REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: Visions’ Volume 3 Continues To Be A Masterclass In Visual Storytelling
- Christopher Mills
- 19 hours ago
- 7 min read
A struggle with the Star Wars franchise is that it feels stuck within its post-Return of the Jedi era with its shows, games and movies. Even when Star Wars tries to branch out and tell a unique story, whether that may be a show set during the High Republic era or a story that involves kids on an Amblin-esque adventure, audiences and Lucasfilm don't tend to give it the time of day, which leads to complete failure and the franchise once again falling back on what it believes it does well: telling stories that feel familiar.
This year has been great for the franchise with the release of the Emmy Award-winning second season of Andor which was phenomenal and provided writing that connected audiences with the tragedy of Ghorman. We also got the third season of the Tales series with Tales of the Underworld, which wasn't as strong as previous seasons and felt held back by its Clone Wars animation and time setting. There was also Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy – Pieces of the Past, which was just a fun, harmless Lego show which twists up the universe everyone knows and loves, so at least there was some variety seen from the franchise within that show.
Star Wars: Visions has always been one of the best pieces of media to come out of the Disney+ era of Star Wars; scratch that, Visions is one of the best pieces of media to come out of the Disney era of Star Wars. Star Wars is a franchise that's set in a galaxy far far away and Visions branches out to Eastern international territory to further explore and celebrate the vast mythology that the franchise has to offer. Visions offers stories that you won't be able to find anywhere else, as we look at the universe through a cultural lens that allows us to view the world differently and also tell stories that, unfortunately, we wouldn't find in the West.
Star Wars: Visions gets the best Japanese studios to showcase and highlight the creativity that comes from Japanese animation and how diverse it is compared to the animation that we're usually used to. Just like previous volumes, we get nine stories from eight different Japanese studios, and for the first time, Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 offers sequel stories to previously released episodes from its first season. This season comes with flawless animation that will have your jaw on the floor, sending you through a wave of emotions as you witness a psychedelic, nostalgic rush that will leave you wanting to spend more time with certain stories. Thanks to the announcement of Star Wars: Visions Presents, this is now a possibility.
For the first time, Star Wars: Visions offers sequel episodes to three of its Volume 1 stories, and with them, we get improved animation from the studios and a further look into the worlds that were previously established. The first sequel we get is "The Duel: Payback," which features the Ronin (Brian Tee) hunting Anée-san (Suzy Nakamura), a former Sith who he must team up with when a ghost from his past returns to haunt him. It's a world that takes inspiration from samurai films of the past, such as Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and Kamikaze Douga + ANIMA work effortlessly together to bring a great blend of 3D animation which allows for the dynamic action sequences in the episode.
There's great attention to detail with the animation style that feels like sketches come to life. The Duel is a fan favourite among Star Wars: Visions, having spawned novels and comic books which tell more stories within that world, and now this sequel explores this revenge story that takes a unique direction that involves Jedi and Sith with their belief system. It continues to be the most unique setting in Visions, as it takes an Edo period setting, and if Lucasfilm wanted to return to this world (which likely will happen), it would be a welcomed decision.
The second sequel is “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope,” which feels drastically different to its predecessor, an action-packed story which featured betrayal, while this sequel focuses on loss and discovering your path. It's a cute story that brings back those nostalgic 90s anime visuals, and with the bond that Kara (Kimiko Glenn) builds with Teto (Freddie Highmore), a caretaker droid that she comes across, it truly feels like you're watching a Ghibli-esque animation set within the Star Wars world. It's unfortunate because Production I.G. began implementing 3D animation, and while it works in "The Duel: Payback", it doesn't deliver the same effect in "The Ninth Jedi", which thrived off its nostalgic 2D animation.
The third and final sequel is “The Lost Ones,” a sequel to "The Village Bride" which returns us to F (Karen Fukuhara) as she comes across a planet that's in need. Throughout this episode, we learn of her relationship with her master, Shad-Rah/Zero (Mark Strong), who was believed to be dead but is now seen working for the Empire. This is a story that seems quite simplistic with its concept, but its messaging with good and evil is executed well as we learn why F continues to help people and how she's grown different from her master. It's an episode that's beautifully animated, with Mark Strong giving a career-best voice performance as he takes charge of the screen. F and Zero's confrontation takes up half the episode, but it's worth every minute and proves that sometimes a simple story is all you need to deliver one of the best episodes of the season.
Although the season already had three sequels, there was an episode where I had already wanted to see more from the characters. "The Bounty Hunters" features Sevn (Anna Sawai), a tough bounty hunter running from her past, and IV-A4 (Ronny Chieng), a medical droid and assassin droid that struggles with its split personality. It's a duo that you can't escape from, as they work together to take down an industrialist who has a shady background and connects to Sevn's past. It's an episode that's a lot of fun thanks to the dynamic duo, but it also doesn't shy away from its topics of child abuse and labour. With Sevn on the run from her previous team and dozens of bounties to collect, there are endless stories we could follow with Sevn and IV-A4, and although it's unlikely we'll get a Visions: Presents for this story, I'm hopeful that we'll at least get a sequel in the near future.
"The Bird of Paradise" is one of two standout episodes in Star Wars: Visions Volume 3, as yet again, it delivers a story that focuses on the balance between good and evil, but it takes it in a direction that the Star Wars universe has never gone before. While we've experienced the use of blind characters in the universe, such as Kanan from Star Wars Rebels and Chirrut Îmwe from Rogue One, this episode highlights the spiritual connection within the Force once blinded. It focuses on a Padawan named Nakime (Sonoya Mizuno) who begins to lose faith in the Light Side and her teachings and begins to become tempted by the Dark Side. The visuals and structure of the episode tell a wholeheartedly beautiful story unlike anything seen in Star Wars: Visions before.
The final episode of the season, "Black," is animated by david Productions who are known for being one of the few anime studios who always deliver with animation and continue to subvert audiences' expectations of what they're capable of. This isn't your usual episode, as there's not a linear story to follow. It follows two stormtroopers trapped in battle between the past, present, light, dark, life and death. "Black" is a psychedelic trip that transports you into the mind of a Stormtrooper, and you are sent through a complete haunting acid trip of the horrors that the Stormtroopers are constantly sent through. They're normally the butt end of the Star Wars jokes with their terrible aim, but this episode takes the time to make you truly understand how horrific and straining their battles are, reflecting the life and mind of a real soldier.
Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 might just be the best instalment of Visions yet, as it continues to deliver stories that continuously expand on the mythology of Star Wars and create stories that may feel similar but vary drastically as they're told through the eyes of the various creatives that are on board. Visions tackling sequels for the first time is a welcome addition and never once felt like a forced entry, allowing for these characters and their worlds to feel more fleshed out with hopes that future stories may be able to return. The music throughout complements each episode, with Towa Tei being one of the few composers this season to deliver music that will transcend you or Sakura Fujiwara, who has the horrors of Stormtroopers play out to some smooth jazz. Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 is Star Wars like you'll never see anywhere else and it continues to be a masterclass in science-fiction storytelling.
Rating: ★★★★½
About Star Wars: Visions Volume 3
Premiere Date: October 29, 2025
Creators: Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Jason Fuchs
Producers: James Waugh, Josh Rimes, and
Jacqui Lopez, Justin Leach, Flannery
Huntley and Kanako Shirasaki
Cast: Brian Tee, Will Sharpe, Suzy Nakamura, J, Stephanie Hsu, Aki Toyosaki, Trevor Devall, Kimiko Glenn, Freddie Highmore, Masi Oka, Earl Baylon, Anna Sawai, Ronny Chieng, Joseph Lee, Jodie Turner-Smith, Liam Karlsson, Julian Paz Fedorov, Harvey Guillén, Steve Buscemi, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Strong, Ryan Potter, Emma Myers, Tanner Buchanan, Judith Light, Sonoya Mizuno, James Sie, Victoria Grace, George Takei, Kenta Miyake, Tsuyoshi Koyama
Production: Lucasfilm, david production, Kamikaze Douga + ANIMA, Kinema citrus
Co., Polygon Pictures, Production I.G, Project Studio Q, TRIGGER, WIT Studio
Distribution: Disney
Synopsis: The award-winning anthology of animated short films celebrates the mythology of Star Wars through unique cultural lenses. Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 features nine shorts from nine different anime studios to further demonstrate the diversity and creativity of Japanese animation.