It would be so easy to get swept up in Thunder 3 if I didn’t know what was coming. I know from experience – that’s what happened with the manga. But while I was hoping against hope it wouldn’t turn in the direction those familiar with the likely real mangaka expected, it turned in that direction. Hard. And of course the clues I missed the first time seem obvious now, when I know where it’s headed. It’s a real shame because there’s the essence of something really good here.
In this specific instance I think the full-CGI experience – which I’m not normally a fan of – sort of works. The dichotomy between the two worlds is portrayed pretty effectively (the “real” world is even more real in the manga). The Small Three make quite a sight in their new locale – everyone is amazed at the walking and talking “manga” and the cellphone cameras get a workout. All in all they actually take such a weird thing pretty casually, but I guess in a world where three-meter aliens zip around in flying buses the capacity for shock is somewhat reduced.
Clever Hiroshi is the first to get a grasp on how this whole metaverse thing is playing out. He says the three are like Superman here, aliens in a world where their abilities are superhuman. When the three boys stumble upon this world’s Takaosan Station – which also exists where they came from – they realize this may indeed be a multiverse issue. Which means their houses may exists a few stations down the Keiyo Line, with them inside them. And indeed that turns out to be the case. With nowhere else to turn, the Small Three head “home” to ask for help.
Above and beyond the obvious stylistic difference between these two worlds, the main difference is obviously those aliens. And when the two Pyontarou are lying next to each other in the “big” one’s bedroom, he pretty much spills the beans flat-out – “You’re better off without those darn aliens”. If there’s one message “Ikeda Yuki” is sending with Thunder 3, that would be it. But that is what it is, and for now at least the plot still matters and the atmospherics work quite well. I’ll enjoy it while I can but at least I know going on this time, the shelf life is limited.
