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"The Duel" is also, quite literally, a work of art. It might be expected given each studios’ background, but the breathless action in each short is one of Visions’ main strengths and is an exceptionally strong throughline. The swordplay, intricate footwork, and crushing swings all leap off the screen in ways that simply can’t be replicated in live-action, even with world-class CGI and Disney’s bottomless pit of money. The Ronin and the Sith (Lucy Liu) eventually end up duking it out in what ranks as one of the series’ finest lightsaber battles. In this short, it’s a tyrannical Sith, not a samurai, that the swordsman must chase out of town. Things kick off with undeniably the strongest effort, "The Duel", a Kurosawa-inspired take on the oldest of tropes: the Ronin (Brian Tee) wanderer blows into town and aims to defeat evil – or die trying.
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However, the longest of the nine shorts that comprise Visions is just 22 minutes in length, making for a scattershot approach to these stories that needs a hook. There is a family dynamic gone awry among the Sith in "The Twins," an Astro Boy-style adventure in "TO-B1," political struggle with shades of Studio Ghibli in "Lop and Ocho," and so much more. The nine stories approach their take on Star Wars from several different angles each one presents original characters and uses the franchise’s thematic elements as a launching pad to tell stories in their own inimitable fashion. Better still, it hints at a future that fully opens up the franchise to a whole new generation of storytellers from all corners of the globe. With nine animated shorts developed by seven Japanese studios, Star Wars does anime for the first time. It’s that sort of flourishing creativity which courses through Visions.
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It was such a straightforward, yet revelatory act – one that teased the full potential of the Star Wars canvas that had, up until that point, only been painted on by a few creators. In that case, Vader’s efficient, merciless scything down of the rebellion caused us to re-examine the villain and see the Sith in a new, more powerful light. There, the idea was simple: present a familiar icon and approach them from a different perspective.