Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 6

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to journey back into the harsh lands and bitter grudges of Thunderbolt Fantasy, as Shang finds himself with not one, but two separate demonic entities intent on his destruction. With Xing Hai and the Seven Blasphemous Deaths now reunited in form and focus, the Sorcerous Sword Index has never been in greater peril, to say nothing of the continuing efforts of the Divine Swarm, our recently cyborg-upgraded monk, or the murder princess and her courtly underlings.

All of this is nothing but a source of aggravation to our reluctant hero, though I imagine Lin is absolutely in his element. After so recently lamenting the lack of any good villains lately, he now finds himself at the fulcrum of a conflict featuring no less than four nefarious factions, and cozying up to an organization whose ambitions are only matched by their inflated sense of righteousness. Let’s see where his schemes lead him next as we check out a fresh episode of Thunderbolt Fantasy!

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Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 5

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d like to hop back into the ongoing theatrics of Thunderbolt Fantasy, as our heroes find themselves drifting far and wide in their variable adventures. From an initial cleanup job tracking down the Seven Blasphemous Deaths, Shang and his companions’ quest has evolved and splintered in all sorts of nasty directions, incorporating both old nemeses and onetime friends in a conflict of national and multiplanar scale.

While Shang is finding all these new complications a bit much to bear, Lin is unsurprisingly in his element, delighting in both the general chaos and the delectable righteousness of Wan Jun Po. Lin delights in either toying with the earnest or toppling the arrogant, and Wan is actually both – a man driven by earnest love of country into a dangerous certainty regarding the Sword Index’s proper use, and one who promises to lead Lin towards an even more tantalizing prize: the leader of the Divine Swarm. With evil cyborg monks, cursed sword-bearing demonesses, and murder princesses also in the mix, the ultimate clash of these forces promises to be spectacular indeed. Let’s get to it!

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Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 4

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to check back in on the explosive theatrics of Thunderbolt Fantasy, as our gallant hero Shang faces off with his former ally Wan Jun Po. Having been disillusioned with the selfish, chaotic orders of our murder princess, and with Shang refusing to use his sorceress sword index to interfere with the affairs of the mortal plane, Wan Jun Po made the most sensible choice he could think of: join forces with the Order of the Divine Swarm, that his evil master’s cleansing light might bring peace to this world.

Yes, it does indeed seem a little extreme, but I’m happy to see Wan Jun Po taking his place in the extensive pantheon of “I’ll take this evil upon me for the good of the world” Urobuchian heroes and anti-heroes. Season three had up until now been pretty light on Urobuchi’s usual moral quandaries, and if we can jumpstart the themey-wemey stuff while getting a duel between friends turned rivals in the process, all the better. Let’s jump right into the swordsmanship and sorcery of Thunderbolt Fantasy!

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Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 3

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am pleased as punch to be returning to Thunderbolt Fantasy, as its third season most recently introduced one of the franchise’s most delightful characters: Chao Feng, the sadistic murder princess of Bewitching Melody of the West. Chao Feng effortlessly won my heart through her twin enthusiasms for music and murder, and I am thrilled to see her getting upgraded from a side story antagonist to a main series threat. While I can’t imagine we’ll be getting a repeat of Bewitching Melody’s guitar duel murder brawl, simply having her around and craving Lang’s performances is sure to add a delightful note of chaos to our proceedings.

So far, our heroes have spent this season mostly stumbling into beehives, seeking one enemy only to trip headfirst over another. They’ve attracted the ire of evil swords, corrupted monks, malevolent cults, tyrannical rulers, and the entirety of the demon realm, making Lin Xue’s yearning for a decent nemesis seem perhaps a touch premature. I’m eager to see what our terrible princess makes of these new arrivals, so let’s dive back into Thunderbolt Fantasy!

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Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 2

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to jump back into Thunderbolt Fantasy, and see how our heroes are faring against the combined forces of the demon realm and the Order of the Divine Swarm! Gosh, even just describing the literal events of a given episode feels like hyperbole, but that’s simply how it goes with Thunderbolt. It is an exercise in cinematic maximalism, and all the greater for it.

Of course, the show wouldn’t be nearly so satisfying if all those lofty titles and action theatrics weren’t grounded in strong character dynamics and driving themes. Fortunately, Thunderbolt is also Urobuchi’s warmest, most character-rich show, offering both delightful curmudgeons like Shang and a revolving cast of endearingly terrible villains. Among these, the incorrigible Xing Hai is one of my favorites, and her newly developed Void Junction seems like it’ll prompt all manner of problems for our beleaguered heroes. Let’s see how Shang and the gang escape yet another gruesome fate, as we rally the troops for a fresh episode of Thunderbolt Fantasy!

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Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 1

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m happy to announce our commencement of a new project, which is also technically a return to an old favorite. Having brushed up on Lang Wu Yao’s history with the altogether excellent Bewitching Melody of the West, today we’re breaking into the third season of Thunderbolt Fantasy, and seeing what the long-suffering Shang Bu Huan has been getting up to.

It certainly hasn’t been an easy pair of seasons for our curmudgeonly sword-snatcher. Thunderbolt Fantasy’s first adventure saw him handling basically all the legwork for Dan Fei’s mystical journey to the aptly named Demon Spine Mountains, all while suffering the persistent mockery of weed wizard Lin Xue Ya. Season two only ladled on more sources of frustration and indignity, ranging from that smarmy hunting fox Xiao Kuang to a sentient, malevolent sword known as the Seven Blasphemous Deaths. It’s been a bumpy ride, but also a highly entertaining one, offering dazzlingly realized battles and plenty of Urobuchi’s reliable wit. I’m sure our Edgeless Blade will have ample new troubles awaiting him this time, so let’s dispense with the recap, and dive right into Thunderbolt Fantasy’s third season!

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Thunderbolt Fantasy: Bewitching Melody of the West

It is always a delight to return to Thunderbolt Fantasy. The production’s puppet theatrics are genuinely entrancing, and Gen Urobuchi is to my mind one of the greatest writers to ever work in anime. His stories of mankind rallying against brutal architectures of despair, be they oppressive governments or supernatural phenomenon, are always brimming with thoughtful arguments, hard-tested themes, and engaging characters. But as a show like Thunderbolt Fantasy demonstrates, Urobuchi is also perfectly comfortable outside of those questions of human nature and utilitarianism, weaving thrilling tales of swordsmen and wizards that are also enriched by his intelligence and wit.

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Why It Works: Gen Urobuchi’s Puppet Masterpiece Returns This Spring!

Hey folks. I think you can figure this one out by the title – Thunderbolt Fantasy’s on the way back, and so I am conscience-bound to hype it to all hell, and make sure at least a few more skeptical anime fans check out Urobuchi’s most hilarious production. If any of you haven’t seen it, I’d strongly urge you give Thunderbolt Fantasy’s first episode a try; the script is terrific, and the puppet art design has a tendency to grow on you, if you’re not already on board. Here’s the piece!

Gen Urobuchi’s Puppet Masterpiece Returns This Spring!

Fall 2018 – Week 12 in Review

Guys, it is friggin’ December 26th. I got back from holiday events with family mere hours ago, and yet here I still am, heroically typing up the opening paragraph of my Week in Review. Thank god I have such foresight and professionalism that I already wrote most of my episode blurbs – I’m not sure where we’d be if I were any less diligent or forward-thinking. Anyway, as the tenor of this intro may suggest, I am a little preoccupied with end-of-year shenanigans at the moment, and so am content to just straight dump you all into the episodic reflections. I’ve actually got plenty to say this week, so let’s quit with the rambling and get on with the show. It’s time for the Week in Review!

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Fall 2018 – Week 11 in Review

We’re nearly at the finish line now, folks! With all of this season’s various contenders handing in their eleventh or twelfth episodes, it was climax time for this week in anime… or at least, it would have been, if two fifths of my viewing schedule weren’t continuing into the winter, and Tsurune basically adhering to its own personal two-weeks-late timetable. Nonetheless, we still had plenty to celebrate all through this week’s episodes, from the subtle pleasures of Run with the Wind and Tsurune to the bombastic insanity of Thunderbolt Fantasy and JoJo. I’ve actually got a whole bunch to talk about, so let’s skip the lengthy preamble and get right to it. It’s time to run down another Week in Review!

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