The true magic of Star Wars doesn’t solely lie in the larger than life characters, it’s also found in the vast universe that was created. It is what has gone on to inspire generations of filmmakers, writers, artists, and more to add to the Star Wars mythology. The R2D2 unit used in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was created by fans who built them in their spare time. There are countless others who were inspired by the world that George Lucas created, resulting in costumes, props, fan films and more labors of love for all things Star Wars.

Another fanboy genius has been uncovered and it’s Paul Johnson. The animator spent four years animating a Star Wars space adventure in 1980’s anime style, reminiscent of shows such as Robotech. Johnson explained his approach on his Youtube channel.

What if there was an Empire-focussed short Star Wars animation, drawn with the crazy detail and shading of classic 80s anime that’s all but vanished from Japan nowadays? Well, I tried my best. Apologies in advance for not living up to Venus Wars standards.
Drawn and animated by yours truly over 4 years’ worth of weekends, with music by the living guitar solo Zak Rahman and sound design by up and coming audio technician Joseph Leyva. Fans of Lucasarts’ seminal 1994 TIE Fighter game may notice a few familiar sights and sounds. That “incoming missile” noise gives me horrible flashbacks to this day…

The combination of the old school anime style with TIE fighters and X-Wings is a natural fit. Star Wars is about to have huge resurgence with a film scheduled to be released every year, along with a bevy of TV shows, video games, toys and more. So expect a wave of fan creavity to follow as well! Enjoy the ride!

So what did you think of the TIE Fighter? Let us know below, on  and !

Source: Slashfilm,