Lucasfilm has announced that seven of the anime industry's top studios, including Trigger (Kill La Kill, SSSS. Dynazenon) and Production IG (Ghost in the Shell, Eden of the East) will be involved in the production of Star Wars: Visions, an anime anthology series set to premiere in the fall.
Lucasfilm says the shorts will feature a variety of art styles and represent a wide gamut of genres, ranging from tragic romances to comedic action pieces, and will even feature a rock opera. The producers of the project also revealed that the highly anticipated anthology will stream exclusively on Disney+ on Sept. 22.
The first short in the anthology is The Duel, by Kamikaze Douga, the studio behind the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure anime. The short will be produced in black and white with occasional splashes of color, and will focus on a story of self-sacrifice for the greater good. The short features new characters designed by Takashi Okazaki, who previously worked on Afro Samurai and Summer Wars.
Golden Kamuy's Geno Studio will produce the second story, Lop & Ocho, which has a more comedic tone and a cute, colorful art style.
The next short revealed, Tattoine Rhapsody, is by Studio Colorido. The short will be done in the style of a rock opera and will feature an appearance from bounty hunter Boba Fett. Colorido previously produced 2020's A Whisker Away and the anime adaptation of Tite Kubo's Bleach spinoff, Burn The Witch.
Two shorts will be created by studio Trigger. The shorts are called The Elder and The Twins, and true to Trigger's trademark over-the-top style, one of the shorts will apparently feature a lightsaber battle fought on top of a flying X-wing. The Twins will be directed by Gurren Lagann's Hiroyuki Imaishi, while The Elder will be directed by Masahiko Otsuka, best known for his work on FLCL and Little Witch Academia.
Kinema Citrus, the studio that produced Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, will create The Village's Bride, which will be a bittersweet story about an exiled Jedi and a young bride in a small village. The short will feature a score performed with traditional Japanese instruments.
The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl's Science Saru is producing a short called Akakiri, which tells the story of a Jedi who meets a princess. The short is directed by animator Eunyoung Choi and is inspired by the works of Akira Kurosawa. Science Saru is also producing a second short, T0-B1, which is about a droid and is said to be inspired by and have a similar tone to Astro Boy.
Finally, Production IG will create The Ninth Jedi, a story that focuses on the daughter of a legendary lightsaber-smith who has to deliver new weapons to a group of Jedi who may not even be alive anymore. The short will be directed by Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex's Kenji Kamiyama.
Source: Lucasfilm
