It's no secret that we love us some "Star Wars," and have been known to dig on Japanese anime on the reg.

Now two of our most geekalicious pursuits have combined into one kick-ass package thanks to an intrepid animator with the handle OtaKing77077, who's crafted a 2-minute clip of a classic "Star Wars" dogfight rendered in glorious anime style.

The best part of the unauthorized fan film is it does what George "Rich Uncle Pennybags" Lucas would never have the stones to do, namely make the tie-fighter pilots of the Empire the HEROES. By showing us the dudes and dudettes inside those faceless stormtrooper suits it gives them more of a human edge, and has us actually rooting for them when they explode a "Rebel scum" medical frigate.

Since OtaKing77077 posted the link for review on a private message board it has gone loco viral on the web, and another YouTube user named JPL4185 (perhaps a cousin of THX1138?) has added classic Original Trilogy sound effects with the original animator's blessing. We can't wait to see this work-in-progress completed!