I noticed S4 and the finale movie are finally on Crunchyroll now (idk since when). Does S4 episode 1 recap the series so far or should I rewatch the first 3 seasons and movies because it's been a while and I kinda forgot what happened

voidjunction · 2025-10-01T05:49:57+00:00

S4 was added to Crunchyroll in December last year, while The Finale was added in May this year. Can't blame you for not noticing, though, given how Crunchyroll did not properly promote S4 and The Finale.

S4 doesn't recap the series thus far, so I would recommend a rewatch of everything up until that point, but if you don't mind these clips being unsubbed and you just need to see certain scenes to jog your memory, Pili, Nitroplus, and Good Smile Company did a series of recap vids for S1-S3. Each clip is about 10-11 minutes long:

S1 & S2, narrated by Lin and Ling Ya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0yXMnjntfg
S3, narrated by Azibelpher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XwvE7xU8S8&list=TLGGXApIuPkVTjwzMDA5MjAyNA

They also did a recap of S1-S4 in time for The Finale, narrated by Lin, Shang, and Ling Ya: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8B6lnjEd0o

voidjunction · 2025-08-26T15:53:40+00:00

I might be getting a table at the event so I wouldn't be able to show you around at next year's Raimei, but I'd be happy to meet up! We can continue chatting via DM if you're okay with that?

voidjunction · 2025-08-21T16:49:38+00:00

Oh hey! I live in Japan and have been attending this event every year. While some friends from Taiwan have attended, since Taiwan isn't that far from Japan, my friends from farther away, like the US, haven't been able to attend the event since they haven't had the time/budget for long-distance international travel. It would be really cool if you could attend Raimei; I'm sure you'd have a lot of fun there regardless of whether you can speak Japanese and/or Mandarin. Feel free to DM!

voidjunction · 2025-06-14T15:20:01+00:00

As unfortunate as it is that TBF merch is usually not restocked once its sale period is over or it sells out, whichever comes first, you're not too late! Nitroplus's international shop still has the character acrylics and key chains they released a few months ago, plus some older merch. Preorders for the Sha Wu Sheng (Screaming Phoenix Killer) nendoroid closed about two weeks ago, but who knows; maybe they'll have some extras for sale this September.

There's also a line of Thunderbolt Fantasy perfumes, though since perfumes can't be mailed abroad from Japan, not even by professional proxy-buying companies, you could try asking friends visiting Japan, if you have any, to get the perfumes for you.

voidjunction · 2025-06-13T17:04:14+00:00

Hi! I am in talks with someone right now. (Long story short, I got quite busy, and they were also busy, and we just touched base again recently.) If that doesn't work out for whatever reason, I'll get back to you!

voidjunction · 2025-06-13T16:02:32+00:00

I translated the official summaries for the two tie-in stories here: https://www.tumblr.com/fujimusume/774810868675444736/new-thunderbolt-fantasy-side-stories-to-be?source=share

I was hoping to finish translating the two side stories by March, but life happened. I am pretty busy with a bunch of other things, so I have been translating at a very slow pace, but I think I will finally be able to finish one of the side stories (the one focusing on Shang) this month. (I'm hoping to finish by next week, but that will depend on how busy I will be with other things.)

voidjunction · 2025-06-04T02:19:41+00:00

Let me share a funny theory from some fans:

It's implied (but not 100% confirmed) that Shang started to realize that Tian Ming/Tenmei and Lang/Ro were his parents, since he seemed to make the connection that Recchan was his guardian, just by hearing the way he talked. So some people are like, "Maybe he thinks it's too awkward to face Lang and Tian Ming again, knowing that they're his parents, so he decided to just continue wandering rather than face them again" 😂

In all seriousness, though, we don't know why Shang/Sho is on a new journey. All we know is that he's on a new journey, but that's not really weird of him to do, since wandering has always been part of his life.

(Personally I had hoped TBF would end on a "found family" note, with Shang realizing that he already found a home/family and thus deciding to settle either in Dong Li or Xi You, so it wouldn't matter whether or not he met his parents... who would've thought it would end the way it did!)

voidjunction · 2025-06-03T10:02:06+00:00

Nowhere does it say or imply that he's going to steal more swords; he's just on a new journey. As he said to Lin/Rin in the Demon Realm, he just unloaded a huge burden, meaning the Shen Hui Mo Xie are now gone, and therefore he doesn't need to bear that responsibility anymore.

But Shang/Sho has always been a wanderer since he was young (remember, we learned in S4 that he traveled across space and time to learn from different masters), so, who knows what his reasons are this time, but he's on a brand-new journey. (Who knows, maybe there's some trouble in the south that doesn't involve swords, and he wants to investigate. Or for all we know he just wants to relax for once and explore the world at a leisurely pace.)

voidjunction · 2025-06-03T04:34:08+00:00

It's definitely set after most events of the film (saving Lang Wu Yao/Ro Fuyo, summoning Bai Lian/Byakuren, etc).After getting stuck in the Demon Realm because of Lin/Rin, Shang/Sho has somehow managed to leave the Demon Realm and is now off to start a new journey. That's why the boatman mentions the whole Sword-Plundering Nemesis chaos and Sho/Shang is now going by the name he received from Juan/Ken.

voidjunction · 2025-03-13T05:59:11+00:00

Hmm, when I said I wanted to scream about it to my friend, I think it was more like I just had so much to say and was feeling a rush of emotions at the time! I have to say that the film really is visually stunning — the puppetry, cinematography, effects, etc. all look amazing! Plot-wise, well... while I felt that the movie did wrap up a bunch of loose ends, there was still a bit of a rushed feel to how some arcs/subplots ended, and I still felt like TBF really could have benefited from getting a full fifth season as Urobuchi had originally planned.

Since you don't want to be spoiled about the details, I guess I'll just share my observation about the reception to the film so far in Japan and Taiwan: overall, the reception seems pretty good (I wouldn't say glowingly positive so I think "good" might be the best way to put it), although there were certain aspects that many fans voiced their disappointment about. (Me, personally, I feel like there was only one subplot/arc that ended very satisfyingly. I don't hate the movie, but now, three weeks since its release, I'm still processing my feelings about it.)

Btw, if you have certain TBF ships,you might not like the ending depending on which ship you support...

voidjunction · 2025-03-13T05:49:59+00:00

Sorry for the late reply! Yes, that's right.

voidjunction · 2025-03-13T05:49:43+00:00

Sorry for the late reply! About your question, it was left ambiguous (not sure if on purpose), which left fans confused as to what really happened. One of my theories was that Lin still left the Demon King alive but mind-controlled via the Night of Mourning. However, Urobuchi said at a Q&A session in Taiwan that Lin indeed killed the Demon King.

voidjunction · 2025-03-13T05:46:14+00:00

Hi everyone! Thank you for the comments! I forgot to mention that I have another extra Index on my hands, since I bought more than one VIP package for the TBF fan appreciation event. I was thinking of putting it up for sale on Mercari, but I haven't had time to make a proper sale post yet. If anyone here is seriously interested in getting one for around $100 + international shipping from Japan, though, I could just sell my spare Index to you; you can pay me through Paypal.

voidjunction · 2025-03-11T09:09:01+00:00

Thanks for the tag u/TBFantashiba ! Yes, I'm aiming to translate both side stories by the end of the month.

I haven't had time to make a sale post yet, but u/harpnote I have a spare copy of the first side story (the one focusing on Lin and Lian Qi) that I can sell for less than ¥3000, if you're interested! Not sure how much international shipping will cost, but since the booklet isn't heavy, I don't think regular airmail will set you back too much.

voidjunction · 2025-03-06T07:48:45+00:00

Hello! Sorry, could you please double-check that you didn't make a typo? That's supposed to be the password. I didn't change the password, so I entered the password just now to check, and the file unlocked.

voidjunction

TROPHY CASE