English Dub Season Review: Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi Season One
Overview (Spoilers Below):
Kara (Kimiko Glenn) and her ragtag crew set out to find worthy Jedi to fight against a powerful warlord.
Our Take:
“Star Wars: Visions” took numerous Star Wars fans and newcomers on an intergalactic ride through multiple different sides of the galaxy. Crafted by well-known animation studios like Cartoon Saloon, Aardman, and Studio Mir, the anthology series allowed various creators from across the globe to tell their own creative stories beyond the classic battle between the Jedi and the Sith. One of these stories was Production I.G’s “The Ninth Jedi”, centering on a young Force-sensitive girl named Lah Kara who joins the new Jedi Order to rescue her captured father. Featuring familiar voices like Kimiko Glenn and Shang-Chi himself, Simu Liu, “The Ninth Jedi”, depicted in seasons one and three, delivered a refreshing tale of good vs. evil from the perspective of a young, inexperienced Jedi.
Considering how successful “The Ninth Jedi” and the other stories in “Visions” were, it would make perfect sense for Disney to expand upon them through its spinoff series. Titled “Star Wars: Visions Presents”, the series aims to take one of the “Visions” episodes and expand it as an eight-episode series. Its first experiment was “The Ninth Jedi”, which continues Kara’s quest to rescue her father (Simu Liu) from Nawaam (Young Mazino) after the events of the season three episode, “Child of Hope”. Obviously, I was all in on the adventure since my first exposure to “The Ninth Jedi” in “Visions”. With stunning animation and a solid dub cast, that episode, along with “Child of Hope”, is what happens when creative freedom is allowed to explore a franchise like “Star Wars” further. You get interesting characters and a compelling plot involving the reemergence of the Jedi Order stemming from the most unlikely team.
“Star Wars: Visions Presents — The Ninth Jedi” sought to delve deep into this side of the infinite galaxy in terms of premise and quality. The result? Exactly what we would expect from the “Visions” episodes, with its story being bigger than when it began. With its own take on the Star Wars lore, along with the usual anime storytelling, “The Ninth Jedi” expands on not just Kara’s quest to save the galaxy, but also the characters and world-building, notably Kara’s father, Zhima. The series sheds more light on Zhima as a former Jedi turned sabersmith who performed a deadly deed years ago, which played a role in Nawaam’s strive for power. Additionally, it reveals that his lightsabers Kara’s been carrying can change color based on a wielder’s emotions. These elements shaped Kara’s journey, as she tests her beliefs in the Jedi way and attempts to harness her true strength through her emotions. While the first two episodes seem like the series is taking a repetitive approach of recruiting the Jedi from each planet, the remaining episodes favor the character’s growth over repeating the same structure until its thrilling finale.
This is a tightly written and visually dazzling piece of Star Wars media that captures the spirit of the franchise through its anime charm and intense action. However, because of the eight-episode length, it risks not giving its supporting characters the same amount of depth as Kara. Fortunately, the voice cast behind them was solid enough to make them likable, even if their performances weren’t completely mind-blowing. One of them is Kimiko Glenn, who continues to shine in the animation industry following her work on projects like “Into the Spider-Verse”, “Kiff”, and “Hazbin Hotel”. Her performance as Kara is surely another success for her career, especially in her portrayal of the protagonist’s struggles with the “Jedi vs Sith” history she was taught. Simu Liu also delivered some suitable moments as Lah Zhima, though his vocal performance wasn’t able to convey the emotional range he was intended to convey. As for the animation, “The Ninth Jedi” once again shows why Production I.G was a strong choice in bringing this part of the universe to life, as it conveys the action set pieces and presentation with stylized flair and visual awe.
“Star Wars: Visions” is one of the better projects in the franchise to come out since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm, notably for its opportunity to tell different stories in various art styles. With “Star Wars: Visions Presents”, it further proves why it remains this way. It allows other creators to depict their visions of the galaxy far, far away with new characters and scenarios, while also making them refreshing and likable within its familiar space. Its first series, “The Ninth Jedi”, also shows that characters like Kara are certainly worth expanding on regarding their backgrounds and journeys. While brief in its supporting characters and length, it’s still an exhilarating continuation of Kara’s galactic adventure that benefits from its stellar animation and thematic essence. More importantly, it has gotten me interested in other stories the spinoff series could explore further, maybe like “The Duel”.
