History Trivia / ThunderboltFantasy

* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[WordOfGod Urobuchi]] revealed via Taiwan's gratitude event that since he finished the script and sealed the deal on the series' scenario way before the character designs and puppets were finalized, he kinda regretted [[spoiler: killing off Lie Mei by the time he saw her finalized image since she came out extremely adorable.]]

* ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine: One of the more notable events that helped push Urobuchi forward in collaborating with Pili International Multimedia to make ''Thunderbolt Fantasy'' was the sudden death of his favorite character in the Pili series he brought home with him on DVD. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAVJhuuz1Vs RIP Bǎi Lǐ Bīng Hóng, your name will be forever remembered.]] Even the Urobutcher himself couldn't believe that AnyoneCanDie in Pili!
--> '''Urobuchi:''' "Dude? Wait!? Bǎi Lǐ Bīng Hóng (百里冰泓)......''[[BigWhat WHAAAAAAAAAAAT!?]]''"[[https://twitter.com/butch_gen/status/439864674708754432]]

*** Hilariously, Shang Bu Huan [[spoiler:actually ''does'' possess something between Unlimited Blade Works and Gate of Babylon]]. It wasn't used against Mie Tian Hai, unfortunately.

* ActorAllusion: If Shang Bu Huan and Mie Tian Hai are going to fight, it's going to be another version of [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Shirou/Archer against Gilgamesh.]]
** Hilariously, Shang Bu Huan [[spoiler:actually ''does'' possess something between Unlimited Blade Works and Gate of Babylon]]. It wasn't used against Mie Tian Hai, unfortunately.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: Despite being translated as Thunderbolt Fantasy in English, the kanji or Chinese title 東離劍遊記 can be literally translated as "The Dong Li Sword Journey". It makes more sense considering the non-translated title implies that the group is on a quest to find the missing part of Tengyouken (Japanese) / Tian Xing Jian (Mandarin) in a country called Dong Li (東離).

* GoodOldWays: People who watch the Japanese version would notice a couple of lines remained in Taiwanese Hokkien. This is a form of traditional Chinese poetic soliloquy called '''"Nenpaku"''' (Niàn Bái), which are present in all forms of traditional Chinese opera: when a character makes an [[EstablishingCharacterMoment official entrance within a story]], that character will [[DidIJustSayThatOutLoud recite]] an intro poem indicating their characteristics, motifs, and or [[InnerMonologue personal goals]]. Urobuchi makes it clear that he wants to retain this Chinese tradition to let the Japanese audience appreciate this art form by leaving those narrations undubbed and release the translations on their official website. Since the Japanese dub casts individual actors, they treated Nenpaku more as an descriptive narration.

* FanNickname: Nicknames for characters has been passing between the Japanese and Chinese demographic vigorously, with the nicknames for the first four characters hitting canon between fans.
** Lin Xue Ya: "[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyubey-ya]]," and "Zero Blood Pressure" [[note]]Coined by Chinese fans, for his name in mandarin [[{{pun}} shares similar pronunciations]]. Also fitting for his level-headed personality.[[/note]]
*** "Vape Duck"[[note]] This nickname is more Western, after learning that his name contains the characters for "snow" and "crow" (which sounds rather like "[[{{Pun}} duck]]" in Mandarin), and combines this with his smoking habits.[[/note]]
*** There's also "Vape Wizard" [[note]]Given by people who had trouble keeping his names straight, and needed an obvious description. [[/note]]
*** "G8 Ya" [[note]]Pronounced as "Gee-Bai-Ya." G8 is basically a slang pun coined by Chinese fans due to Lin Xue Ya's tendency for being a "dick".[[/note]]
** Shang Bu Huan: "Brothel Inn" [[note]]Coined by Japanese fans, due to the Japanese misheard his name as "Syoufu (prostitute)" "Kan (facility)."[[/note]]
** Xuan Gui Zong: "Happy/Energetic Party." [[note]]Coined by Japanese fans, for their obvious {{pun}} on the term "[[GenkiGirl Genki]]." [[WordOfGod And the staffs for this project]] are liking it."[[/note]]
** Mie Tian Hai: "Daily Hype" [[note]]Coined by Chinese fans, for his name in mandarin [[{{pun}} shares similar pronunciations]]. This nickname also coincidentally corresponds to the Japanese "Genki Syu" nickname above, setting The Onyx Demons' fan nickname meme closer to AscendedFanon status.[[/note]]
** Sha Wu Sheng: "Mr. VisualKei" [[note]]For his flamboyant appearance, and his ability to play musical instruments[[/note]]
** And in Season 2...
*** Lang Wu Yao: "Bard" [[note]]he is a MusicalAssassin[[/note]], "Music/TMRevolution" [[note]]being visually designed after Takanori Nishikawa AND voiced by him in Japanese[[/note]], "Guitar Hero" [[note]]his weapon of choice is a pipa and he is one of the good guys[[/note]]
*** Xie Yingluo: "Scorpion" [[note]]her AnimalMotif[[/note]], "Poison" [[note]]her preferred method of murder[[/note]], "Cruelty" [[note]]her art name is "Princess of Cruelty"[[/note]]
*** Xiao Kuang Juan: "Fox" [[note]]his art name is "Hunting Fox"[[/note]], "Glasses" [[note]]he is the first and so far only character in the show to wear glasses[[/note]]

** {{Backstory}}: During the Taiwanese gratitude event, fans asked "why can't armies of Xuan Gui Zong {{Mooks}} overthrow 7 people?" [[WordOfGod Urobuchi]] responded the mooks are normally, personally trained by Mie Tian Hai. But the Tengyouken event developed way too rapidly. Therefore, his mooks have no choice but to go out to the frontlines without being fully trained, hence the mass slaughter on the Xuan Gui Zong part. With that in mind, Urobuchi also added via an interview within the gratitude event's booklet that Can Xiong, Lie Mei, and Diao Ming are his top students who mastered most of his arts. Therefore, unlike the rest of the Xuan Gui Zong army, who have to wear masks, they were permitted to unmask themselves to carry out missions.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: Despite being translated as Thunderbolt Fantasy in English, the kanji or Chinese title 東離劍遊記 can be literally translated as "The Dong Li Sword Journey". It makes more sense considering the non-translated title implies that the group is on a quest to find the missing part of Tengyouken (Japanese) / Tianxing Sword (Mandarin) in a country called Dong Li (東離).

* StuntDouble: Make them "stunt multiples." Each "official" cinema-size puppet has at least an extra 3-10 stunt puppets to perform the dirty works and other variety of duties, such as [[DeathThrows being tumbled around]], [[BloodSplatteredInnocents splattered with blood]], and [[LiterallyShatteredLives being blown to pieces.]] Some lucky stunt puppets who survived all the actions [[note]]Some may have their "injuries," as in "crafted injuries," not physically abused.[[/note]] gets to earn slots to be displayed in exhibitions in place of their "originals." [[note]]Of course, Pili Co. keeps the originals safe in their headquarters.[[/note]] Or if luckier, one or two of them might even have the chance to be [[LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition sold to extremely wealthy fans.]] The chances of ''[=TBF=]'' cinema-version stunt puppets being sold is obviously slimmer, since Urobuchi and Good Smile Company already claimed the first few slots.

* IdenticalStranger: WordOfGod revealed Juan Can Yun bares the same face as the protagonist of Pili Co.'s 2015 feature film: ''The Arti: The Adventure Begins'' named [[http://i.imgur.com/JavTwbA.jpg Chang Mo]].

* For original cinema performance puppets, each puppet weighs an average of 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds), while their height could range, on average, from 74cm (2'5") to around 80cm (2'7"). More often than not, their height can go beyond 90cm (2'11").

* GoodOldWays: People who watch the Japanese version would notice a couple of lines remained in Taiwanese Hokkien. This is a form of traditional Chinese poetic [[{{Narration}} soliloquy]] called '''"Nenpaku"''' (Niàn Bái), which are present in all forms of traditional Chinese opera: when a character makes an [[EstablishingCharacterMoment official entrance within a story]], that character will [[DidIJustSayThatOutLoud recite]] an intro poem indicating their characteristics, motifs, and or [[InnerMonologue personal goals]]. Urobuchi makes it clear that he wants to retain this Chinese tradition to let the Japanese audience appreciate this art form by leaving those narrations undubbed and release the translations on their official website. Since the Japanese dub casts individual actors, they treated Nenpaku more as an descriptive narration.

** {{Backstory}}: During the Taiwanese gratitude event, fans asked "why can't armies of Black Demon Sect {{Mooks}} overthrow 7 people?" [[WordOfGod Urobuchi]] responded the mooks are normally, personally trained by Mie Tian Hai. But the Tengyouken event developed way too rapidly. Therefore, his mooks have no choice but to go out to the frontlines without being fully trained, hence the mass slaughter on the Black Demon Sect part. With that in mind, Urobuchi also added via an interview within the gratitude event's booklet that Can Xiong, Lie Mei, and Diao Ming are his top students who mastered most of his arts. Therefore, unlike the rest of the Black Demon Sect army, who have to wear masks, they were permitted to unmask themselves to carry out missions.

** Black Demon Sect: "Happy/Energetic Party." [[note]]Coined by Japanese fans, for their obvious {{pun}} on the term "[[GenkiGirl Genki]]." [[WordOfGod And the staffs for this project]] are liking it."[[/note]]

** Executive Producer Liang-Xun Huang answered through an interview that they crafted a total of, including "official" and "stunts", roughly 40 puppets just for the main 13 characters of ''[=TBF=]'' alone. Though Huang didn't go in detail, he most likely did not count the Black Demon Sect mooks.

* ActorAllusion: If Syou Fu Kan and Betsu Ten Gai are going to fight, it's going to be another version of [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Shirou/Archer against Gilgamesh.]]
** Hilariously, Syou Fu Kan [[spoiler:actually ''does'' possess something between Unlimited Blade Works and Gate of Babylon]]. It wasn't used against Betsu Ten Gai, unfortunately.
* AllThereInTheManual: Due to the TV series being only 13 episodes, Urobuchi and Pili Co. answers most of their characters' backstories via interviews, behind the scenes commentaries, events, and art books. Bonus story plots containing the backstories of the events between Setsu Mu Syou and Lin Setsu A, Syu Un Syou and Ken San Un, and The Tan Siblings that were cut from TV production has been included within the ''Thunderbolt Fantasy Dual-Language [=DVD=] Complete Box Set'' version [[note]]This is the Taiwanese manufactured version, not the Japanese manufactured version. The Taiwanese version has 2 release formats: one is weekly released [=DVD=]s containing single episodes in Min-Nan Chinese audio, with behind-the-scenes making and interviews, totaling 13 discs when finished collecting; the second would be the aforementioned dual-language complete box set containing Japanese/Min-Nan Chinese audio, Chinese and English subtitles, behind-the-scenes making/interviews, and character backstories. The Japanese version releases Blu-ray/[=DVD=] under 4 separate volumes containing only Japanese audio, Chinese subtitles, and Japanese cast commentary.[[/note]] released on December 2016. The catch is, each DVD set will embed '' random excerpts'', which means, fans [[CollectionSidequest must come together]] [[GottaCatchThemAll to piece all stories together.]]
** {{Backstory}}: During the Taiwanese gratitude event, fans asked "why can't armies of Genkishu {{Mooks}} overthrow 7 people?" [[WordOfGod Urobuchi]] responded the mooks are normally, personally trained by Betsu Ten Gai. But the Tengyouken event developed way too rapidly. Therefore, his mooks have no choice but to go out to the frontlines without being fully trained, hence the mass slaughter on the Genkishu part. With that in mind, Urobuchi also added via an interview within the gratitude event's booklet that Zan Kyou, Ryou Mi, and Chou Mei are his top students who mastered most of his arts. Therefore, unlike the rest of the Genkishu army, who have to wear masks, they were permitted to unmask themselves to carry out missions.

** The facial aesthetics of Tan Hi marks the first for Pili Co. in giving girls a softer, rounded, {{Moe}} look.

* EarlyBirdCameo: Syou Fu Kan and Lin Setsu A made a few cameos within ''Pili Lang Yan: Battle for Supremacy Over the Ancient Plain '' series prior to the airing of ''Thunderbolt Fantasy''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7UGBxUyD6s]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_qzs1xzVSo]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ggeqlISIwQ]]

** Lin Setsu A: "[[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Kyubey-ya]]," and "Zero Blood Pressure" [[note]]Coined by Chinese fans, for his name in mandarin [[{{pun}} shares similar pronunciations]]. Also fitting for his level-headed personality.[[/note]]

*** "G8 Ya" [[note]]Pronounced as "Gee-Bai-Ya." G8 is basically a slang pun coined by Chinese fans due to Lin Setsu A's tendency for being a "dick".[[/note]]
** Syou Fu Kan: "Brothel Inn" [[note]]Coined by Japanese fans, due to the Japanese misheard his name as "Syoufu (prostitute)" "Kan (facility)."[[/note]]
** Genkishu: "Happy/Energetic Party." [[note]]Coined by Japanese fans, for their obvious {{pun}} on the term "[[GenkiGirl Genki]]." [[WordOfGod And the staffs for this project]] are liking it."[[/note]]
** Betsu Ten Gai: "Daily Hype" [[note]]Coined by Chinese fans, for his name in mandarin [[{{pun}} shares similar pronunciations]]. This nickname also coincidentally corresponds to the Japanese "Genki Syu" nickname above, setting The Onyx Demons' fan nickname meme closer to AscendedFanon status.[[/note]]
** Setsu Mu Syou: "Mr. VisualKei" [[note]]For his flamboyant appearance, and his ability to play musical instruments[[/note]]

*** Rou Fu You: "Bard" [[note]]he is a MusicalAssassin[[/note]], "Music/TMRevolution" [[note]]being visually designed after Takanori Nishikawa AND voiced by him in Japanese[[/note]], "Guitar Hero" [[note]]his weapon of choice is a pipa and he is one of the good guys[[/note]]
*** Katsu Eiraku: "Scorpion" [[note]]her AnimalMotif[[/note]], "Poison" [[note]]her preferred method of murder[[/note]], "Cruelty" [[note]]her art name is "Princess of Cruelty"[[/note]]
*** Syou Kyou Ken: "Fox" [[note]]his art name is "Hunting Fox"[[/note]], "Glasses" [[note]]he is the first and so far only character in the show to wear glasses[[/note]]

* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[WordOfGod Urobuchi]] revealed via Taiwan's gratitude event that since he finished the script and sealed the deal on the series' scenario way before the character designs and puppets were finalized, he kinda regretted [[spoiler: killing off Ryou Mi by the time he saw her finalized image since she came out extremely adorable.]]
* IdenticalStranger: WordOfGod revealed Ken San Un bares the same face as the protagonist of Pili Co.'s 2015 feature film: ''The Arti: The Adventure Begins'' named [[http://i.imgur.com/JavTwbA.jpg Chang Mo]].

* PromotedFanboy: Puppeteer Jia-Shen Liao of Pili Co. is a die-hard Urobuchi fan and anime otaku. When the ''Thunderbolt Project'' hit the greenlight for their studio, he actively approached his boss, begging to join the ''Thunderbolt Fantasy'' team instead of the team for their other Pili series, which was under production at the same time. And he got the approval. His main roles are Tan Hi and Betsu Ten Gai, while substituting other characters depending on the scene. Most of the "anime-ish" quirks each character has were interpreted, and enacted by him.

** Executive Producer Liang-Xun Huang answered through an interview that they crafted a total of, including "official" and "stunts", roughly 40 puppets just for the main 13 characters of ''[=TBF=]'' alone. Though Huang didn't go in detail, he most likely did not count the Genkishu mooks.
** 70 Replica editions [[note]]Meaning newly crafted and not used for set.[[/note]] of the cinema edition puppets featuring 6 characters in 1:1 scale are up for "[[LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition lottery]] preorder" through portals set in Taiwan and Japan; with Lin Setsu A, Setsu Mu Syou, and Betsu Ten Gai being the most expensive, priced ''over'' $3140 USD each for the duration of December 2016. Good luck to those brave enough to compete.

** Taiwanese glove puppetry is traditionally enacted by one voice actor, usually the puppeteer himself, which is kind of a mix between [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakugo Rakugo]] and Main/{{Ventriloquism}}. ''Thunderbolt Fantasy'' preserved the solo actor tradition within the Hokkien version to voice act all male characters, but for the sake of preventing Japanese dubbing confusion, this is one of the first Taiwanese puppetry projects to ever cast voice actresses for female roles, save for the soliloquy.
** To showcase the modernized form of Taiwanese open stage puppetry theater, here is a video clip featuring the patriarch of the Huang puppetry clan, Huang Jun-Xiong (father of Pili CEO Chris Huang, Vice CEO and voice actor Vincent Huang, and grandfather of ''[=TBF=]'' voice actor, Huang Huei-Fung) aged 82 at the time, positioned at the corner left side of the stage voice acting. [[https://youtu.be/PJnIJshPe4s]]

** Taiwanese glove puppetry is traditionally enacted by one voice actor, usually the puppeteer himself, similar to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakugo Rakugo]]. ''Thunderbolt Fantasy'' preserved the solo actor tradition within the Hokkien version to voice act all male characters, but for the sake of preventing Japanese dubbing confusion, this is one of the first Taiwanese puppetry projects to ever cast voice actresses for female roles, save for the soliloquy.

** Taiwanese glove puppetry is traditionally enacted by one voice actor, similar to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakugo Rakugo]]. ''Thunderbolt Fantasy'' preserved the solo actor tradition within the Hokkien version to voice act all male characters, but for the sake of preventing Japanese dubbing confusion, this is one of the first Taiwanese puppetry projects to ever cast voice actresses for female roles, save for the soliloquy.

** To showcase the modernized form of Taiwanese open stage puppetry theater, here is a video clip featuring the patriarch of the Huang puppetry clan, Huang Jun-Xiong (father of Pili CEO Chris Huang, Vice CEO and voice actor Vincent Huang, and grandfather of ''[=TBF=]'' voice actor, Huang Huei-Fung) positioned at the corner left side of the stage voice acting. [[https://youtu.be/PJnIJshPe4s]]

** To showcase the modernized form of Taiwanese open stage puppetry theater, here is a video clip featuring the patriarch of the Huang puppetry clan, Huang Jun-Xiong (father of Pili CEO Chris Huang, Vice CEO and voice actor Vincent Huang, and grandfather of ''[=TBF=]'' voice actor, Huang Huei-Fung) aged 86 positioned at the corner left side of the stage voice acting as of 2018 video. [[https://youtu.be/PJnIJshPe4s]]

** Taiwanese glove puppetry is traditionally enacted by one voice actor, the opposite of the all-ladies {{Takarazuka}}. ''Thunderbolt Fantasy'' preserved the solo actor tradition within the Hokkien version to voice act all male characters, but for the sake of preventing Japanese dubbing confusion, this is one of the first Taiwanese puppetry projects to ever cast voice actresses for female roles, save for the soliloquy.

** Taiwanese glove puppetry is traditionally enacted by one voice actor, the opposite of the all-ladies {{Takarazuka}}. ''Thunderbolt Fantasy'' preserved the solo actor tradition within the Hokkien version to voice act all male characters, but this is also one of the first projects to ever cast voice actresses for female roles, save for the soliloquy.

*** Syou Kyou Ken: "Fox" [[note]]his art name is "Hunting Fox"[[/note]], "Glasses" [[note]]he is the first and so far only vharacter in the show to wear glasses[[/note]]

*** Katsu Eiraku: "Scorpion" [[note]]her AnimalMotif[[/note]], "Poison" [[note]]her preferred method of murder[[/spoiler]], "Cruelty" [[note]]her art name is "Princess of Cruelty"[[/note]]
*** Syou Kyou Ken: "Fox" [[note]]his art name is "Hunting Fox"[[/spoiler]], "[[Megane Glasses]]" [[note]]he is the first and so far only vharacter in the show to wear glasses[[/spoiler]]

** Setsu Mu Syou: "Mr. VisualKei" [[note]]For his flamboyant appearance, and his ability to play musical instruments.[[/note]]

** Taiwanese glove puppetry is traditionally enacted by 1 voice actor, the opposite of the all-ladies {{Takarazuka}}. ''Thunderbolt Fantasy'' preserved the solo actor tradition within the Hokkien version to voice act all male characters, but this is also one of the first projects to ever cast voice actresses for female roles, save for the soliloquy.

** Taiwanese glove puppetry is traditionally enacted by 1 voice actor, the opposite of the all-ladies {{Takarazuka}}. ''Thunderbolt Fantasy'' preserved the solo actor tradition within the Min-Nan Chinese version to voice act all male characters, but this is also the first project to ever cast voice actresses for female roles, save for the soliloquy.

* GoodOldWays: People who watch the Japanese version would notice a couple of lines remained in Min-Nan Chinese. This is a form of traditional Chinese poetic [[{{Narration}} soliloquy]] called '''"Nenpaku"''' (Niàn Bái), which are present in all forms of traditional Chinese opera: when a character makes an [[EstablishingCharacterMoment official entrance within a story]], that character will [[DidIJustSayThatOutLoud recite]] an intro poem indicating their characteristics, motifs, and or [[InnerMonologue personal goals]]. Urobuchi makes it clear that he wants to retain this Chinese tradition to let the Japanese audience appreciate this art form by leaving those narrations undubbed and release the translations on their official website. Since the Japanese dub casts individual actors, they treated Nenpaku more as an descriptive narration.