Wow, this episode is way better than I would have expected. Remember last week I mentioned that the demon girl might have a deep appreciation for Gui Niao (I called him Lin Xue Ya previously, but consider that he himself prefers to be called as an alias Gui Niao, I will stick with it from now on) and I expected the clash of light and dark arts between the two girls? Well, I couldn’t be more wrong this time, since the show went in a completely different fashion. Xing Hai hated his guts, because she felt manipulated by him in their last encounter. Many people suggest that it was a romantic tension but I don’t buy that at all. She quickly changes her mind though (way too quickly) after she heard about Tiang Xing Jian sword; and guess who’s the only one she gets along well? This is none other than Dan Fei. I really enjoy how the characters bound off each other, particularly the skeptical remarks from Juan Can Yun the spear wielder to the demon girl, and the venomous words from herself towards Gui Niao. Those arguments actually raise an interesting point about the very notion of hero/villain in the show. The two addition members this week (Xing Hai the demon lady and Sha Wu Sheng the Roaring Phoenix Killer) could very well be the ultimate villain in another series, yet here they will have to become “good” guys, joining up with the group to kill a villain. Gui Niao is another perfect example of this concept, we see him as cool and excellent strategic thinker, but we don’t know his motives in this quest at all. He mentioned that he is acquainted with the antagonist Mie Tian Hai so he feels responsible for stopping the guy, but he might as well just want to get control of the sword himself. Both Xing Hai and Sha We Sheng despised him to the point of hunting him down, plus the fact the he has little remorse when hearing about his master was killed because of him. I say this ambiguity makes his characters somewhat compelling and I can’t wait to see how far he plan ahead and what his true intention will be.
Another bit that goes against my expectation come from the second half. When we heard about the master who has a magic flute, plus the fact that he’s a skilled swordsman, we immediately think he could be a great addition for the group, using his wisdom as a voice of reason for the group to avoid any potential danger, right? WRONG. He was immediately killed off by the Roaring Phoenix Killer Sha Wu Sheng, who his purpose was simply to hunt down any connection to Gui Niao, in order to find him and kill him off. This development takes me completely off-guards, kudos to the writing of Gen Urobuchi. The Roaring Phoenix killer is by far the most skilled and deadliest character we encounter so far. Judged from him having the magic flute that the group desperately needed, I don’t know for sure what will happen in the next episode. Will the gang fight him to death to get the flute? Will Gui Niao negotiate with this guy so he would join the group? God knows. Finally, to the “most whimsical lines this week”, we have Xing Hai hesitating to enter the temple because the “smell” was too offensive. I guess being devil is not easy to get along, even if they really try to. If the show can keep up with those qualities that made it so refreshing: its elegant characters; its campy sense of humor and its stunning fights, I think Thunderbolt Fantasy is up there as one of the most entertaining show this season. The fun just about to begin and I really can’t wait for the next episode.
~SuperMario~
