Star Wars has unveiled concept art for their latest animated series, Star Wars: Visions. Unlike Lucasfilm's previous ventures into animation, Visions is unique in that it is an anthology of animated short films independently developed by seven acclaimed anime studios in Japan. The creators of Visions opted to make the show non-canon to the mainline Star Wars continuity in order to give storytellers as much creative freedom as they needed to tell the stories they wanted to tell. This decision ultimately resulted in a diverse collection of nine shorts that all vary drastically in aesthetic, style, and tone. The protagonists of each story are all distinctly designed and all undergo personal arcs that range from intimate familial quarrels to enormous, galaxy-spanning conflicts (and, in some cases, both).
And yet despite all these differences, all nine shorts share one attribute: they all boast positively stunning visuals. Some episodes, like "The Ninth Jedi," opt for a more traditional anime approach that would fit right at home with the most popular ongoing anime today. However, other episodes, like "The Duel," adopt art styles so unique that first-time onlookers may not even recognize them as anime, much less as entries into the broader Star Wars franchise. Each episode dedicates a substantial amount of time to showcase beautiful landscapes brought to life with vibrant colors.
Star Wars recently spotlighted the show's gorgeous artwork by sharing concept art on Twitter. Even though recognizable characters are absent, the distinct aesthetics showcased in each image are enough of a clue for eagle-eyed viewers to match each piece to their corresponding episode. Check out the images below:
Click here to view the original post on Twitter.
From these images alone, it's clear just how differently each studio chose to interpret their own contributions to Visions. Two of the images are nearly photorealistic, while the other two are more overtly illustrated by hand. Some lean heavily into the naturalistic aspects of Star Wars lore, while others depict the blend of naturalism and industrialism that is so iconic to the franchise's original aesthetics. That's all to say that the show is a beautiful collage of different creative visions (hence the title).
Star Wars: Visions proves that radical interpretations of the Star Wars universe can not only be accepted but also loved by fans. As Lucasfilm ventures into future projects, hopefully the studio will take the best parts of Visions with them. In any franchise as long-running as Star Wars, new perspectives are necessary to keep the galaxy feeling alive and fresh.
Source: Star Wars/Twitter
