– Spoiler Review –
Polygon Pictures, which has helped on series like The Clone Wars and Star Wars Resistance, gets its first short in Star Wars: Visions Vol. 3’s “The Bird of Paradise.” With lush visuals depicting blindness and a focus on the main character’s inner struggles against the dark side, it’s a memorable yet uneven short.
In each volume of Visions so far, there’s one short I’d describe as the color-focused one, where they have a distinct palette of colors or use it to help depict aspects of the character’s struggle. In Vol. 1, it was “The Duel,” which pulled inspiration from Akira Kurosawa’s black and white films while pulling in pops of colors (something seen again this volume in its sequel), while in Vol. 2 it was “Sith,” where the main character’s artistic sensibilities made for a uniquely animated series of slowly revealing color. For Vol. 3, while “The Bird of Paradise” is already full of expected colors, once main character Nakime is blinded in a duel with a Sith named Aman, the way the team presents the world around her shifts in sensible yet interesting ways, and while it’s not always on screen, what does show up marks this as something different than other Vol. 3 shorts. In an interview with the new directors for Vol. 3’s shorts, we learn the team interviewed blind people to better depict how they’d see the world, with Tadahiro Yoshihira going through a light-blocking exercise, and you can really tell how much it informed their work. I love the way Nakime can ‘see’ the trees around her at one point, as the Force’s midichlorians light within them which she can sense and helps us notice how she’s slowly coming to accept her new lot in life, while during the very first moments of her blindness, only really what she’s touched and felt are visually depicted, giving us a sense of Nakime’s feelings of loneliness and confusion. And then when Dark Side Nakime comes to her in a vision and the two face off? It’s such an explosive array of colors and patterns, it’s dizzying and overwhelming, but beautiful, especially in the specific designs which take over each of their bodies. Their fight is the highlight of the short, though given how good the animation looks when it’s the opening battle and it’s just traditional designs and colors, I’d easily love more lightsaber battles, or content in general, from this team, so between both aspects Polygon Pictures made sure to show fans their capabilities.
Spread across several days, intoned by a gentle sounding chapter cards, Nakime struggles with her new situation and the temptation of the dark side, as her fear and anger build and grow as she continues through the forest, lost and alone. “The Bird of Paradise” felt like it dragged at moments during her trip through the forest, as often some of her problems with the situation were repetitive, but the interruptions from different visions of her Master and their droid, Aman, and even a helpful Toad break things up and helps push Nakime in one direction or another. Regardless of the repetition, what I appreciated most about Nakime’s journey is it felt more like something we’d have gotten in a novel, as she voices her frustrations aloud, so we’re privy to what’s going on inside her mind, whereas most films and shows there’s a bit more silence built in or a focus on dialogue with other characters to show the mental journey a character might be going through. Having the darkness inside her manifest and the two face off was a thrilling way to wrap it up and make both the visual and the dialogue collide, as it made all her torment so far come to vivid, distinct life that helped push her, and us viewers, to see both the differences between the darkness inside and yet how it really is one part of her she must recognize and accept and continuously fight against like any good Jedi would. The little chapter screens full of serenity were a miss for me, as while I appreciated the proverbs and chapter names to help separate and clarify her journey, it also took me out, as it was often so different compared to what we’d see Nakime go through next.
Tomoyo Kurosawa and Sonoya Mizuno voice Nakime for the Japanese cast and English Dub, respectively, and what was most interesting to me is I liked Sonoya better when she played the Dark iteration and I liked Tomoyo better as the normal, fitting in a way given the struggle inside! Both Ayane Sakura and Victoria Grace clearly had fun as Aman, really digging into the goading nature of the character, making her seem a bit like Asajj Ventress in the process! And while Hochu Otsuka was great as Toad, making it sound as wise as it was made to be, it’s hard to beat George Takei’s take on the little character!!
Here are a few other things:
- At times, the animation reminded me of Ōkami, a 2006 video game that implores a painterly style and pulls from Japanese mythology for its ideas and designs, and if you haven’t had a chance to enjoy it, don’t miss out!! There’s even a potential sequel in the works after all these years.
- Beyond the interview I mentioned earlier, there’s always the Filmmaker Focus video to enjoy and then get a close-up of all the concept art in the Episode Guide on the official site. I really need more of Daruma, it’s such a cute iteration on BB-8’s design, like it’s bigger and has feet and damn does it work!!
Polygon Picture’s “The Bird of Paradise” is a beautiful looking short with an engaging, though sometimes repetitive journey for a young Jedi.
+ Gorgeous visuals which shoulder the hefty task before them and do an intriguing job representing blindness
+ Deep, layered emotional journey for Nakime
– Can feel repetitive and therefore drawn out
– Chapter card dissonance
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on on Bluesky and Instagram @mynockmanor.
STAR WARS VISIONS REVIEWS
Vol. 3: “The Duel: Payback” | “The Song of Four Wings” | “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope” | “The Bounty Hunters” | “Yuko’s Treasure” | “The Lost Ones” | “The Smuggler”
Vol. 2: “Sith” | “Screecher’s Reach” | “In the Stars” | “I Am Your Mother” | “Journey to the Dark Head” | “The Spy Dancer” | “The Bandits of Golak” | “The Pit” | “Aau’s Song”
Vol. 1: “The Duel” | “Tatooine Rhapsody” | “The Twins” | “The Village Bride” | “The Ninth Jedi” | “TO-B1” | “The Elder” | “Lop & Ochō” | “Akakiri”
Related Material: Takashi Okazaki (one-shot) | Peach Momoko (one-shot) | Art of Star Wars: Visions Vol. 1 (book) | Star Wars: Visions #1 (comic) | Ronin: A Visions Novel (novel)