Star Wars Visions Presents:
The Ninth Jedi

Star Wars Visions Presents: The Ninth Jedi ✨

In an era of visual storytelling that has become obsessed with connecting every story to the next, especially within sprawling fandoms like Marvel, DC, Harry Potter, and Star Wars, Star Wars: Visions has been a genuinely refreshing breath of fresh air.

Visions began as an experiment: a chance to look at Star Wars from a completely different point of view, handing some of Japan’s most acclaimed anime studios the creative freedom to explore the boundless, uncharted potential of a galaxy far, far away.

And one of the most promising examples of that potential was THE NINTH JEDI.

The original episode followed a young sabersmith tasked with creating lightsabers for a hidden sect of Jedi scattered across the galaxy. When his location is compromised, his daughter is left to deliver the weapons to the Jedi herself, only to become caught in a sinister plot to eradicate lightsaber-wielding Force users from within.

Five years after that episode debuted, we finally return to that world with an eight-episode series that expands the story, introduces an exciting new cast of characters, and, most importantly, shows just how much life there is left in Star Wars when you stop looking backward.

Set thousands of years after the original trilogy, THE NINTH JEDI takes place in a galaxy fractured by war, where the Force and those capable of wielding it have become little more than remnants of a bygone age. And in a galaxy that desperately needs one, a beacon of hope comes in the form of a young woman and a group of Force users and former Jedi who band together to push back against the tyrannical warlords exploiting the galaxy’s divisions.

From its samurai-inspired philosophy surrounding power and discipline, to its exploration of what responsibility actually means when you possess that power during a time of war, this is fundamentally everything Star Wars should always aspire to be.

Star Wars has always been one of my favourite worlds to lose myself in but lately, with the obvious exception of Andor, the franchise has felt increasingly trapped by its own history. So much of its storytelling seems preoccupied with elevating stories that already exist rather than asking what else might be out there.

THE NINTH JEDI works best as an example of how much potential this universe still has when it isn’t tethered to nostalgia.

It has the fellowship and adventure of The Lord of the Rings, while simultaneously diving into the ideology of the Jedi and Sith through the lens of a samurai code. It takes familiar ideas and reframes them in a way that feels completely new.

There has always been a symbiotic relationship between Japanese cinema and Star Wars, something George Lucas himself has openly acknowledged. That relationship has arguably never felt more purposeful than it does throughout Visions.

And THE NINTH JEDI takes that influence and runs with it.

The Jedi and Sith aren’t simply treated as opposing sides of an eternal conflict. Their philosophies have become relics in this new era, and what we’re watching is a new generation trying to understand, reinterpret, and ultimately evolve those ideas. That’s what makes the series so compelling.

The prequels left us with one of the most fascinating questions in Star Wars: how much responsibility did the Jedi Council actually bear for Anakin Skywalker’s fall?

Anakin possessed extraordinary, almost limitless potential, yet the institution that was supposed to guide him often seemed more interested in controlling that potential than understanding it. He was shackled by the very people who were meant to help him grow. THE NINTH JEDI takes those flaws within the Jedi philosophy and pushes them even further, asking what happens when an ideology refuses to evolve. It argues for growth, adaptation, and the willingness to question the institutions we inherit rather than blindly living off their reputation. Every debate we’ve had about Anakin’s turn to the dark side and the Jedi Council’s role in it feels like a philosophical argument being played out through this story.

One of the things I appreciated most is how it treats the larger galaxy beyond this group of Force users. There’s a real emphasis on the responsibility to stop or prevent war, even when you aren’t directly affected by it. That idea feels especially important in a story about people who have the power to intervene but have to decide whether they actually should.

And that is ultimately what I loved most about THE NINTH JEDI: its willingness to evolve the way we understand the Force.

It isn’t simply asking whether someone is good or evil. It’s interested in why people justify their actions, how power changes those who wield it, and how even the best intentions can create consequences you never anticipated. Even the way Kyber crystals are incorporated into the story feels like something Star Wars should be building on moving forward. The idea that their colour can change depending on where your heart intends to act, the light or the dark, is visually striking.

The animation comes from Production I.G., the studio behind Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Kuroko’s Basketball, Haikyuu!!, and my personal favourite, Psycho-Pass.

It isn’t flawless. Some of the quieter moments between the major action sequences can feel a little flat, but once the momentum kicks in and the tension starts to build, especially during the lightsaber duels—there is a real sense of weight and gravitas to everything happening on screen.

And then there’s that score. There were multiple moments where I found myself thinking, this deserves to be heard in a theatre. It carries echoes of the Star Wars we know while introducing sounds that feel completely appropriate for a new era of this universe.

That feeling is amplified by the direction of Kenji Kamiyama, who most recently worked on The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim and is currently attached to the highly anticipated Mobile Suit Gundam RG: XARX-ZERO.

It’s worth noting there is a little homework required before jumping into the series. Two episodes from the original Visions anthology should be watched beforehand, as this new story builds directly off the foundation they established.

This is part of an all-new Star Wars: Visions Presents banner, designed to tell longer-form Visions stories, and if this is the direction they’re taking, I really hope The Duel is next. I was completely in love with its hand-drawn, rough-sketch animation style, and the idea of seeing that world expanded into a longer-form story is something I would be all over.

I can genuinely see this being a gateway for a whole new generation of Star Wars fans, but more importantly, it proves something the franchise desperately needs to embrace: We don’t need the original trilogy to be the North Star of a galaxy far, far away.

We’ve spent decades looking back at the same handful of characters, events, and eras.

There is an entire galaxy beyond them, and THE NINTH JEDI doesn’t just remind us of that—it shows us how exciting Star Wars can be when it finally looks forward. 

Enjoy!

7.5/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 25mins

Episodes: 8

Where: Now Streaming on Disney+

The Richmond Reviewer The Ninth Jedi Review - August 7th, 2026.