On A Blue Note

My recent lackluster excursion into Medieval Fantasy Solo RPGaming had me really down; moreso than I would have expected. It was made worse by a poor purchase I made specifically for this experiment, hoping the product I bought would be useful for my endeavor*. It was not and in fact it is so lame I can't see myself ever using it but more on that later.

I really dislike wasting time and money. Grr. Sigh.

Luckily, there is light at the end of this dark tunnel and that light my friends, is blue...

I'll be running The Smurfs RPG this week! Woohoo!

With some of our regulars out we'll be skipping the next session of the normal campaign and playing a Smurfs one-shot instead. I am officially cheered-up as I haven't gotten the chance to run The Smurfs in what feels like a long while and, as you probably know by now, I absolutely love this game! 

It looks like Nick will be return to play Sir Smurfsalot - The Questing Smurf, Ray will reprise Spelly Smurf, and Will will be coming in with a brand new Smurf Girl from Smurfy Grove by the name of Smurfevergreen! 

I'm genuinely looking forward to this and will be spending today working up my adventure (as much as Adam works up adventures that is). Later in the week I'll give you all the aftersmurf report. 

Until then, smurf you later my fellow Smurfs!

AD

Barking Alien

*A Mini-Review of Roll & Play Press's 'No Place Like Homebrew':

I don't normally do product reviews of this sort but I was not happy with this purchase and I wanted everyone out there to be aware of what the book was all about. If you are new to tabletop roleplaying games in general and Dungeons and Dragons 5E specifically, this product might be of interest and use to you. 

If you have been playing for 10 years or more, have played games other than D&D, and have what I have to assume is a modest amount of creativity, you can probably skip this book. It has 252 pages of stuff, ranging from deities and locations to creatures and more locations that you've already come up with or read before on a blog, in a magazine, or any number of other places a dozen times already. Nothing in it, as far as I can tell, is of particular noteworthiness. 

The book is oddly organized, at least to me, though perhaps Fantasy gamers are more accustomed to the thinking process that went into this. For example, it starts with REALMS, a whole section on sample worlds and settings which certainly makes sense but its then filled with things like Deities, Celestials, and other otherworldly entities. Is that where most people start their world-building? With the Gods? Is that the first thing I need when trying to put together an adventure for my party of players and their PCs? Felt a little strange to me. 

Their idea of cool and interesting monsters are Bulettes but their gold-colored, Corgis with extra legs, and Pink Hounds that don't tire. Wow. Breathtaking. Also, thank goodness for an Index at the end of the book because its not like all the creatures are in one creature section. Instead they're scattered throughout the book (as are NPCs and other elements) based on terrain type. That makes sense, can't fault them for that, but I found it hard to know where to look to find something I'd previously read without use of the index. 

At $54.99 for the physical book (not including shipping) and $29.99 for the PDF, I can't recommend this for your money. I've far more exciting and innovative ideas to plug into your campaign for free or at a much lower cost from blogs, forums, magazine articles, and the like.

This product gets a 5 or maybe 5.5 out of 10 from me.

Rock On!

They is, am, are, and be,

they who is and are known as

THE ELECTRIC MAYHEM!

Electric Mayhem - The Muppets Mayhem

Album Cover Art by Matt Taylor

I apologize for how long its taken me to cover the recent Disney+ Streaming Series The Muppets Mayhem, a ten episode series featuring the Muppets legendary rock band, The Electric Mayhem. 

Let me start by saying WOW! I absotively posilutely lovified this streamificated narrative of musical proportions. Heheh, channeling my inner Dr. Teeth there. Truthfully though, I am happy to say I really enjoyed it.

The Muppets Mayhem does a lot right. I would even go so far as to say it does what it sets out to do better than some of the previous attempts to 'modernize' the Muppets. How? Well, at the heart of what makes The Muppets Mayhem not just a great series but a great Muppets series is that this series embraces the fact that the Muppets are Muppets.

I...um...Say what now?

The laws of physics and other basic facts about our world change when the Muppets are around. They themselves can instantly change clothes, make items appear out of nowhere, get squashed, stretched, and of course, survive massive explosions. When Humans enter the presence of Muppets - and vice versa - the normal people become part of the Muppets' extraordinary reality. Forget that, ignore that, and you lose a great deal of the magic of the Muppets. The Muppets Mayhem doesn't shy away from this but rather embraces it. 

Well All Right!

On to a full-on Barking Alien-a-rific review...

SPOI-LERS! SPOI-LERS! SPOI-LERS!

Ha-Ha-Ha.

The GOOD

So much! The element that stands out the most to me is, as noted above, the Muppet-ness of the band and how the band interacts with the world they're in. It is both subtle and apparent and happens throughout the series. It isn't focused on but rather just happens as an aside to the scenes the Muppet characters are in. Clearly there are things that occur in the series solely because Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem are Muppets.

Another thing about the series that I loved was the detail and depth given to the characters. Each and every member of the band, including 'new' member Lips, is given time to shine and has some great moments dedicated to them. While not every character gets heavy character development, all the characters get the chance to stand out, to be distinct, to be funny, and to make the viewers feel like we got to know them. A very impressive feat given an aspect of the show that I'll discuss below (The BAD). 

I liked the Human characters, although I feel that not aspects of them were as well thought out as the personalities and traits of the Muppet characters. The thing is, if I came to the Muppets Mayhem series for the Muppets, the real life Humans had better be highly entertaining to warrant their presence in the show. I personally think that the Humans were handled quiet well in that respect. I liked when they were on screen and I really liked how they interacted with the Electric Mayhem. 

I liked the new Muppet character of Penny Waxman a lot. Not only is she a classic character type, a trope of the heyday of the 60s and 70s Music Industry, but she was also given enough unique quirks to make her memorable. I also really liked her design. 

The overall story was quite good, with the subplots given to the individual Mayhem members even stronger in many cases. Getting new reveals and realizations about these characters, some of which are nearly 50 years old, was extremely fun for a long time, die hard Muppets fan like myself. 

Finally, it was funny - REALLY FUNNY! Oh man, I found myself laughing out loud so many times throughout the season. The best part about the humor is that it wasn't all from cameos  or nostalgia - it was from the context of the narrative and the characters. That is amazing to see in modern pop culture entertainment. Yes, it had Easter Eggs. The series definitely made references to past Muppet works. All of that was simply icing on the cake. The cake definitely had a great flavor all its own. 

Oh, fer sure. Like, totally.

The BAD

There really wasn't anything I would deem bad but there were a few things that seemed off and it largely revolved around the Human characters, specifically the lead.

Nora Singh (played by actress Lilly Singh and that's not confusing) is the main Human protagonist, the assistant to Penny Waxman, owner of Wax Town Records. Her major character trait and focus seems to be her love of music, imparted to her by her father. According to references made during the show, including a specific one made by her sister, music has been Nora's life since she was little. This is why she got a job in the Record/Music Industry and why she wants to make a name for herself and Wax Town Records by getting the Electric Mayhem to cut their first album. 

OK, cool, I'm on board. Except...the writers are very inconsistent about Nora's relationship with music. In an inverse version of 'Show don't tell', we are repeatedly told that Nora loves classic rock n' roll (especially her dad's favorite song by Joe Cocker) but then gets the words to a famous KISS song incorrect, doesn't seem overly familiar with the Electric Mayhem, their history, inside info about the industry she's in, and has few if any contacts within the music business. I get it, she's young, struggling, an underdog to be sure, but she either knows music or doesn't and it's unclear which of these defining things is true. It repeatedly threw me off and I found it distracting. 

Maybe that's just me.

Huh?

The GROOVY

The music! It's actually good and some of it is very good but you don't get to hear many of the songs in their entirety in the episodes. You need to check out The Electric Mayhem - Muppets Mayhem album, available on Spotify as well as for purchase ON VINYL! Vinyl baby! 

I am particularly fond of Rock On and Gotta Be. 

Man, I am so inspired by this series to do something to honor it with my RPG, The Googly Eyed Primetime Puppet Show. Not sure what yet. Any ideas?

Mahb du da rit up oul da band stas 'em pote dem ere?

Lips, that's it! You are a genius brother. Thanks.

AD

Barking Alien

Hey everybody, one more thing before I split...

Could really use some help and support to keep the creative works coming as well as just get through the Summer months, which can be very tough for me and my business. If you like what I do and can lend a hand, check out my Ko-Fi at https://ko-fi.com/barkingalien 

Thanks all. I really appreciate it. 

Force VISIONS

May the Fourth Be With You! Happy Star Wars Day everybody!

Except that...oops...it's already the 6th. I've running behind dang it! That makes me angry and anger leads to

Hey out there in a galaxy far, far away! Welcome back!

My favorite Star Wars production of the past few years - beloved more than The Mandalorian, Andor, and...well...what else was there to enjoy really? I guess Bad Batch was OK. Hmm. Where was I? Oh yes! - my favorite Star Wars thing has been the Japanese Anime Anthology series called Star Wars VISIONS.

Now we have a Volume 2 and it hits different!

This time out, we're going global! 

For VISIONS Volume 2 Lucasfilm has assembled a Jedi Order of animation studios from 9 separate countries. Nine individual episodes by studios from Chile, England, France, India, Ireland, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, and Spain.  

Check out this line-up:

This is a staggering collection of talent and the results speak for themselves. Be that as it may, I'm going to speak for them anyway! What follows is a mostly 'Spoiler Free' review of each of the episodes by yours truly, pointing out particular elements I found particularly worth noting for one reason or another.

I say mostly Spoiler Free because I will likely mention some basic plot elements of each. If that's too much of a Spoiler for you I totally understand. Go check out the series for yourself and take a look at this after you're done.

Cool? Great! Let's continue on then shall we?

I will be doing a follow up post that will DEFINITELY contain Spoilers in the form of key episode details and how they can be applied to Star Wars tabletop gaming. There was a lot of great world building material in these shorts as well as some other stuff that really has the turbines spinning. 

Like I did for the first Volume, I will post my personal rating next to the title of each episode. The rating goes from 1 to 10 where one is Very Bad and ten is Totally Awesome. A 5/10 means it's Meh; it was OK but particularly likeable or unlikeable. 

Title: “Sith” (8.5/10)

Studio: El Guiri (Madrid, Spain)

Writer/Director: Rodrigo Blaas

I loved this one and in some ways it is my favorite of Volume 2. Like 'The Duel', the first entry in Volume 1, this is a visually dazzling tale that centers around a Sith protagonist. I find it interesting, perhaps even odd, that both Volumes of VISIONS open with such distinct, artistic shorts. It is very cool don't get me wrong and gets your attention right away but it handicaps all the ones that follow. The rest of the series rarely meets or tops the pure aesthetic spectacle of these first installments. The remainder all get compared to the first ones and since they're so bold in style and color the others can pale in comparison. An odd choice of placement in my opinion.

That said, I found the character and her story very intriguing. I would love to see more of her and that is high praise indeed.

Title: “Screecher’s Reach” (9/10)

Studio: Cartoon Saloon (Kilkenny, Ireland)

Writer: Director: Paul Young

Another one I very much enjoyed was this homage to Irish folklore with a Star Wars twist that I did not see coming. Whereas 'Sith' scores more points for visuals, 'Screecher's Reach' gets brownie points for having an excellent story. Furthermore, it's an excellent story well told. Great voice acting and direction. The art is quite charming and the animation is good but this one is really about the narrative. 

The ending, which I will not discuss here (just go watch it) is definitely one of its great strengths and drummed up thoughts in me that I will go into in greater depth in a follow up post. Most profound. 

Title: “In the Stars” (8/10)

Studio: Punkrobot (Santiago, Chile)

Writer/Director: Gabriel Osorio

An intriguing aspect of Volume 2 is that many of the entries seem to take place around the time of the Galactic Civil War and battle of the Rebels against the Empire. This is definitely true of this episode and yet it seems to take place in a timeless period of desperation independent of the greater Rebellion. This story occurs in that eternal dark place of struggle between indigenous peoples and greedy foreign invaders.

The art style, a form of Stop Motion/Claymation is a cool choice and the designs are awesome but in the context of the overall series I found it peculiar how many of the episodes used this sort of art. It made the episode feel, at least to me, less unique and special than it could have, though still excellent. 

Title: “I Am Your Mother” (7/10)

Studio: Aardman (Bristol, England, U.K.)

Director: Magdalena Osinska

As a huge Wallace and Grommit fan I was ecstatic to learn that Aardman would be participating in this new season of VISIONS. The episode itself was charming, humorous, and even a bit irreverent. I liked it very much. At the same time, I can't help but feel it wasn't as great as it could have been. I hate to feel this way but there is just something missing from the episode that could have put it over the top. I can't put my finger on what. I almost feel like they should have leaned even harder into everything they did but shortened each sequence making each one punchier (and therefore funnier).

Some of the background alien and droid designs are really cool and I wish we'd gotten to see more of them up close. Overall a positive and hard-warming short worthy of a few chuckles.

Title: “Journey to the Dark Head” (7.5/10)

Studio: Studio Mir (Seoul, South Korea)

Director: Hyeong Geun Park

The entry that most resembles the first Volume in both its look and narrative is 'Journey to the Dark Head'. The art, animation, and narrative are cool but the dialogue, voice acting, and character development were a tad weak and as such the episode wasn't executed to its fullest. I wonder what the original Korean dub sounded like if indeed there was one. 

One thing I found intriguing about this short was its setting, which seems like it could take place in canon or perhaps a bit beyond it. It postulates an interesting 'era' of the Star Wars universe, possibly one akin to the Old or even near High Republic. It could also be taking place further into the past or far into Star Wars' future (like Volume 1's 'Ninth Jedi').

Title: “The Spy Dancer” (8.5/10)

Studio: Studio La Cachette (Paris, France)

Writer/Director: Julien Chheng

'Sith' may be my favorite episode but the one that impressed me most was actually 'The Spy Dancer'. A well crafted and suitably melodramatic work of espionage fiction (Spy Opera?) that I must say felt quintessentially French. 

The look of it, the characters, the plot were all engaging, exciting, melancholy, and practically perfect. The pacing was spot on and the ending just magnificent. It also feels like you get a lot of it for its runtime. Another entry to Volume 2 that I would very much like to see continue. There is definitely room for more of this story. 

It doesn't hurt that the main protagonist reminded me of my friend Lynn's character, Kashpa. 

Title: “The Bandits of Golak” (6.5/10)

Studio: 88 Pictures (Mumbai, India)

Director: Ishan Shukla

It is a difficult to give a review of this one. I found myself wanting to like it more than I did and make no mistake, I thought it was interesting and quite well done. The look of it is beautiful, with a fascinating depiction of the culture of a far off planet inspired by Indian history, fashion, mythology, and architecture.

Unfortunately, the design and CGI animation are remarkably similar to the latter seasons of the Clone Wars, especially in the way they depicted some of the technology and alien species. Almost a little too much so. The villain of this one is one of the most menacing I've seen from a design standpoint but he didn't amount to being especially dangerous.

The biggest weakness of this episode for me is the young girl who serves as one of the two key protagonists. She is portrayed as either much younger and less mature than her image makes her out to be or she's simply very foolish, bratty, and even dumb. Her personality and attitude made the finale feel undeserved. It was as if the dim and self-concerned were rewarded with enlightenment while the steadfast and pure-hearted is left behind, which didn't feel quite right for an Indian folktale or a Star Wars tale. It just didn't work for me. 

Title: “The Pit” (6/10)

Studios: D’art Shtajio (Tokyo, Japan) and Lucasfilm Ltd. (San Francisco, California, USA)

Writer/Director/Executive Producer: LeAndre Thomas and Co-Director: Justin Ridge

My least favorite of Volume 2, this short simply didn't make a lot of sense to me. I mean I got what they were going for, what they wanted to say but too much of it is just 'Assume this all works the way we say it does, OK?'.

A lot of the episode shows how terrible the Empire is, how they don't value Human life, and how little they care about those who they used to achieve their ends. Then in one sequence a group of Stormtroopers with Blasters don't open fire on an incoming group of rich people attempting to free the mistreated because...unknown. No reason is given for this. The episode has a lot of that. You can't climb out of the titular Pit until...one guy can. Why? Because he can. 

The art and animation on this one was fine, a bit underwhelming actually, but the real issue is the writing and direction. Maybe it was rushed.

Title: “Aau’s Song” (8/10)

Studio: Triggerfish (Cape Town, South Africa)

Writer/Directors: Nadia Darries and Daniel Clarke

The final short is the extremely endearing 'Aau's Song', which I really liked a lot. It's just the kind of story that is very much in my wheelhouse. It doesn't have a villain, doesn't feature any battles, but it has wonderful world building, a breath-takingly beautiful setting, great character designs, and shows what can be done with the Star Wars universe without wars and stars. I mean, I love me some stellar battles but its nice to focus in on a distant world doing a neat thing every once in a while to say, "this too is Star Wars".

Another Stop Motion Animation project, this one distinguishes itself with its puppet-like figures, brilliant colors, and amazing backgrounds. I want to play a Korbian in a Star Wars game now. 

Korbian? Korban? Korbanian? Oh well.

Those are my reviews, such as they are. Excited to share further thoughts and ideas brought on my this series.

See you soon,

AD

Barking Alien

Definitely Worth The Wait

It's out and it's AWESOME!

It's also quite different from what many expected. Let's discuss that.

What I am referring to is...

The first episode of the third season of Seth MacFarlane's Science Fiction Action-Dramedy The Orville, titled 'New Horizons', has aired on the streaming service hulu.

Before we go any further I want to give everyone both a SPOILER and CONTENT WARNING. This episode discusses some serious subjects and goes to some dark places and some of that will be talked about here.  

You have been advised to proceed with caution.

As I am using the universal translation software and am incapable of stuttering, 

I must assume you understand me.

This discussion has concluded. 

Following a delay in the production of Season 3 due to both the COVID-19 Pandemic and the sale of Fox to Disney, the season was further delayed a bit by the reorganizing of the Fox properties Disney obtained. It has finally been released, starting on June 2nd, 2022 with the first episode, Electric Sheep.

Overview:

Following the events of the previous season's episodes Identity - Parts 1 and 2, the USS Orville is at the Earth orbital Dockyard undergoing a refit. The ship is being heavily upgraded in order to handle the potential threat of their new, highly advanced enemy, the Kaylon, a species of artificial beings. A member of the Kaylons, an individual called Isaac, has served on the Orville for approximately two years or so as its Chief Science Officer.

Isaac was originally on the ship as a supposed cultural exchange between the Kaylon and the Planetary Union. It was a hopeful precursor to the possibility of the Kaylon joining the Union. As noted, in the Season 2 episode Identity - Part 1, Isaac suddenly shut down and was brought to the Kaylon homeworld in order to repair him. It is revealed that his mission to the Planetary Union was a farce designed to amass knowledge on the Union's combat capabilities and weaknesses. The true end goal of the Kaylons being destroying the Planetary Union and all biological life in the universe (see the episodes for why - trying to keep this as brief as possible.). 

So here we are a year or so after the Kaylon-Union conflict, the battle at Earth that saw the Planetary Union Fleet team up with their enemy the Krill Empire, to defeat a genocidal attack by the robotic Kaylon.

[Actually, I don't know the exact time difference between the last season and this new one. I assume some time has passed since the USS Orville and other ships of the Union Fleet have under gone considerable refits and upgrades.]

Some members of the crew - including the newly added Chief Navigator Ensign Charly Burke (played very well by actress Ann Winters) - have grown to distrust Isaac and his presence on The Orville. Many blame him for the actions of his species and for the part he played in helping the Kaylon get through the Union's defenses. 

From there the episode explores the ramifications of these events, the actions taken, and the feelings they left behind. It looks into some philosophical and social themes related to anger, grief, trauma, and goes to some dark places. It is quite an impressive episode but I will finish my overview here so you can enjoy the show if you haven't watched it already. If you have, please continue reading. 

New Horizons

This episode may appear to those familiar with the previous seasons to be a 180 from the what we expect from The Orville. I can definitely understand that viewpoint and to some degree I even agree with this assessment. 'Electric Sheep' is quite serious and dark, missing the typical lighthearted approach that has become synonymous with the show up to this point.

To me this isn't a 180 but it isn't a straight line progression either. The Orville has definitely made a hard left into more mature and serious territory. In my opinion it could have used a bit more humor sprinkled through out in order to ease the audience into the deeper, graver elements so it didn't come off as so drastic a change in atmosphere.  

The show's identity thus far has been directly linked to the comedic tone it has had since the very beginning. It's a key element that separates The Orville from its Star Trek inspirations and makes it a unique outing in the Science Fiction TV/Streaming landscape. That said...

The Orville was initially sold as a comedy because that's how Seth MacFarlane was able to pitch it to Fox and get the funding to make the series happen. As the show has progressed through the first two seasons, the humor has been toned down more and more and the serious subjects have been brought closer to the forefront. The Orville has already generated some thought provoking stories and addressed numerous social topics. The Season 3 premiere isn't a new direction, though it is perhaps atypical of the balance between the earnest and the funny we've grown used to.

Season 3 Episode 2, Shadow Realms, brings the humor back in tiny trickles. There is some great lines and banter here the there but an overall horror tone in maintained for this very creepy installment into the franchise. Another excellent episode and highly recommended, definitely more 'fun' than the premiere. 

Conclusion:

We are only two episodes in so it is too soon to make a final assessment but so far I am loving it. The Orville is my kind of Science Fiction and it's definitely inspiring thoughts of another attempt at an Orville campaign. Interestingly, it impresses me and satisfies me in a way Star Trek's new series, Strange New Worlds, has not.

For some reason I can't quite put my finger on, Strange New Worlds is not connecting with me. I don't find the characters all that engaging (with a few exceptions) and their need to bring up TOS elements before (chronologically) the TOS crew first encountered them is irritating. It isn't a bad show, not poorly written or executed the way, say STD was in its first two seasons but it isn't WOWing me either. 

Anyway, that's all for now. More thoughts as they come to me.

The Orville airs on the Hulu streaming service in the USA, Disney+ in many parts of Europe, and on other services elsewhere. Check your local listings. New Horizons, Season 3, puts out new episodes every Thursday in the US.

Fan Poster by PZNSGAZ

AD

Barking Alien

VISIONS Statement

Star Wars: Visions is here and it is The Way! 

As a long time fan of Star Wars and Japanese Anime - and as someone who has added elements of the latter into RPG campaigns of the former since the late 80s - I was incredibly excited for this project. Now that it's out and I've seen it, I'd like to discuss my opinions about the series and what game related possibilities the episodes suggest. 

I am going to address each installment separately and as a result my reviews* (such as they are) will be fairly brief. At the end of the post I will throw in some RPG related thoughts. Please be aware that with nine episodes, even brief overviews will result in this post being a bit on the long side. As there is a lot to unpack from some of these pieces, I will not get to all I want to discuss in this one blog entry. You are likely reading the first of several posts. How many and in what form it's difficult to say.

Always in motion is the future.

-SPOILERS-

See Star Wars: Visions before reading this.

Trust me. Trust in The Force.

The Duel (by Kamikaze Dougal) 10/10

I don't know where to begin. This. Thing. Was. FLAWLESS! Every aspect of it from the art style and palette (black and white with only highlights of color) to the storytelling and pace were absolutely astounding! The voices, the sound effects, the music - all perfect!

A clear homage to the samurai films of Akira Kurosawa that inspired George Lucas to create Star Wars in the first place, this work brings it all full circle in a stunning display of culture and cinema.

My only complaint is that it was an odd choice to open with this one as it is literally the best of the best. It is so good in so many ways that every other entry pales in comparison. Even when the other episodes are excellent, they still can't hold a candle to 'The Duel'. 

Tatooine Rhapsody (by Studio Colorido) 6.5/10

Fun and adorably animated with a bit of pathos mixed in, this one was enjoyable if not particularly deep or groundbreaking. It reminded me of an old campaign of Star Wars I ran back in High School called 'Near Miss', about a misfit rock band of Humans and aliens who moonlight as Rebels against the Empire. 

The Twins (by Trigger) 5/10

While visually distinct and impressive, The Twins was by far my least favorite of the assortment. 

What we see happening is far too over-the-top to be taking place in the Star Wars universe, though it is reminiscent of some older, 'Silver Age' Anime. It also pulls on elements from the Sequel Trilogy and that was a definite turn off for me. All in all this episode is very pretty nonsense and I expected more from Studio Trigger.

The Village Bride (by Kinema Citrus) 8/10

This was a very interesting entry with great potential that was regrettably limited by its length. I felt there was a lot more to this story than we got to experience and unfortunately that holds it back from being scored higher. 

Don't get me wrong, I really liked it; I just feel the power of the planet and its connection to the people who lived there, the female Jedi's former master who hailed from this world, and whatever was up with her mask and suit was information I really wanted to know that the episode merely hints at and then moves on from. It was all cool but not completely satisfying. 

Example: The people and world were linked and the Force visibly present but it never really applies to the fight against the enemy. To defeat the invaders an outsider is needed and that outsider, the very cool female Jedi, doesn't seem to tap into the planet's power, so why mention it?

The Ninth Jedi (by Production IG) 9/10

Now this...this is how you make a Star Wars story. 

The premise of The Ninth Jedi is what a Star Wars universe 'sequel' should be. Set far in the future of that galaxy far, far way, the Republic and Empire are mere memories and the Lightsaber is a thing of legend. Sith have returned and they are many, the Rule of Two (which I never liked) long forgotten. Will the Jedi be reborn as well to save the galaxy?

I loved the art and design sense in this one, the simple but epic story that, like The Village Bride, hints at something largely but its my personal opinion that The Ninth Jedi pulls this off more completely than its predecessor. 

T0-B1 (by Science SARU) 7.5/10

A beautiful, sweet, magically heartfelt homage to both the Droid characters of Star Wars and Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy, this tale of a robot who wants to be a Jedi Knight is totally delightful. T0-B1 - which eludes to Tobi, To Be One (a Jedi), and also a little Obi-Wan - leans more heavily into the realm of fairy tale than space opera but it definitely achieves what it sets out to do.

The Elder (by Trigger) 6/10

Given the incredible talent of the Trigger group, it is surprising to me that their entries were my least favorite of the bunch.

While 'The Twins' was way too over-the-top, 'The Elder' is underwhelming; slowly and dare I say awkwardly paced, and even a bit lazy. For example, in the rain sequence there is no water on the ground and the rain doesn't interact with the environment or characters in any way. We do not see any attempt to animate the combatants becoming wet. There is no halo or aura of falling droplets on them, something I have seen in Japanese Anime many times in the past.

The story was OK but very 'Plain Jane'. Compared to all the other episodes, this one is the most solidly situated in the standard canon Star Wars universe and also the least intriguing as a result. 

Lop and Ochō (by Geno Studio) 9/10

Lop and Ochō is a quintessentially Anime Anime.

It features a cute girl protagonist, a good guy who is crime boss and gang culture themed, martial arts combat, and wildly stylized technology. It's plot is straight forward and relatable in an abstract way; two people who believe they know what's best for their people and their home are in direct opposition to each other, leading to conflict. An outsider who's been accepted in as one of the family must figure out which side is right and stand up for it.

Quality-wise, I think I would have to score this episode at more like a 7.5 or an 8. It isn't a very complex tale, quite cliche' in fact, its characters aren't particularly layered, but I absolutely loved it. It is just so Anime with a capital 'A' that I scored it higher than perhaps it really deserves.

Just as I like the Rebels cgi animated series more than Clone Wars but completely acknowledge Clone Wars is the vastly superior product, I similarly confess to liking Lop and Ochō because it appeals to my personal tastes. 

I also adore Lop's design. Her species is definitely making an appearance in my next Star Wars campaign.

Akakiri (by Science SARU) 7.5/10

The final episode has a rather unique art style and one that isn't typical of modern mainstream Anime. It reminded me more of the French animation of Tales of Alethrion. The storytelling and indeed the story being told are not unlike European animation shorts either. The somber, arguably tragic ending, is another example of how different this one is from the rest of the selection. 

Although I liked Akakiri, I feel like I need to watch it again to truly understand it. At a number of points the narrative confused me and it has a rather sad ending, though one that need not be final. There is not much else I can say on this one without a re-watch.

Now as for how gameable it is...Incredibly gameable!

 As I noted about under The Ninth Jedi, that short is clearly the start of a long running series of adventures to re-establish a Jedi Order in the distant future of Star Wars, perhaps altering what that even means. It has 'campaign premise' written all over it! 

Many of the others that I could see adding something to a Star Wars RPG game would do just that; inject a sense of newness to the universe with things both never-before-seen and yet familiar:

• A Jedi Padawan escapes Order 66 and finds a new destiny as in Tatooine Rhapsody
• A Sith hunting other Sith like the lead character in the Duel.
• A small alien piloting a Probe Droid as seen in The Duel.
• Connecting with the Living Force of a planet as implied in The Village Bride. 
• Lop's species, a possible variant of the Lepi?
• The Oil Tea drinking Ferry/Shuttle Pilot Droid of The Ninth Jedi.

What Star Wars: Visions shows us is that you can do so many things in and with the Star Wars universe, making me wonder why the inhabitants of The Mouse House (and I am even including my beloved Dave Filoni in this) keep going back to the same 5-10 characters. Star Wars: Visions does what an untold number of Star Wars RPG Gamemasters and players have been doing for 44 years - making up a planet, creating some characters, and telling a tale.

May The Force Be With You Watashi no Tomodachi**!

AD

Barking Alien

*I don't really do reviews (clearly), just give my initial thoughts and feelings on things. 

**Watashi no Tomodachi means 'My Friend'