On July 12th, Jūfūtei Raden announced a collaboration with “Fantasy Thunderbolt: Travels Sword in the East” during his live stream.
“Fantasy Thunderbolt: Travels Sword in the East” is a collaborative work between International Pili Multimedia Co., Ltd., a long-established production company of “Budaixi,” a traditional Taiwanese performing art said to have originated in the 17th century, and screenwriter Urobuchi Gen. The genre is a wuxia fantasy puppet show, and the story was written by Urobuchi Gen. The puppets that appear in the work are made using the traditional Budaixi technique, in which puppeteers insert their arms into cloth bags to manipulate the puppets. Smile Good Company participated as a puppet design advisor, and the work combines the style of traditional puppetry with modern design techniques.
In this broadcast, Raden Ruwufengting visited Taiwan and toured the Puppetry Pili filming studio. He witnessed firsthand the puppetry techniques used by the puppeteers, who become one with the puppets to bring them to life, as well as the explosion scenes, lighting effects, and filming processes using real sets.
He also came face-to-face with a specially made puppet based on himself, “Ru Wu Raden Fengting Version – Feng Moo,” and seemed surprised by its level of craftsmanship. He deepened his understanding of Taiwanese glove puppetry culture through quizzes and was impressed by how the puppeteer improvised the puppetry to match Raden’s lines. He even tried manipulating the puppet himself, and said he realized the high level of skill and physical strength required of a puppeteer, and the profound depth of the techniques cultivated through daily training.
A special collaboration doll, “Raden version of Chofu,” which is an adaptation of the costume of Chofu, a popular character from the “Fantasy Thunderbolt: Travels Sword in the East” series, and incorporates Raden’s design, will be unveiled for the first time at the “Special Taiwanese Puppet Effects Show World Exhibition” held at Marui Yurakucho in Tokyo. Collaboration goods and pre-order items will also be available for purchase at the venue.
This exhibition showcases the charm of “Budaixi,” a type of special effects puppet theater. The venue will display over 50 Budaixi puppets, special effects props, weapons, and props used in the shows. In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Thunderbolt Fantasy, suits depicting Lin Xueya and Shang Bu Huan will also be specially exhibited. Visitors can experience the world of Pili Budaixi, where the traditional craftsmanship of Budaixi, exquisite character designs, and special effects video technology are fused together.
“Taiwanese Special Effects Puppet Show World Exhibition” Event Overview
| Event Name | From Taiwan! A World Exhibition of Special Effects Puppetry – Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Travels in the East 10th Anniversary × Pili Puppet Show – |
| Conference period | July 25, 2026 (Sat) – August 9, 2026 (Sun) |
| Business Hours | 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM (Last entry at 6:30 PM) |
| venue | Special venue on the 8th floor of Yurakucho Marui |
| Official website | https://games-glorious.com/news/69b22f30e70d973dd3649fc4 |
This article is an English translation of an original Japanese article, translated by the Mogura VR editorial team.
Reference
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000013.000165241.html
https://www.thunderboltfantasy.com/
