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!

Episode 2

The OP opens on shots of a sword being forged with a magic glowing hammer, then Shang cuts his way through the screen to introduce the rest of the cast. Bless this show

And concludes on what appears to be… a shattered barrier between the human and demon realms? Sure, seems plausible

“Sorcerous Sojourn.” The stakes may be high, but that doesn’t mean we can’t make time for playful alliteration

Some excellent choreography for Yi Piaomiao teleporting all around the battlefield. The use of explosions to mask his body disappearing and reappearing is effective, and the movement of the “smoke” even creates a sense of momentum, such that it actually appears he’s moving quickly rather than simply appearing in a new spot. Plus I like how his final jump approaches and encircles the camera, serving as a provocation to the audience

Juan Can Yun reluctantly admits that he really ought to have brought a spear, what with being a master spearman and all. I’m sure your wife would understand, Yun

But then he discovers one of the forest’s teleportation crystals! Well, I suppose technically he discovers it, though it’s Shang who actually recognizes what he’s found. But hey, a balanced party needs both characters who trip over levers and characters who understand what levers do

And so the party is teleported to a strange new land! Man, the pacing and narrative structure of this franchise really does feel like a tabletop campaign, outside of the one-off character stories of the movies. We’ve pretty much always got a party of three to six adventurers with disparate powers and personalities, tramping through a hostile wilderness in search of some grand magical artifact. I’m not knocking it, it works, it’s just only something I’ve come to notice after playing some tabletop campaigns of my own

They arrive at what appears to be a ruined temple in a hot, arid region. I appreciate the heat shimmer effect tying this atmosphere together

“Where are we?” “It’s a waste of time to even think about it. We could be anywhere.” I love Shang’s pragmatic attitude. Not even gonna waste thoughts on an idle venture, that’s just squandered energy. His bluntness makes for a perfect foil to Lin Xue’s idle philosophizing and constant theatricality

Shang reveals he’s actually encountered these mirror teleporters before, “from the old days.” If Urobuchi’s introducing a general-use teleportation network, that’ll certainly elevate the story’s potential scale of drama – and also its set design requirements, meaning I doubt he could have introduced this before Thunderbolt Fantasy became a hit

Back at Camp Evil, Jun Po is letting Xing Hai have it for her terrible attempt at an ambush

“You should be grateful that grin of yours is still connected to your head.” This show has some top notch dialogue

Nice use of perspective shots to presage the appearance of… oh goddamnit, it’s that awful villainous monk and the evil Aoi Yuki sword! Things just keep getting worse

He stumbles through a teleport crystal, leaving evil Aoi Yuki stranded in the Void Junction! That’s probably not good

He crashes next to a newcomer, Gui Duo Tian Gong. This guy is… a cyborg? Yeah, we’re definitely adding cyborg powers this season, beginning with this fellow’s Borg-style facial implants

Thunderbolt Fantasy can “get away” with this sort of stuff because none of its drama hinges on the mechanical constraints of magic within this world. Characters generally win or lose when they are defeated intellectually, or when they are forced to face an opponent that is on some entirely different level from them. As a result, the combat itself is essentially pure spectacle, meaning adding an entirely new dimension of power like modern technology does little to upset the balance of the drama. You could certainly argue that you prefer grounded conflict (it’s generally my preference as well), but at that point you are simply watching the wrong show – this is Symphogear, not Hunter x Hunter

Love this new wasteland of gears and bones. Really does feel like a refuse site between worlds

Tian Gong reveals he had intended to open a portal to the demon realm and learn the greatest secrets of wizardry, but failed, and has spent a decade trapped on the edge of space and time. We’ve all been there

“I now have that crucial bit of first inspiration. That’s always the first step in creation, y’know.” So many characters in this show clearly have rich and distinct internal worlds, each of which is expressed through their uniquely lopsided external perspective. Rather than defining characters through overt quirks or mannerisms, Thunderbolt Fantasy defines its characters through what they most fundamentally treasure or believe, extrapolating personalities outward from fundamental natures like “is entranced by careful study and personal creation, to the absolute exclusion of all other concerns.” This approach results in larger-than-life characters who carry whole philosophies within them, naturally facilitating bombastic clashes of both personalities and values

“Your payment will be a new right arm.” Great, fantastic, the mad monk will be returning with a robot arm. That’s sure to deescalate things

Ooh, love the costumes for these masked figures approaching our main party. Thunderbolt Fantasy’s world has always been a patchwork of distinct fantasy realms all pressed against each other, but previous seasons haven’t offered much opportunity to exploit that. With these new teleportation crystals, the world is already opening up significantly

“I think we can assume that doesn’t mean ‘we’ve come to offer you our warmest hospitality.’” Even outside the genuine iconic lines, there’s a sense of easy, playful wit in this show’s dialogue that really enhances the fun, echoing its general rip-roaring adventure tone

Their cannons shoot poison and flames! A whole bunch of extremely real goddamn flames light up the battlefield. I hope no puppets were singed in the production of this episode

After the battle is concluded, Lin Xue graciously thanks his companions for doing all the work

The party notes the air is thinner here, and wonders if they’re even still on their own world

And as more enemies approach, they teleport once again!

Back at Camp Evil, Jun Po has very reasonably decided that these teleport crystals are a danger to everyone, and is just about to strike when Yi announces our heroes have been discovered

Our team pops out in… oh, could it be? I believe we’ve returned to the court of my beloved murder princess!

Ahaha, Lang actually finds a painting of him singing in court. Hell yes, we have returned

And there’s our girl!

And Done

Ah, what a rip-roaring spectacle this show is. Only our second episode, and we’ve already seen both friends and foes teleported across dimensions, finding uniquely hostile new planets and even the edge of the universe. It’s still too early to tell how exactly all these threads will weave together, but I’m delighted to see so many of our prior rogues returning, and particularly excited for the grand return of Bewitching Melody’s murder princess. “You only have to accept one person’s worth of evil: mine” stands as one of my favorite Thunderboltisms, and I’m eager to see how Lin Xue in particular squares off with our unabashedly evil princess. Out of the frying pan and into the fire indeed!

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