Anime Review: Thunderbolt Fantasy

So... A friend of mine asked me to review this. Honestly, when I read the synopsis from the released anime lineup for this season, it didn't click with me.

But I got curious by his admiration for it so I decided to check...

Lo and behold:

I never expected this kind of animation and it blew me away! Puppets moving fast and with great timing, animation and sequences flowing smoothly, and epic voice acting makes me think that this is almost like a 3D game! With impressive musically score to boot, I can see that this is a must watch.

Thunderbold Fantasy is an Japanese-Taiwanese animation that uses glove puppets with the story centering on Eastern legends, so expect Chinese terms and names popping up now and then. It is a collaboration between Nitroplus, Good Smile Company and Pili International Multimedia. Currently, it is showing in three languages; Min-Nan, Mandarin and Japanese. The opening is called "Raimei" sung by T.M. Revolution. Anyone familiar with the Rurouni Kenshin/Samurai X anime will be familiar with the artist.

The story goes like this: Dān Fěi(Tan Hi), a member of the Tiān Xíng Jiàn, guardians of a sacred sword is being pursued by the evil Xuán Guǐ Zōng clan led by Miè Tiān Hái(Betsu Ten Gai). After escaping, she was rescued and taken care of by a wandering swordsman named Shāng Bù Huàn(Shō Fu Ka) and the mysterious Lǐn Xuě Yā(Rin Setsu A). They now protect her from the evil clan from trying to get the sword that will change the world.

Since this series has 3 languages, I'll be listing the Japanese ones. Dān Fěi(Tan Hi) is voiced by Mai Nakahara, Shāng Bù Huàn(Shō Fu Ka) is voiced by Junichi Suwabe, Lǐn Xuě Yā(Rin Setsu A) is voiced by Kousuke Toriumi and Miè Tiān Hái(Betsu Ten Gai) is voiced by Tomukazu Seki. So... Going by anime roles, Nagisa Furukawa is being protected by Archer (EMIYA) and Archer (Robin Hood) from Gilgamesh. That sounds about right... And awesome!

This is series is unique and rare, plus the story kinda epic now for me. Right now, it has 2 episodes so the Eastern tale is still taking its shape. Have fun watching!!