Character of the week: Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein)

Picture of Ahsoka Tano Autographed by Ashley Eckstein.

 Image is copyright of Disney and Lucasfilm Ltd.

I'm the first one to admit that I didn't have much faith in Ahsoka Tano after seeing The Clone Wars movie for the first time. Don't get me wrong, I was happy that we finally got to have a main character who was a girl, with whom young female audiences could identify. But all those teenage words like "artooie," "Sky guy," "snips," etc. made me think that the character was going to be another misguided attempt to attract young audiences. Boy I was wrong. I'm happy to admit I was wrong and that now I'm a huge fan of Ahsoka and Ashley Eckstein, too.

​When the seasons started passing, it was clear that the "powers that be" had bigger plans for Ahsoka since the beginning. The character started maturing, and we were shown a progression in her training and in her character (clearly influenced by Anakin).  This was shown not only in her behavior, but also in her clothes and the dual lightsaber style she developed in a later season of the show. My kids love her and got really exited when she came back for Star Wars Rebels. A girl padawan! Girls love that, not only because she's a girl, but mostly because she is amazing and unique. Her reverse grip is something that my daughter is still trying to imitate. And for the adults, I can't speak for all of you, but I think she is amazing. Dave Filoni and George Lucas really nailed it.

Ahsoka Tano action figure Autographed by Ashley Eckstein.

Image is copyright of "Signed Star Wars."

​Now to the exiting part of this story. Meeting Ahsoka Tano herself, Ashley Eckstein. We knew she was going to be at Celebration Europe in Germany, so we planned to meet her at both the autograph booth and at the meet and greet at her store. In case you don't know, Ashley is the owner and founder of Her Universe, an amazing line of clothing for fan girls (not just Star Wars). 

Ashley not only has done a great job bringing Ahsoka to life, ​she  is really nice to her fans. She takes the time to talk to them and even help them at the store. My wife was looking for a Leia outfit in a specific size for my young daughter at her store at Celebration Europe. She asked Ashley and she went and found it herself. Then she talked to my kids, and my son decided to give her a big hug (he is also a big fan of Ahsoka). Before leaving, my wife asked if she new if Ahsoka was coming back at some point (Celebration Europe happened after The Clone Wars ended), to which she replied "we know she's alive, so let's hope to see her again at some point." Even today my wife and I keep asking ourselves "Did she know she was coming back for Rebels?" we will never know.

Images are copyright of "Signed Star Wars."

Later that day we went to her booth to get an action figure autographed. My kids fell asleep in their stroller, but that wasn't going to stop me.  Like I said, I'm a fan of Ahsoka/Ashley myself. So I went there, got the autograph and posed for a picture with her. Little did I know, the moment was filmed and later included in a video of Ashley talking about Ahsoka returning to Rebels. Take a look at the video here (and my "cameo" at 4:53).

For more on Ahsoka Tano, The Clone Wars and Rebels go toStarWars.com.  Also, visit Ashley's Her Universe website and their Facebook page and maybe nominate someone you know for the fan girl of the day!

#ahsokatano #ashleyeckstein #clonewars #theclonewars #starwars #rebels