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Touhou Project

Touhou(Eastern) Project (東方Project(プロジェクト)) is a large collection of Japanese works that stem from a danmaku video game series by Team Shanghai Alice,1) a doujin circle led by Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta, and the first entry had supposedly finished development in 1995 before it was shown off and released.2)

It's a series that receives heavy praise for its music, visuals, and extensive cast of human and humanoid characters which, depending on the exact character, may either have a lot of 'supplemental lore' or have a lot potential that is purposely left to the imagination.

Overview

For the most part, Touhou Project is set in 'Gensōkyō' (幻想郷),3) a fictional 'preserve' hidden in the Japanese mountains, and most of the works focus on resolving 'incidents' (異変, ihen) that are occasionally caused by supernatural beings in their universe, but it's not a strict formula. Some works expand on daily life, some works expand on backstories, and some works briefly shed light on the more grim aspects.

Development

As the story goes, ZUN attended Tokyo Denki, bought his first computer to create video game music, and made a couple of games under the 'ZUN Soft' label. These original entries would be retroactively called: the 'old works' (旧作, kyūsaku), the 'PC-98 version' (PC-98版, pīshī-kyūhachi ban), or the 'PC-98 games' in English. ZUN would find work at Taito, but eventually left as it frustrated him.

During this, ZUN resumed activities under the 'Team Shanghai Alice' label, and started to make video games with Microsoft Windows, thus the 'Windows version' (Windows版, Uindouzu-ban) began. Most people would retroactively regard the early-to-mid 2000s works as an 'early trilogy' (初期三部作, shoki sanbunsaku) and he'd start working with Twilight Frontier, while also releasing a number of CDs and print works.

However, the Touhou Project series would enter a 'soft reboot' with Touhou Fuujinroku in 2007 because ZUN started focusing on the worldbuilding aspect, while still sprinkling in his own commentary on the world. These latter eras don't have unofficial community nicknames, which may say a lot about the current state of the community, so I'm just coming up with what seems to be the most appropriate.

List of substantial works

PC-98 and Windows games

Toggle list of main games.

Manga series and novels

  • Touhou Kourindou (2004-2007, 2015–)
    A long series of side stories about Rinnosuke's antique store Kourindou and his inner monologue.
  • Touhou Sangetsusei (2005–2006, 2006–2009, 2009–2012, 2016–2019)
    A mostly light-hearted manga about the Three Fairies of Light and their shenanigans.
  • Touhou Bougetsushou (2007–2009)
    A highly ambitious, multimedia work that expands Touhou Eiyashou lore with the Lunar Capital.
  • Touhou Ibarakasen (2010–2019)
    A manga that focuses on Kasen Ibaraki and the role that she might've had in the past.
  • Touhou Suzunaan (2012–2017)
    A somewhat light-hearted manga that focuses on Kosuzu Motoori's naivety and the demon books.
  • Touhou Chikireiden (2019–)
    A manga that focuses on Satori Komeiji solving mysteries in Gensōkyō, except…
  • Touhou Suichouka (2019–)
    A manga that focuses on Miyoi Okunoda, the Poster Girl of Gedontei, and the bar she works at.

Criticisms

Most of the valid criticisms about Touhou Project have to do with how their danmaku games have become too 'casual' or 'uninspiring',4) how the storytelling and worldbuilding can feel somewhat 'spontaneous' at times,5) how much of the world is technically 'carried by the fans' from what is left to fan interpretation,6) and the overall contradiction of the series being a 'doujin' work that happens to be heavily commercialized.

Other criticisms about Touhou Project tend to be tangentially related. Japanese critics may bring up copyright infringement, but I don't think anybody cares.7) For the Western side, these criticisms are often personal as some people refuse to move on from the series, rambling about its supposed 'death', or their criticisms is solely directed at the community which has nothing to do with the core content.

Notes

  • While Touhou Project is technically copyrighted, the derivative work guidelines are famously lenient.8)
  • In the past, ZUN hesitated to call Touhou Project a 'series',9) but eventually admits it is one.10)11)
    • Personally, I'd interpret this as ZUN designing each Touhou Project game to be a 'standalone' entry because he acknowledges that prior fans won't always like his newer works, especially when the numbering hasn't really meant anything to him, while also opening the door for newcomers to jump in without prior knowledge of the series and, at the time, its lack of continuity.
  • At the same time, the Touhou Project community is so diverse and massive, that it's notoriously difficult to find common ground or people on the same wavelength as you because it's so wide open.
    • There's a Japanese meme about how you can have a Japanese folklore enthusiast, a person who loves the fan works, a porn connoisseur, and a person who just likes ZUN in the same room, but the only conversations they can have always seem to gravitate towards some gacha game.
  • The name 'Project Shrine Maiden' was the alternate English name until Touhou Kaeidzuka in 2005.

See also

Just check the front page. 

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1)
The 'Shanghai Alice Fantasy Ensemble' (上海アリス幻樂団, Shanhai Arisu Gengakudan) uses the English name of 'Team Shanghai Alice' which has stuck around, unlike the 'Project Shrine Maiden' name.
2)
For some reason, ZUN makes a nitpick that Touhou Reiiden finished development in 1995, before it was unveiled at the 20th Hatoyama Matsuri in November 1996, and eventually sold alongside Touhou Fuumaroku at Comiket 52 on August 15, 1997. That's why the '20th Anniversary' stuff was in 2015.
3)
The term 'Gensōkyō' (幻想郷) is commonly translated as 'Fantasy Land' (Land of Fantasy) or 'Illusion Land' (Land of Illusions), but a case could be made for 'Imaginary Land' (Land of the Imaginary/Imagined).
4)
I mean, nobody ever takes this seriously, because most of the community is focused on literally everything else, but the 'hardcore shmup player' still makes a valid but forgotten point.
5)
For example, the 'religious' arc was highly unexpected when it first happened, before we eventually learned that it was meant to be worldbuilding, then the 'power hierarchy' arc kicked off, and briefly touches on the Lunar Capital storyline, before shifting focus onto the Animal Realm hierarchy with themes of greed or power.
6)
Some characters enjoy a wealth of content, while others have to rely on fan speculation. The series is a bit weird as the characters have 'just enough' to work with, so they aren't flat, one-dimensional characters in a mindless CGDCT wonderland with the personality of a doorbell. There's also the opinion that the community or 'having fun' is what brings the series to life, but it's too tangentially related.
7)
Honestly, you can find some really weird stuff if you manage to find 'Touhou Anti' (東方アンチ) material that hasn't been blanked out, like, how did we get to Japan's birth rates and some mass murderer's book?
8)
"Copyrights". Touhou Wiki.
9)
"―特集―　シューティングの方法論 第2回" (2005). 4gamer.
10)
"ZUN's Gensou Denshou Lecture" (November 3, 2007). Touhou Wiki.
11)
"Strange Creators of Outer World/Introduction of Previous Works/Mountain of Faith/Mountain of Faith Interview with ZUN" (October 31, 2017). Touhou Wiki.
touhou_project.txt · Last modified: 2025-03-15 11:06:46 by namelessrumia