So, I decided I want to make a thread about the Touhou series. It may be pointless considering not very many know the series and most may not even be interested in it, but hey, I'll give it a shot anyways. It will be for people who already follow the series or those who take interest to do so.
Now let me warn you, Touhou is NOT an anime! I will explain later why I made this thread in this specific subforum and you will understand.
So, let us begin.
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1) What is Touhou?
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The Touhou Project (Touhou means "Eastern") is basically a manic (meaning bullets fill the screen; have fun not getting hit) vertical shoot-em up (STG) game series that falls all the way back to the PC-98. As you can guess, this is a PC only series. The first 5 games were developed under the group name "Amusement Makers" along with a man under the alias "ZUN", who still, by himself, continues on developing the series under the name "Team Shanghai Alice". There are currently 17, yes you read that correctly, 17 official shoot-em up Touhou games along with 4 fighting games Published by ZUN however not developed. The series is a major thing in Japan and slowly gaining western followers as each day passes. It's quite popular, however isn't a thing you just hear about.
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2) Why is it so popular? Seems like just an ordinary shoot-em up.
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The reason is none other than the character base. Each game introduces up to 10 brand new characters (not lying... maybe except the 9th game) and once you start adding it up, it's a shitload of characters. Each character has their own defining ability and personalities (only through dialogue and ZUN's "Symposium" releases). Did I also mention that 99% of the character base is female? That's probably the big part of it considering how perverted minds can work.
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3) I still don't see why it's so popular. His drawings are pretty bad and there's not much distinction between characters.
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This is a fact...
In an interview quite some time ago, ZUN admitted that his drawings are truly BAD and that his loyal fans should just make the best of it. That's where the fanart comes in. Search sites like pixiv or any of the booru image boards and you will find millions of fanart pieces.
It's also good to mention why ZUN truly makes these games. His true profession is actually composing. This man, after Amusement Makers quit after the 5th game, took whatever was left and went solo with the series JUST to show off his music in a different manner. He makes these games for the sake of just music and is able to create a much more than half-decent vertical STG. Anyone who has listened to this music can agree that Touhou music is just amazing. You can also tell that the music gradually evolves as each game passes, however, keep that same "Touhou" feel to it every time.
Just imagine, he has to make, on average, 16 compositions per game. Title, credits, stages 1-6, bosses 1-6, EX stage and the EX boss theme. The best part is that most of these (to the subjective ear) will be AMAZING pieces to enjoy. Trust me when I say if you like video game music, you will love these, even if it slowly grows on you.
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4) Ok that's cool and all, but why is this posted in the ANIME subforum?
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To be honest, it's really hard to throw the whole series into just a gaming section. The reason being is that people rather enjoy the series as a whole more than the games themselves. Who can blame them? You got 100's of characters floating around (not to mention basically all female) to work with. There are hundreds of fan made PVs (Promotional Videos), doujin (fanworks; music, art, books etc.), FAN GAMES, and of course... hentai.
I'll get to the point now. Anyone who likes anime will have a huge tendency to follow this series. Main reason being is because it follows under Eastern cartoon artworks and media. Most gamers would like it just for the sake of "it's a hard vertical shooter" and even at that, would be a low count. People who like anime would probably love the series in general, just possibly not the games; which is a pretty large chunk of its fanbase. Both in the Eastern and Western World.
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5) Say if I was interested. What would be a good way to start?
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The Wiki is definitely a good way to start. It has basically all the information you need regarding the games, characters, music... everything.
Youtube is also another viable option, of course. However you'll probably just stumble upon to music or gameplay rather than information.
If you dare, you can go to the /jp/ board on the chanboards (however I advise not for obvious reasons, but if you want to try, go ahead).
Booru sites are good for images (Safebooru, Danbooru[NSFW], Gelbooru[NSFW] etc.)
As for game downloads... seek them yourself. There are torrents everywhere waiting for you to download and are usually fast downloads (each game is between 100-500MB; nothing big whatsoever).
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6) So, which games are exactly "canon"?
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Anything touhou related that was published by ZUN himself are 100% canon. This includes manga, games (both windows and PC-98[1-5] + the fighting games by Twilight Fronter/Tasofro) and his symposiums (essentially books he released that give more in-depth detail on characters).
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7) What's the plot behind these games?
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Plot? Wouldn't really say there is much to be honest. Most games follow the same pattern.
1. Something suspicious is happening
2. The main character(s) (usually either Reimu Hakurei (The shrine maiden) or Marisa Kirisame (Reimu's kleptomaniac friend) check out said incidents.
3. Go through 6 stages (usually) solving said incident.
4. Incident complete with no true harm done.
5. Everyone parties.
Now, here's the thing. Beings in the world of Gensokyo have supernatural abilities. This can range from simply manipulating the 4 elements to being able to create suns via nuclear fusion. One would think "Well ****, wouldn't everyone easily die?" Well, here fights are all about Danmaku fights. It's basically a 1-on-1 fights throwing bullets and shit at each other while using Spellcards which can activate various danmaku bullet patterns to try to best your opponent. The one who loses it simply the one who is exhausted. In the world of Gensokyo no one goes for the throat, just a "friendly" match of throwing shit at each other.
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That's it for now. If you have any questions in regards to this, feel free to ask and I hope any new followers could have the chance to enjoy this series.
Please try to keep the thread together. I don't want any unnecessary derailments. I just want to share a series that not many here know about.
