My Thoughts and Rankings of Star Wars: Visions

Star Wars will always hold a special place in my heart. So when I saw the trailer that Disney released about a new anime series featuring some Star Wars-esque elements I thought to myself, "H*$l yeah! This doesn't look half bad!"

I don't consider myself a big anime stan (nor have I really seen a lot outside of My Hero Academia, Full Metal Alchemist, and Cowboy Bebop) and I wasn't sure how certain elements that are commonly used in those type of shows would mesh with the world that is Star Wars. To my surprise, I believe it worked quite well. There were seven different animation studios tasked with creating their own stand-alone episodes for the series.

Overall, I think this was an ingenious idea on Disney's part to combine the world of anime and Star Wars with one another. Granted there were episodes that were able to separate themselves from the pack. But for the most part I think this was a breath of fresh air that was sorely needed to shake things up.

Here is my official ranking of the nine episodes of Star Wars: Visions available on Disney+. I'd also like to add too that each of these are around 15-20 minutes long. So this is a very binge-able, one day sitting type of watch (which I'd encourage you to do).

9. Episode 2 -- Tatooine Rhapsody

This is by far the most light-hearted entry in the anthology series. A rag tag group of friends are in a band together and are trying to catch their big break. As they're finishing up one of their sets Boba Fett (voiced by the original actor Temuera Morrison) puts a stop to it and takes away a Hutt character to return to Jabba. The rest of the crew try to rescue him and book one of their biggest performances in the process.

8. Episode 6 -- T0-B1

If you grew up with Star Wars then you probably had at least one of those expandable lightsabers you could unsheathe at any time. No, just me??

And that's all that T0-B1 wants to do here too. His entire robotic life he's been an assistant to a scientist trying to bring life to a lifeless planet. Yet all T0-B1 can think about is being a Jedi himself. The story and character are cute and is something a few might be able to relate to.

7. Episode 9 -- Akakiri

What would you do in the name of love? Would you sacrifice everything for the person you love most? That's the main question that this episode tries to answer. A formidable shogun to a planet means to change peoples very way of life. It isn't until a wandering Jedi helps a friend try and defend her kingdom from the threat. I'd like to add that the main villain, which I included above, is SOO much scarier when you see her on screen.

6. Episode 7 -- The Elder

A disturbance in the force is never something a Jedi should take for granted (and neither should appearances). While patrolling planets in the Outer Rim, a Jedi master and his apprentice come across something unusual and decide to investigate. What they find on a nearby planet turns out to be an old Sith ship accompanied by a decrepit man. Now the two face off against an unlikely opponent that is more challenging than most. The design of the old man is super cool and and off-putting as well as the fight sequences.

5. Episode 4 -- The Village Bride

Standing up to your enemy takes a great deal of courage. But when you have just about nothing left to offer it can make the decision that much harder. A group of outlaws manage to re-program Separatist droids and rein terror over a small village. They demand the chief be turned over to them but his daughter and her spouse decide to go in his place. As all of this is happening a wandering Jedi and her companion do what they can in order to make an impact. There are plenty of interesting characters and explanations to the Force in this one. The vibes are really similar to that of the first episode, The Duel.

TIE Episode 8 -- Lop and Ocho

This was a tough decision to make but I just decided to group this entry as just as good as The Twins episode. Lop is a child that manages to escape enslavement and find solace with a new family and home. It isn't until the Empire comes along with "promises" of progressionism that things take an unlikely turn. The story is what makes this one so compelling to watch (not that the animation was bad by any means). It makes you ask would you leave behind everything you once knew in order to preserve your family as well as the planet you live on?

TIE Episode 3 -- The Twins

A tale that's old as time and perhaps one we've seen in a galaxy far, far away. Two siblings born at the same time were brought into the world through an Empire lab. While there intentions at first were to bring about the usual peace and justice mantra spoken again and again by the Empire, something suddenly changes. And this is an extremely obvious observation but this episode is the most anime-centric episode of the series. It's over the top, it's colorful, and the aesthetic and the way things and characters move around is what really made it for me.

2. Episode 1 -- The Duel

Ever since I decided to become more interested in movies I've looked for someone to be a true inspiration for me. I'd bet that just about every casual movie-goer is not familiar with who Akira Kurosawa is. If you don't Google him IMMEDIATELY! He has been a big source of inspiration for filmmakers the past 60+ years. And this episode that kicked off the series has all the familiar feels to it from movies like Seven Samurai and Yojimbo from Kurosawa. A wandering "Jedi" samurai comes across a local village under attack by scavengers and decides to lend a hand, with the help of his straw hat wearing R2-D2 too. The black and white color grade and the fight sequences will keep you enthralled and entertained for its entire run time. Plus the CG/hand drawn animation is extremely interesting to see work the screen.

1. Episode 5 -- The Ninth Jedi

This was another close call as which should take the top spot but I think this one is it. This episode managed to combine story and animation the best out of all the other entries. A local lightsaber blacksmith receives a message about a group of Jedi needing lightsabers. But after some trouble arises he entrusts his daughter to see that these lightsabers are delivered safely. The overall lore and story itself are I believe, and what a lot of others are saying, worthy of its own series entirely. There's so much interesting context that is left to be explored that it would be silly not to. Not only that but this episode has one of the best twists in the series that I didn't even see coming.