– Spoiler Review –
Studio Trigger’s second Star Wars Visions short, “The Elder” drips with atmosphere and style, as well as philosophical discussions delving into what it means to be a Jedi as Padawan and Master confront an ancient evil.
“The Elder” is a stark contrast to Trigger’s first Star Wars Visions short, “The Twins,” as gone is the frantic soundtrack and in is a moody, tension building score, the aggressive anime style and animation is replaced with contemporary, proportionate stylization, while “The Elder” often enjoys it silences and rarely rises to anything above a shout compared to Am and Karre’s epic shouting. It really shows the range of the studio, especially as it allows it it seep in its ideals more than the first short did, as Master and Apprentice often talk of the meaning of the Jedi and their place in the Force.
In fact, “The Elder” starts with Padawan Dan and Jedi Master Tajin Crosser in hyperspace, having a casual conversation that’s interrupted by Tajin sensing something evil in the Force. Their conversation covers a variety of topics, from Tajin’s familiarity with the Outer Rim, Dan’s excitement regarding being Tajin’s Padawan, but also some thoughtful moments regarding Dan’s enthusiasm tempered by Tajin’s almost monotone, emotionless approach to, well, everything. They return to this topic often, Tajin telling Dan how he shouldn’t crave action, rather seek stillness and balance, a mantra he must tell Dan often since the Padawan finishes it with his Master. Dan means well, time and time again, but he’s like most youngsters and Padawans, happy to have the responsibility of being a Jedi but eager to experience some thrill, no doubt due to stories he grew up with as a youth, much like we saw with the Padawans in The High Republic Adventures recently. As they stop at a nearby planet to investigate the disturbance Tajin sensed, the two split up to cover more ground in search for a mysterious elder who recently visited the planet and Tajin confronts his Padawan regarding his choice of heading up the mountains where this elder was last seen. Dan’s smile marginally betrays his rationale, on how he’s better at mountain climbing, to point out that he knows it’ll probably led to a confrontation first. Despite Dan’s eagerness, Tajin trusts the boy and agrees, but it’s clear Dan’s heading for a fight as the music turns downright spooky, mystical, a mood it manages to keep despite some levity with Dan’s climb via the locals who he’s befriended. When Dan finally comes face to face with the Elder, who wastes no time revealing his true nature, he stands tall against the older, more skilled opponent, opting at first to simply defend, not attack. Even as his wish for action comes true, Dan’s still a Jedi about the moment, seemingly finding that stillness and balance when facing his greatest foe. With Dan, Yuichi Nakamura felt a little too old for the role, but I enjoyed his enthusiasm, though Jordan Fisher captured both the age I expected from Dan’s voice and the eagerness.
Before Dan engaged the Elder, he alerted Tajin regarding an animal carcass cut by lightsabers, so while the Jedi Master is waiting at the old man’s Sith starship, he senses the Elder and Dan’s fight begin, rushing to catch up to them. Whereas Dan found his stillness right when he got the action he so craved, Tajin remains the stoic Jedi Master, and his calm, controlled demeanor in his battle with the Elder shows the power this balance brings him. As a viewer, as thrilling and unexpected the battle gets, Tajin’s focus and confidence makes it hard to imagine he’ll lose, and that goes beyond even knowing it’s rare the villains win in Star Wars. His calm and patience extends to all his movements in the duel with the Elder, even when he makes advances, each stroke and movement is calculated; it’s a rather stunning display of skill and as great as fast paced duels have gotten via the Prequels or The Clone Wars, this has most of their flair with half of their speed. How Tajin manages to win is one of those stellar dueling moves you’d expect more from a samurai film than some of the bigger Star Wars duels. Much like the episode started, it ends with another great discussion between the two Jedi, as Tajin, despite showing Dan his strength in the Force, he puts it into perspective for Dan that even time will erode such abilities, hence how Tajin was able to defeat the powerful Elder. We saw this in a sense via Yoda, as he’s barely able to crawl into bed moments before his death and he’s not flipping about during Luke visits on Dagobah, as even someone as powerful as Yoda can’t compete with age; heck, even the Sith have proven age will defeat them, as Palpatine could be thrown easily down a shaft by his lightning riddled apprentice (regardless of his temporary return). It’s a sobering thing to tell your Padawan, as while Dan knows he’ll one day be as skilled as his Master, at one point it won’t matter, so striving simply for strength is impermanent and futile, as even it goes away; It’s always good to strive for more. For Tajin, both voice actors, David Harbour (yes, of Stranger Things fame!) and Takaya Hashi deliver a nearly monotone, reserved performance, fitting of the Jedi Master’s calm yet confident demeanor.
The Elder, played by James Hong in the English Dub (returning once again to Star Wars!!) and Kenichi Yagata in the original Japanese cast, is a compelling and interesting character. He’s scary fast and nimble for his age, though his confidence in his skill and purpose is part of his undoing, forgetting that age can hinder him and his mind more than his enemies. His past is also intriguing, answering Dan’s repetitive questions about him being a Sith by mentioning he left as they lost their way. What happened to the Sith that made him believe they wouldn’t achieve their goals? How long has he been away, searching for new opponents to test his skills against? And why does he dissolve into stones upon his death?! That’s probably one of the most interesting moments: is it because he’s as old as stone or something else with the pure evil swirling inside him? Regardless, he also ensures his ship explodes, so the Jedi can learn no more about him and it’s a moment like that which only adds to the feeling the Elder’s story has lots of potential for more. I only slightly preferred Hong’s take on the Elder due to the unhinged confidence he brings to the role, while also my familiarity with him and his works, both Star Wars and otherwise, helped too, but it’s hard to choose between the two since Yagata also found a way to capture his evil and confidence.
Here are a few other things:
- It feels very easy to fit this story into canon somehow, prior to Episode 1 and maybe after The High Republic (or even before), while I’d love to see more of Tajin and his familiarity with the Outer Rim, as well to see where Dan goes next after this.
- I loved the designs of the Elder’s saber blades, almost like F’s in “The Village Bride” but with a more traditional samurai sword hilt.
- 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+!!
Studio Trigger’s second Star Wars Visions short, “The Elder,” is their best, a calm yet purposeful story that only goes big when it needs to.
+ Dan and Tajin’s conversations
+ The Elder himself and the duels
+ Mood and pacing
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”