00:00Hello, I'm an internet reviewer slash commentator who's talking about Star Wars.
00:03I like Star Wars.
00:04If there is an entry I don't particularly like, I move on from it and do not make it
00:08my entire online persona for the rest of my life.
00:10Also, if there's an entry I do like, I also don't make it a new yarn so to judge all
00:14previous and future entries with.
00:16Anyway, we've got another Star Wars Vision Anthology.
00:23With Volume 3, we see the animated Star Wars Anthology return to its anime theme this year,
00:28which I do admit, I do kind of wish we had more of the international animation studios
00:33like we got in Volume 2, but Volume 3 has a solid and interesting set of stories to tell,
00:38starting with...
00:41The Jewel, Payback, from Kamikaze Dogga and Anima.
00:45This story is a sequel to one from Volume 1, one of the three in this collection.
00:49Set in a reimagined version of the Star Wars universe, we see our Sith Ronin having to
00:52deal with a Jedi Crusader who we maimed previously.
00:55This short has a lot of fun playing around in the Kurosawa-inspired sandbox, with a mishmash
01:01of aesthetics from different trilogies.
01:03It has a lot of fun characters and some interesting ideas with regards to the Jedi, where they
01:08come off as religious fanatics, with the Crusader calling out our Ronin as a sinner.
01:12Put a pin in that, because there's a theme here.
01:14The animation is great here, as it was an original story with some great action scenes.
01:21The Song of the Four Wings, from Project Studio Q.
01:24This is the first CGI animated story of Volume 2.
01:27This was a fun story about a princess in the Rebel Alliance, not that one, who helps rescue
01:32a cute alien baby and stop an Imperial mine operation.
01:35This was a fun short, the cel-shaded animation looks appealing, and there's a fun, over-the-top
01:39cartini feel to it.
01:40From the designs, to the action beats, to a Starles-esque magical girl transformation
01:44sequence, this was a fun one.
01:49The Ninth Jedi, Child of Hope.
01:51The second sequel, this one, follows up from Studio IG's Ninth Jedi straw.
01:55Before this volume was released, it was announced that the Ninth Jedi short is getting its own
01:59spin-off series, and with that in mind, this short feels like a teaser for the series, but
02:03I don't mind that, because it's pretty good.
02:05It's a bit of a refresher course, reminding you of who the characters are, and what their
02:09respective deals are.
02:10This one deals with La'Kara, a Jedi in a train, helping a droid in a derelict starship.
02:14It's a good story, gives out more details of the setting, and has a fun droid character
02:18called Tito, who is a cool CGI design that meshes well with the 2D elements.
02:24The Bounty Hunters.
02:25This one, from Wit Studio, feels like a backdoor pilot to another show, which I totally would
02:30watch.
02:30This one details the adventures of Sven, a fugitive assassin-turned-bounty hunter, and a droid
02:35assistant, IV-A4.
02:36Doing a job for a rich guy who, surprise surprise, turns out to be not on the up-and-up.
02:41As I mentioned before, this one felt like a backdoor pilot, especially as some elements
02:44like Sven's quest to find and kill the Jedi who saved her, and there's some characters
02:48mentioned who feel like they might possibly be important down the line.
02:51Not that I wouldn't mind.
02:52In fact, I would love to see more of the characters in this.
02:55I also like the character of Sven and her view on the Jedi.
02:58As while she did save her from slavery as a child, she ended up with a target on her back
03:02by the organisation, and now wants to kill her saviour.
03:05Which, to me, is an interesting aspect, as we don't see a lot of characters, especially
03:08girls on the good, or potentially, have a not-particular-kind view of the Jedi.
03:12Let's find some good action scenes, especially one with droid mech, which was something I
03:15didn't know I needed.
03:16Overall, the show itself was good, and I'd definitely sign up for more if they do continue
03:20the story.
03:23Ukel's Treasure.
03:24Oh, this was a sweet one.
03:25This story, from Cinema Citrus, is a nice revert.
03:28It's about an orphan and its caretaker, who's the robot teddy bear.
03:30Sure, why not?
03:31Who live on Tatarain.
03:32But their idyllic life on the Dust Ball is put under threat when a gang of pirates come to
03:36steal something from them.
03:36It's a cute little adventure, with a lot of heart and comedy.
03:38It feels a bit like Skeleton Crew.
03:40If you like that show, you'd definitely like this one.
03:45Lost one.
03:45Another one from Cinema Citrus, and another sequel.
03:47This one's my personal favourite of Volume 1 shorts, The Village Bride.
03:50This details the manic Jedi, F, having to save a group of refugees from the Empire, but
03:54also having to do with her former master, who now works in the Empire.
03:57This is a great flop.
03:58We get a lot more about F. For instance, we learn she's got a robotic leg, and we get
04:01some interesting side characters.
04:03The animation, like its prequel, is also good.
04:05It also has a good colour palette, with bright, and stark colours being put to good use.
04:12The Smuggler.
04:13From Studio Trigger comes The Smuggler.
04:15This one is a fun little escapade, dealing with a smuggler trying to help a fugitive prince
04:18escape the Empire's crackdown on his world.
04:20There's a lot of excitement to be had, with a great chase scene, some interesting characters,
04:24and some good world-building.
04:25It's also here where I noticed one of the big themes of this volume, survival.
04:29Each story in this volume have a lot of characters who've survived some horrible experiences,
04:32like Rupass, a cute baby whose village was massacred, the numerous Jedi who survived
04:36Order 66, the Sith being hunted by the Grand Master's Crusade, and the prince in this story
04:40who lost his royal family.
04:41It's a theme that's always been in Star Wars, and we get to see all the survivors in this
04:44story trying and move on in some way or another.
04:47Be it the Ronin trying to make amends, F trying to keep the traditions going, and the prince
04:51in this story trying to help free his world from the Empire, along with another Order
04:5466 survivor who pledges her alliance to him, reinforcing this theme.
05:01The Bird of Paradise.
05:02From Polygon Pictures, the second CGI short of the volume comes The Bird of Paradise.
05:07In this short, it details a young Jedi Paderon called Nakimi having to deal with losing
05:11her sight after a battle with Sith.
05:12The animation in this one is great, and gets creative in how it depicts the Paderons in
05:16the turmoil and accompanying Force visions, and its overall message of acceptance is
05:21appreciated.
05:21It's also here where two of the volume's themes crop up, the depiction of Jedi and
05:27disability.
05:27Throughout the volume, we see the Jedi in an interesting light.
05:31For some, like in Payback and Bounty Hunters, they're not seen in a good light, with the Grand
05:34Master and the Jewel, as mentioned before, being portrayed as a crusading knight who vanquishes
05:39enemies regardless who gets in his way, and Sven, in her short, seeks vengeance against
05:42the Jedi who rescued her, but left to defend for herself.
05:45In this short, we see Nakimi having to come to terms with not just her disability, but
05:48also her arrogance that led her to this situation.
05:51It feels in line with The Last Jedi, or the Acolye, instruments that tackled the less
05:54admirable aspects of the Jedi Order that we've seen in this film, but this short kind of
05:58does it in a more lighter approach.
06:04Another theme I noticed was disability.
06:06While Star Wars has always had characters who have a disability, it's probably the oldest
06:09film franchise with a main character who is an NPC, if you think about it.
06:12Throughout the volume, we see characters who lost limbs, and he lost her arm in the Payback,
06:17and the Grand Master has various injuries requiring a Darth Vader-like procedure to keep
06:21him alive.
06:21Glino and F have cybernetic prosthetics.
06:23It ties itself into this volume's general theme of survival and how to overcome it, which
06:27is Nakimi's arc in this short, how to accept what was lost.
06:33Black.
06:34Black.
06:34Okay, so this one is both the best short of this volume, but also a bit hard to review.
06:39From David Productions and veteran animator Shinya Ohira, a man who's worked on a lot of
06:44anime productions.
06:45Like, name anyone you're thinking of, he's probably worked on them in some capacity.
06:48Anyway, this short details the experience of a stauncher who's losing the battle.
06:51That's what I can gather from it as this one goes in an experimental direction, detailing
06:56a psychedelic vision.
06:57Get it?
06:57Of a typical Star Wars space battle with great music by Fujiwara Sakura, it's animation
07:01is fluid and sketchy, reminiscent of Ohira's previous works like the animated sequence in
07:05Kill Bill Volume 1.
07:06It just doesn't let up, everything's changing constantly, with Star Wars iconography constantly
07:11being swapped out.
07:12But it doesn't feel too hollow, as there's some details to grab one too.
07:15In short, it's Star Wars as you've never seen it before.
07:18Star Wars Vision's third volume still continues as one of the most creative and fun entries
07:21in the Star Wars saga, with a bunch of stories that run the gamut from funny, to action-packed,
07:26to just plain weird.
07:26It's a great part of the saga that I always like coming back to.
07:30Like what you see here?
07:31Then please subscribe for my YouTube channel, so you can get more Watch This Space, but
07:34also other things such as my short films.
07:36Please remember to like and subscribe to the videos you've just watched, and also, please
07:41check out The Orange Bin, my blog where I have write-ups of my episodes here, with links
07:47to sources that I mention on the show.
07:49Also contains some of my old blog posts, if you want to see what else I used to do back
07:54in the olden days.
07:54So please remember to check out my blog, and like and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
08:00I'll see you next time.
08:00Bye-bye.
08:00Bye-bye.
08:01Bye-bye.
08:01Bye-bye.
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