{"id":697862,"date":"2025-11-02T07:35:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T04:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/visions-volume-3-review-in-brief\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T07:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T04:35:12","slug":"visions-volume-3-review-in-brief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/visions-volume-3-review-in-brief\/","title":{"rendered":"Visions Volume 3 Review in Brief"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The third volume (season) of the<\/span> Star Wars: Visions<\/span><\/i> animated anthology is now out on Disney+. Since it\u2019s the third season (and due to time constraints), I decided to write short three-sentence reviews for each of its nine episodes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Reviews are arranged according to my personal watch order. I found that most of the episodes on Disney+ Hotstar were not in the right order and had their positions swapp<\/a>ed with another episode.\u00a0Japanese audio was not available for me\u00a0<\/em>at the time of publication, so I watched Volume 3<\/em> in English, unlike Volume 1<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cBLACK\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Disney+ Hotstar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Director: <\/span>Shinya Ohira\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Animation production studio: <\/span>David Production<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In \u201cBLACK,\u201d the viewer is consumed by the delirious viewpoint of an Imperial. What follows is a raw and unfiltered experience that feels haunting, chaotic, surreal, mournful, beautiful, and as overwhelming as the force of the Death Star.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Watching this stunning animation showcase made me feel like an experimental, Star Wars-themed art gallery (with jazz composed by <\/span>Sakura Fujiwara<\/b> emitting from its speakers) had come to life and swept me up in a whirlwind of imagery that\u2019s unendingly mesmerizing, even when I\u2019m not sure how to interpret certain moments.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Fun fact: Co-producer <\/span><\/i>Jacob Ayres<\/i><\/b> told <\/span><\/i>Crunchyroll News<\/span><\/i><\/a> that \u201cnone\u201d of the animators on the short are in-house staff, but were \u201cpeople that Ohira-san wanted us to approach\u201d and \u201ca lot of new and upcoming talent that he found online as well.\u201d It\u2019s an international lineup with legendary veterans [Ohira himself included], formidable presences, and talents as young as 19. Ohira talks about the making of the short in this <\/span><\/i>Annecy video interview<\/span><\/i><\/a>.)<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Song of Four Wings\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Disney+ Hotstar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Director: <\/span>Hiroyasu Kobayashi<\/b>
<\/span>Animation production studio: <\/span>Project Studio Q<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a good sign when a lean, 14-minute short has me checking the time less than halfway in, but \u201cThe Song of Four Wings\u201d thankfully finds its energy in the second half. In this animation with funky electronic music, a Rebel scout heads out to investigate the arrival of Imperial forces on an icy planet, discovering in the process an alien who is, like her, a last survivor. The setup is sluggish, but the second half provides enjoyably energetic action, plus a speeder that combines with the Rebel as flying armor, giving us mecha girl action in Star Wars.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Bounty Hunters\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Disney+ Hotstar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Director: <\/span>Junichi Yamamoto<\/b>
<\/span>Animation production studio:<\/span> WIT STUDIO<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bounty Hunters\u201d opens strongly, with a past segment that sees its wounded young bounty hunter protagonist witnessing a Jedi-inflicted massacre inside a burning mansion. The rest of the short, which involves the bounty hunter and her droid partner getting involved with a shady corporation, suffers from uninteresting predictability and a lack of flair or sheer production quality to prop up its shootouts. There\u2019s some satisfaction in seeing the grumpy but gold-hearted bounty hunter give a slave owner his comeuppance, and the contrasting dual personalities of the droid character add some vitality, but there\u2019s no bounty to be found here.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Duel: Payback\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Disney+ Hotstar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Director: <\/span>Takanobu Mizuno<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Animation production studio: <\/span>Kamikaze Douga<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Volume 1\u2019s \u201cThe Duel\u201d wasn\u2019t a short I remembered strongly, despite its black-and-white film aesthetic, Star-Wars-with-samurai-film-stylings concept, and bonkers umbrella lightsaber. \u201cThe Duel: Payback,\u201d on the other hand, effortlessly dyed my mind with its ATAT-walkers-turned-gambling-hall, vengeance-consumed cyborg Jedi, and Ewoks. The first battle on the walkers is the most ambitious and exciting part of the short, but the rest of it is still satisfying.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Disney+ Hotstar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Director: <\/span>Naoyoshi Shiotani<\/b>
<\/span>Animation production studio: <\/span>Production I.G<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Though \u201cThe Ninth Jedi\u201d from Volume 1 wasn\u2019t visually polished, it still stood out with its intriguing premise and mystery, as well as its climactic lightsaber fest. \u201cThe Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope,\u201d though more of a sidequest involving a friend-shaped droid than an ambitious sequel (I suppose that\u2019s because of the upcoming Star Wars: Visions Presents limited series<\/a>), manages to be an equally compelling watch that gives female protagonist Kara a bit of character growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Visually, however, it\u2019s a bit of a mess \u2014 we have environments that wow with their scale and composition but horrify with their questionable textures, while the melee scuffle at the end suffers from clunky movement.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Smuggler\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Disney+ Hotstar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Director: <\/span>Masahiko Otsuka<\/b>
<\/span>Animation production studio: <\/span>TRIGGER<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

In a kingdom subjugated by the Empire, a smuggler finds herself taking a request to transport two people away. While the premise is simple, there\u2019s a sense of adventure, plus sturdy character design work and animation, that enamored me and gave me the desire to see a movie version. Its badass old lady, one of the main characters, is a standout.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cYuko\u2019s Treasure\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Disney+ Hotstar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Director: <\/span>Masaki Tachibana<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Animation production studio: <\/span>Kinema Citrus<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

A young kid\u2019s life with his bear droid guardian is disturbed when pirates come knocking on their door, and he teams up with another kid to set things right. It\u2019s a solid adventure with a found-family theme, but a cut with slightly exaggerated movement made me wish there was more zestiness in general<\/a>. The bear droid sure is cute, though.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Song of Four Wings\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Disney+ Hotstar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Director: <\/span>Hiroyasu Kobayashi<\/b>
<\/span>Animation production studio: <\/span>Project Studio Q<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

An impetuous Padawan is painfully humbled and has to learn to set herself on the right path. It\u2019s a sound premise ruined by inelegant dialogue that\u2019s much too painful to make this a worthwhile journey. The weakest of the shorts, though there are some attractive visuals.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cThe Lost Ones\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image source: Disney+ Hotstar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Director: <\/span>Hitoshi Haga<\/b>
<\/span>Animation production studio: <\/span>Kinema Citrus<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

After aiding survivors of a planet dying from the effects of over-mining, the wandering Jedi F from \u201cThe Village Bride\u201d finds herself facing the Empire and her past. Deftly balancing its focus between the regular people of Star Wars and F\u2019s personal conflict, and boasting strong production values and an immersive <\/span>Kevin Penkin<\/b> soundtrack, the ingredients of \u201cThe Lost Ones\u201d make it my second favorite of this volume\u2019s shorts after \u201cBLACK.\u201d The backgrounds from Totonyan<\/strong>\u00a0are one of the highlights, with the short featuring cold spaceship interiors, a dead yet still beautiful city, and an arresting field of roses that look slick yet painterly.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Overall thoughts<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are a number of shorts from previous <\/span>Star Wars: Visions <\/span><\/i>Volumes that I loved or enjoyed, but I still find myself looking at the anthologies as a whole with ambivalence, due to the presence of stories that lack lasting impact or shorts that suffer from low production quality. Volume 3 is no different, but it does distinguish itself through the presence of \u201cBLACK.\u201d Ohira\u2019s Star Wars offering is the first <\/span>Visions<\/span><\/i> short that I consider to be an absolute must-watch, and the first that I\u2019ve rewatched in its entirety. Even if every other short was a stinker, \u201cBLACK\u201d alone would make Volume 3 worth it.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n