The Truth Behind Touhou’s Characters Inspirations

Have you ever wondered about the inspirations behind the characters in The Touhou Project? Some fans can probably spot the obvious ones, but we'll be taking a deeper dive into everything ZUN potentially pulled from when creating Touhou 6: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.
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Music Used
A Dream More Scarlet than Red - ZUN
Apparitions Stalk the Night - ZUN
Tomboyish Girl in Love - ZUN
Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17 (Dolls in Psuedo Paradise) - ZUN
Locked Girl ~ The Girl's Sealed Room - ZUN
Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial - ZUN
Septette for a Dead Princess - ZUN
U.N. Owen Was Her? - ZUN
Scarlet Chamber ~ Eastern Dream... - ZUN
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:37 Rumia
2:39 Cirno
4:56 Meiling
5:34 Patchouli
6:47 Sakuya
8:12 Remilia
10:19 Flandre
11:53 Phantasm Stage

[@GensouChronicle]

Just a few things to add. I planned this video back in 2022. Originally, I wanted to fund a fan translation of Sarai that I would reveal at the end of this video for people curious enough to read. However, translations are more expensive than I was expecting. On the bright side, the first 9 volumes are translated, which goes through the main bits ZUN pulled from in this video. Also, this should have been obvious, but I'm not attacking ZUN with this video. Everyone pulls inspiration from something. Nothing is truly original. And in the case of how blatant he was with these early works, you have to keep in mind that there was no way he would have considered that his work would blow up in the way that it did. Especially in the case of PC98 which was just a college circle project he did. This video is doing really well, so you can expect more like this one. I'm not sure if I'll go back and do PC98 just yet, or if I'll move up to PCB first. Also, in case you're wondering, Reimu and Marisa will be covered in PC98.

[@pc_rockefeller7024]

Where can I find Sarai translations? I checked the internet and only managed to find 1st book

[@rained649]

I also wanna know where I can find Sarai translated.

[@yunimoretard]

yap yap

[@Devilot109]

We haven't been able to find the first 8/9 volumes *anywhere.* T-T And the fan translation would have been great, but, yeah, expensive. You'd probably need to crowdfund something like that. {Daciana} MAIDS~ >*.*

[@Shuruia]

The fact that a series with some of the most beloved characters came about from ZUN being chronically drunk and basically just winging it is its own poetry.

[@GensouChronicle]

He's a silly boi

[@MidoseitoAkage]

A drunk silly boy like one of his oni.

[@ImNotFunny541]

What a goofy goober.

[@MarcusFigueras]

Touhou is proof that if you doujin hard enough, you too can have your own thing

[@leonidtimofeev1178]

Like "Otherside Picnic", which, according to some rumors, was originally a Renko/Maribel fanfic.

[@khai96x]

@@leonidtimofeev1178Their hair color certainly match

[@RavenAdventwings]

When a doujin work has its own fan doujin, nevermind an entire fan convention dedicated to it, you know you've made it.

[@CptJistuce]

So's Clamp. Hell, they even got to animate their JoJo doujin about Jotaro and Kakyoin's baby.

[@Yuseirin]

@@leonidtimofeev1178no way, that’s actually crazy

[@madokalover]

i like how zun's inspirations r either porn, jojo or classical works of literature and music

[@mikubrot]

my mans got variety

[@Bos_Meong]

just like average cultured person should

[@OrgusDin]

It seems random, until you realize there's a consistent thematic throughline of everything he does being totally based.

[@Giovansbilly]

Speaking of music, he also pulls from modern music too, like songs from 20th century, VG music, and even newer music. He referenced Snow Halation for a stage theme in TH 18 and a track Toby Fox composed for a boss theme in the same game for example

[@BiIafy]

@@Giovansbilly What was the track?

[@Magolor2011]

Fun fact the credit theme name "crimson belvedere" its translate in Italian as crimson "beautiful view". Just a cute detail that i saw❤️

[@GensouChronicle]

That's nice

[@landydot6296]

The big lesson to be learned here is that you should never be afraid to publish your fanfic, no matter how weird the AU is

[@GensouChronicle]

AU got so popular he realized people would be asking about the characters.

[@BluecoreG]

My question is. Is Touhou's success a product of its time? Could something like this happen again in modern times

[@GensouChronicle]

@@BluecoreG We saw something similar happen with Kemono Friends. However, that potential ended up getting wasted super hard.

[@Post-ModernCzechoslovakianWar]

@@GensouChronicle I know what is in the past is in the past, but man that hits hard to think about that. The original Kemono Friends anime was so good.

[@minignoux4566]

​@@BluecoreGif you mean in terms of general Doujin stuff, there has been a lot of them getting very popular like Fate Stay/Night, but i haven't heard of anything recent getting somewhat mainstream.

[@imstupid880]

I guess it kind of makes sense why ZUN is so chill with other people making Touhou derivatives, considering how Sticky his own Fingers were

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah. It's a doujin game at the end of the day.

[@Itariatan]

Oh you're sneaky

[@Freddles780]

Arrivederci moment

[@ImNotFunny541]

Ahh, I see what you did.

[@sebc255]

Makes sense Touhou 6 would have a few remnants of the PC-98 era's DNA. In the grand scheme of the project's history, EoSD feels a lot like a transition period both in gameplay (no unique gimmick) and storytelling (simple and mostly self-contained).

[@GlitchSaboteur]

So, basically the Windows era of Touhou started out as a massive joke. ZUN truly is a funny man. Anyways, glad ZUN found what to turn and base Touhou on and the now existing beloved characters. Though, I am curious what would’ve happened to the series if he just stuck with throwing in random references of what he liked. Touhou probably wouldn’t feel the same.

[@Dvovsky]

For Touhou 7, ZUN actually appears to have referenced Kichikuou Rance's "Redeye" character, a character who focuses around a red, mind controlling eyeball.

[@davidmapping4041]

Satori

[@user-jz4hz8rk6m]

@@davidmapping4041but Satori appeared in the eleventh Touhou game, Chireiden.

[@davidmapping4041]

@@user-jz4hz8rk6m the design of her third eye is a copy of red eye

[@user-rp1rn6ks2d]

There aren't many video contributors in Japan who explain and introduce Touhou in such depth, so I'm very happy that you, who are overseas, continue to produce such high-quality Touhou videos. I always enjoy it！ KZbinで東方についてこれほどまでに深く解説、紹介をしている人は日本にもそうはいないので、こういうハイクオリティーな東方動画を見続けられるのはとてもうれしいです。いつも楽しませてもらってます！

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks!

[@taoretakitsune]

それな！

[@chatspam1238]

All i know is the detached sleeve trend was started by reimu and nobody can convince me otherwise

[@PortalBreaker]

Bro, you only have 18 videos, and they are very informative and absolute bangers. Heck, if you uploaded more consistently, you'd be the Ohara of Touhou videos. You are possibly the biggest Touhou KZbinr doing this sort of thing, I hope that many people can be introduced to you and Touhou through you.

[@GensouChronicle]

I'd love to upload more. Unfortunately, I work full time and have a ton of other responsibilities. Maybe one day I'll be able to upload more often.

[@PortalBreaker]

@GensouChronicle Ah, yeah makes sense. I do hope you are successful on your channel, you seem very passionate and knowledgeable about what you do and not many people expand the Touhou niche. Have a nice day 😎.

[@BlueSharpe]

a quick mention, for Sakuya there is also Muse from Seihou project, who predates here by 5 years. but they are merely seen as lookalikes rather than inspirations.

[@AzuRemilia]

Another Jojo reference I noticed (which might be a bit of a stretch) is Meiling's name probably being a reference to Reimi Sugimoto from Part 4, since their kanji/hanzi are identical, just swapped places (美鈴)

[@watatitamf1598]

I have more stretch. Touhou is reference to Josuke surname

[@Niiue]

So you're saying... EoSD was just a big shitpost on ZUN's part... "contrarian for the lulz..." that's amazing. Edit: ZUN really went all out on the inspirations with Remi, and Flan with Agatha Christie. Makes me realize how... doujin EoSD was! It really shines a new light on how I'll look at it...

[@folieisland]

This video is sorely missing 1 important component of EoSD and that's Rin Fujiki's novel "Shanghai Genya Nanairo no Mangekyou-shu" (Fantastic Nights in Shanghai: Seven-Colored Kaleidoscope Edition). It's a side story/prequel of the more well known Suzaku Juugo series, books about a titular blind Japanese detective around the late 1800s/early 1900s. Dolls in Pseudo Paradise (also heavily inspired by the vibes of Shanghai Genya) was released together with EoSD back in 2002. Anyway, Meiling's theme comments reference that book (calling Shanghai a "magic city") and DiPP goes further into partially quoting it: opium smoke and whatnot. The non-album version of the DiPP cover image (with the blonde murderer) mentions everything changing "like a kaleidoscope" in English. The book itself is a series of melancholy vignettes about Shanghai during the era of the French Concession (Meiji 17, 1884, falls squarely into it), a time and place where Eastern and Western culture clashed. Freak shows, clowns, youkai, magic...all of it features in the book. ZUN explains his doujin circle's name's origin as coming from that aesthetic. Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17 itself was originally composed for DiPP and was actually rearranged for EoSD, per a comment by ZUN. I strongly believe the theme itself was named after and intended to belong to the murderer - a French (or French-Chinese?) girl from Shanghai who fell into a hole in a peach tree into Gensokyo (like falling down the rabbit hole into Wonderland). A literal Shanghai Alice. The opium party speaks for itself. Of course there's lots of other refs to that book (and other Suzaku Juugo books) in PCB and IN. Like Chen and Ran's name, Alice's whole color deal, Shanghai and Hourai dolls, etc. EoSD was really aesthetically inspired by mystery novels, which ZUN was an avid reader of at the time. The "sealed room" (formerly secret room) in Patchouli's theme nods at "sealed room" mysteries, a genre which Christie popularized with "And Then There Were None". I'm very surpised you didn't mention the book's offensive original title, a reference to a nursery rhyme about the deaths of 10 people. Flandre jokes about it (using "Indians") and DiPP's title has to be a deliberate homage to the plot of "And Then There Were None", which features 10 figurines (dolls) of "Indians" at a table disappearing in accordance with the deaths of 10 people. "Everything Becomes 'F: The Perfect Insider'" was another big inspiration. There's a mansion surrounded by water, a killer on the loose, a rogue computer system called Red Magic (which is written on Sakuya's clothes in EoSD and is one of Remilia's spell cards). There's way too much to fit in a comment. Oh and DIO's mansion seeming bigger and more meandering than it is (thanks to the power of Kenny G's stand) appears to be referenced by Patchouli telling Reimu (who asked why the mansion looks bigger inside than from the outside) that "there's someone who likes to play with space [here]". Sakuya's card, "Clock Corpse", may also be an extremely on-the-nose reference to the way Kakyoin died. Not gonna knock you on that though. I know how hard it is to research these things. Still, great video. All art is derivative. That is the spirit of doujin - the spirit of indie too. People can (and have) made videos/posts like this for Undertale and even Araki's own works, which frequently blur the line between copying and referencing. I think it's completely fine and more common than anyone realizes. As long as you're in a different lane (genre, medium, purpose, etc.), aren't punching down and change it up a bit then no harm is done.

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks for the info

[@RemiliasRealHusband]

Thanks for the info, it's appreciated. One thing I've noticed they are also based on a bit is the Castlevania series, with most of them being subtly related with some of the more obscure or less popular characters for the western world.

[@Robert-vk7je]

The eosd credit theme is so nostalgic to me, remembering the emotion, when I had beaten my first touhou game.

[@Dukstless]

9:37 - ZUN also claims in the extra material she's lying. The funny thing is, given her age, she could pass herself off as a direct descendant, as Țepeș died 526 years before EoSD's release. But yeah, EoSD is basically a PC98 game in disguise. The nonsensical dialogue, lack of certain features present in PCB (no focus hitbox and no boss marker, though unlike PC98 focus does change your shot... by squishing it, rather than changing it more drastically), the patterns are less structured and a bit more about RNG, especially with the rank still being a mechanic (hahaha books go brrr). Even without comparing to PC98, there's a lot of things it's missing: no real gimmick (4 and 5 have the dream gauge, 3 is a phantasmagoria, 2's gimmick is being turbo janky and 1 is an Arkanoid instead of a shmup), the backstories in the extra material are pretty short even for the Scarlet sisters (possibly because in PC98 he spent those sections instead on tips on how to beat the bosses) and the Great Hakurei Barrier doesn't even exist yet. When ZUN said PCB set boundaries, he was being very serious.

[@Nicius-]

If Zun taked, i will too. Thanks ZUN. 🏃

[@helllss9571]

I read that as "if zun gets naked, i will too" until i looked again

[@Nicius-]

@@helllss9571 LOL.

[@Skullgod12]

New gensou chronical video

[@jvts8916]

The Sakuyahime bit is probably inspired by her article in Akyuu's own Genso Chronicle, where one of the theories she made was that she was a former lunarian (as far as we know the moon houses the Eight Million Gods).

[@user-bq4cs3dn2k]

What's interesting is that in the early interviews ZUN said without hesitation: Touhou itself is a kind of secondary creation

[@SpiralPegasus]

The level of detail in the research is commendable. Goes far beyond anything I could manage to find on my own. Also, I just love the very nature of it. Geniuses, great creators and artists are also human, like us, less than stellar ones. The fact that there's so much referencing behind what comes at first glance says a lot about ZUN and his passions, and that, in that regard, he is very much like the rest of us.

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@9Tensai9]

I've seen all these random facts being thrown out here and there over the years. ZUN's inspirations also have been coming to the general conciousness lately. His manga inspirations for example are what ties everything together for example. That being said tho. This is the first time I see someone tieing everything together. That's amazing. I'd love you to continue this kind of videos. Please don't leave it at EoSD. I know it may be overwhelming so please take your time and if you need a break please do so. Just don't stop making these please.

[@akiramystic3596]

HE HAS FINALLY BLESSED US WITH ANOTHER VID

[@HyperVanilo]

It would be interesting if you also talked about Reimu's Windows era outfit, where is ZUN get inspiration from and why she wears detached sleeves

[@tanostrelok2323]

3:14 About half of Pixiv would disagree with that statement

[@XquizetBlix]

Half of the internet as a whole, in fact

[@Ayahuasca98]

Touhou itself doesn’t have stuff like sexual assault or gore though it’s one of the many reasons why I love it so much.

[@forgetfullsanity]

​@Ayahuasca98 insanely low standard like only that?

[@lyl_es9421]

@@forgetfullsanity one has to lower their standards to hell

[@poethewondercat7851]

Itikai, the artist for the game Bombergirl has an old Pixiv account filled with dark, edgy, gore-filled Touhou doujin

[@brickstonesonn9276]

The whole vampire thing in EoSD could also just be inspired by general vampire stuff since Otaku culture in Japan had a bit of an obsession with vampires during that time. Vampire stuff was a bit of a fad during the early 2000s, similar to the Moe Blob era in the late 2000s & the current Isekai era that's been going on since the early 2010s up until today.

[@GensouChronicle]

Yeah. A lot of the similarities could have been just trends within that period.

[@agrot34m_og]

New fan favorite yapping session just dropped 🗣️‼️‼️

[@DTDplays]

How interesting. I did not know about most of these references. Thanks for the video, Gensou Chronicles!

[@FollowCarrier1997]

A great video like always

[@GensouChronicle]

I appreciate that

[@htfkid2000]

Thank you for this video It actually really cheered me up

[@JanxZ]

1:45 POLSKAAA BIAŁO CZERWONI! TAK, MY POLACY AKCEPTUJEMY NASZĄ RODACZKE RUMIĘ, CHWAŁA POLSCE!!! RUMIA, BÓG, HONOR, OJCZYZNA!

[@Guyfrom2001]

I was never big into anime or anything growing up, but still recognized Touhou everywhere. I’m not into anime but those character’s continue to stick with me. So it’s interesting to find a video talking about their origins and everything.

[@GensouChronicle]

Good thing Touhou isn't anime.

[@Guyfrom2001]

@@GensouChronicle I didn’t know the difference back then, we used to call anything like that anime. I mean all I knew about it back then was pictures and music.

[@C.J.1999]

ZUN has really good taste in media, I guess it’s no wonder Touhou turned out so well. Thanks for the video, I learned a lot.

[@sonicspeedster2684]

It’s sure to be a pleasant evening when GensouChronicle uploads a new video

[@GensouChronicle]

🙏

[@-_Arsham_-]

Y'know its a good day when GensouChronicle uploads

[@mra7081]

Awesome vid! I feel like a lot of this information is the sort stuff I thought I knew after offhandedly hearing about it at some point (and many others are likely aware of on a cursory level), but probably couldn't really explain if someone asked. it's nice to have it compiled together with some research to back it up. Looking forward to later installments =)

[@kyaksachan502]

This is such an amazing deep dive. I am always a fan to learn more about Touhou...

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks!

[@Durgemann]

Be for real, you just put that last part in as an excuse to use Crimson Belvedere at the end, didn’t you?

[@GensouChronicle]

Yes, but the information is interesting, I think. lol

[@-x_i_x-3506]

Theory: Rumia is the antichrist and her ribbon is preventing her from using her full power, thus making her an opening boss over a final boss.

[@marceloantunes998]

Thanks for the manga recommendations, though you could put them in the description next to the characters they inspired. 0:00 Intro - sarai 0:37 Rumia - sarai + bible 2:39 Cirno - sarai 4:56 Meiling - sarai + lmao@china 5:34 Patchouli - sarai 6:47 Sakuya - sarai + jojo 8:12 Remilia - sarai 10:19 Flandre - sarai 11:53 Phantasm StageSarai - sarai

[@Touhou20246]

Finally a video on this topic in general.🥰😅👍🏻

[@gappystu]

Been waiting for someone to make a video like this, but I guess it would have to be you -- who else after all? The end segment and hearing the credits song unintentionally made me remember just how important EoSD, was to me becoming a Touhou fan. I honestly have to agree that the end credit in EoSD has to be some of the best. It's been a weird, yet wild ride in this fandom for the... Soon two years I've been in it, and it has honestly changed my life, be it as silly as that is. Connecting with others via something you both like is truly a powerful thing, and something that pulled me towards a better life over all.

[@Tribow]

This has always been the most fascinating cast of characters and it's probably due to how much they both wear inspiration on their sleeves and how contrarian they are. The more modern touhou characters have some actual cohesion in them, which is nice especially in terms of how they flesh out the story much more than old characters. They lack that mystery though. How the heck did the SDM cast come together? What is everyone's deal? Questions like that are so much easier to answer for the newer squads. The clarity is nice, but I miss that vague-ness.

[@GensouChronicle]

That's the good point. I never thought of it like that.

[@goldenspiral6008]

This is one of the most goated videos I've seen in a while. I will check out your channel. I had no ideq Zun played Alicesoft games 💀.

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks. And yeah, ZUN is a funny guy.

[@montolonzo3836]

wait that credit song name... LIMBUS HONGLU CANTO CROSSOVER CONFIRMED!

[@piefox8593]

Brainrot

[@user-hw8hj7fu9j]

izumi takemoto's art is so cute! thank you for introducing me to it through this video

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad you liked it. You'll see more of it if I get around to the pc98 video.

[@Archedgar]

Indeed. This is the (partly) stated reason for the PC98pocalypse.

[@midnightflare9879]

Manga, video games, novels, classical music...damn, ZUN is a really well read guy. There's just so much culture crammed into Touhou.

[@TheKoakuma]

I would also add to Sakuya final format Yumeko itself who had her bases on Hanoun from SMT. We all know ZUN had at least two maids before her, but we can't deny she was some kind of proto-Sakuya, which, allied to the reference shown in this video format and confirms the actual Sakuya we have from EoSD and beyond Both have blades as their main weapon (swords for Yumeko, knifes for Sakuya), both have some kind of movement that make them untangible (Yumeko goes invisible, Sakuya stops time), both serves a "red devil" (Shinki/Remilia) and so on

[@navyblustick7758]

New peak just dropped

[@HeavenHalos]

Thank you so much for this video. I've learned a lot.

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad it was helpful!

[@FG-tu4fq]

I hope you make more videos detail the origins and inspiration of the cast. I love these kinds of characters designs, because it's tied to concepts through motifs.

[@GensouChronicle]

Might be a little bit before the next one, but I plan on it.

[@will_chamberlain]

I absolutely loved this video. It was so interesting to kind of get a glimpse into the mind of ZUN and what ingredients he put into the pot of touhou. Thank you

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@KirbyJason210]

Nice Touhou vid! Would love to see more character inspiration videos.

[@GensouChronicle]

Will do!

[@GenghisConnThr333]

if reimu, then only hakurei🔥

[@ishashka]

If I remember correctly, Sakuya's spell cards also heavily reference Japanese mystery novels, and one of them I think was very similar to And Then There Were None.

[@Relius_Craft]

HOLY FINALLY...someone said Vlad Tepes the right way, congrats :) As someone from Romania.....I'm kinda miffed that Castlevania popularized the flat T pronunciation.

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks. I try to make it a point to learn to say anything I pronounce here correctly. This went as far as me attempting to learn a bit of Chinese, but pronouncing that still gives me trouble.

[@FROZENbender]

mate you fucking nailed it. fantastic video.

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks. Hopefully I get to Touhou 7 in a reasonable amount of time.

[@johnathansfacew8528]

EoSD has a lot of references. It's a really fun game to play through too. Excellent video it will be interesting to see all the pc98 ones and all the media references thrown into those games.

[@GensouChronicle]

I'm not looking forward to compiling all that lol

[@Oddmanoutre]

Nicely researched. Interesting note about Meiling: Her surname, Hong, was also the name of a group of merchants in Canton that had the exclusive right to trade with Europeans. Moonbitch sighted at 5:54

[@koubu6841]

Well. Watching this as a Touhou fan artist does really give me a weird feeling. "He's just like me for real" that's all I can say about this. Every time I draw, make music, animate or whatsoever, I will always remind myself of how ZUN created a world that all of us came to adore.

[@GensouChronicle]

It's koubu!

[@koubu6841]

@@GensouChronicle I know that I don't possess even half of ZUN's dedication, let alone being paid for what I do. But none of that will ever stop me from doing what I must.

[@Jakkozaki]

Glad to see you back dude, this video was fire. Hope to see more stuff soon, but don’t get burned out!

[@doggieshib8370]

By the way is Mima based on Satan from puyo puyo? Also Marisa and witch from puyo puyo, both have star based magic with actual scientific names

[@doggieshib8370]

About Mima, not only her design is similar but I've also noted that Mima's bomb in Th05 is very similar to one of Satan's spells (Satan cross)

[@alanfinck5595]

Well you said you might talk about this one day in a previous video and you did. As always good stuff. Can't wait for more.

[@un4039]

new gensouchronicle video. week saved.

[@Limit02]

7:08 Nudge looks like she was drawn by the detective conan mangaka to me, maybe its just the glasses lol

[@Drivexen]

Epic Video Dude! Genuinely one of the best videos about all the references in Touhou

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks! But this is only scratching the surface. There's so many more games to cover.

[@Drivexen]

True I’m excited to see more from you!

[@TerribleJhoe]

Banger vid as always.

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks!

[@nice-wb9ps]

Where is the original article at 0:12 from? I'd love to know, it's important to me. Thanks.

[@GensouChronicle]

It's an image someone made. There's no source written on it. You could probably do some googling and find it.

[@djcoolgirl43]

this is a banger

[@LukaFanNo8]

This is the first time I've heard of PC98 being so heavily inspired. They're rather unpopular so consider me excited for that video

[@foxtopuscreations6046]

Great artists truly do steal, I'm going to make a game called Northern and all the characters will be bootlegs of touhou characters.

[@GensouChronicle]

ZUN already stole his own series and called it Seihou.

[@foxtopuscreations6046]

@@GensouChronicle that's why we need Northern, and Southern, we need to fill out the other two cardinal directions since Zun hasn't.

[@GensouChronicle]

@@foxtopuscreations6046 truuuuue

[@PhantomGato-v-]

Well, looks like I'm gonna be the one making Southern. Good ol' American violence it is.

[@HyperVanilo]

I'm surprised there is no Wild West version of Touhou, even if there's one I don't know its name

[@halikaru7757]

Awesome video. Really appreciate the linguistic analysis!

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad you enjoyed that bit.

[@Catwatermelon2211]

2:09 truly zun moments

[@sheeshulex]

Very good explanation on how intricate and goofy the Touhou worldbuilding is. Not sure if Town of Rumia is the real namesake for the character or is that just a coincidence, I gotta go and visit it next time I'm over there. Flandre's theme song and that one spellcard reference a book, but that name you said clearly is not the real name of it, Google "And then there were none" to learn more 😉

[@GensouChronicle]

I can assure you that Rumia is more than likely not based on the town lol. It's more of a joke within the community. And yeah, the demonetization name.

[@EndermanBoss]

I hope we get to see more character-inspiration videos in the future.

[@CerealKiller]

Damn ZUN was into Peak back then!

[@MrCake-ic6hn]

Now we know why ZUN used to say that what he was doing was"no different from fan work"

[@akiradkcn]

Touhou IS a dojin series at the end of the day

[@juanO64yoshi]

Holy shit, this is an amazing video. Such thorough research. I love learning about Touhou.

[@GensouChronicle]

It's kind of crazy how much went into these games lol.

[@Ayahuasca98]

I love this franchise ❤️

[@linogrimoldi4006]

What was ZUN playing back in the day lmao

[@GensouChronicle]

Shin Megami Tensei and eroge

[@Totallynotkyubey]

8:45 that was Zeppeli and Dio talking about bread, don't do the mentor character dirty, man.

[@GensouChronicle]

Damn. I guess I need to reread Jojo.

[@Peck콕콕이]

Great video as always!

[@GensouChronicle]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[@mrhades113]

Great video, there were a lot of stuff here i didn't know.

[@DeltaEpsilon7787]

PC-98 video uncoming?! Oh shit let's fucking gooooo. I love PC-98 era Touhou, it was incredibly unhinged.

[@TheMaxVader]

RANCE MENTIONED

[@poipoimaster142]

who?

[@lilliesalad]

​@@poipoimaster142the GOAT

[@EinSilverRose]

@@poipoimaster142 Some shitty character from a shitty eroge series

[@Hambs23]

I'm not even surprised at this point. It's like, every famous Japanese indie game developer or story writer has some or a lot of influence from Alice Soft games, specially Rance. It's just that good.

[@asdbanz316]

​@@EinSilverRoseRance X considered the biggest VN game That's why it's still has no translation

[@z0ru4_]

The music at 6:38 reminded be the beginning of lagtrain

[@z0ru4_]

had seemingly not heard the patchouli theme before

[@irisillychno6189]

honestly, ZUN is so iconic for this? "Good artists imitate, great artists steal." is true!

[@user-qh2ir7nb4o]

Inspirations for PC-98 series would be neat

[@mikeygeisbert2565]

Interesting how similar in appearance Sakuya is to Flicker and Nudge, but with a traditional maid outfit I imagine there are some limits. Really wish Rin Satsuki would've made the cut, because if the "Team Shanghai Alice Poster Girl" isn't her, than what was the concept in mind? Is there any characters in Sarai that could have been inspiration for what we believe to be Gensokyo's lone youkai nurse?

[@GensouChronicle]

Ironically, Cirno or Patchouli. I wouldn't be surprised if she was meant to have purple hair back then.

[@ougi_rk]

Banger video ❤

[@GensouChronicle]

🙏 Thanks!

[@FCTouhou]

Your videos are the best. Rare but well made

[@GensouChronicle]

Hopefully they'll be less rare in the future lol.

[@FCTouhou]

@@GensouChronicle If they keep the same quality then I'll be very happy. The best thing I like about Touhou is that they have so many references to other media, mythology, puns with words etc. But you need to know japanese to understand it and very few overseas fans know it, let alone make videos about it. So your video is the best. I would love if this series would be in order from 1 to 19 just to see the progress of ZUN works. Touhou is such a deep layered series. Another thing that I'd love to see is a deep dive in the lore of the incidents and in general of the works. So a deep explanation of all the games, books and mangas. It would be a fun series to do

[@idiottv6499]

I appreciate the Rumia, Poland reference.

[@Big_SungisYT]

Sakura stole Dio's time stop I'm going to implode out of anger

[@HyperVanilo]

She stole it and make it better by having no limitation

[@MetalX34]

makes me want to commend zun even more for limiting the "skinship" after so many years. a franchise born in part from nsfw, breeding (fanmade) nsfw and afaik the lewdest we’ve had is what, a very devoted grape lady? some average breast size increase in recent zun styles? a few vague implications like alice sleeping at marisa’s place? liked that vodeo. see you next time.

[@GensouChronicle]

Thanks!

[@MemoriesGamer612]

2:44 the cover remind of VIVIT from Seihou Project also a maid lol

[@MultiKommandant]

Poor Meiling. It seems like ZUN didn't really have much of a plan for her as a character beyond the obvious east/west contrast but her reappearance in later stuff (Manga cameos mostly) has fleshed her out a bit more, as did Hisoutensoku. Her design definitely seems closely-related to that character from Sarai, suggesting she was more there for aesthetics initially.