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.
