This is the first of this series I feel has its own unique anime style while still feeling like Star Wars. I would watch this as a series. Interesting story. Interesting characters.
I would love to watch a series based on this. Felt a bit like a pilot episode.
Being the longest episode of the anthology, The Ninth Jedi feels the closest to an actual episode of television in terms of story. I really like the characters in this one, even the one-off characters. They set the stage for this reimagining of the Star Wars universe very well, and it pays off with some excellent characterization and a great twist in the final act.
This one is getting high praises and I totally understand why, and don't question the 9/10 rating as anything more then disappointment that this one, frankly, feels unfinished. The Ninth Jedi is very, very good, but frankly deserves a whole series rather then a single short as much of the plot in this feels somewhat rushed in order to meet a 23 minute runtime, and as the longest of these it certainly tries to make use of all of it best it can. It's also the most traditional of all of the Visions shorts so far, being akin to the start of a new trilogy of mainline movies rather then a bold, experimental piece like The Duel or The Village Bride. This is reflected in the cast which is your standard set of "dreamer hero", "sarcastic sidekick", "cute droid", and "wise mentor", just to name a few.
None of this makes the action that follows any less cool though, which is certainly great. I especially love how brutal this does get for a TV-PG rating (pretty sure we saw some blood here!), and the overall vibe of the short is pretty close to what you would expect from Star Wars. I just wish there was more of it as some of the plot here seems rushed and undercooked. Still, worthy of the hype and would be down for a full series of this - a 9/10 short that is begging for a 10/10 series.
The episode is built upon faulty premises.
Lightsaber prowess and force power are two different things. You can be proficient in lightsaber combat without having ANY force-sensitivity (e.g. Grievous) and the other way around, you can be masterful in force but lacking in lightsaber feat (e.g. Jocasta Nu).
Lightsaber crystal also doesn't reflect the wielder's sensitivity to sides of the force. You can be a morally uptight Jedi wielding red lightsaber (e.g. Adi Gallia) and a sith wielding blue (e.g. Exar Kun, or Anakin after he fell to the dark side. Notice when he was knighted as sith by Palpatine his saber's color DID NOT turn red). Red crystal is actually a synthetic color that can't be generated by lightsaber crystal. Sith forged it intentionally to channel their dark side.
HOWEVER the execution of this episode is good especially compared to other episodes so far.
The faulty premises end up being an important plot point, and a good one at that. Characters are quite well-developed given the very brief duration (perhaps except the villains). World-building, although sparse, gives quite a good idea of how lives looked like on that planet. Animation is really well-done especially the lightsaber combat and the chase scene. And the music is reminiscent of Star Wars without having to be exact copies of the films, which I really appreciate.
So if Production IG is given a much better brief to the mechanics of Star Wars universe, I believe they are much better suited to produce more Star Wars films than Disney currently does.
Another great episode with original and very interesting story. The second episode I truly enjoyed. The less you know the better it is.
And it comes to the surprise of 0 people that Kenji Kamiyama and Production I.G's episode is the best one thus far (slightly ahead of episode 3).
They definitely captured better the feeling of Star Wars than anyone else so far, and the music was also very reminiscent of the movies.The production values were also super good. 2Dx3D masterclass as per usual.
I hope they give Kamiyama a full series so that he can go all out. A 20 minute episode is a huge restraint on his writing skills.
[7.8/10] This is the most traditional Star Wars story of Star Wars: Visions so far, but that’s not a bad thing! It still reimagines the world to a significant extent. The episode pictures some tie where war has wiped out the Jedi, but there are a few remnants left in addition to a few Sith patrolling the galaxy. The idea of a last master, gathering the few remaining allies and potentials, to bring back the old ways, is a cool setup.
What I particularly like about this one is that, like The Force Awakens it’s an homage to A New Hope, but that like The Last Jedi, it remixes and reimagines that influence more than it simply retraces it. Kara isn’t Luke exactly, and her father and eventual master aren’t Obi Wan exactly, and the journey to the site of the action isn’t exactly the journey to the Death Star.
But it’s enough of an analog to feel familiar, while remixing things enough to feel fresh.
Honestly, this is the episode of Star Wars; Visions that feels rife with the most potential for a regular series. We have some cool new characters in Kara, the neophyte who proves herself worthy in desperate times, her master, a clever man who uses a key moment to round up Jedi, his friend, who falls to the dark side temporarily but regains his way, and the young amsterless Jedi who kicks off the episode, another young hopeful with a strong heart in need of training. You can see this quarter working, especially in a part of the timeline/galaxy where the Order needs to be restored, and Siths and Jedi-hunters roam the land.
This is a particular tribute to the lightsaber as an almost holy artifact in the Star Wars galaxy. It’s what the master tries to reassemble as a first step toward reestablishing the Jedi as a presence. There’s the cheesy yet cool reveal that the resting comet jutting out on a beam of light from the planet below looks, from the right angle, like a giant lightsaber in the sky. And of course, there’s the clever conceit of the lightsabers du jour being constructed to commune with their wielder, thereby revealing the truth in their heart.
It allows for a clever reveal as to who the good guys and buys are, preserving the key twist of the short. It provides for a good way for the master’s friend to reveal that he’s fallen into darkness but is not beyond redemption given how his saber turns back to a good guy color. ANd Kara’s blank saber turning green when she rises to the occasion works as superb symbolism for the untrained but potential-filled warrior coming into her own.
Overall, this is another strong outing for Star Wars: Visions, with some cool lightsaber action, a great rendition of the franchise’s muthos and lore in an unfamiliar setting, and the intrigue and tension of one man trying to restore the light to the galaxy and requiring those implements that so many Jedi Knights are known for. If they do expand this one into a series, sign me up.
This episode was almost as good as the first. Great stuff
There was a confidence to this one I really liked. It's setting up its own story, one I'd love to see more of, and the animation is stellar.
A solid atmosphere but is confused on the message. Was hoping for a different direction.
Shout by Luis LeónBlockedParent2021-09-23T14:23:15Z
A 20 minute episode is far more interesting and endearing than a whole trilogy of movies. I really hope this gets expanded into a full series!