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NEWS: Thunderbolt Fantasy Show's 4th Season Reveals Trailer, More Cast, October 5 Debut




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Raebo101



Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 810
PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2024 11:51 am Reply with quote
I've always been curious about this series. Anyone who's seen it and Gen Urobuchi's other works, how does this compare?
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Shay Guy



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 2231
PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2024 1:18 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
The new cast members include Fairouz Ai as Haōgyoku (pictured first below) and Shōgo Batori as Kamushō (pictured second).


And I believe the Mandarin pronunciations, which CR's subtitles have always used for character names, would be Bà Wáng Yù and Huā Wú Zōng.

Raebo101 wrote:
I've always been curious about this series. Anyone who's seen it and Gen Urobuchi's other works, how does this compare?


I've only seen TBF and Madoka; this one has some of his trademark philosophical ponderings, but it's a lot more on the fun end of the scale.
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dmanatunga



Joined: 12 Jan 2015
Posts: 61
PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2024 3:27 pm Reply with quote
Raebo101 wrote:
I've always been curious about this series. Anyone who's seen it and Gen Urobuchi's other works, how does this compare?


Like Shay Guy said, it is a lot more fun and doesn't have as much of the trademark Urobutcher tropes. If it was typically animated, it would make for a fun non-isekai fantasy that falls between typical Shounen and Seinen.
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Juno016



Joined: 09 Jan 2012
Posts: 2406
PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2024 4:38 pm Reply with quote
Raebo101 wrote:
I've always been curious about this series. Anyone who's seen it and Gen Urobuchi's other works, how does this compare?


Having read and watched a LOT of Urobuchi's works, I'm not sure what people think his tropes are, but it does have a lot of Urobuchi's personal philosophy on character writing, psychologically engaging plot twists that make you scream "NO!" (well, at least for me), and classic literature influence. As everyone else said, though, it is a lot further on the "You can tell he had a lot of fun writing this" spectrum. The show is meant to be more fun entertainment for fun's sake than his usual flare, and while I do think it took a while to get going in season 1, once it starts running, it doesn't stop. Personally, I would put it among one of Urobuchi's best works, or at least among his successes. Not everything he writes is gold and I've been disappointed by him a few times before, but when he strikes gold, he really strikes gold.

Just make sure to watch the movies/specials in-between seasons as they aired, since those are just as important to the characters and plot, and thankfully just as entertaining as the core show. Enjoy~ <3
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WatcherZer



Joined: 29 Dec 2016
Posts: 294
PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2024 6:24 pm Reply with quote
3rd season was a bit disappointing, hope this gets back to the quality of the first two seasons and the two films.
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EmbraceMe



Joined: 17 Dec 2010
Posts: 2017
Location: Growing old and jaded.
PostPosted: Fri Aug 02, 2024 7:37 pm Reply with quote
Raebo101 wrote:
I've always been curious about this series. Anyone who's seen it and Gen Urobuchi's other works, how does this compare?


Gen Urobuchi has evolved/changed as a writer (since Madoka IIRC). The Gen Urobuchi of old would've had his classic themes of Faustian Bargains, Utilitarianism, suffering, "Bad Endings." Not to say his newer works lack these themes but he's certainly written much happier stories than the grim dark/edgy stories that earned him the Urobutcher nickname. I think a lot of Gen Urobuchi's strengths lays in his writing of characters, and Thunderbolt Fantasy definitely has a lot of characters with various personalities. That's what makes the show extremely fun for me. The puppetry and Wuxia elements are also a joy to watch! And, if you're a TMR fan, you'll love the music.
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Andrew Cunningham



Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 490
Location: Seattle
PostPosted: Sat Aug 03, 2024 11:34 am Reply with quote
WatcherZer wrote:
3rd season was a bit disappointing, hope this gets back to the quality of the first two seasons and the two films.


I'd have said the third season was a nice return to form after the disappointing second season! Now to figure out if I watched the second movie...
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WatcherZer



Joined: 29 Dec 2016
Posts: 294
PostPosted: Sat Aug 03, 2024 12:58 pm Reply with quote
Andrew Cunningham wrote:
WatcherZer wrote:
3rd season was a bit disappointing, hope this gets back to the quality of the first two seasons and the two films.


I'd have said the third season was a nice return to form after the disappointing second season! Now to figure out if I watched the second movie...


It was the life story of the musician Làng Wū from being trained as a court singer by his mother to fulfill her unrealised ambition, to working as a minstrel in a bar where his hypnotic ability was recognised, to being recruited into the imperial court by the masochist princess, to finally meeting the protagonist.
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Multi-Facets



Joined: 15 Oct 2019
Posts: 235
PostPosted: Sun Aug 04, 2024 11:01 am Reply with quote
I've only seen a little on YouTube that was posted seven years ago; is CrunchyRoll the only other place to see more?
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Big Kahuna



Joined: 05 Mar 2010
Posts: 46
PostPosted: Sun Aug 04, 2024 9:16 pm Reply with quote
May be the best thing Urobuchi written. He's created his 2 BEST characters, or 3 if you include one of the villains. Also some of the cleverest plot twists. He seems completely free of his tropes and morose reputation, and seems to really enjoy writing it. The only negative is the version we get here in the West translates the names using the original Chinese pronunciation. This confuses the heck out of a Western audience since the subtitles don't sound anything like the Japanese track you are hearing. Also, the symbolic flavor of the names, titles, alias, organizations, even poetry of the "wuxia"/ "senxia" martial arts fantasy genre are completely lost in this version (i.e. the demonic "Locust Cult" the main villain emerging by Season 3 for example). Not too bad if you can read or understand Chinese, or able to find an alternative Chinese track (...though the J dub is far superior... great acting by seiyuu Toriumi may be his best role yet). Fortunately there are some seasons and movies where fans have made the correction ...not easy to find, but available. The dream solution imho is to get an English dub, not just because of the names but because the puppet action on screen can be too fast. Reading subtitle during which really distracts from the enjoyment and appreciation of the puppeteer's skill. (Actually, even then they should slow down the action scenes to 2/3 speed during post-production. Such speed during traditional live performance is great, but not for broadcast with all the sfx and editing.) But that's not likely since the series is completely "overlooked" here in the West ... reminiscent of the kind of obstinate and prejudice that kept anime from reaching a wider audience 20 years ago... actually even now really. Season 3 was fantastic if you watch together with the 2nd movie which centered on the songmaster character. So many overarching story arcs need to be resolved. Then again, I wouldn't mind if it goes on either.
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FilthyCasual



Joined: 01 Jun 2015
Posts: 2318
PostPosted: Mon Aug 05, 2024 5:17 pm Reply with quote
Peak fiction is back on the menu!
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CrowLia



Joined: 24 Feb 2012
Posts: 5527
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Tue Aug 06, 2024 3:35 am Reply with quote
AOTY incoming at last
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