– Spoiler Review –
WIT Studio’s “The Bounty Hunters” might be too short for some of its ideas, but its odd pair of titular characters, their past, and the situation before them makes it an early standout in both returning and original shorts in Star Wars: Visions Vol. 3.
Those who take up the bounty hunter profession occupy an interesting moral grey area, as they could be driven simply by credits, not caring who they work for or what their targets have done, while they could have their own code and morals, helping those they can, pursuing the worst of the worst, or even taking down their competition for the reputation. In Wit Studio’s “The Bounty Hunters,” it’s not quite clear where Sevn and IV-A4 stand in the beginning, though a dark opening flashback as Sevn watches a Jedi march through a burning manor and IV-A4’s discontent with an assassin protocol she’s installed on him, try to mislead us on the answer. Their partnership forms a solid backbone for the short, as while there’s a shorthand and understanding they share, not quite a friendship but almost, Sevn’s cagey, withdrawn personality digs into IV’s annoyance with his situation, leading him to think she doesn’t care about it, and this tension is pushed and pulled on throughout the story.
When the seemingly benevolent businessman Jin-Sim offers them a steady pay and expert knowledge regarding droids, IV sees a way to fix his problem while Sevn picks up on the dangerous undertones of who Jin-Sim is and what his business is really all about, but she doesn’t share this with him. As the reality of the situation becomes clear once the bounty hunters locate the resistance Jim-Sim has sent them to bring in alive, with their leader Eno offering irrefutable evidence of his misdeeds, Sevn’s willingness to listen and jeopardize the contract upsets IV and sees the two hunters split. WIT Studio makes us think, for a second, Sevn won’t do the right thing still, but she pulls through and confronts Jin-Sim, the latter donning a giant golden rideable droideka to fight her, and once IV returns and helps her fight him, as he realized she cares more than she lets on, the dream team brings down Jin-Sim together. The brevity of Sevn and IV’s split and how easily it changes back is a symptom of the short’s length, not the writing, as well as how apparent Jin-Sim’s duplicitous intentions are, but the pair’s overall connection and the short’s stylish animation and musical score make those easy things to look over.
Sevn seems like a character worth exploring beyond even “The Bounty Hunters,” as there’s the tantalizing glimpse of her past and what it’s meant for her ever since. I’m curious what WIT Studio was going for with the Jedi and her actions in the past, as she’s painted, at least from Sevn’s point-of-view, as a scary and frightening figure at first, seemingly ruthless as she cuts down someone as the building burns around them all, yet later it’s clear she was here dispensing some type of justice and she lets Sevn go since she was a slave, the collar on her similar to the ones Jin-Sim put on his “employees.” Sevn still isn’t happy with the Jedi though, as the mercenary group Basham, who had taken Sevn in as an orphan and trained her, blames the destruction on her and hunts her relentlessly to this day. The complexities within Sevn, learning more about Basham and their place in the larger galaxy, and what Sevn might do if she ever caught up with the Jedi are all things I’d not be against seeing expanded on if more sequels are on the cards for any potential future Visions volumes.
As for the cast, Sevn is played very well by Ai Fairouz for the original Japanese recording, capturing some of her conflict, but it was the English Dub that really blew me away, given the scratchy and tough way Sevn presents herself to others, and some great depth as she deals with the moral quandary of the situation. When I looked at who it was, I did a double take, as while I knew she was voicing someone in one of Vol. 3’s shorts, I didn’t remember which one, and I was all the more impressed: Anna Sawai! This is only the second show I’ve seen her in, but after her award-winning, for damn good reason, performance in Shōgun’s first season, and how she plays Sevn here, her career is one we’re all lucky to experience…hopefully she’ll make it into more Star Wars in the future! Joseph Lee’s tones play up Jin-Sim’s fake benevolence best in the English Dub, but Daisuke Ono takes the cake when the mask comes off. Tomokazu Sugita and Ronny Chieng voice IV for the Japanese Cast and English Dub, respectively, and while I’ve really liked Chieng’s appearances on The Daily Show or various films/TV, Sugita just fit the duality of IV a touch better for me. Both Yume Miyamoto and Jodie Turner-Smith for the Japanese Cast and English Dub, respectively, do a lot with a little for Eno, the Resistance leader, while hearing Turner-Smith again just reopens the wound of The Acolyte’s cancellation.
Here are a few other things:
- Want to hear the theme song by Sheena Ringo wherever you go? I know I do, and you can too as all Visions Vol. 3 soundtracks are now on Spotify!
- For the Filmmaker Focus video, explaining the gold plating of the droideka was a way to denote Jin-Sim’s true nature is a simple, yet fun decision, basing IV’s six arms off of Buddhist asura statues fits with his med-droid side, while Director Junichi Yamamoto citing his influences as both a painter named Saul Leiter and director Wes Anderson is an intriguing combination!
- And don’t forget to check out concept art via the Episode Guide on the official site!
WIT Studio’s “The Bounty Hunters” is an early favorite original short for me in Star Wars: Visions Vol. 3, as its main pairing delights and the hints at deeper layers, especially if there was more time, shows the studio found a good balance of fun and complexity.
+ Sevn’s complexities
+ IV-A4 and Sevn’s friendship
+ Builds up to some great action in its slick animation
– Too short for things to land fully
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” | “Yuko’s Treasure” | “The Lost Ones” | “The Smuggler” | “The Bird of Paradise” | “BLACK”
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)