Ronin and Sith Reunite in Star Wars Visions The Duel: Payback

Star Wars: Phantasm is a unique property that allows various animators to create Star Wars The universe has its own unique style. This leads to a variety of different “what if” scenarios, as well as unique stories or re-imaginings of what could be found in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 Set to premiere on October 29, several of the shorts in Season 3 are classic sequels to those shown in Season 1. One of the short films is duel.

The Japan Society in New York City hosted a special screening of this follow-up episode titled Duel: Revenge Japan Society of New York. After double screening (see what I did there?) duel and Duel: Revengewe also watched an exclusive Q&A video with the director Mizuno Takanobu. He shares what it’s like to bring these visions to life kamikaze warriorHe oversaw the animation of both shorts, while also sharing what he hoped the stories would achieve.

Personally, I would say duel One of my favorite shorts from the first season. The short film is simple in its execution, telling the story of a ronin, or a masterless samurai, who happens to come across a small village about to be destroyed by the Empire. Although the villagers fought back, they were immediately overwhelmed when they realized the Sith was accompanied by a group of stormtroopers armed with a very distinctive red lightsaber. The nameless Ronin chose to step in and take care of the Sith, confiscating the red kyber crystal from her lightsaber, but also revealed that he was a former Sith himself.

Despite its simple setup, the short’s real selling point is its style and atmosphere. The entire demo is in stylized 3D in black and white, with the only real color coming from stray light and lightsabers. Mizuno explained in a Q&A video that both shorts were heavily inspired by Japanese period dramas, which sometimes depict roaming samurai. This is worth noting because george lucas He himself noted at least some direct inspiration from Japan in the creation of the world. Star Wars. Seeing stormtroopers dressed in Edo-style samurai gear and holding lightsabers like katana swords created this whole cultural moment. Mizuno even admitted that this short film is also about star wars episode 4 The subsequent sequels are intended to return to Episode 5 and six,.

What’s more obvious is Duel: Revengeit has more moving parts, both figuratively and literally. The same ronin breaks up a gambling ring in an abandoned, upside-down walk in the winter mountains, which recalls clear similarities to the opening of Knives Out. star wars episode 5. While trying to confront another Sith Lord, their duel is interrupted by a mysterious Jedi who appears to have a history with our mysterious Ronin. Apparently, the man known as the Master was doing his best to kill the Sith in an attempt to fulfill his own sick, twisted sense of justice. To do this, he uses a variety of different mechanical limbs to achieve jumps of incredible strength and speed, while also suppressing his emotions. After initially being overwhelmed by this so-called Jedi, Ronin retreated and found himself on a small artificial island surrounded by Ewoks. Now we’re suddenly at a climax star wars episode 6 The Ronin teamed up with these Ewoks, some criminals, and a Sith to take down the Master.

style Duel: Revenge Very similar to its predecessor, although I admit it does feel more chaotic. More characters are introduced in the same running time as the first part, so it’s hard to keep track of everything at times. While I still think the black and white costume style is unique, some of the design or animation choices make it hard to watch. This is most noticeable when it comes to mechanical versus organic parts. Master’s choreography is really hard to watch, especially when the animation starts using afterimages to properly convey that he’s much faster than everyone else. In a well-choreographed battle, it becomes difficult to properly record what is happening.

We get some more diverse scenes, like a bridge and a hot spring, which are believed to be the location of the final battle. Mizuno explained that they wanted to showcase as many images of Japan as possible, as they felt the short films were a great way to introduce Japanese background and culture to a wide audience. The final battle even takes place in front of a shrine, but the trade-off seems to be that the fight feels slightly less intimate, which is a shame considering the more personal motivations between our protagonist and antagonist.

Nonetheless, the subject matter of the short film is more duel. We learn a little more about who this Ronin really is, and despite wielding a red lightsaber, his values ​​aren’t those of a traditional Sith. Instead, the Master bears many similarities to Darth Vader himself, who became more like a machine than a man and used his desire for order as an excuse to satisfy his selfish desires. If you are a long term Star Wars For fans who have read Sith history, then these similarities should be obvious. I’m curious to see who our ronin protagonist actually is, though, since the short is deliberately vague about the reasons for the two’s past conflicts.

Mizuno explained that he hopes to create more stories with Ronin in the future. While he’s made it clear he wants to keep the stories in as many Japanese locations as possible, he’s open to Ronin doing more in the larger universe. He even suggested some potential space battles. Listening to Mizuno talk about working with art designers to create these pieces really shows the care that went into making these shorts. I know the comments about the latest installment Star Wars franchise Mixed. But if we continue to have very talented people telling these stories, showing different cultures in a way that fits with the larger culture Star Wars Universe, then I won’t complain.