Early anime can be traced back to the emergence of 20th Century pop culture as the first anime films were used as World War II propaganda. The rise of anime in the public eye followed the rebuilding of animation studios lost in the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 that shook Tokyo. Animation studios and Tokyo were asked to directly compete with international conglomerates, such as Disney, which demanded that oversea markets must be in demand of diverse content. Japan Animated Films was founded in 1948, and would then later fall into the hands of Toei Animation, which was a step toward modern anime. Anime has gradually migrated into Western culture over the past few decades. Streaming services such as Crunchyroll have bridged the gap between Eastern and Western access to the anime genre and assisted in a mission for its global consumption. Since then, the popularity of anime in Western nations ignited even more, erupting in the mass following of the most sought-after series.
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Star Wars has expanded past the means of live-action when continuing its storytelling while exploring new media to share them. Ongoing novelizations and comic book series provide a more hands-on and literary-forward expansion of featured tales. The Clone Wars, Rebels, and The Bad Batch have effectively proven the success of creating intelligent, articulate, and poignant extensions of Star Wars through animated forms. The video games inspired by Star Wars — especially Fallen Order, Knights of the Old Republic, and the Battlefront duo — have emphasized the importance of animation and animation-adjacent Star Wars content. The popularity of anime and Star Wars finally resulted in a Star Wars anime dedicated to anthology-style episodes set across iconic locations in the galaxy. New Star Wars characters were given stories to follow that honored the medium through a cosmic perspective. The saga is created with an idea that its characters and events can be left up to personal interpretation, but essentially closes in on what is to be considered legitimate in canon. Star Wars: Visions was a rare treat for those who enjoy both Star Wars and anime, but the question remains: is it canon?
How Star Wars: Visions Was First Created
Disney+
Star Wars: Visions was a collaboration between seven Japanese animation studios and over 60 voice actors determined to break the mold of Star Wars storytelling. Akira Kurosawa and his filmmaking were a direct influence on George Lucas when he initially created Star Wars, and the translation of the series into anime honors its inspiration. “The goal with Visions was always that we wanted this to be authentic Japanese anime,” Star Wars: Visions executive producer James Waugh told The Hollywood Reporter. “We wanted it to be a true expression from these individual creators in a process that they’re used to. The last thing we wanted to do was be a Western studio that went with our ideas and then really leaned on them for their aesthetic. They were creating stories and concepts that could only come from their unique cultural perspective.”
Star Wars: Visions was spurred on by Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy’s personal interest in anime and advocated for anime to be more mainstreamed into Western culture. “[Kennedy is] also a huge animation fan and a huge anime fan, and was very instrumental in bringing a lot of [studio Ghibli co-founder Hayao] Miyazaki’s work to the West,” Waugh continued to explain to The Hollywood Reporter, “and so at a certain point, there was definitely a conversation of, ‘Everybody keeps talking about how much they like this. Let’s go meet with these people. Let’s figure out how we could do this.’ So it was definitely her impetus.”
Is Star Wars: Visions Canon?
Lucasfilm Animation
The concept of being canonical in the Star Wars universe has been debated by both fans and the studio themselves as the franchise grows even more vast by the year. The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm show little signs of slowing down when working tirelessly to share more Star Wars stories, so, naturally, not all of them can be viewed as established canon in the timeline. The Star Wars: Visions executive producer shared his personal stance on the conversation around the series, offering an indefinite answer.
“I think these shorts are all authentic Star Wars storytelling,” Waugh said to Digital Spy. “But some are less on the timeline than others. Some could very much fit within our timeline. But Visions, as a whole, is more of a celebration of Star Wars, through this unique perspective, this unique form, this medium and culture. And that was really the intention.” He added a follow-up to his initial statement in the same interview, adding “some stories like ‘Tatooine Rhapsody’ or ‘The Elder’ can very easily fit within certain canonical points, but that’s not really the point of the initiative. We needed this to be something different, and we needed it to be really from the hearts of all these creators, to not try and answer questions in Star Wars. Instead, you have Star Wars as an amazing palette to tell stories through.”
Star Wars: Visions hasn’t been claimed as canon, though there has not been a rejection of the possibility of some of these episodes being considered canonical. There is no direct conflict with the stories and characters that have immersed themselves as main points in the saga, though Lucasfilm has felt no urgency to label the anime series as canon. Producer Kanako Shirasaki excuses the idea that Star Wars: Visions is currently canon in a statement to IGN, where he said “not immediately, but it might influence the next generation of creators.”
Star Wars: Visions Will Return
Even though there has been a decline to consider Star Wars: Visions as officially canonically recognized, the show will return for a second season on Disney+. The announcement hails from Star Wars Celebration 2022, where Lucasfilm showcased their upcoming media across Star Wars and other loosely related titles. Star Wars: Visions Season 2 will still heavily feature Japanese animation styles, but will explore international art styles as well. Art styles originating from South Africa, Chile, France, India, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United States will continue to enhance the importance of international perspectives of how Star Wars is understood on a multicultural level. It has yet to be confirmed on whether the original studios that participated in working on Star Wars: Visions have plans for returning for Season Two and the voice cast has not been revealed. Before Season 2 arrives in Spring 2023, all nine episodes of Star Wars: Visions are available for streaming on Disney+.
