Day 31 - Star Wars

December 16, 2020. As I was looking back from my memories on Facebook. 5 years ago when Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released in theaters. It's been 10 years after the release of The Revenge of the Sith, fans are waiting for the next trilogy and throughout that period from 2005 to 2015, TV Series were released like The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels of which I only watched a few episodes about it, new characters were introduced and gained popularity among the fans. Guess I need a lot of catching up to do.

I remember when I watched The Phantom Menace with my Sister. I got fascinated with these warriors with their colored blades including their superpowers, even the vehicles, planets, races, everything around it blown me away. I even played the video game on PlayStation and have toys which is a replica of the Naboo Blaster and it's a handheld game called Naboo Defense. I also have the Naboo Starfighter, and a VCD set of Episode I. All of it was lost when we moved from Cavite to Manila back in 2002. I promised myself that I'm going to grab them again as part of my collection.

When Episodes II & III were released, I was not able to watch Episode II in theaters and watched it on VCD (It was a pirated copy. These were dark times when the Optical Media Board conducts a series of raids in collaboration with the National Bureau of Investigation & the Philippine National Police to confiscate equipment and destroy all pirated copies & other paraphernalia.) When Episode III came out, I and the rest of my family decided to watch it in theaters. Throughout the prequel trilogy, it showed how a young man's fate would change but was prophesied that he'll bring balance to the universe. A shadowy figure in disguise and secretly places his pieces in play. And the conflict between master & student on what will be the betterment and cause of their actions.

I only discovered back then, the first Star Wars was released in 1977, but the visual effects of that time were improvisation, unlike today's equipment. The moment I watched Episodes IV to VI, the visual effects were inspired by the Super Sentai/Tokusatsu series in Japan. I fell in love with it, and the original trilogy for me is more like where you've been destined for greatness, find your sole purpose in life, and redemption. If you'll ask me who shot first between Han & Greedo? Well, it will be an endless debacle for the both of us.

When The Force Awakens is about to be released, I was so hyped at that time. I was working at ePerformax 5 years ago. Through hard work, I decided to start collecting Star Fighters which they needed to be assembled, toys, books, and tumblers.

The moment when it was released I felt an awakening, new players stepped in along with our favorite characters from the original trilogy. It's bridging the connection between the old and new. Another film was released called Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and it was a movie of epic proportions. I watched the sequel trilogy at theaters during the Christmas season but got disappointed on Episode IX from its loopholes, again new characters, and how even Palpatine survived that fall, but the answer to that is from his previous line (from Episode III) that the dark side is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.

As a fan, I would stick to the Original and Prequel trilogies, I am currently exploring the expanded universe outside of the Sequel trilogy. Now, I'm starting to like The Mandalorian, and new projects will be released in the next 3 years. Aside from new TV Series around the Star Wars universe, a new full-length film will be released in 2023 on Christmas.

I cannot wait for the new movie so. I'll just sit tight and my fandom with Star Wars will not be at the grave because of what happened with the sequels. We have our own opinions about it and different views on the story. Star Wars will forever be etched in my heart from the moment I fell in love with it, and may the force be with us.