Beginner Guide to Touhou Lore

[@omegasynth2775]

You're gonna chuckle, but the thing that got me interested in Touhou Lore was playing a DOOM mod based around it.

[@no.one.here5]

Literally me but with yandere simulator mods

[@subject_fifteen]

me with... minecraft origins...

[@isthatshephard]

Me with just one music

[@sirbunny12]

me with just ronald insanity

[@aaverageweeb5660]

The lore guy is here

[@-dolli_lolli]

He has arrived

[@totallyalpharius507]

Complete guide to Touhou Lore and Canon - 9:13 long. Complete guide to Touhou fanon - the last chronicler died in the process of compiling it.

[@NarrowSpark96]

I'm just happy that Okina choking Clownpiece is a canon event.

[@EarlierTitan19]

Uhm…. Context?

[@minatoaquas]

predicted the future

[@thisisaperson1536]

now i wanna imagine someone trying to stop okina from choking clownpiece before miguel shows up and stops you

[@Hambs23]

@@EarlierTitan19 Okina tried playing a prank on Hell by turning Earth fairies into crack. Fairies got pissed and said "We'll show you who are the real disses around Gensokyo". But turns out Okina was the bigger disser and dissed all over the fairies.

[@EarlierTitan19]

@@Hambs23 ah ok thx

[@timur_glazkov]

Oh, I've been waiting for a decent canon catalogue for so long. This is wonderful, my friends who are new to Touhou will appreciate this a lot! Canon and fanon can be very hard to distinguish at times, and I think knowing what's universal and what's not is pretty important.

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah, that's part of why I prioritized getting this one out. Lots of confusion over these things.

[@Erkling_heathcliff]

Touhou is like many mini fandoms in one fandom like The fumo fandom The oficial games fandom The shitpost fandom The art fandom Soo just start from what you want to see and discover more

[@gott2641]

With respect to the manga, it should also be noted that sadly only "Forbidden Scrollery" has ever gotten an official English-language translation courtesy of Yen Press. At point, it doesn't look like there are plans to release further additions anytime soon.

[@kappamin3133]

Lotus Eaters is officially translated in english, under Bookwalker

[@absoutezeo2126]

While Perfect Memento in Strict Sense is a good book to read to get a basic understanding of a lot of characters and races, I think it's important to mention that because it's from the perspective of Akyuu who knows a lot but not everything, it DOES contain information that is outright incorrect in places, as the wiki itself points out.

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah. ZUN loves the unreliable narrator. That said, the amount of outright wrong information is pretty small. Everything else that could be deemed wrong is left as speculation by Akyuu. I think the most important bits are towards the end of the book which talks about Gensokyo in general.

[@magicyber909]

@@GensouChronicleThe unreliable narrator always gets you a get out of jail free card when you accidentally write a plot hole.

[@GensouChronicle]

Unreliable narrator can certainly be used to write something that you don't want to solidify yet, I agree. I also simply like it in the sense that it helps characterize the narrator. I personally use unreliable narrator for all of my own writing for the latter reason.

[@yyveltan3489]

@@GensouChronicle I didn't think I would like Aya so much more after AFiEU. I had seen bits of it before but when I read the full thing and realised several articles were fabricated... I was actually mad at Aya, mainly for faking the funny Trump article, which I thought was true for way too long. Then the ending hits : Aya, a tengu, which are the embodiment of pride, basically writes a self-reflection essay and apology letter. This book merges world-building, social criticism and character developpement in a beautiful way.

[@GensouChronicle]

@@yyveltan3489 Yeah. I think it's one of his best books for sure solely on that and that absolute absurd stuff she says.

[@Ravensgale]

I got pulled into the world of Touhou Project through the music. I was already a mythology and history nerd so the appeal of Gensokyo and some of it's denizen's connections to it pulled me in even more.

[@laxyboyz8969]

If you like touhou, you will also like fate series. (Probably, since they have almost the same concept)

[@Ravensgale]

@@laxyboyz8969 Actually, I was a Fate fan before I got pulled into Touhou. Which probably explains why it so easily lured me in.

[@mush-broom]

As someone whose knowledge of Touhou is mostly based on games (and fanworks), this 5min video is very helpful. There are quite alot Touhou official works and I'd like them a try, but idk.. feels overwhelmed trying to choose which one to start, and end up doing nothing. However, I had already planned to start with Forbidden Scrollery, and your video convinced me even more.

[@GensouChronicle]

Being overwhelmed by the number of official works is totally understandable! Thankfully, I would say the longer one has been in the 'general fandom' of Touhou, the easier it is to touch any official work. I love Forbidden Scrollery. The art is really nice and expressive. Getting to see some of my favorite character who barely get any focus show up for a chapter or two is great.

[@mush-broom]

@@GensouChronicle Yee, i believe having a large amount of official work is for the best.

[@arieljourdan2375]

You could do it on release order.

[@mrrp405]

The CD stories and the accompanying music are some of the my favorite works of fiction. They’re beautiful.

[@rainfyre2694]

I had a dream where I found myself in Gensokyo in front of the SDM. I had to play magic the gathering to survive.

[@Robert-vk7je]

What a cool dream!

[@ssjcrafter8842]

did you bring a cookie with you? or at least, I think it was a cookie...

[@GensouChronicle]

EDIT: I added a link to a completely chronological ordering of the canon in the description if people want to follow an exact guide of when to play/read what. if you want it. Just to get things started a bit, I wanted to go more of the games I didn't touch on in the video. Touhou 2 - This is the first shoot'em up. If you're bothering to start with 2, you might as well start with 1 in my opinion. Touhou 7 - This is another really nice starting point. It's a little more polished than Touhou 6, is pretty easy, the gimmick isn't too overt and likewise has a lot of popular characters. Touhou 8 - As much as this is an easy game with a lot of iconic characters, I've seen a lot of people bring up a point of its really lenient 'death bomb' window teaching bad habits to newer players. Other than that, players should definitely mind how the time gimmick works in this game since it can lock them out of an ending. But if someone was set on starting with this one? Go for it. Touhou 9 - I don't know anybody whose ever suggested starting with this one, but it doesn't seem too bad honestly? Touhou 10 - This isn't a bad start. It's pretty easy and introduces the Moriya folks. Only downside I see it maybe discouraging new players from bombing since it's tied to your power. That said you can save up enough power to bomb without losing any in this one, so it's not all bad. Touhou 11 - This one is pretty hard. It's like 10 except there's no wiggle room for bombing with your power. If you bomb, you lose power. I wouldn't really recommend this one first, but I know the Komeiji sisters are pretty popular. Maybe try this second if you really are set on it? Touhou 12 - This one is tough and has a pretty involved gimmick. Compared to the ones I've mentioned, I actually haven't 1cced this on normal back when I still played the games regularly. Touhou 13 - This is very easy, but I personally don't think it's great to start with since the gimmick can be used to bypass a lot of stuff, thus trivializing gameplay. Which, is fine if you want an easy first win, but won't help too much with getting better for the other games.

[@Dukstless]

The problem with 9 is that it's a Phantasmagoria game. Phantasmagoria games' AI are bullies.

[@fhornmichaelmac]

Personally, I think 4 is a really good starting point. It's on the easy side b/c it gives you a lot of resources, rather than because of a gimmick or mechanical quirk, and if you can beat it on normal, you've essentially completed the tutorial for the Touhou series, as anything up from there builds on its basics. Plus, it's where the Bad Apple song and "pls rember" girl are from.

[@Dukstless]

@@fhornmichaelmac Lotus Land Story is definitely a good pick, the only problem is that unless you have connections, there is no way you're getting it via legal methods nowadays lol.

[@Shyguymask]

I don't get the Touhou 13 bit. Bombs as a whole can be used to bypass a lot of stuff, "trivializing" the gameplay. Touhou games as a whole tend to have specific gimmicks that help with "bypassing" stuff, like Cherry Borders in 7.

[@GensouChronicle]

@@Shyguymask While I would agree, I think a lot of new players tend to save their bombs to a fault and end up not using them. In the same way I think 8 might not be great for learning. And yeah, this would apply to PCB as well. These are just for 'your first game' so I still think this fits.

[@nawalathhariansyah3263]

This will make it easier to recommend some official stuff to some of my buddies! Thank you!

[@GensouChronicle]

No problem.

[@xaropevic7918]

To choose one of the Touhou CD themes as the background one is a pretty fitting choice!

[@fourteenroads9738]

Nice video, Now I have something to show my friends whenever someone asks how to get into touhou. Thanks! Hope that you'll continue this kind of quality content of touhou lore.

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad to be of help.

[@RossMellow]

Thanks for this guide, I was just planning on shutting myself away as a hermit to work on myself and figured one of the areas I should focus on is my information on things I'm a casual fan of currently.

[@GensouChronicle]

You can do it!

[@Acertaintouhoufan]

>channel named “Gensou Chronicle” >uses Akyuu in a lot of thumbnails >personal choice for best manga being forbidden scrollers which features a lot of Akyuu >PMiSS written by Akyuu is the most important canon work for lore The waifu bias is just obvious at this point Ok jokes aside I’d like to give an argument that Touhou 8 also works really well as an introduction as it has a partner system which both allows for easier death bombs and introduction to both the EoSD and PCB cast via playable characters on top of the IN cast. So basically, a 3 in 1 package in terms of introducing characters lol. The music in IN is also phenomenal and will definitely draw people in immediately (especially stage 4 onwards)

[@GensouChronicle]

Oh... I legitimately didn't even notice that for all my choices. That's funny. Yeah, I just added my thoughts on Touhou 8 in the pinned comment. Touhou 8 is definitely one of my favorite games for a lot of what you listed. But I know a lot of people have brought up the topic of the easy death bombing to actually be a bit of a negative. But of course, this is why I opened it up for discussion! I think it's definitely fine to start there.

[@IvanezRus]

GensouChronicle is a new Child of Are confirmed

[@terrenceswiff]

I've also told people sometimes that Touhou 7 (PCB) is a good starting point. It's got a little more quality of life improvements than 6. That aside I consider that a "get your sealegs" approach, and I usually recommend attacking canon like I did: in chronological/release order. A lot of things like Wild and Horned Hermit actually integrate with "currently released" games. That said it's hard to know what came out when. I've seen reading/playing recommendation charts, though, and followed one myself. Really made it all "alive" to me. Very enjoyable.

[@GensouChronicle]

I agree. And yeah, I might link one of those charts in the description as well. I think I have a rather complete one lying around somewhere.

[@raygaming4306]

I love exploring the touhou canon.

[@raikaria3090]

Just as a bit of an extension to the game canon: While all information can be considered canon in the games; there are a few games where we know a 100% canon ending, or some which are not canon: - EoSD [6] Extra is Reimu, based off 17.5. Flandre explicitly recalls losing to Reimu [and is quite angry that she gave up and lost against Yuuma]. If you pick a route where she meets Marisa; neither seem to recognise each other. - Lotus Land Story [4] is Reimu, based on the canon statement that [until 18.5]; Marisa had never defeated Reimu and is always 2nd best. Likewise; IN [8] cannot be Marisa canon, neither can PoFV [9] or PoDD [3] since these would all involve Marisa beating Reimu. Same with 17.5 and the fighting games. These all cannot have Marisa as canon; since Marisa canon means Marisa would have to have defeated Reimu... which she hadn't. - UM [18] is actually Marisa canon. 18.5 explicitly states Marisa defeated the Market God. - WBaWC [17] we know down to the shot-type thanks to 17.5; is Reimu-Eagle. Yuuma explicitly says that her underlings helped Reimu defeat Keiki. However, it's also implied in the [non-canon] Marisa story that Marisa was the protagonist on the Extra Stage; since Yuuma appears to have heard about her from Saki. - SoEW [2] Extra is explicitly non-canon. Rika; Reimu and Genji explicitly discuss the whole stage being a What-If.

[@raikaria3090]

@Toasterketchup As far as the games go however; she loses. It's more sparring battles where Marisa wins. [And 17.5]

[@yokaipinata1416]

Where exactly was it said that Marisa had never defeated Reimu?

[@raikaria3090]

@@yokaipinata1416 In terms of the games. It's said when Reimu and Marisa *spar* in one of the infobooks [I think PMiSS might be a later one] Reimu almost always wins. But it's also implied Marisa is taking those fights seriously while off-duty Reimu and Incident Reimu are entirely different beasts. And for what it's worth; the main game examples are: Touhou 2: Marisa obviously loses Touhou 3: We've never had Mimi-Chan or Ruukoto mentioned again. Or any events from this game. So anyone *could* have won. Touhou 4: Up in the air, and probobly the best argument where Marisa won considering Master Spark; but PC-98 Reimu is essencially a Mary Sue so her losing is... unlikly. Marisa could have learnt the Spark from observation. [We know she wasn't in the Scarlet Mist Incident due to 17.5; but she still managed to learn Patchouli's NDL by PCB] Touhou 8: If you think Alice+Marisa beat Reimu+ *Yukari* Touhou 9: Again, it dosen't actually have any real bearing on the plot. But given statements in the books; Reimu win is very strongly implied. 17.5: Reimu canonical victory. Marisa scenario is 100% filler.

[@yokaipinata1416]

And btw, unrelated to the Reimu vs Marisa topic, I'd like to contribute to the canon routes discussion by saying it's implied that Scarlet Team are the ones who solved the incident in IN. Not just because their ending ties directly into SSiB, but also because in PMiSS, Akyuu notes that while Reimu claims to have solved the incident, she also dodged questions about the culprits, which could suggest she doesn't know anything because she didn't actually solve it... ...so it's easy to fill in that after Scarlet Team defeated Reimu in Stage 4, the latter got salty as hecc and started lying out of spite that she totally solved the incident. Scarlet Team, ofc, was not interested in exposing the lie, seeing as they were trying to be discreet about their Moon project.

[@KazmirRunik]

I think it's worth mentioning that the whole of Touhou canon is a good amount of writing, a bit of a journey if you want to try tackling it all. Those novels are 100+ pages (each), and there are over 200 chapters of manga in total. Also, the different canon works do reference one another, but a person probably won't always be able to appreciate these references unless the works are experienced in the canon's chronological (mostly release) order. For instance, CoLA references PMiSS, EaLND, and MoF in proximity to when those other works first released. The Scarlet Team's IN FinalB route (2004) is the first time the events of SSiB are foreshadowed, but Sakuya is seen again setting these events up in both BAiJR (2005) and CoLA (2006 in ch. 18) before SSiB actually begins in 2007, with a bit of further setup having taken place in Magical Astronomy (2006). As a bonus, the CoLA chapter foreshadowing Sakuya's involvement in SSiB also directly nods to Suika's story in BAiJR. It can be a bit of a knot to catch all the interplay, that is unless the works are experienced more or less in order of release, so that you know what information & characters are available to the canon by the time the stories happen.

[@GensouChronicle]

Very true. I've included a more detailed ordering of the canon in the description.

[@ethanmueller8218]

Wow, this series is more intricate then I first thought.

[@NabilHafidz]

7:15 scripting mistake, I think, since you already mentioned Alternative Facts in Eastern Utopia earlier

[@GensouChronicle]

This was the work of an enemy stand.

[@apon2390]

Thanks I already follow the wiki list for the written works, but it's nice to have an introduction to all of them and to know at which point it's best to read them.

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah. I think that definitely helps for people deciding if they want to get into a certain piece or not, so I made sure to include a rough estimation like that.

[@TXFlyveon]

Great video, thank you Akyuu guy!!

[@GensouChronicle]

🙏

[@octapusxft]

It does not help that the main games are usually avoiding the story segments on videos at the request of ZUN. It is quite fascinating how respected he is though.

[@ImmacHn]

I'd recommend Touhou 10 for starting. Good balance of old and new, and the mechanics are not too complex.

[@kirbonicpikmin8809]

Extremely solid video here! This might be the best summary and description of the series overall for introducing newbies, especially in a short and concise way. If I had to say one thing, I think Touhou 8 is generally one of the best introductions to the series, it’s an easier entry, introduces a lot of characters, and it’s a good jumping off point into various other manga series’, and is one of the most complete games in the series overall.

[@TheOVJM]

The amount of times I've seen people think Lost Word (eww) is canon due to Zun's involvement with it is... concerning. But in any case Cage in Lunatic Runagate is easily one of the best bits Zun has ever released together with the CD stories. They are absolutely belissimo.

[@GensouChronicle]

Bougetsushou is what really solidified me on learning lore all those years ago. Great stuff.

[@somefries3101]

they really think that Patchouli's Grape cake is canon 💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@yogsothoth915]

True.... true..... But I am sure we can all at least agree Touhou Soccer is completely canonical

[@touhoudelivery3831]

Wait people think that Touhou Lost Word is canon? Xd lol In my case I only see people more interested in shipping an "canonicing" Reimu x Marisa (I prefer tenshi x Shion btw) than seeing other stuff like for example if Okina is planning to do a third lunar war or the meaning of dolls in pseudo paradise

[@somefries3101]

@@yogsothoth915 *HAHAHAHAHA* *GENSOKYO SOCCER*

[@Chaosknightz]

I had a friend ask where to get into Touhou and i honestly only know the music portions really, and a bit of lore just by association. This video was very informational and concise, even for me. Kudos!

[@GensouChronicle]

Concise is what I aim for.

[@L3m0n_sh0rk]

I cant believe ive decided to binge a bunch of touhou content for my sister birthday tomorrow (she is a big touhou fan and im trying to learn more)

[@knoproblem5131]

Yesssss, *this* is what I needed to not feel drowning trying to figure all this out 🙏 thank you for this!

[@GensouChronicle]

Drowning is definitely the word for it.

[@lunawohlmut4821]

Wild and Horned Hermit was my personal introduction to Touhou, and I found it fun!

[@ryoidfurong905]

This is a great video, kudos to you!

[@GensouChronicle]

Thank you!

[@mra7081]

Seems to all check out, it’s going to be great to have something like this that’s easily digestible to point people to.

[@GensouChronicle]

I think the community was a bit overdue for one of these, so I figured I'd do it myself.

[@mra7081]

@@GensouChronicle Better late than never

[@MACZ2021]

The only change I would honestly make to this video is mentioning Forbidden Scrollery having an official English release and like another comment said it being (so far/currently) the only manga related work for the series that's been released in English. Other than that, very well made video! I'm definitely going to show this to anybody I know that's heard of the series but doesn't know anything about it

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks for watching, and yeah, that's another good point for FS. Especially if someone wants to maybe read it as a good entry into the canon.

[@kud9767]

cool!! n useful vid ^^ it can be a little overwhelming that theres too much content to see so a guide is always appreciated,, even if ive been following this series 4 a long time , in reality ive just played touhou 1, 6, ,7 ,8 and soku, clearly shoot em ups arent my thing, but touhou is so versatile i can enjoy it anyways :p

[@GensouChronicle]

Wafuuu. Thanks Kud.

[@SvafaBlackhand]

I agree with your assessment of 6(EoSD) and 14(DDC) as good starters. I've sunk the most time into EoSD, but that's partly because it's the oldest Windows-era game. And while it doesn't have some of the quality of life updates of later entries, it's still one I return to regularly and enjoy. DDC is also a great starting point, as it's fun and pretty straightforward. And a good deal more accessible than some of the other entries. That said, I found 16(HSiFS) to be relaxing, fun, and fairly forgiving from my first foray into it. I'd definitely put it on my recommendations for those new to the series and wanting to try out the games. There are certainly better entries in the series, but HSiFS is one of the least complicated and easiest to just jump into and play, in my opinion.

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks for your input to the discussion. HSiFS is pretty good for that, yeah. Not to mention, I think there's a lot of people who would probably get a kick out of playing Cirno in a mainline game.

[@meowkitty4849]

A little late but I recommend starting from touhou 1 with a pc 98 emulator. Reason being that although the series was rebooted in 6. At least half of the stuff you learn from those games is still canon to some degree. That and it helps to follow the progression so when 2 of the pc 98 characters pop up in the modern games it really helps to know exactly who they are. They were huge events for the time periods they came out and you completely miss them by starting modern. 1 is also just really fun because it's breakout lol. If you start from the fighting games then I would recommend doing them in order of release. Reason being is that they start out pretty rough and become more quality of life as the fighting games go on. Each game has a pretty long and intact story mode for a fighting game. If you go in order you get snapshots of gensokyo during drastically different time periods as you go from each one in order. Also some of the story elements are meant to happen in fighting game order. So it's easier to keep track of the story. That's basically it for any info I got. It's open ended enough that you can kinda start anywhere, but it's more fun to go in order. The games start rougher in general not just for the fighting games, but that makes it better to start at the worse games because it's harder to put up with it once you played the better games lol.

[@palamecianrider7385]

This is the most important video on this channel TBH. The sheer size of this is like going up against the Nasuverse which I stopped when Grand Order came but at least nipping some of the content can with the recommendations can make it easy to start somewhere.

[@GensouChronicle]

I know that a lot of people tend to just not start a huge series because of the time commitment and possibility they won't enjoy it. When people have a pathway into it, it becomes a lot easier.

[@devranyilmaz9806]

Didn’t watch the video yet, but from my very casual understanding; Touhou is basically SMT-lite, where Gensokyo was created to preserve the supernatural from the outside humans coming to understand the natural world better with science. The supernatural need humans to survive, specifically their fear of the supernatural. Without that fear, they cease to exist. At least, if I recall any of that correctly.

[@GensouChronicle]

That's pretty accurate. Not bad.

[@staryusinablender]

i just wanted to say that i stumbled across your channel yesterday, and since then ive watched every one of your videos. for the past year ive felt myself sort of drift away from the touhou series which kinda sucks because it was my main interest for about five years. but watching your channel made me fall in love with the series all over again, from the characters to fangames to the very world of gensokyo. thank you for creating and sharing your passion for the series, and i cant wait to see more!!

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks, I really appreciate that. While part of my goal is to really bring new eyes onto the series, I also want to bring back fans who may have felt like there isn't much for them in the English community. So to hear something like this means I must be doing something right. lol

[@Wmann]

Touhou is that type of topic where it’s so gosh darn massive but it’s still somewhat hidden, and depending who you are it’s a blessing to be either in or out of Touhou.

[@ironmaster6496]

Awesome a new lore video, let's see if a learn something new

[@internetlurker1850]

You can also play PCB as your first game.

[@penguinpower1532]

thank you very much

[@ssjcrafter8842]

2:55 "Easy game" this game took me longer to beat then Touhou 11... I wouldn't call it easy. At all. also imo 7 and 8 are also pretty good introductory games... or if you are young and fine with anything, Touhou 1 is also fine. It worked for me :D(before I knew anything about Touhou) 3:11 LET'S GO SOMEONE FINALLY TALKS ABOUT THE CDs! I should probably reread Touhou Bunka... I read it a bit after playing Touhou 6 or smth I think. I have been looking to find ZUN's interviews, so thank you.

[@GensouChronicle]

Haha. That's fair. I know someone whose first 1cc was 12. Which, I haven't even beaten on Normal while I have many other clears. I know there's a lot of differing experiences, so I want everyone to share them for new players.

[@raymoo_hackery]

I think the only instance in which ZUN's interviews can't be taken as ultimate fact is if they conflict with something in the canon texts, which is bound to happen as time passes on and ZUN possibly changes his mind on the details of something he might have discussed in an interview. But that aside, this is a pretty solid video to introduce the Touhou series. It is quite daunting with how much content there is to this series, both official and unofficial, and even still after being in this fandom for 2 years, I learn new information frequently and continuously come up with my own headcanons and theories. I think a video like this is quite valuable to help ease people into the series and demonstrate different aspects of the series. So thank you for making this video :)

[@moved_...]

I started with touhou 1 because I like the number line for some reason

[@andrewelectro4610]

Awesome vid as always! As a starting point to learn danmaku I'd personally recommend Ten Desires since it's relatively challenging for a new player but easier to beat on normal then most other entries. It also features some of the best tracks ever to come out

[@aaverageweeb5660]

Lets f*cking go

[@v-llaain]

Extraordinary content. Congratulations and thanks!

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@goyavoyage]

My suggestions to introduce Touhou to people! Fan written summaries, if you need to warm some people up (without links because I can't, but hopefully here are enough details for you to find them) - a tumblr blog post by rabbiteclair answering the anon question "I know nothing about touhou but I think it’s really interesting, can you please explain it?", which summarizes the plot and the sheer size of the whole stuff and concludes with her own suggestions (also she's a very prolific Touhou fic writer under the name Unmoving Great Library, if fanfics feel more introductory-friendly to some people?) - a super-long and detailed essay that summarizes a lot of what I find charming in Touhou, titled "How Touhou Inspired Me To Live My Best Life" Games: - Imperishable Night, in my sense, may be one of the best bets. It's easier than EoSD and PCB, and so it will scare most people less. It has a lot of memorable songs and characters. (EoSD and PCB are very good, don't get me wrong, but as additional points for choosing IN: EoSD lacks a visible hitbox + I feel like the English translation feels a bit less cryptic overall from IN onwards?) - MoF: it has a lot of iconic characters and songs, is not that hard, and is pretty straightforward plot-wise - and it starts the second Windows arc of games, making it a really strong choice too! Only problem is its weird bomb system. But anyway. - DDC was my first crush among the games I think (holy moly that stage 5!!), and though it's not the most memorable per say it still has its fair share of cool characters (grassroot youkai network my beloved

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[@sBoris_]

It would have been awesome to have had this kind of video 2.5 years ago when I first started lol. Really nice starting point for newcomers, I agree with pretty much everything. As for the best game to play first I highly suggest th6, which doesn't have any particular gimmick and has the most famous and charismatic characters, if you get stuck on normal switch to the easier th7 and come back when you feel ready, from that point proceed onwards.

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah, I think it's a good idea to not tie yourself down to one game until you clear it. Definitely helps and stops someone from burning out.

[@ris_kis]

Thanks for your Touhou guidance

[@GensouChronicle]

Happy to help.

[@yogsothoth915]

I think Touhou 6 is the best starting point for the games. People recommend 7 a lot but it Stage 4 is pretty long in that one. So it can be frustrating after making multiple attempts on it. You can download a visible hitbox patch or keep track of convenient place in the character's sprite that represents it. I also recommend not using Homing Amulets. This is because sometimes it doesn't do enough damage to save to stop some really mean fairys before they can hurt you. Oh, there are also 2 tips for Touhou 6 specific. Destroy the fairies in the library that shoot like blue water sprinklers, they remove all the bullets when they disappear. Sakuya's midstage Spellcard "Misdirection" is as the name implies. Wait a bit for her to fire her aimed shots before moving out of the way, that way you have nice rows to move in from when they were aimed. Lastly if you wanna really make sure you're ready before starting a run. Touhou Practice Patch saves a lot of time by allowing you to practice each enemy to perfection Spellcard by Spellcard.

[@Octav2000]

I would personally say the best game starting point is 7 it’s pretty easy to get the hang of and it’s super charming

[@Octav2000]

It’s the one is started with and now touhou is my 3rd favourite series behind Kirby and gunvolt

[@halstarlight]

Very helpful !! I'm trying to get into it because I like the designs !! But the only bullet hell game I've ever played is undertale so there's no way I experience it firsthand lmao

[@plantenpo7119]

I remember when I really decided to start diving into the canon, a task that I am still doing. I made some research and after that I had found some French Touhou site with the games on it and I knew that it were better to start with EoSD but for some reason I decided to start with HRtP instead. I regret. Anyway, it was real good and I think I will send it to my friends I introduced to Touhou for it is more friendly that having to dive in alone in the wikis and mountains of content. Even if the wiki is really good.

[@Ahsokjndibijhdbdijbsos]

God damn it and I swore I’d never get into touhou!! Look where I am now

[@HakanaiBlue]

Short and sweet, a very nice summary for someone looking for a list of all lore stuff to dive into in one place. Your mic sounds incredibly clear, by the way, what do you have for your setup? I've historically struggled a lot when it comes to making my recordings sound decent and wish I could sound even half as good as you do here!

[@GensouChronicle]

I use a blue yeti mic, which is considered the 'cheap but effective' starter mic for recording that sounds decent. I don't do much in the way of settings. Most of the time, the sound quality is reliant on your equipment.

[@HakanaiBlue]

@@GensouChronicle I've got one of those in the house too and I've experimented with it to some degree of success before, so I guess maybe I should give it another shot. Thanks!

[@pilotamurorei]

the canon works are better than 二次創作 most of the time. There are fun games like Megamari or Rock Maiden, but the canon stuff is so good. Its torture to actually complete any of those games, especially 紺珠伝 or 地霊殿 but they are fun as hell.

[@CzechRepublicFan245]

7:10 Something something this is the work of Nue or someone I've seen many arguments online about whether Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth can be considered canon and they get shockingly heated. I'm on the side that it is canon because there's no explicit statement that it's otherwise, and also it's a funny series and I like it, so it's canon. Tewi steps on the landmine in it. You wouldn't declare a moment like that non-canon, would you?

[@GensouChronicle]

I personally wouldn't mind it being canon, but it does contradict what the fanbase has defined as canon. 'Anything written by ZUN'. There's a few things that also explicitly contradict canon inside. Which, while that might not bother you or myself, I think someone who would prefer a consistent Gensokyo would. We technically have a bunch of fan works that have made their way into official releases, but none would be considered canon. Of course, these are all now labeled 'unofficial' when that does happen. This one, not being such. So.... it's definitely a weird situation. I think it's fine if people want to consider it canon, but for the sake of the video, I leaned more on the side of what the wiki community decided on. Very good stuff, either way.

[@Waffles5538]

I take the 'canon' bit to be the post-credits scene when Kaguya says she wants to try "drawing", and she ends up coming up with these 4koma that you see in the book. Though, maybe cause its an older work; if its released now it might fall under the same level of canon as Gensokyo of Humans and Shinigami's Rowing Her Boat as Usual

[@GensouChronicle]

@@Waffles5538 Hm. That's a fair point. And yeah, that's pretty much where I put it. Alongside manga like that.

[@magicyber909]

I’m on the side of it is canon but it operates on cartoon logic. Any specific feats, like Reisen carrying a 1000 volume “book” are exaggerated and the book was probably like 12 volumes or something. But Reisen carrying a book happened.

[@coldn8237]

I started with touhou 6 and touhou soon became one of my favorite game series. Just by looking at its appearance touhou might be dull and boring but only when you start playing, it will reveal its charm to you

[@coldn8237]

touhou 6 is the starting point of windows era, touhou 7 is graphically amazing and impressing, touhou 8 is relatively easier. These, in my opinion, are the best to begin with

[@somefries3101]

I love touhou it makes me sad i didn't fall into the rabbit hole way earlier now the last windows mainline touhou game i have to 1cc is touhou 18

[@poledra4153]

@@somefries3101 good luck

[@yokaipinata1416]

From a more gameplay-oriented perspective, I'd say Lotus Land Story is a solid start as well (unless you want to start on Easy, because then it has the exact same problem as EoSD). It's one of if not the easiest Normal 1CC in the saga, and is the game that set most of the framework the rest of the main series would follow (focus, deathbombs, graze, 6 Stages and even being the game that codified Marisa as Protagonist #2 -while she had been playable in PoDD, she was listed after Mima in the player select-). Of course, though, I will be the one to say that lore-wise, you won't get a lot from it due to the whole thing with the PC-98 Era not really coming up in modern works, and even though Yuuka does appear in Windows, only in PoFV has she been involved with the story; everything else is background cameos and her PMiSS article, so she's not a particularly crucial character to learn about early. Mystic Square might do better in that front since Alice does have more relevance in Windows up until Hisoutensoku, albeit that game's more on the difficult side (though at least you can beat it on Easy).

[@terrenceswiff]

>hops to Inaba >says Inaba is non-canon You pass. I'll watch the rest of the video

[@onezerozeroonethree2369]

If you have never played a bullet hell, and want to play one that doesn't make you lose a lot of progress, try Touhou 9.5 Shoot the Bullet, Touhou 12.5 Double Spoiler, or Touhou 14.5 Impossible Spell Card. Impossible spell card is the best game to start with in my opinion. It is silly and fun, and it has more depth than the other games in the series. Don't expect to be able to full clear this game though. It wasn't designed with that in mind. The other two are more difficult to make progress in, but are so much fun that I still would recommend them.

[@ThePhantomSquee]

Excellent video, I agree with almost all of your recommendations here. Forbidden Scrollery in particular is my #1 choice for those not feeling confident enough to tackle the games yet. As far as the main series, the inability to fully beat 6 on Easy is a pretty big strike against it imo, and the main reason I would rarely recommend it as a first game. Speaking as someone with no bullet hell experience prior to the series, I haven't managed to beat any of the games on Normal so far, so if I had started with the game I can't even unlock the good ending for, I would have felt pretty discouraged. The lack of quality-of-life features like the visible hitbox hurts too--even if it can be modded in, that's still an extra hoop to jump through for the less technologically adept, like myself. Still, it's a better starting point than 11, 12, or 15, that's for sure. For those looking to start chronologically early, I usually suggest 8 or 10. 8 overall has nicely manageable bullet patterns, and there's the forgiving continue system. I don't think the argument about the deathbomb window teaching bad habits is as big an issue as many argue; as a new player, I was so mentally focused on just getting comfortable with the basic controls and movement, that by the time I had cleared both routes, I still hadn't even tried to deathbomb. Overall I think 8 has the best balance of difficulty, a non-intrusive special mechanic, and a large cast of iconic characters. 10 is up there as well because, ironically, I think the power-based bomb system actually makes it *more* rookie-friendly. It felt very easy to get comfortable with bombing in 10, because making up the lost power is so much easier than earning a bomb item. Also, similarly iconic characters, and one of the most bangin' soundtracks in the series (which... may actually make it harder, I know I died in 11 way too many times because I was distracted vibing to the music). I'll also add in, for anybody not particularly concerned about chronology, 17 and 18 are surprisingly good places to start as well. 17 is a nice moderate difficulty level, but its special mechanic allows for a lot of flexibility in how you approach it, and its final boss is top tier in terms of spectacle. 18's card collecting system likewise gives a lot of flexibility, which can be just the thing a new player needs in order to feel more comfortable learning the core mechanics. Plus, both kick off their own story arcs that are continued in side games, making them easy jumping-on points narratively. Looking forward to the next video!

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks for watching. I agree with the point about EoSD's Easy Mode. I also see your options of 8 and 10 as good choices. (Fair point with the death bomb window, even if it's something I think players should try to be aware of.) I also like 18 as a choice to start with if there's no worry of chronology. Likewise, thanks for contributing to the conversation.

[@gappystu]

Epic video

[@outeremissary4438]

Thank you for making an easy guide I can now send to all my friends who make the mistake of asking me how to get into Touhou.

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad I could help!

[@corbeauwrite]

What about PC-98 games (touhou 1 to 5) then? I remember ZUN said it "happened" but it is not canon, I think? For a next video laters, you could show the diverses fanons : for all public, more realist, humoristic, etc...to show why Zun releasing his copyrights partially was a great idea. I am almost sure he finds good inspiration from the fanworks too. You could make a video about the "hidden writing", which means the speculative why : like th17 (God/AI will decide for animals/humans) or 17.5 (Oil makes you greedy and crazy), I am sure all works hide a very subtle and hidden messages. Or 18, about the Global Markets IRL never really made it again (covid lockdown), with Chimata's music that never climax, like a dying god (that actually "exist" IRL) Zun takes a lot of IRL references point that exist today to make his characters, I think, he does the Lore from the Past (youkais, etc...) and from the Present too (but more hidden)

[@seant1326]

The events of PC-98 are "canon until stated otherwise", and only for specific events that contradict Windows era canon, everything else is fine.

[@sebc255]

About Touhou 1-5, that's what GensouChronicle meant by "soft reboot": Their stories weren't officially erased from the timeline, but they're conveniently ignored for the sake of giving the series a fresh start. Making the jump to a different platform probably helped that decision. What makes things confusing for people, however, is that when certain characters from the PC-98 era got brought back or we get some general backstory, there were a few changes that didn't add up to what we knew of them previously. At some point, ZUN made it clear that if any such inconsistencies popped up, the newer information will be considered canon, essentially admitting to retconning parts of the lore.

[@corbeauwrite]

@@sebc255 On a different subject, what I actually like is the mysterious part of Alice with all of it. Zun is Team Shanghais Alice, this choice of naming his "group" is not by pure luck. I think Alice is part of the 2 series too? I know it's speculation, but I think Alice is a representation of ZUN. Dolls are his characters and the forbidden book the hidden lore. Alice always keep her book close to her in any circonstance (is it canon btw?) I like that fanon theory that It was Alice/Zun that rewrote the world and sealed it into the book. So few characters would be aware of PC-98 events.

[@normaltuesday1872]

Touhou 17 was the first game I played in the series, while it does have it's flaws, I would still consider it a pretty good starting point for people who want to play the games

[@meli_lemon_real]

god dude i wanna like touhou so bad but its actually draining how much lore there is

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah, that's understandable. I would say to look at it this way. If you manage to read one manga, or even just learn about some of the characters, you probably know more about the series than most fans. I would say the silver lining to it all is that the bar to 'entry' (the point where you can start enjoying everything) is pretty low. If the canon gets to be too much, take a break, look at some fan stuff, or even just come back to it later.

[@magicyber909]

Inaba of the Moon and Inaba of the Earth is canon and is referenced in other official touhou works. You just have to remember that it is a comic book and so some aspects are somewhat exaggerated. But the general flow of events all happened.

[@GensouChronicle]

Where is it referenced, if you recall?

[@magicyber909]

@@GensouChronicleWell for one I know its referenced in Hisotensoku. Theres a win quote from Marisa against Reisen talking about the fast growing bamboo.

[@magicyber909]

For the fighting games I would say that 7.5 has the hardest learning curve so I wouldn’t recommend as your first one unless you want to play in order. 10.5 is decent. 12.3 is a direct upgrade from 10.5 but has very little story. 13.5 goes back to the drawing board and is nothing like the previous games. It also has a hard learning curve but not as bad as 7.5. 14.5 a bit better but the urban legend mechanic is annoying and feels unfair. 15.5 removes all of the bad mechanics from 14.5 and adds new better ones but went too much on the safe side and made the new mechanics too weak to be very useful. So if you just want gameplay then 12.3 and 15.5 are where its at but if you want story then 12.3 will leave you disappointed.

[@fami5893]

ive played the mainline games so much and i couldn't tell you the first thing about the lore. hehe boolets go pewpew. you should do videos going into detail about each book etc. im more of a book on tape type. i didnt know about any of this stuff either. i'll sub just in case you do videos about that stuff.

[@GensouChronicle]

I'll be doing those eventually, yeah. I didn't want to do that in this video just to give others a chance to try it out themselves. Plus, each one deserves its own video.

[@Meocontuki]

Holy Kanako the amount of research done for this video... I know there are official manga series and music collection, but this... this is _madness_. Personally I only in for the games and -memes- music, and get everything lore related from wiki. I hope you would cover the fan work aspect of TH (not any specific work but the fan creativity as a whole) because that's what made TH one of the most impressive -cults- subcultures of the internet it is today. ps: "fan manga with girls kissing" understatement of the year lol, also nice phrasing to avoid age restricting.

[@GensouChronicle]

I think covering fan stuff has its place, certainly. I think there's a few channels who focus on that specifically, but I'll touch on fan stuff here and there as well. My next video will be on a fan game.

[@magicyber909]

It’s comments like these that remind me that I’m the weirdo and most people don’t look for every piece of lore like I do. I thought this was just a basic introduction for newbies. No research required I know all of this stuff off the top of my head. Yet for you its more information than you know what to do with and are in awe.

[@eggseed6543]

Instructions not clear enough, I'm watching a guy's 2 hour long video essay telling me everything

[@GensouChronicle]

There's a two hour guide to just explaining what's canon?

[@eggseed6543]

@@GensouChronicle probably, you can find a video essay of anything nowadays

[@GensouChronicle]

@@eggseed6543 Gotcha lol. I couldn't tell if you were being sarcastic. Especially since the point of the video was to best explain how to get into the canon, and by design, to explain everything necessary in the shortest amount of time.

[@eggseed6543]

@GensouChronicle yeah I came here for thinking it's the shortest resume of a 20 year worth of lore but got surprised by it being actually a manual how to get into it

[@GensouChronicle]

@@eggseed6543 Yeah. I've seen a LOT of 'guides' to Touhou, and most of them just try to poorly summarize the plot or worse. Which really doesn't work for a series like this. Touhou lore is best experienced personally, since it's not like summarizing a story or anything.

[@ImmacHn]

Quite enjoyed this, while memes and lol random stuff is OK in moderation, this kind of content is leagues better.

[@patricklewis9787]

While I like Touhou fanon the canon is always reliable. A lot of Touhou characters in the fanon have their personalities bastardized into one joke/meme or whatever fetish porn the community likes to put them in.

[@GensouChronicle]

I remember years ago, I tried checking youtube for Touhou content, and all I ended up finding was dudes mumbling those sorts of things into mics. Bad enough I'd have to click away after only a couple seconds.

[@omariwashington2570]

I'm new to this whole series and all but it kind of sounds like the Fate series

[@HyperVanilo]

Does Touhou have alternate universes? No Does Touhou have confusing timelines? No Does Touhou have a gazillion of alternate characters? No Does Touhou have a mobile game that is canon? No

[@nerdo6412]

Am starting with the lore with the games, i thought everyone did that... Am the only one doing it 😢

[@GensouChronicle]

I did too. I started with 1 lol.

[@nerdo6412]

@@GensouChronicle How the hell you emulated the first touhou game?

[@GensouChronicle]

@@nerdo6412 There's a lot of PC98 emulators around. way back 15 years ago, I downloaded a pack that had the emulator with the games. They're that small in filesize.

[@freedomish3420]

Really great video. Regarding Forbidden Scrollery, while it's a great read and probably the easiest written work to get officially in english, I still probably wouldn't recommend it as someone's starting point just because its tone is a bit darker than the series usual, which I feel can give an inaccurate impression of the series if you were to start with it. Personally I'd say start with Wild and Horned Hermit if you wanted to start with a manga. Of course that's only if it's meant to be an entry point into touhou as a whole. If we're talking entry points into touhou canon specifically, then I agree it's the best choice of manga.

[@GensouChronicle]

I would agree, yeah. I assume in 90% of cases, people would have a passing understanding of touhou of they are intending to start getting into the canon. But yeah, I would agree. I kept WaHH on the list because of that.

[@yokaipinata1416]

Oh, and I know I already posted like two minutes ago, but here's a second comment on an entirely different note, the Inaba manga is less-so 'definitely not canon' and more along the lines of "These things probably happened, but take them with a grain of salt"; several events from it _do_ get acknowledged in later works, though specific details might still not be accurate (kinda like how Akyuu's books aren't 100% reliable either). However, I understand that when you're talking to a newcomer, it's easier to just tell them "that one isn't canon" so they don't pay it much mind than to potentially confuse them with what is essentially "well, _somewhat_ canon".

[@magicyber909]

Another thing I’d like to bring attention to for sources is the three faries books from clash house. These are unofficial Sangetsusei stories that were written by Makoto Hirasaka. He’s the guy who does the official three fairies stories and these works are his personal fanfiction. However because each artist hired by Zun is only given a loose script, they are pretty much free to write those stories however they want. This means that their personal beliefs on the characters gets reflected in their official works. So as long as Makoto remains Zun’s go to guy for three fairies, Makoto’s personal beliefs on the faeries may as well be canon. Overall I’d say clash house three faeries is about as canon as pc98. You can have it be canon if you want but if anything contradicts it then it isn’t canon. In particular I would recommend the first story which describes how the faeries first met and why they like to imitate humans.

[@BamdTheBamd]

the eosd hitbox patch isn't properly centered so it sucks and shouldn't be used also the wiki doesn't have dialogue for endings due to ZUN's guidelines so you'll have to look them up on a site you may have heard of called youtube you can still beat eosd on easy, just not get the good ending, which also applies to lls and mof. was it phrased that way because the text was too big to fit on screen?

[@GensouChronicle]

You are correct about the patch. I left it as a negative for a reason. I didn't mention wiki having the ending dialogue, but maybe I should add in my pinned comment that you miss out on it just reading the wiki. I consider that not beating it properly because you don't get to do stage 6. In a way, it's almost a waste starting on easy for EoSD.

[@BamdTheBamd]

@@GensouChronicle imo it's still a clear. i mean, would you really say people who 1-all dodonpachi didn't truly beat the game and should defeat the true last boss in 2-all? obviously 1-all is way harder than eosd easy but my point still stands. just cause you didn't get the true ending doesn't mean it's not a clear. of course this has nothing to do with the video and only concerns design philosophy

[@GensouChronicle]

@@BamdTheBamd I agree it only concerns design philosophy. I'd like to try and explain my opinion on it. So, I want to preface that I say this not as a matter of elitism but as a matter of worth in experience. I would say beating stage 1-6 is several magnitudes harder than just 1-5. And beating 1-5 is several magnitudes harder than just beating 1-4. Each stage is both harder, the errors from earlier stages start compounding onto your bombs and lives, and has more room for mistakes as a result. Beating just up to stage 5 does not feel worthy of a victory, and it feels like that's how it's presented in-game. Think of it like this. In a video game, beating a run of Touhou 6 is worth 1,000 experience. 800 of that experience is for beating Stage 6. If you're only playing up to Stage 5, you're missing most of the challenge that will help you get better. In this sense, I can't say that beating 20% of the challenge is worth calling a 'win'. Likewise, jumping to normal after only playing easy means you have to learn stage 6 from scratch when you could have been doing that on easy. The best thing to get better at fighting Remilia is fighting Remilia. As far as 'beating the game' is concerned, if someone really wanted to mince words, yeah, they 'beat the game' and get a bad ending. 'Beat' in the context used in my video would entail getting the good ending for this game. 'Beat' would be different for TH8 for example, which has its A and B paths. I'll reiterate this is what I personally consider 'beating' the game. Everyone can have their opinions on that, I think.

[@darkflames9039]

I know they aren't canon, but I want to watch the "anime"s, so which one should I start with?, do I need any context before watching them? P.D: I've only played Touhou 6 - 11 and I wanna invite my weeb friends to watch the animes together, so they gonna be Touhou fans, probably lmao.

[@GensouChronicle]

If by 'animes' you mean memories of phantasm, or some combination of them, summers day dream and a couple others, I personally do not like MoP and wouldn't really recommend it to anyone in good conscience. That said, if you want to watch it anyway, I would say you can really watch it in whatever order. It doesn't really make a difference. All you need to know is that it does a very bad job of portraying the events of the games and the personalities of characters, as well as establishing a number of notions within the English community about the series that I don't really like. Summer's Day Dream is an anime that I would say is very good, but may be more appreciated by people who are already fans. You would probably enjoy it, but your friends might be a little lost. And don't let my rant about MoP deter you. By all means, give it a shot.

[@ehgia5215]

Hey! Just discovered your Chanel, great video btw, keep it up. Can I ask for the ost use in this video

[@GensouChronicle]

In the description.

[@MetalX34]

good video. good job. me likes. the only possibly useful thing my experience could teach to neophytes is to emphasize that going through the games is not necessary to enjoy canon. i play the games so awfully and with such deliberately slow progress that i am not even down to a crawl. i am so damn slow i spoilt myself all the lore by piecing together the essential from fanwork referencing the events every so often. despite all that, it is definitely a fun ride even if it does not follow the more natural approach presented here. the games are the "authentic" flavour of gensokyo's fantasy and they are obviously fun in their own way, so sure why not try. but if somehow you are allergic to playing japanese shoot em up daily, don't hesitate to fish the canon's essence from the fanon flow so you get the gist of it. after all, official or not, part of this franchise's essence is also through the metric tons of reinterpretations around it (well, for better or worse ; you can bet my username on it).

[@arrashishiv1591]

Wait, are you saying that that one story where Remilia and Meiling tried to obtain Sakuyas bath water and bodily fluids is non-canon? No way.....

[@thatartguy1364]

I’m just scared to play the games because there are so many and I’m not really good at shoot em ups and I’m more interested in learning lore probably because I grew up with Five Nights At Freddy’s and it’s lore so I don’t know where to start 😂 but I’m good at honkai star rail and other RPG games

[@GensouChronicle]

You can always try one of the fan games, too. Mystia Izakaya is fun. So is Puppet Dance Performance.

[@seancatacombs]

Could it be argued that Perfect Memento in Strict Sense (and by extension anything authored in-universe by Akyuu) is done by an unreliable narrator? There are several demonstrably false and/or fabricated statements and stories about Gensokyo in it. In the accompanying manga short we straight up see that Akyuu gives Yukari editorial review of the chronicle. All of that suggests that the main purpose of the Hieda's records is to maintain the faith-farming system of Gensokyo rather than reflect full unvarnished truth.

[@GensouChronicle]

Unreliable yes, but we have to keep in mind the degree of unreliability. We as a community have a pretty good grasp on what is very likely fabricated within PMiSS and what is complete, personal speculation on her part. Everything else though, we can generally understand to be truthful or at least insightful. I would say at least 90% of it is truthful.

[@pilotamurorei]

You should NEVER start with Touhou 6. Its literally one of the hardest Touhou games outside of 紺珠伝 and 地霊殿 (i own almost all of the touhou games in japanese up to like 15.3). The most newbie friendly touhou games are 天空璋 and 鬼形獣. I really want the latter, but its out of print right now, and I also REALLY want touhou 19, but thats disappeared off shelves for the time being as well.

[@rainspectre3153]

I think it's not really accurate to describe Lost Word as a "fan-game" per say. While it might not be canon or have ZUN's direct involvement, it is still an officially licensed work, is something he quite actively promotes on his Twitter, and appears on official streams for. Literally the reason he even greenlit the game was because he wanted to grow 2hu's audience, so it's a mis-identifier at best to describe it as just fan-made.

[@HyperVanilo]

You're lucky SupremeExplosion isn't here, he will beat your ass repeatedly

[@notlol1]

But....its literally just that, a fan-game. It has nothing to do with the canon

[@rainspectre3153]

@@notlol1 Canonicity has nothing to do with the professional context under which it is made. A third-party licensed derivative is still an official product, not an unofficial fan-work.

[@notlol1]

@@rainspectre3153 an official Touhou work is something thats made by ZUN, not a bunch of ppl lol

[@moh.syafrianabie8899]

@@notlol1 explain Tasofro then lol Btw I'm actually on your side, Lost Word is not canon because ZUN only approved/endorsed it but not involved in making of the game, it just that I gotta counter your argument before since ZUN wasn't alone when developing the fighting games, and those fighting games are canon. Wdym games has to be only made by ZUN alone that's short minded

[@Kindal0ner]

The only canon information that i know came from funny touhou doujinshi 💀

[@LuigiSantoriniXXX16]

The thing every beginner should know is to never start with LoLK or UFO since LoLK is stupidly hard and UFO has a very hard gimmick. WBaWC mostly fixed UFO's gimmick but the bullet visibility is quite low. I still think EoSD is the best starting point since it's not too hard and not too easy too. It teaches you the core gameplay of Touhou without gimmicks and It's also the first windows game so there'll be no characters you should already know in that game. Other than that, enjoy everything this series had to offer both canon and fanmade.

[@LuigiSantoriniXXX16]

You can also play the PC 98 games. But the first one it's more of a breakout bullet hell. They're also not connected to the windows era (Although Alice returned(

[@patricklewis9787]

I’ll be honest I started with ufo and while it took awhile to 1cc I love the game’s theme the most out of all plus the ost is great.... but when my older bro tried getting him into Touhou I advised him not to start with ufo lol

[@LuigiSantoriniXXX16]

@@patricklewis9787 Yeah, Byakuren is still one of the best final bosses imo. It's just that the UFO's change color at the last second and then you can't get the color that you want.

[@somefries3101]

funny enough, the first touhou i played was Touhou 5 because i misguided myself lol

[@Shyguymask]

I can't take the print works/mangas seriously since it butchers Youmu's character so hard compared to the games it might as well be a separate canon, and it even contradicts itself.

[@GensouChronicle]

I'm not sure what you mean. Youmu is a huge dork in both the games and written works. Do you have some examples? Maybe I'm missing something.

[@Shyguymask]

​@@GensouChronicle In the main game canon Youmu is a stoic-looking but dorky swordswoman who is confident if not boastful of her sword skills. In the mangas/print works, the "dork" part of her is blatantly flanderized to the point it becomes the *only* trait and aspect of her character. She is portrayed as being outright clumsy, unintelligent (even compared to game canon) and weak and she is never seen fighting or even gardening once. Instead, the only things her character is used for is being the butt of jokes and being ridiculed. She almost never does anything meaningful in her appearances even when it's not about being made a complete joke of. Her character in the games & spin offs meanwhile is actually fleshed out, more complex and better handled. And then there's the one Aya interview book where it states that Youmu has supposedly no "free time" when in reality whether it's the games or other print works, Youmu is constantly seen wandering around Gensokyo casually both with and without Yuyuko, whether it's to solve incidents, participate in parties/feasts, visit the Hakurei Shrine or even just chilling reading a book. It's trashy.

[@GensouChronicle]

So, you agree that she's a dork in both the games and written works. Your problem is that the 'dork' bit is more prominent in almost all writing sources? I would say that the written works are a much better indication of character since they aren't just simply a short back and forth before engaging in combat. I'm not sure where they have indications of being more fleshed out. Considering all of the written works consistently portray her like this, and the games not directly contradicting it- instead supporting it, I'm really not seeing the problem. I see her as an earnest, but gullible person, and as a result an easy target for being the butt of a joke. As for her being busy a lot, I'm pretty sure most of these cases involve Yuyuko specifically sending her off to do these things. Likewise, I would expect her to attend parties with Yuyuko. There may be instances elsewhere she is seen, but unless she is explicitly shown to be just off doing whatever, it doesn't necessarily contradict that she is doing something at Yuyuko's request.

[@Shyguymask]

@@GensouChronicle ​The fact that said "short back and forths" handles and fleshes out her character astronomically better just screams how bad the print works are in that regard. As I've said, her character in the game is more complex and deep than just flanderizing & exaggerating a single of her traits like the books do. Youmu in the books is not combative, stoic, boastful or (compared to her game counterpart) remotely intelligent among other things. Youmu in the games is. The books do not follow Youmu's character from the games, almost as if it's a different character under the same name, thus being contradictory to her game counterpart. The games do not remotely "support" it whatsoever. There is no evidence or implications that Yuyuko sends Youmu for everything she does, in fact there is significant evidence that shows the contrary. First of all it would be bizarre for Yuyuko to "order" Youmu to leave the Netherworld just to go visit the Hakurei Shrine or get drunk with other characters, without Yuyuko's presence. Secondly and more importantly, three times or so has Youmu decided on her own to go resolve an incident only for Yuyuko to object to it at first (IN Prologue, fighting game, TD). Oh yeah, that's another contradiction from Game to Manga Youmu, in Cage in Lunatic Runagate Youmu explicitly states that she "abandoned the notion of thinking on my own"... only for her to proceed to think on her own and decide on her own the solve the incident in Ten Desires, even with Yuyuko objecting to it at first.

[@Pickanvil176]

​@Shyguymask "combative, stoic, and boastful" That's just because the nature of the games requires anyone to be smug bastard in it, EVERYONE in the games are combative and boastful, and considering that the only thing Youmu is boasting is that her sword can cut through anything, I don't think she is boastful outside combat scenario Dude even our literal main protagonist, Hakurei "Crimson Slasher" Reimu, is pretty much hostile to any youkai/fairies/gods that dares to show their face in the games, and yet she's pretty civil to them and even appreciate their presence in the print works, so it's not like different personalities in different media is unheard from this franchise Also it's kinda funny that you argue about Youmu's intelligence when one of the most memorable dialogue in all of Touhou is her being surprised that closing your eyes makes everything dark

[@Sniper5875]

i came into touhou for the yuri, stayed for the awesome world and community

[@ethanmueller8218]

Any updates to the list?

[@GensouChronicle]

No. This guide is fairly future-proofed. If anything, the two ongoing manga have been running for a while, but they are not better for starting with than anything else on the list.