last movies were a farce, a faint shadow of how good it used to be. You can have great effects but it cannot save a crappy story. By the time Rise of Skywalker came out I was just relieved that I didn't have to think about them for a while. When The Mandalorian happened I saw hope. There are still a lot of stories to be told in the universe. I recently sat down to watch Star Wars Visions, an Anthology piece adapted from a book series. It's done with several different Anime studios telling their own unique stories from a galaxy far far away.
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I won't be breaking down every single story. It's something you will have to see for yourself but there are a few stories that stand in the forefront that need to be mentioned by name.
- The first episode, if you go in order of the program, The Duel is a great start. If you are a fan of The Mandalorian this 11-minute piece is right up your alley. It has very little dialogue and most of it sounds like it could have come out of a Sergio Leone film with Clint Eastwood. Colors are used sparingly. Giving it a Sin City vibe that works so well. When the action starts it doesn't stop till it's over.
- The Twins is an insane overtop battle that takes the science we know in Stars Wars and throws it to the wind. This wild battle of the ages is brought to you by the same studio behind Kill la Kill. It's a great spectacle to behold.
Tatooine Rhapsody is an awesome idea for a kid-friendly Star Wars adventure. A BAnd of misfits led a padawan that survived order 66 put together a band. It has action, good music and they made Boba Fett adorable. What's not to love?
Lop and Ocho is a story that's worth expanding on. You have a rabbit female character that has a cool design in a world that looks familiar and foreign at the same time. But still in the Star Wars universe. There is also a story about family and the sacrifices people make to save the ones they love.
Listen to the podcast on our thoughts on Star Wars Vision here
The studios did a great job. Then again these are some of the top anime studios in the game right now. The Duel was done by Kamikaze Douga the weebs will recognize this as the studio behind JoJo's Bizarre adventure. The twins were done by studio trigger. They also did another piece in there called The Elder which would be my honorable mention. The voice acting is top-notch across the board. If you have a good ear you will be able to catch most of them. It has David Harbour, Simu Liu, Neil Patrick Harris, and Joseph Gordon Levit. We also have Masi Oka, Lorianne Toussaint, and Masako Nozawa. There are a great whos whos of the acting and voice acting world bringing these characters to life.
In the midst of all of this, I can't help but think
These two really did screw up Star Wars!! They took no planning or care with what they have. I saw more creativity in these shorts than in six hours of what they tried to show me. Sure we have a few new series coming out on Disney plus but for how long until they interfere and mess everything up. Maybe Visions can be that chance to see what the rest of the world can do with Star Wars cause apparently, she doesn't.
STAR WARS VISIONS final grade: A+ Press play and watch what the team thought about it
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