AnimeJapan's Thunderbolt Fantasy Panel Gives Behind-the-Scenes Look at Puppets in Action

At Anime Japan 2024 on Saturday, psychological horror extraordinaire Gen Urobuchi took to the stage to talk about the two newest additions to his long-running show, Thunderbolt Fantasy: a fourth season and a movie. But while that news was great for fans, what stood out at the panel were the three live demos where a puppeteer brought out the various characters to perform a complex dance of movements like those seen in the show—but without anything to obscure the puppeteer's presence.

The first puppet to be shown off was the pipe-smoking Lǐn Xuě Yā.

#ThunderboltFantasy's Lǐn Xuě Yā also took to the stage. #AnimeJapan2024. #AJ2024 pic.twitter.com/qts8llnhJ9

— ANN Events (@ann_events) March 24, 2024

Next up was a sword-fighting demo with the puppet of the other protagonist, Shāng Bù Huàn.

Check out this demo of #ThunderboltFantasy's Shāng Bù Huàn puppet at #AnimeJapan2024. #AJ2024 pic.twitter.com/GbSPMbuYva

— ANN Events (@ann_events) March 24, 2024

Lastly, we got a look at the movements of a female character with Dān Fěi's puppet.

Lastly, we got a a behind-the-scenes look at the Dān Fěi puppet in action. #ThunderboltFantasy #AnimeJapan2024 #AJ2024 pic.twitter.com/Aq3SmVyYVh

— ANN Events (@ann_events) March 24, 2024

All three short exhibitions are a fun behind-the-scenes look at Thunderbolt Fantasy. If you ever wondered what the puppeteering looked like without the clever camerawork and sets obscuring them, now's your chance.