Thunderbolt Fantasy

Episode 11

When we last saw our “heroes,” Shāng Bù Huàn and Lǐn Xuě Yā had re-teamed up to swipe the Heaven Retribution Sword's handle from Miè Tiān Hái. The plan: Lǐn Xuě Yā breaks into his safe while Shāng Bù Huàn, disguised as the master thief, lures the villain away from his stronghold. Unfortunately, Shāng Bù Huàn's impersonation of Lǐn Xuě Yā goes about as well as expected, meaning that it's a total dumpster fire. First of all, he doesn't even try to hide his speech patterns. Secondly, he won't stop talking, making this discrepancy more and more obvious by the minute. Thirdly, he doesn't have a pipe glued to his hand.

At least Shāng Bù Huàn manages to coax some exposition out of Miè Tiān Hái. Apparently, the Heaven's Retribution Sword is considered the best of the Magic Weapons of Divine Teachings because it's the only one to permanently take down a demon, who are otherwise immortal. Since the demon it was aimed at, Yāo Tú Lí, didn't return to the netherworld after their species-wide ass-whooping, it was considered killed in action. This is especially impressive because Yāo Tú Lí (whose name translates to something like “dark and cruel demon”) was supposed to be one of the baddest dudes in hell. I've got a feeling that Yāo Tú Lí isn't as dead as Miè Tiān Hái believes, considering that the showrunners bothered to make a puppet for it. My bet is that it's just being sealed by the Heaven's Retribution Sword, so it'll pop up to bite Miè Tiān Hái's head off the moment he pulls it out. It'd be a good twist for a villain with so much build-up to get killed off demonstrating the real big bad's strength, kinda like what he himself pulled on the Screaming Phoenix Killer.

Anyway, ten failed speech checks later and they finally make it to the rendezvous point. Miè Tiān Hái brings over the cart of gold, but it's a ploy – Shāng Bù Huàn's status as a fake is confirmed when he doesn't instantaneously know everything about the cart's contents, value, and exchange value for sweet sweet kush, like the real Lǐn Xuě Yā would. Not that there was much goose left to give. The scam became apparent the moment that “Lǐn Xuě Yā” starting taking every bad choice on the dialogue wheel. As the icing on the failure cake, the handle isn't even where the real thief thinks it is - Miè Tiān Hái took it with him out of Seven Sins Tower in anticipation of the guy pulling something like this. Facing Miè Tiān Hái and his forces head-on, Shāng Bù Huàn is forced to skedaddle. So in the end, our heroes are scattered, the handle is still firmly in Miè Tiān Hái's possession, and due to the events of Dān Fěi's plotline, he's about to get his hands on the guard. This is why you don't scheme on drugs, kids.

But this episode's real stars were Dān Fěi and Juǎn Cán Yún. When we last saw them, they were making their way to the Limitless Temple in order to grab the guard before anyone else could. Unfortunately, they weren't alone on the trail. Shòu Yún Xiāo and Xíng Hài stalked them, having made a deal with Miè Tiān Hái to bring him the guard in exchange for phat cash. They fight for it, but our heroes are quickly overpowered by these much more experienced opponents. Deciding that she'd rather not lose her life in a futile fight, Dān Fěi absconds with a wounded Juǎn Cán Yún, giving up the guard. This is the culmination of Dān Fěi's character arc – she drops her “honor before reason” mentality in the name of pragmatism, prioritizing the long-term (the battle against evil) over the short term (defense of her honor). At the same time, Juǎn Cán Yún fully commits himself to true selfless heroism by rejecting his aniki's hypocritical bluster. Sure, it costs him an eyeball, but that's still the lightest punishment the idealistic hero worshipper has ever gotten in a Gen Urobuchi show. He even gets the girl! Even at their lowest point, things are looking pretty good for &TEAM Naiveté.

This also means that the natural endgame partner for Shāng Bù Huàn is now Lǐn Xuě Yā. I kid, but it would be the culmination of all my hopes and dreams for this show to end with the two of them becoming partners in crime (against worse criminals, of course). Lǐn Xuě Yā has the skills, while Shāng Bù Huàn has the niggling morality to ensure that they're (somewhat) on the up-and-up. Deep down, I'm sure that all Lǐn Xuě Yā wants is for someone to make a good man out of him – preferably a sexy swordsman. For now, however, he's still splitting open safes just like he does the ladies. (His comparison, not mine.) Upon discovering that Miè Tiān Hái has taken the handle, Lǐn Xuě Yā manages to infer everything that's happened in his absence. He discerns that, strategically, the best place to be now is the temple housing the sword's blade. Hailing a passing demon bird, Lǐn Xuě Yā heads over there, knowing that it's the best place to plant a trap and crush Miè Tiān Hái's ambitions in one fell swoop. He must be having the time of his life.

Compared to last episode's relentless plot dump, this was a simple episode for Thunderbolt Fantasy. It delivered a few more plot complications, some comedy, and an important emotional resolution for two of the characters. Next week looks to finally reveal Shāng Bù Huàn's deal. That'll be a big moment for the show to either stumble or maintain its masterful action-adventure storytelling. Always hilarious, tense, and exciting, Thunderbolt Fantasy continues to be everything I could ask for out of a work of pure entertainment.

Grade: B+

Thunderbolt Fantasy is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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