Lucasfilms has partnered with several Japanese anime studios for the new animated series Star Wars: Visions — but this isn't the first time Star Wars has drawn inspiration from Japanese entertainment.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The "Star Wars" universe is expanding. Disney+ will release "Star Wars: Visions" tomorrow. It was originally voiced in Japanese, the first "Star Wars" anime series. NPR's Victoria Whitley-Berry has more.

VICTORIA WHITLEY-BERRY, BYLINE: All right, I got to be real with y'all. I'd consider myself a very casual "Star Wars" fan and a recent, albeit devoted, anime lover. And after watching the first trailer of "Star Wars: Visions" back in August, I felt like the combo just made sense. I wasn't alone.

KELLY KNOX: You might not know what characters you're looking at, or they might not look how you expect, but you hear the lightsaber ignite...

(SOUNDBITE OF BATTLE AMBIENCE)

KNOX: ...Anything like that, and immediately you're in "Star Wars."

WHITLEY-BERRY: That's Kelly Knox, a freelance writer for starwars.com and author of "Marvel Monsters." And she told me that it wasn't just anime. In the OG series, George Lucas was inspired by director Akira Kurosawa.

KNOX: What he really got from the director Kurosawa was an attention to detail. But to him, it was very important that the galaxy felt real by making it feel used and lived in, so that's why you see, you know, piles of junk and dirt on the Millennium Falcon.

WHITLEY-BERRY: So it was only a matter of time before Japanese creators would step into the world of "Star Wars." Seven studios joined in creating the shorts, and you can watch all the episodes in the original Japanese and dubbed in English. While you don't see a lot of familiar faces and visions, the episodes take themes, even core characters sometimes, from the original franchise and give them a twist. For example, "The Twins" poses this simple question - what if arguably the most morally good characters in the franchise were...

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

WHITLEY-BERRY: ...I don't know, born in the Empire? Now, the characters in "The Twins" aren't actually Luke and Leia, but they might as well be. Throughout the series, "Star Wars" fans casual and devoted will find homages to George Lucas' original work. In "The Twins," the very first shot is a Star Destroyer from the Empire and, of course, a reference to a classic said by Luke's doppelganger.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR WARS: VISIONS")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) Really? So you have a bad feeling about this?

(SOUNDBITE OF CRASH)

WHITLEY-BERRY: Now, without spoiling much, the writer for this episode, Hiromi Wakabayashi, wanted to explore the pressure someone can feel when a galactic-sized destiny is thrust upon them. But instead of saving the universe, they're trying to conquer it.

HIROMI WAKABAYASHI: (Through interpreter) Many of the "Star Wars" protagonists are a nobody who becomes a chosen one, like Anakin and Rey and Luke. So I wanted to portray that same idea but doing the opposite, where the chosen twins become nobodies.

WHITLEY-BERRY: You'll also see recurring anti-war themes and deep connections to the environment that's often talked about in the "Star Wars" TV series and graphic novels. And these topics are no stranger to anime and Japanese cinema. Nichole Sakura voices Haru in the episode "The Village Bride," the English-dubbed version.

NICHOLE SAKURA: I think it's part of the Japanese culture to include really important, meaningful themes about community, nature - a lot of these things that you might think children don't understand. But I think it's very Japanese in nature to touch on really meaningful themes and values.

WHITLEY-BERRY: And if you're not into that, at the very least you can enjoy a "Star Wars" rock concert.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "STAR WARS: VISIONS")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character, singing) Come on and lose yourself now, everybody.

WHITLEY-BERRY: Victoria Whitley-Berry, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.