Anime Review: Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi

English Title: Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi

Japanese Title: スター・ウォーズ：ビジョンズ／九人目のジェダイ

Director(s): Kamiyama Kenji & Tada Shunsuke

Screenwriter(s): Sakai Mitsuyasu

Studio: Production I.G

Released: 2026

Runtime: 8 episodes, ~27m each.

Starring: Akasaki Chinatsu, Kanao Tetsuo, Tadokoro Hinata, Cho, Mineta Hiromu

This is the fourth release of Visions but it is not an anthology of short films. As the title states, the story is about the young lady padawan Lah Kara—it is necessary to watch Volume 1’s “The Ninth Jedi” and Volume 3’s “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope” as this series is a direct continuation.

Set a long time after the canonical conflict between the Empire and Rebel Alliance, this is a time without a galactic-scale government or the Jedi Order. Only remnants of the Jedi and Sith remain and both are trying to re-establish themselves, hence the latter’s interest in stealing lightsabers and kidnapping Kara’s father, sabersmith Lah Zhima.

This series begins with Kara and her companions, Master Juro, Homen and the droid Gramps, on the run from Gennoh, the right-hand man of the villain Nawaam. Meanwhile, Ethan has gone undercover to infiltrate Nawaam’s army that is quickly conquering parts of the galaxy.

The story is in essence the conflict between Kara and Nawaam, and this includes rescuing her father from the latter. The premise is simple and clear.

Structurally, it is what one expects: Kara and her companions suffer defeats or near-defeats and are forced to be on the run, as well as struggling to form alliances. These are obvious allusions to The Empire Strikes Back. There is also Kara’s character development arc as a Jedi, including her struggles to control her emotions and not fall to the dark side.

Master Juro, Homen & Kara

The problem is that there are a few key conveniences which could be easily avoided. At the start, our heroes suspect a tracking device on their ship, which is why Nawaam’s forces always catch up to them, but they don’t deal with it (earlier). This is an easy fix: simply have them try but fail anyway.

As for Kara, she was never that emotionally driven so this feels a little forced. Granted, she is getting more anxious and desperate to find her father. Regarding her skills, she is gifted but is conveniently a little too skilled when facing off better fighters just because the scene needs it. This could simply be avoided by showing her having improved since the last time we saw her in an opening set piece.

As the plot progresses, there are scheduled background expositions about Zhima just to inject some intrigue and partly explain the current circumstances. Whether one likes it is another matter, but it is necessary to give some background as part of the worldbuilding as well as giving some relief to the events of the present.

Nawaam & Gennoh

Visually, the production is generally good but one expects better from Production I.G. The designs—such as the ships, the interior and exterior environments—are nice. However, there is too much contrast between the characters and the environment, the latter at times looking too CG. There is also inconsistency in the characters; some shots look really good but others too simplistic and cheap. The style is overall a little too westernized, at least sometimes.

The music composed by Toda Nobuko and Jinnouchi Kazuma is consistent with the spirit of Star Wars, grand with its blaring brass and woodwind that fit the dramatic moments. It could use more memorable themes but it is fitting, and there are moments reminiscent of the prequel soundtracks.

Overall, it is not a bad story. There are enough motifs—characters, worldbuilding, action—to be recognizable as a Star Wars story but enough differences to be at least moderately interesting. The Japanese performances are solid, which helps sell the story.

The writing could easily be more refined but it is structurally sound: heroes struggle against the villain and themselves, leading to the final conflict that includes a fleet-vs-fleet battle and duels. The former could be way more elaborate but overall, there is enough lightsaber action even if the visuals are inconsistent.

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