This has been a great time for Star Wars fans. New stuff coming up on Disney Plus! Let’s talk about some of the material from a Galaxy far, far away (or in Japan).
I am not a big anime or manga fan. Most of it is either too cutesy like a K-Pop girl interview or way too dark. But I watched all of Star Wars Visions and I really enjoyed most of it! One thing I noticed almost all of them had in common was similar scars (around the chest/face area) that looked like it was made by a lightsaber in the past! It’s probably just an aesthetic look but really showed these characters have been around!
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The Duel: By far the coolest looking short out of the whole bunch! I loved the Stormtroopers with their armor and droids that looked like they belong in Feudal Japan! The mercenary troops were a perfect blend of action figure cool and Japanese culture: A Trandoshan in samurai armor, a Dug in a probe droid, a droid with a Clone Wars-style machine gun, a Gran with a bayonet and the Tusken Raider in interesting thatched armor. I hope they’re explained more in the Ronin Plus lots of Star Wars references during the action. There was also the Afro Samurai-inspired Sith and the Ronin! Beyond cool!
Tatooine Rhapsody: A li’l Chibi Boba Fett voiced by Temerua Morrison himself and an Emo Hutt with sunglasses!
The Twins: Interesting animation design, but with the usual anime style of having action literally blowing up everywhere but without the space (no pun intended) to go. Lots of yelling. Plus, how did they breathe in space? Where did the Twins come from? Were they genetically engineered inside armor?
Village Bride: Unusual-looking masks and helmets.
Ninth Jedi: I recognized Hiro Nockamura (from Heroes) as “Ethan” immediately. I loved the idea of a Swordsmith (who I first thoguth was voiced by Mark from The Vow). The blades showing a Jedi or Sith was an interesting idea, thereby showing the good guys from the bad guys immediately, with our main character’s blade first being black.
T0-B1: Too damn cutsey for me, with characters stolen from Astroboy.
The Elder: I loved the old Sith as looking like a Japanese demon from mythology. His style of fighting involves being super-up-close with his opponent made for some uncomfortable moments (which was the whole idea). Plus it was voiced by Lo Pan from Big Trouble in Little China!!!
Lop and Ocho: When I first saw the giant rabbit, I wasn’t sold, but Geno Studios did a great job! They made no apologies for using old Marvel character Jaxxon as their inspiration. I loved the human sister in her Imperial uniform but using a sword. The father (according to the making-of special) was supposed to be Yakuza and is scarred. Family is what is important here.
Akakiri: Kinda tells the tale of the Prequel trilogy in a more fast-paced fashion. Our two weird guides/servants are human equivalent of our favorite droids, complete with a princess and a Keanu Reeves-looking Jedi who knows he’s on the way to the Dark Side but DOES NOTHING TO PREVENT IT. His downfall just happened awfully quickly.
For my final trick, let me take this back down to basics. Yes, the greatest sequence/idea ever put into a Star Wars Lego special. Yes, it’s SEXY SAXOPHONE GUY from The Lost Boys, However, Lucasfilm need to Star Wars-it up and turn Tim Capello into a shirtless Bith playing a KLOO HORN like its 1987 Santa Carla! It wasn’t a very long sequence, just long enough for vampire fans to get the several Lost Boys references. For reference, just check this out:
- Hardcover Book
- Candon, Emma Mieko (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 352 Pages - 10/12/2021 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)
