If you love Star Wars and anime it’s impossible not to appreciate the series Star Wars: Visionsalready released in two seasons on Disney+ (here you can find the review of volume one and volume two) and with a third in the works. A long wait, but in the meantime you can always refresh your memory with the manga that contains four of the best stories of the first seriescreated by as many authors and brought to Italy by Panini Comics for the necklace Planet Mangalike most of the brand in paper format.
Is this a must-own volume? Find out with our review.
- Original title: スター・ウォーズ:ビジョンズ (Star Wars: Visions)
- Italian title: Star Wars: Visions
- Italian release: November 23, 2023
- Japanese release: 2022
- Number of volumes: 1
- Publishing house: Panini Comics
- Type: Science fiction, combat
- Drawings: Kamone Shirahama, Haruichi, Yusuke Osawa, Keisuke Sato
- History: Adapted by Walt Disney (Kamone Shirahama, Haruichi, Yusuke Osawa, Keisuke Sato)
- Format: Paperback, 13×18 cm
- Number of pages: 232, B/W
We reviewed Star Wars: Visions via the print volume provided to us free of charge by Panini Comics.
Four short films transferred to paper
Just like in volume one of Star Wars: Visions even the manga of the same name, in its small way, is a sort of graphic experiment: there aren’t nine stories made by different studios, of course, but four stories chosen and represented by as many authors. It is useless to talk about the plot (you will surely already know it and in any case there would be unpleasant spoilers, given the brevity of the stories) or the contents, but what we can discuss is the structure of the manga, with the style of those who worked on it and the related strengths.
For example, know that my favorite episode, The Duelis not present, because it was already published in a comic also titled Star Wars: Visions, created by none other than Takashi Okazaki, the creator of Afro Samurai who had already been among the screenwriters of the relevant episode in the animated series. The stories reported are as follows: The Old Man; Lop and Ocho; The Ninth Jedi; The twins.
The dark side is hard to see
Observing the stories that we loved so much from the animated series in a format made of black and white, with dark and certainly darker shades, may not be easy, but there are some surprises, especially given some of the names who contributed to the volume. Kamome Shirahama for example, illustrator of the now acclaimed Atelier of Witch Hatshows us his reinterpretation of The Elder (The old man) excellently successful thanks to its anguished and dark cartoons; a recognizable style, with profound expressions that will remind you of those of the manga about magic.
We have then Haruichi (not that of Haikyu!!), the artist who has already worked on Star Wars: Leia, Princess of Alderaan (here is our review) which tries its hand at the pleasant revival of Lop and Ocho: although the graphic rendering is lower than with the colours, it still manages to make certain expressions and images truly evocative, not only on an emotional level but also in combat.
A vision, however, seems to be missing in “The Ninth Jedi“, where much of the setting given by the shades of the lightsabers and the duel with the Sith is lost: Yusuke Osawaalready illustrator of the manga version of The Mandalorian and of Poetry of Ran it does its job, while also adapting to the style of the anime nicely, it just was a difficult adaptation. Same problem found in the last work performed: Kamome Shirahamaan author still unpublished in Italy, worked on “The twins”, but as much as the cartoons were “modeled” on the series, it is impossible to replicate the studio’s visual effects Triggers. In short, they were not trivial transcriptions, but they nevertheless made up a good volume.
Read and bagged!
Let’s say it clearly, this volume is nothing more than one of the many works that aim to keep attention alive on a successful brand, and in this case on an experiment as appreciated as Star Wars: Vision. For this reason many might also take it just for the pure “collectible” taste and put it back in the library without even reading it, but a review doesn’t hurt anyway. Furthermore, it is pleasant to note how the stories in question have been chosen in a sensible chronological order (from the era of the Old Republic until the creation of the New) which makes the four stories more sensible for those who are not familiar with the Star Wars galaxy.
From the “visions” of the best animators in Japan came the numerous unpublished short films of Star Wars: Visions. The legend that brings new hope now becomes an anthology drawn by mangaka in love with the original who reread four of the most beloved episodes of the series: The Old Man, Lop and Ocho, The Ninth Jedi and The Twins.
Buy Star Wars: Visions on Amazon via this link and support Akiba Gamers!
Who do we recommend Star Wars: Visions to?
Even in this case we must be honest, there are only three reasons to pick up this volume: first, to see how some artists we follow (see Kamome) are able to transform the memories of the relevant episodes onto paper; second, to add it to the collection with the other volumes of the brand; third, you haven’t seen the series and, as avid readers, you want to find out if the stories from the first season of Star Wars: Visions you may like them. In all other cases I wouldn’t recommend starting with this volume, there are certainly other better Panini series to get you closer to the brand (if you are among the few who don’t know Star Wars) and the animated version is certainly better. However, it is a substantial single volume at a reduced priceso if you have space in your library you could pick it up even though it is “not very useful”.
- The authors’ graphic renderings are generally pleasant
- It’s still Star Wars!
- It adds nothing new
- The general impact is certainly inferior to the animated series
Star Wars: Visions
A nice ornament
In the same way as all the manga that come out as a short “adaptation” of an animated series too Star Wars: Visions it is not nothing more than a collector’s itemwith a negative and a positive note compared to its colleagues: the first is that it is not an adaptation carried out by a single author (which makes it more varied), the second is that it does not transcribe the entire series, and does not he does it in color. Certain, the quality of the cartoons is very good and the transposition is accurate (especially for some stories, especially the first two), as well as the lovely cover, but it is a “self-referential” volume, which has no real purpose and which adds nothing to a series that practically all of us have seen. No unpublished aspects or curiosities, just simple summaries. In short, it’s just about a refreshment waiting for the announced third season, which will immediately end up on display in the bookshop.
#Star #Wars #Visions #Manga #review