- This week, "Visions" arrives on Disney+,
we get an Insider look into Star Wars, and more!
You guys, I can't stop thinking about "Visions."
Like when T0-B1 [bleep]
for the first time after finding his [bleep].
[buzzer sounds] So good, right?
[phone buzzing]
Hang on.
Hello? Uh-huh.
Of course, yeah. No spoilers.
No.
So we can fix that in post, right?
Let's, uh, get to the spoiler-free news.
The 73rd Emmy Awards have all been handed out
and we want to send a big congratulations
to the cast and crew of "The Mandalorian."
The second season of the Disney+ series snagged seven awards
in the Creative Arts Emmy Awards,
for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie,
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Comedy Or Drama Series
and Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for "Chapter 13: The Jedi,"
Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-camera Series
for "Chapter 15: The Believer,"
and Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score)
for "Chapter 16: The Rescue."
Plus, the action-packed second season picked up the top prize
for Outstanding Stunt Coordination and Outstanding Stunt Performance.
Well done.
Long have we waited.
But yesterday, "Star Wars: Visions" finally, finally arrived on Disney+.
Early reviews for the anime anthology series of shorts
from seven Japanese animation studios were nothing short of ecstatic.
See what I did there?
And now you can experience "The Duel," "Tatooine Rhapsody,"
"Lop & Ocho," "The Twins," "The Elder,"
"The Village Bride," "The Ninth Jedi,"
"T0-B1," and "Akakiri" for yourself.
Watch them in their original Japanese or with the English dub cast.
Or, you know, both.
because that's twice as much new Star Wars for you.
Math.
Twice as much Star Wars isn't enough for you?
Well, after watching in both Japanese and English,
you can also check out the featurettes on the making of "Visions."
And on Monday, set hyperspace coordinates for StarWars.com
for your official episode guides for each short.
You're welcome.
Want an insider look into Star Wars?
Well, Star Wars Insider is your magazine!
Earlier this week Insider #205 hit store shelves.
With Han Solo gracing the cover,
crack those pages open to a brand new High Republic story by Cavan Scott--
I'm actually a little bit afraid of what he might have done this time.
Cav? Did you write something nice?
There's also intel exploring how Japanese culture and cinema
influenced the Star Wars galaxy,
and an interview with Paul Sun-Hyung Lee about his journey
from "Kim's Convenience" to "The Mandalorian."
Plus, look at these covers from the comic book store and subscriber editions.
Magnificent.
For more details on the issue along with an excerpt of the interview
with Captain Carson Teva himself,
speed over to Star Wars.com/ThisWeek now.
With all the Visions excitement this week,
we thought we would keep the fun going
and sat down with executive producer James Waugh
and producer Kanako Shirasaki
to ask them what it was like bringing Star Wars back to its roots
from being inspired by Japanese cinema
to now being fully immersed in anime.
Here's what they had to say.
- George clearly was immensely influenced
by Kurosawa and Jidaigeki movies in general.
It really is part of the fundamental DNA of Star Wars.
That said, we've all been really big anime fans
over the last number of years.
Any keen observer can see the influence anime storytelling has had
on so many of our platforms and our stories
that in many ways, it is sort of a return to things that have inspired us.
What was really interesting about the whole process, though,
is, I think as we started engaging with these different studios,
it was really clear that very much so
Star Wars had influenced them.
So it was this mutual love fest was the reality
of our love of their work,
and then, of course, their love of Star Wars
- Yeah, I think it's very special for all creators during this project
'cause some of the directors clearly said, like, that they were hugely influenced
by Star Wars to become animator,
like Kamiyana-san from "The Ninth Jedi,"
or Otsuka-san from "The Elder"
and Haga-san for "The Village Bride,"
they all watched "Episode IV" in the theater,
and they were, like, so awestruck,
and then they are like,
"I want to make something like this in anime,"
so that's how they become animator.
They are hugely influenced by Star Wars,
also, the Kurosawa or Japanese classic film.
And so absolutely is it giving back to Lucasfilm and George Lucas
their love to Star Wars in the anime format.
Because this is like a Japanese anime,
Japanese should be the original language
'cause that's the original creative intent.
So you hear some of the very legendary voice actors from Japan
and at the same time, like, we have a wonderful English cast as well.
These amazing actors did their own interpretation
for the characters and bring out the best.
And I think that adds a very wonderful, like, depth to the stories.
There is some difference in that translation
in the sense of how these actors got to do their art
and interpret the characters.
There's no debate here. Just watch both of them.
It'll be great. You'll get two amazing experiences.
Everybody will be happy.
Thanks James and Kanako!
That's it for this week, but for more on these stories and other news
from around the galaxy, check out StarWars.com.
And be sure to join us right here for "This Week in Star Wars," every Thursday.
Thanks for watching, and may the Force be with you.