Star Wars: Visions - Episode 9: Akakiri
And here we make it to the end of the set: the last episode of Star Wars: Visions. It’s been a wonderful ride, and a fine addition to the recent influx of great Star Wars content: really making me itch for more. But all things must be released in The Force in time - which is to say, all things must come to an end, so we reach that finale together, with...
Episode 9: Akakiri Developed By: Science SARU Directed By: Eunyoung Choi This film makes for a fine bookend with The Duel. Like the Duel, the plot of this one is somber and straightforward. And like The Duel, the like entire story is a slow build up to a striking conclusion... this time, due to a terrible twist.
The plot of this one regards a Jedi in an indeterminate time period - perhaps best presumed as during the Sith Wars - returning to his home planet in order to aid the princess of his land, who seeks to reclaim her throne after her aunt joined the Sith and murdered her way into power. The short is mostly a small scale, tightly focused set of traveling scenes as they approach the castle: just the two of them, along with two more comedic but loyal traveling companions. The two muse over their lots in life, reaffirm their resolve, and deal with their feelings for one another, all before the final battle... in which things do not go quite as one might expect.
This, like The Twins, comes across as an abstraction of a story we all know, but unlike The Twins rather than a referential cavalcade this film proceeds like a retelling: a unexpected story that descends tragically into something familiar. I won’t go into all the details of what that story is, but let us just say that it seems no accident that over the course of the story the princess slowly comes to physically resemble the traits of a certain Padme Amidala, and the Jedi a certain Anakin Skywalker.
Like The Duel, this short is another where the straightforward nature of the plot means there isn’t much to say about - at least if is not going too deeply into the spoilers. Visually, this one is stylized towards action: simpler character designs which move with an increased fluidity. Another one that puts a lot of design into its settings and backgrounds: the locations go from rural to increasingly urbanized over the course of the short, with the final locales being rigid, cold and imposing. Thematically, this transition works well for the destinies the characters increasingly wrangle with, a visual progression of peace falling to oppression.
For this review’s obligatory digression, we both start and finish with an awesome fight with a female Sith, something that’s woefully underdone in Star Wars proper. The fight itself was very surprising: there’s a significant size advantage, and I’m always used to bigger opponents in anime being portrayed as less competent than smaller. Size is typically an indicator of brutishness rather than strength in Eastern storytelling, but the short plays with this: our antagonist is not only larger in strength in stature, but larger in control - smarter, and more cunning than the heroes are wholly prepared for. And so it all leads up to the darkest hour: the moment where heroes are made or broken by their decisions. And the decision made may surprise you - or may not, depending on your genre savvy. Though it had the slight misfortune to follow the short I believe to be the best of the bunch - or at least close to the best of the bunch - it is a very good short to end the set on, a similar feel and experience to start and to finish. And so we conclude with the final look at canon potential. None of these shorts have been canon. We all know this, but we all love them regardless. However, in a series like Star Wars, becoming incorporated - or even simply followed up on - is a matter of support: if some of these shorts get enough pull behind them from the audience, you can bet that the studio will at least consider doing more with those particular characters. But it also depends on whether the short fits into the setting - or what the studio wants to do with the setting - as well.
And does this Akakiri fit? I’d give it Good Chances. Not great chances, but decent ones. As I mentioned before in an earlier one of these, Lucasfilm seems fairly hesitant to canonically depict the earliest days of the Republic and the Sith Wars: which is my presumption for why they have been evasive and frankly less than positive about whether upcoming KOTOR remake will be canon. This short taking place in a time where the Sith are a large enough organization that individual defecting to them is a real possibility, there are few other eras where it can fit. But also, the nature of this short as a more overt - if only partial - retelling of a familiar story does give it a bit less of an identity of its own. However, despite that, the characters, the setting and the concept still work very well within the framework of Star Wars: and if they did choose to do so, it wouldn’t take much work at all to give this concept its very own significant niche. And that, in the end, is that. Nine episodes, nine different anime from a slew of different studios. All with their own unique takes on a franchise that’s loved around the world. Would I like to see more of this? You bet: more of certain specific ideas we’ve seen here, and perhaps another season of this with nine more shorts and another entirely new slew of developers
This has been Star Wars: Visions, with an Animated Mind for an Animated Time. May the force be with you: it’s a good time to be a Star Wars fan, so embrace it. Don’t let the hate get you down, and look forward to more Visions like this.
