Ranking All 9 Shorts From Star Wars: Visions Season 1

I fell in love with Star Wars: Visions in its second season. I’m an animation fan but I’m not necessarily a Japanese anime fan. That second volume of animated short films, giving new creators from across the world the freedom to tell Star Wars stories away from the confines of canon was a big hit for me and has made me want to revisit the first season, which was created entirely by animation studios based in Japan. Having done so, I’ve found I’ve enjoyed it a lot more on this revisit.

The first volume doesn’t have the same level of variety, the different voices and styles, of that second season, nor individual instalments as strong as Screecher’s Reach or The Spy Dancer, but variety isn’t exactly the point of the first season. It exists to highlight the Japanese influence on Star Wars, which has been there since the very beginning, and reverse the relationship. To let Japanese creators tell the Star Wars stories they want to tell, to imbue their history and culture and interests into this galaxy far far away. The results are fascinating, to see the similarities and differences between the nine shorts.

There might be an influx of Jedi stories but that’s to be expected, although my favourite of the bunch is actually the one that relies on Jedi storytelling the least. While I’m not much of an anime fan I do appreciate the creativity the season showcases. I love having new people create Star Wars stories, new perspectives and takes on old ideas, and Visions is a breath of fresh air within the franchise. I rank the nine short films not to pit them against each other or to say some are better than others, only to show that these are so personal and subjective that some spoke to me more than others, but in the knowledge that other people will have lists very different from mine.  

9) Akakiri

The season’s final short is my least favourite. It’s a short which almost feels too short. Akakiri throws us right into the thick of things, a Jedi on a world overtaken by a Sith, the plot already in motion as the occasional flashback fills us in. Or, more frequently, some heavy expositional dialogue. It very much tells us the complexities of this story rather than shows us. Unfortunately it doesn’t give me a reason to care. That’s the main issue I have with it. Even by the end, when everything is clear and explained, I don’t really care about these characters or feel the relationship the whole drama is balanced on. And while the visuals and music are cool, I’m not sure they always fit together.

By the time the story and stakes do become clear, it’s just beat-for-beat Anakin’s story from the prequels. A troubled Jedi aids a royal figure, someone he knows and loves from a previous mission. He has visions of her death and there’s a self-fulfilling prophecy of causing it to happen while trying to prevent it. And the Jedi turns to the dark side in hope of resurrecting her. I do appreciate the short having a dark ending, setting it apart from many of the others, but it doesn’t sufficiently remix ideas as much as retell them.

8) Tatooine Rapsody

I really like the idea of Tatooine Rapsody, less so the execution. It’s about escaping the life chosen for you and finding your true calling. There’s a Hutt who doesn’t want to be a criminal and a Jedi who wants to make music. Together they form a rock band. It’s a fun new outlet for a familiar theme, and fitting considering Star Wars’ inclusion of in-universe musicians since the first film. It’s also neat that maybe by becoming a rock star the protagonist is more of a Jedi than ever, finding a new way to spread hope.

The issue is that I want these shorts to play with canon in interesting ways, to make the most out of their creative freedom. Tatooine Rapsody ties in too closely for my taste. There’s Jabba at the podrace track, Boba Fett, the cantina, and even Obi-Wan listening in his hut. I wish there was some kind of twist with the setting rather than showing us everything we’ve seen before. And the biggest problem that holds the short back: I strongly dislike the song. It being so bad negates the point of the band saving themselves through being great musicians and spreading their message through their music being popular.  

7) T0-B1

I remember T0-B1 being my least favourite of the bunch on my first watch but this time I enjoyed it a lot more. It’s very slight and simple but a cute story that hits some strong emotional beats, both joy and sadness. I also enjoy the visual design and animation. But the story has me in two minds. It wants to transpose a droid into the standard hero’s journey, that’s the whole point, to have a droid in the role of Luke or Rey or any young hero leaving their lowly life and reaching for the stars to become a Jedi. But, at the same time, perhaps the journey it shows is a little too standard. It needs to be recognisable to make its point but also can’t help but feel repetitive. I love the wild idea of a droid Jedi and would love to see that explored more, but this light adventure doesn’t delve too deeply.

6) The Duel

I know, I know, The Duel at number 6. People love this short, see it as the highlight of the season, if not the series, and I’m not going to say they’re wrong. I like it too. I think it’s good. It’s just never stood out as a favourite for me. I think everything about it is cool. That’s the defining word and ‘cool’ should always be a big part of Star Wars. It just doesn’t do much more for me than be cool. I think it was a wise choice for the first episode, showcasing the different visual styles Visions could feature. The scratchy black-and-white world looks fantastic, it creates such a great unique vibe, with only brief, purposeful flashes of colour.

I love that the starfield at the beginning and end looks normal, and it only turns black-and-white as we pan down to the planet, as if there’s a galaxy out there where each planet could look different, a great little metaphor for Visions in general. There are hints of worldbuilding, a mix of elements from Star Wars and Japanese history, but it’s a pretty lean episode where we don’t learn much, and I personally didn’t feel much other than look at the screen and mutter ‘oh, that’s pretty cool’ every few seconds.

5) The Elder

I do have a couple of issues with The Elder. Firstly, it is a little overlong. I know that seems weird to say about a short but others accomplish more in less time. Secondly, it wants to have its cake and eat it too. It wants a shock death but also keep the character around in order to learn a lesson and propagate the themes. I don’t think it plays fair with showing us a character seemingly die but then revealing its not that bad and he’s actually fine.

However, what the short does well it does outstandingly. Not only does it feature the best villain of the season but maybe the best lightsaber fight too. It also makes a clever point about what it means to age as a force user. We see three generations: an elder Sith, a Jedi master, and his padawan. It shows how talent evolves and when someone has to let go of their power. The strengths and weaknesses of all three phases and when it’s the right time for the student to become the master. I think it’s thematically rich and feels both new and like classic Star Wars at the same time.

4) The Twins

I don’t like anime. I’ve tried it, it’s not my thing. But what I appreciate about The Twins is that it is so unapologetically anime to the extreme. If you’re going to do Star Wars anime why not fully commit to it and do something as bonkers as this? The Twins is big and crazy and silly and loud and funny and stupid and a lot of fun because of all those things. Canon be damned, science and physics be damned, this short pushes Star Wars to a new limit and while it’s not something I want to see very often, I enjoyed it here. There are crazy visuals and action, shouty voice acting, and the worst dialogue I’ve ever heard in my life. It concludes with a character stood on the outside of an X-Wing in space with no spacesuit, upside down, going to hyperspace and cutting a Star Destroyer in half with a massive lightsaber, like the Holdo maneuver on acid. It’s great fun.

3) The Village Bride

The Village Bride has what The Duel was missing for me. There’s little exposition, or even explanation, for much of the plot or characters and yet manages to have a strong emotional core. It’s a masterclass in revealing information, and when not to, so powerful moments hit hard. It’s an episode which portrays a spiritual rediscovery despite revealing little about the character who is undergoing the epiphany. The protagonist is an enigma, known only as F, and yet we understand her journey, feel it even.

We think the male character accompanying F is her master but then it becomes clear that isn’t true. What is his job and his past with F exactly? We never find out and it’s not necessary to find out. Why does F wear a mask? We never exactly learn that but we know what it represents. We discover enough about F as she rediscovers herself. We, the viewer and F together, learn about this new culture and beautiful world she finds herself on and while doing so she works through her issues. It’s a meditative journey where the viewer is along for the ride. It’s a very well-constructed short that builds to a violent, satisfying conclusion after being so gentle for much of the runtime. And it gets bonus points from me for using separatist battle droids rather than stormtroopers.

2) The Ninth Jedi

The Ninth Jedi is stuffed with great ideas. Maybe a little overstuffed. I can see why it’s been picked for not only a sequel in season 3 but a whole spin-off show coming in 2026. It’s a short which builds a whole new Star Wars universe. It’s so dense it has to include an introductory narration, giving us the state of the galaxy and the conflict between Jedi and Sith. There were so many new proper nouns I felt like I had to start keeping notes. Honestly, this short could have been the start of a new movie trilogy. It’s such a cool reset for the franchise.

The action is great, the characters memorable and fully realised in such a short amount of time, and I love the take on lightsaber lore. Back during production of Return of the Jedi, George Lucas played around with the idea that a lightsaber would change colour depending on who wields it. While I’m glad he decided against it for the main continuity, this short shows us the elseworlds universe where this is true, and it’s not just included to be cool, it helps reveal character traits. We get twists, both in terms of plot and character, through nothing more than the visual of someone igniting a lightsaber. But aside from all this, vitally the short gets the philosophy of Star Wars right, too. The Ninth Jedi is the freshest the franchise has felt in a long time, adding so much new while always feeling like Star Wars.

1) Lop & Ocho

So after gushing about The Ninth Jedi, how can anything best it? The answer: emotion. Lop & Ocho is my favourite short from the first season because it does such a remarkable job with its limited runtime in making me care about the characters and their relationship. The visuals, the environmental message, and the action are great but it all runs much deeper than that. I really connected to this short. I remember liking it on my first viewing but I truly fell in love with it this time. It’s an affecting episode, both hopeful and painful, and the conflict works so well by making me invested in the characters.

It’s an emotional story, a battle of two sisters who choose different sides in the war. I love how the almost sickly sweet and saccharine opening of the girls finding each other when they were young is contrasted with their violent and realistic confrontation years later. It’s a story about change, both personal and planetary. About characters reckoning with when to stick with tradition and when to evolve. I love that Lop is an alien, different from everyone else on the planet, taking advantage of animation when too many live action heroes in Star Wars are human. It’s a great choice to focus on an adopted hero, that “inheritance has nothing to do with blood.” I really love the idea that the outsider, the adopted child, becomes the true hero, the embodiment of the familiar legacy and tenets of the light side, rather than the biological child. Lop is the hero because she earns it, and she loves the people and planet who adopted her more because of her past. It really highlights the Last Jedi message that anybody, a nobody, can be the hero.