I by no means anticipated a crossover between the Taiwan-Japan puppet sequence Thunderbolt Fantasy and humanities and tradition VTuber Juufuutei Raden of hololive, nevertheless it appears the world favors me particularly.
Raden just lately confirmed on stream a video of her journey to Taiwan and a go to to Pili: the studio behind Thunderbolt Fantasy with an extended historical past of doing elaborate, action-packed puppet reveals for TV and movie. It’s an ideal match for Raden, who not solely has levels in artwork and artwork historical past, however whose enthusiasm for the matters has helped drive visitors to galleries, and is even at present doing collaborations with museums world wide. They even made a particular Raden puppet, based mostly on the yandere princess Cháo Fěng.
I truly interviewed Pili final yr at Anime Central, the place they screened the finale of Thunderbolt Fantasy. (You’ll even see a few of the identical faces that seem in Raden’s video!) I obtained plenty of perception into their thought course of and strategies, however this video tour together with Raden’s personal commentary gives some superior new particulars that assist give me a fair higher understanding. For instance, there’s plenty of footage about puppet development, together with how they paint the faces and the way they assemble the weapons from acrylic. I didn’t know they use 3D printers to make the fashions both!
The video is just in Japanese, so sadly, not everybody goes to have the ability to perceive what’s being mentioned. Nonetheless, there are plenty of visible particulars that I feel it’s nonetheless a studying expertise price watching.
As a part of this collab, the Raden puppet can be on show in Yurakucho, Tokyo July 25–August 9, the place they’ll be promoting restricted version merch! Proper now, it seems like the one option to get something, and I gained’t lie after I say I’m actually tempted to strive, regardless of tariffs and all the opposite complications proper now. An exhibition may even observe in Taipei from September 12–October 12.
She additionally did a watchalong of the primary season!
By the way, one among Pili’s different works was just lately launched formally in English on blu-ray: Legend of the Sacred Stone. I hope this opens up a path for a bodily launch of Thunderbolt Fantasy too, and the long-shot prospect of attending to see the Raden puppet in particular person as properly.
