REVIEW: Star Wars Resistance reveal trailer
It seems history is repeating itself once again. When the Clone Wars movie and TV show were revealed, a lot of fans took issue with the art style, thought the premise looked too "kid-friendly," and felt the core of Star Wars wasn't for them anymore. Star Wars Rebels went through the same process, though, it can be said more hatred was put on the show because of the Clone Wars' cancellation. Now, the one-minute reveal trailer for Star Wars Resistance came out last week, and the vast majority of fans are mad at the show for the reasons I mentioned above.
Now let me get this out of the way. You are allowed to have your opinions, and I will NEVER say someone is wrong. Much like the Last Jedi, I can see the valid complaints. If the show doesn't look appealing to you, you have every right to not watch it. However, while I'm VERY skeptical of what I've seen so far, let's not forget that both previous animated shows went through the same timetable of events as well.
Let's talk about the biggest thing that sticks out with the show first...the art style.
Dave Filoni said he was inspired by both the second World War and anime. I can see both of those aspects in the show. As far as the backgrounds, locations, and ships, I think the art style looks great. There's a lot of great detail to me in those aspects, and shows like RWBY come to mind to me when I see this style.
However, as far as the character models go...I'm not a fan...yet. Both Clone Wars and Rebels, especially the latter, had art styles that took fans a lot to get used to, me included. However, while I think the backgrounds and ships look nicely detailed, I just don't think the characters look that good model wise. I hate to nip on this, because I'm sure the animators put a lot of work into the animation, but at the same time, I don't want to lie after. Some of the shots in the trailer almost look like the animation isn't even finished.
Alright, we talked the tech of the show, but what is the show about? Well, as the title suggests, the show will take place between Return of the Jedi and the Force Awakens, and will follow new character Kazuda "Kaz" Xiono, as he is recruited by the Resistance to spy on the First Order. I like the idea and premise of the show, as well as the timeframe the show takes place, but we will have to see if the execution is good or not.
As far as other characters go, we know Poe Dameron, BB-8, and Captain Phasma will be characters in the show, and that Oscar Isaac and Gwendoline Christie wil reprise their roles from the films, which is nice.
However, as far as other new characters, there isn't much left to stay because we really don't know any other character's names, and I wouldn't feel right commenting on a few seconds of a character. The only other character we know the name of is Jarek Yeager, who is an old friend of Poe, who runs a starfighter repair shop on an unknown water planet.
Now here's the big topic...the tone of the show. Even more obvious than the Clone Wars and Rebels, this trailer shows this show's target audience...kids. Granted, both of the previous shows started off squarely for kids, before both, especially Clone Wars, got darker as the seasons went along. Could the same be true for this show? It's possible. However, like Rebels, it is on Disney XD, and so, yeah, you can't really do too much "shock value" stuff on the platform.
Now, this raises the questions? Is it alright that this show is for kids? Aren't kids allowed to have something for their own, or does everything have to appeal for everyone? Even if it is for kids, could they show more maturity and less slapstick?
These are all good questions that I have no right or wrong answers for, and that I can see both sides of. On the one hand, this show, even if it is less than stellar, won't hurt anybody or ruin the lineage of Star Wars. I mean, the Holiday Special happened. On the other hand, Star Wars has fans of all ages that want to digest all amounts of content to get immersed in the lore, so when a show comes along in an important time frame in the galaxy that doesn't appeal to adults, I can see where some criticism is at.
If I was ten and I saw this trailer, I probably would like it a lot. As a 23-year-old man, you could argue I shouldn't even watch this show if it wasn't for this job. I have to admit, even with my problems with Rebels, I'll admit that it is a good show for kids to get introduced to the franchise, and I imagine this could be a stepping stone for others as well.
For long time fans, I can understand the reasons for concern. However, we have only seen literally one minute of footage. Could this mean if we see more, the public opinion will turn around? It's hard to say. The reception to this trailer has been mostly negative, and coupled with the dividing The Last Jedi, and the under performance and lukewarm reception of Solo, it's an uncertain time for Star Wars and the fandom...though almost everyone is excited for the Clone Wars.
For me, I'm skeptical, I'm not thrilled about the show yet, but I will check it out to see what the show has in store. Who knows, maybe history will repeat itself for a third time and an animated show will finish with a lot of fans.
