Thunderbolt Fantasy

[Buffalobiian]

In short, yes.

The kanji can stay as is, but if the Japanese audio wants to pronounce names in Japanese instead (which I'm fine with), then Horrible Subs should translate that to English such that it reflects the Japanese phonetic pronounciation, not the Chinese one.

For example, if white-hair-thief-guy says "Watashiwa Kichou (鬼鳥)", HorribleSubs should write "I am Kichou", and not "I am Gui Niao (which is the Chinese pronounciation)". Likewise, if this show airs in Taiwan and they audibly anounce themselves as Gui Niao, their subtitles should use that instead of Kichou.

Pronouncing a name in one manner, then writing a phonetically different name in the translation is a sensory clusterfuck.

[shinta|hikari]

I totally agree with this.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 02

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It's so entertaining knowing Kichou is going to backstab blue-magistrate right at the climax.
Thankfully that is the case, because otherwise watching MC get framed by Blue Magistrate would be quite unbearable.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 05

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1) The whole point of channelling Qi is that you can push the poison out of your body, not just keeping it to your knee...

2) So Red-fellow was asked to use his enchanted voice to sing the dragon to death, but instead got into a guitar solo. That didn't add up.

Detecting lies and nature via breathing was interesting. I like knowing that there's at least one person White fellow can't talk his way through (or at least lie his way through)

edit:

Also, poor dragon. It was minding its own business. It even told them to get the fuck out. Then they chucked a rock on him and cut his horn off.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 06

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So Monk is reached true enlightenment, but never experienced desires and is just so unempathetic that he can't connect with worldly people at all. That's interesting, though you have to wonder at how such a person had the drive to develop excellent martial arts.

Evil girl is kind of cute.

And realistically (if one could put it that way), MC should be able to channel enough Chi to break any sword that tries to block him, given that he busts through dragon scales all the same.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 07

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And finally the monk will know the reason for his existence - to act as the hard counter to the evil charming sword.

[Buffalobiian]

"Oh no, you've got me. How I'm at your mercy, what will you have me do?"

This guy, playing him till the end xD.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 09

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Nooo! F*** you, Kotomine Kirei Monk!

[Shadow Skill]

Hahaha! The Monk's true purpose is revealed.

Shame she had to die.

[Buffalobiian]

Episode 12

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Well that was interesting...

.. but some bits don't make all that much sense, as hilarious as it was to watch.



1) Monk following Bitch Sword because he wanted to.

--It's not that pretty a sword, nor great a personality. If he wasn't charmed under sorcery, it makes no sense for someone who's turned down everything else the world has to offer to follow a bitchy, unflattering girl. He's not even actually into swords.

--The charm of the sword was supposed to be its promise of power while wielding it, as well as the euphoric high you get while sucking people's blood. If he's neither charmed by the prospect of power, nor cares about withdrawals from the high, then there's really nothing to like about the sword. Weird.



2) Music dude and his total lack of skills with puppets.

--just either use them to bum-rush the glasses-dude because they're going to die otherwise anyway, or.
--just get them to run the fuck away, while you attack glasses-fellow. It's hard for that guy to use runaway puppets while dodging at the same time.



3) I hope we get the full scope of the MC's backstory sometime. The whole idea behind him adopting an inefficient, chi-channelling-through-blunt-wood sword style was so he wouldn't accidentally kill an enemy (because he's a self-admitted oaf who do that). Someone who isn't confident enough in their brain or motor control shouldn't have the confidence to not get other people killed, nor does it really make sense for them to be a tactician at leading battles. (I understood "leadership skills" to describe the intellectual faculty to lead + the confidence to lead, rather than just charisma).



4) MC picked up the trailing white-hair-fellow while Music guy didn't? Music guy's the dude who is supposed to hear people without seeing them, and be able to detect bad intent from their breathing alone. I'd say white-hair-dude is pretty pissed off and annoyed right now, which would make him a dead giveaway.



5) Back to "I'll prove that I'm the most worthy for you" Monk. The whole point of him committing a lovers' suicide (lol) was because he didn't want anyone else stronger to take her. Sure, it's he originally meant it to mean if he was either sick or old, but that doesn't change the fact that the sword will get passed on to whoever is stronger in a given moment in time. Now he's baited into seeking a possible contender? I don't know how this guy thinks.

[Shadow Skill]

I can't wait for season 3.

I can't believe how hyped I am for a puppet show lol.

[Buffalobiian]

That was pretty fun. They did well to explore the potentials of just two swords for an entire season, especially by turning the "weak" sword into an absolute monster.

[Buffalobiian]

[HorribleSubs] Thunderbolt Fantasy - Bewitching Melody of the West - 00 [1080p].mkv

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If you're watching this then you need no introduction to Thunderbolt Fantasy. This movie is the backstory for our Red Head musician.

Now, but far the biggest issue I have with this movie is that the songs don't fit their era at all. This wasn't a huge issue in the previous series' because singing wasn't exactly a huge part of it. But now that it is, you wonder why people sing in English, and a scale that isn't Pentatonic (classical chinese music was composed on a pentatonic scale).

Another strange thing is that this movie is arguably the bloodiest of them all. More grunts died here than the other two series put together I reckon, and it's all the more gruesome since they're living imperial guards and not hooded cultists or skeletons. Sho was also rather violent here. He's supposed to be using blunt instruments with Chi channelling in order to not accidentally kill people (because he's just that good with a sword). That bit of backstory is not evident here at all where he's outright dishing out lethal attacks. It's visually cool all the same, but sad when you realise that it screws up his existing character. Either give him a real sword (because he's still out for killing these days), or have him show some more concern for his victims. His first kill in the movie was a stealth neck break.

AoE spamming is OP as well. Good on them for having a girl that isn't a damsel in distress this time round.

Other than that, more of the same Thunderbolt Fantasy.

[neflight86]

Season 3 ep 1 is out

Same old Thunderbolt. I like that recurring characters and direct continuations of the previous season's stories make this seem very well thought out. The dialogue is still good and characters/puppets still 'emote' with that same theatricality that puts a smile on my face. Looks like we might be getting more adversaries from our hero's side of the demon divide this season.

As an aside, the company also released an April fool's crossover mini-episode with Saber from Fate making a guest appearance. Look it up.

[neflight86]

2

I can trust the butcher to make sure that explaining in detail how these mirror leaves work will actually pan out in a meaningful way down the road.

We're finally setting foot on the other side! Exciting!

[Buffalobiian]

The mirrors thing seems like a fun move. I'm sure the mirrors would ultimately be used to beat a demon lord or something.

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Episode 03

That was a dope cliffhanger.

Enigmatic Gale's glee was palpable when he learned of a new big baddie that he could toy with.

[neflight86]

3

Too bad the mad scientist got abandoned as soon as he finished repairing/upgrading the monk. I would have liked to see if anyone else knew/knew of him.

Harmless princess was crazier than I thought in a 'misery' kind of way. Stephen King would be proud.

This fight can't possibley go to completion, or the main antagonist this season will already be dispatched. What's the catch?

[Buffalobiian]

Main antagonist? I'd have thought it'd be some Demon, since they introduced trans-realm mirrors. There's a naked girl in the OP that looks like she'd be a dormant demon king etc.

This current General dude sounds redeemable. I wouldn't be surprised if he changed sides later. Mantis and his boss sound way more suss.

[neflight86]

I thought the locust dude was the leader of that tribunal of headstones(?) from the end of the first season- as in he's the big bad and they are in his lair.

Maybe he isn't, and just another member of this order of people that main dude was on the run from, like the girl from last season who resisted the slave sword (and got killed). The naming style in the show, and how they read different from the subtitles' English phonetics doesn't make keeping characters straight any easier.

I forgot there is plenty of room for sides to change. He offered to take the sword without violence, after all.

[Buffalobiian]

Locust is high rank, but he's not in the fight right now. He's still Zooming in via the headstone.