A princess ousted by a traitorous relative enlists the aid of a Jedi Knight to help her reclaim her throne. The Jedi, however, is tested by harrowing premonitions stemming from the darkness lingering within him. To what lengths will he go to protect his charge...?
Tropes:
- Anachronism Stew: Tsubaki flies a B-Wing, which won't be invented in the current canon until Star Wars Rebels, and even in Star Wars Legends it wouldn’t be invented until the Galactic Civil War.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Masago retains her hold on the throne and gains a new apprentice.
- Captain Ersatz: Senshu and Kamahachi, the two foolish guides that help Tsubaki and Misa on their journey, are clearly based on Tahei and Matashichi, the two characters from The Hidden Fortress that were explicit inspirations for C-3PO and R2-D2.
- Double-Meaning Title: 赤霧, or Akakiri.
- "Akakiri" means "custody", as in, the connections and ties between people, referring to the love between Tsubaki and Misa.
- Literally, 赤 (aka) means "red" and 霧 (kiri) means "fog", referring to the violent visions that Tsubaki is plagued by throughout the short.
- Additionally, the homophone 切り (kiri) means "limits, bound, end" and "to cut", as in, Tsubaki both figuratively and literally cutting down Misa and their relationship, leading him down the path of the Sith.
- Downer Ending: Tsubaki's vision comes to pass as he is tricked into cutting down Misa, his love. In desperation, he pledges himself to Masago and the Dark Side to successfully revive her. The story ends with the princess alive but a prisoner, with Masago and her new apprentice setting out to expand their territory.
- Evil Aunt: Masago is a Sith Lord who usurped the throne from her brother the king and forced her niece Misa into exile.
- History Repeats: Once again, a young Jedi falls to the Dark Side after a Sith Lord promises them the ability to save the life of a loved one.
- I Did What I Had to Do: After Misa is brought back from the dead, she asks in horror what Tsubaki had done, to which he responds this trope word for word.
- Japanese Mythology: Mention is made of a creature called a nue (a Yōkai considered to be the Japanese chimaera) and a group of people called Orochi (named for Yamata no Orochi, a snake monster).
- Mythology Gag:
- Shout-Out: To Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, one of George Lucas's inspirations for Star Wars.
- Like in the film, the short is about a warrior helping a princess against a rival warlord.
- Senshu and Kamahachi are based on Tahei and Matashichi, the inspirations for C-3PO and R2-D2.
- Misa is named after Misa Uehara, the actress for Princess Yuki.
- Untranslated Title: "Akakiri" means "custody" — a term which, in the context of the Japanese language, refers to ties between people.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Tsubaki believes that whatever he keeps seeing in his prophetic visions, he can prevent it from happening. However, he's warned by his master that it will come to pass and that once it happens, he won't be there to save him. Masago taunts him over his belief that he can fight destiny as she sets up those events to happen, leading to his fall.
