Touhou's Magic System: Explained

Touhou's magic system isn't very straightforward. Even simply how Gensokyo operates as a setting can be hard to understand. We will be talking about how different aspects of its magic works from a worldbuilding perspective.
Timestamps
Intro 0:00
Defining Magic Systems 1:14
Touhou's Magic Core 4:11
The Great Hakurei Barrier 6:01
The Spellcard System 9:19
Character Abilities 11:22
Traditional Magic 13:50
How to Learn Magic 16:56
The Importance of Soft Magic 17:58
Music Used
Entrusting this World to Idols - TLPenguin
Rural Makai City Esoteria - Sound Refil
The Primal Scene of Japan the Girl Watched - Melodic Taste
Night Falls ~ Evening Star - ZUN
The World is Made from Cuteness - ZUN
Illusionary Festival - Lowlands Blossom
The Girl's Secret Room - Prismriver Orchestra
Sakura Sakura - arinosu
►Thumbnail Artist: x.com/xen0moon...
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[@GensouChronicle]

I've gotten a surprisingly high amount of comments related to me using Christianity as the example for casting magic. Even more surprising still, despite me saying that Christians are responsible for most of Western magic and therefore have a LOT of magic available to them, my example was somehow interpreted by a few as the opposite. Even going as far as saying I used them as an example at their expense. So I'm going to clarify here in case that part was confusing for people: -You can't just 'be religious' and suddenly have laser beams for powers. There needs to be a historical source within your religious practices that mention it. This was the point of the example, and as Christianity is a popular religion that we don't see really in Gensokyo, it's a perfect example to explain this. -With that example in mind, you CAN use anything that Christianity has defined. As a few people have pointed out, this can include protection prayers, rituals, and exorcisms among other things. There are MANY magic texts that stem from it and other Abrahamic religions. I made this VERY clear in the video.

[@Re-2005]

Melee is part of Christianity if you look up many of the Saints and Heros of Christianity you'll find many of them are Warriors too. Saint George is the Patron Saint of Chivalry and he's a warrior who killed a dragon with his sword Ascalon. There's also Saint Justinian, Saint Constantine both are Kings and also warriors. Saint Boniface who cut down the Jupiter's Oak despite the warning of Divine Retribution but nothing happens to him. The Pentagram was also the symbol of the Five Wounds of Christ.

[@GensouChronicle]

@@Re-2005 The point of the example was that you can't just make up stuff with no basis to it. You can't just say 'go-go gadget, bible blast' because you pray every night.

[@Wulfbanez]

If only Christian faith really worked like that lol. As I said in the comments. It's the connection between god that would determine the strength and capabilities. While it's true that in the bible by faith alone we are saved. But that doesn't mean by faith alone we get super powers.

[@MauricioLSB]

Ah yeah whatever Christ is king And YHWH is lord Salvation spell go!!!

[@MauricioLSB]

One thing i love about magic in genso Is the approach patche gives it Is science for her No paganism nothing paranormal Science. Who knows maybe she is a Jew Or even Christian

[@navyblustick7758]

My friend got jumped in Gensokyo City for trying to invoke the power of Christ against a Yokai. He fucking died.

[@YanYanicantbelievethistakenffs]

Did he mistakenly turned the sake into wine?

[@FillarAccount]

Skill fucking issue

[@sonicspeedster2684]

You’ve activated my spellcard: Virgin Sigh “Infusing From The Holy Spirit”! *proceeds to still get teamed on by the entirety of Gensokyo*

[@hi-i-am-atan]

poyo

[@banjo1919]

> Didn't conquer Gensokyo with the Power Of Christ Should have spent more points in faith

[@Halhal-et4eb]

Its so fascinating how ZUN made a magic system when he was talking to this frog girl at a bar.

[@Guedez1]

More than Religious people, it's contemporary magicians who would have it easy "Wow, you can make cards disappear? Did you read my mind, by god you can do anything!" One of two would probably happen: 1 Fool enough villagers and yokai and suddenly you can actually do it 2 You keep stumbling into silly situations where you somehow can keep bullshitting people, never breaking their belief you can do actual magic, but never able to actually do real magic because you know for a fact you can't, yet situations keep happening where you somehow manage to pull through

[@lilmatty2466]

Your descriptions made me think of King from One Punch Man and Reigen from Mob Psycho.

[@GensouChronicle]

This works, yes

[@GreeeenUwU]

Isn't this just how Kozusu ability came to be?

[@benquinnobi6461]

I saw some other fans speculating this, but I don't think it's confirmed. It very well could be the case though.​@@GreeeenUwU

[@JimmyJonJillakers]

I think the "personal belief does not necessarily reflect collective belief" clause actually makes that second scenario questionable. You would totally be able to do magic, you'd just be so full of self-doubt after tricking people for so long you keep rationalizing it as tricks.

[@rainer_1137]

i love how one of sumireko's spellcards is a fucking gun

[@AntonDVasiliev-ss1ie]

even better, it's 3d printed and you can get the files yourself

[@PhantomGato-v-]

Everyone can use that spell card!

[@magicyber909]

Sumireko is more American than Clownpiece.

[@Solinaru]

she casts non-magic missle

[@PhantomGato-v-]

@@Solinaru she casts it like my group's barbarian does it!

[@manrisamanrisame]

Fantasy authors hates how ZUN can easily expand Touhou infinitely and has a simple boundary to explain on how a character got in there.

[@terrenceswiff]

Aunn was "born" recently but has been watching things for a long time as a statue. In addition to her probably knowing how spell cards work, I imagine this is why in HSiFS she talks to Reimu and Marisa like she knows them and they should know her

[@Aaa-vp6ug]

Imagine how happy she was when she found out she could move.

[@Joe4evr]

Pretty much. "I’ve been waiting for so, so long. I’ve watched you work hard and grow so strong."

[@zacharyyoungblood7013]

You forgot one essential aspect of Touhou's hard magic, and that is Master Spark solves everything

[@GensouChronicle]

Damn. Gotta remake the video.

[@muazadam983]

When in doubt strong Master Spark

[@ahoodedfigure1430]

Except for the first flandre fight

[@un4039]

NEW GENSOUCHRONICLE VIDEO DROPPED WE ARE SO BACK

[@GensouChronicle]

We've never been more back.

[@LimaBr_]

@@GensouChronicle oh so that means next video is near?

[@GensouChronicle]

lol

[@brimple]

amogus reimu??

[@SimoneBellomonte]

Pfp (Profile picture) and / or Banner Sauce (Source [Artist])? 🗿🗿🗿

[@jvts8916]

One thing that I remember for being such an odd detail is that an early draft of the spell card duels handwaved the men disliking them for being unmanly. This is to my knowledge the only canon explanation for why Unzan's the only active male youkai in the games

[@GensouChronicle]

I recall that too.

[@magicyber909]

There’s Taisui as well, who is criminally underrated by the fanbase. But my personal interpretation is that the youkai, being constructs of belief rather than matter, simply morphed into forms better suited to the new reality, with antrhopomorphization and later feminization being relatively recent developments.

[@Shyguymask]

19:45 I don't even want to ask about the thought process that went into this one tier list.

[@GensouChronicle]

The top results for image search on Touhou power level tier list are wild

[@cinnamoncat8950]

what the hell hecatia is in B tier 💀

[@landydot6296]

11:20 she was so excited to take part after watching everybody else do it that she made the spell cards within minutes

[@GensouChronicle]

She would.

[@duykhangtran4406]

I guess if the collective humanity's belief was the core of all magic in Gensokyo, it would mean that the human village is in more way than one the power source for everything in the setting. That would explain why every youkai and even the shrines tried so hard to spread their influence into the village

[@GensouChronicle]

That's correct. Forbidden Scrollery takes the opportunity to explain a lot of these dynamics to us. It's a very good read.

[@KyoukoShrine]

11:40 "Weaknesses, limits, and costs are more interesting than powers" I believe the meaning behind the spells is indeed the limitation behind this seemingly limitless power. Spells need a meaning to be a spell, and that's what so enthralling about them. Koishi's spells, for instance, include hearts and roses and the way they are shot at us, either getting repulsed from her into us or coming toward her, actually says a lot about herself, her feelings, and what she truly is. ZUN really knows not only how to write characters' personalities on their spells, but also in their themes. Energetic or Melancholic, each character's theme is pure art.

[@bensoncheung2801]

42nd 👍,

[@Poisonedzero]

Dude you are such a good fucking writer. The way you script stuff always keeps me engaged.

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad to hear it. This script took me longer to write than any of the previous ones so far.

[@KoishiFish]

It ain't magic if it ain't flashy

[@GensouChronicle]

TRUE

[@darkhorse744]

-Love Coloured Magician.

[@moh.syafrianabie8899]

Koishi you've been hanging out with that thief magician again. Stop it! She's not a good role model.

[@igorholanda4415]

counter argument, chronic back pain magic: activate Suffer

[@renariin]

just an ordinary magician

[@Oddmanoutre]

soft magic is octopus soft: tender, yielding easily when direct pressure( logical analysis) is applied, but when those myriad mounds of muscle contract, the grip is nearly impossible to escape. Hard magic is carbide hard: unyielding when viewed in limited use, or independent of its intended purpose, but when it is used beyond its limits (i.e., when you try to scale the magic up beyond what it was intended to explain), it shatters from its own brittleness.

[@junhordash2010]

"Honey, let's go out together-" "NO. GensouChronicle just posted a video"

[@GensouChronicle]

Exactly.

[@NarrowSpark96]

I'd make the assumption that Christian magic would be very similar to the abilities of Sanae: Miracles. She even has a spellcard named based on a specific Biblical event.

[@GensouChronicle]

There are lots of Christian magics, yes.

[@izzymosley1970]

I think a scientist that wants to eradicate belief in the supernatural and try to explain the supernatural with science could be a very interesting villain for touhou. Perhaps they could even use spell cards based off of scientific principles and theories I think that could be really interesting.

[@mirkwood579]

Reverse Yumemi? 💭

[@bestaround3323]

Could be a fun idea to write about

[@davidarvingumazon5024]

**cough cough** Umineko **cough cough**

[@PragmaticAntithesis]

That could make an interesting parallel to Reimu, since both her and the scientist would draw their powers from being something the Yokai fear (thus working around the "no humans becoming Yokai" rule).

[@JoaoPaulo-zd2qj]

God-Emperor of Manking

[@ChuckShnozwell]

What i take away from this is that i gotta start practicing sex magic in case i get sent to gensokyo

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah, that was wild to see on the list.

[@Eidolon94]

@@GensouChronicle Missed opportunity to have the link to Goetia instead of that one purple tbh.

[@MedsieLovr]

That's the magic Kasen uses in secret

[@IammeoramI]

Make sure to bring some magnum sized magic scrolls, and potions of lubrication.

[@IvanezRus]

​@@MedsieLovr that would explain her being on the first place 🌝

[@theishiopian68]

An interesting consequence of the properties of the barrier is that bionicles could probably be found in Gensokyo

[@GensouChronicle]

That's funny. But also true.

[@theishiopian68]

@@GensouChronicle Alice should take notes.

[@xodiach]

Watching this video made me realize just how many similarities there are between Gensokyo and my own fantasy setting, especially in terms of how Zun goes about writing. For one: Giving characters very abstract, vaguely defined abilities is a really fun way to write powers, so long as you keep things consistent. Makes sense why I got into touhou lol

[@GensouChronicle]

It's a fun series to write fan stuff for, definitely.

[@Sacriven]

They tapped the power of the Warp to fuel their magics.

[@magicyber909]

They’l have a fun time. For a few thousand years. Until the warp decays into a complete unrecognizable mess of conflicting beliefs and utter chaos, lashing out at anything sane.

[@junkoxeno_7734]

I like to imagine the Orks would love Gensokyo and its logic

[@Sacriven]

@@junkoxeno_7734 Yuka would love to cultivate some Orkoids in her garden.

[@ziggytheassassin5835]

I always imagine the tyrannid hivemind is a giant yuyuko fumo

[@videoanon]

if there's something interesting im a little surprised you didnt cover, it's rinnosuke's ability to create magic items. He seems to be able to take the 'idea' of what something can do and applies it to item creation, making some really wild stuff, and it looks like its something only he can manage through a combination of his ability plus gensokyo logic. As seen in CoLA and the mini-hakkero, and the minus-ion air purification bit he somehow managed to add to it. I always laugh at his explanation of computers in chapter 1 of CoLA, but in gensokyo, they may as well run like that and given his ability and what he's accomplished with it, he might as well get a computer running on moonlight if he used the right underlying mystical systems to pull from to slap on it.

[@ruikirisame1744]

"What magic spells do Christians use?" Uhh... Bread?

[@pythonsotl]

We can fill your entire boat with 🐟

[@GensouChronicle]

walk on water too

[@jaiturn3187]

christians would probably just have the same sort of magic reimu has as the shrine maiden, exorcism

[@2hufanatic]

Watch me troll hard when I turn your water into wine

[@deretti347]

multiplying bread, turning water into vine and walking on water would be useful to survive in Gensokyo

[@yukitakaoni007]

bro done making Buffet about living in Gensokyo. Now he making all-you-can-eat lunch break.

[@pizywizy506]

A little aside about the idea of "meaningful attacks" in the Spell Card Rules: To me the language used here is similar to the idea of the "false attack" in Judo. A false attack in Judo isn't just feinting attacks for misdirection (which is allowed). A false attack is when you feign being active in the fight, to avoid penalty or whatever. In other words, it's essentially a rule against pretending to fight. This might seem counterintuitive since there are fights (even mentioned in the video) where stronger characters seem to throw. However, there is a difference between earnestly fighting without your full strength, and going through the motions of fighting, so to speak. Anyway there's another thing we can gleam from this parallel is the relationship that danmaku and the SCRs have compared to the relation between the wider discipline of grappling as a whole and Judo. That is to say, in Judo we often see people from other grappling sports participate in competition without actually knowing all the nuances and such about the rules. It's likely this is the same in Touhou: People outside of Gensokyo (for reasons outside of this mini-essay) know about danmaku, and thus are able to participate in the SCRs without formally knowing them. Just some food for thought :)

[@GensouChronicle]

I think I'm going to take on this interpretation for my own. I really like this. Thanks.

[@OmnicroneRED]

Great video, especially your conclusion. The importance of "fuzzy" worldbuilding to promote fan creation cannot be understated. It is interesting that now thinking about it I see what you outlined in your video is that Gensokyo is a great blueprint to what makes a great setting for TTRPGs: a setting that invites people to collaboratively create stories in it. TTRPG settings requires strong "hard magic" rules for games to work, but the real good ones will also feature many "soft magic" stuff for DMs to work on and add their own spice and retain a sense of wonder even to veteran players.

[@GensouChronicle]

That's a good way to put it. There needs to be a strong base with enough soft material for creators to go wild in a space that feels just structured enough that it's not just a generic setting.

[@justRICHTOFEN]

I find that you just release absolute winners every time you make a video! I love how in-depth you go and how thoroughly you explain the points you make. This was a fantastic video, I knew a lot of this already, but you raised some very thought-provoking ideas / points. Great work!

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad you like them! I'm always trying to improve my videos as I go.

[@waluigiisthebest2802]

One thing that somewhat bothers me is that many character abilities are ridiculously op, which basically means any serious plot can’t happen without some way to restrict those abilities, or have those characters be absent for seemingly no reason. For example, in Foul detective Satori, Satori herself doesn’t show up much because she would find the culprit to easily from mind reading. Then again, not ever plot needs to be serious or high-stakes.

[@christopherbravo1813]

If I understand, the Spell Card system *itself* is a self-imposed limitation basically accepted by Gensokyo's entire female population which among other things serves the purpose of nerfing the strong while giving the weak a fighting chance in combat scenarios. Pretty much every Yokai in these games is holding back *considerably.*

[@bensoncheung2801]

42 👍,

[@CerealKiller]

8:00 So basically Gensokyo and San Andreas have alot in common.

[@johnathansfacew8528]

Thoughtful and well put together video. The real magic was the creativity being made. Pretty cool when put into perspective.

[@GensouChronicle]

Thank you.

[@RangerW36]

17:52 On my way to Gensokyo to use Sex Magic

[@Ciurk]

IM WHEEZING

[@KyoukoShrine]

Brooo that was the first thing I glanced on that frame 💀

[@lebro4401]

No not the 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 magic😭😭😭

[@o0Cheator0o]

Magic backfires, you make everyone a futanari and become their sub. "backfires"

[@magicyber909]

Average touhou Hprotag be like.

[@takatsukiban4195]

Dude, I can't thank you enough for discussing this topic! I've been waiting for someone to explain the magic system of the Touhou Project. I really enjoyed the video-it's a great comeback after your hiatus. Welcome back to Gensokyo! LOL If you ask me, I don't usually have a favourite part, since every part of a work contributes to one another, but I believe the part I was interested in was the Spell Card System, since the "A Sign: B (Attack)" gives a hint of a deeper magic system beneath, it peaked my curiosity every time I seen it onscreen.

[@GensouChronicle]

I never left lol. This video just took 3 months almost to make.

[@takatsukiban4195]

@@GensouChronicle Oh, my bad... I never were good at precise wording... Though, I can see why it took you this long, just take things easy on yourself next time, will you?

[@terrenceswiff]

RE Spell Cards there's an SCoOW interview with ZUN with more explanations on them "Touhou Spell Cards FAQ". Something interesting he mentioned that I never noticed before reading it was he used to actually incorporate the cards, like the literal physical cards in games but stopped. You used to be able to see them next to the bosses (you can see them in fighting games too--they pull them out). Other than that, I think for the games in general it's probable he thinks it would be bothersome to always show the protagonists explaining spell cards to newcomers. There are often a bunch in game and it would get silly to always show the protagonists explaining things. I'm not sure whether he's ever admitted that, but it would make sense given the one time we see spell cards being explained to newcomers was in SSiB, which felt like an attempt at writing an "Incident" in manga form.

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah, I always took it as a gameplay/design convenience to not really bother with them visually.

[@Hunderbar]

7:52 you've grown so much as an artist 😭😭😭 how do you do it???

[@GensouChronicle]

5 Ibuprofen, 1 orange, 2 water. My secret recipe.

[@lildra9onboy361]

Im so obsessed with touhou that i knew everything up until the traditional magic part lol because having multiple magic systems is actually amazing and I somehow only knew about the alchemical magic and Reimu's magic.

[@GensouChronicle]

Nice!

[@Pudding404]

Youkai and Gods really got "snap back to reality"'d by science and common-sense in the most literal basic sense. That's literally the Hakurei barrier. That's so damn funny.

[@Bri1Iiant]

My mind has been blown! I never really knew how magic worked in Gensokyo, but I'm glad I found this to expand my knowledge of Touhou. I have been somewhat new to the community, not really interacting with it as much, but I will still be partaking in it from the sidelines.

[@GensouChronicle]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. Nothing wrong with being a casual enjoyer.

[@okuufallout]

Always looking for anything to do with Kagerou in this channel’s vids now. Silly Gyate Kagerou did not disappoint.

[@GensouChronicle]

Naturally.

[@gappystu]

Not bad, I personally have subscribed to the collective belief theory in Touhou ever since I got into 40k... I mean, it just fits. Just bit of a theory of mine, but I personally believe that what empowers Yukari's abilities regarding boundary manipulation is the very concept of boundaries we impose upon ourselves as a society across the planet. Because without them we would be feral creatures. I originally read this in a fanfic, but basically Yukari's powers fell as soon as major war started in the outside world; because we as humans had crossed a boundary we really shouldn't have. I think it's an interesting explanation to the hag's powers, but obviously, a fan one. Just like you said yourself, it invites creativity. Good video though, happy to see someone educating common folk about this stuff. Keep it up!

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks!

[@mushroo2453]

"VEGETA WHAT WAS HIS MANA STATUS!" "ITS OVER 9000!"

[@syberinkinc669]

As a person who loves magic systems and world building in general, thank you. Really good video

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@rga1605]

This was a really interesting video, because one thing that has to be taken in consideration is that Touhou has more to do with old folklore than modern fantasy, so a lot of conventions and tropes change. Reading on academic mythology and folklore (no Joseph Campbell, that crank) made me appreciate Touhou so much more, because you can understand the context that ZUN is trying to emulate - nothing in Gensokyo must be taken at face value and this paradox creates a world that is so sincere. The world back then used to be so "small" (quotation marks needed), and we live in an age that everything is so "big" and Gensokyo is still from that time everything was much smaller than today - this is why fans imagine so many stories of people being spirited-away to there, but the opposite is much rarer. I think that powerscaling doesn't really work because it's such a "modern" thing, of assigning numbers to everything. Reimu has the power of "flying" simply because she's the protagonist and the owner of the story can say "she wins", like playing make-believe (I can imagine an interpretation that the events of Touhou are two girls playing with their dolls). ZUN's approach has its limitations (we will never see the characters growing up), but there's so much to explore that it doesn't really matter.

[@GensouChronicle]

Very well said!

[@mush-broom]

Are you telling me that the majority of Christians can get together to agree on what kind of magic and abilities they will have to go to Gensokyo? I know what I'm going to do now lol. Great vid Gensou. Idk if you have improved your editing, but everything looks so clear!

[@igorholanda4415]

Water into wine? Water into wine! bandit- I can breathe fire You - I can turn water into wine bandit- hahah how useless you - you have water in your blood *criminal falls dead*

[@Foxenco]

The GOAT is back, time to get another nugget of wisdom for a totally possible trip to Gensokyo

[@GensouChronicle]

That's the spirit.

[@robertao8241]

you never know

[@TheOVJM]

I have to say that even at its hardest Touhou's magic system is incredibly soft. The hardest part that you mentioned, and I agree that it is the hardest, is the belief determining what is real, but even then there is very little concrete rules for it. How many people need to believe for something to be real, for instance. Or when there are supernatural beings that exist despite being largely forgotten or unknown about. And then there are beings who derive their existence from other sources like belief like Junko (and I think Raiko as well, though I may be misremembering the specifics of her case). It just goes to show that even at its hardest Touhou's magic system is *really* soft. The barrier though gotta be one of my favorite aspects of Touhou's magic system and the world at large. Just how wonky it is with how it works, it connecting Gensokyo and the Lunar capital and its history are all really fascinating. But I still definitely wouldn't call it hard. What we know about it is very limited and even those "rules" are broken very often, like getting through the barrier. That and we don't know exactly how those rules are "governed" so to say and what are the "rules for the rule breaking". And like you said, the barrier and its rules is used as plot points more than world building which is exactly what I think makes it soft. He has the tendency to add and break the rules as his stories go. I dare say in my opinion the spellcards are a harder system than the barrier. We know the exact rules they are created around and even the reasons why those rules exist. Though, like you said their forms of usage is quite loose and soft. And what you said about the abilities and the general magic I do agree. They are for the most part between quite soft with some rules, to wholly soft.

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah, I think I mentioned it in the later part of the video, but the VAST majority of magic would fall under the very soft end like you said. As for the barrier, I get what you mean. I took it as about 80% hard. The only reason I put the spellcard system as lower was because of the variation in softness of danmaku. But there is definitely a valid argument swapping the two, for sure.

[@shelbania]

official touhou logo jumpscare

[@GensouChronicle]

I had to include it.

[@victorvirgili4447]

where

[@justinbrown6433]

FINNALY i've been waiting for wtf the magic system is forever thank you so much

[@GensouChronicle]

Hope it was worth the wait!

[@bigkspicy8257]

Another banger! Thanks for bringing a spotlight to Touhou as always!

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@Ganmue]

That's a killer finishing line "It's touhou's magic, that builds its community" You've got a magical way with words, great job!

[@Svatsniko]

Not now, dear, new GensouChronicle video dropped

[@GensouChronicle]

It's an occasion for the whole family.

[@Sonicfalcon16]

Heres what I know before even watching the video, your strength unless you're Reimu or Marisa, your strength is based on who is causing the incident. Which is why yuyuko can be the strongest boss in the game or level 1 boss in another game

[@sBoris_]

This channel is slowly becoming the Touhou encyclopedia and I'm all here for it

[@GensouChronicle]

That would be awesome.

[@cienciandre]

Can you make one about Touhou's afterlife next? There's so much stuff. There's hell, netherworld, heaven, the six realms of reincarnation (including all of the above and the animal realm featured in th17?), then we have hermits, celestials, sanzu river, judgements... So much stuff, would love to see you cover it all

[@GensouChronicle]

I'll look into it!

[@Crabnuts]

I really love your videos, the lore and world of gensokyo are something I’m incredibly interested in and your videos greatly scratch that itch

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks!

[@rga1605]

Also, if you want to make a debate on Christianity and magic in Gensokyo, it depends on the denomination. Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Pentecostal have a lot of emphasis on ritual (plus, before the Reformation, "magic" was actually kinda common in Christian contexts), so there's a higher chance of being adapted into Gensokyo's rules. Other denominations, like other Protestants would have a harder time, but if we're talking about Reformed/Puritan Christians, I think they would probably cause cancer on youkai after long exposure (granted New Englad Puritans were a superstitious bunch, so this applies only to modern Reformed).

[@siriusb2045]

So maybe Yukari doesn't allow Christians to get sent to gensokyo for being toxic? As a christian, I don't know if this is hilarious, a relief or a sad thing.

[@909mcronald]

All combind Christian is toxic yknow ​@@siriusb2045

[@eclipseadmintay2702]

I love this video, it makes everything so clear nad really lies everything out on the table that was hidden. I feel like I had a rather solid understanding of touhous magic system before watching this video, but afterwards not only do I feel omnipotent - but it's going to massively help with developing my own magic system for my own little hobby works. Thank you so much!!

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad to help.

[@plunteretech1344]

This man is just a Gensokyian resident, assigned to gather more people for Gensokyo to create more faith.

[@yac2d]

Its prob true

[@RonaldBackFromHell]

I love your vids man true high grade analysis while also not assuming or inserting (too much?) of your own thoughts and interpretations. At least you lead me to believe it is so, so good on ya

[@smollilnub3644]

Somehow I didn’t get recommended this earlier but LETS GOO another gensou chronicle video. Really thought provoking video this one was and it made me appreciate the world building in Gensokyo a lot more

[@ThePhantomSquee]

Usually I find discussions of magic systems quickly dissolve into masturbatory theorycrafting based on endless what-ifs and more silly rules than my whole D&D collection, so I don't expect to enjoy them very much. Egg on my face I guess! This was a fascinating look at how the magic ties innately into the setting and why it works the way it does. Excellent work.

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks. I spent a lot of time just trying to figure out how to structure the video, so I'm glad it paid off.

[@ThePhantomSquee]

@@GensouChronicle Starting with the basic hard rule about collective belief and working your way down to the least-defined probably feels obvious in retrospect, but it certainly worked here. That was part of what made it click just how much all the mystical stuff is defined by that rule--Buddhist mantras, hermit arts, and all the other varieties of mysticism work *because the inhabitants have an established system telling them they work.* It's deceptively simple looking back at it.

[@Lunarhermit4637]

6:10 I always thought Kasen saying that was so weird to be honest, like isn't she a sage? Would be interesting to know what her role was in the creation of the barrier

[@GensouChronicle]

WaHH implies while she isn't a sage, she doesn't actually agree with how Gensokyo is handled.

[@Lunarhermit4637]

@@GensouChronicle Do you mean "Implies that she is a sage?" I still remember the Kasen's a sage gag from Reimu lmao But what I mean by that is that while Kasen does have her disagreements with the other sages (I'm reminded of her saying "I am not on your side, but on the side of Heaven" and Aya Azuma's chipper and upbeat Yukari genuinely looking sad for a moment because of it) and seems really out of touch with sage business in general, it stands to reason that, as a sage, she would've been privy to some pretty high-level meetings about Gensokyo's creation way back in the day. Maybe it was never seen as important for her to receive that information or maybe she just didn't need to know, but it's still pretty weird that a sage like Kasen that supposedly had a hand in the creation of the barrier "always thought of the barrier as some sort of dome." Of course, she could've been downplaying her knowledge to facilitate conversation with the girls to talk about how the barrier worked, but hold on I just noticed something more interesting. That page comes from WaHH Ch. 25, and from pages 6 to 11, both a Sage and the dedicated keeper of the barrier are like "Uh, that's just how Yukari told me how it works" and Kasen's just off by a country mile. Assuming that she _isn't_ downplaying her knowledge, that implies that only a select circle within a select circle knows about how the barrier actually works, even to a level of "it's not a dome, it's a barrier between fantasy and common sense," at least by Season 129 / 2014. That's pretty fascinating information.

[@DrillimationSystems]

At last another video from you, but we'll have to wait another month for the next one...

[@GensouChronicle]

I HOPE it's only a month.

[@Chaossoul87]

Fifty seconds ago, uploaded. Luuuuucky! A fascinating video, very useful for my creative endeavours related to touhou.

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad I could help.

[@taxidriver6739]

Nice video! This turned out well. I got quite a lot to say. I find it hilarious how often the spell card rules are broken. If a character is in the fighting games they have broken the rules because you need to list how many spells you will use, possibly even twice if the character doesn't hold up a physical card when you declare a spell. The protagonists of imperishable night (likely the scarlet team iirc) broke the rule about not killing humans by killing mokou several times. Some of the rules do get kinda vague though such as the one about "beauty." With the different forms of magic, i find it interesting that some of the magic magician youkai use (the remove worms spell in particular) is actually based on Taoist rituals. This means Byakuren, the Buddhist nun, used youkai magic based in Taoist rituals. Makes a bit more sense why they sealed her away now. Wtf is sex magic? Does Marisa know that one? The ad she posted in AFiEU did promise bloodline prosperity...

[@GensouChronicle]

So at least with the spell card rules, since it was a first draft, we could say some things were modified. And as for what happens in the games, all of that could just be omitted for player convenience. That's just my opinion on it though. But yes, lots of interesting connections with different magic systems.

[@HydrogenH1]

What a banger. The soft magic explanation adds on the fundamental law of collective belief that brings a reality where we as readers/gamers of these games come to interpret and develop opinions on how things work, making them real in this fantasy scenario. Kinda similar to ''Lo real Maravlloso", a literary category/device that accept that in reality exist many wonderfull things, seemingly inexplicable that can be answered through cultural context without real explanation for which a certain level of faith is required.

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah. I wanted to best explain why the magic being so soft is to its benefit.

[@Tribow]

Hell yeah. I always loved basing Marisa's magic on folklore of witches. Their magic is already alchemy adjacent (c'mon a cauldron is clearly some alchemy stuff).

[@GensouChronicle]

Good stuff

[@notarealspy4090]

Another banger of a video as always, though, a video about specific peoples ideas of magics or the lens of magic through each of the games would be interesting, such as Why Junkos Spellcards are the way they are

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks!

[@ShockedTaiLung]

The editing in this is great

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks. Glad the effort paid off.

[@nohcat805]

9:38 it's wild how the Spellcard Draft from Perfect Memento in Strict Sense is usually used as the Source for Spellcard rules, but meanwhile in the very same book, the current rules of them are clearly noted down, and they are a bit different from the draft. Where one might ask? It's under Reimu's section. The real Spellcard rules currently established in Gensokyo are noted down in Reimu's section.

[@xb70valkyriech]

thanks for pointing that out

[@Ultra_7]

A Book is one of man’s greatest weapons and never judge it by it’s cover, if you do that in patchouli’s library you’ll soon realise that they’re all sentient and know more about magic bullets than those who built upon the germ theory

[@Freddles780]

I love this channel so much T.T I have learned soooo much about the Touhou Project through it and it just continues to grow my love for the series more and more as if being my favorite series wasn't enough already. THANK YOU FOR ANOTHER ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE VIDEO GENSOUCHRONICLE AND I'LL CYA IN THE NEXT VID!

[@Nicius-]

Thanks for the Explanation, i really wanted know how Gensokyo works, it's really easy to understand.

[@DumasDumasDumas]

Wow, I clicked on this video on my recommended page by chance, and after watching it to the end, I am very impressed with the interpretation of the content that I've seen here. I've never played a mainline/official Touhou game, dabbling entirely in fan games, as well as some officially written media(Forbidden Scrollery, Wild and Horned Hermit, and The Grimoire of Marisa), however to see a video explain and engage with a system that's so fun to explore, even in theory, I feel a lot more educated and involved in the world of a series that I find so fun to engage with. Subscribed after watching, excited to make it through a backlog of your videos!

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad to hear this video resonated with you. I try to go deeply into any topic I cover in a video.

[@DeltaPie]

Aunn gets a pass on the spell card rules on account of being a good dog. Oh, and sorry to ask, but where's the Akyuu clip from 20:41 from?

[@GensouChronicle]

I believe that's from the opening of Esoteric History, the Hifuu anime.

[@DeltaPie]

@@GensouChronicle Hmm, I was unable to find the Akyuu clip there but I DID stumble upon Kyoto Fantasy Troupe's ULiL PV that I now know exists, which is equally cool.

[@Nintega345]

The clip is actually in the credits of all the episodes in the series so far, which is pretty humorous when you take the near-decade-old 480p animation and put it right after a whole 20+ minutes of crisp 1080p goodness.

[@haydenhyde9395]

I've seen this thumbnail now several times and I always miss see it as Byakuren coming in to clobber Marisa with a steel chair.

[@haydenhyde9395]

Just watched the video. Byakuren doesn't blugeon Marisa with a steel chair. 0/10.

[@deretti347]

Patchouli magic being related to Feng Shui is very interesting because her projectiles in her fight in Touhou 6 are also similar to how the energy of the elements projects in the original belief, I think is a subtle reference too or Zun trying to make a possibility but not confirming

[@milksopgb]

im curious about this sex magic at 17:51 nice video as always.

[@GensouChronicle]

thanks!

[@Blue-hx8qu]

Completely ignored the question lmao

[@GensouChronicle]

@@Blue-hx8qu To be fair, it wasn't a question lmao

[@o0Cheator0o]

These videos will help me maintain a coherent self delusion when I'll fall into a coma after a car crash and think I got isekaied in Gensokyo. Thanks.

[@solphauns]

I have a playlist of my favorite KZbin videos ever (only very few are in it) and this video is going straight to it because WOW the way you explained everything was great, plus the fact that your observation on what makes touhou fanwork thrive so much is also a conclusion that I came to upon questioning the vagueness of character abilities descriptions (which I realized was a deliberate choice by zun) so your whole video resonates with me a lot!

[@kotofren]

The ending made me tear up a little... The more I learn about Touhou the more I love it. Thank you for another amazing video, great job as always!!

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MasterQuestMaster]

I never played Touhou, but I’ve already been interested in the characters since seeing them around. Your videos are very interesting even for someone like me.

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks!

[@lebro4401]

17:54 freaky magic

[@bibamarieva]

This is absolutely beautiful work

[@Roosauec]

17:15 The creation and blessing of food and water, the conversion of water to other liquids, the ability to turn objects into living creatures, the ability to control water, Resurrection, the laying on of hands... I could go on.

[@Roosauec]

Jesus spontaneously creates food for 5,000 people, Matthew 14:13-21: 13 When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities. 14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. 15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals. 16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat. 17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes. 18 He said, Bring them hither to me. 19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. 20 And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. 21 And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

[@Roosauec]

Moses brings forth water from striking a rock, Exodus 17:1-7: 17 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? 3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 4 And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?

[@Roosauec]

Jesus converts water to wine, John 2:7-11: 7 Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. 9 When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 10 And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. 11 This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

[@Roosauec]

Moses and Aaron turn their staffs into snakes, Exodus 7:8-13: 8 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 9 When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent. 10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 11 Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. 12 For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. 13 And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

[@GensouChronicle]

The Bible talks about Jesus doing these things, yes. The son of God. I don't think it means a debit follower could. But in any case, I mentioned examples of magic spawned from Christianity.

[@daemsu4556]

Another great video man, i really like your content, when i discovered your channel i watched all of your videos, keep up the great work!

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks so much!

[@jordanjackson6151]

Subscribed! Touhou analytical vids lasting at least 20 or more minutes are friggin deep.

[@kyaksachan502]

Oh man, I wish you did this stuff several years ago, but like the info have now can only be done because its the present. WHAT A GODDAMN GOOD EXPLANATION! This is outright my favorite lore video.

[@AlexanderKnapton]

Thank you for this video! Me and some of my friends do these things called "can you beats" which is we put the others in a game/anime and see how they fair. None of us fully know how the power system works, and I'm the only real fan of TouHou so I've been the 'dm'. This was so helpful. So once again, thank you.

[@LimaBr_]

Sakuya wake up, GensouChronicle posted a new video

[@GensouChronicle]

Normally Meiling needs to wake up.

[@GlitchSaboteur]

I think the way ZUN handled the magic system is good. Like it was said in the video, it allows for lots of open interpretation and imagination. Giving no limit to what magic can and can’t be in Touhou gives so much creativity. Even then, the Great Hakurei Barrier having an explanation can still be used to its absolute max potential with what we know of it. The openness of Touhou and its world and characters is just great. I think this is one of the things that makes Touhou truly magical. Anyways, great video as always. Pretty well said and understandable, even with something as confusing as magic.

[@UnknownSquid]

Watching this surprised me, due to realising how similar the magic in my own world building is Touhou's magic "system". Not sure how much of that is accidental inspiration, or just co-incidence. Because my setting follows a very similar principle, that reality is defined by will and collective belief. I played very deliberately on the idea of soft vs hard being an inherent trait of the setting, rather than just the writing. That in the earliest eras, the "world" was a chaotic soup of thoughts and concepts, where reality was more like a collaborative fever dream, inhabited by different personalities. Then over time, that chaos gradually "crystallised" into a more cohesive and tangible world. Concepts such as "up and down", distance, heat, cold, etc had been widely understood and "agreed upon" by the entities of the world, and thus became universal laws of reality. But despite that, there was still room, and very importantly, *the strong desire* to break those laws. This is the essence of magic, and creatures with magical abilities. A being with enough will to do something extraordinary, may well be capable of it. A group of beings that all come to a common consensus, eg, "Saying these magic words and performing the correct actions, allows you to conjure fire" or "It's possible to ignore the cold if you eat this berry", could gradually be worked into reality. Wide enough belief could cause just about anything to become true, but a key aspect in making this more likely, was when the concept held some degree of emotional co-coherency, or more ironically, logical structure and consistency. Eg... "I can cast fireballs" is weak. Just wishful thinking, unless the individual has truly exceptional will, or some other unique circumstances. "I can cast fireballs on Tuesday" feels arbitrary and doubtful. "You can cast fireballs if you train your mind and trace these special symbols, but beware the burning in your heart" feels more reasonable, like there's some secret of reality being tapped into. An unknown law to exploit. "Pyromancy is most effective during the zenith of the sun, and least effective at high tide. The burning of special incense in preparation will attune the mana with the element of fire. Beware channelling the planar energies of Smoulder or Crucible, for you risk opening a conduit to the beings that reside there." Is so specific and clearly speaking from some established experience, that it practically writes that particular "art of magic" into reality itself. So specificity practiced and accepted by many, is an engine towards power and reliable application of magic. It also however, limits the magic by imposing rules upon itself. The "harder" a school of magic, the less flexible it is, and the more difficult to change it or create new spells. It also imposes a higher degree of learning to master, and codes in specific failure points. The ironic thing about this, is that multiple such theories of magic all exist within the same world, very frequently contradicting each other. More so the further you travel from your local culture. This both confounds magic users, but also fuels certain individuals to break the rules in more creative ways, or to combine different theories to varying success, and cause truly ENDLESS arguments among magical scholars. It meant that even the most ardent follower of a particular magical science, was forced to admit that there were "anomalies" and "other ways". Disgruntled accusations of dark magic, witch craft, and innate sorcerous powers, inadvertently gave strength to those that existed outside of the understood theories, or deliberately defied the attempts at science. Fringe traditions only practiced by a few, still maintained power by the majority accepting that it clearly could be done, even if it were primitive or wrong in some manner. "It's not properly understood how the witches draw their power, despite their blatant disregard for Torrhen's 3rd law of mana-harmonics, and yet..." - The thing I enjoyed about this "system" was that it meant I was incredibly free to make things up as I went along, and include just about every flavour of fantasy magic I wanted. It allowed both rigid, hard and institutional magic to exist, right alongside wild and unexplained soft magic. So I feel like I can relate to Zun, with how my deliberate kitchen-sink-fantasy setting, mimics the kitchen-sink-mythology and the same freedom he allowed himself in writing for Gensokyo.

[@yac2d]

What a big amount of lore

[@moworton]

I always thought that Sanae's ability and at least one spellcard are sort of connected to christianity already. The ability to perform miracles might as well be the one of some gensokyan christian maiden letting her to walk on water, split the entire misty lake, cure others (Yamame in shambles) and create wine out of water (the most powerful one in Gensokyo). Also, since the abilities would be connected to what OTHERS believe christians can do then there are depictions of crusader knights or other clerics etc using light magic to evaporate devils (Remilia in shambles). Well, basically what you said in the video

[@GensouChronicle]

Yes

[@ChestyBigCat]

As a Muslim Touhou fan. I would say I'd be quite the fun to survive in Gensokyo. Because despite being warned against magic and witchcraft. There are many Sufi Muslims who had written 100s of books on Magic which Includes Talismans and Spells similar to those of Reimu. Because some narrations in Islamic Text indicating that Magic is real.

[@katlafae9487]

Im glad you made this video i always had interest in touhou series but only watched the animation and read manga never played the game and stuff and the wiki don't put nowhere as information and detail as you did so thanks

[@Nsquare_01]

I remember Yukari is said to lie about her abilities as well. She visits Akyuu to change some details about herself to make her seem more 'terrifying' to others. So it's really interesting. or I might be wrong tho, I don't remember things quite well.

[@PneumaAsh]

I love the bit at the end about how this magic system is likely a large part of why Touhou has such creative people motivated to work with it. I have been asking myself both why I love Touhou so much and why it's as popular as it is One major point I always come to is ZUN's openness to fans doing nearly anything with his work, but just saying "you can do whatever you want with my characters and world" isn't enough for people to start making derivative works, so your explanation has lit a lightbulb for me

[@terrariangolden6985]

With this video i can engrave the message that a Mage: the Ascension chronicle where the players are spirited away would 100% work with minimal rule breaks of it's magic system, and for those, delulu is the solulu