Touhou Is Dead

The “Touhou Is Dead” (東方はオワコン, Touhou wa Owakon) copypasta is a running joke in the Japanese Touhou Project fanbase that started in January 2014, poking fun at low-effort trolls who claim that the franchise is supposedly dead because of some new craze, fad, or trend.

Brief history

In 2013, the rise of Kantai Collection saw trolls attempt to instigate a so-called conflict between the two and suggest that Touhou Project is “dead” or “owakon” (オワコン).¹⁾ This argument was so laughable that one particular counterargument had became a copypasta around January 1, 2014, with newer lines occasionally being tacked on as Touhou Project somehow continues to challenge the test of time.

Full text

07年「らきすた流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
08年「ボカロ流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
09年「けいおん流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
10年「俺妹流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
11年「まどマギ流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
12年「モバマス流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
13年「艦これ流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」

2007 “Lucky Star is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2008 “Vocaloid is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2009 “K-ON! is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2010 “Oreimo is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2011 “Madoka is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2012 “Idolmaster is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2013 “KanColle is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”

Extended version

04年「ローゼン流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
05年「なのは流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
06年「ハルヒ流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
07年「らきすた流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
08年「ボカロ流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
09年「けいおん流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
10年「俺妹流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
11年「まどマギ流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
12年「モバマス流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
13年「艦これ流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
14年「ラブライブ流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
15年「ガルパン流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
16年「FGO流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
17年「けもフレ流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
18年「VTuber流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
19年「鬼滅流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
20年「コロナ流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」
21年「ウマ娘流行で東方はオワコンｗｗｗ」

2004 “Rozen Maiden is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2005 “Lyrical Nanoha is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2006 “Haruhi is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2007 “Lucky Star is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2008 “Vocaloid is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2009 “K-ON! is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2010 “Oreimo is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2011 “Madoka is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2012 “Idolmaster is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2013 “KanColle is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2014 “Love Live! is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2015 “Garupan is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2016 “FGO is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2017 “Kemono Friends is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2018 “VTubers are popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2019 “Demon Slayer is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2020 “COVID is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”
2021 “Uma Musume is popular, so Touhou is dead! Lol!”

Counterargument

The argument in question mostly relied on Comiket trends, which is a bit misleading as it ignores how the community has many of their own doujinshi conventions (e.g. Reitaisai), so the fans don't have to limit themselves to the largest “all genre” convention in Japan. In addition, very few franchises share the luxury of having dedicated fans host “only event” conventions at all.

Furthermore, the franchise has an unusual amount of staying power, as the community keeps itself relevant through fan content or general nostalgia. This is further reinforced by their famously relaxed guidelines on said fan content, so the fans don't have to live in fear of litigation attempts by the copyright holder that other franchises are more susceptible to. Despite all of this, interest is admittedly waning.

Notes

The text does not explore beyond 2004 as the initial Windows trilogy set wasn't finished until 2004, suggesting that the franchise was still relatively obscure before the set was complete.
It's disingenuous to argue that it's dying because other franchises have a 'majority-female cast' when the Fate series generally has a relatively balanced gender ratio.
On 4chan's “Otaku Culture” (/jp/) board, there were many “Touhou is declining” threads made for the aforementioned conflict, but it'd later morph into the “Touhou is reclining” meme.

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