Yì Piāo Miǎo

**Yì Piāo Miǎo** (異飄渺 *I Hyou Byou*, "Beyond Indistinct"), sometimes styled as Yì Piāomiǎo, is a major antagonist in *Thunderbolt Fantasy*. He is partnered with Wàn Jūn Pò to oversee the establishment of an alliance between the Order of the Divine Swarm and the Demon World.

## Story

At the start of Season 3, Yì Piāo Miǎo is a newly promoted member of the Order of The Divine Swarm. He was trained under Huò Shì Míng Huáng in a combination of sorcery and martial arts. Despite his fledgling status, he is paired with the seasoned Wàn Jūn Pò to look after the Order's interests while working alongside Xíng Hài.

### Season 4

In the DVD Voiceover Commentary for Season 3 Episode 9, Gen Urobuchi, the show writer and supervisor, hints at Piāo Miǎo's future in the show. The implication is that Lǐn Xuě Yā will continue using his disguise to impersonate Piāo Miǎo. The only one of Piāo Miǎo's allies who is confirmed to know his fate is Xíng Hài.

## Abilities

* **Jiǎo Gǔ Shā:** In combat, Yì Piāo Miǎo uses his scythes, Jiǎo Gǔ Shā (狡蠱殺, *Kou Ko Satsu*, "Cunning Black Magic That Kills"), as both melee weapons and ranged weapons. The handles of the scythes are connected by a chain, but they can be locked into place to create a double-sided polearm. When loosened, they can be sent flying using Piāo Miǎo's signature magic-powered martial arts.
* **Melee Wizard:** Piāo Miǎo uses a combination of sorcery and martial arts taught to him by Huò Shì Míng Huáng as part of his training to reach the Order's upper echelons. It seems that the idea behind this technique is to extend the body's physical abilities by augmenting melee moves with magic. If Piāo Miǎo's skills reflect an initiate's proficiency, then Huò Shì Míng Huáng's fighting style could be seen as the ultimate mastery of those skills.

## Etymology

Yì Piāo Miǎo's scythes are named 狡蠱殺 (Jiǎo Gǔ Shā). 狡 means "cunning," as in sneaky and sly. 蠱 has an interesting double-meaning when associated with Piāo Miǎo. It is related to curses and evil magic, but the term is also used for a type of poison-based magic that exists in both Chinese and Japanese culture and folklore. Gǔ (*Kodoku* in Japanese) is a poison developed by sealing various venomous creatures in a vessel, allowing them to eat each other until only one remains. The Chinese folklore follows that the final creature is then eaten by larvae, and the last larva is the potently venomous Gǔ. Because of the many uses of the Gǔ (ranging from bestowing curses to bringing wealth to the owner of the Gǔ), the term has long been associated with "malevolent sorcery" in general. 殺 is a verb that means "to kill."

## Behind the Scenes

In the DVD Voiceover Commentary for Season 3 Episode 1, Urobuchi says that the idea behind Piāo Miǎo's design was the creation of a character that "nobody had seen before" in the scope of *Thunderbolt Fantasy*. When designing him, it was their aim to "give him a face that just barely conforms to beauty ideals, with a distinctive yet repulsive quality," according to Urobuchi.

## References

1. ↑ *Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers 3 - Official Visual Fan Book*
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/epilinet/status/1448861188725493761
3. ↑ *Thunderbolt Fantasy* Season 3 Episode 9 Voice Actor Commentary featuring Urobuchi Gen (Nitroplus) & Hanae Natsuki (Yì Piāo Miǎo)(translation by S. T. Chang)
4. ↑ *Thunderbolt Fantasy* Season 3 Episode 1 Voice Actor Commentary featuring Urobuchi Gen (Nitroplus) & Toriumi Kousuke (Lǐn Xuě Yā) (translation by S. T. Chang)