Thunderbolt Fantasy

Episode 10

The episode opens on a slight flashback as we watch Shāng Bù Huàn navigate the carnage of Shā Wú Shēng's entrance to sneak into Seven Sins Tower. He hides out until after the Screaming Phoenix Killer's death (at long last, the phoenixes may scream in peace), at which point he confronts Lǐn Xuě Yā in his private chamber. Cornered by the angry swordsman, the thief is forced to explain himself – or come up with a very convincing lie.

So Lǐn Xuě Yā doesn't really want the sword. Rather, he's after a sword in order to mess with his real target, Miè Tiān Hái. The guy has never done anything to him – they've never even spoken before this day – he just wants to take him down because that's how he finds meaning in life. In short, Lǐn Xuě Yā's entire motivation is that he loves manipulating people. And he's so good at it that it's not fun anymore unless he's going for the biggest fish in the pond - people who are absolutely convinced that they're invulnerable because they're smarter and stronger than everyone else. It just so happens that these traits tend to be most common amongst the world's biggest villains. You see, truly good people are easy to take advantage of because they value things like humility, generosity, and self-sacrifice. (Case in point: Dān Fěi.) The real challenge is getting one over on an untrusting selfish bastard who'd sooner kill you than let you take scraps out of his garbage. So while Lǐn Xuě Yā's motivations are ultimately selfish – he's quite literally just “in it for the lulz” – he does good by humiliating much nastier people. From what he suggests about Xíng Hài and Shā Wú Shēng, the kick in the pants he delivers seems to have done a lot to end reigns of tyranny, turning his victims into humbled recluses. Think of him as a sort of hubris elemental who receives sustenance from the broken pride of legendary jerks. Of course, this may make him into the biggest jerk of all – but at least he's a jerk for justice.

It also turns out that I was completely off base in my prediction that Shāng Bù Huàn is Lǐn Xuě Yā's trump card. Our hero is, in fact, exactly what Xíng Hài mockingly characterized him as while he was trapped in the Cage of Moping – a distraction. Her error was in not realizing that he was intended to distract her, and that he succeeded. Because Lǐn Xuě Yā didn't trust the rest of the merry band – which is primarily composed of his former dupes – to not betray him, he figured adding an unknown element to the team would put enough fear into them that they wouldn't dare try anything funny. So he brought in Shāng Bù Huàn, presented him as a personal ally with mysterious capabilities, and let the three Evil Exes fret over him while the thief did his thing.

At the time, of course, Lǐn Xuě Yā had no idea that Shāng Bù Huàn was actually a total badass. That was a total accident, and it would've helped him to know about it earlier. That way, he wouldn't have had to go to the trouble of dealing with Archer or Caster, since our Hero could've bypassed their obstacles by himself. Shāng Bù Huàn's apparent combat prowess is increased when Lǐn Xuě Yā realizes that he's been fighting with a dull blade. It was already noted that Shāng Bù Huàn possesses ridiculous physical strength, and now we know that he's made that impression with nothing more than a polished stick. Vape thief, master strategist that he is, takes this revelation in stride and alters his plans accordingly.

Upon hearing all this, Shāng Bù Huàn decides that he's talking to a crazy person. Lǐn Xuě Yā takes it as a compliment. He then promises that he'll return the sword in the end, which is just enough to stay Shāng Bù Huàn's hand. That's not to say that he trusts the thief. Our hero has just realized that unless he cooperates with Lǐn Xuě Yā , he has no chance of preventing Miè Tiān Hái from obtaining the Super Powerful Ultra Sword of Doom. In this case, he faces better odds sticking with the guy who just triple betrayed him than striking out on his own.

Their plan goes as follows: Miè Tiān Hái has arranged to hand over the gold to Lǐn Xuě Yā at a rendezvous point outside of the Demon Spine Mountains. Immediately after that, Lǐn Xuě Yā will lead him to the location where he hid the sword's guard. (He tells Shāng Bù Huàn that it's the temple where they encountered the Screaming Phoenix Killer, but based on which character is actually doing the exchange, I don't have faith that this is true.) This leaves the Seven Sins Tower empty and Miè Tiān Hái's safe ripe for cracking. The problem with this situation is that it requires Lǐn Xuě Yā to be in two places at once – both escorting Miè Tiān Hái and cracking the safe. Fortunately, Lǐn Xuě Yā happens to possess an enchanted hood that makes anyone who wears it look exactly like him. (I'm sure he uses this strictly for professional reasons.) When Hero wears the hood, voila, two vape thieves! Since Lǐn Xuě Yā is the expert safecracker of the two, Shāng Bù Huàn will have to do the dangerous job of hanging out with Gravelord Maybelline. This plan provides Lǐn Xuě Yā with about a dozen opportunities to leave Shāng Bù Huàn for dead, a fact which our hero points out only for the thief to retort that in this situation, he really has no choice but to trust him. The merry band is back together in its most basic form, as a simple partnership between Shāng Bù Huàn and Lǐn Xuě Yā's to help Dān Fěi.

Speaking of which, Shāng Bù Huàn sneaks out to have a chat with Dān Fěi before embarking on his mission. He returns her sword, informs her of the plan, and tells her to wait in the cage until they come back for her. Once he leaves, Juǎn Cán Yún shows up. He's ditched his master Archer for being a fake hero (or “Faker”) and come to save her. Overjoyed, Dān Fěi states that she'd misjudged him previously, and he's really a selfless person. Lancer is like aw shucks, and they head over to the temple where the guard is stored in order to grab it before anyone else. So as it stands, Juǎn Cán Yún, Dān Fěi, Miè Tiān Hái, and a disguised Shāng Bù Huàn are all heading to a location that may or may not contain the guard. Lǐn Xuě Yā – the only one who knows for sure where the guard is located – is going for the handle. Xíng Hài and Shòu Yún Xiāo have run off somewhere, but they'll probably get involved in the action somehow.

This episode was entirely setup for Thunderbolt Fantasy's climactic sprint to the finish line. Besides the postmortem Screaming Phoenix Killer cameo, this was all scheming and no action. I'm sure that the next few episodes will more than make up for it, but this is definitively the narrative equivalent of forcing down the vegetables before you can get to the cake. At least Gen Urobuchi has the chops to make the expository encounters consistently amusing. The revelation of Lǐn Xuě Yā's ethos had me rolling for the sheer cojones behind it. The worst bit was when Lǐn Xuě Yā and Miè Tiān Hái had to work out the logistics of their business transaction, but it was still necessary to the plot. Either way, it's neat to see how they draw tension out of subtle gestures.

Unlike a lot of the shows Urobuchi is known for, Thunderbolt Fantasy isn't trying to say anything deep about the human condition. It's just a genre exercise in fantasy/adventure, but a very well executed one that plays with the audience's expectations of how these sorts of stories should go. Rather than a gathering of heroes, the merry band is mostly a collection of coerced villains. The guy who looks like the benevolent Gandalf-esque wizardly advisor is actually a devious bandit. People may not have complex backstory reasons for doing what they do, and it all turns into a heist flick in the end. The message amounts to don't place blind faith in appearances or convention, as they can be used to fool you. This is what happens to both the characters and the audience over the course of watching the show, and while Thunderbolt Fantasy isn't very commentative, it still possesses Urobuchi's most consistent thematic through-line: his characteristic insight into human darkness alongside a redemptive belief that the forces of decency should never give up the fight. Shāng Bù Huàn gets fooled six ways from Sunday, but he remains committed to helping the innocent Dān Fěi. The naïve honor-bound lance-wielder may make it out alive! This is by far the lightest thing Urobuchi has ever written, but it's still filled with his preoccupations.

That's a lot of words for the downtime before the finale! Thunderbolt Fantasy's plot is juggling so much specific plot action with such dexterity that it's breathtaking. If Puella Magi Madoka Magica was Urobuchi's rollercoaster ride of tears, this is the ride of laughter. And puppets. Can't forget those.

Grade: B+

Thunderbolt Fantasy is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.