Honestly, the first time I sat down to watch Star Wars Visions Season 1, I didn't know if I was looking at the future of the franchise or just a weird, beautiful fever dream. It was 2021. The Skywalker Saga had wrapped up with a bit of a thud for many, and the "Mando-verse" was just starting to find its footing. Then, out of nowhere, Lucasfilm handed the keys to the kingdom to seven Japanese anime studios and basically said, "Do whatever you want. Seriously. Don't worry about the timeline."
It worked.
The result was an anthology that felt more like Star Wars than anything we’d seen in a decade, precisely because it didn't care about the rules. If you've spent any time in the fandom, you know how obsessed people get over "canon." Is this planet in the right sector? Does this lightsaber color make sense for this era? Star Wars Visions Season 1 threw all of that out the window. It gave us the "Ronin." It gave us a droid who wanted to be a Jedi. It gave us a lightsaber that changed color based on the user's temperament. It was pure, unadulterated imagination.
Breaking the Canon Fetish
The most radical thing about Star Wars Visions Season 1 is its complete disregard for the official timeline. For years, the franchise felt claustrophobic. Every story had to link back to Vader, or the Emperor, or a specific battle on a specific moon. But when Kamikaze Douga or Studio Colorido stepped in, they ignored the "Star Wars Story" branding and went for the throat of the mythology instead.
Take "The Duel," for example.
It’s black and white. It’s gritty. It’s Akira Kurosawa in space. There is a droid wearing a straw hat. If you try to fit this into the 3,000-year history of the Republic, your head will explode. It doesn't fit. And that is exactly why it succeeds. By removing the burden of "what comes next," the creators were able to focus on the feeling of the Force—that spiritual, almost mystical quality that the original 1977 film captured before it became a massive data-entry project for Wookieepedia editors.
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Some fans hated this. They wanted to know where the Ronin was during A New Hope. The answer? Nowhere. He exists in his own pocket universe. This freedom allowed for visual storytelling that simply isn't possible in live-action. When you see a Star Destroyer held together by the Force in "The Twins" by Trigger, it looks ridiculous and glorious all at once. It’s "The Last Jedi" turned up to eleven. You can't do that in a movie without a million people complaining about physics, but in Star Wars Visions Season 1, physics is just a suggestion.
The Studios That Redefined the Galaxy
We need to talk about the specific studios involved because their DNA is all over these shorts. It wasn't just a "generic anime" look. You had the heavy hitters.
- Production I.G: These are the Ghost in the Shell people. They brought a level of technical polish and atmospheric weight to "The Ninth Jedi" that made it feel like a backdoor pilot for a series everyone actually wants.
- Science SARU: Led by the legendary Masaaki Yuasa at the time, they produced "T0-B1" and "Akakiri." These are weird. They are vibrant. They feel like a mix of Astro Boy and a tragic Shakespearean play.
- Studio Trigger: Known for Kill la Kill and Promare, they did exactly what you’d expect: they went totally over the top. "The Twins" features two siblings born of the Dark Side fighting on the exterior of a Star Destroyer without spacesuits. Why? Because it looks cool.
Actually, "The Ninth Jedi" is often cited by critics and fans as the standout of the bunch. Directed by Kenji Kamiyama, it posits a future where the Jedi are a myth and the art of lightsaber smithing has been lost. It’s a classic "gathering the heroes" trope, but the twist regarding who is actually a Sith and who isn't is handled with more grace than most of the sequel trilogy. It’s a masterclass in tension. It makes you realize that Star Wars Visions Season 1 wasn't just an experiment; it was a proof of concept for how the franchise survives once the Skywalkers are finally left alone.
Why the Animation Matters More Than You Think
A lot of casual viewers see "animation" and think "for kids." Or they see "anime" and think "niche." But the visual language of Star Wars Visions Season 1 is actually a return to the series' roots. George Lucas was famously obsessed with Japanese cinema, specifically the works of Kurosawa like The Hidden Fortress. By handing the reigns to Japanese creators, the franchise came full circle.
The movement in these shorts is different. It’s not the rotoscoped-adjacent style of The Clone Wars or the clean, 2D look of Rebels. It’s fluid. It’s experimental. In "The Village Bride," the pacing is slow and deliberate. It spends more time on the environment and the "breath" of the world than on combat. This kind of "Ma" (the Japanese concept of negative space or emptiness) is something Western Star Wars often misses. We’re usually too busy rushing to the next explosion.
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Common Misconceptions About the Series
One thing I see people get wrong all the time is the idea that Star Wars Visions Season 1 is "non-essential."
If you define essential as "moves the plot of the next Disney+ show forward," then sure, maybe it's not. But if you define it as "explores the philosophy of the Force," it’s probably the most essential thing since The Empire Strikes Back. It challenges the binary view of Light vs. Dark. In "The Elder," we see a Sith-like figure who isn't part of some grand galactic conspiracy. He’s just a dangerous, old man. It scales the stakes down. It makes the universe feel big by making the stories small.
Another myth? That you need to be an anime fan to like it.
You don't. You just need to like creativity. Every short has a different art style. "The Duel" looks like a moving woodblock print. "T0-B1" looks like a Saturday morning cartoon from the 60s. "Lop & Ochō" looks like a modern high-budget feature film. There is zero stylistic monotony here.
The Cultural Impact and What Happened Next
When Star Wars Visions Season 1 dropped, it was a bit of a gamble. Disney didn't know if the Western "core" audience would jump for it. But the reception was so strong it paved the way for Season 2, which expanded the scope to animation houses globally (like Aardman and Cartoon Saloon).
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However, there’s something special about that first batch of nine shorts. They felt like a rebellion. They were produced during a time when the fandom was incredibly fractured. For a brief moment, everyone stopped arguing about Luke Skywalker’s character arc and just agreed that a rabbit-girl (Lop) fighting her Imperial-leaning sister was a compelling, heartbreaking story. It unified people through the sheer quality of the craft.
Actionable Steps for the Best Viewing Experience
If you haven't watched it yet, or if you’re planning a rewatch, don't just binge them all in a row like a mindless zombie. You'll get sensory overload.
- Watch "The Duel" and "The Ninth Jedi" first. These are the high-water marks for most people and will sell you on the concept immediately.
- Toggle the audio. I’m serious. Watch one in English (the voice casts are insane—Lucy Liu, Neil Patrick Harris, David Harbour) and then watch the next one in Japanese with subtitles. The vibe changes completely. The Japanese voice acting often carries a theatrical weight that fits the "Vision" perfectly.
- Read the "Ronin" novel. If "The Duel" leaves you wanting more, there is an actual full-length novel by Emma Mieko Candon that expands that specific universe. It’s weird, queer, and incredibly dense with Japanese folklore.
- Pay attention to the music. Each studio used different composers. The scores for "The Village Bride" are particularly haunting and deviate heavily from the John Williams "brass and strings" template we're used to.
The real takeaway from Star Wars Visions Season 1 is that the Force doesn't belong to a single family or a single timeline. It’s a playground. We need more of this. We need more creators who are willing to break the toys to see how they work. It’s not just a spin-off; it’s a reminder that Star Wars is at its best when it's weird, risky, and unapologetically artistic.
Go watch "The Ninth Jedi" again. Look at how the lightsabers reflect the soul of the wielder. That’s more "Star Wars" than any cameo-filled season finale will ever be.
How to Dive Deeper Into Visions
- Check out the "Art of Star Wars Visions" book. It shows the character designs for the twins and the Ronin that didn't make the cut.
- Follow the individual studios. If you liked "The Duel," go watch Kamikaze Douga's Batman Ninja. If you liked "The Twins," go watch Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
- Look for the easter eggs. While these aren't canon, the creators snuck in tons of references to old Ralph McQuarrie concept art. It's a treasure hunt for the nerdiest among us.
The legacy of this first season isn't just a list of episodes. It’s the permission it gave Lucasfilm to stop being so afraid of its own shadow. It proved that the brand is strong enough to survive a little experimentation. Hopefully, the lesson sticks.