Star Wars creator George Lucas never shied away from admitting his debt to the legendary Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. In the early ’70s, as Lucas began developing the first film, he watched Kurosawa’s 1958 Edo-era period drama The Hidden Fortress. It tells the story of a civil war through the eyes of two farmers, the lowest characters. Therefore star wars Told from the point of view of the two droids, the lowest characters. The Jedi, meanwhile, are essentially Lucas’s ronin — the masterless samurai — who were the centerpiece of many Kurosawa films. Except for the cooler, the lightsaber is their sword. It’s poetic enough that Star Wars: Visions — premiering Wednesday on Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar — features Lucas and his films in full.
new anthology anime series Star Wars: Vision Hands over the keys to the galaxy far, seven Japanese studios. Nearly all of the nine short films I’ve seen all involve Jedi and Sith in one way or another. This inevitably results in duets, which form the core of their third acts. The stories of the Jedi-Sith repeat for most of the Star Wars: Vision shorts are only 13–18 minutes in length, leaving little room to iterate before ending in a final showdown. One couple — one goes full Kurosawa with black and white, and the other is psychologically haunted — manage to set themselves apart, though it’s more because of their background score.
The latter features the tabla (an Indian association I had not expected and was pleased with), while the former features Western instruments such as the hand-drum tsuzumi, the temple drum nagado, the Buddhist cymbal myohachi, the short-necked lute. Mixed with biva and bamboo. Notching the flute.
it’s fresh and new for all star wars universe, which is exactly what Star Wars: Visions requires. That’s why the lone non-Jedi story works so well even – it’s even the only one to bring in existing Star Wars characters – though more for other reasons. It is unlike anything that has been served before in the galaxy, because it causes joy and is full of joy, close to being ted lasso Emotionally compared to Star Wars.
What sets them all apart is the Japanese dialogue, which I always preferred over the English dub, as it seemed fitting in more ways than one. I couldn’t always see it that way though Disney’s The preview site for critics did not offer English subtitles for every short. but the onlookers Disney+ And Disney+ Hotstar This won’t be a problem.
Star Wars: Visions, from Quota Factory, what to watch in September
The hottest of them all is Star Wars: Visions Episode 2 “Tatooine Rhapsody” (from Studio Colorido and director Taku Kimura). It follows lead vocalist Jay (voiced by Hiroyuki Yoshino/Joseph Gordon-Levitt), whose band Jabba the Hutt act Boba Fett (Akio Kaneda/Temuera Morrison) followed by bandmember Geyser (Kousuke Goto/Bobby Moynihan). To be taken apart. Described as a Star Wars rock opera, “Tatooine Rhapsody” lives up to its billing. This gives further credit to music being a universal language and its ability to win over galaxy-wide hearts. It also expands the Star Wars galaxy in a way the movies never could.
Star Wars: Visions episode 1 “The Duel” (from Kamikaze Douga and director Takanobu Mizuno) and episode 9 “Akakiri” (from Sci Saru and director Eunyoung Choi) are highlights of the stories of the Jedi. In the monochromatic “The Duel”, a ronin (Masaki Terasoma/Brian T) and a female Sith Dark Lord (Akeno Watanabe/Lucy Liu) collide in a village—their fight is animated at a low frame rate. “The Duel” is one of the Japanese musical instruments. “Akakiri” follows a Jedi (Yu Miyazaki/Henry Golding), obsessed with visions, who makes a deal with Satan to save someone close to him (Lin/Jamie Chung). It’s terrifying, haunting, and benefits from Yu-Zhan’s tabla score. Uzhaan has learned from two of India’s greatest players, Zakir Hussain and Anindo Chatterjee and it shows.
None of the other six Star Wars: Vision shorts are on pretty much the same level, though some shows look promising before fading. In episode 4 “A Village Bride” (from Kinema Citrus and director Hitoshi Haga), a wandering masked Jedi (Asami Seto/Karen Fukuhara) visits a village enslaved by separatists who rule them with an iron hand. . There are some lessons about living in harmony with nature, but not much explained. Masked Jedi’s powered boots are good enough though.
On episode 5 “The Ninth Jedi” (from production IG and writer-director Kenji Kamiyama), the daughter of a lightsaber smith (Chinatsu Akasaki/Kimiko Glenn) must come to the aid of Jedis alive in dark times to the galaxy, where lightsabers And the Jedi Order is long lost. But “The Ninth Jedi” feels rushed, and it’s doomed. shang chi Star Simu Liu in a minor role.
Star Wars: Visions Full English and Japanese Voice Cast Announced
Chinatsu Akasaki / Kimiko Glenn as Kara in Star Wars: Vision “The Ninth Jedi”
photo credit: Disney/Lucasfilm
Star Wars: Vision Episode 3 “The Twins” (triggered and produced by director Hiroyuki Imashi) attempts to put a spin on the Skywalker origin story: What if a pair of Force-sensitive twins were transported to the Dark Side? Like Luke and Leia, they also have versions of R2D2 (R-DUO) and C-3PO (B-2ON), one of which is brother Karre (Junya Enoki / Neil Patrick Harris) and sister M (Ryoko Shiraashi / Alison Brie). ) supports. ), respectively. And unlike the Skywalkers, they have their own Death Star: Two Star Destroyers joined with a Mega Cannon in the middle. There are some lightsaber action shots in “The Twins” that would not work in live action. it feels inspired too Star Wars: The Last Jedic Two key moments and how the R-DUO reacts to BB-8, though Am’s spider-y tentacle-like lightsaber weapon has its own flair.
Episode 8 “Lope and Ocho” (from Zeno Studios and director Yuki Igarashi) shows bunny-eared orphan Lope (Seiren Kobayashi/Anna Cathcart) with her rebellious patriarchal foster father Yasaburo (Tadahisa Fujimura/Paul Nakauchi) and her empire-sympathetic daughter. caught between Ocho (Rissa Shimizu / Hiromi Dames). “Lop and Ochu” feels incomplete and leaves us hanging. Plus, the shout-y English is at a disadvantage for this Star Wars: Vision chapter.
The remaining two Star Wars: Vision movies are modest efforts in my opinion. In episode 7 of “The Elder” (triggered and produced by writer-director Masahiko Otsuka), a Jedi (Takaya Hashi/David Harbour) and his Padawan (Yuichi Nakamura/Jordan Fischer) after a realization on a remote planet in the Outer Rim Descend. Huge disturbance in the force. Although it establishes Padawan as a careless and craved action, it doesn’t follow through on that, despite being an inch away from the text. “The Elder” ends as only some lightsaber duet and nothing more.
This episode 6, “T0-B1”, (from Sci Saru and director Abel Gongora) tells of a cybernetic boy (Masako Nozawa / Jaden Waldman) who dreams of being a Jedi. T0-B1 discovers a secret that his unarmed mastermind Mitaka (Tsutomu Isobe / Kyle Chandler) is hiding – and then he must prove himself in battle. The duel has glimpses of something different — thanks to the guy being cybernetic — but other than that, it’s pretty plain and straightforward. “T0-B1” also tries to touch on the ultimate role of a Jedi, but it is unable to scratch beneath the surface.
Kenichi Ogata / James Hong as The Elder in Star Wars: Vision “The Elder”
photo credit: Disney/Lucasfilm
And that’s exactly the problem with many Star Wars: Vision shorts. When they have ideas worth exploring, they are unable to ask questions or refuse. Star Wars: The Vision is great when it’s willing to take a risk.
but i’m glad Lucasfilm Vision came along because it made me yearn for a full anime series, or an anime feature film. And maybe that’s the big plan. Get several studios to make a short film as an audition to see what they bring to the floor and if any are able to deliver a full Star Wars anime. I hope something will come out of this and it will not end up as an experiment.
After all, what better way to expand your horizons than for Star Wars to return to its roots—and trust the next generation of filmmakers to see where it came from? This is the circle of life.
Star Wars: The Vision Has Arrived Wednesday, September 22 On Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar.
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