Since I covered what I felt to be the most overrated Star Wars entry to date, I thought it would only be fitting to cover the most underrated piece of the series that sadly isn’t canon anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I hold no ill will towards the canon series; I enjoy that a lot too. But the first series came to me at a time when I was beginning to discover anime. The animation style feels very reminiscent of Samurai Jack, and though only 25 episodes, most of which are only 5 minutes long, they’ve stuck with me more 12 years after the fact with there unique blend of quick storytelling and anime influences.
This series directly bridges the gap between Attack of the clones and Revenge of the Sith. The Clone Wars are in full swing. Count Dooku arranges an unusual bounty hunter to assassinate Obi-Wan. But while in seclusion, a young woman finds him and slays the beasts Dooku sends against her with ease because she is strong with the force. Wielding two lightsabers, one blue and the other green, she drops the final beast and utters the words “I am sith.” Dooku sends the woman, Aasj Ventress to assassinate Anakin SkyWalker with her new red sabers. In space she finds him, strands him alone on a swampy world, murdering his troops one by one until he’s alone. They duel, pushing Anakin over the edge, making him strike her down with the power of the dark side. The image of Anakin standing on a cliff while Ventress falls, screaming with the glowing red blade in his mechanical hand against a red sky is very powerful. Soon after, a new figure in the Confederacy emerges, the fearsome droid commander General Grievous. When first debuted, Grievous was a beast with a agile, strong body and a dangerously strange means of using Lightsabers in combat. The finale of the series leads into the opening scene of Sith. The whole series can be found on Youtube; if you want a more condensed, less child-friendly take on the Clone Wars that has more of a anime feel, I highly recommend it. May the force be with you and the gaming gods bring you glory.
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