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Thunderbolt Fantasy 東離劍遊紀 [Thunderbolt Fantasy: Touriken Yuuki] #1-2
Thunderbolt Fantasy Omnibus I Vols. 1-2
Don’t miss this official manga adaptation for the international wuxia television phenomenon–a co-production between an award-winning Japanese writer and the foremost practitioners of Taiwanese Glove puppetry (pò-tē-hì)!
In an ancient kingdom, a vicious warlord is on the hunt for a magic sword. Dan Fei has spent her whole life guarding the coveted Sword of Divine Retribution–legends say its power is great enough to smite demons and shake the heavens. The master of the evil Xuan Gui Zong sect will stop at nothing to possess it, and dispatches his warriors to steal the holy blade. Fleeing their pursuit, Dan Fei must rely on the unexpected help of two unusual strangers who are powerful swordsmen themselves.
Like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, a thrilling wuxia fantasy saga begins!
In an ancient kingdom, a vicious warlord is on the hunt for a magic sword. Dan Fei has spent her whole life guarding the coveted Sword of Divine Retribution–legends say its power is great enough to smite demons and shake the heavens. The master of the evil Xuan Gui Zong sect will stop at nothing to possess it, and dispatches his warriors to steal the holy blade. Fleeing their pursuit, Dan Fei must rely on the unexpected help of two unusual strangers who are powerful swordsmen themselves.
Like a thunderbolt from the blue sky, a thrilling wuxia fantasy saga begins!
390 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 22, 2022
6 people are currently reading
55 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 27, 2023
I've actually only just dipped into this manga adaptation (I looked at the e-manga version, found on Amazon), enough to ascertain that it follows the strange and excellent TV series closely. So this is mostly a stealth recommendation for the latter, though if you can't access it, the manga would give good story value. The manga art's OK, though not up to the amazing costuming and puppetry of the original.
The show, which I dubbed in trying to explain it to my friends as "Taiwanese murder muppets", is filmed puppetry of astonishing beauty and charm, an effective modernization of what I gather is a very traditional live media form. But that turned out only to be the half of it -- when I checked on another offering from the same production company, same wonderful costuming and puppetry, the script was alas a mess: overstuffed, ill-balanced and paced, too many characters introduced at once and no reason given to care about any of them. The script of Thunderbolt Fantasy does not make any of those mistakes (as well as delivering a particularly delightful morally ambiguous sorcerer, and a swordsman who could have been played by Toshiro Mifune at the maturity of his powers) so, kudos to scriptwriter Urobochi. The eye-opening making-of sequences are worth the price of admission.
I found the show, and its several sequels and side-stories, on Crunchyroll. I don't know where else it may be found. But if you don't have access to the original production, the manga should also be fun.
Ta, L.
The show, which I dubbed in trying to explain it to my friends as "Taiwanese murder muppets", is filmed puppetry of astonishing beauty and charm, an effective modernization of what I gather is a very traditional live media form. But that turned out only to be the half of it -- when I checked on another offering from the same production company, same wonderful costuming and puppetry, the script was alas a mess: overstuffed, ill-balanced and paced, too many characters introduced at once and no reason given to care about any of them. The script of Thunderbolt Fantasy does not make any of those mistakes (as well as delivering a particularly delightful morally ambiguous sorcerer, and a swordsman who could have been played by Toshiro Mifune at the maturity of his powers) so, kudos to scriptwriter Urobochi. The eye-opening making-of sequences are worth the price of admission.
I found the show, and its several sequels and side-stories, on Crunchyroll. I don't know where else it may be found. But if you don't have access to the original production, the manga should also be fun.
Ta, L.
February 25, 2023
Loved this!
I absolutely love the puppet anime (I guess it's called an anime? Even though it's live action puppets?) and HIGHLY recommend you watch it if you've never seen it. The company making the show do amazing things with their puppets and the story is just phenomenal.
If puppets aren't your thing, definitely give this manga a shot. It's a fantastic fantasy story that is one of my favorites and I'm sure you'll enjoy it too. Definitely need to get the next volume soon!
I absolutely love the puppet anime (I guess it's called an anime? Even though it's live action puppets?) and HIGHLY recommend you watch it if you've never seen it. The company making the show do amazing things with their puppets and the story is just phenomenal.
If puppets aren't your thing, definitely give this manga a shot. It's a fantastic fantasy story that is one of my favorites and I'm sure you'll enjoy it too. Definitely need to get the next volume soon!
June 18, 2023
Contrary to what I thought, this is a manga based on the (EXTREMELY high-end) puppet show, rather than the puppet show being based on this manga. The omnibus covers through the river ambush.
I don't know if I like this version as much, since part of the appeal is how ridiculously high-quality the puppets are, and how serious the story is for "just" a puppet show, while the manga is fairly "normal" by manga standards. The best thing about the manga is I'm not confused by their names being transliterated from Chinese but being pronounced in Japanese (as the show does).
The worst thing about the manga is not getting to hear Suwabe Junichi's sultry voice. :(
Also, I kind of don't like larger volumes, since they're harder to keep open without breaking the spine, although the art is bigger than in a standard size.
I don't know if I like this version as much, since part of the appeal is how ridiculously high-quality the puppets are, and how serious the story is for "just" a puppet show, while the manga is fairly "normal" by manga standards. The best thing about the manga is I'm not confused by their names being transliterated from Chinese but being pronounced in Japanese (as the show does).
The worst thing about the manga is not getting to hear Suwabe Junichi's sultry voice. :(
Also, I kind of don't like larger volumes, since they're harder to keep open without breaking the spine, although the art is bigger than in a standard size.
January 25, 2023
raaaaaaa *rips my shirt in half*
did-not-finish
September 9, 2023Gave it half the book before giving up. Nothing was very interesting to me about the story/characters.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews