A new anime series from the Star Wars universe brings changes to lightsabers that contradict the traditions of creator George Lucas.
What is this series about? Star Wars: Visions Presents – The Ninth Jedi has a somewhat clunky name, but it hides an exciting concept. It is a spin-off of the animated series Star Wars Visions.
Visions Presents is an anime and works on the anthology principle, meaning that each season tells a new and unique story. It all starts with The Ninth Jedi. In eight episodes, the story of Kara and her Jedi crew is told as they face a powerful warlord.
What is especially exciting is the handling of lightsabers. The series changes some rules that previously applied.
Colors are important
What are these rules? Under George Lucas, some things were simpler. Just by looking at the color of a lightsaber, you could usually tell whether a character was good or evil. The selection of colors was also limited and could only be changed with great effort.
In The Ninth Jedi it is different. It reveals that the color has nothing to do with the light or dark side of the Force. It is much more personal and direct: The kyber crystal embedded in the lightsaber reacts to the emotions of the wielder and changes the color of the blade accordingly.
If it turns red, it stands for emotions like anger or hatred. Even a Jedi can thus wield a red blade, even if they are resisting strong negative emotions.
But that’s not all of the changes: The series introduces a very rare lightsaber color into the mix, namely silver. This color represents the emotional emptiness that a character experiences in the story. Under George Lucas’s rule, the color options were manageable – even if the filmmaker made an exception for a specific actor.
Also unusual: The series showcases the “forbidden” lightsaber style Trà kata. This is not new, but it appears relatively rarely, for example, in The Acolyte. The technique is characterized by the wielder strategically turning the lightsaber on and off during combat. This is supposed to confuse the opponent and exploit this to their advantage. Trà kata is contentious among fans and sparks discussions on Reddit. Users like ShinyBlack0 believe that the technique would not work in reality.
The Ninth Jedi takes new paths and overturns some well-known rules. It should be noted that Visions is generally not canon, but rather provides room for exciting and alternative perspectives on the universe of Star Wars.
What do you think of the changes? Would you like to see them in canonical works like new feature films? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. If you are more into superheroes, you should give another production a chance that puts the well-known bat from Gotham City in the spotlight: A strong series with Batman just got a second season, boasting 92% positive reviews.
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