STAR WARS: VISIONS Blew Me Away With Its Incredible, Unique Stories and Awesome Anime Styles

I just finished watching Star Wars: Visions on Disney+, and I’m just in awe of what I experienced. I was completely blown away by the Star Wars anime short films that made up the project! The stories presented in Visions were awesome and they were so much better than anything that Lucasfilm threw at us with the films in that sequel trilogy that they produced.

It’s amazing how well the creators of these shorts were able to tell such great stories in such a short period of time. I was more invested and interested in the characters that we were introduced to in Visions than any of the new characters that have been introduced in the films since Disney bought Lucasfilm. The creative teams that worked on these shorts know how to tell great stories and seeing them take their anime sensibilities and incorporate them into the Star Wars universe was so cool! These are some of the most unique Star Wars stories that have been told.

All of the shorts presented in Visions are so different from each other, but I loved all of them for what they were. Then there were the different art and animation styles that the stories were presented in. Each style and tone worked perfectly for the story that was being told. Visions is filled will some beautiful and fun animation work and some stuff is flat out visually stunning.

Star Wars: Visions is seriously one of the best things that Lucasfilm has produced, and all it took was for them to put the franchise into the hands of talented individuals who understand the Star Wars universe. Seriously, I would have loved to see feature-length versions of these shorts! But, I’m completely happy and satisfied with what we got.

In the project, Seven Japanese anime studios bring their unique talent and perspective to Star Wars: Visions, a collection of animated Original Short Films. As a first formal venture into anime, each Star Wars: Visions short bears a unique Japanese sensibility, which in many ways aligns with the tone and spirit of Star Wars storytelling. From the beginning, stories told in the Star Wars galaxy have counted Japanese mythology and the films of Akira Kurosawa among their many influences, and these new visions will further explore that cultural heritage through the unique animation style and perspective of each anime studio.

I will say that I think people who are fans of anime and watch a lot of it will appreciate Star Wars: Visions more than those who don’t.

Here are the details of each of the episodes:

The Duel - A wandering stranger with a mysterious past defends a village from powerful bandits.

Japanese Cast - Masaki Terasoma (Ronin), Akeno Watanabe (Bandit Leader), and Yūko Sanpei (VillageChief).

English Cast - Brian Tee (Ronin), Lucy Liu (Bandit Leader), and Jaden Waldman (Village Chief).

Tatooine Rhapsody - A band with big dreams must save one of their own from Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett.

Japanese Cast - Hiroyuki Yoshino (Jay), Kōusuke Gotō (Geezer), Akio Kaneda (Boba Fett), Masayo Fujita (K-344), and Anri Katsu (Lan).

English Cast - Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Jay), Bobby Moynihan (Geezer), Temuera Morrison (BobaFett), Shelby Young (K-344), and Marc Thompson (Lan).

The Twins - Twins born into the dark side clash aboard a massive Star Destroyer.

Japanese Cast - Junya Enoki (Karre), Ryoko Shiraishi (Am), and Tokuyoshi Kawashima (B-20N).

English Cast - Neil Patrick Harris (Karre), Alison Brie (Am), and Jonathan Lipow (B-20N).

The Village Bride - A Jedi on the run takes in the unique customs of a remote village under threat by a warlord.

Japanese Cast - Asami Seto (F), Megumi Han (Haru), Yūma Uchida (Asu), Takaya Kamikawa (Vaan), Yoshimitsu Shimoyama (Izuma), and Mariya Ise (Saku).

English Cast - Karen Fukuhara (F), Nichole Sakura (Haru), Christopher Sean (Asu), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Valco), Andrew Kishino (Izuma), and Stephanie Sheh (Saku).

The Ninth Jedi - The daughter of a lightsaber-smith is pursued by dark forces while on a dangerous mission.

Japanese Cast - Chinatsu Akasaki (Kara), Tetsuo Kanao (Juro), Shin-ichiro Miki (Zhima), Hiromu Mineta (Ethan), Kazuya Nakai (Roden), Akio Ōtsuka (Narrator), and Daisuke Hirakawa (Hen Jin).

English Cast - Kimiko Glenn (Kara), Andrew Kishino (Juro), Simu Liu (Zhima), Masi Oka (Ethan), Greg Chun (Roden), Neil Kaplan (Narrator), and Michael Sinterniklaas (Hen Jin).

T0-B1 - A cybernetic boy, who dreams of being a Jedi, discovers a dangerous truth about his creator.

Japanese Cast - Masako Nozawa (T0-B1) and Tsutomu Isobe (Mitaka).

English Cast - Jaden Waldman (T0-B1) and Kyle Chandler (Mitaka).

The Elder - A Jedi and his Padawan pursue a dark and powerful presence.

Japanese Cast - Takaya Hashi (Tajin), Kenichi Ogata (The Elder), and Yuichi Nakamura (Dan).

English Cast - David Harbour (Tajin), Jordan Fisher (Dan), and James Hong (The Elder).

Lop & Ocho - A family is torn about what to do when the Empire encroaches on their planet.

Japanese Cast - Seiran Kobayashi (Lop), Risa Shimizu (Ocho), Tadahisa Fujimura (Yasaburo), and Taisuke Nakano (Imperial Officer).

English Cast - Anna Cathcart (Lop), Hiromi Dames (Ocho), Paul Nakauchi (Yasaburo), and Kyle McCarley (Imperial Officer).

Akakiri - A Jedi returns to his forbidden love to help defend her kingdom from a Sith-like Shogun.

Japanese Cast - Yū Miyazaki (Tsubaki), Lynn (Misa), Chō (Senshuu), Wataru Takagi (Kamahachi), Yukari Nozawa (Masago).

English Cast - Henry Golding (Tsubaki), Jamie Chung (Misa), George Takei (Senshuu), Keone Young (Kamahachi), and Lorraine Toussaint (Masago).

The anime studios that worked on the shorts include Kamikaze Douga - The Duel, Geno Studio (Twin Engine) - Lop and Ochō, Studio Colorido (Twin Engine) - Tatooine Rhapsody, Trigger - The Twins & The Elder, Kinema Citrus - The Village Bride, Science Saru - Akakiri & T0-B1, and Production IG - The Ninth Jedi.

What did you think of Star Wars: Visions?!