Thunderbolt Fantasy Movie: The Sword of Life and Death

MadamOtaku Sep 2, 2022

5.9

 (+_+)? Was my first thought when I watched this. And then I realized, "Oh, they're dollies!" ♪(´▽｀) I laughed. Sorry, my bad. Before today, I never saw Asian puppetry. I have great respect for the creators and artisans who put so much time and effort put into this, but I don't think I'll be watching anything like this again. I don't hate it at all, don't get me wrong, I just couldn't stop laughing. I knew their little arms were controlled by sticks! I couldn't help but feel second-hand embarrassment. Again, I'm sorry. I'm surprised this is listed on Anime Planet. Is this actually considered anime? If it is, then wouldn't the muppets from Sesame Street also be considered anime? They are both puppetry. The story was actually pretty good. I just could not adjust to watching puppets. They were beautiful, the backgrounds and miniatures are wonderful, and the Japanese voice actors were very good, yet I could not get into it or take the story seriously.  If this was a site for rating puppetry, this movie would probably be rated higher. 

JadedDragos Feb 25, 2019

10

This was a good background type movie. It shows the connection between Sha Wu Seng and Lue Fing Qie Chen and also has a second story that connects Season 1 and Season 2. Animation and sound was just as great in this one as in the first season. I liked the further look back on the Screaming Phoenix Killer and also the introduction to new characters for the next season. Overall was a good watch if looking for more background on Seng.