– Spoiler Review –
In “The Duel: Payback,” a sequel to Star Wars: Visions Volume 1’s “The Duel,” Kamikaze Douga, with some help from studio ANIMA, the Ronin faces a Jedi Grand Master bent on revenge, a moody, though still flavorful follow-up that kicks off Volume 3 in memorable fashion.
In the four years since “The Duel” first premiered, its world has been revisited a handful of times. The biggest expansion was Ronin: A Star Wars Visions Novel by Emma Mieko Candon, which released the same year as the original short and beautifully exploded the concept into one of the most dazzling and moving Star Wars novels to ever be released, an underread gem not to be missed. The two comic prequels in 2022 and 2024, both by Takashi Okazaki, really capture the look and feel of the original short, with the latter making R5-D56’s backstory a bit tragic, and were fun ways to visit the same world. But the Ronin novel has been the shining star, a hard to surpass sequel that I wondered if “The Duel: Payback” could match, at the very least. Given how different the two are in terms of story and what they bring to the world, it’s easier to think of them as separate as possible, though “Payback” matches on a screen level for being a worthy follow-up, from a sharpening of the world’s atmospheric flair, its grander finale, to the themes of revenge and hiding behind platitudes.
The most fascinating aspect to “Payback” is the twisted Grand Master, a Jedi leader of a sect known as the Crusaders, who has a thirst for revenge against Ronin. On design alone, Douga and ANIMA have created such a frightening character, as his design is a dichotomy much like the warring ideals inside him, and I dare say it was almost as shiver-inducing as seeing Darth Vader for the first time. What stood out the most was the constant smile, which is more unnerving for me than Vader’s mask, especially since the Grand Master claims to come for justice, his voice demanding and confident, and how the two don’t quite mix gives an extra layer of creepiness to the smile. The next unnerving thing about him is the synthesized voice, which sounds like the perfect mix of human and mechanical to the point it’s hard to tell which is more prevalent, personifying again the dichotomy inside. On top of all that, his movement, thanks to all the mechanical parts after the Ronin cut him down in the past, has a very neat visual trick, where there’s an outline of him as he flits about the battlefield, skipping to different places as if he’s invisible, and it’s a powerful and scary ability driving home his unnatural aspects.
While these design elements make him an imposing and frightening foe, the character’s beliefs supercharge his insidious nature, as he claims to come for justice but it’s clear he’s motivated by revenge, saying he’s a Jedi but dispensing justice as he sees fit, with only him as judge, jury, and executioner. He spouts platitudes of justice but his singular focus on the Ronin, and cutting down anyone who gets in his way, makes them moot, which can’t help but feel timely as politicians (aka Republicans here in the United States) call for safety and security yet are okay with masked men storming into our communities and ripping people from their homes, damn the collateral and emotional damage; there’s no justice there and there’s no justice in the Grand Master’s actions. The ending of the climatic duel hammers this home, as it shows how rage and misguided morals can blind a person, as the Grand Master is unable to tell which saber before him is his, the popping color of the animation gone from his POV, both blades white, noting there’s no difference between who he fights and who he claims to be. Top notch stuff here that really hefts “Payback” into a worthy sequel in its own right, though I’ll still consider the Ronin novel the best of the two.
The Grand Master accentuates what “Payback,” and the original short, has to say about the Ronin and his own quest for justice against the remaining Sith. After the flashback opening of Ronin cutting down the Grand Master, “Payback” plays out as expected, as he confronts Aneé-san, their duel incorporating some fun moving elements of the gambling den’s AT-AT setting, but as the Grand Master disrupts things, so too is the formula. While the Ronin helps defend the island holdout from the Crusaders, after he loses in his initial confrontation with the Grand Master, he’s still mostly content to let Que-Dama and the Ewoks do most of their fighting, like he did the villagers in “The Duel” before R5 helped, as it’s not really his fight, instead waiting and focusing on the Grand Master. And once it’s all said and done, his truce with Aneé to fight the Jedi over so he then playfully fights her for the crystals she took from him, underscores his sense of honor, willing to help and able to come to an understanding with his ‘foes,’ not just relentlessly hunt them. This shows how the Ronin might be a Sith, or was, but without the rage and hate, one isn’t blinded and handing out unrighteous justice or can’t come to terms.
I’m glad both Masaki Terasoma and Brian Tee where back to voice the Ronin, as it’s such a central performance to the world it helps ground the aesthetics, even though he’s still light on dialogue (though more than the first). Takako Honda and Suzy Nakamura voice Anee for the Japanese and English Dub, respectively, and while both are menacing while lending a hint of playfulness, Takako Honda has the slight edge on the menacing factor. Daisuke Namikawa and Will Sharpe are both unsettling, with some help from how the sound team edited their voices, as the Grand Master. Minami Iinuma voices the diminutive Que-Dama, his voice unamplified, for both casts, while Naomi Kusumi and Jonathan Lipow voice the amplified version of his voice in the Japanese and English Dubs, respectively, and I’m not totally sure what it is, but the Japanese pair sounded better together than in the English Dub, maybe because Lipow is just able to reach a deeper register or something and it didn’t fit as well, but it’s a neat effect either way and gives the little character a larger-than-life feeling.
Here are a few other things:
- Gotta love the Que-Dama riding a speedy little mouse droid! And all the Ewoks were not only so adorable, but lived up to the fierce warrior aspect of their kind, with the Ewoks beneath the bridge, stabbing up into fall enemies, especially gnarly!!
- I wish the non-Basic dialogue subtitles were automatically translated in the English Dub, but when watching the Japanese version, with English CC, then I was able to see what other characters said in their native alien tongue!
- The Filmmaker Focus shorts are back this year, but instead of being on Disney+ in the Extras section at the moment, they’ve been on YouTube and social media. It’s really cool to learn the director of “Payback” shot live-action animatics for big final duel, while the man behind the two comics, Takashi Okazaki, is again making all the wonderful designs we see in the short!
- If you recognized the voice over for all the Filmmaker Focus videos, it’s because Ashly Burch is a prolific voice actress, and I know her best from the PlayStation Horizon series where she plays the lead, Aloy!
- Nothing to do with the shorts, but I wish these Filmmaker Focus videos were more like Vol. 2’s, which were like mini-documentaries, instead of these quick little narrated experiences. Still nice to have, but would be neat for the creatives themselves to speak on their work!
Star Wars: Visions Vol. 3’s “The Duel: Payback” by Kamikaze Douga, with support from ANIMA, makes for a worthy on-screen follow-up to the original short, especially as it explores the true meaning of justice.
+ Dichotomy within and without of the Grand Master
+ Showing the Ronin’s true might
+ Stellar visual trickery and simplicity
– Can feel too similar at times
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 Song of Four Wings” | “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope” | “The Bounty Hunters” | “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)