REVIEW: Star Wars Visions Episode 2 – “Tatooine Rhapsody”

Star Wars Visions Episode 2, “Tatooine Rhapsody” comes from Studio Colorido (A Whisker Away, Burn the Witch) with Taku Kimura and Yasumi Atarashi serving as director and writer, respectively. This episode drastically changes in direction and style from the first in the series and brings heartfelt joy.

In Star Wars Visions Episode 2, we see a stunning amount of alien diversity when a young Jedi, Jay (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), running for his life, winds up joining a rock band and meeting bounty hunters out for his Hutt bandmate Geezer (Bobby Moynihan) along the way. In this episode, we get to see elements of Star Wars that will be instantly recognizable to existing fans of the franchise like Jabba’s Palace.

That said, the beauty of Star Wars Visions Episode 2 is the way the hyper-stylized and almost chibi-art style brings out the cuteness of the scum and villainy while putting music at the focus of the episode. In fact, for anime fans, it’s clear that “Tatooine Rhapsody” uses and embraces music in a way that only anime can with J-rock influenced bops that, while they sound better in the Japanese audio, still hold some resonance in the English dub as well. And that’s all thanks to Yoshiaki Dewa.

The scene transitions we see are traditional Star Wars. And when those screen wipes mix with the stunning animation from studio Colorido, viewers get something truly special. This episode is gorgeous, adorable, and tells a story about putting friends first and never leaving them behind – even if the most renowned bounty hunter in the galaxy takes one of them.

Overall, Star Wars Visions Episode 2 is a simple episode that effectively uses its 12-minute run time to bring joy, family and really showcase a lightness that works well after the intense animation and story of “The Duel.” Plus, there is a voice that many will know tucked away in the episode that will make fans excited.

Star Wars Visions is available exclusively on Disney+.