FIF#75-Thunderbolt Fantasy

In an ancient land, two siblings are pursued by a sinister clan, hellbent on obtaining a sword the pair have been tasked with protecting.  When her brother falls to protect her, Dan Fei finds her way into the life of a wandering swordsman named Shang and a mysterious wiseman named Lin.  Little do these two mismatched men realize, their lives are about to become far more complicated as their journey to protect Fei and the sword her brother died to secure begins.

So…I just watched that right?  I wasn’t hallucinating that I was watching an Anime style live action series…made entirely with Japanese puppets?  Well I wasn’t hallucinating and yes this show is real and after the first episode I can say it is surprisingly as epic and gratifying as any Anime I have ever seen in my life. 

Thunderbolt Fantasy comes from the mind of one of Anime’s most beloved modern day writers, Gen Urobuchi, the man behind Psycho Pass (Season 1, cant stress that enough cause Season 2 was so bad), Fate/Zero and Madoka Magica.  So we know the guy knows how to write good Anime (he also wrote that God awful Godzilla Anime Trilogy and Aldnoah Zero but we’ll look past that here).  And im sure Urobuchi could even translate that into a live action film as well.  So making an Anime style action show with puppets as the main draw is…odd but it still pays off more than you’d expect.  Yes, they’re puppets and yes there are echoes of Thunderbirds or Team America: World Police.  Only Thunderbolt Fantasy looks like it can be taken both seriously and with a bit of levity.  There’s both a potentially good story here (albeit starting in typical unexpected chosen one rescuing a maiden destined for greater things territory) and youre jaw can drop watching these character hack off limbs or dismember foes like you were watching something like Ninja Scroll. 

It’s funny, this kind of staging isn’t a newfound practice.  Back in olden day Japan there used to be Puppet Plays as popular as those with Kabuki actors.  I wonder what those performers would think if they could watch the first episode of Thunderbolt Fantasy themselves.  While there’s a definite air of CG added to pull off some of the more elaborate moves, most of what we’re watching is all pupperteer work (and kind of gives me hope for the upcoming Dark Crystal prequel Netflix is working on).  Not saying it’s flawless stuff but it’s enough to make you go “whoa” and “DAMN” all at once depending on what’s happening.

Whether or not you take this seriously or as a joke of an action title, that’s entirely up to you.  Me? This is very, very entertaining stuff that’s also quite curious.  If Thunderbolt Fantasy can pull off amazing action sequences in a way ive seen before but in a different, refreshing style, just imagine what else might be waiting further down the line in later episodes.  Plus, come on…it’s basically Ninja Scroll with puppets and it works better than you think.  How can you not be tempted to get in on one of the most unique tv series ever produced just from that alone?