English Dub Review: Star Wars: Visions Season One

The famous space opera franchise has been quite successful on the family-friendly streaming service regarding the television industry, especially the animation department. Its recent show, The Bad Batch, marked another hit for the brand and Disney+, in general. Now, they’re taking on a different type of animated show that envisions the universe through a new pair of eyes. If you think the anthology stories in Marvel’s What If were that captivating, then you haven’t seen what Star Wars has cooked up.

Star Wars: Visions is the latest anthology series to debut on the streaming service. It contains nine original short films that offer a new, diverse perspective on the Star Wars universe. Each short is produced by a different Japanese animation studio, including Kamikaze Douga, Studio Trigger, Production I.G, and Science SARU. In addition, the English dub of the show has a cast of well-known stars such as Lucy Liu, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Harbour, and Henry Golding.

Out of the upcoming Star Wars shows that are heading our way, this was something that I was excited to see the most. Not only was it highly original with a slew of new characters, but it also allowed the animation departments from Japan to present their own stories in the universe. With the popularity of Star Wars combining forces with Japanese animation, it was hard for people not to miss this one out, especially anime fans. Now that it’s out, was the wait worth it? Yes, it was.

Not only were the stories engrossing, but they also brought a distinctive side of their world-building with their animation styles and Japanese cultures. It’s a mixture that I didn’t think would fit in this universe, but they managed to find a way to make it work. It represented what people loved about Star Wars since its inception while balancing it with its anime-like influence. The result is a resounding series of small yet epic tales about good vs. evil and intergalactic oddities.

The English dub cast was stellar in their roles, ranging from Brian Tee as the Ronin in “The Duel” to Kimiko Glenn as Kara in “The Ninth Jedi”. Unfortunately, there were a couple of moments where their vocal performances fell flat or didn’t match the mouth movements regarding the dialogue. Other than that, they brought plenty of effort to bring their original characters to life.

The animation was the main highlight of the show as it was distinguishable enough to display a variety of vibrancy in its worlds and action sequences. It represented a series of paintings that you would find at the museum, with each holding a different style of creativity and storytelling. For example, the animation in “The Duel” resembled a black-and-white samurai film, while “T0-B1” copied the same look as “Astro Boy”. These different styles paid tribute to the classic anime shows that inspired Visions while giving the universe its unique coat of paint.

It’s hard for me to pick which episodes are my favorite since all of them were terrific for different reasons. But if I were to do so, I would have to choose “The Twins” and “Lop and Ocho”, both of which involve siblings with different beliefs. “The Twins” showcased the uniqueness of Studio Trigger’s spellbinding color palette through its settings and action, while “Lop and Ocho” represented Lop’s (Anna Cathcart) struggle to reunite her adoptive family. These episodes offered some suitable depth into these characters and the good-vs-evil scenario. As for my least favorite, I would say “The Elder” due to its disappointing showdown between Tajin (David Harbour) and The Elder (James Hong).

Overall, Star Wars: Visions offered the best of both worlds regarding its creativity and storytelling. It’s a fantastic collection of shorts that honors everything related to Star Wars and showcases creative freedom from the world’s best anime creators. With its solid English dub cast, stellar storytelling, and incredible animation, this is another win for the brand in terms of animation. This is a show that will satisfy both Star Wars fans and anime lovers alike. I guess you can say that the force is strong with this one.