Star Wars: Clone Wars

Set between Episodes II and III, this animated micro-series follows the escalating conflict of the Clone Wars through short, intense chapters. Obi-Wan Kenobi leads a daring strike against the Banking Clan on Muunilinst while his apprentice Anakin Skywalker is put in charge of the Republic's space forces by Chancellor Palpatine. Across the battlelines, Count Dooku recruits a fierce, Force-sensitive gladiator, Asajj Ventress, ordering her to go after Anakin. Episodes jump from dogfights to ground assaults and covert missions, keeping scenes tight and action-focused. The series shows shifting loyalties and mounting pressure on the Jedi without resolving later storylines, so it stays focused on momentum and character turns rather than final outcomes.

Released in 2003, the series was created by Genndy Tartakovsky, Henry Gilroy and George Lucas, with Tartakovsky steering the visual direction. It translates Lucas's film universe into a compressed, stylized animated format that emphasized kinetic action and economy of storytelling.

The series received attention from animation and industry organizations, earning nominations that recognized its direction, animation and sound work. It didn’t dominate mainstream awards, but it did help raise the profile of serialized animated storytelling within the Star Wars franchise.

Star Wars: Clone Wars left a visible mark on the franchise, introducing characters like Asajj Ventress and testing tones later seen in other Star Wars media. Its angular, anime-influenced visuals and rapid-fire action sequences became touchstones for fans and creators, and elements of its characterizations carried forward into subsequent animated projects.

Critics and fans tended to praise the series for its brisk pacing, inventive action choreography and strong voice performances from James Arnold Taylor and Mat Lucas. With a user vote average around 7.8 out of 10, viewers highlight themes of duty, the strains of command, and the early signs of Anakin's darker impulses, all delivered in short, high-energy installments.