– Spoiler Review –
There’s been a level of greatness with the last few Star Wars Visions shorts that I wasn’t sure could continue, but Geno Studio’s “Lop & Ochō” carries the stride forwards, with its universal themes of found family familiar to the Saga, compelling story, and the unique position of putting a non-human character into the focus via Lop.
In Geno Studio’s “Lop & Ochō,” we follow Lop after she’s escaped from Imperial servitude, trying to find a way to survive, when she runs into a local work boss who, after his daughter Ochō becomes infatuated with Lop, decides to take her into their family to raise her as one of his own. Lop isn’t human like Ochō and her father Yasaburō are, instead she looks much like a giant bunny, with the floppy ears and big feet, which she’s actually based off of noted infamous Lepi Jaxxon, who’s made a canon resurgence in recent years via IDW’s Star Wars Adventures Annuals. She jumps around a lot, using her physiological features to their advantage, and her sense of movement and physicality from it is at stark contrast with her timid nature, as if she’s almost afraid of the power she has inside. Her appearance doesn’t make much difference to her new family, as the short jumps into the future several years to find Lop a fully accepted member, but it’s clear Yasaburō and Ochō have grown apart due to some ideological differences regarding the Empire’s involvement with their planet. Lop cares a lot about her found family, maybe more than their planet at the moment, so she doesn’t quite wade into the discussion if the Empire is good or bad, but rather tries to appeal to Ochō and their father about what their decisions mean for the future of the family. Yasaburō has hindered the Empire’s facilities by blowing part of it up, his workers sympathetic but unwilling to stand and face the Empire, while Ochō rages at him for messing with the industries that will supposedly provide a future for their planet.
Lop and Ochō both care about the future of the planet, but it’s Lop who’s concerned about what the Empire’s industries have already done to the place, whereas Ochō is only focused on the future and her place in it. As Qui-Gon Jinn said to his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Keep your concentration here and now,” a sentiment many Jedi share as being in the here and now allows them to commune with the Force and listen to its guidance, whereas looking to the future (or visions of it) finds anxieties and bolsters them, leaving them open to a variety of emotions that can lead to darkness or believing the ends justify the means. Though neither are Jedi, Lop and Ochō’s point-of-views inhabit the struggle between light and dark, Jedi and Sith, and the short slowly builds to a point where it stops simply being the characters’ words representing the fight between good and evil, to them embodying it. Having Lop as a non-human also seems to mean she represents nature, embodying its side of the struggle, while Ochō represents industrial at the end once her Imperial and utilitarian outfit is revealed. Ochō doesn’t always look like that from the start, as even the outfit we see her in before she leaves her family behind is a mixture of natural and ceremonial, though its design almost feels futuristic, even more so than Lop’s little eye-scanner, already showing she’s focused on appearance and status over melding with the world around her and accepting her place in it. These little designs and choices provide “Lop & Ochō” lots of deep subtext, supporting the story and doing some heavy lifting for its run time, enduring viewers to its characters and world in these subtle ways.
When it’s revealed Ochō’s already on the Empire’s side but takes it a step further by joining them after talks with her father don’t result in what she wants, she cuts off her hair to symbolize the break while Lop hops home, bringing the distressing news to Yasaburō. The next part is easily one of my favorites of the short, as it embellishes on the concept of how little bloodlines matter when it comes to who you can consider family and their abilities in the Force, something the Sequel Trilogy dealt with in its own way. Yasaburō actually apologizes to Lop if he ever put Ochō before her and then reveals a family artifact he wants her to have: a lightsaber, brought to the planet centuries ago and passed down generation by generation to show the bond of family. Despite his initial objections when they first met and how she’s a different species from a different planet, Lop has been a steadfast daughter who’s done her best to honor the family she’s become a part of, and Yasaburō decides she’s worthy to hold the family blade. The way the sequel trilogy handled this may vary per viewer, but the idea that bloodlines aren’t vital to a person’s future certainly holds true by the trilogy’s end, as Rey’s Palpatine blood matters little to the Jedi and her spirit, as she becomes the new hope for the galaxy and is adopted into the Skywalker family, much like Lop here is by the Yasaburō clan. Bestowing the blade on Lop is a powerful continuation and expansion of the theme, making it even more clear caring about a person’s fortitude and decisions is what should matter most, and helps empower Lop to move past her timid nature and confront her changing sister. Found family is such an important aspect to the Saga as a whole and something I’ve always identified with, so it was powerful to see it so distinctly focused on and vital to this tale.
Saber in hand, Lop heads off to save her dad from his confrontation with Ochō, now completely decked out in the Imperial whites like I mentioned earlier. The two are fighting, clashing with weapons, when Ochō blinds her father’s remaining good eye as Lop arrives. Lop tries to honor Yasaburō’s wish to save her sister, but she feels it’s to late for her to turn back to their family and moves to kill her father since he won’t comply. This is when Lop steps in, igniting the family blade and enraging Ochō even more to see how she’s been pushed out of the family. The two fight in an emotional, yet quick battle and Lop looks to defeat Ochō, only for her to rise atop an Imperial shuttle and fly away. The family is broken, but is it irrevocable? Lop’s droid projecting an image of how happy they all were together seven years ago seems to suggest it’ll be a hard road, but family is family so I’m sure Lop will try to still save her sister. If you can’t tell already, much like many of these shorts, I’m interested in seeing what happens next with Lop and her wayward sister Ochō!
Here are a few other things:
- As initial reluctant viewer to the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before franchise, and eventual a reluctant minor fan alongside my wife, it was really cool to have the main character’s younger and hilarious sister, played by Anna Cathcart, voicing Lop for the English Dub! While I don’t think she was quite there yet with some of Lop’s bigger, emotional yelling-filled moments, like the original Japanese actress Seiran Kobayashi, Cathcart did capture that timid, earnestness well for Lop. Hiromi Dames for the English Dub and Risa Shimizu of the original Japanese cast both brought an authentic fury to Ochō’s change, especially once Lop ignites the lightsaber, though they still found a way to make her sound reasonable prior to her big break with the family. Paul Nakauchi and Tadahisa Fujimura brought both a fatherly tone and resigned reluctance to seeing his family fractured with their respective Yasaburō performances.
- I don’t know if it’s been in the cards all along or if all the interest in the series pushed it forward, but Dark Horse comics is bringing a Star Wars Visions artbook in 2022!
- All the custom posters for each Visions short have finally been revealed and complied on the official site.
- I feel like there was some inspiration from Rogue One, with the Star Destroyer hovering over the city in several gorgeous but forboding shots.
- 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+!!
Geno Studio’s Star Wars Visions short “Lop & Ochō” strives on the little details and its big picture ideas, making for a compelling story of a family split by the Empire that leaves one wanting more of this vision too.
+ Bloodlines matter not
+ Found family at the forefront
+ Little symbolism hidden everywhere
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”