– Spoiler Review –
It’s been a wild and excellent ride through the vibrant and unique worlds of Star Wars Visions, though with Science SARU’s second short, “Akakiri,” the fun must end…but hopefully just for now. This final short is unlike any before it, with a mix of strengths and weaknesses that come with it, but it’s important to include a tale of its like, while its inspirations bring this series and Star Wars full circle.
After the Jedi Tsubaki crash lands on a planet, he’s quickly reunited with the planet’s Princess Misa, exiled from her court due to a Sith Lord in its ranks. His goal is to help restore her to power, but it might be easier said than done, from the arduous journey they must take alongside her companions Senshuu and Kamahachi and a crippling, mysterious vision which haunts him at the most inopportune moments. “Akakiri” throws viewers right into its story, with the opening skirmish between locals and Tsubaki after he crashes, and slowly fills in the details from there. My first watch through I left a little confused and unclear how it arrived at its conclusion, but “Akakiri” deserves a rewatch regardless, as its bolder story and storytelling ideas are much more subtle than most of the Visions shorts before it, and everything you need to understand the ultimate actions of Tsubaki are all right there. I do wish the short had been longer to help flesh out the relationship/past between Princess Misa and Tsubaki, as while it provides viewers with enough to understand what they mean to each other and the planet they are on, they don’t quite feel as fleshed out as some of the characters in other Visions, not even those in Science SARU’s first short “TO-BI.” It doesn’t make “Akakiri” any less interesting, but it would’ve certainly made it more compelling or help make viewers more invested initially.
It’s hard to talk about this short without digging into its ending, so as I warned above, spoilers incoming. Tsubaki’s visions are of a strange masked person struck down, their pain so strong it cripples Tsubaki as it overwhelms him. His return to Misa stems from their past together, where he was a Jedi helping her planet and she shared with him her ideals for making it a better place for all its constituents, and knowing she’s been ousted by a Sith who would easily bring those plans crashing to ruin he wants to assist her back along her path. He cares for her and despite warnings from his Master regarding the visions, on how it affects him and leaves him vulnerable, he returns to help her, knowing he must be rushing towards this vision as it grows clearer the longer he’s with her. Force visions have always been a tricky thing for any Jedi to navigate, causing some Jedi pain simply from having them in the past, like Sifo-Dyas, but this feels different, as if Tsubaki is at war with himself over what it means. He knows it could ruin him, the longer and more frequently he has it, so why not try making his last act a good one, one to help someone he loved do something great for so many people, like lead a planet to prosperity? It’s a selfless act, putting himself at such risk, and is as classic a Jedi move as it gets, but it ends up going in a different direction than myself or Tsubaki expected (but his Master did).
The Sith Lord Masago, an imposing, tall woman who easily thwarts Tsubaki’s attempts at a lightsaber duel, isn’t full of rage or plans of domination like most dark lords we meet, but rather she wants to see destiny fulfilled. She’s calm and patient, while also shrewd in grabbing Tsubaki’s friends, and knows exactly when to push and prod the troubled Jedi, so I love how it’s not her size or strength one would instantly assume which makes her a deadly opponent. Instead of beating Tsubaki, she fights him only briefly and lets his visions do the rest of the work, as she’s seen his destiny too. In a way, he beats himself due to the debilitating vision, sparked by the growing anger inside because of his failure to save Misa as Masago’s men take her away. Sheathing his lightsaber once he realizes he’s failed, Misa taken while Senshuu and Kamahachi held at sword point, Masago points out all hope is lost and Tsubaki’s adherence to the Jedi ways is why he failed, but she says joining her means he could unlock his full potential.
To me, this recalled Anakin Skywalker’s deal with the devil, join with Palpatine to learn how to save the woman he loves, and both Jedi end up taking the deal and killing someone in their rage, but for different reasons. Tsubaki’s choice deviates from Anakin’s in a fascinating way, because while selfishly joins Palpatine so he won’t lose the woman he loves, Tsubaki’s fall is selfless (like him even coming), or at least that’s how I saw it. Tsubaki rejects Masago’s offer initially but gives into the rage, the short fulfilling its title, as the screen goes red, which is what ‘akakiri’ means in Japanese: red haze; I also instantly thought of the song by Chevelle, “Seeing Red.” In this rage, everything awash in red, Tsubaki can’t see beyond his anger about his failures, in saving Misa and his fight against destiny, and he begins to live out his vision, killing masked soldiers until one has a familiar scream, a set up we as the viewers see with Masago puppeteering them over to Tsubaki: Misa. With Misa dead, Tsubaki realizes his mistake and the fulfillment of the vision, and this is when Masago strikes with her deal, telling Tsubaki she can show him how to save her if he finally joins her. To save Misa, and already knowing he’s failed as a Jedi, rather than fight it, he gives in to Masago and helps save Misa, leaving with the Sith while Misa is free to rule her planet. I felt like this was a selfless choice, as he’s willing to give up his hopes of being a Jedi, of being with Misa, to save her. Sure, he pushed himself to this destiny by ignoring his Master’s warnings, but in the moment, he saw the best way to save the person he loved and took it, even if it meant losing everything he cared about. Anakin wanted to hold onto everything, gaining more power to prevent his wife from dying, and couldn’t let go like Tsubaki does.
It’s simultaneously a dark and hopeful ending, dark in that Tsubaki falls to the dark side, but hopeful as Misa is returned as ruler of the planet. It felt strange on my first watch through to end Star Wars Visions with this specific short, but that kernel of hope ensures this doesn’t deviate much from the others before it. I did appreciate “Akakiri” for its darker story and a Jedi actually falling from grace, as it’s obviously rare in both the main Saga but also even here, in a series of shorts made from various Japanese anime studios that were gifted a chance to tell the Star Wars story they wanted. Plus, the irony of a series of shorts called Star Wars Visions ending with a short about a vision felt like a nice tongue-in-cheek closure for this opening salvo of shorts.
There’s also some fun honoring of George Lucas’ biggest inspiration for Star Wars: Akira Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress. The actress who played the movie’s princess is named Misa Uehara, and the princess in “Akakiri” is named Misa; while Senshuu and Kamahachi honor both the original peasants of that movie, the comedic relief and storytelling device inspiration for R2-D2 and C-3PO, and Artoo and Threepio themselves with coloring on the characters’ cheeks; while some of the plot for “Akakiri” resembles the film’s. It’s a cool way to bring Star Wars full circle through Visions! I haven’t seen The Hidden Fortress yet, but it’s on HBO Max now and I might have to download it on my phone and watch it on my upcoming flight for my wife and mine’s honeymoon (otherwise I’ll watch it when we get home).
Here are a few other things:
- There’s a really packed cast for the English Dub, but I thoroughly enjoyed both casts. Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, Snake Eyes) and Yū Miyazaki give Tsubaki an almost regal voice, while both vibrantly voicing his struggles, adding an extra element as the screen goes red; Jamie Chung (The Gifted, Once Upon a Time, Lovecraft Country) plays Misa with a real conviction and sincerity, something Lynn of the Japanese original cast also captures; for Masago, I have to give the edge to Lorraine Toussaint’s performance (Middle of Nowhere, Selma, Orange is the New Black), as she brings her undeniable edge to the calm but powerful Sith, though Yukari Nozawa doesn’t skimp on the imposing either!; Keone Young and George Takei feed off each other’s performances as Kamahachi and Senshu, respectfully, making for fun performances that brings several laughs throughout. Young previously voiced Commander Sato in Star Wars Rebels, so it was nice to have him back, and Takei doesn’t need much introduction, but it felt like he had more fun with this role than that of Lok Durd in The Clone Wars. Wataru Takagi and Cho pretty much matched the chemistry but brought their own flavor to the roles.
- “Akakiri” also reminded me a bit of an episode of Samurai Jack, be it the montage of their travels, with all the unique, colorful locations or the wordless opening full of sound effects, hoots and hollers, and the score, much like that series was often without dialogue. It was really neat to learn Eunyoung Choi, the President and CEO of Science SARU, personally directed and came up with the short, letting her join a small and thankfully growing list of female directors of Star Wars content!
- The digital soundtracks for all the Star Wars Visions shorts are now live!
- The official site has finally released episode guides for the show, much like they do for the other animated projects, so head over there for concept art and trivia galleries from the shorts, but make sure to also watch the Filmmaker Focus extras included on Disney+!!
“Akakiri” is unique part of the Star Wars Visions line-up, even compared to Science SARU’s first short, and makes for an excellent, interesting final one to enjoy for the season.
+ Unexpected, darker ending, sprinkled with hope
+ Selfless version of Anakin
– Too short for its own good
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
STAR WARS VISIONS REVIEWS
“The Duel” | “Tatooine Rhapsody” | “The Twins” | “The Village Bride” | “The Ninth Jedi” | “TO-B1” | “The Elder” | “Lop & Ochō”