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Crunchyroll Adds 4th Season of Thunderbolt Fantasy Puppet Show

Crunchyroll announced on Friday that it will add Thunderbolt Fantasy Sword Seekers 4 (Thunderbolt Fantasy: Tōriken Yūki 4), the fourth season of the Thunderbolt Fantasy puppet-show franchise, on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. EST. The series will be avilable worldwide except in Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and Thailand. The series will have subtitles in English, French, and German.

The series debuted in Japan on October 5. New cast members include Fairouz Ai as Haōgyoku and Shōgo Batori as Kamushō.

The new sequel project for the Thunderbolt Fantasy franchise is both a fourth season and a "final chapter" movie. The film is titled Thunderbolt Fantasy: Tōriken Yūki Saishūshō, and it will open in theaters in Japan on February 21.

The first season premiered in July 2016, and the Thunderbolt Fantasy: The Sword of Life and Death film opened in Japan in December 2017. The second season Thunderbolt Fantasy Sword Seekers (Thunderbolt Fantasy: Tōriken Yūki 2) premiered in Japan in October 2018. Crunchyroll streamed all three installments.

The Thunderbolt Fantasy - Seiyū Genka theatrical project opened in Japan in October 2019. Crunchyroll began streaming the film in December 2019 under the title Thunderbolt Fantasy: Bewitching Melody of the West.

Thunderbolt Fantasy: Tōriken Yūki 3, the third season of the franchise, premiered in April 2021.

Gen Urobuchi (Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, Psycho-Pass, Aldnoah.Zero) was credited with the first season's original work, and he also wrote the scripts and served as chief supervisor. Nitroplus was credited with the character designs, and Good Smile Company was credited as the "modeling adviser." PILI Multimedia Inc., a well-known hand puppet drama production company in Taiwan, produced the series. Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan, Aldnoah.Zero, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress) composed the music and Yoshikazu Iwanami was the sound director.

Source: Crunchyroll (Kyle Cardine)