Category: Thunderbolt Fantasy

Boy, it sure feels great to see the biggest douchebag gets punched repeatedly to the face by his own dirty tricks. It also feels good when the femme fatale Seven Blashphemous Deaths Sword feels threatened towards Monk’s declaration of love. If there’s one thing that I still enjoy in Thunderbolt, it’s that the cast keeps redefining their roles. Who would’ve imagined that collected Monk can be this love obsessive and embrace the “Till death do us part” vow to heart? In term of general plot, I feel that this season is weaker than the first. While in the first season we have a band of misfits with a shared immediate goal, here we have many branches of characters who have different goals that don’t join together towards the climax. Dirty Cop basically just wants to screw around and gets his hands on more swords now. Our team wants to retrieve the Evil Swords, and the Fallen Monk just wants to dedicate his life to his wife Sword. The issue remains that the cast doesn’t really connect to each other in a big narrative sense. It’s until this late in the game that the Monk has some reason to fight against Shang Bu Huan, just because Femme Fatale Sword wants to buy some more time.

Moreover, while it’s still a joy to watch these larger than life characters behave on screen. This is the first time where I see the implausible characters behavior in Thunderbolt. So Dirty Cop fights our Ginger Singer and decides to turn the table by handing his evil sword to him, thus force him to take care of these manipulated soldiers. I could totally understand if Shang Bu Huan hesitates to harm these guys but with Lang Wu Yao? He’s the kind who will save his ass first rather than saving innocent people who get into his way. I still remember him warning Shang Bu Huan for not killing those puppets in early episodes so I just don’t get the change of heart here. Whichever the case, Shang Bu Huan appears right on time (almost too perfect timing if you ask me), and shoe Dirty Cop how he can handle orchestrating the whole puppet soldiers without any sweat. At the end, Enigmatic Gale Joins the gang on his own amusement. The back-and-forth bouncing off between him, our Hero, and the Singer is still campy and pretty hilarious.

On the other side of the battle, Fallen Monk and his wife find themselves in the Wasteland of Spirits. In another reversion of our expectation, it’s revealed that the Monk has never fallen for the magic charm of the Sword in the first place, but love it in his own will. It could’ve been greater if we witness the moment he met and acquired the Sword though. At the moment we just take it as what he told us. Then my MVP character appears, the indestructible dragon who raises up from the ground and gets killed by the Monk just as quick. Poor little dragon who always picks the wrong fight. Now, with the finale of the final showdown between our hero team and the Monk, with Dirty Cop will somehow chime in as well, I just hope for a bombastic and explosive climax.

This week we see something that rarely happens: Gui Niao is in a fault mood. As it turns out, this little war between Enigmatic Gale and Dirty Cop is more about the Vape Wiz’s ego rather than the Glassed Boy. The usually collected-Gui Niao shows off a whole range of emotions this episode: from being a complete troller (his exaggerated reaction when he heard the “news” is priceless) to bewildered and finally frustrated with Dirty Cop’s decision. Everything goes according to Enigmatic Gale, but one thing that he hadn’t taken into account is that Dirty Cop has stooped so slow, he has no such “pride” whatsoever. Things go against his plan, his life is ruined but he shakes it off and moves on. Well, Gui Naio being a boy with huge ego, who enjoys crushing other boys’ huge ego, is taken a big backlash that he doesn’t want anything to do with Dirty Cop. Well, I must say while this turn of event is silly at best, it’s always welcomed to see the weak side of Gui Niao, the guy who live or die by humiliating other people.

It’s also very welcomed to see the ex-spear wielder now-swordsman Juan Can Yun from the first season back, now more responsible and all. Our Shang Bu Huan decides to leave the sword index to his old comrade, so that he can come back and fight against the evil sword, which for me is a very Shang Bu Huan thing to do. What cracks me up, however, is that the blonde one-eyed dude can hold the sword index… for a week. I mean, to walk into the hiding place, it already takes that amount of time. That aside, it provides a deadline for Shang Bu Huan to do his thing and come back to claim the sword index. Gotta say though, it still feels wrong the way Juan Can Yun wields a sword from his wife instead of his trademark spear.

Our Ginger Singer has an encounter with the Monk and his wife Sword, and I count it lucky when he can escape that fight without losing his life. He had a death flag all over when he decided to pursuit the villain alone, but I guess he’s too beloved to be killed off just like this. Apparently, he only appears in the side story, but because Gen Urobuchi loves his character so much he includes the bloke to this sequel. The way he fights based purely on his hearing proves to be a formidable thread for the Monk, but he himself is wise enough to deceive our Singer. At the moment, it feels like the last retreat before an all-out war, with pretty much everyone cools down or power up right now before the climax. This episode isn’t a game changer or anything, but it still maintains the endless fun of seeing these larger than life characters act and bounce off each other.

This week, Thunderbolt takes a left turn to resolve side conflicts, or even new minor conflicts it thought of, mostly to boost up the status of our main cast. It’s still enjoyable, in an admittedly predictable way. We have a guy literally flirting with his sword, a yaoi love where a guy willing to put his life at stake to save his partner, and a backstab where we have this ridiculous line as a climax: “These are… swords!!!!!”. First off, I hope Enigmatic Gale scheme against Dirty Cop goes beyond this humiliation as it’s underwhelming at best. It’s true that it takes guts for him to trick the Dirty Cop in a factor that he was most confident in: his special glasses. It’s the scheme goes right in front of his eyes, but he’s too arrogant to realize the trick. Freak-out Dirty Cop is nice and all, but I hope this is only a warning from Gui Liao.

Lang Wu Yao, on the other hand, is on his way to the suicide mission. This must show how much he cares (in an unhealthy way, that is) for Shang Bu Huan since I don’t see the reason why they would just join forces to beat the enemy. Isn’t two head is always better than one? This leaves Shang Bu Huan the opportunity to sneak out to his other boyfriend, Gui Niao. The moment I see the man having enough time and pleasure to go fishing again with the glasses on no less, it gives me such joy.

Finally, Di Kong, under a new alias Lou Zhen Jie, basically goes through episode talking about how much devotion he is with his sword, and further demonstrates how he isn’t necessary a vessel under her power. I must say the subplot regarding these guys from the Sen Chin Fortress a bit unimportant, especially at this late in a game. But it does offer an interesting scenario: the holy swords wielded by these guys versus this massive evil sword. I’m a bit disappointed that Seven Blasphemous Deaths loses its cool the moments it sees its krypnotye – by her power it should be more excited the more powerful the opponent has. But the Fallen Monk proves once again he doesn’t need the power of the sword to triumph, as he destroys the holy swords by his bare hands. The only take out from this turn of event is that it isn’t the sword, but Di Kong himself, will prove to be the final threat for Shang Bu Huan and the gang. Hopefully, Enigmatic Gale finds someway to be relevant with this feud as well. He’s hardy connected to the main plot, given he himself hasn’t met Di Kong, nor the Evil Sword, onscreen at all.

As soon as our Princess Cruelty has her redemption moments, I immediately realize this might be the last we see of her. This proves to be the case, well, this is Thunderbolt world we’re talking about – the strong survives and the weak dies, but I believe Thunderbolt gives her characters just about enough growth. She had gone through one hell of a challenge as the prideful evil Sword berates her and nearly uses her blood as a sacrifice (well, it’s another kind of physical and mental abuse if you think about it). While her short duel with Shang Bu Huan doesn’t really change anything – she knows the guy is much stronger than her – I enjoy the moments in many ways. First, unlike Thunderbolt’s other duels so far this sword fight is short and sweet. It takes just one move for Shang Bu Huan to defeat the Princess. Second, like what Shang Bu Huan comments, it’s rather impressive that Princess Cruelty can shake off the evil sword and fight in her own will. She mentions how using the powerful sword makes her realize how weak she is, but in truth the person who can realize their own limitation goes a long way. Thunderbolt has always addressed the quest of becoming invincible by the means of swords, and this Cruelty plot further demonstrates this quality to great extend. You’ve done well, Cruelty.

In the other side of the battle, admittedly with a much lower stake, Dirty Cop ‘asks’ Gui Niao (not very nicely) to make a deal with him of swapping “stolen goods” and sell them with high price. Well, this Dirty Cop sure is corrupted, but points for him for stripping down all the pretense. Still, his puppet’s teeth gonna give me nightmare, I swear. Gui Niao is playing along with his scheme for now, but I won’t be surprised if the man is waiting for a right opportunity to turn the table.

And finally, the evil Sword has a new sword-wielder. Can’t say I’m surprised with this new turn of events, but I’m sure with the guy as amoral as this Monk, his combination with the Seven Blasphemous Deaths makes him a formidable threat. His new design is certainly awesome and moreover, it’s interesting to see how the evil sword and him will play out. This guy is not the type who can be easily controlled for sure, so whatever the case he will this sword: as a tool, or as a soulmate, or as a master, it remains to be seen. But I’m sure hyped for how Shang Bu Huan and his partner can overcome this powerful beast. The lesson Shang Bu Huan needs to learn here, is to listen to your goddamn partner, dude. This Ginger Singer knows best.

Thunderbolt mixes things up nicely this week. This week, the overpowered Princess has a fair shot of killing off our Shang Bu Huan, but predictably leaves him so that he can suffer. As often the case, when you’re too powerful you tend to act arrogantly, and… stupid. Thunderbolt is one good set piece piling up to another right now, as it often pairs 2 members from the main cast and let them bouncing off each other. First, I’m glad to see how the Dirty Cop Xiao Kung Juan (which for now I’ll refer as Dirty Juan) manages to catch Gui Niao off-guard. The table has turned quickly on that side and for now, Gui Niao works under the command of Dirty Juan. I know Gui Niao will eventually finds the opening in a matter of time, but it’s nice to see a battle where sword isn’t directly involved in Thunderbolt. It’s certainly amusing to see that Dirty Cop loses himself for the ‘charms’ of Seven Blasphemous Deaths and kicks the pile of woods uncontrollably. Boy, the campy sense of fun is still going strong here.

Second, we have a meetup between our Hero and the nihilist monk Di Kong. He’s still pretty much a wildcard here since I still can’t put my finger on his role in the grand scheme. Will he become an ultimate villain? Will he join up with the good gand to repress the evil sword? Will he change at all? Everything is up in the air now and he remains as mysterious as ever. Shang Bu Huan seems to agree with me on this, as he’s still baffled on the Monk’s mindset. He shows no remorse on learning the fact that the girl he saved runs amok and kills everyone on sight. He even comments on how pointless he was as trying to save people just so that they were killed in the end. Shang Bu Huan remains too soft, as always, given he tries to reason with the guy, to no avail of course. I love the way how Shang Bu Huan already meets all kind of eccentric personalities, but his “are you for real?” expression is still refreshing and never gets old.

Third, we have a total unexpected match between Cruelty Princess Xie Yinglou (with a feminine-talking sword) and Red Hair Musician Lang Wu Yao (with a masculine-talking instrument). Damn, along with the real battle between Princess and Musician, it’s also a battle of wit between two talky instruments right there. It’s clear that Princess Cruelty has taken something much more than she bargained for, and now she’s slowly consumed by it. The dream sequence where she meets and destroys her boss, apart from some stunning background designs here, suggests how Seven Blasphemous Deaths keeps manipulating her deepest thoughts, even turns herself against her goal for living. In addition, it marks the first time Thunderbolt experiencing with its puppetry form visually, as it uses special negative color effect to illustrate Red Musician’s unique technique of fighting by hearing sense. He even has an edge towards Cruelty Princess until our Gui Niao and Dirty Cop poke their noses in (Really. What do you expect from the Enigmatic Gale but poling his nose where he doesn’t belong?). Thunderbolt is, to put it simply, unstoppable right now.

My apologies that I missed a post last week, it’s not due to the lack of interest of Thunderbolt given the show is as exciting as ever, but more about my hectic life. These past two episodes have many game-changing events, and many Gui Niao’s wittiest lines and expressions to boost. The moment the Vapewiz puts his finger to his cheek I know the show loses none of its charms. In episode 6, the monk Di Kong becomes more prominent into this whole affair. As we predicted, the monk can prove to be an interesting villain, given how immoral he is. That is not to say he loves to wreak havoc or seeks out for fame and power like the villains in the first season. It’s that he has no sense of judgement and justice and has no value of human life (even his own), and that could prove very dangerous if he falls for the wrong cause, or simply, if he can’t find the right path to lead.

When he meets our team Shang Bu Huan and Lang Wu Yao who are in pursuit of Princess Cruelty (more on her later), he decides not to help out our guys. That sets off the evil-detector of Lang Wu Yao, and he’s in killing mode again – or as Gui Niao puts it, it’s hard to deal with a person who doesn’t talk. Well, he might be right to assume that Di Kong will be dangerous, but there’s no way he can just blast off and determined on destroying people like that. Later on, he “sweet-talks” our Princess Cruelty (more like completely destroy her ego but you know what I mean) into re-access her whole philosophy of life. Well played, dude.

Speaking of the female assassin, she’s vulnerable in every possible way. Beaten down by her enemy Shang Bu Huan, backstabbed and got sword-stolen from the corrupted cop, and now the monk mind-fucking her ego, she does what a loyal dog would do: bring the antique sword back to her Master. For a ruthless villain who only has a single mission of killing our hero, strangely I really feel for her struggles there. And that’s important that we feel sympathy for her because it justifies her action much later, which moves the plot in an interesting way: she’s drawing the Seven Blasphemous Deaths and ho boy, what a sword!! It enslaves the wielder and draws everyone’s desire once they look at it, and gain ultimate power with the blood it slays. While now, it proves to be the ultimate hazzard for our heroes, I still kind of feel bad for Scorpion girl. She won’t get out of this alive.

On the other side of the battle, that cheeky Gui Niao has his next target, the glassed cop. Curiously enough, that Dirty Cop has gained some valuable information about the Enigmatic Gale, which honestly make this game way more interesting now that they are on the same level. My biggest pleasure is to see Gui Niao fishes the information out of Shang Bu Huan, and honestly seeing their vibrant chemistry as they bounce back and forth it brings a warm feeling to me (and that fishing scene is pretty awesome too). This mind game between two unpredictable figures could prove to be as interesting as the devil Sword. Also special shout out for weapons that not only can talk, they make much more sense than the human counterparts. Thunderbolt is charging ahead in full gear now. There’s no stopping this puppet train now.

ps: why do people still hesitate on regarding Thunderbolt as anime?

Now, things escalate pretty quickly. In a Thunderbolt Fantasy fashion, the moment Lang Wu Xiao gets a hand of the dragon’s horn and the formula, he double-crosses Gui Niao. But I can’t hate this guy, given his motive is purely because he cares for his partner Shang Bu Huan. The allied from the other side of the war is also bound to be broken very soon, as it’s clearly the Catching Fox is manipulating the Princess of Cruelty now. It’s one of the rare moments where we see Shang Bu Huan is vulnerable. It’s also one of the rare moments where we see the Princess of Cruelty having a conscience. The Monk’s words last episode clearly affects her and I would love to see her go through some sort of character arc. Now all that is just the beginning now that Shang Bu Huan has an antidote and is now “a hundred times more alive”.

But the absolute peak of this episode (and the whole season so far) is the battle of wits between our Gui Niao, Lang Wu Xiao and the one-wing dragon. It has everything that I want from Thunderbolt DNA, and then some: it has absurd dragon’s design, it has the sheer ridiculousness of the whole situation, it has campy quality, it has the grand visual spectacular and most of all, it has one of Gui Niao’s wittiest lines. Just imagine the ridiculousness of a giant fire-breathing dragon raises from below the ground (how on earth does he hide underground in the first place? To sleep? I think not), or that he’s powerful enough to speak human language (consider how there’s no human in the Wasteland of Spirits). This quality proves to be his fall from grace, as Gui Niao is an expert of deceiving everything by his words. It’s certainly charming as heck to see him politely asks the dragon for his horn (more than mocking based on his tone of speech), before runs like a maniac in a very quirky manner that only puppetry can produce, and finishes with a line: “doesn’t matter how nice you ask, anyone would be angry for that request”. Damn you, Gui Niao

Also only in a puppetry show that you can see a dragon throwing up flames that absurd. It mixes nicely between Thunderbolt’s trolly tone with how it takes itself seriously enough. If that isn’t eye-popping and ridiculous enough, we have the climax where Lang Wu Xiao has to sing (the fact the he admits his singing beyond hopeless make it way funnier, too) to attract the Dragon’s attention so that Gui Niao can set his favorite illusion trap. How the show transform for the usual two swordsmen fighting the monster into singing and talking while dodging wall of flame is nothing short of a stroke of genius. And don’t forget how Gui Niao isn’t in the least surprised when Lang Wu Xiao double-crosses him. Ridicule everyone has been his lifelong passion, so it’s only natural that he just gets used to people turning against him. I don’t care how Thunderbolt will go from here, as long as it maintains its quirky, campy nature like this dragon battle I’m more than happy to follow it everywhere.

I’m glad to say that Thunderbolt Fantasy slowly goes back to its own charms, namely the witty banters between all the cast where they bounce off each other to reach a sort of agreement. This episode has two such cases. First, the villain side decides to team up together since they have the same goals: destroy Shang Bu Huan. Second, the allied side decides to cooperate because they also have the same objectives: to save Shang Bu Huan’s ass. The injured Shang Bu Huan is in the middle of all this and lurking behind the scene is the monk Di Kong and whatever his goal is. My suspect last week is proved wrong as Di Kong and the Princess of Cruelty don’t know each other, but there are two other takeaways from their meeting. First, Di Kong is far superior in terms of combating than the female assassin. He just decides not to. Second, what the hell happen to the Seven Blasphemous Deaths? I mean, is it still there? What if Di Kong is in possession of it? It’d be cool to see a guy who is adept of channeling toxic handles the ultimate toxicity sword. The more I think about it the more I feel he’s the only person who can control that evil sword.

My biggest enjoyment from this episode comes from the interaction between Xiao Kuang Juan and Cruelty-Hime. It’s the moment where their true personality is clearly presented. And in this case you can see how corrupted and how much of a bastard Xiao Kuang Juan is. Basically, his idea is that he wants to Sword Index returns to his hometown so that he can enjoy the luxury life he has. So teaming up with Cruelty-hime, they could potentially kill Shang Bu Huan and have a full control of the Sword Index. Regarding this ally, I’d say thay the assassin girl gets the shorter straw here. This guy is wise and I’m sure the moment Xie Yingluo has her hand on the Index, he’d double cross her to have it all by himself.

The not-as-bad side (Note: there’s no such thing as good side in thunderbolt Fantasy), on the other hand, is formed through the ever-curious Gui Niao and the reluctant Lang Wu Yao. I pretty enjoy the bits where he test the toxic (such refreshing method, mind you) and the way he comes up with the solution feels as effortless for him as walking on water (I love his train of logic here). So in order to get the antidote back to Shang Bu Huan, they need to retrieve the horn of the dragon, whom they happen to cross in the Wasteland of Spirits. It’s also hilarious to learn that the said dragon’s wing was chopped by Shang Bu Huan in a manner of us catching a fly. Gui Niao, being surprisingly honest in his intent, says that the reason he’s in is because he’s curious about Shang Bu Huan. He also tries to test the Lang Wu Yao, which the latter in turns test him back. Such bombastic energy and the newly formed allyship that you aren’t quite sure if you can trust the others are what essentially make Thunderbolt Fantasy such a fantastic show to watch. Thunderbolt Fantasy is officially back, in full force!!

Now that’s more like it. Until you see the puppets’ blood-squirting and head-rolling you know that Thunderbolt Fantasy is back in full force. On a narrative side, this season has been more straightforward than the first. The hero’s and villain’s sides are pretty clear-cut so far, and with this episode the last member of the promotion art claims his first appearance. This dude Di Kong is a saint. Well, nearly since he’s a travelling monk who help cure the toxic for no gain, even putting himself in danger. He makes one hell of an impression, but my gut tells me that he’s the guy not to be taken lightly. There’s still one missing piece in the grand scheme so far, and that is Cruelty-hime boss, Kasei Meikou. He’s the guy who is so fearsome that Shang Bu Huan had to cross the Wasteland of Spirits in order to protect the swords index (okay, official term Sorcerous Scoll Index) from him (guess crossing the Wasteland of Spirits becomes trendy lately, huh?). Really, I believe this yin yang monk fits all the bill as the final boss for this whole affair.

At first, I took it that Princess Cruelty (I might stick to that name to avoid confusion) and the sneaky Xiao Kuang Juan are on the same team. This episode makes it clear that they are on different agenda and don’t necessary see each other as an ally. Well, they do have a same goal for now (kill our poor Shang Bu Huan) but their super-ego prevents them from seeing eye to eye to the matter. Thunderbolt Fantasy also makes damn sure to let us know how cruel this General is. He blames all his killing to the innocent villagers to Shang Bu Huan, the cruel thing is how he sees his actions as “justified”. That action even ticks our “always cool” Gui Niao off. But so far, it’s interesting to see how much of a wild card Gui Niao is. Unlike the people in this side who already acquainted to the legendary Lin Xue Ya, these villains from Xi You know next to nothing about him and thus, the more arrogant they act the more they become Gui Niao’s plaything. One thing to remember, always keep this guy amused. Who knows what on earth we would do if he gets bored.

Thankfully, when it comes to Shang Bu Huan, Gui Niao’s definitely interested. As for our main hero, he barely makes it with the toxic from Princess Cruelty. The other running thread involves her and her temptation to use the sword Seven Blasphemous Deaths. It has such a strong aura that it tempts her to use it several time. Apart from “it has mind-control effect” and “it’s one of the most badass sword) we still know next to nothing about it. Which is good since now I am hyped. Now that our two leads Gui Niao and Shang Bu Huan finally meet (to the dismay of the latter), things would get more snappy soon. In truth, I kinda miss the characters bouncing-off each other that made the first season a gem to watch, but I hope that now that Thunderbolt Fantasy finishes setting up the new characters and the main conflict, it’ll delve more for characters’ interaction and killer one-liners.