Star Wars media, and, by extension the people who enjoy it, are evidently divided into two groups.
The first is Skywalker-centric, focusing on that Force-sensitive family and allies from the prequel days, through the Empire’s despotic rule, during the New Republic’s shaky emergence, and then while The First Order seizes control. The second category has nothing to do with the Skywalkers and the various story spin-offs that link back to Anakin, Luke, Leia and co. You’re not expected to be up to speed with every Disney+ Star Wars series, nor are you expected to jump up and down on your couch at the inclusion of a fan-service cameo. Which is great if you have franchise fatigue – which I do at this point.
Some of the projects that have distanced themselves from the Skywalker Saga have included massively acclaimed Andor, along with family-orientated Skeleton Crew, divisive The Acolyte, and animated anthology series Star Wars: Visions.
That last one is important because over the course of three Star Wars: Visions seasons, animation studios from around the world were allowed to play in Galaxy Far Far Away, bringing their own creative visions to the table without the pressure of canon alignment. One of those animation houses was Ghost in the Shell and Blood: The Last Vampire makers Production I.G, which ponied up Visions shorts The Ninth Jedi (Season 1), and follow-up The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope (Season 3).
With the announcement of a new Star Wars: Visions Presents banner, to cover longer-form expansions of Visions stories, Japan’s Production I.G is back – with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’s Kenji Kamiyama co-directing the continued story of fledgling Jedi Lah Kara over the course of eight dedicated episodes.
If you need a plot refresher, The Ninth Jedi is set in a far future where the Empire (and First Order) is long gone, and both the Jedi and Sith are practically extinct, with Force-sensitive individuals scattered and masterless. Warlords and bandit hordes are the universe’s greatest threat, and their most powerful leader Nawaam has sinister plans for the kyber crystals instrumental in making lightsabres. To enact his scheme, he kidnaps sabersmith Lah Zhima, an act that forces Zhima’s young daughter Kara to fight, and in the process reveals that she is a powerful Force wielder. That brings her to the attention of Jedi master Margrave Juro, who has ambitions of his own: to use Zhima’s handful of reforged weapons to equip and restore the Jedi order.
It’s debatable whether The Ninth Jedi has the same amount of narrative and stylistic punch as a full season versus being concentrated into two 20-minute episodes, as it was before. Still, the anime makes for a gripping, high-stakes adventure that manages to straddle the line between fresh and familiar.
On the familiar Star Wars front, you have a colourful collection of allies – including standout droid Gramps – and a black-clad Big Bad in a helmet, who has a habit of reviving his fallen henchmen in increasingly mechanical forms. Heroes lack confidence and/or teeter on the brink of the Dark Side; there are epic space battles; deaths mount; planets are destroyed by mega weapons; and the series even has an Ewok stand-in species.
There’s plenty that Star Wars fans will recognise, but The Ninth Jedi manages to feel like it avoids trope copy-paste for the most part. Its anime sensibilities come through far stronger (yes, there’s even a serene pink-haired woman in a kimono, a Hylian-lookalike people and long, lingering close-ups on eyes). Barring its jaw-dropping lightsabre fights, the show is probably most interesting for how it delves into intriguing topics that popped up in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie – only to be forgotten by the time hot mess The Rise of Skywalker released. Can anyone wield a lightsabre, and become a Jedi? Are there any alignment options beyond the binary rigidity of Jedi and Sith; Light and Dark?
The Ninth Jedi actually goes there, with a sleeker marriage of CGI and 2D animation than in the earlier Visions shorts. And whether you watch in Japanese sub or English dub, the explorations are delivered with sufficiently strong and suitable vocal performances.
All eight episodes of Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi are streaming on Disney+ in South Africa from today, 5 August.