Thunderbolt Fantasy is available in streaming form on Crunchyroll
With the long-awaited arrival of Thunderbolt Fantasy's fourth season, it's also a sad reminder that all good things eventually come to an end. After four seasons and two movies spanning across nearly ten years, the latest instalment in the epic fantasy puppet saga from writer Gen Urobuchi, Nitroplus, Good Smile Company and Taiwanese puppet production company Pili International Media signals that end is near. Despite originally being billed for five series, Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers 4 will now be its last -with the story then finally concluded with a third film released in Japan at the end of February 2025. But for now, it's time to revel in another 12 episodes of the adventures of Shāng Bù Huàn, picking up after the events of 2021's third season.
Following their previous adventure and Làng Wū Yáo's disappearance into the Demon Realm, a weary Shāng Bù Huàn begins to wonder whether his quest to find a place to get rid of the Sorcerous Sword Index was a fools' errand and goes into hiding inn the mountains. He is however eventually called back into action by Dān Fěi, who asks him to guide both Juǎn Cán Yún and herself across the Wasteland of Spirits to find a new Shén Huì Mó Xiè to prepare for the coming invasion of the Demon Realm.
Meanwhile in the Demon Realm, Làng Wū Yáo becomes part of a plot by his father Azibělpher to disrupt the order of the Demon Lord's court. The Order of the Divine Swarm has also their sights set on the Demon Realm, with their machinations also resulting in both Mù Tiān Mìng and Cháo Fēng becoming trapped there. As Lǐn Xuě Yā continues to revel in manipulating everyone around him, even he isn't prepared for the revelations the Demon Realm holds.
With precious little time left to tell its story, Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers 4 is a series all about reveals. As the action moves almost entirely down into the Demon Realm, this long talked-about piece of Thunderbolt Fantasy mythology finally becomes the central focus. Almost immediately it's clear that all of the various plot threads spread across the previous seasons and movies are beginning to converge, with this season in particular making a point of including characters from past adventures - many of whom haven't met or interacted before. Identities are revealed, characters evolve and in many places the story is blown wide open. It seems as though almost every episode in the season includes some sort of big reveal, slowly getting more and more shocking as the story progresses. As such Sword Seekers 4 might be the most overarching story-heavy season of Thunderbolt Fantasy yet, setting big things for what will hopefully be a huge finale movie.
The problem however is that as a result Sword Seekers 4 is nothing but set up for the finale movie, and unlike the previous seasons doesn't really its own self-contained adventure whilst furthering the overarching plot. While certain characters' stories progress whilst others meet their end, none of it ever feels like a resolution - instead solely in service of something bigger that isn't actually present here. It's also abundantly clear that the decision to cut the show down from five seasons has greatly affected the overall pacing, simply by how thick and fast all these plot revelations come. None of them are unsatisfying, but each one is given barely any breathing room before the story moves on to the next big twist. New characters feel like they're having their involvement truncated, whilst older ones barely have anything to do because it isn't their time yet. Shāng not being the main character of the this season is by no means a bad thing, but having him spend the majority of the runtime wandering around the Wasteland of Spirits gives the sense that he just felt like a loose end this time around. These issues don't make Sword Seekers 4 any less of a thrilling watch, but it is slightly disheartening to suddenly hit episode 12 and find that the season has raised more questions than it has answered.
It really is hard to be too disappointed though when Urobuchi is having this much fun. Thunderbolt Fantasy consistently revels in Lǐn Xuě Yā trying to mess with and manipulate everyone around him, but this time around nearly everyone is on the act. Azibělpher is manipulating both Làng and the Demon Court, the Demon Court are trying to screw over each other, the Order of the Divine Swarm is making its bid for power and even its own agents are trying to screw each other over in their own rivalries. Even Shāng isn't being completely truthful with his allies here - requesting a very specific favour from Juǎn Cán Yún only for that to be wrapped up in all manner of secrets. Meanwhile of course the Enigmatic Gale is still doing his thing and mess with anyone he comes into contact with, going so far as to continue using the guise of Yì Piāo Miǎo in order to get closer to the Divine Swarm. Everyone is gunning for everyone, which makes keeping track of who has the upper hand across the series really fun as alliances are formed and/or the main players are taken off the table.
So if Shāng isn't in the spotlight here, who does Sword Seekers 4 really belong to? Arguably the only real answer here is Làng, the fallout from the previous season's shock ending the driving force behind a lot of the events here. Season 4 not only sees Làng learn more about his heritage and the hierarchy of the Demon Realm, but also begin to tap into his demonic powers. But despite some impressive fight scenes even he is limited by the condensing of the story - limited to a cocoon for its latter half whilst all the action is going on around him. However this time offers a chance to further develop his faithful partner Líng Yá, who is given the opportunity to evolve far beyond that of simply a demonic Pipa. Proving this series is very much a matter of family, Azibělpher also gets a good bit of focus here - not just through his various dealings with the Demon Court but a glimpse into his motivations signals Thunderbolt Fantasy's first (but by no means its last this season) big dive into another concept that feels far bigger that what the first season set out to do - time travel. Azibělpher's scheming remains one of the biggest looming plot threads for the finale movie, but the season does well to set him up as potentially the biggest player when it comes to the antagonist side.
Of course Lǐn Xuě Yā continues to shine as one of Thunderbolt Fantasy's brightest stars - the very epitome of an agent of chaos simply it in for the laughs. While his motivations might not be any different here, even he gets more than he bargained for as arguably the biggest truths surrounding the Demon Realm revolves around him. This is one aspect the season really doesn't have a lot of time to reflect on, but sets the Enigmatic Gale up rather nicely for his biggest jape yet. Continuing to butt heads with him is Xíng Hài, who has not only done well to survive the series this long but also acted as key proponent in the Demon Realm's coming invasion. Despite being privy to nearly all of the revelations throughout the season, Xíng Hài sadly doesn't really step out of a supporting villain role - a shame given both her tenacity and her potential to do so.
Back in the Human Realm it really feels like a converging of the stories as so many past faces are brought back in preparation for the finale. The reunion of Shāng, Dān Fěi and Juǎn Cán Yún feels particularly special given that they were amongst the party that started it all way back in the beginning. In the case of the latter two it feels like real character growth to see them all the more proactive in trying to prevent The War of Fading Dusk (the name given to the great battle between human and demonkind) from reoccuring, and in the case of the former we get the sense that Shāng's origins are far more complicated than that of simply a wandering swordsman. This is one element of the story I'm not convinced that the movie will be able to follow up on in a satisfying way, but even if it doesn't the reveal does well to inject a bit of mystery back in the show's main protagonist. It's also great to see Mù Tiān Mìng become more involved in the story once again - her meeting with Dān Fěi particularly feeling like something that has been a long time coming. Xī Yōu's troublesome princess Cháo Fēng also steps up into a more proactive role as she seeks to finally reclaim "her songbird" - a path that leads her down a particularly interesting route for the battle yet to come.
The threat of the Demon Realm might cast a huge shadow but it's important not to forget that humankind also faces threat from The Order of the Divine Swarm, the heretical group whose bid for power has run throughout the series. Huò Shì Míng Huáng stepping out of the shadows to ally himself with the Demon Lord finally brings these two forces together, as the real reason behind why the demons retreated from the Human Realm is revealed. Despite all the treachery going on their alliance does feel like one that would be mutually beneficial, with both seemingly willing to use their race as pawns towards what they see as a "greater good". Whereas he has a clear vision for demonkind, this is much less visible in his court who exemplify their scheming nature. None of them outside of Azibělpher really last long enough to create a lasting impression beyond character design, but they make for fun characters nonetheless.
But of all the new characters that appear in Sword Seekers 4 the standouts are definitely Bà Wáng Yù and Huā Wú Zōng - the Wasp and Spider of the Order of the Divine Swarm. Bà Wáng Yù immediately stands out amongst the show's female characters as not only an antagonist, but also her physical strength and how she values that above all else. This mindset leads to a clash of ideals with Huā Wú Zōng, a master thief who in turn values strength and strategy. Despite the pair working for the same master towards a common goal, their almost animus rivalry creates a particularly engaging dynamic as the pair venture across the Demon Realm. While their story does feel a little truncated due to plot's rapid movement, not only are they consistently the most fun characters to watch but also the most surprising - their resolution being the kind of ending that even leaves Lǐn Xuě Yā scratching his head.
By now it feels like it goes without saying that when it comes to visuals and craftsmanship, Thunderbolt Fantasy feels like a show that's hard to beat. The puppet design is exquisite, whilst the costuming so ornate that it's difficult to imagine this show not having a sizeable production budget. Whilst the backdrops might often seem simplistic in comparison, they serve their purpose well in keeping your eyes squarely on the characters themselves whilst also providing a suitable setting and atmosphere. With much of the action taking place in the Demonn Realm, barren mist-filled landscapes that feel almost inescapable are very much the order of business. But while none of this is really new for the series, the various demons that appear (particularly the members of the Demon Court) allow the series to get a little more creative with the character designs. The season also manages to push the envelope in different ways - both Tiān Gōng Guǐ Jiàng and Guǐ Duó Tiān Gōng return this season, bringing with them their blurring of science and magic that completely defies your usual expectations of the series. While everyone is fighting over mystical swords, these two are rocking up to the battle with automated gattling guns and giant mecha. Said giant mecha even comes with a built in sound system, leading to a particularly great scene where Mù Tiān Mìng blasts out the show's main theme to fight back a hoard of demons. Despite the sheer amount of plot revelations in this season resulting in a hefty amount of dialogue and exposition, it still finds time for all the great battles and impressive fight choreography fans fell in love with in previous seasons.
Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers 4 delivers another incredible season that feels like it's just plot twist after plot twist, but amongst all that insanity it isn't hard to see how the story has been affected by being cut shorter than originally planned. It is a season of almost entirely build up - forgoing any sort of plot resolutions in favour of gearing the story up for the show's big finale. It still feels like there's quite a lot to get through, and whether a single movie is enough to tie ten years' worth of story up in a satisfying way is yet to be seen. But for now, perhaps it's best to just to continue to revel in the chaos that is Thunderbolt Fantasy while we still have it.
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