Touhou Project
Encyclopedia
The , also known as Toho Project or Project Shrine Maiden, is a Japanese dōjin game series focused on bullet hell shooters made by the one-man developer Team Shanghai Alice
, whose sole member, known as ZUN, is responsible for all the graphics, music, and programming for the most part. The series was inducted into the Guinness World Records
in October 2010 for being the "most prolific fan-made shooter series". The Touhou Project began in 1996 with the release of the first game, Highly Responsive to Prayers, developed by the group Amusement Makers for the Japanese NEC PC-9801 series of computers. The next four Touhou games released between August 1997 and December 1998 also were released on the NEC PC-9801. The Touhou Project was inactive for the next three and half years until the first Microsoft Windows
Touhou game, The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
, was released in August 2002 solely by ZUN after he split from Amusement Makers and started Team Shanghai Alice
. The Touhou Project became a media franchise
spanning a steadily increasing number of official games, in addition to commercial fan books, light novel
s, and manga
.
under his own group, Team Shanghai Alice. The playability of the Windows games was substantially improved compared to their PC-98 counterparts. Most dōjin
works derived from the Touhou series are centered on these games.
The player can use a weapon called a 'spell card', which is similar to a 'bomb' in most other shooting games. While the player has a limited number, using one makes the user temporarily invulnerable and uses a special magical attack that generally clears the screen. Each character has two cards with different names and patterns. The player can use one during a short period after being hit by a bullet (known as the 'border between life and death') to avoid loss of a life, the amount of time the player has available to use the border is usually around 0.3 seconds. Bosses also have spell cards, but with bosses the term applies to a prolonged pattern of movements and shots that lasts until the player depletes the boss' health by a certain amount or the time runs out, not a one-shot attack.
Each individual game of the main series after Embodiment of Scarlet Devil has additional items that affect some aspect of gameplay, such as scoring or gaining extra lives/bombs. For example, Perfect Cherry Blossom has "cherry points", which are used mostly in scoring, but can grant temporary invulnerability (known as 'supernatural border'); Imperishable Night has "time points", which are essential to advancing to later stages, and also determine if the player gets to challenge a boss's 'final spell' on normal or higher difficulties; Mountain of Faith has 'faith' points, which help tabulate the score the player receives upon gathering point items and bonuses for clearing spell cards without dying or using a spell card.
Each Touhou game has four difficulty levels—easy, normal, hard, and lunatic—with each one being harder than the previous one. Regardless of difficulty choice, there are six stages in each game and each one is harder than the previous.
In addition to the four main difficulties, there is an extra stage which is a long and difficult stage in which players must play through hordes of enemies, bullets, and bosses. In order to reach the extra stage, one must beat the game on normal difficulty or higher without the use of a continue. The only games that allow players to reach the extra stage by completing the easy difficulty are Perfect Cherry Blossom and Imperishable Night. In terms of difficulty, the extra stage is around the normal or above difficulty levels. In Perfect Cherry Blossom, there is also a phantasm extra stage in which the enemies that were already once difficult in the extra stage have become even more challenging. Although the phantasm stage is aimed for the most experienced players, the difficulty is somewhere in between hard and lunatic. The phantasm stage is accessed by beating the extra stage and capturing at least 60 spells with any of the characters and weapon types combined.
who preyed on lost wanderers in the area. Soon exorcists were sent into the area to resolve the yōkai problem, and they eventually settled in the area as a check on the yōkai. As human civilization advanced elsewhere, the power of yōkai began to diminish and they chose to seal Gensokyo away from the outside world as a haven for themselves.
As a result of the seal, the isolated community developed its own civilization. As opposed to the outside world, magical and spiritual qualities prevailed over science and while yōkai and humans coexist, they still fight with each other. The only known gateway from the outside world into Gensokyo is the Hakurei Shrine on the border of Gensokyo. However, the seal has weakened and more humans are able to wander into Gensokyo from the outside. Things disappearing from the outside world such as extinct animals and vanishing traditions tend to show up in Gensokyo.
characters, the Touhou series possesses a large cast compared to other shooting games. While they aren't developed nearly to the standards of a story-based game, many players love them, and even obscure stage bosses who only appear once have a fanbase. One example is Hong Meirin, affectionately known as Chūgoku (China), the stage 3 boss of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, who won a popularity contest in Japan out of all Touhou characters. Among the vast array of characters, only six named characters are male. One (Genjii) is a turtle, one is a cat (Sokrates), two (Youki Konpaku and Myouren Hijiri) are only mentioned in passing, one (Rinnosuke Morichika) is only featured in the serialized novel, and the last (Unzan) is a cloud-like entity. There is also one before all these (Shingyoku), but this character has three forms of different genders, so this character may not exactly be male.
Though each game features a collection of different characters, the main character of the games is always Reimu Hakurei, joined by Marisa Kirisame after the second game. The only games where this is not the case are Shoot the Bullet and Double Spoiler; Aya Shameimaru is playable on both, and Hatate Himekaidou can become playable in Double Spoiler. The same thing applies in Fairy Wars
, which has Cirno as the main playable character.
in Immaterial and Missing Power, Scarlet Weather Rhapsody and Touhou Hisōtensoku.
The idea of Touhou first came to ZUN during his high school years, when shrine maiden-themed games were in the minority. "It would be nice to make shrine maiden games," he thought, and often imagined the music that would go with such games. He went to college, hoping to compose music for fighting games, since they were popular at the time due to Street Fighter II
. However, he decided that in order to put his music into games, it would be easier to make his own game to go with it, thus the first Touhou game, Highly Responsive to Prayers, was released in 1996. The first game was originally intended as a practice in programming. Touhou only became a shooting game series starting from the second game, because the popularity of shooting games had revived due to RayForce
and ZUN had long been a fan of such games. ZUN remarked how the general theme and direction of Touhou only started coming together in the sixth game, Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.
ZUN develops his games with Visual Studio, Adobe Photoshop
, and Cubase SX
, according to his interview in Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red.
, Team Shanghai Alice has also expanded the Touhou universe into other media.
. The protagonist Rinnosuke Morichika is the only humanoid male character shown in Touhou.
being published in Comp Ace
, a Japanese comic magazine. The story centers around three fairies and their daily mischiefs, adventures, and chance meetings. The base story is written by ZUN, and the art is drawn by selected dōjin manga artists
. The first part, Eastern and Little Nature Deity, is drawn by Nemu Matsukura. Starting May 2006, Matsukura stopped drawing the manga for health reasons, and that responsibility was given to Makoto Hirasaka. Thus a second version of Touhou Sangetsusei is published, titled Strange and Bright Nature Deity. In January 2009, Strange and Bright Nature Deity ended and was replaced by the third part, titled Oriental Sacred Place in May 2009, still drawn by Makoto Hirasaka. The fourth continuation, titled Fairy Wars
, was released as a game on August 14, 2010.
. A CD-ROM is attached to the back cover, and in it are new music tracks by ZUN, a demo of Phantasmagoria of Flower View, and a wallpaper of the book's cover.
published by Tora no Ana
. Also included is ZUN's short story related to Phantasmagoria of Flower View and a CD of various rearrangements of his music.
, but was originally slated for August of that year. A manga that uses the story's premise is published in the December 2006 issue of the Comic Rex
magazine.
serialized in three Ichijinsha magazines. The manga Silent Sinner in Blue began serialization in the Comic Rex
magazine in the July 2007 issue. Drawn by Aki Eda, the manga focuses on the human characters Reimu and Marisa. The novel Cage in Lunatic Runagate was serialized in the quarterly Chara Mel magazine, debuting on June 25, 2007. It is illustrated by Tokiame, and the plot being a deep submersion into the manga, taking a non-human perspective. Finally, the yonkoma , illustrated by Arata Toshihira, is a light-hearted discursion from the main story, featuring Reisen and Tewi Inaba. It debuted in the August 2007 issue of the Manga 4-koma Kings Palette magazine, which was sold on June 22, 2007.
s based on Touhou have been created since the release of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. These include dōjinshi
, dōjin music
, MAD movies, dōjin anime, and dōjin games
(even though the Touhou games themselves are dōjin games). The vast scope of Touhou derivatives prompted commentary, noting that Touhou Project became an unmissable aspect of Japanese consumer generated media. ZUN, for the most part, had acknowledged, appreciated, and even encouraged these derivative works by imposing very few restrictions on the use of his works. The major restrictions are on unauthorized commercial distribution (as opposed to dōjin) and the spoiler of endings
; proper attribution to Team Shanghai Alice is a recommendation.
In terms of publication volume, there were no circles publishing Touhou derivative works at Comiket
64 in August 2003. The first recent publication of such works occurred during December 2003, following the release of Perfect Cherry Blossom; seven circles
sold Touhou derivative works at Comiket 65 in December 2003. As of Comiket 74 in August 2008, a total of 885 circles were scheduled to have Touhou derivative works on display or for sale, out of a total of 35,000 circles participating at Comiket.
The dōjin games based on Touhou include adaptations of other game series' mechanics with Touhou characters, such as Super Marisa Land and Super Marisa World (parodies of the Mario
games with the titles being a play on Super Mario Land
and Super Mario World
, respectively), MegaMari (based on the Mega Man series), and Touhou Soccer (based on the Captain Tsubasa
games by Tecmo). Touhou's music is also very popular and many arrangement CDs can be found for sale at Comiket and other Japanese conventions.
These dōjin activities are mostly responsible for adding original attributes to characters that ZUN may not have intended. For example, Alice Margatroid is described in the original games as aloof and rarely caring much about others, while in dōjin she is a fragile and oversensitive girl who desperately seeks Marisa's affection. Yuri pairings are prevalent among Touhou dōjinshi. Japanese fans have a habit of giving their favorite characters nicknames, often based on in-references
. Hong Meirin is "Chūgoku" (China), Yuyuko Saigyouji is "Yuyu-sama", Ran Yakumo is "Tenkō", and so on.
Among the most popular derivatives are the series of Flash
videos created by the dōjin music
circle IOSYS
. Many of them, most notable of which is "Marisa Stole the Precious Thing", are popular on otaku internet forum
s and Nico Nico Douga
. A major internet meme
that grew out from the Touhou fandom is , involving Touhou characters as disembodied bun-heads, which originated from a disfigured attempt to draw the main characters Reimu and Marisa with Shift JIS art
. They were so popular that the phrase "Yukkuri shite itte ne!!!" won bronze for 2008's "Net Slang of the Year" in Japan. The bun-heads, which became known as "yukkuri", also appear in Internet advertisements, the anime Natsu no Arashi!
and Pani Poni Dash!
, and most notably, the front page of 2channel
, the largest Internet forum in the world.
The Touhou Project was nominated for the eleventh annual Media Arts Plaza awards held by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, under the Entertainment category. However, Nintendo
's Wii Sports
was given the Grand Prize award and Touhou Project failed to win any awards.
An animated project, , is being produced by Ufotable
in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Japanese goods chain, Animate
. It will combine the world of Touhou with Animate's mascot, Meito Anizawa, who has previously appeared in the Lucky Star anime series. ZUN posted on his Twitter account that the anime is a derivative so he does not know the details of it nor is he involved in the anime's production.
in 2004; Naka-ku, Yokohama
in 2005; Sunshine City, Tokyo
in 2006 and 2007; and the Tokyo Big Sight
in 2008 and after. The year 2010 saw the birth of Reitaisai SP, an additional Reitaisai to be held every autumn due to increasing popularity. The 2011 Reitaisai was temporarily canceled due to safety concerns after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
. It was later rescheduled and held on May 8, 2011 with approximately 4,940 participating circles.
Team Shanghai Alice
is a one-man Japanese dojin game developer specializing in shoot 'em ups. The team's only releases thus far have been the Touhou Project games and related merchandise.-Games:*The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil...
, whose sole member, known as ZUN, is responsible for all the graphics, music, and programming for the most part. The series was inducted into the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
in October 2010 for being the "most prolific fan-made shooter series". The Touhou Project began in 1996 with the release of the first game, Highly Responsive to Prayers, developed by the group Amusement Makers for the Japanese NEC PC-9801 series of computers. The next four Touhou games released between August 1997 and December 1998 also were released on the NEC PC-9801. The Touhou Project was inactive for the next three and half years until the first Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
Touhou game, The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil
is a vertical scrolling shooter, and is the sixth official game of the Touhou Project series. It is the first to be released specifically for the Windows operating system, since all games before Embodiment of Scarlet Devil were made for the PC-98 series of computers...
, was released in August 2002 solely by ZUN after he split from Amusement Makers and started Team Shanghai Alice
Team Shanghai Alice
is a one-man Japanese dojin game developer specializing in shoot 'em ups. The team's only releases thus far have been the Touhou Project games and related merchandise.-Games:*The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil...
. The Touhou Project became a media franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
spanning a steadily increasing number of official games, in addition to commercial fan books, light novel
Light novel
A is a style of Japanese novel primarily targeting junior high and high school students . The term "light novel" is a wasei-eigo, or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language. Light novels are often called or for short...
s, and manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
.
PC-98 predecessor games
The Touhou series of games started on the Japanese PC-98 series of computers and its first five entries are native to that platform; standard PC users are only capable of playing them through an emulator such as Anex 86. Also, the PC-9801 series of computers was already on the decline when these games were released. Because of this, they are not well known among players. The group making these games was called "Amusement Makers".- The 1st game of the Touhou series, released in 1996. It is not a vertical top-down shooter like most other games in the series, and is similar to ArkanoidArkanoidis an arcade game developed by Taito in 1986. It is based upon Atari's Breakout games of the 1970s. The title refers to a doomed "mothership" from which the player's ship, the Vaus, escapes.-Overview:...
instead. Reimu Hakurei, the perpetual protagonist, was introduced in this game. Reimu Hakurei enters through the gateway into another world, intent on locating and punishing the one responsible for destroying her shrine. Players direct a yin yang orb with amulets to break away blocks and the level is over once all of them are gone. If the player runs out of time on a level, bullets will rain down until the player completes the level or dies. Bosses are defeated by hitting the orb into them until their life is fully depleted.
- The 2nd Touhou game released in August 1997 at ComiketComiket, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
52. This is the first danmaku game of the series, and also marks the first appearance of Marisa Kirisame (here as the second-to-last boss), the second major player character of the series. The resident shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei returns from a training session in the mountains only to find the Hakurei Shrine overrun by a contingent of ghosts and yōkaiYōkaiare a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "otherworldly" and "weird". Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them...
. Excited at the opportunity to test her fledgling abilities, she takes the powerful Hakurei Yin-Yang Orbs and takes off on the back of her turtle Genjii to seek out the source of the invasion. The gameplay is generally the same as Eastern Wonderland throughout the rest of the series.
- A two-player versus-type shooter similar to Twinkle Star SpritesTwinkle Star Spritesis a competitive scrolling shooter arcade game originally created by ADK. It was ADK's last production for the Neo-Geo platform. The gameplay, which can be characterized as a combination of a fixed shooter and a versus puzzle game, uses combinations of shots, as well as timed power-ups to attempt...
, the game is labeled as the 3rd Touhou game, released in December 1997 in ComiketComiket, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
53. Reimu Hakurei discovers that some mysterious ruins have suddenly appeared just outside of the Hakurei Shrine. She joins in a violent competition with the other people who want to explore them—it is said that the one who reaches the heart of the ruins first will win a fantastic prize.
- The 4th game of the series, released in August 1998 in Comiket 54. This game introduces the focus mode, a staple of the series hereafter, that slows the spriteSprite (computer graphics)In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
's movement to facilitate dodging bullets. Following the events of the previous games, the magical land of Gensokyo is once again at peace until yōkai begin to swarm the Hakurei Shrine and a tremendous power surges from beneath a lake high in the mountains. The shrine maiden Reimu Hakurei once again seeks out and eliminate the source of the disturbance, only on this occasion she is unwittingly joined by an old rival. According to ZUN, only 200 to 300 copies of the game were sold at the time.
- The 5th and final Touhou game for the PC-98, released in December 1998 in Comiket 55. Mima and Yuka, final bosses of The Story of Eastern Wonderland and Lotus Land Story respectively, return as playable characters in this game. As so often is the case in Touhou games, something is amiss within Gensokyo. A massive quantity of demons are pouring from a cave high within the mountains. Seeking the source of this invasion, Reimu Hakurei and co. must travel through Makai to confront the one behind the problem.
Windows games
After Mystic Square, the Touhou Project became inactive for four years while its creator ZUN began to develop several music scores for the Seihou games. He then left the group and made Touhou games for WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
under his own group, Team Shanghai Alice. The playability of the Windows games was substantially improved compared to their PC-98 counterparts. Most dōjin
Dojin
, often romanized as doujin, is a general Japanese term for a group of people or friends who share an interest, activity, hobbies, or achievement...
works derived from the Touhou series are centered on these games.
- This is the 6th Touhou game and the first on Windows. It greatly exceeded the PC-98 games graphically, switched from FM Synthesis to synthesized PCM music (with simplified midi as a fall-back), and was the first game to gather a substantial Western fanbase. The story, told by conversations between characters during interludes in the action, goes as such: the land of Gensokyo (setting of all the Touhou games) has been engulfed by a red mist, and its inhabitants no longer see the sun. As the mikoMikois a Japanese term that anciently meant a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami , and currently means a "shrine maiden; virgin consecrated to a deity" who serves at Shinto shrines.-Word:...
Reimu Hakurei or the witch Marisa Kirisame, the player attempts to deal with the source of the mist, a mysterious figure called the Scarlet Devil.
- This is the 7th Touhou game. It is unusual among the recent releases in that the English and Japanese titles are not similar in meaning; its Japanese title could be rendered as Bewitching Dream. As the month turns to May, winter has lasted far longer than normal in Gensokyo, and the denizens begin to suspect foul play. As Reimu, Marisa or the new arrival Sakuya Izayoi, the player embarks on a search for those who are working to prevent spring's coming. Perfect Cherry Blossom continues the tradition of the Touhou games, the reappearance of former bosses as playable characters. Sakuya was the maidMaidA maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
of vampire Remilia Scarlet, better known as the Scarlet Devil, and the player fought her three times in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.
- This game was produced in collaboration with Twilight FrontierTwilight FrontierTwilight Frontier is a Japanese doujin game developer. They are noted for making high quality derivative works of other games.-Productions:...
, and is the 7.5th Touhou game in the series. Despite being released after Imperishable Night, it is numbered 7.5 because the events in this game took place before those of Imperishable NightImperishable Nightis the eighth official game of the Touhou Project scrolling shooter series by Team Shanghai Alice. It is the third Touhou game to be released specifically for the Windows operating system...
. Immaterial and Missing Power is a 2D fighting gameFighting gameFighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
instead of the usual scrolling shooter. Though Team Shanghai Alice was only responsible for the storyline and some of the music, the game was listed as one of the team's official works.
- Initially playable characters in this game include some of the characters from previous Windows games, such as the two protagonists Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, Alice Margatroid, Youmu Konpaku (both bosses from Perfect Cherry Blossom), Sakuya Izayoi and Patchouli Knowledge (both bosses from Embodiment of Scarlet Devil). More characters become playable as the player finishes the story mode with the initially playable characters, and so on. An official patch to the game adds Hong Meirin (from Embodiment of Scarlet Devil) as a playable character, but she is not available in the story mode.
- This is the 8th Touhou game. It was released at the ComiketComiket, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
66 Convention in August 2004. This story's focus is on a rather more insidious evil than past games. Gensokyo's yearly event, the Moonviewing FeastTsukimior Otsukimi, literally moon-viewing, refers to Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar; the waxing moon is celebrated on the 13th day of the ninth month...
, is only one dawn away, but someone seems to have replaced the moon with a fake that will not grow full. A team of human and phantom set out to remedy this before the night is over—the story says that the team the player selects is the only team heading out to investigate.
- Each of the usual playable characters gets a teammate from the non-human side of Gensokyo; in this entry. Reimu Hakurei allies with Yukari Yakumo, YōkaiYōkaiare a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "otherworldly" and "weird". Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them...
of the Boundary; Marisa Kirisame with Alice Margatroid, Seven-Colored Puppeteer; and Sakuya brings her mistress, Remilia Scarlet. The new team is half-ghostGhostIn traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
Youmu Konpaku and full-ghost Yuyuko Saigyouji, end-bosses of Perfect Cherry Blossom. All the other characters (except Remilia) appeared in Perfect Cherry Blossom as well.
- This is the 9th Touhou game. It was released in August 2005 at the summer ComiketComiket, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
68 convention. This game is a versus-type shooter like Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream, and has very different gameplay from the past three entries in the series. The story puts the characters in an investigation on why the flowers of Gensokyo are blooming out of season and more than usual. Initially playable characters include Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya as usual (as well as two other characters from previous games), but the list adds on as the player progresses in the storyline of each of the players.
- This is the 9.5th game in the series. It was released at the Comiket 69 convention in December 2005. The game is meant to be the game version of the official fanbook, Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red. The player, as tenguTenguare a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They are one of the best known yōkai and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami...
reporter Aya Shameimaru, is tasked with taking pictures of bosses for her newspaper to clear successively more difficult stages. The game is unique in that the player has no standard shot or bombs; rather, the camera is the main method of offense and defense as it clears bullets from the screen. Scoring is based on the contents of each photo, boss location, number of bullets, and Aya's position. Notably, this is one of only three games in which Reimu Hakurei is not a playable character—in fact, she does not even appear as an enemy.
- This is the 10th Touhou game. It was announced in early May 2007, and a trial version was released at the Reitaisai 4 convention on May 20, 2007. The full game was released on the first day of ComiketComiket, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
72, August 17, 2007. Reimu receives an order to close down the Hakurei Shrine, or it will be torn down and the god of Yōkai Mountain will take it over. As either Reimu or Marisa, the player has to ascend to the top of Yōkai Mountain to find the god behind the happenings and prevent the shrine from being taken over.
- This is the second versus fighting game similar to Immaterial and Missing Power and the 10.5th Touhou game by Team Shanghai Alice and Twilight Frontier. It was released on May 25, 2008. The storyline in the game revolves around the strange weather patterns occurring around Gensokyo and as the characters are chosen in the game, they must find out who is controlling it. This is the first game to introduce the card deck system and changing weather conditions that affects the gameplay during matches.
- This is the 11th Touhou game. It was announced on May 1, 2008. A demo was released at the Reitaisai 5 convention alongside the full version of Scarlet Weather Rhapsody. The full version was released on August 16, 2008 at Comiket 74. A mysterious geyser appears one day near the Hakurei Shrine, which also seems to spout evil spirits from underground. Reimu or Marisa go underground with the help of one of three yōkai (Yukari Yakumo, Suika Ibuki, or Aya Syameimaru for Reimu; Alice Margatroid, Patchouli Knowledge, or Nitori Kawashiro for Marisa) and stop the source of the geyser before things get far too out of hand.
- This is the 12th Touhou game. It was announced on February 26, 2009. A demo was released at the Reitaisai 6 convention on March 8, 2009, and the full version was released on August 15, 2009 at Comiket 76. Spring has come to Gensokyo and a magical flying ship that is said to bring good omen has appeared in the sky. The player assumes the role of either Reimu, Marisa, or Sanae Kotiya, who returns from Mountain of FaithMountain of Faithis the tenth game of the Touhou Project, according to the official numbering by its creator ZUN of Team Shanghai Alice. Like the majority of the Touhou Project games, Mountain of Faith is a doujin scrolling shooter, albeit with a major revamp from its predecessors...
, as the three girls race to board the vessel. While the separate bomb counter is back, the scoring system gets complemented by the "Undefined Fantastic Objects", or UFO's, that appear as traditional unidentified flying objectUnidentified flying objectA term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
s in three colors (green, red and blue) and must be collected in groups of three in order to get different bonuses.
- The third versus fighting game and the 12.3rd Touhou game done by Team Shanghai Alice and Twilight Frontier. It was announced on July 23, 2009, and was released at Comiket 76 on August 15, 2009. The game introduces new spell cards and weather conditions as well as improved gameplay. Characters from Scarlet Weather Rhapsody can be played in versus mode if that game is installed. The story mode, which is playable with Sanae Kotiya, Cirno, and Hong Meirin, revolves around the silhouette of a giant creature, which piqued the interest of the denizens of Gensokyo. Both Sanae and Cirno's scenarios involve the investigation of the strange being and to find out who is controlling the strange giant. Meirin's scenario involves fighting a strange being in a dream who wanted to destroy the world. This is the only Touhou game in the series to not have an official English subtitle.
- This is the 12.5th game in the series announced by ZUN on March 3, 2010. The game was released on March 14, 2010 at the Reitaisai 7 convention. The game focuses again on Aya Shameimaru and is meant as a sequel to Shoot the BulletShoot the Bulletis a shoot 'em up photography game, and is the ninth-and-a-half official game in the Touhou Project by the dōjin circle Team Shanghai Alice. It was first released in the 69th Comiket on December 30, 2005...
as it has a same gameplay style but adds new characters and spellcards.
- This is the 12.8th game in the series announced by ZUN on July 23, 2010. The game is the continuation of the Touhou Sangetsusei manga series and was released at Comiket 78 on August 14, 2010. Cirno is the main character of the game and the gameplay is focused on vertical shooting with the inclusion of the ability to freeze bullets.
- This is the 13th game in the series. It was announced on February 28, 2011. A demo was slated for release at the Reitaisai 8 convention on March 13, 2011, however, the trial release was temporary canceled due to the Tōhoku earthquake2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamiThe 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
. The full game was released at Comiket 80 on August 13, 2011. Reimu, Marisa and Sanae are once again playable as they were in the latest main installment in the franchise Undefined Fantastic Object joined by Youmu Konpaku as a fourth playable character. In this game, Reimu and Marisa notice an increase in divine spirits and take off to investigate. Youmu Konpaku wants to exterminate all ghosts that are not under her right.
Gameplay
In the shooting games, the player's bullet power increases on a linear scale as the player collects power-ups dropped by enemies, and eventually maxes out. The player can also collect 'point' icons to earn extra lives; the number needed grows exponentially as the player gains lives. The player can use 'focus', the shift key by default, which slows down the player's movement, makes the collision box visible and (generally; some characters are reversed) focuses the player's attack to make it more powerful. The graze counter, missing from Mountain of Faith and Story of Eastern Wonderland, tracks how many bullets entered the character sprite but avoided the collision box, and rewards the player with a score bonus for living on the edge.The player can use a weapon called a 'spell card', which is similar to a 'bomb' in most other shooting games. While the player has a limited number, using one makes the user temporarily invulnerable and uses a special magical attack that generally clears the screen. Each character has two cards with different names and patterns. The player can use one during a short period after being hit by a bullet (known as the 'border between life and death') to avoid loss of a life, the amount of time the player has available to use the border is usually around 0.3 seconds. Bosses also have spell cards, but with bosses the term applies to a prolonged pattern of movements and shots that lasts until the player depletes the boss' health by a certain amount or the time runs out, not a one-shot attack.
Each individual game of the main series after Embodiment of Scarlet Devil has additional items that affect some aspect of gameplay, such as scoring or gaining extra lives/bombs. For example, Perfect Cherry Blossom has "cherry points", which are used mostly in scoring, but can grant temporary invulnerability (known as 'supernatural border'); Imperishable Night has "time points", which are essential to advancing to later stages, and also determine if the player gets to challenge a boss's 'final spell' on normal or higher difficulties; Mountain of Faith has 'faith' points, which help tabulate the score the player receives upon gathering point items and bonuses for clearing spell cards without dying or using a spell card.
Each Touhou game has four difficulty levels—easy, normal, hard, and lunatic—with each one being harder than the previous one. Regardless of difficulty choice, there are six stages in each game and each one is harder than the previous.
In addition to the four main difficulties, there is an extra stage which is a long and difficult stage in which players must play through hordes of enemies, bullets, and bosses. In order to reach the extra stage, one must beat the game on normal difficulty or higher without the use of a continue. The only games that allow players to reach the extra stage by completing the easy difficulty are Perfect Cherry Blossom and Imperishable Night. In terms of difficulty, the extra stage is around the normal or above difficulty levels. In Perfect Cherry Blossom, there is also a phantasm extra stage in which the enemies that were already once difficult in the extra stage have become even more challenging. Although the phantasm stage is aimed for the most experienced players, the difficulty is somewhere in between hard and lunatic. The phantasm stage is accessed by beating the extra stage and capturing at least 60 spells with any of the characters and weapon types combined.
Setting
The plots of the Touhou Project revolve around the strange phenomena that occur in the fictional realm of in Japan. Long ago, it was a desolate place haunted by yōkaiYōkai
are a class of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore. The word yōkai is made up of the kanji for "otherworldly" and "weird". Yōkai range eclectically from the malevolent to the mischievous, or occasionally bring good fortune to those who encounter them...
who preyed on lost wanderers in the area. Soon exorcists were sent into the area to resolve the yōkai problem, and they eventually settled in the area as a check on the yōkai. As human civilization advanced elsewhere, the power of yōkai began to diminish and they chose to seal Gensokyo away from the outside world as a haven for themselves.
As a result of the seal, the isolated community developed its own civilization. As opposed to the outside world, magical and spiritual qualities prevailed over science and while yōkai and humans coexist, they still fight with each other. The only known gateway from the outside world into Gensokyo is the Hakurei Shrine on the border of Gensokyo. However, the seal has weakened and more humans are able to wander into Gensokyo from the outside. Things disappearing from the outside world such as extinct animals and vanishing traditions tend to show up in Gensokyo.
Characters
With its focus on bishōjoBishojo
is a Japanese term used to refer to young and pretty girls, usually below university age. Bishōjo is not listed as a word in the prominent Japanese dictionary Kōjien...
characters, the Touhou series possesses a large cast compared to other shooting games. While they aren't developed nearly to the standards of a story-based game, many players love them, and even obscure stage bosses who only appear once have a fanbase. One example is Hong Meirin, affectionately known as Chūgoku (China), the stage 3 boss of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, who won a popularity contest in Japan out of all Touhou characters. Among the vast array of characters, only six named characters are male. One (Genjii) is a turtle, one is a cat (Sokrates), two (Youki Konpaku and Myouren Hijiri) are only mentioned in passing, one (Rinnosuke Morichika) is only featured in the serialized novel, and the last (Unzan) is a cloud-like entity. There is also one before all these (Shingyoku), but this character has three forms of different genders, so this character may not exactly be male.
Though each game features a collection of different characters, the main character of the games is always Reimu Hakurei, joined by Marisa Kirisame after the second game. The only games where this is not the case are Shoot the Bullet and Double Spoiler; Aya Shameimaru is playable on both, and Hatate Himekaidou can become playable in Double Spoiler. The same thing applies in Fairy Wars
Fairy Wars
is a shoot 'em up game, and is the 12.8th official game in the Touhou Project by the dōjin circle Team Shanghai Alice. The game was released on August 14, 2010 at Comiket 78. The game is the sequel to the Touhou Sangessei manga series as the illustrations were done by Makoto Hirasaka, the manga...
, which has Cirno as the main playable character.
Development
The Touhou Project is a one-man project by a Japanese game maker, ZUN, who does all the graphics, music, and programming alone, with the exception of the dual effort with Twilight FrontierTwilight Frontier
Twilight Frontier is a Japanese doujin game developer. They are noted for making high quality derivative works of other games.-Productions:...
in Immaterial and Missing Power, Scarlet Weather Rhapsody and Touhou Hisōtensoku.
The idea of Touhou first came to ZUN during his high school years, when shrine maiden-themed games were in the minority. "It would be nice to make shrine maiden games," he thought, and often imagined the music that would go with such games. He went to college, hoping to compose music for fighting games, since they were popular at the time due to Street Fighter II
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
. However, he decided that in order to put his music into games, it would be easier to make his own game to go with it, thus the first Touhou game, Highly Responsive to Prayers, was released in 1996. The first game was originally intended as a practice in programming. Touhou only became a shooting game series starting from the second game, because the popularity of shooting games had revived due to RayForce
RayForce
RayForce is a vertical space shooter style game by Taito released for the Taito F3 arcade hardware in 1993 and later ported to the Sega Saturn in 1995....
and ZUN had long been a fan of such games. ZUN remarked how the general theme and direction of Touhou only started coming together in the sixth game, Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.
ZUN develops his games with Visual Studio, Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
, and Cubase SX
Steinberg Cubase
Cubase is a music software product developed by Steinberg for music recording, arranging and editing as part of a Digital Audio Workstation. It is one of the oldest DAWs to still enjoy widespread use...
, according to his interview in Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red.
Other media
In addition to dōjin gamesDojin soft
, also sometimes called , are video games created by Japanese hobbyists or hobbyist groups , more for fun than for profit; essentially, the Japanese equivalent of independent video games. Most of them are based on pre-existing material, but some are entirely original creations...
, Team Shanghai Alice has also expanded the Touhou universe into other media.
Books, manga, novel
- Written by ZUN himself,
ASCII Media Works
is a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group which formed on April 1, 2008 as a result of a merger between ASCII and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the president of ASCII Media Works. The company...
. The protagonist Rinnosuke Morichika is the only humanoid male character shown in Touhou.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
being published in Comp Ace
Comp Ace
is a Japanese computer game and manga magazine published by Kadokawa Shoten. Comp Ace began as a special edition version of another one of Kadokawa Shoten's magazines, Comptiq. The first issue was released on March 26, 2005, and was published quarterly for the first three volumes which had cover...
, a Japanese comic magazine. The story centers around three fairies and their daily mischiefs, adventures, and chance meetings. The base story is written by ZUN, and the art is drawn by selected dōjin manga artists
Mangaka
is the Japanese word for a comic artist or cartoonist. Outside of Japan, manga usually refers to a Japanese comic book and mangaka refers to the author of the manga, who is usually Japanese...
. The first part, Eastern and Little Nature Deity, is drawn by Nemu Matsukura. Starting May 2006, Matsukura stopped drawing the manga for health reasons, and that responsibility was given to Makoto Hirasaka. Thus a second version of Touhou Sangetsusei is published, titled Strange and Bright Nature Deity. In January 2009, Strange and Bright Nature Deity ended and was replaced by the third part, titled Oriental Sacred Place in May 2009, still drawn by Makoto Hirasaka. The fourth continuation, titled Fairy Wars
Fairy Wars
is a shoot 'em up game, and is the 12.8th official game in the Touhou Project by the dōjin circle Team Shanghai Alice. The game was released on August 14, 2010 at Comiket 78. The game is the sequel to the Touhou Sangessei manga series as the illustrations were done by Makoto Hirasaka, the manga...
, was released as a game on August 14, 2010.
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
. A CD-ROM is attached to the back cover, and in it are new music tracks by ZUN, a demo of Phantasmagoria of Flower View, and a wallpaper of the book's cover.
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
published by Tora no Ana
Tora no Ana
is a 2002 cover album by GO!GO!7188. The name translates in English as Tiger's Lair. The album's cover art is similar to Revolver by The Beatles.-Track listing:# Yōkai Ningen Bem - from the anime of the same name...
. Also included is ZUN's short story related to Phantasmagoria of Flower View and a CD of various rearrangements of his music.
Ichijinsha
is a Japanese publishing company focused on manga-related publication, including magazines and books. The company was first established in August 1992 as a limited company under the name Studio DNA which main purpose was to edit shōnen manga. In January 1998, Studio DNA became a public company and...
, but was originally slated for August of that year. A manga that uses the story's premise is published in the December 2006 issue of the Comic Rex
Comic Rex
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Ichijinsha. The first issue was sold on December 9, 2005, and is sold monthly on the ninth. Manga collected into bound volumes which were serialized in this magazine are published under Ichijinsha's imprint...
magazine.
Yonkoma
thumb|right|150px|Traditional Yonkoma layout, a comic-strip format, generally consists of gag comic strips within four panels of equal size ordered from top to bottom...
serialized in three Ichijinsha magazines. The manga Silent Sinner in Blue began serialization in the Comic Rex
Comic Rex
is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine published by Ichijinsha. The first issue was sold on December 9, 2005, and is sold monthly on the ninth. Manga collected into bound volumes which were serialized in this magazine are published under Ichijinsha's imprint...
magazine in the July 2007 issue. Drawn by Aki Eda, the manga focuses on the human characters Reimu and Marisa. The novel Cage in Lunatic Runagate was serialized in the quarterly Chara Mel magazine, debuting on June 25, 2007. It is illustrated by Tokiame, and the plot being a deep submersion into the manga, taking a non-human perspective. Finally, the yonkoma , illustrated by Arata Toshihira, is a light-hearted discursion from the main story, featuring Reisen and Tewi Inaba. It debuted in the August 2007 issue of the Manga 4-koma Kings Palette magazine, which was sold on June 22, 2007.
Reception and fanworks
A prodigious amount of derivative workDerivative work
In United States copyright law, a derivative work is an expressive creation that includes major, copyright-protected elements of an original, previously created first work .-Definition:...
s based on Touhou have been created since the release of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil. These include dōjinshi
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
, dōjin music
Dojin music
, also called in Japan, is a sub-category of dōjin activity. Dōjin are basically non-official self-published Japanese works which can be based on official products or completely original creations...
, MAD movies, dōjin anime, and dōjin games
Dojin soft
, also sometimes called , are video games created by Japanese hobbyists or hobbyist groups , more for fun than for profit; essentially, the Japanese equivalent of independent video games. Most of them are based on pre-existing material, but some are entirely original creations...
(even though the Touhou games themselves are dōjin games). The vast scope of Touhou derivatives prompted commentary, noting that Touhou Project became an unmissable aspect of Japanese consumer generated media. ZUN, for the most part, had acknowledged, appreciated, and even encouraged these derivative works by imposing very few restrictions on the use of his works. The major restrictions are on unauthorized commercial distribution (as opposed to dōjin) and the spoiler of endings
Spoiler (media)
Spoiler is slang for any element of any summary or description of any piece of fiction that reveals any plot element which will give away the outcome of a dramatic episode within the work of fiction, or the conclusion of the entire work. It can also be used to refer to any piece of information...
; proper attribution to Team Shanghai Alice is a recommendation.
In terms of publication volume, there were no circles publishing Touhou derivative works at Comiket
Comiket
, otherwise known as the , is the world's largest self-published comic book fair, held twice a year in Tokyo, Japan. The first Comiket was held on December 21, 1975, with only about 32 participating circles and an estimated 600 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a half million people....
64 in August 2003. The first recent publication of such works occurred during December 2003, following the release of Perfect Cherry Blossom; seven circles
Dojinshi
is the Japanese term for self-published works, usually magazines, manga or novels. Dōjinshi are often the work of amateurs, though some professional artists participate as a way to publish material outside the regular industry. The term dōjinshi is derived from and . Dōjinshi are part of a wider...
sold Touhou derivative works at Comiket 65 in December 2003. As of Comiket 74 in August 2008, a total of 885 circles were scheduled to have Touhou derivative works on display or for sale, out of a total of 35,000 circles participating at Comiket.
The dōjin games based on Touhou include adaptations of other game series' mechanics with Touhou characters, such as Super Marisa Land and Super Marisa World (parodies of the Mario
Mario
is a fictional character in his video game series, created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Serving as Nintendo's mascot and the main protagonist of the series, Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation...
games with the titles being a play on Super Mario Land
Super Mario Land
is a platforming video game developed by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld game console. It and the Game Boy debuted in Japan on April 21, 1989, in the United States on July 31, 1989, and in Europe on September 28, 1990...
and Super Mario World
Super Mario World
, subtitled Super Mario Bros. 4 for its original Japanese release, is a platform video game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System , and is the fourth game in the Super Mario series...
, respectively), MegaMari (based on the Mega Man series), and Touhou Soccer (based on the Captain Tsubasa
Captain Tsubasa
, also known as Flash Kicker, is a popular long running Japanese manga, animation, and video game series, originally created by Yōichi Takahashi in 1981...
games by Tecmo). Touhou's music is also very popular and many arrangement CDs can be found for sale at Comiket and other Japanese conventions.
These dōjin activities are mostly responsible for adding original attributes to characters that ZUN may not have intended. For example, Alice Margatroid is described in the original games as aloof and rarely caring much about others, while in dōjin she is a fragile and oversensitive girl who desperately seeks Marisa's affection. Yuri pairings are prevalent among Touhou dōjinshi. Japanese fans have a habit of giving their favorite characters nicknames, often based on in-references
In-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or in joke, is a joke whose humour is clear only to people who are in a particular social group, occupation, or other community of common understanding...
. Hong Meirin is "Chūgoku" (China), Yuyuko Saigyouji is "Yuyu-sama", Ran Yakumo is "Tenkō", and so on.
_,,....,,_ ＿人人人人人人人人人人人人人人人＿ -":::::::::::::｀＞ ゆっくりしていってね！！！ ＜
>::::::;ノ´￣＼:::::::::::＼_,. -‐ｧ ＿_ _____ ＿_____ |::::ﾉ ヽ､ヽr-r'"´ （.__ ,´ _,, '-´￣￣｀-ゝ 、_ イ、 _,.!イ_ _,.ﾍｰｧ'二ﾊ二ヽ､へ,_7 'r ´ ヽ、ﾝ、
r-'ｧ'"´/ /! ﾊ ハ ! iヾ_ﾉ i ｲ iゝ、ｲ人レ／_ルヽｲ i | |
/__,./ V ､__ﾊ ,' ,ゝ ﾚﾘｲi (ﾋ_] ﾋ_ﾝ ).| .|、i . | `! !/ﾚi' (ﾋ_] ﾋ_ﾝ ﾚ'i ﾉ !Y!"" ,＿__, "" 「 !ﾉ i > | / ,.ﾍ,）､ ）＞,､ _____, ,.イ ハ レ ル｀ ー--─ ´ルﾚ ﾚ´ The original "Yukkuri shite itte ne!!!" Shift JIS art Shift JIS art Shift_JIS art is artwork created from characters within the Shift JIS character set, a superset of ASCII intended for Japanese usage. Naturally there are many similarities between Shift_JIS artwork and ASCII art.... . Yukkuri Marisa (left) and Yukkuri Reimu (right) |
|---|
Among the most popular derivatives are the series of Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
videos created by the dōjin music
Dojin music
, also called in Japan, is a sub-category of dōjin activity. Dōjin are basically non-official self-published Japanese works which can be based on official products or completely original creations...
circle IOSYS
IOSYS
is a Japanese musical ensemble and dōjin circle from Sapporo, Japan. The group is primarily known for producing remixes of music from the Touhou Project series of dōjin games. They are not signed to a label, instead preferring to release their music through dōjin channels such as the Comiket...
. Many of them, most notable of which is "Marisa Stole the Precious Thing", are popular on otaku internet forum
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
s and Nico Nico Douga
Nico Nico Douga
is a popular video sharing website in Japan managed by Niwango, a subsidiary of Dwango. Its nickname is "Niconico" or "Nico-dō", where "nikoniko" is the Japanese ideophone for smiling. Nico Nico Douga is the thirteenth most visited website in Japan...
. A major internet meme
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
that grew out from the Touhou fandom is , involving Touhou characters as disembodied bun-heads, which originated from a disfigured attempt to draw the main characters Reimu and Marisa with Shift JIS art
Shift JIS art
Shift_JIS art is artwork created from characters within the Shift JIS character set, a superset of ASCII intended for Japanese usage. Naturally there are many similarities between Shift_JIS artwork and ASCII art....
. They were so popular that the phrase "Yukkuri shite itte ne!!!" won bronze for 2008's "Net Slang of the Year" in Japan. The bun-heads, which became known as "yukkuri", also appear in Internet advertisements, the anime Natsu no Arashi!
Natsu no Arashi!
is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi, who is known for his previous work School Rumble. The manga started serialization in Square Enix's Gangan Wing shōnen manga magazine on August 25, 2006, and seven bound volumes have been released in Japan as of March 2010...
and Pani Poni Dash!
Pani Poni Dash!
, also known as through its anime adaptation , is a Japanese manga series that uses parody, frequently referencing Japanese and American pop-culture in many ways...
, and most notably, the front page of 2channel
2channel
is a Japanese textboard. In 2007 there were 2.5 million posts made every day. Launched in 1999, it has gained significant influence in Japanese society, comparable to that of traditional mass media such as television, radio, and magazines. As of 2008, the site generates revenue upwards of ¥100...
, the largest Internet forum in the world.
The Touhou Project was nominated for the eleventh annual Media Arts Plaza awards held by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, under the Entertainment category. However, Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Wii Sports
Wii Sports
is a sports game developed and published by Nintendo as a launch title for the Wii video game console , and part of the Touch! Generations. The game was first released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and was released in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month...
was given the Grand Prize award and Touhou Project failed to win any awards.
An animated project, , is being produced by Ufotable
Ufotable
is a Japanese animation studio founded in October 2000 and located in Nakano, Tokyo Prefecture. A unique hallmark seen in many of their works is a claymation sequence.-TV series:*Weiß Kreuz Glühen *Mobile Suit Gundam SEED...
in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Japanese goods chain, Animate
Animate
is the retailing arm of MOVIC and is the largest retailer of anime, games, and manga in Japan. The first and headquarters store of Animate opened in 1983 and is located in Ikebukuro, a district in Tokyo, Japan. Currently, there are 38 Animate stores in Japan, and two in Taipei, Taiwan...
. It will combine the world of Touhou with Animate's mascot, Meito Anizawa, who has previously appeared in the Lucky Star anime series. ZUN posted on his Twitter account that the anime is a derivative so he does not know the details of it nor is he involved in the anime's production.
Reitaisai
The is the largest of the many dōjin conventions hosting only Touhou content. Although the coordinator of this convention has nothing to do with Team Shanghai Alice officially, the name "Hakurei Shrine Reitaisai" was given by ZUN himself. It first started in the year 2004 as a way for Team Shanghai Alice to publicly distribute the trial version for their upcoming games to the fans well in advance of releasing them on the internet; in addition, the 2004 Reitaisai featured a total of 114 participating circles. Since then, many Touhou derivative works are also gathered and sold there. Commencing every year in April or May, the convention has been hosted in Ōta, TokyoOta, Tokyo
is one of the 23 Special wards of Tokyo, Japan.As of May 1, 2011, the ward has an estimated population of 676,458, with 348,492 households, and a population density of 11,376.69 persons per km²...
in 2004; Naka-ku, Yokohama
Naka-ku, Yokohama
is one of the 18 wards of the city of Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the ward had an estimated population of 146,563and a density of 7,080 persons per km². The total area was 20.86 km².-Geography:...
in 2005; Sunshine City, Tokyo
Sunshine City, Tokyo
is a building complex located in East Ikebukuro, Toshima, Tokyo. It is Tokyo's oldest city within the city and has the 240 metre tall Sunshine 60 skyscraper at its centre...
in 2006 and 2007; and the Tokyo Big Sight
Tokyo Big Sight
is the popular nickname for the , a Japanese convention center that opened in April 1996. Located in Odaiba, Tokyo Bay, the center is one of the largest convention venues within the city, and its most iconic representation is the visually distinctive Conference Tower.-Construction:Contracted by the...
in 2008 and after. The year 2010 saw the birth of Reitaisai SP, an additional Reitaisai to be held every autumn due to increasing popularity. The 2011 Reitaisai was temporarily canceled due to safety concerns after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
. It was later rescheduled and held on May 8, 2011 with approximately 4,940 participating circles.
External links
- Team Shanghai Alice, the official site of the group.
- Twilight Frontier, creators of Immaterial and Missing Power and Scarlet Weather Rhapsody.
- Touhou Wiki