Credit: LucasfilmIf there’s one thing Star Wars is known for besides being incredibly divisive with its content, it’s churning out waves of cool merchandise. You only need to look at Grogu from The Mandalorian (2019) to realize just how much Star Wars always has its eye on the ball.
But sometimes the franchise misses a trick, and though the unleashing of new merchandise lines often comes in response to a particular character, for example, being well received by fans, we’ve seen Star Wars churn out toys for plenty of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them characters.
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Scouring through the many Star Wars “Black Series” figures online is a task you’ve undoubtedly undertaken numerous times, and while some of them are pretty awesome, there are also plenty of pretty random ones thrown in there from time to time.
It’s not all about toys or other forms of merchandise, though — sometimes the franchise tends to overlook some of its better, and arguably more unique, content, in favor of flogging a dead Bantha, be it in a show such as The Book of Boba Fett or Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).
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Star Wars: Visions
Star Wars: Visions (2021) is a critically-acclaimed anime anthology series that first arrived on Disney+ back in 2021, and on this year’s May the 4th (Star Wars Day), we were treated to Star Wars: Visions Volume 2, which was comprised once again of nine unique animated tales.
So, while we can’t really argue that this anthology series itself is overlooked, especially considering that a third volume is already in development, there are a number of stand-out stories among the 18 episodes that definitely deserve more attention.
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What’s the best Star Wars: Visions episode?
While the beautiful “Aau’s Song” appears to be one of the fan-favorites from Volume 2, for us, it’s really “Lop & Ochō” from Volume 1 that stands out above the rest — yes, even “The Duel”, which already has some of its own merchandise, including a graphic novel.
In fact, some of the other episodes have their own action figures, but the one that has absolutely nothing save for a handful of unofficial tee-shirts and other garments is “Lop & Ochō”, which is probably the most merchandise-able episode Visions has to offer — at least in Volume 1.
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What’s “Lop & Ochō” about?
“Lop & Ochō” follows Lop, a young Lepi (a rabbit-like humanoid), who has long been enslaved on the planet Tao by the Galactic Empire, who have promised the once-struggling planet prosperity with their technological advancements, but have brought with them oppression.
Lop soon meets a human family, Boss Yasaburō and his daughter Ochō, who free her from bondage and take her in as their own. But as the years pass, Ochō becomes disenfranchised with the Republic and believes that what the Empire is doing is righteous.
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Why is it so good?
A battle ensues between both sisters, as Lop and her father desperately try to pull Ochō away from the dark side. “Lop & Ochō” is a solid episode and the fact that its central character isn’t human is pretty refreshing.
It also ends on a cliff-hanger, and when Volume 2 was announced, we half-expected a follow-up to “Lop & Ochō”, even if it came in the form of a completely different animation style to the original. But unfortunately, that never happened.
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Will “Lop & Ochō” have a follow up?
Whether or not the episode will be expanded in some shape or form in the future remains to be seen, but there’s no denying that the character of Lop alone is begging to be adapted into some form of merchandise, whether it’s an action figure or a video game.
The Force-sensitive Lop, who’s dressed in Samurai attire, sports a unique lightsaber with engravings on its blade that tell of her human clan’s history, a single-lens visor that offers infrared scans of her surroundings, a spinning umbrella that enables her to glide at short distances, and, as a Lepi, she’s able to hop between rooftops.
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And then there’s her companion hover-droid TD-4, who might just be one of the most adorable droids we’ve seen in Star Wars. But why is there no “Lop & Ochō” merchandise? It’s pretty mind-boggling, but here’s to hoping Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 at least offers something in the way of a continuation.
Fortunately, though, in the behind the scenes documentary of Star Wars: Visions, the creators of “Lop & Ochō” do reveal that they hope for a follow-up of some kind. For now, we’d just be happy with an action figure!
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As per Wikipedia, here’s the synopsis for “Lop & Ochō”:
During the reign of the Empire, a rabbit-like alien slave named Lop escapes her captors on the planet Tau and is discovered by the planet’s clan leader Yasaburo and his daughter Ochō, the latter of whom convinces the former to adopt Lop as his daughter. Seven years later, the Empire has occupied their planet and is exploiting it for its natural resources; Yasaburo wants to drive the Empire off their planet, while Ochō wants to cooperate with the Empire. After failing to convince Yasaburo to join her, Ochō enlists in the Imperial navy despite Lop’s protests. With Ochō gone, Yasaburo passes down the family treasure, an ancient lightsaber given to their ancestor and passed down the generations, to the Force-sensitive Lop, and departs to confront Ochō. Ochō blinds Yasaburo in a fight, but Lop arrives and injures Ochō, who is forced to flee. Lop then vows to return Ochō home.
Here’s the official trailer for Star Wars: Visions Volume 2:
All nine episodes of Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 are now streaming on Disney+.
What’s your favorite Star Wars: Visions episode? Are you a fan of “Lop and Ocho”? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!