First and foremost, The Ninth Jedi feels like Star Wars. Much of this is in how the story is told. While each episode is an individual story, the overarching series follows the classic Star Wars trilogy structure. The two Star Wars: Visions episodes make up the opening act—the introduction to the setting, characters, and conflict. The next four episodes detail our heroes’ early victories and greatest defeat. Finally the last four episodes feature our heroes going from their lowest point to their highest in climactic fashion.

The first part of this series’ runtime is a fun, if thematically shallow, Star Wars story. Our Jedi heroes, constantly on the run, go from world to world, encountering those once connected to the last major attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order. It has both solid adventures and interesting mysteries, but it doesn’t have much in the way of character arcs or themes.

Supporting hero characters returning from the two previous Star Wars: Visions episodes—i.e, Ethan, Margrave Juro, Homen, and Gramps—do things in the plot but have no real development. Meanwhile, the newly introduced hero characters tend to follow the same general arc of being reluctant to help the Jedi but once Nawaam’s forces attack, they ultimately have a change of heart and join the cause. The supporting villains are likewise largely static; they are exactly what they appear to be from their moment of introduction and act as you’d expect with no deviation.

It’s only once the series starts nearing its second half that it starts exploring characters and, through them, the greater theme of the anime. The Ninth Jedi focuses on three people: Lah Kara, our heroine; Lah Zhima, her kidnapped bladesmith father; and Nawaam, the warlord who kidnapped Zhima and is in the process of uniting the galaxy by force. These arcs are not only downright fantastic but also give the anime depth in both themes and lore.

The relationship between Nawaam and Zhima is at the core of both of their stories. The two were both present at a critical moment for the previous fledgling Jedi Order—but they interpreted this event in radically different ways. Horrified, Zhima rejected his previous life. He focused his life on raising his daughter and building light-sabers capable of discerning a person’s mental state through blade color—basically turning them into a Sith detector. But now, his past has caught up with him and he can no longer run from the unintended consequences of his actions. He has to decide how to reconcile with his past and decide what kind of man he will be moving forward.

Meanwhile, Nawaam learned the lesson that might makes right. Things like Jedi or Sith, good or evil, mean nothing in the face of overwhelming power. In fact, it is only by discarding these emotional attachments, becoming untainted by both altruistic good and self-serving evil that one attains true strength. Thus, to achieve true peace in the fractured, war-torn galaxy, it must be enforced through unquestionable power—both mentally through embodying a state of nothingness when using the force and technologically through a world-destroying super-weapon.

And at the center of this philosophical quandary we have Kara. She sees a galaxy that needs the Jedi—needs protectors to stand with the common man and fight for what’s right in these chaotic times. But as the story goes on, Kara is forced to face the fact that, in a way, Nawaam is right. Her strength in the force makes her all but unstoppable—but does that make her qualified to be an arbiter of justice? She has so much blood on her hands—both incidentally and directly—how can she be considered “good”?

Her temptation towards the dark side comes not from selfishness or a pursuit of power but rather from the frustration and pain of seeing innocents—not to mention those she cares about—be harmed again and again. Yet, it is the horror of potentially becoming that which she most fears that allows her to find a kind of Zen state of acceptance—to find the place within herself where she can find clarity of purpose and separate herself from her emotions, both light and dark.

But what’s truly interesting is, unlike her father who accepts this state as a necessary evil or Nawaam who outright embraces it, Kara, in the end, actively chooses to reject it. Yes, it brings her great power and is the most direct and certain way of achieving her goals, but it’s not the kind of mindset she wants to have.

When it comes down to it, compassion and empathy are Kara’s greatest strengths. Killing someone is the easy way—and sometimes the necessary one. However, the best way is to guide someone to see what they have done wrong and give them a chance to atone. And frankly, there’s not much that’s more thematically Star Wars than that.

On the presentation side of things, The Ninth Jedi is great all the way through. The music has the Star Wars vibe while never outright copying John Williams iconic score. On the visual side, the series ranges from great to fantastic. The space battles are tense and exciting while the lightsaber battles are dynamic, unique, and use the animated format to great effect—especially as the story hits its climax.

But the best aspect of the series visually is the lightsabers themselves. Their color-changing ability serves as both a fantastic plot device and character building tool. The sabers tell the story of each characters mental state visually—and gives great impact to the anime’s most dramatic moments. They also highlight one of the other core themes of the anime. The titular “nine jedi” are not the strongest in the force—some may not be force sensitive at all. However, they are, at their cores, good people who take responsibility for those around them and truly want to make the galaxy a better place—not just for themselves but for everyone. Their sabers are the proof of this—not just to us but to the other characters within the story as well.

The Ninth Jedi is one of those anime I enjoyed watching in the moment and have become more enraptured with the more I think about. Beyond the action and adventure, it builds on the Star Wars tales that have come before by taking the relationship between emotion and the Force and using it to build a story about the importance of personal choice. While the Star Wars franchise as a whole has been rocky as of late, if you have ever been a fan, you owe it to yourself to watch The Ninth Jedi (just be sure to watch the Star Wars: Visions episodes “The Ninth Jedi” and “The Ninth Jedi: Child of Hope” before you do).