‘Visions’ Volume 3 Pushes the Boundaries of Star Wars Animation
Star Wars: Visions returns with volume 3 for a spectacular new season of amazing short stories set in a galaxy far, far away. Not being tied to any canon timeline or canon of the films and shows allows these animation studios, brought on to create these shorts, to work with their full creativity to bring fresh and exciting stories to life. Celebrating everything from the Sith to bounty hunters and even a giant robot bear.
Visions volume 3 brings us back to Japanese animation studios after going to studios across the world for the last volume. These wonderful studios bring us nine new short tales, three of which are sequels to episodes from the first volume released back in 2021. Volume 3 ups the ante even more, providing a whole host of emotional, funny, witty, and visually inspired outings well worthy of repeat viewings.
Star Wars: Visions sequel episodes provide new looks into these established worlds
As mentioned, volume 3 of Star Wars: Visions brings back three previous animation studios to give us sequels to their fan-favorite episodes. Firstly, Kamikaze Douga presents “The Duel: Payback,” a sequel to their first episode, “The Duel.” In the sequel, The Ronin, in his quest to defeat more Sith, gets ambushed by an old adversary, a Jedi known as the Grand Master.
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode as it tips the Jedi and Sith on its head as we quickly see how twisted by revenge this Jedi has become, appearing more robot than man with many injuries. “The Duel: Payback” continues with its black and white Kurosawa-inspired animation style mixed with bouts of color that help the fight scenes pop.
The creativity with Star Wars canon that Visions allows also shines through in this episode as we see many creative uses for Ewoks, a fight scene on an upside-down AT-AT, and a strange new lightsaber sported by a Sith the Ronin must team up with.
Secondly, Production IG returns with their sequel to “The Ninth Jedi” with “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope.” This features the return of Kara, a Jedi in training who, along with three other Jedi, is searching for her missing father and other missing Jedi in the hopes of restarting the Jedi order.
In the sequel, pursued by Jedi hunters, Kara becomes lost in space until she is rescued by a droid aboard a massive derelict ship, almost akin to a cathedral. This episode proves what a sequel should be and engrosses Kara in her journey to becoming a Jedi physically and emotionally.
I really liked seeing her progress throughout this episode, and Production IG went all out with the animation, including several CGI scenes of ships in battle mixed with the more traditional anime style of character design. The wonderful thing about “The Ninth Jedi” is that we will also be getting a spin-off series for the show, as shown with a ‘To be continued…’ at the end of the episode. The spin-off from Visions, simply titled The Ninth Jedi, is expected to be released sometime in 2026, and I can’t wait to see where Kara’s journey goes next.
The last sequel episode is by Kinema Citrus Co., who bring us a sequel to the hit episode “The Village Bride” titled “The Lost Ones.” In this sequel, we reunite with F as she watches over a group of people investigating a deserted village. We find out this village has been struck by a carbonite gas leak from a mine, freezing the inhabitants, for which the group are looking for a cure. F joins them on a large refugee vessel evading the war with the Empire before she is then brought into the conflict with the Empire and a ghost from her past.
This episode hammers home why I love the character of F so much from both her appearances. She truly embodies what it means to be a Jedi and how helping others over yourself can help you in many ways. There are some outstanding emotional scenes within the episode, along with some stellar voice work, including Mark Strong, who voices the villain.
Visions, to me, just continues to show what creativity can bring if left to flourish, and that even sequels to previous episodes still bring a fresh and exciting appeal to the stories and worlds.
Disney+ series pushes the boundaries of animation for the franchise
The remaining six episodes are all by a whole host of great animation studios, my favorites of which are “Yuko’s Treasure,” “The Smuggler,” and “Black.” If you have seen the trailer for Visions volume 3 then you will have seen the big furry bear who appears in the wonderful episode “Yuko’s Treasure” again by Kinema Citrus Co.
This short follows a young orphaned boy left in the care of his giant furry robot companion known as BILY who takes the form of a giant bear with a microwave in the middle of his body. They must survive a pirate attack on their home deep in the desert of Tatooine.
This episode is absolutely adorable and one of the most Ghibli-like across all of Visions. I loved the makeup of this episode and how the villainous group is all cute in their own way, and being set on Tatooine adds a certain well-known charm. I can sense there will be many calls for BILY the robot bear to have merchandise any day now.
“The Smuggler” by TRIGGER tells the tale of Chita, a smuggler who takes a quick payday to help fix her ship. She must help two guests off-world and out of the hands of the Empire as they are busy looking for the last heir to the royal family who defied their takeover.
This episode is another impressive one and almost Andor inspired in its suspenseful feel, as it is filled with intrigue and dreams of rebellion. There is plenty to enjoy and also plenty of surprises. A great animation style tops this off, and I would love to see more of this world.
“Black” by David Production is one of the most unique and visually fascinating episodes of Visions to date. It follows a stormtrooper during the second Death Star battle as he grapples with his inner psyche and the horrors of war and the defeat of the Empire, set to a beautiful jazz-style soundtrack.
The animation style is wild, colors pop, and there are several rather trippy-feeling elements. You become drawn into this wild adventure as you start to unravel his mind to see what is happening. This episode is already being talked about so much online, and for good reason. My only advice is to sit down and watch the whole short for yourself; it won’t be for everyone, but it will stick with you as it has with me.
Another Visions short that has stuck with me is that of “The Bird of Paradise” by Polygon Pictures, which follows a newly blinded Jedi as she must seek to unravel herself from her arrogance and fear as it leads her closer to the Dark Side.
This episode will stick with anyone who watches it. There is plenty to savor, and the visuals it brings are astounding. The journey the main character, Nakime, goes on is one of self-reflection, as we see her struggle with it throughout. This also appears as her sight loss and how, by finally seeing herself, she finally sees more through the Force. I found myself taking a minute to reflect on what I had watched when it ended.
The last two episodes to mention are “The Song of Four Wings” and “The Bounty Hunters,” the first brought to us by Project Studio Q and the latter by WIT Studio.
“The Song of Four Wings” features a princess now turned rebel (but not THAT princess) as she rescues the sole survivor of a village from the might of the Empire. This episode goes all out with its soundtrack and stunning visuals, bringing fresh electronic beats and a gorgeous visual palette as we see the battle against the Empire. There is also a suit-up scene akin to other anime, including flashy effects and big mech-style weaponry.
Lastly, we have “The Bounty Hunters,” which features a bounty hunter known as Sevn and her split-personality droid IV-A4, who is a doctor and an assassin. The pair takes on a bounty from a shady industrialist, which ends up affecting them both in many ways.
This episode has it all; very much feeling like something out of The Mandalorian, we see a bounty hunter struggling between what is right and what is wrong. There is also intrigue and a connection to a mysterious Jedi, which could be great to explore should a sequel be made of this episode in the future.
Star Wars: Visions is one of the franchise’s strongest shows
Overall, Star Wars: Visions volume 3 is the strongest so far in the series in terms of the sheer range of creativity, different themes of episodes, and the characters and journeys they go on. I adore how Visions allows the studios to create what they want outside the confines of a canon timeline, but all the episodes manage to keep the messages Star Wars has been saying to generations.
I highly recommend Visions to anyone who wants to enjoy this slice of Star Wars without even needing to know anything about it. Furthermore, I sincerely hope that Visions continues for a long time. There are plenty of animation studios out there in Japan and in the wider world should they return for a volume 4. I’m eager to see some sequels to older episodes as well as new, fresh ideas from anyone itching to build something great in this big wonderful sandbox.
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