There have been plenty of cartoons based on Star Wars before, but Star Wars: Visions was something completely different. Disney gave free rein to a few Japanese anime studios to help produce a series of shorts. The first season was in 2021 and fans have been wondering since if the series would ever get a second season.
The wait is finally over because Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 is here. There’s not much anime this time around and it instead focuses on other studios around the world. From 2D to 3D to stop-motion, there are a lot of animation styles in this latest season. With spoilers on, let’s rank them all.
9 The Bandits Of Golak
"The Bandits of Golak" is the seventh episode of the series and focuses on a brother and sister. The cartoon style looks a lot like Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ 3D animation. It’s not the best-looking episode in the collection visually and the story is pretty forgettable as well. A brother and sister try to outrun the law when it’s found out one of them has Force powers.
8 Screecher’s Reach
"Screecher’s Reach" is the second episode and it has a better visual style. Everything has thick, black lines almost like it was done by crayons or colored pencils. It’s got a cool look to it but the story barely has anything to do with the Star Wars universe until the end.
A group of four orphans ventures out to a mountain to search for a ghost when it is revealed to be a Sith inside. It felt a little disjointed as far as the messaging went.
7 The Pit
"The Pit" is also about a group of orphaned workers and it is the eighth episode. This group of workers is tasked by the Empire to dig a hole to look for Kyber Crystals which are used for Lightsabers. Once they’ve dug far enough and mined a majority of the Kyber, the Empire abandons them for dead.
Without an ounce of hope, the workers have to band together and figure out how to solve this issue. It’s set up to have an inspiring finisher but it just doesn’t resonate fully.
6 Sith
"Sith" is the first episode of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 and it is a decent way to start this new collection. The art style is in 3D but there’s also a bit of cel-shading to everything. The use of color in this episode is what makes it stand out.
There are a lot of blank spaces of white that get filled in as the episode continues to get more violent once a Sith and his droid companions appear. It’s almost like the game, The Unfinished Swan, which could have indeed inspired the art direction.
5 In The Stars
"In the Stars" is the third episode and it looks heavily inspired by the stop-motion film, Kubo and the Two Strings. It’s also about a group of siblings, but they are sisters to be exact. The Empire has taken over their planet and polluted it.
The younger sister wants to fight back with the Force like their mother but her older sister refuses until things get dicey toward the end. After an epic finale, peace falls once again on the planet with flowers blooming from polluted rubble. It’s a scene that could fit right into a game like Okami.
4 Aau’s Song
"Aau’s Song" is the ninth and final episode of the collection. It too is about mining for Kyber Crystals except it is a more positive interpretation. On this planet, a dedicated family of blacksmiths purifies the Kyber so that Jedi can use them for powerful Lightsaber creations.
It’s a sweet tale ultimately about a father and daughter but the best thing about it is the art style. Everything looks like it is made out of felt reminiscent of games like Kirby’s Epic Yarn or Yoshi’s Wooly World.
3 I Am Your Mother
"I Am Your Mother" is a fun play off of Darth Vader’s famous catchphrase from the movies, “I am your father.” This fourth episode is less sinister than Darth Vader though and focuses on a family race. It has stop-motion animation with everything looking like it was made out of clay.
It’s a short, sweet, and funny little story about a young pilot who is embarrassed by her overbearing mother. Through this race, they start to see eye to eye.
2 Journey To The Dark Head
"Journey to the Dark Head" is the fifth episode and it is the closest thing to an anime episode in Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 visually. That’s because the studio that worked on Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise had a hand in it. It stars a young mechanic who teams up with a young Padawan to try and destroy a statue.
This mechanic believes her vision that upon destroying this statue, the dark side will perish from the force. It’s visually spectacular, has some great fight scenes, and there’s some good comedy to enjoy in it too.
1 The Spy Dancer
"The Spy Dancer" is a triumph from all angles and it is the sixth episode in the series. It may not be inspired by anime, but the art style is still drop-dead gorgeous. It’s about a troop of cabaret performers who spy on Stormtroopers who frequent their club.
The emotional stakes are high in this episode once it is revealed there is a special guest in attendance. It’s inspiring, dramatic, and action-packed as well, and the one episode of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 wherein fans may be wondering what will happen next.