Blog Post Star Wars Anime / Manga

The Ninth Jedi and Path of the Lightsaber

Two recent Star Wars stories, one animated and one on the page, both follow young Jedi-adjacent heroes while stepping away from the usual cast of characters.

These are two Star Wars releases I enjoyed recently: The Ninth Jedi and Path of the Lightsaber. The Ninth Jedi is a Star Wars: Visions anime series set far beyond the Skywalker timeline. Path of the Lightsaber is a manga by Kenny Ruiz set during the rise of the First Order.

The reason I am lumping these two together is that they have a lot of parallels. Both stories follow a young female protagonist who either already is, or becomes, an aspiring Jedi. And of course, it would not be a Star Wars story without a masked, all-in-black antagonist chasing them down. Early on in both series, the protagonist loses someone from their core group. Hopefully that is not too much of a spoiler for anyone. Finally, one of the biggest similarities is the art style. Anime and manga are both Japanese styles, just with one in animation and the other on paper.

Now that we have talked about the similarities, I want to get into what I liked and did not like about both.

First, I like that Path of the Lightsaber takes place within the canon timeline, but does not focus on the main characters we always see. I enjoy stories that step outside the main line while still connecting to the broader Star Wars universe. That may be why I found myself liking Path a bit more than The Ninth Jedi.

PCG note: I usually lean toward fringe characters and side stories. Give me the corners of the galaxy where the main heroes are not standing in the spotlight every five minutes.

That said, I was disappointed to find that Volume 2 of Path of the Lightsaber is nowhere to be found. Right now, Path of the Lightsaber has significantly less story than The Ninth Jedi. With only Volume 1 out, it feels like we only have the first half of a season.

Now, with that said, I do not see anything wrong with The Ninth Jedi. I have greatly enjoyed it. It is another nice move away from the regular cast of characters we always see, and I think Star Wars fits very easily into an anime style. Both series have likable characters, but where they deviate is in the type of groups they follow. Path feels more like a fringe group, while The Ninth Jedi has more of a formal Jedi team. I have always leaned more toward fringe characters, but if you enjoy Jedi groups, The Ninth Jedi might be more your cup of tea.

I am trying to stay as spoiler-free as possible, but I am definitely looking forward to more of both of these great and refreshing Star Wars series.

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