Giant kyber crystal-sized spoilers ahead!!!
I’m a big fan of Visions, the non-canon anime shorts that are stories inspired by Star Wars. There were quite a few I loved from Season One, I adored virtually all of them from Season Two, and Season Three had some I liked but didn’t impress me as much as the other two seasons. One of the fan favorites from Season One was The Ninth Jedi, and though I liked it well enough, I wasn’t sure I was interested in an 8-episode run of its own. But it’s Star Wars, so I knew I’d at least watch it once.
And…it’s fine. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it, either. Maybe it’s because I’m not an anime fan at heart. There are elements of Japanese anime that really get on my nerves, lol, and maybe that’s why I loved Season Two so much more–the shorts were made by studios from around the world and had their own unique flavor, without the screaming, gasping, grunting histrionics of traditional anime.
But, having said that, I thought the story was interesting, and the characters grew on me. I liked the concepts it explored, particularly with lightsabers. These lightsabers changed colors depending on the feelings and motivations of the wielder. I also liked that lightsabers were presented to people who didn’t have the power of the Force, but had the heart and integrity of a Jedi, to become one of them.
The basic story is that the Jedi are trying to rebuild their Order. Kara’s father, Zhima, constructs lightsabers, but he is kidnapped by General Nawaam, and Kara and the other Jedi are trying to find him, as well as stop Nawaam from conquering the galaxy. I’ll talk a little bit about each character and what they contributed to the story.
Lah Kara is the main character of the story, a “child” or a “girl,” but I’m guessing she’s a young teenager, no more than fifteen. In the original short, she delivers the lightsabers her father made to the Margrave, to give to potential Jedi, but in the process her father is kidnapped for unknown reasons. Kara is young, so she’s impatient, reckless, and quite emotional, but she’s got a good heart. She just wants to find her dad, but her journey requires that she learns the ways of the Jedi. Which means learning patience, controlling her emotions, and dealing with information about her dad’s past that isn’t exactly flattering. She can be annoying at times, but I think that’s just adolescence, lol (as well as her constant gasping and grunting).
Margrave Juro (“The Margrave”) is Kara’s mentor and an old friend of her father’s. I like Juro a lot, because he’s wise, patient, kind, decisive. You know, everything that a Jedi Master should be. Naturally, because he’s the mentor, the leader, the one everyone counts on, he’s gotta die fairly quickly, but like any good Jedi Master, he comes back as a Force ghost to guide Kara in her moments of crisis.
Lah Zhima is Kara’s father. We see him in the original short as a lightsaber smith, but it turns out he’s a former Jedi who trained with Juro in their youth. There’s a lot of mystery around Zhima, an intriguing character that’s hard to figure out at first. His story comes to us in pieces, in the memories of other characters, particularly Juro and Nawaaam. For a while, it seems Zhima is a nefarious person, but it all turns out to be a big misunderstanding.
Ethan is one of the Jedi training and travelling with Juro. He’s sent on a mission to infiltrate General Nawaam’s stronghold to find out what he’s planning (surprise! It’s a superweapon made out of kyber crystal). We don’t get too much into Ethan’s character, except that he’s a good boy with huge eyes that make him look perpetually startled.
Homen is another Jedi with Juro’s group, and another character I wish we’d gotten more of in the story. I really like the looks of this guy (he vaguely reminds me of some cartoon character from the 70s I can’t quite put my finger on, lol).
General Nawaam is the villain of the story, a Kylo Ren-like figure who rejects both the Jedi and the Sith. He strives to purge all emotions, believing they are what causes all the problems in the galaxy. I mean, he’s not exactly wrong, and so that’s why his lightsaber burns blue instead of red–he has the best of intentions, I guess, at least at first. I’m not sure how conquering the galaxy and destroying a lot of it is going to help anything, to be honest. I’m also a little confused about the whole silver lightsaber thing. Apparently it means the wielder has purged all emotions. Okay? And? Eventually it turns red while he’s fighting Kara. Kara’s had turned red at some point, then silver, and then turned back to green, and…??? I think the point it’s trying to make is that a Jedi must balance their emotions. Not purge them completely, not give in to the negatives, but control them so they don’t control you. Jedi Theory 101. Anyway, I feel like Nawaam was a weak point, mostly because his motives weren’t clear and a lot about him didn’t make sense. Oh well.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention 4-9’s, the little yellow bird-like droid who is adorable; Gramps, the ancient pipe-smoking droid that pilots their ship; the Jedi Hunters who don’t actually have the Force, but have great banter; and one Sith that works for Nawaam that turns into a Grievous-like thing. Oh, and the space dwarves! They were great.
So the show was kind of uneven for me: I liked some of the concepts and characters, but the plot didn’t quite work for me in the end, mostly because of Nawaam. I’m not sure if there will be a Season Two, or if another short will be explored for expansion, but I’ll continue to root for more Visions in the future.
Did you watch The Ninth Jedi? What did you think? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!
Star Wars and Other Obsessions 