Touhou Discussion Thread 3 ⌈Eternal Fantasy Edition⌋

[StrymULTRA]

Biten so low...

It's so joever.

 

[Kisaragi_Megumi]

How is it a reverse Gensokyo? What does it do?

The reverse of Gensokyo is reality. Based FATE telling its consumers to get real women??

Ironically, that's how it (technically) work, his np is a pocket dimension that basically an "F**k you" to anything that being mystery and fantasical, hence why it is "Reverse Gensokyo"

Alright, the 2023 Touhou popularity poll results are in.



Marisa has taken first place, her first win in 18 years. Good for her. Youmu has notably fallen even further from #1 since 2021 (she's still not beating the allegations).

Marichad victory twerking on Reimu dead body#Wheeze
Poor Reimu, not being the no. 1 for three years in a row, as for Youmu, wait until she's playable again and she will take her third no. 1 rank all over everyone!

The last three places have held steady, nothing too notable (Mokou will break top 5 one day, mark my words).

Sound like a cope as Mokou will forever in 8th place just liker immortality

As for the newcomers, Hisami is the most popular by a huge margin, and is actually more popular than a lot of more well established characters. That's the power of lesbianism in action, although we'll have to see if she holds steady next year. Funnily enough, ZUN seemed confident that Hisami would be the least popular newcomer, which is odd considering Touhou and yuri are basically synonyms at this point. Hisami is also the 6th most popular character with women this year, which should be completely unsurprising given she's probably very relatable to female Touhou fans (myself included).

Hisami is the most unexpected character for sure, i also thought she's going to be the least popular newcomer (even at first i didn't think her design wasn't that great), but now here we are, one of the major contributor on Hisami fanarts on zerochan which is me

The full results can be found here. Keine, Eirin, and Saki deserved better tbh

Ran and Yuuma in top 30, all is good, rejoice to the god, our happiness is immeasurable! Congrats lads!

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

Lost Word is doing an event for their next livestream, where global players can ask ZUN questions through a hashtag and he might answer them.

Naturally, I asked if Mokou and Keine are in love because this ship has been rotting my brain nonstop for years.

 

[Kisaragi_Megumi]

If i can, i want to ask him to make a character based from Minamoto no Raikou, the lack of Yokai/Monster hunter in Touhou is a bit bothered me lel

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

I would personally avoid making direct requests like that if I were you.

 

[Kisaragi_Megumi]

I would personally avoid making direct requests like that if I were you.

True lel, that just my personal thought who wouldn't happened

My most wanted question is about when we'll get Saki and Miko official reunion and how their relationship will be, same with you about Mokou x Keine, those has rotten my brain ever since Saki debut lmao

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

By the way, research is slowly starting back up (we're having to replace thousands of scans because Discord is dying so that's fun) and we're getting into the gameplay footage for the fighting games, which is pretty significant seeing as all that's left of the games are a couple of recent titles (ISC, UM, and 100thBM) and gameplay footage. Everything else is pretty much covered, with the manga and print works really not having much left to do (the print works section is 99.9% done, minus bits and pieces of the Bougetsushou website).

After that, we'd mostly just be left with untranslated material. My current strategy is to just MTL everything and get human translations for particularly notable statements, although that still might be absurdly slow (and I would still like for many of these interviews to get full human translations anyways). The only two major roadblocks in this regard are the Nikenme Radio/Touhou Station streams and ZUN's column in Comp Ace/Comptiq, so any suggestions on how to tackle those would be appreciated.

Organization is going well btw, to the point where I could confidently put out some crazy threads with what I have now. Of course, seeing as this part of the process is far from done, you'll all just have to wait.

Anyways, sorry for the lack of updates, so have this:

Spoiler: funny and epic reimu wank

Is this better or worse than Garou? I'm not sure.

 

[Deidalius]

I must say that Grotesque Land Story is better than KKHTA. I really like the concept of evil variants of Touhou characters being either exaggerations of a trait of a character (Variant!Marisa takes Marisa's kleptomania and makes her capable of stealing abilities) or the opposite of a character (Variant!Sanae controls curses which are the opposite of miracles) and the character designs are very creative too.

It's not cancelled like KKHTA, just slowed down. I don't know if it's just because the creator is working on making a game or if there is another reason. Either way I hope I start seeing more episodes ;p

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

The deadline has arrived for the LW Q&A. I'll let you all know what happens on the 25th

Pray for me, I need you all to lend me your energy so ZUN can answer my question and make Mokou x Keine canon

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

It's been a little over 3 years since I started getting into Touhou, so in celebration, here's a statement that has aged hilariously poorly.

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

Anyways, as for my actual thoughts on being a Touhou fan for 3 years... It's kind of surreal? So much has changed in my life since then, partially as a result of Touhou, that it's hard to remember a time where it wasn't a part of my life despite it being here for so little time relatively speaking (though that's also because I try to blot out most of my life before that point). It's still shocking to me how many close friends I've made as a result of getting into the series, how much it's driven me to better myself, and how much it's just... occupied my mind nonstop. To be honest, I don't think I'd even be here on this forum if it wasn't for Touhou. Trying to picture myself without the sort of chuunibyou self and online presence I've cultivated because of Touhou is almost impossible, and while it's hard to say if it's been for better or worse, it's definitely made my life more interesting to say the least... and really, that's more than I would've been willing to ask for 3 years ago.

So, here's to another 3 years of loving Touhou. If it's anything like the last 3, I know I'm in for a good time.

 

[Shmooply]

You're in for a damn good ride. Still surreal that you're that new to the series but are sometimes a lot more knowledgeable on it than me.

 

[Deidalius]

I honestly thought she was a Touhou fan for over a decade. I never would have guessed Fuji became a Touhou fan just a year earlier than me.

 

[Kisaragi_Megumi]

You're in for a damn good ride. Still surreal that you're that new to the series but are sometimes a lot more knowledgeable on it than me.

I'm a fan of Touhou way when i was in the 1st grade of junior high school which mean i've been here for a decade yet my knowledge on the lore of Touhou was ass and still kinda ass nowadays lel

 

[Shmooply]

Your honor.


in my defence all of the lore things i know came from other fans i asked because i refused to touch the other media and sticked to the games lma-

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

Your honor.

 

[Shmooply]

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

Anyways, progress update time, ULiL and AoCF now share the honor of being the very first fighting games to be 100% indexed and organized. Really happy to see them finished, since I've been wanting to talk about urban legends and perfect possession for a long time. There are a lot of really interesting individual abilities from those games too, like Reimu's stupid busted RE, Miko un-lobotomizing Koishi, contact-based power null for spell card users, and more ESP/enhanced senses scans than I know what to do with (although Byakuren has ESP over a range of several kilometers, and Mokou's ESP gets stronger over time, so that's cool).

Soku and SWR are next up, so once Soku's footage is fully gathered I'll share the updates from those games. In the meantime, I've wrapped up MoF and MS, and there were only a couple things of note from those (mainly Reimu having some sort of physical absorption and support for youkai fucking with dimensions/space-time). The music CDs have been all but finished, minus the comments from the 17.5 OST, and it's mostly stuff yall already know (string theory haters stay losing). That aside, there's not too much of note aside from like. Sakuya being good at martial arts, and oni sake being "genocidal". Also, this.

Can't say anything about Narratograph for rn but I'll post an update here once there's more to share. Print works are 100% finished, since I finally got off my lazy ass and took a look at the remainder of the Bougetsushou website. Didn't find anything new from there, but there was some pretty cute art (Aki Eda's Suwako is the best design she's ever had). In regards to untranslated stuff, I've been chipping away at ZUN's old blog, and there's some pretty neat anecdotal stuff not related to VS debating. Same goes for a lot of previously untranslated material - super interesting in its own right, not super notable for powerscaling.

With all that in mind, here's all the stuff I need help tracking down still:
-Manuals for IaMP and SWR.
-ULiL PS4 tutorial. Doesn't matter if it's text or footage.
-SCoOW volumes 1-9. We're missing a lot scattered across these magazines.
-Which Came First, Hakurei Kannushi’s Games or Beer? 1-....I honestly don't know how many of these columns there are, but it's definitely over 100. Sources for old issues of Comp Ace/Comptiq are appreciated.
-Transcribed versions of Touhou Station streams (lol, lmao even).
-Literally anything at all from Nikenme Radio please god I'm suffering-

I know for a fact the Touhou Station streams have at least some valuable content in them, since I've gotten a small blurb translated that actually did have some important new info. So, maybe those need the most attention, since they're also the most easily accessible. That said, the first 3 are probably way easier to track down and are likely an issue of money more than anything else.

And... that's it. Aside from those 6 things, I should be able to finish up everything else within a couple months. From then on, I can focus my efforts on profile rewrites, which will definitely be the most tedious part of all of this.

That's all for now, will see if I have anything else worth posting 2-ish months from now.

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

Sooooooo it turns out the Chinese wiki has a TON of content I've been looking for.... It's untranslated, obviously, but GOD it's gonna feel so fucking good finally wrapping some of this shit up. Will let yall know how it plays out, gonna start with the IaMP manual(s?) and some stuff from SCoOW we're missing.

Also, had a bit of a Moment earlier. It's fine, don't worry about it.

Spoiler: average touhou discussion

 

[Kisaragi_Megumi]

Sooooooo it turns out the Chinese wiki has a TON of content I've been looking for.... It's untranslated, obviously, but GOD it's gonna feel so ******* good finally wrapping some of this shit up. Will let yall know how it plays out, gonna start with the IaMP manual(s?) and some stuff from SCoOW we're missing.

Also, had a bit of a Moment earlier. It's fine, don't worry about it.

Spoiler: average touhou discussion

FUJI!!!!! MY EYEEEEES!!!

 

[Kisaragi_Megumi]

Anyway, celebrating your anniversary on Touhou, Fuji
I'll make this discussion, i wanted to do it long ago but have no time, wrap it up folks:

Which is your best Touhou Games you have experienced and which is the best arc/saga of Touhou you like? Start from mine: to me PCB and IN are the best and if not, the peak Touhou for a long time, which at that moment i think ZUN wouldn't be able to reach the pinancle of peakness again until LoLK and WBaWC which i'm so grateful to be proven wrong lel
Best Arc/Saga? While i always praised The Animal Realm Saga, my favorite is surprisingly none other than the Faith Saga, started from Kanako conspiracy to Kokoro arc as the closure

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

Anyway, celebrating your anniversary on Touhou, Fuji
I'll make this discussion, i wanted to do it long ago but have no time, wrap it up folks:

Which is your best Touhou Games you have experienced and which is the best arc/saga of Touhou you like? Start from mine: to me PCB and IN are the best and if not, the peak Touhou for a long time, which at that moment i think ZUN wouldn't be able to reach the pinancle of peakness again until LoLK and WBaWC which i'm so grateful to be proven wrong lel
Best Arc/Saga? While i always praised The Animal Realm Saga, my favorite is surprisingly none other than the Faith Saga, started from Kanako conspiracy to Kokoro arc as the closure

That's like asking me to pick a favorite child.

I think Bougetsushou (as well as Imperishable Night) is my favorite "era" of Touhou. ZUN was truly in his element with characterization then, and we really haven't gotten anything since then that hits as hard as Mokou's backstory or Eirin talking about Reisen's name. So many characters are just an absolute joy to read about - Reimu's SSiB personality is by far my favorite, and I love the way she bounces off of everyone else. Revisiting SSiB also made me appreciate just how well written Eirin is (she's one of my all time faves now). It's no wonder why so many of my faves are from that era, and I really hope ZUN goes back to that sort of internal dialogue-based storytelling that was the centerpiece of CiLR. Its only flaw is how I don't think it stuck the landing with its intent for the Watatsuki sisters (being retroactively made into slave owners in FS was kind of a death sentence for them), but that's a small blemish on what I consider peak fiction. Not like other arcs are devoid of issues.

I also have a deep appreciation for ZUN's modern stuff, specifically everything focusing on the nature of chuunibyou. It shaped my personality more than Bougetsushou, which is saying a lot, and it's definitely a huge breath of fresh air in a landscape where media is dedicated to being as insincere as possible. There's not much else I can say about it lol, I'm just really happy with the current state of Touhou.

Pre-IN felt directionless (probably because ZUN intended to stop at IN), and the religious war arc just doesn't interest me a lot (although I do love SoPM and hope we get another print work in the same style as it). Of course, they're still peak in their own right.

So I guess I'd rank them as follows:
1. Imperishable Night/Bougetsushou
2. Touhou 14 onwards (idk what to call this lol)
3. Religious war arc
4. Pre-Imperishable Night (6-7.5)
???. PC-98 (lol, lmao)

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

Sooooooo it turns out the Chinese wiki has a TON of content I've been looking for.... It's untranslated, obviously, but GOD it's gonna feel so ******* good finally wrapping some of this shit up. Will let yall know how it plays out, gonna start with the IaMP manual(s?) and some stuff from SCoOW we're missing.

Also, had a bit of a Moment earlier. It's fine, don't worry about it.

Spoiler: average touhou discussion

Update: This wiki has so much funny shit, none of you are prepared.

 

[Shmooply]

You're using what you swore to destroy.
Now Touhou will be on the same level as crazy pizza party man game.

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

You're using what you swore to destroy.
Now Touhou will be on the same level as crazy pizza party man game.

Don't be ridiculous, we'll be nowhere near Dante's level.

More like several orders of magnitude greater :^)

 

[Deidalius]

Is Dante going to lose his 5D status?

I haven't checked in on that DMC downgrade thread in a while.

Who's winning?

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

Who's winning?

Me (I always win).

 

[Deidalius]

Me (I always win).

I see, I wish you good luck with winning, that 5D DMC thing always seemed ludicrous to me. But at the same time I don't care enough to care.

 

[Rakih_Elyan]

Lies

Me (I always win).

o

 

[SuperSonicTL]

Me (I always win).

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

They say that anger is one of the five stages of grief, after all.

 

[Kisaragi_Megumi]

Anyway, celebrating your anniversary on Touhou, Fuji
I'll make this discussion, i wanted to do it long ago but have no time, wrap it up folks:

Which is your best Touhou Games you have experienced and which is the best arc/saga of Touhou you like? Start from mine: to me PCB and IN are the best and if not, the peak Touhou for a long time, which at that moment i think ZUN wouldn't be able to reach the pinancle of peakness again until LoLK and WBaWC which i'm so grateful to be proven wrong lel
Best Arc/Saga? While i always praised The Animal Realm Saga, my favorite is surprisingly none other than the Faith Saga, started from Kanako conspiracy to Kokoro arc as the closure

Btw this question isn't only for Fuji but for everyone as well, so gather up here folks

I will replying on Fuji answer later on

 

[Deidalius]

Which is your best Touhou Games you have experienced

Touhou 17.5, I love platformers and all the boss fights in those types of games so something akin to a platformer boss rush appeals to me a lot.
I haven't finished enough mainline games to comment on them though I inherently dislike the arcade difficulty of dying making you restart from the very beginning (I'm weak-willed)

and which is the best arc/saga of Touhou you like?

Uhhh I'm unsure, I don't really have strong opinions towards most Touhou arcs. There are some I don't care about, others I feel indifferent towards and others I like.
I like all the chaos, humor and nonsense from the PC-98 era that modern games lack, Touhou EoSD, IN, the first fighting game (The one with Suika), LoLK and all those arcs that can be summed up with "Kanako directly and indirectly causes an incident"

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

yall wanna see a really funny wiki page?

 

[Shmooply]

How to call something you think you know but don't know

500 of the world's best beers

Space stories that are making it harder and harder to sleep

I wish I could die

Common knowledge about beer: 101 beers you definitely want to drink

young people who look down on others

The art of Belgian beer

evil plant

A book to read when you think you might be stupid

evil insect

inflation cosmology

Ultimate Beer

And a whole heap of books about mushrooms, what did ZUN mean by this?

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

And a whole heap of books about mushrooms, what did ZUN mean by this?

He's a big Alison Airlines fan.

 

[Shmooply]

Nah, the true answer is that Marisa is his self-insert, proving once and for all that he is indeed best girl.

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

Nah, the true answer is that Marisa is his self-insert, proving once and for all that he is indeed best girl.

If Marisa's his self insert, then explain this.....

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

Yo @Shmooply
I think I finally found the first part of the volume 4 bonus comic. It's in Chinese though lol

I also found some other stuff from the same source, interested to see what I can get from it (if anything).

 

[Mad_Dog_of_Fujiwara]

So this exists.

I know some of yall may be tempted to immediately jump on the opportunity and try to get that coveted tier 1-A/0 rating based on some information I've previously shared. However, as we've learned before with this verse, trying to rush headfirst into tier 1 upgrades is an awful idea. So I am very strongly suggesting that everyone, both a part of the ongoing revisions and apart from them, avoid upgrading the verse to tier 1 until I give the go-ahead. This will give us the opportunity to see which verses will qualify after the revisions are passed, letting us use precedent cases to our advantage, as well as make sure that our evidence is as strong as it can possibly be - because god knows we'll need it.

I can't actually enforce this, but know that if you ignore my suggestion I WILL break into your home and kill you with hammers.