Manga artist Takashi Okazaki won an Emmy last weekend for his character design work on “Star Wars: Visions Volume 3 — The Duel: Payback.”
The Television Academy <a href="https://comicvibe.com/apple-watch-series-12-announced-what-we-know/” title=”Apple Watch Series 12 announced: What we know”>announced Okazaki, 52, as the winner of Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for character design during the second of three ceremonies for the 78th Emmy Awards, with the first two held in Los Angeles on Sept. 5 and 6.
“The Duel: Payback” is part of the Disney+ anthology series “Star Wars: Visions,” in which each episode tells a standalone story inspired by the “Star Wars” universe. The first volume, released in 2021, featured seven Japanese animation studios, while the second, released in 2023, expanded the series to studios around the world. The third volume, released in 2025, returned to Japanese animation, with several studios from the first volume revisiting their original stories.
A mostly monochrome film punctuated by splashes of color, “The Duel: Payback” centers on a former Sith known as Ronin, a Japanese term for a masterless samurai. The film was collaboratively produced by the Japanese studios Kamikaze Douga and Anima.
Accepting the award, Okazaki told reporters, “I have always sought to try new things,” before going on to say he loves “Star Wars” and was delighted to receive a prize for a project tied to the franchise.
Okazaki was previously nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program in 2009 for his work on “Afro Samurai: Resurrection.”
In previous years, the Emmy Awards were divided into the Creative Arts Emmys and the Primetime Emmys, with the former recognizing artistic and technical achievements. This year, the Television Academy dropped the distinction, referring to all three ceremonies collectively as the Emmys.
The third Emmy ceremony is set to take place Sept. 14.
