The Ninth Jedi Anime: Full Breakdown & Transcript

[00:00] That there's never been a proper Star Wars anime has always felt to me like a profound, perplexing imbalance in the force. From Gundam to Goku, almost all modern anime owes a debt to the first sci-fi blockbuster

[00:14] in much the same way that it owed a debt to Chanbara Samurai films and Akira Kurosawa. It's hard to think of a more perfect fit for an anime adaptation. And yet, now that the ninth Jedi is finally here,

[00:28] constantly fight-mogging the entire rest of the franchise and making me feel like a six-year-old boy wearing out the tape on my grandpa's original trilogy box set again, I only find myself more perplexed to see absolutely no one

[00:43] talking about it in the Star Wars or anime fandoms. The latter makes a little sense, despite Disney and Hulu's efforts to curate a pretty impressive selection of exclusive anime, old and new, on their platform,

[00:57] the service itself just kind of sucks balls as an anime delivery system. With no subtitles, only closed captions, watching anything in its native Japanese is a miserable experience, especially a shame in this case, since The Ninth Jedi is written in early modern Japanese for a more authentic samurai vibe,

[01:16] and while the dub is actually really good too, with a top-notch cast, A lot of anime fans just ain't about that life. But as for Star Wars fans, I guess that kind of makes sense, too.

[01:28] It is non-canon after all, which to a lot of Star Wars is synonymous with irrelevant, and if they're just itching for animated lightsaber battles and X-Wing dogfights, they've already got Clone Wars, Rebels, Resistance, Bad Batch, and Maul Shadowlord to enjoy,

[01:44] which are canon and kick a fair amount of ass in their own right. So why even bother with Star Wars Japan? Aside from the fact that over half of the top ten lightsaber fights of all time are in this one show, I mean.

[01:57] Because the ninth Jedi uses its freedom from the canon to do something that none of those spinoffs and interquels dare attempt. Instead of bridging the gap between mainline entries

[02:09] or giving us more time with the fans' most beloved glup shittos, Production IG and Kenji Kamiyama have simply gone and made the sequel to the original trilogy that we always deserve,

[02:22] written in such a way that you can kind of just pretend it's canon and forget the Disney trilogy exists at all. Sold? Before I say more, let me sell you on today's sponsor, too. BookWalker is to manga and light novels what Steam is to video games.

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[04:16] Then let me know in the comments below which series you're going to start with. So how does The Ninth Jedi go about building a better Star Wars sequel? It starts at the foundation of the Star War itself.

[04:29] The setup for the sequel trilogy is, to put it kindly, dumb and bad. Supposedly, the original treatments Disney received from George Lucas involved Leia and the Rebels working to restore order while fending off various criminal syndicates led by the Hutts and an elderly Darth Maul,

[04:46] which would have been cool, but not really a Star War per se, mixed with a deeper dive into midichlorians, which nobody except George would have liked. So it is understandable that Disney asked J Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan to come up with something different The only problem is they didn What they came up with was just the same thing Again a beat bar cover of A New Hope

[05:10] that speedruns the rise and fall of the Republic and the re-rise of the exact same empire again, complete with stormtroopers, pie fighters, and all the other highly recognizable and merchandisable shit from the old one

[05:23] now in exciting new colorways in a short enough time frame to justify repeating the whole plucky rebels versus fascists with bad aim shtick with cameos from all the old actors. A soulless, calculated, business-driven approach to cinematic universe building

[05:39] that only laid the groundwork for more of the same in the actual cinema. It's also, can't emphasize this enough, a really stupid approach to world building. Luke and the rebels may have won the Star War,

[05:51] but that's not the same thing as winning the Star Peace. The Republic is long dead and gone at this point, and most of the planets who just suffered through a quarter century of fascism as a direct result of its inadequacies aren't exactly going to sign up to form a new one, especially one without a Jedi order to back it.

[06:11] Certainly not in the space of 30 years. The Empire coming back makes more sense lore-wise. Fascism is nothing if not a resilient disease. But as a plot point, it just plain f***ing sucks.

[06:24] invalidating almost everything that everyone in the original trilogy accomplished, especially after somehow Palpatine returns. The Darth Maul crime syndicate does address all of those issues,

[06:36] but again, the franchising called Star Police Actions. On the other hand, if you don't bring the Republic back, then you don't need to contrive any of that First Order bullshit to do a new Star War.

[06:48] It lets the old trilogy's heroes keep their hard-fought victory over tyranny while leaving future generations to navigate the resulting anarchy. The ninth Jedi envisions a galaxy in splinters,

[07:02] Sith and Jedi alike scattered across the stars, their remnants fading from relevance by the day as petty solar warlords battle for territory and resources. Some driven merely to protect and provide for their own people,

[07:16] while others dream of reunifying the old empire under their own personal banner. In essence, they've given the galaxy far, far away its own star-warring states period,

[07:28] inspired by the Sengoku Jidai, which anyone who knows their chanbara can tell you is the ideal setting for some high-octane magic space samurai action. But it's also a fantastic jumping-off point for coming at the fundamental philosophical questions

[07:45] of Star Wars from a genuinely new angle, Where the galaxy of the OG trilogy was devoid of freedom and that of the prequels needed stronger, more involved leadership, the world of the ninth Jedi wants primarily for stability, something that neither the Jedi nor the Sith have historically been able to provide for long.

[08:08] Enter Nawam, the latest in a long line of guys with big armies and scary helmets seeking to force the galaxy under his thumb, but not out of a selfish thirst for personal power.

[08:20] In a galaxy terrorized by warring strongmen, he believes that only the strongest man can keep them all in line for the greater good. And no matter how many people he kills to achieve that good,

[08:33] which is a terrifying amount, he believes in it sincerely enough to keep his lightsaber dwelling a steady Jedi blue. On that note, this anime does use so-called mood sabers that change color

[08:46] to reflect the truth in their wielders' hearts, which I know for some Star Wars fans is kind of a deal-breaker, but I think it's a great storytelling device, and the Knights Jedi makes fantastic use of it, particularly with Nawab.

[09:02] See, while he's a Jedi at heart for now, His ultimate goal is to transcend the divide between the light and dark side by achieving a state of emotional nothingness that will turn his lightsaber silver.

[09:15] A third way, he believes, will give him the power to create an ordered, rational, balanced galaxy ruled neither by Sith's selfishness nor Jedi zealotry. I'm sure it's just a coincidence he only hangs out with Sith Lords and wants basically every Jedi dead.

[09:31] The one exception is La Jima, the saversmith that got kidnapped back in the original Star Wars Vision short, whom the series quietly retcons into a retired Sith-hunting badass with a tragic backstory.

[09:46] A young Nawam was there when Jima turned his own lightsaber silver in the middle of that backstory, and has fancied himself the Sith's unofficial Padawan ever since. This sets him as a natural foil to Jima actual padawan his daughter Wakara who come into her own as a fighter and force user in the time between the short and the series Specifically she did that in the second short from season three of Visions which isn

[10:13] really essential viewing to appreciate this series, but if you don't watch it and then complain that Kara is a Mary Sue girl boss who got good at Jedi stuff out of nowhere, I will laugh at you.

[10:25] Even in the ninth Jedi miniseries, she has a long way to go to become a true master, and one of the best, most anime things about it is the way you can see her skills improving with every fight,

[10:37] learning from her missteps in real time, and turning past weaknesses into future strengths. There's a consistent, coherent logic underlying the choreography that lets you tangibly feel every step of her path to mastery.

[10:51] But you also feel it in the progression of her story, which evolves gradually from having her take a passive, reactive role following the orders of her master in Episode 1 to giving the orders and leading the charge against Nawam's army by the end of the series,

[11:08] with the color-changing nature of the lightsabers playing a predictable but effective role in conveying her inner transformations. It's a very simple hero's journey type character arc,

[11:20] but an effective one that doesn't overlap too much with either Luke or Anakin. And I think that's a big part of how the show manages to feel like a proper Star Wars movie,

[11:32] without just copy-pasting plot beats from the other trilogies. No knocks against the likes of Andor, there is clearly plenty of room in this galaxy for more mature, nuanced political intrigue, intrigue, but the core of Star Wars has always been fairy tales about space knights fighting

[11:49] space wizards, and for any mainline Star War, I think that simplicity is essential. Now, that's not to say there are no parts of this that rhyme like poetry. The bad guy's big plan does center

[12:01] around building yet another huge f*** off space laser that the good guys need to destroy in a big climactic space battle before it goes online, but the massive kyber crystal they need to bring it

[12:14] online is at the heart of a Jedi temple, so that big space battle actually reverses the typical Star War dynamic by putting the good guys on the defense in the initial attack. And the big laser,

[12:26] frankly, isn't even the most iconic or scary thing about the big bad's big bad spaceship, which kind of looks like a TIE fighter f***ed a Star Destroyer. And that ship is emblematic of just how good the mechanical design is throughout this entire anime,

[12:42] constantly introducing new visual elements to the Star Wars universe that feel like they always should have been there. You know, like a sequel trilogy would do if it was actually good.

[12:54] Last year I kind of did that, that's like the best thing about it, but you know, other than that, f*** my d*** Disney. It also helps that the climactic space battle itself, like all the space battles in this anime,

[13:06] mogs basically everything in all of the movies besides the trench run. Sorry, Americans, but it turns out that the country that made Mobile Suit Gundam, and Space Battleship Yamato, and Macross, and Gunbuster, and Crest of the Star,

[13:20] and Irresponsible Captain Tyler, and Knights of Cydonia, and Infinite Riveus, and Bodacious Space Pirates and Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop and Legend of the Galactic motherfucking Heroes

[13:32] is just a little bit better at this than you guys. You shouldn't be surprised, just like you shouldn't be surprised that they're better at laser katana fights, but I know some of you will be. Those fights, though, oh boy!

[13:44] Every single one brings something new to the table. Every single one feels like a dialogue between its combatants and every single one kicks ass. The choreography is just phenomenal across the board, storyboard that is,

[14:00] giving each and every Jedi and Sith their own distinct style that would still be recognizable even if they were fighting stick figures. Nalam fights with cold efficiency, Hima flies into action like a maelstrom,

[14:14] and Kara, when she fully comes into her own as a Jedi Knight, flows through battle with acrobatic grace, seamlessly linking dodges into force techniques into saber strikes, each expressing the supreme control granted by the state of emptiness in their own way.

[14:32] As impressive as the animation is, though, the sound team are the real unsung heroes of these action scenes, both down on the ground and out in the space. I mean, you kind of expect any Star Wars thing to put your home theater system through its paces,

[14:46] but the punches of bass whenever a ship zips by or a saber flares to life hit every bit as hard as they do in the movies. The ambient noise of each location is distinct and immersive,

[14:59] and the blaster fire is pitch perfect. But maybe my favorite detail of this soundscape is the new silver sabers which forgo the standard iconic hum to ring through the air with a serene sense of inevitability

[15:20] Fitting that the series' most compelling addition to Star Wars lore is matched to its most iconic addition to the Star Wars soundscape. Of course, if you know your Star Wars, you know this isn't the first time the idea of

[15:34] gray Jedi who tow the line between light and dark has come up. The concept has long been a popular basis for fanfic and TCRPG characters, and it even got some official recognition in the KOTOR games.

[15:48] But until now, it's kind of been an awkward, half-formed idea, which the ninth Jedi finally completes by merging it with the Buddhist concept of ku, or emptiness. Something that feels like a

[16:01] natural extension of the existing Jedi and Sith philosophies, because so much of them is already steeped in Japanese and Asian culture. And the series does some very philosophically interesting

[16:14] things with it, using N'Wam to explore the dangers of this kind of spiritual detachment, the way that it can lead someone to a place of deep nihilism and darkness indistinguishable

[16:26] from the evil that the literally enlightened centrist claims to be above, while Kara demonstrates that the true power of an empty heart lies in its potential to be filled up completely with kindness and compassion.

[16:40] It's a beautiful idea that plays out beautifully across the very anime Final Battle, our heroine finding a way to speak to the villain in his own language without engaging on his terms,

[16:52] But that's as much as I can say without completely foiling something that you really ought to experience for yourself. I really love Kara as a Star Wars hero, though. Her arc feels distinctly reminiscent of Anakin and Luke's, not because it's copying them, but because it's in conversation with them.

[17:12] and the conclusion that she reaches creates genuinely new possibilities for the universe that go beyond the old Jedi Sith binary without rejecting its foundational moral principles.

[17:24] Again, like you would expect a sequel trilogy to do if it was actually good. Noam, in comparison, doesn't quite have the menacing aura of your Darth Vader or Maul.

[17:36] His cold, placid demeanor is intimidating, but not scary. but that is unavoidable given his nature as a character, and whatever tension he takes away from the action, he more than adds back in terms of philosophical weight.

[17:51] That said, if you do find yourself craving some more classically flavored Star Wars villainy, the Ronin-styled Jedi Hunters from the original short are still around, and X is a properly scary motherfucker.

[18:05] I've focused mostly on the main heroine and villain in this video because the conversation between them and their predecessors in the other trilogies is what really sets the ninth Jedi apart as a worthy successor to those trilogies.

[18:20] But the other eight Jedi are all great characters in their own right, as are the many, many members of the supporting cast that we meet throughout Kara's journey. Great pains have been taken to ensure that this version of the galaxy

[18:34] feels every bit as alive and lived in as that of the film, and we get to see quite a bit of it, visiting a new planet every other episode, just because the action and the conflicts tied to it

[18:47] are the highlight of this series doesn't mean it slacks off when it comes to everything else, but makes Star Wars Star Wars. Okay, the music is a little we have John Williams at home, but it still very much does its job.

[19:00] And in every other aspect, the anime is absolutely exceptional, both as a Star Wars thing and an anime thing. It's definitely not going to be my anime of the year, but it is on the short list for my top 10, and if you've

[19:15] been keeping up with 2026's lineup, you know that is saying a ton. Whether you're a Star Wars fan or an anime fan, and especially if you're both, it is a must-watch. Hopefully, I've managed to

[19:29] convince you of that fact over the course of this video, but even if I didn't, I do appreciate you sticking it out to the end and giving me the chance to try. And if I did, I would also appreciate it if you'd let me know by hitting that like button and leaving a comment before you go. I'm Jeff

[19:45] Sue, Professional Nerf Herder, signing out from a galaxy far, far away.

[19:59] you