A Touhou Project Primer

What’s Touhou?

If you’ve come here, you’ve likely done so at my direction from another article on this site. Even though I am well-versed in video games, I don’t have the patience (at least as of now) to properly review video games. That said, I review manga, and the Touhou Project has a few of those I’d like to discuss. I can’t do that without talking about the games they’re based on.

Note: The following is from the perspective of an (as of this writing) weeks’ old fan of the franchise who is terrible at shmups/doesn’t tend to like or look for them, has played every Windows game but reached the credits of only a few (mostly spin offs, top accomplishment: making it through Clownpiece’s first nonspell on Normal), has otherwise watched full playthroughs of every Windows game, and has read three of the major manga series (FS, Sangetsusei, & WaHH), some other written materials, and a number of interviews from the series’ creator, ZUN. I only know of the PC-98 era of the series through wiki entries. If any of these statements bother you as a knowledgeable/long time fan of the series, feel free to give me grief about it.

Now then, I want to get things across simply, hopefully making the series sound appealing and giving any newcomers a reason to dive in on it. The Touhou Project (東方Project, lit. Eastern Project) is primarily a series of doujin (independently created) shoot ’em up (that is, top-down, vertically scrolling shooter) games created by Team Shanghai Alice (上海アリス幻樂団) that are incredibly, incredibly popular. Also, while Shanghai Alice is called a team, it consists of only one member who goes by the name of ZUN. ZUN does the programming, art, scenario/writing, and music for all of the mainline (that is, entries with whole numbers in their titles) games. He is also almost entirely self-taught for all of these aspects. I don’t speak lightly when I say that I believe ZUN is a genius.

In every aspect except for art, ZUN very much excels. Even then, his art certainly bears charm in it. These are all very good games with fun characters and stories ranging from pretty to rather good, supplemented by truly amazing soundtracks. How about giving this track a listen for now while you read?

Beyond having excellent gameplay, stellar music, and a charming cast, Touhou is also a strong mythos. The setting of the franchise is the fantastical paradise of Gensoukyou, a land cut off from the “Outside World” (our world) by a barrier and living in a state reminiscent of Japan’s ancient days. It is a large and varied place where flying through it can let you reach Heaven, the Netherworld, an abandoned Hell, the Moon, other dimensions and so on, on top of having its own unique geography. Also, while called a paradise, the statement is dubious. Most of Gensoukyou’s population consists of youkai — monsters or otherwise wicked magical beings — most of whom feed off either the fear or flesh of humans. Youkai can be anything from traditional Japanese folklore youkai (such as rokurokubi), Western folklore creatures (such as vampires), or entirely new species imagined for the world. Naturally there are also gods, ghosts, Celestials, fairies, phantoms, and the like. All these beings have their own societies and cultures and whims too, of course, but no need to get into all of that. For your purposes know this: Gensoukyou is a complicated place. It’s a place rich with creativity lending itself well to active imaginations.

Keeping Gensoukyou’s barrier and overall land maintained and safe is the Hakurei Shrine Maiden whose shrine rests on the edge of Gensoukyou’s barrier, Reimu Hakurei (pictured at the start of this article). She is one of the series’ protagonists, who somewhat reluctantly silences troublesome youkai and punishes greater powers who threaten Gensoukyou’s safety. Pictured above is the other protagonist, Marisa Kirisame, who tends to also help keep Gensoukyou safe (though largely for her own gains). She is a witch (technically, a “magician”) thirsty for knowledge and eager to improve her magic. She also likes taking trinkets and treasures she happens to come across while resolving whatever incidents plague the land. On that note, many of the characters in these games, Reimu most definitely included, can be quite rude and self-serving. This is not a world where heroes face off against and defeat villains, but one where troubles are quelled by the strong who wish for peace. This gives much of the series a very lighthearted, relaxed, and joking vibe that cuts through the potential drama a series could have with a cast 80% comprised of beings that eat humans. It helps, considering most of those human-eaters befriend the two human heroines. For your purposes know this: Gensoukyou is a weird place.

Speaking of weird that brings us to another aspect of the world that keeps things mostly lighthearted: the way fights are handled. At the beginning of the first Windows game (which is where most begin their adventure with Touhou), a system is introduced called the “Spell Card System” that basically establishes a no-death policy on fights between humans and youkai, keeping things on fair terms so humans (or, in some cases, weak youkai) can defend themselves without a lot on the line. This system takes the form of beautiful spiritual/magic latices and beams of danmaku (bullet curtains) — spells people declare — and the name of the game is dodging. The one who makes the most mistakes loses the battle. Now we can talk about the gameplay of this series.

Early in my forays into these games. The knowledgeable might notice that I suck, because I’ve already lost one life and this is the first stage boss.

You see, Touhou is a special brand of shoot ’em up referred to as “bullet hell” (danmaku) shooters. You have yourself a relatively small playing field, a character who can only actually be hit in a small dot at the center of their body, and a screen absolutely brimming with bullets. If you get hit, you die. There is no health bar for you, one bullet hits you and it’s over. You get a few lives, and you can earn more, but with no lives left you just get a few continues on Game Over screens before you’re forced to start over from the beginning. Hearing this, you might think the Touhou games are hard. You’re right, they’re very hard. Even on easy they’re hard. If you’re inexperienced like me, these video games will kick your butt. A few of them are much easier (such as “Phantasmagoria of Flower View” and “Ten Desires”) but for most the “normal” level of difficulty feels like the “hard” of most other games. Thankfully, the majority of these games are in the “fair” realm of difficulty where deaths you experience are your own fault (perhaps only “Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom” is different in this regard, but it was designed around assuming you would die repeatedly). You can learn to get better. On that note, I have some advice for you if you’re new, as a person who actually did get better at these games with very little experience and in a short period of time. Here’s where others may like to disagree with me.

1. Start with the Windows games, so start with “Touhou 6: Touhou Koumakyou ~ The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil”. The PC-98 games are not necessarily to be ignored, but the current “canon” — the events, setting, and characters — comes from the Windows games. ZUN says to treat the PC-98 games as derivative works, but he does reference them. You can look into the PC-98 titles at your own leisure.
2. Read the translated content you can find on the touhouwiki when you should (Prologue before you start playing, Extra Story before you play or watch the Extra Stage, Afterword after you’re done). All of this is good stuff, and it’s never much to read.
3. Play with Reimu A (or equivalents) if you’re just starting out. This is a “homing” shot type that means you’re essentially always doing SOME damage above you. The need to aim is drastically reduced so you can focus on staying alive. Also, Reimu is easier to control and harder for the enemy to hit.
4. The name of the game is not shooting, despite the genre name, it’s dodging. Focus on dodging. If you’re worried about just doing damage as a beginner you will probably get frustrated and feel like quitting. I suggest keeping your eye on yourself and immediate surroundings and not getting overwhelmed by the sight of all the bullets on screen.
5. There’s actually an “Enemy” indicator below your character that shows you the position of the boss above you. It’s hard to see, but helpful when there are too many bullets around. This is not in EoSD, so you actually may want to at least try out “Touhou 7: Touhou Youyoumu ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom” (PCB) first to get your feet wet.
6. Don’t outright quit. Feel free to stop playing on Normal when you hit a wall, but then maybe play on Easy. Definitely watch 1CC (that is, “one credit clear” — finishing the game without seeing the “Game Over” screen) runs of whatever game you’re trying when you’re fed up. A 1CC is near-flawless play. Study the patterns.
7. Don’t let yourself be hung up on one game. There are a lot of games. When you’ve hit a wall and watched/read all of a game, move on to another one and repeat the process. Play in order, and play the spinoffs (some are fun and different takes on the format, some are fun fighting games). Read the story dialogues and ending bits to get invested, keep studying, keep moving forward. You’ll find yourself getting better. This is not likely to be a quick process, but trust me, it’s rewarding.
8. Don’t be afraid to bomb (x key).
9. Hold shift for focused movement.
   

A screen from me playing the first fighting game (chilling on the right). Suika’s one of the best.

Before you get into anything else related to Touhou, manga included, I’m going to say that you must play the games. You don’t need to beat them, but at least see all they have to offer and try playing them yourself. For the manga, I may have some statements of exception to that, but as I said at the start Touhou is incredibly popular. There are many fan works related to it (particularly avoid comics/anime, music videos, and fangames for now) that can easily change how you perceive the franchise, and anyway pretty much all of them are better if you actually know the source material.

A large grid of characters from the Touhou Project, originals drawn by ZUN beside incredible fanart interpretations.

To be perfectly honest with you, Touhou is probably better than you expect. I went into the series with high expectations and they were all vastly exceeded. I’ve been a longtime Internet-goer so naturally I’ve seen Touhou fan things  for many years, but you might be surprised just how much of that all comes from Touhou itself: the imaginative character designs, the silly jokes, the character quirks, pretty much everything. And what shattered my expectations the most was ZUN himself. I highly encourage you to, after playing/watching one of the games, read his Afterwords on the touhouwiki. The guy’s got a lot of very interesting ideas. For example danmaku, which I’d never thought much about, were almost like the source of everything Touhou became about in the Windows era. Fond of the beautiful patterns, ZUN created a format where every major attack/pattern got a distinctive name and told you something about the character in its appearance and style. By contextualizing it in “a way for humans and youkai to fairly clash” you also gain quite a bit of insight into the setting. It’s essentially what Undertale has been recently touted for doing except ZUN’s been doing it for almost two decades. Story and gameplay integration is a precious thing indeed. I genuinely feel enriched on many levels by coming into this series.

ZUN is hardly a businessman. He has only recently begun taking steps to bring Touhou games to the West, and if you want to buy his games he’d prefer you buy them at a video game/anime convention in person or order the physical copies online. Or, that was the case at the time I wrote this: nowadays most of the games are available on Steam! Nice. Half are not, however, and you’ll likely need to find a way to get them through the internet or through importing. Or, if you’re in Japan, it’s a bit easier to find Touhous 1-9 + a few of the (digitally) missing decimal games. Translations are available for all games. I most definitely encourage that you look into this series. Remember: even though I expected good things, I went into it with a low opinion of this entire genre. You’re probably going to like it.

To end, a collage of orchestral fan interpretations of music, as I gave a collage of interpretations for characters:

Toodles! Hope you enjoy Touhou!

The manga I’ve reviewed! By all means, read ’em:

Official
Touhou Suzunaan ~ Forbidden Scrollery. — A young, human book store owner in Gensoukyou’s one human village can suddenly read writings of any language, and so starts dabbling in dangerous texts. Meanwhile, Reimu and Marisa solve mysterious incidents bothering the townsfolk.
Touhou Sangetsusei – Three Fairies — The childish Three Fairies of Light play pranks on the people of Gensoukyou, while the reader learns more about the land in which they live.
Touhou Ibarakasen ~ Wild and Horned Hermit. — A mysterious, one-armed hermit who our heroines know from the past helps guide the shrine maiden and witch while hinting at having her own goals. Could she be an oni? But oni don’t lie…
Touhou Bougetsushou ~ Silent Sinner in Blue. — Boss of Gensokyo, Yukari Yakumo, has a bone to pick with the moon. Again. However, so does resident vampire Remilia Scarlet. Remilia has decided to have a rocket built…somehow, and will eventually recruit Reimu and Marisa to invade the moon! …But it’s not as fun as that sounds.
Touhou Bougetsushou ~ Cage in Lunatic Runagate. — A novella supplement to Silent Sinner in Blue that tells what was happening behind the scenes with certain characters around the events of the manga. Half very good, half boring, but definitely worth reading at any rate.
Touhou Bougetsushou ~ Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth — A semi-canon official 4-koma gag manga about the fugitive and native residents of Eientei in the Bamboo Forest of the Lost. Not written in any way by ZUN! It’s a pretty standard jokey slice of life affair starring straight-laced moon rabbit Reisen Udongein Inaba and prankster earth rabbit Tewi Inaba. Has references!

Doujinshi
Vector Spectacle — The rebel amanojaku Seija Kijin is on the run and being hunted by everyone in Gensokyo for daring to try to flip society on its head in a mainline game (Double Dealing Character). This is an alternate telling of her escapades as the protagonist in the spinoff game Impossible Spell Card, where because she’s wanted, the spell card rules are off and anything goes when trying to catch her, even attacks that are impossible to avoid. Using cheating tools, she survives, and attempts to overturn society again. In this doujinshi, her old partner in crime Shinmyoumaru Sukuna, whom she’d betrayed, rejoins her, and the two of them share a twisted romantic adventure of rebellion. An insanely fun bombastic manga with stunning art and a very thought-provoking story.