Rank 'Em: "Star Wars: Visions"

This is the third one of these anime shorts anthologies based around a Western property I've seen, after "The Animatrix" and "Batman: Gotham Knight."  I'm a little out of date when it comes to anime creators, but I still recognized several of the participating directors and studios.  I think the best way to talk about this project is to talk about each of the shorts individually.  And the best way to do that is with a "Rank 'Em" post.  So, here we go, from best to worst, by rankings of the "Star Wars: Visions" shorts.

Oh, and I watched the English language versions, because I figured listening to the Japanese voice actors try to wrangle "Star Wars" terminology was going to be awfully distracting.  

1. T0-B1 - This short is drop dead gorgeous.  It's a melding of "Star Wars" and "Astro Boy" tropes, featuring a robot boy who wants to be a Jedi.  The animation is on an entirely different level.  I love the storybook quality of the visuals, and the way that the short incorporates so many little nods to its progenitors.  Out of all the "Visions" shorts, this is the one that I want to see a full series for.    

2. The Duel - One of the clear influences on the original "Star Wars" is the work of Akira Kurosawa, so it's terribly fitting to see this short recreate the look of a Kurosawa samurai epic with "Star Wars" elements incorporated into the works.  The mostly black and white world, with its scratched up frames, and bursts of color provided by lightsabers and droids, is distinctive and eye catching, and executed beautifully.

3. The Ninth Jedi - No surprise that one of the most polished shorts would come from Kenji Kamiyama and Production I.G., home of the "Ghost in the Shell" franchise.  This short tells the most complete story, set in a far future corner of the "Star Wars" universe, and does a good job of fleshing out its handful of characters in a short amount of time.  The multiple plot twists and the concept of lightsabers that adapt to their user's needs are a lot of fun.  

4. Akakiri - The shorts in this collection are all kid-friendly, which makes sense given the intended audience.  This is the one that feels the most adult, with its dark ending and creepier concepts.  Eunyoung Choi's  Superflat style suits the Kurosawa pastiche well, and I especially like the villain, Masago, voiced by an excellent Lorraine Toussant.  Along with Henry Golding and Jamie Chung, this one easily has the best vocal performances.

5. Lop and Ocho - I find the story a little half-baked, but there's no denying how fantastic this short looks.  The animation is fluid, detailed, vibrant, and looks amazing on every level.  The characters, however, aren't as fully fleshed out as they need to be to pull off what the story wants to be.  It feels like the first half of one introductory episode mashed to the back half of a concluding one, and we lost the rest of the series.  

6. The Twins - I went into "Visions" looking forward to this short the most, because it's Hiroyuki Imaishi and Studio Trigger.  And while it's wildly over the top, and crazy kinetic, and breathless and does some neat things with "Star Wars" iconography, I also found it a little disappointing.  There's way too much winking at the audience, too many callbacks, and the dialogue is so stylized and hammy, it feels like a parody at times.  

7. The Village Bride - No major complaints with this one, but it's a really generic anime adventure that has little to do with "Star Wars."  This is the longest short, and takes advantage of that by doing a little more world-building and setting up its characters a little better.  However, everything here from the visuals to the action to the story come across as pretty bland and forgettable.         

8. Tatooine Rhapsody - It's different from all the other "Visions" shorts, I'll give it that.  The premise is fine, the music is pretty fun, and the chibi style character designs are great.  However, conceptually it just doesn't come together.  There's not enough to the characters, and something about the humor doesn't translate right.  Some good pieces in the mix, but better luck next time.    

9. The Elder - Well, Studio Trigger clearly put their B team on this entry.  The animation is disappointingly static, the character designs are very derivative, and I can't get over how flat everything looks.  The big fight scene at the end is decent, but really nothing special.  Still, it's always nice to hear from James Hong, who voices the title character.    

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