History Characters / TouhouPerfectCherryBlossom

[[center: [- [[Characters/{{Touhou}} Top Index]] | [[Characters/TouhouMainCharacters Main Characters]] | [[Characters/TouhouPC98 PC-98]] -] ]]
[[center: [- [[Characters/TouhouEmbodimentOfScarletDevil EoSD]] | '''PCB''' | [[Characters/TouhouImperishableNight IN]] | [[Characters/TouhouPhantasmagoriaOfFlowerView PoFV]] | [[Characters/TouhouMountainOfFaith MoF]] | [[Characters/TouhouSubterraneanAnimism SA]] | [[Characters/TouhouUndefinedFantasticObject UFO]] | [[Characters/TouhouTenDesires TD]] | [[Characters/TouhouDoubleDealingCharacter DDC]] | [[Characters/TouhouLegacyOfLunaticKingdom LoLK]] | [[Characters/TouhouHiddenStarInFourSeasons HSiFS]]-] ]]
[[center: [- [[Characters/TouhouSideGames Side Games]] | [[Characters/TouhouOtherOfficialWorks Other Official Works]] -] ]]

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This page is for ''Touhou'' characters who debuted in ''Touhou Youyoumu ~ Perfect Cherry Blossom''.
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Letty Whiterock]]
[[quoteright:100:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_th07letty.png]]

::''Youkai of Winter''
::'''Letty Whiterock'''

-->''"If you can only sleep in warm weather, then you're like us and the Asebi flowers."''

A Yuki-onna and stage 1 boss. She is only ever seen during the winter, and goes into hibernation as spring arrives. While she attacks the heroines for attempting to end the long winter, she's only half-serious as she has already accepted that spring must eventually come.

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* BadassCape: Tends to be left out in fanart as most people haven't even noticed it's there, what with it being almost completely transparent and all.
* CoolBigSis: Pun not intended, but she plays this role to Cirno in {{Fanon}}. WordOfGod, however, says that while she does watch out for Cirno from time to time, it's only because she knows that ice fairies are an important natural part of winter.
* ElementalBaggage: {{Averted|Trope}}. Unlike Cirno she can't create cold by herself, only manipulate what's already there. As a result she's [[FieldPowerEffect near-powerless outside of winter]] (and yet immensely powerful in it, far more than the aforementioned Cirno).
* FreezeRay: Her laser attacks are sometimes depicted as such in {{Fanon}}.
* HollywoodPudgy: As a result of her larger-than-average hitbox[[note]]only compared to the next two bosses, but that's enough[[/note]], many fanartists had portrayed her as this. [[invoked]]
* AnIcePerson: She is a Yuki-onna, a youkai of winter. Specifically she controls cold rather than creating it.
* AnIceSuit: The heavily dressed version.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpDoqVrFCc0 "Crystallized Silver."]]
* MostCommonSuperpower: The ''other'' fanon interpretation of her larger hitbox.
* NiceHat: A mob cap combined with a so-called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitaikakushi hitaikakushi]].
* ShoutOut: Her name is a reference to Lettie Blacklock in Creator/AgathaChristie's ''A Murder is Announced''.
* WillfullyWeak: Her ability to manipulate and amplify cold weather makes her extremely powerful in winter, to the point where [[WordOfGod ZUN has said]] that she could [[BigBad cause an incident by herself]] (that would presumably elevate her power level to that of a stage 5 or 6 boss).
** Her profile states [[ILetYouWin she let the heroines win]] because even she thought winter's gone on long enough.
* YukiOnna: The kind of youkai she is, though she doesn't have the typical appearance of one, wearing a blue and white dress and having short, curly lavender hair rather than the more traditional kimono and long black hair. However, she's still strongly connected to winter and cold weather.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Chen]]
[[quoteright:100:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_th07chen.png]]

::''The Black Cat of Evil Omens''
::'''Chen'''

-->''"Uh... what? This is our home. Get out of here now!"''

A nekomata youkai and shikigami to Ran Yakumo. As her own master is also a shikigami, this means that she too is a servant to Yukari Yakumo.

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* AnimeChineseGirl: While not explicitly stated, both her name and the title of her theme music are in Chinese. This is often overlooked in favor of her [[{{Catgirl}} catgirl-ness]].
* AssistCharacter: Often shows up as one for Ran and Yukari.
* BadassAdorable: The most popular interpretation in the fanbase. The official art from ''Perfect Memento in Strict Sense'' [[http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/File:PMiSS_chen.jpg gives us this]]. ''VideoGame/KoumajouDensetsu II'' gives us the badass and BadassAdorable at the same time.
* CatGirl: She has cat ears and, being a nekomata, [[MultipleTailedBeast two cat tails]].
* CatsHateWater: Not only does she hate water as a cat, it also weakens her shikigami link with Ran, and forces her to revert to an ordinary nekomata. Fans have run away with this.
* CheerfulChild: Fanon generally portrays her as this, though in canon she's more mischievous.
* ColourfulThemeNaming: Her name actually means "Orange" in Chinese. The Yakumos are all named after colors, so that their relative power levels correspond to the placement of the colors on the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_spectrum electromagnetic spectrum.]] So Chen, whose name means "orange" is weakest, "indigo" Ran comes next and Yukari whose name means "violet" is strongest.
* CuteKitten: Fanworks often play up this aspect of her CatGirl-ness, sometimes to [[TastesLikeDiabetes incredible extremes]], even though her canon personality is more mischievous than cute.
* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: A lot of her danmaku do spinning motions as does Chen herself.
* {{Familiar}}: She's Ran Yakumo's [[{{UsefulNotes/Onmyodo}} shikigami]]. This is quite unusual because Ran ''herself'' is also a shikigami (of Yukari Yakumo).
* FlunkyBoss: She attempts to be this, assembling a large number of cats together so they can pledge allegiance to her. It fails miserably.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asIr5qxkOnw "Diao Ye Zong (Withered Leaf)."]]
* LogicalWeakness: Like most cats she dislikes getting wet, and she's also about as susceptible to the effects of catnip as any normal cat.
* MultipleTailedBeast: Being a nekomata, she has two tails; more accurately, her tail splits in two around 10% away from her body (though most fan artists just use two tails).
* MythologyGag: Her name and status as an AnimeChineseGirl may be a reference to Orange from the PC-98 series.
* NestedOwnership: The shikigami of a shikigami.
* NiceHat: A simple, green mob cap.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: "Chen" is the name of the shikigami possessing the cat, making it more of a title than a proper name. However, [[MeaningfulRename if she had a name before that she doesn't use it]].
* PowersViaPossession: She becomes a lot more powerful when Ran is possessing her as a shikigami.
* RecurringBoss: Shows up as both the Stage 2 boss and Extra midboss of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom''.
* UpToEleven: She's a shikigami ''to'' a shikigami.
* WillingChanneler: Technically the shikigami named "Chen" is a script created by Ran that the bakeneko is playing host to in exchange for power. However, she doesn't stay in shikigami mode [=24/7=] like Ran does, nor does her possessed state seem to affect her personality.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Alice Margatroid]]
See our Characters/TouhouPC98 page.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lily White]]

::''Fairy Herald of Spring''
::'''Lily White'''

Stage 4 MidBoss, a fairy who heralds the coming of spring. For some reason, the only way she knows how to do so is with a [[BulletHell shower of danmaku]]. Despite a few appearances and descriptions throughout canon, she generally shows up as a one-note character with no dialogue, though her enthusiasm is hard to miss.

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* TheBusCameBack: Comes back in ''Hidden Star in Four Seasons'' as the Stage 3 midboss.
* GenkiGirl: And how! Her sheer enthusiasm fuels [[BulletHell magic barrages]] strong enough for the late stage she is in without even [[CallingYourAttacks declaring a spell card]].
* ImplacableMan:
** In ''Phantasmagoria of Flower View''. Sure you can shoot her down, but wait a minute or so and she comes right back. [[GoddamnedBats Goddamned Lily]].
** She behaves similarly in the fanmade game VideoGame/MegaMari, as well.
* IncomingHam: A recurring fandom meme has her shout ''"IT'S SPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!!!"''[[note]]''"HARU DESU YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"''[[/note]] whenever she wants to introduce herself. Fandom has also interpreted this as her preferred method of creating danmaku. What's even more crazy about the stage is that is also [[NintendoHard one of the hardest and longest in the entire series]].
* {{Leitmotif}}: Like most {{Mid Boss}}es, she doesn't have an official theme, but ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfbfl0MlIAU The Capital City of Flowers in the Sky]]'' is almost always associated with her.
* MidBoss: This is basically her schtick, from ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'' to ''Hidden Star in Four Seasons''. She even manages to be a midboss in ''Phantasmagoria of Flower View'', which ''doesn't have stages''.
* NatureSpirit: As with all fairies.
* NiceHat: A white pointed hat, often with a red zig-zag pattern around the brim.
* ResurrectiveImmortality: As with all fairies.
* TookALevelInBadass: In ''Hidden Star in Four Seasons'' she finally has her own spell card.
* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: Apparently Lily has such a deep connection to spring that her presence actually brings it - plants even burst into flower during the seconds it takes her to pass by. Still doesn't help her much when she's shooting at people from sheer excitement, since they all shoot back.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Layla Prismriver]]

::'''Layla Prismriver'''

Layla Prismriver is one of the daughters of Count Prismriver who could not bring herself to leave their home after he tragically died in an accident, and his orphaned daughters each went their separate ways. Instead, she invoked powerful sorceries in order to create three poltergeists with the appearance and personalities of her three older sisters. Layla and her sisters have long since passed away before the events of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom''.

While Layla has no official appearance, what little fanart of her exists almost universally depicts her with long green hair to complement her sisters' colors.

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* CreatingLife: Or unlife as the case may be.
* DeathByOriginStory: She died long ago and only her fake sisters remain.
* UpgradeArtifact: Gained her powers from "an item from Gensokyo" that her father attained somehow. Said item was also responsible for her father's accident.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Prismriver Sisters]]
::''Three Poltergeist Sisters''
::'''The Prismriver Sisters'''

The Prismriver sisters are a trio of poltergeist sisters who serve as the stage 4 bosses. The sisters are talented musicians whose performances are popular among youkai. According to their backstory, the three poltergeist Prismriver sisters are the creations of Layla Prismriver, who based them on her three older sisters. While the original four Prismriver sisters have long since passed away, the three poltergeists have remained in their ancestral home to this day, continuing to hone their musical skills.

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* AuthorAppeal: The violin, trumpet, and synthesizer are all common instruments in both UsefulNotes/PC98 and Windows MIDI music.
* BrownNote:
** Lunasa can induce depression in anyone that hears her playing her violin.
** Merlin's trumpet playing has the polar opposite affect of Lunasa's violin. It can cause people to break out uncontrollably into dance or become unable to hold a coherent conversation.
* TheCameo: Appear alongside Raiko Horikawa in ''Antinomy of Common Flowers''' concert stage. Justified since [[LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn they're the one playing the theme of the final battle]].
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Blonde hair, golden eyes for Lunasa, blue-ish hair and blue eyes for Merlin, brown hair and eyes for Lyrica.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilWjpT0JPIk "Ghostly Band ~ Phantom Ensemble"]]. According to ZUN, unlike everyone else in the series, the Prismriver Sisters actually play the song during their battle rather than it just being normal background music.
* MusicalAssassin: Violin, trumpet, and synthesizer, respectively. Their attacks use a unique kind of danmaku that looks like musical notes.
* {{Nice Hat}}s: Wear pointed hats with different decorations at the peak; Lunasa has a red crescent moon, Merlin has a blue sun, and Lyrica has a green shooting star.
* OurGhostsAreDifferent: They are magical constructs that were never alive to begin with.
* QuirkyMinibossSquad: They appear together, play music together and at least for some spell cards also fight together.
* ReplacementGoldfish: What they were originally intended to be, as Layla Prismriver created them to replace her three older sisters.
* SequentialBoss: The fight against them in ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'' starts with just one sister, then all three at once, then another solo sister, and finally all three together for the finale.

[[quoteright:100:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_th07lunasa.png]]

::''The Poltergeist Violinist''
::'''Lunasa Prismriver'''

-->''"Unwanted noise like you should be drowned out."''

The eldest of the Prismriver trio, who specializes in stringed instruments. Lunasa is an honest, hard-working, honor student type who is nevertheless pessimistic in general.

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* AloofBigSister: A girl of few words and fewer actions but of course she cares deeply for her younger sisters.
* ElegantClassicalMusician: Canonically she plays the violin without touching it, but fanartists ignore this simply because it looks cool.
* GradualGrinder: Her status in ''Phantasmagoria of Flower View''. Her three-way shot keeps her safe while her attacks barrage the other screen with very slow bullets that eventually pile up and kill via suffocation.
* TheStoic: Usually silent and unfazed by things happening around her.

[[quoteright:100:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_th07merlin.png]]

::''The Poltergeist Trumpeter''
::'''Merlin Prismriver'''

-->''"No dish has ever escaped my performance alive."''

The middle sister of the Prismriver trio, who specializes in wind instruments. Merlin is energetic and easily excitable. She possesses greater raw power than her sisters, but lacks precision and control.

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* ElegantClassicalMusician: Canonically she plays the trumpet without touching it, but fanartists ignore this.
* FrickinLaserBeams: All of her attacks involve lasers.
* GameBreakingBug: Sometimes Merlin will [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU2Z6VobIvc fail to transition into the trio's last card properly]], leading to much pain as she can actually kill you during the post-battle dialogue or even ''[[KaizoTrap after the stage has ended]]''. This lead to the creation of the "Merupo" {{meme}}, an insane PokemonSpeak version of Merlin with her head replaced by the characters ξ・∀・）
* GenkiGirl: The most cheerful of the sisters.
* JokeCharacter: In ''Phantasmagoria of Flower View''.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Most official sources give her name as Marlin.
* UnskilledButStrong: Merlin has the most raw power out of all three sisters, but lacks precision and control.

[[quoteright:100:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_th07lyrica.png]]

::''The Poltergeist Keyboardist''
::'''Lyrica Prismriver'''

-->''"Well then, let's start the performance! Sisters, get ready!"''

The youngest of the Prismriver trio, who specializes in percussion and keyboard instruments. Lyrica is very intelligent, but dislikes exerting effort, so she usually tries to trick her sisters into fighting for her.

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* AnachronismStew: Unlike her sisters' instruments of choice, the synthesizer clashes with the general setting, not to mention the whole classical musician image. Though it's possible that, like many things, the keyboard simply ended up in Gensokyo as it's described as definitely not magical unlike the violin and trumpet her sisters use. One fan idea is also that Lyrica originally played an accordion.
* AuthorAppeal: ZUN does love his synthesizer music, and [[UniverseCompendium Akyuu]] wouldn't mind a good listen.
* BrilliantButLazy: She's very intelligent, but she doesn't like to put much effort into anything and often tries to trick her sisters into fighting in her stead.
* TheCollectorOfTheStrange: In this case, sounds.
* DayInTheLimelight: Her appearance in ''Phantasmagoria of Flower View''. While her sisters are playable, only Lyrica gets a proper story mode.
* DeadpanSnarker: Her comments can have quite the bite and she's a bit of a trickster too.
* DirtyCoward: She tends to hang back and let her sisters do all the work while she stands in the corner and snarks.
* FailedASpotCheck: Most of her ''[=PoFV=]'' story has her traveling around Gensokyo without realizing that her sisters have been with her the whole time, until she meets Eiki and they reveal themselves.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Youmu Konpaku]]
[[quoteright:160:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_th07youmu.png]]

::''The Half-Ghost Gardener''
::'''Youmu Konpaku'''

-->''"The things that cannot be cut by my Roukan-Blade, forged by youkai...are close to none!"''

Swordswoman and gardener of Hakugyokurou, the Netherworld court. She's half-human and half-phantom, half-dead and half-alive, half-illusion and half-reality, and [[OverlyLongGag altogether]] half-baked. She is Yuyuko's faithful servant, but her seriousness and naivete contrasts with her mistress's whimsical and carefree nature. She is the one who has been stealing the essence of spring from Gensoukyou in ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'', under orders from Yuyuko.

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* AncestralWeapon: The Hakurouken, a family heirloom wakizashi that can cut confusion and is only usable by the Konpaku family.
* BadassNormal: While she's hardly ''normal'', in the sense of being half-ghost, she lacks any of the specific magical powers assigned to most of the cast, making up for it in pure swordsmanship.
* BattleButler: To Yuyuko Saigyouji, the ghost princess.
* {{BFS}}: The katana Roukanken is about as long as she is tall, although she's pretty short. She also wields it in one hand while holding the wakizashi Hakurouken with the other. TruthInTelevision with that.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: PlayedForLaughs in chapter 2 of ''Manga/VisionaryFairiesInShrine'' - Youmu is exposed to [[Characters/TouhouLegacyOfLunaticKingdom Clownpiece]]'s HatePlague powers at a flower-viewing and tries to attack the other guests with her sword, but they just assume she's had too much to drink and ignore her until she gets tired.
* BulletTime:
** Either to demonstrate her SuperSpeed, or to show Hakurouken's [[InformedAttribute confusion cutting powers]] as the protagonist experiences a zen moment.
** A weird bug of all things supports the latter; Marisa using a Master Spark at the right moment will turn the thing from translucent to completely opaque white - she ''literally'' brightened up.
* ButtMonkey: Her profiles call her "half-baked" in many ways, and also mention that due to her straightforward, simple, and somewhat immature personality, she often gets made fun of or bullied.
* CatchPhrase: "Myon." As with Patchouli and Okuu, this is something she said only in ''Perfect Cherry Blossom''[='=]s Afterword that Japanese fandom has turned into a catchphrase, usually denoting surprise or frustration, or used as a nickname for Youmu herself. In Western fandom, "Myon" has become the nickname for Youmu's ghost half.
* ChargedAttack: In ''Ten Desires'' Youmu doesn't have a focused shot; holding the fire button while focused instead charges up a BladeSpam that continuously inflicts heavy damage to nearby enemies for a few seconds.
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: To Yuyuko. Though since Yuyuko is [[ObfuscatingStupidity mostly faking it]], and Youmu has a rather one-track mind, it's sometimes inverted.
* CloseRangeCombatant: Not only in the fighting games; she even manages to be one in ''Ten Desires''.
* CounterAttack: ''Voidness Sword "Slash Clearing the Six Senses"'' in ''Hisoutensoku'', notable for being the only move which can counter Reimu's ''[[OneHitKill Fantasy Nature]]''. In ''Ten Desires'' (where a CounterAttack wouldn't make sense) it becomes a ChargedAttack, but maintains the spirit of the trope in that it requires a good opening to use.
* DifficultButAwesome:
** When she's playable in the shooting games. She ''does'' [[NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight bring a sword to a danmaku fight]], after all.
** In ''Imperishable Night'' she's part of the Ghost Team, which reverses the usual unfocused spread/focused concentration, but is stronger than average (and Youmu herself has an option that fires opposite of how she moves, which can be very irritating or very useful depending on how used you are to it).
** In ''Phantasmagoria of Flower View'' she has horrible stats and a weak offense, but a charged attack that can cancel bullets (bit low on the awesome here; it's generally not considered very useful).
** In ''Ten Desires'' she again reverses the spread/concentration fire, but this time with ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}}''-style options unfocused, and a piercing ChargedAttack that hits a large area focused. Her ''Ten Desires'' incarnation is probably the best example, as she can be quite a bit more effective than anyone else, but is hard enough to play that most players can clear the game with everyone else in the time it takes to get the hang of her.
* DisappearedDad: While her specific relationship with Youki is unclear, he's usually assumed to be a father figure of some sort. And he disappeared, leaving his job to her.
* TheDitz: While she's not stupid per se, she seems to have come to the conclusion that thinking too hard about anything is a waste of time. Which may be true, given that she has to deal with [[CrypticConversation Yuyuko]] every day, and Yukari ever so often.
* DoppelgangerAttack: Her phantom half can also turn into a body double. Or even a triple.
* DoppelgangerSpin: As part of her ''Voidness Sword "Slash Clearing the Six Senses"'' CounterAttack in ''Hisoutensoku''.
* DualWielding: Uses two named swords: a wakizashi named Hakurouken (which is also an AncestralWeapon) and a katana named Roukanken.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: In ''Ten Desires'' Youmu's hair is in a messier style, and the fandom has noticed. The weird part is that a tag that roughly translates to "[[http://dic.nicovideo.jp/a/%E7%94%B7%E3%82%92%E7%9F%A5%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F%E9%A1%94 the face that knew men]]" [[MemeticMutation is used for her]] ''Ten Desires'' fanart, and some areas of the the Japanese fandom [[EpilepticTrees speculate she found a boyfriend, and decided to clean up her appearance]]. [[http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Fandom/Perfect_Cherry_Blossom#Youmu_Konpaku No, we're not making this up.]]
* FlashStep: One of her spell cards is called "Two Hundred Yojana in One Slash." A Yojana is about 6 to 15 km, so the spell card implies that Youmu can travel 1200 to 3000 km in the 2 frames (out of 60 f/sec) or so it takes to make a single slash. That's pretty damn fast.
* GhostlyChill: Played with; since she has a human half and a phantom half, her body temperature is in-between the two (i.e. cool by human standards but warm by ghostly standards).
* HairDecorations: A single black bow.
* HalfHumanHybrid:
** She is half-human, ''half-phantom'', "phantoms" being the shapeless ghost-lights of the Netherworld, which include but are not limited to the spirits of the dead. Oddly this results in her having ''two bodies'': a mostly-alive human body and a mostly-dead (but corporeal) phantom body. It's not clear whether the Konpaku clan are classified as half-phantoms because their ancestors got stuck between life and death, or because they bred with phantoms (...somehow).
** This has a gameplay effect in ''Imperishable Night'', where the player normally controls a human-youkai team. Part of the mechanics is a meter that slides between Human and Youkai depending on which partner you use; Youmu and Yuyuko are the only team with a meter imbalanced to one side. Once solo versions of the characters are unlocked, Youmu is the only one whose meter ''isn't'' imbalanced.
* HeroicLineage: She's member of a family of half-ghosts, her (grand)father is a MasterSwordsman as well as her mentor from whom she inherited an AncestralWeapon, she shows UndyingLoyalty to her employer Yuyuko and she's a KidSamurai throughout. Definite hero material here, yet she only appears as a heroine in a few games.
* HighlyVisibleNinja: Her idea of stealth includes standing out in the open with no disguise.
* HitodamaLight: Her [[HalfHumanHybrid phantom half]] is always present and independently visible around her. There's an Asian belief that human souls actually have two parts (Kon and Paku, hence her name). There's the immortal "higher" soul (Kon) that either becomes a ghost, like Yuyuko, or enters the cycle of reincarnation, and the transient "lower" soul (Paku) that animates the body and houses the earthly passions and which could, after death, become an unintelligent evil spirit, such as those seen in ''Subterranean Animism''. Youmu's phantom-half is apparently her higher soul, while her lower soul remains in her human body, giving it life.
* IronicFear: She's afraid of ghost stories, despite being a half-ghost with a sword that can kill ghosts.
* ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne:
-->'''Reimu:''' You're a talkative ghost.\\
'''Youmu:''' I'm half non-ghost, you know!\\
'''Reimu:''' [[LampshadeHanging That was what needed correcting?]]
* KatanasAreJustBetter: She certainly has a thing for her two swords (though Hakurouken is a wakizashi), one of which can [[AbsurdlySharpBlade cut anything]] while the other can cut nothing ''except confusion''. While the latter still hurts, to most beings it will cause instant-enlightenment.
* KidSamurai: Youmu acts a lot like this - she is young for her race (half-ghosts), inexperienced and naive, but also very strong and absolutely loyal towards her employer Yuyuko Saigyouji.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOY4eL-pKAY "Mystic Oriental Dream ~ Ancient Temple"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W7vUwkgp5A "Hiroari Shoots a Strange Bird ~ Till When?"]]
* {{Lunacy}}: Her "Matsuyoi-Reflecting Satellite Slash" Last Word uses the power of the Moon in order to create a slash capable of covering the entire garden of Saigyouji.
* MeaningfulName: Both "Kon" and "Paku" mean "soul", but a "Kon" is a "mental" soul, which is separated from a body as soon as human dies, ascends to Heaven and is reborn in another realm while a "Paku" is a "physical" soul, which remains in the body for a while and then goes back to the Earth.
* MysticalWhiteHair: Apparently her unusual hair is a hallmark of her half-phantom heritage.
* NamedWeapons: Roukanken (Lookout Tower Sword) and Hakurouken (White Tower Sword), the first being her primary weapon.
* OxymoronicBeing: She is half-human and half-ghost.
* PintsizedPowerhouse: Youmu shares her status as shortest of the main incident resolvers with Marisa, but also happens to be the most physically powerful.
* ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything:
** She's supposed to be Yuyuko's gardener but is depicted more like a bodyguard and servant. In fact, all the gardening she does in canon is using her "Two Hundred Yojana in One Slash" technique to quickly trim the ludicrously vast expanses of the Cherry tree garden of Hakugyokurou.
** Even worse, she's actually a ''swordsmanship tutor'' for Yuyuko, filling in for Youki, but Yuyuko never takes any lessons and simply asks her to take care of the garden, which we don't see her do.
* RazorWind: Sharp enough to cut and destroy bullets.
* ShoutOut: A lot of her attributes including her sometimes childish sometimes serious attitude, ghostly companion, silver hair, sword skill and fast movement make Youmu a fairly clear parallel to Jean Pierre Polnareff of ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. One of her colour palettes from ''Hisoutensoku'' is even entirely silver like Pol's Silver Chariot stand. Meanwhile, that line for AbsurdlySharpBlade above is a reference to ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars''.
** Her ''[[CounterAttack Voidness Sword "Slash Clearing the Six Senses"]]'' in ''Hisoutensoku'' replicates the Turbid Current sword tech in ''VideoGame/SaGaFrontier'' with a final blow.
* SmallNameBigEgo: A minor case. Youmu's level of skill is actually quite impressive and she doesn't often brag about it, but she's young and has a poor idea of her own limits.
** From ''Literature/CageInLunaticRunagate'':
-->'''Youmu:''' I don't mean to boast, but I am skilled in tailing. As I am half-human and half-ghost, the presences of both are less noticeable than a full one.
-->'''Sakuya:''' I wonder how long our little stalker will continue to believe she has not been spotted.
* SoulCuttingBlade: Her sword Roukanken is claimed to "kill ten spirits in one swing". Meanwhile Hakurouken can "cut through confusion", which causes spirits to cast aside their lingering regrets and ascend to Nirvana (it has the same effect on humans, but is so much weaker that they experience only momentary discomfort).
* SpinToDeflectStuff: One of her moves in ''Immaterial and Missing Power'' and ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody''. She spins her sword to reflect the opponent's danmaku attacks.
* {{Tomboy}}: By the virtue of being a sword-wielding ActionGirl. Her [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl girly girl]] counterpart is Yuyuko.
* UndyingLoyalty: Youmu is intensely loyal to Yuyuko, except when she's not. While she often disobeys Yuyuko to go on her own adventures,[[note]]such as every time she's playable in a game other than when she was paired up with Yuyuko in ''Imperishable Night'', most notable ''Ten Desires'' in which she actually ''fought'' Yuyuko for the right to leave the Netherworld[[/note]] in the end she seems to have an unconscious sense of duty that keeps her working for Yuyuko despite her complaints. And she's not even getting paid...
* UnexpectedCharacter: Returns in ''Touhou 13: Ten Desires'' as a playable character, well after most people had given up on ever seeing her again in a danmaku game.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes:
** [[{{Irony}} Despite the fact]] that she serves a ghost and ''is'' half one, Youmu is terrified of ghost stories. Made doubly ridiculous by the fact that with the Roukanken, she is one of the very few people actually capable of killing ghosts.
** Youmu is just one huge scaredy-cat when it comes to imaginary horrors. In one chapter of ''Manga/OrientalSacredPlace'' she participates in a test of courage and spends most of it running hysterically from people in cheap Halloween costumes. Since she knew perfectly well there was nothing to be afraid of, most of them assumed she was just playing along, but her mistress knew better.
--->'''Youmu:''' I'm no good with scary stuff.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Youki Konpaku]]

::'''Youki Konpaku'''

Youmu Konpaku's father ([[LostInTranslation or possibly grandfather]]) and mentor, who served as Hakugyokurou's gardener before her. He disappeared sometime before the events of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'', which Youmu took to be just another one of his lessons. Strictly appears only in Youmu's character description for ''Perfect Cherry Blossom''.

----

* ArrogantKungFuGuy: One of ZUN's memos implies him to have this personality.
* BadassBaritone: According to ZUN, Youki speaks a thundering voice.
* BadassBeard: Often portrayed with one.
* CombatPragmatist: Rather than following a traditional fighting style, he "stole" the most effective moves from a number of styles. Judging by Youmu's techniques, he also favored [[SpeedBlitz defeating an enemy before they knew what was happening]].
* DisappearedDad: No one really seems to know his current whereabouts. Some fans jokingly suggest that [[ExtremeOmnivore Yuyuko ate him]].
* HalfHumanHybrid: Like Youmu, he too is half human, half ghost.
* MasterSwordsman: A rather pragmatic one which is quite uncommon, especially among the Japanese. He did teach Youmu though and it really shows.
* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Youki seems to have been less devoted to his job than Youmu is. [[UndyingLoyalty Not that that's saying much]].
* OldMaster: He's often portrayed in fanworks as an old man with silver hair and a short silver beard.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Yuyuko Saigyouji]]
[[quoteright:170:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_yuyukopcb.png]]

::''Ghostly Girl in the Netherworld Tower''
::'''Yuyuko Saigyouji'''

-->''"In a gathering of corpses, there is beauty. Same goes for the cherry blossoms and spring..."''

Ghost Princess of Hakugyokurou, also an old friend of Yukari. When she was still alive she had the power to [[{{Necromancy}} control the spirits of the dead]]. Eventually this grew into the power to kill others with a thought, terrifying Yuyuko [[DrivenToSuicide to the point of suicide]], after which her body was used to [[SealedEvilInACan seal an evil cherry tree]]. Over time, she [[GhostAmnesia forgot about her life]] and hatched a plan to resurrect the body sealing the tree. When she realized that it was her own body that sealed the tree, she changed her mind and lived her life as a ghost, perhaps for the better, because the resurrection of her body would destroy her and unleash the evil tree.

----

* BadPowersGoodPeople:
** Having the power to [[IWishedYouWereDead invoke death as one pleases]] is [[CaptainObvious dangerous.]] Good thing Yuyuko is responsible enough to know how dangerous it is, {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies aside.
** The only time it's known she has used her power during the games is in an attempt to kill Mokou, who, as an immortal, is unaffected.
* BattleAura: A massive, pink paper fan with a classical motif etched on it appears behind her.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Though she's usually a happy and upbeat person, you do NOT want to make her angry, at least according to Akyuu in ''Perfect Memento''. Probably because she can kill with a thought.
* BigEater:
** She seems to treat her journey in ''Imperishable Night'' as a "Wonderful Midnight Snack Tour". One line implies that she actually went as far as to ''eat Mystia'' (not that this stops Mystia from reappearing in the next game). MemeticMutation turns her into an ExtremeOmnivore, with numerous examples of her eating Youmu's ghost-half and Franchise/{{Kirby}} parodies.
** In both ''Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red'' and ''A Beautiful Flower Blooming Violet Every Sixty Years'', when Yuyuko has to compare two things she immediately thinks of them in terms of food.
** Yuyuko and Youmu's stage cameo in ''Hopeless Masquerade'' consists of [[FunnyBackgroundEvent Youmu holding a box of riceballs and feeding them to Yuyuko... on continuous loop]].
* BoobsOfSteel: Often drawn with a nice figure, and no slouch in terms of power. May be justified however, since [[BigEater all that food has to go somewhere]].
* BrilliantButLazy: Yuyuko is likely smarter and more perceptive than even [[TheChessmaster Yukari]], but unlike Yukari she has no real ambition or long-term plans; on the rare occasion she does act it's usually ForTheLulz.
* ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth: She has many butterfly-themed spell cards and projectiles. Indeed, she was the ''first'' boss in the series to use butterfly bullets. Many bosses have since used them, but never to Yuyuko's level.
* CelestialBureaucracy: Although she was originally human, her particular skills and situation caused her to be appointed by Eiki as permanent ruler of the Netherworld instead of reincarnating normally. Given that she still has her job, she's a presumably a BunnyEarsLawyer.
* CherryBlossomGirl: For someone not named Sakura, she sure hits a lot of points for the trope. She's got themes relating to death by simply being dead. She's aiming for the rebirth of the person buried beneath the giant cherry tree Saigyouji Ayakashi, [[spoiler:not knowing she's the one buried there]], and does this by collecting spring in the form of cherry blossom petals. Her powers are the exact opposite of healing: The ability to kill with a thought. She has an aura of [[YamatoNadeshiko traditional Japanese elegance]] (ruined by her constant trolling of Youmu), which includes wearing kimonos that sometimes have cherry blossom patterns. Finally, she tops it off with her pink hair.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: May or may not be [[ObfuscatingStupidity Obfuscating Cloudcuckoolandity]].
* CombatHandFan: In the fighting games, some of her moves have her smack enemies with hand fans.
* CrypticConversation: In any storyline where she shows up, she'll usually allude vaguely to how she's already figured out exactly what's going on (explaining things would be too boring). Her servant Youmu says she can never understand what Yuyuko is talking about.
* CuteGhostGirl: For a long time, she was the ''trope picture''.
* DanceBattler: In ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'' she floats around attacking with slow, sweeping movements - sometimes with her eyes closed or while holding a pair of [[CombatHandFan paper fans]]. The result looks somewhat like a ceremonial dance.
* DissonantSerenity: As someone who actually suffered quite a lot in the past and by now knows that she can never reincarnate because she's sealing a terrifyingly evil youkai tree, she sure is a happy-go-lucky person and very upbeat.
* DrivenToSuicide: Her eventual reaction to realizing what her power was.
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Ghost Princess of the Netherworld.
* ExpressiveShirt: The pattern on her robe changes from game to game or story to story, but always matches something going on in the plot, even if she presumably didn't know what would happen when she got dressed. Or did she?
* FairWeatherMentor: Her relationship with Youmu has shades of this. Yuyuko likes to [[CrypticConversation speak in riddles and implications]] whenever she can, encouraging people to work things out for themselves rather than telling them directly... which makes her a ''terrible'' mentor for the LiteralMinded Youmu.
* FamousAncestor: Not exactly ancestor, but her father may or may not have been the famous Japanese poet [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saigyo_Hoshi Saigyo]], who wrote a poem about his wish to die under blossoming trees. According to ''[[UniverseCompendium Perfect Momento in Strict Sense]]'', Yuyuko's father was indeed a celebrated poet who did end up dying under the influence of the Saigyou Ayakashi, a youkai cherry tree.
* FinalBoss: Of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom''. Then she activates her last spell card...
* GhostAmnesia: To the point that she forgot that [[spoiler:''she'' is the one whose body is buried under the Saigyou Ayakashi]].
* GlacierWaif: In ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'' she may be delicate-looking, but she pulls off the MightyGlacier role convincingly - she's slow because she moves through ghostly floating and attacks through ritualized, dancelike movements... that release powerful bursts of energy.
* GradualGrinder: Her boss fight in ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'' has shades of this, as much as can be had in danmaku: her bullet patterns aren't necessarily complex for a stage six boss and are [[PainfullySlowProjectile relatively slow]] to boot. This can easily cause a player to lose their focus and glide into one of the many, many bullets that are trailing around them.
* GuestFighter: Appears as a playable character in ''VideoGame/LordOfVermilion'' alongside Reimu.
* HitodamaLight: She is a ghost with two or three lights always floating about.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: Even when she and Yukari began their friendship a millennium ago Yukari was already ancient, and now she is still many times Yuyuko's age. Neither of them care in the slightest.
* ItAmusedMe: She decided to make the Saigyouji Ayakashi blossom because she was curious as to who was buried underneath it and wanted to see them resurrected, not knowing [[spoiler:it was herself]].
* IWishedYouWereDead: Her manipulation of death is described as "Invoking death as she wishes" -- Yuyuko can literally wish people dead. She can also choose for the departed to be sent to Hakugyokurou instead of their normal afterlife, as well as having control over their soul.
* {{Leitmotif}}:
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcfQxcRGg8s "Border of Life"]] and all of its subsequent rearranges.
** And now she has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l7jAAORxZs "Ghost Lead".]]
* MasterPoisoner: Twice in canon[[note]]''Immaterial and Missing Power'' Yukari route, ''Imperishable Night'' Ghost route ending[[/note]], she has poisoned peoples' drinks... but both times they noticed and/or were immune, and Yuyuko seemed to know this would happen. Yuyuko [[{{Troll}} has a weird]] [[DudeNotFunny sense of humor]].
* MightyGlacier: In ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'' Yuyuko has long attack animations (both in startup and cooldown) and moves by floating slowly around the screen. However, she also hits like a truck, and many of her attacks have large hitboxes or properties which make them hard to stop.
* [[MrExposition Ms. Exposition]]: She explains the plot to Youmu in ''Manga/SilentSinnerInBlue'' and also gives interesting, if often cryptic, speeches in ''Imperishable Night''.
* {{Necromancy}}: Not only can she kill with a thought, but she can also control the souls of the dead. Which as you might imagine is helpful in running an afterlife.
* {{Nerf}}: InUniverse she does this to ''herself'' due to going from the final boss of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'' to the first boss of ''Ten Desires''. Though, in the latter, the dialogue makes it clear she was significantly holding back.
* NiceHat: Wears a blue mob cap with a hitaikakushi in front on which there's a red ghost insignia as well as a veil down the back of her head.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Using the cover of TheDitz to cover her intellect.
* {{Ojou}}: She is a ghost princess whose home is a towering pagoda with an immense garden.
* TheOmniscient: Of the mundane variety; she's just that perceptive. [[NotSoOmniscientAfterAll Except for that thing with the corpse under the Saigyou Ayakashi]].
* [[DeathByOriginStory Own Death By Origin Story]]: See DrivenToSuicide above.
* PainfullySlowProjectile: Many of her danmaku patterns involve these. They are easy to dodge individually, but over time they will clutter up the screen, blocking your path from the faster bullets.
* ThePollyanna: Has easily the most heart-wrenching [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5TY1DqJ59E&fmt=18 backstory]] in the cast and yet is one of the [[AngstWhatAngst funniest and most cheerful]] characters. This may be originally due to her [[GhostAmnesia completely forgetting about her past]]. However, she recovered her memory at the end of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'', and nothing seems to have changed.
* PowerGivesYouWings: Power gives you a Giant Fan, in her case.
* PowerIncontinence: Yuyuko's power to invoke death was stronger when she was alive; while it's not clear whether she ever actually lost control of it, [[DrivenToSuicide presumably she was very afraid of the possibility]], and it's a common depiction in {{Fanon}}.
* SealedEvilInACan: She seals the cherry tree, and it seals her, forever preventing her from ever being part of the {{Reincarnation}} cycle. She realizes she's happier that way.
* SoulJar: Inverted - her body being sealed prevents her soul from passing on. The end result is still functional immortality, though.
* SoulPower: Her original power was merely to control the spirits of the dead, and her ability to do so is also one of the reason she was appointed to be in charge of the Netherworld. While it's never fully explained, it seems likely that her ability to cause death is also an aspect of this, ie: removing someone's soul to kill them. In-game, she is constantly surrounded by floating spirits and sometimes sends them to attack.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: K-S renders her last name as "Saigyouzi."
* SpreadShot:
** In ''Imperishable Night'' the Ghost Team fires a narrow shot while unfocused (Youmu), and a SpreadShot while focused (Yuyuko). This is a notable inversion of how shot types usually work, and contributes to the Ghost Team's [[MechanicallyUnusualFighter unusual playstyle]].
** This also extends to Yuyuko's appearance in ''[[MascotFighter Scarlet Weather Rhapsody]]'', where her projectile attacks are both large and spread out compared to most of the cast.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: In ''Ten Desires'', when Reimu and Youmu ask her where they should go next after defeating her. Considering how she's often ObfuscatingStupidity, she's probably doing this on purpose to guide them in the right direction.
-->'''(To Reimu):''' "I'll give you a hint. The cemetery behind the temple isn't suspicious."
-->'''(To Youmu):''' "I doubt that some troublesome individual is about to make a return, or that there's any secrets or anything in, say, the cemetery behind the temple..."
* TalkingThroughTechnique: Does this with Yukari, most famously in ''Manga/SilentSinnerInBlue'' where it's used to catch the Lunarians off-guard.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: The Girly Girl to Youmu's tomboy.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: According to fanon, ''Mystia''.
* TricksterMentor: Whenever she decides to help someone. Unfortunately, Youmu seems too LiteralMinded for it to work on her very well.
* {{Troll}}: At the end of ''Manga/SilentSinnerInBlue'', [[spoiler:she steals a 1000-year-old bottle of sake from the Moon to piss the princesses off, which was what Yukari wanted her to do -- but she also trolls Yukari by not stealing anything ''more'' valuable than a bottle of sake]].
* UnexpectedCharacter: Who could have thought she'd be the stage 1 boss of ''Ten Desires''? However, even though she may come across as a DegradedBoss, [[WillfullyWeak she's not really trying to win]]; she just wants to give you a little spellcard practice before you go off to investigate the divine spirit incident.
* YamatoNadeshiko: She is an unusual case. She's whimsical and prefers pulling pranks on her servant/guardian, but she can be serious if the time comes. She is, however, the elegant mastermind befitting the character type.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Saigyou Ayakashi]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Th07ayakashi01_6902.jpg]]

::'''Saigyou Ayakashi'''

An evil cherry tree sealed by Yuyuko and Yukari centuries ago. Up until Ten Desires it was the only truly evil character in the Touhou universe. It has the power to lure people to rest underneath its branches after which it drains their souls.

----

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: Subverted; its beauty lures people to it and then it kills them by inducing deadly peacefulness or simply eternal sleep.
* BotanicalAbomination: The Saigyou Ayakashi is a more than one thousand year old large youkai cherry tree that absorbs the life force of anyone who rests under its branches by beguiling them with its beautiful cherry blossoms. It was originally just a regular tree before it became a youkai after absorbing the blood of people who came to die under it, starting with a famous Gensokyo poet who inspired others to follow his example. It currently rests in Hakugyokurou, unable to bloom and beguile more people due to Yuyuko's body being sealed under the tree.
* TheCameo: Appears in ''Ten Desires'' as the background for Yuyuko's spell cards (just as it did in ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'').
* CherryBlossoms: [[CaptainObvious Well duh]].
* EldritchAbomination: What else can you call something that drives people insane with deadly peacefulness and beauty before draining their souls?
* GreaterScopeVillain: While Yuyuko was the driving force behind the plot, it was her curiosity of this thing that got the ball rolling.
* SealedEvilInACan: It was sealed using Yuyuko's body. As such, it never flowers or bears fruit; it takes roughly all of Gensokyo's "Spring" to cause it to even begin to bloom.
* WhenTreesAttack: This tree doesn't even have to move, its victims come by themselves.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ran Yakumo]]
[[quoteright:174:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_ran.png]]

::''Shikigami of the Youkai of Boundaries''
::'''Ran Yakumo'''

-->''"Don't mistake me for a simple beast either. I am the shikigami of a powerful master. As such, my powers far exceed those of any youkai you've ever seen... Not to mention those of humans. [[MakesSenseInContext Or dogs.]]"''

A kitsune, Yukari's beleaguered but loyal shikigami, looking after the house and her duties while her mistress sleeps. A grand youkai in her own right, she is wise and strong, old enough to possess a full set of nine tails and is powerful enough to have her ''own'' shikigami, Chen.

----

* ActionMom: In {{Fanon}}, she and Chen generally have a mother-daughter relationship, which normally leads to her going "[[SayMyName CHEEEEEEEEEENNNN!!!]]".
* AssistCharacter: Often appears as one for Yukari.
* BadassBoast: "I am leagues different from Chen. Leagues, columns, digits, and [[ColorfulThemeNaming colors]]."
* BonusBoss: Boss of the Extra Stage. Midboss of the ''Phantasm'' Stage.
* ButtMonkey: Tends to be abused a lot by Yukari in fanon, and canon probably doesn't treat her much better due to Yukari literally throwing her into the battle and generally being very strange.
* ColourfulThemeNaming: Her name means "indigo" in Japanese. See Chen's entry above.
* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Much like Chen, she spins a lot in battle. Yukari even uses her as a living projectile in ''Imperishable Night''.
* {{Familiar}}: She's Yukari Yakumo's [[{{UsefulNotes/Onmyodo}} shikigami]], and is powerful enough to have Chen as her own shikigami.
* FastballSpecial: Yukari often literally throws Ran into the fray.
* FormulaicMagic: Yukari frequently refers to Ran like a computer program, to the point where she's referenced ''debugging'' her.
* GoodWithNumbers: Capable of doing complex calculations in an instant. She also worked out the formula used to calculate the width of the Sanzu River (which changes depending on the amount of spiritual wealth the soul carries to pay off the ferryman) in her spare time. Most likely, this skill of hers is part of an ongoing joke where ZUN compares shikigami to computers.
* HappinessInSlavery: Both Ran and Yukari believe that a shikigami is a tool, and that to achieve her full power as a shikigami, Ran must always do precisely what is ordered of her. An article in ''Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red'' describes Yukari beating her for getting into a fight without permission while she was asleep. [[note]]Presumably, this is when Ran fought the heroine in ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'' because the heroine wanted Ran to wake up her master.[[/note]] A shikigami gains power from their master so long as they obey, so getting into fights that the master doesn't authorize deprives the servant of potential power.
* {{Kitsune}}: She's a nine-tailed fox, which are traditionally quite powerful in mythology (almost divine). Presumably this is meant to contrast with her status as a shikigami and [[OvershadowedByAwesome make Yukari seem even more threatening.]] Indeed, it may be hard to remember at times, but Ran is a fully-fledged [[BonusBoss Extra Boss]] in her own right.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Her official boss theme is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yGYuaXnOtY "A Maiden's Illusionary Funeral ~ Necro-Fantasy,"]] (of which Yukari's theme is a reprise/remix, oddly enough), but she also tends to be associated with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt59eWm1-us "Charming Domination."]]
* MamaBear: Her reaction to the playing character "bullying" Chen in the ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'' extra stage. [[ActionMom Insert]] "[[HilariousInHindsight CHEEEEEEEEEEEENNNN!!!]]" [[MemeticMutation when appropriate]].
* MultipleTailedBeast: She has nine tails, which indicates how long-lived she is; as the legends of {{kitsune}} go, a fox's tail will split in two after living for a hundred years, and they gain a tail for every century after, so theoretically she is between 800 and 899 years old.
* LittleBitBeastly: Nine-tailed fox, though she keeps her ears covered under a hat.
* NiceHat: A modified mob cap wrapped with a few ofuda and two pointed "sleeves" for her ears adorned with tassled pom-poms.
* NoseBleed: A lot of fanart tends to have Ran do this when Chen does anything that TastesLikeDiabetes. Often to epic levels -- it's even sparked a meme called "[[KamehameHadoken Nosebleed Spark]]".
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: "Ran Yakumo" is the name of the shikigami spirit possessing the fox, making it more of a title than a proper name. However, [[MeaningfulRename if she had a name before that she doesn't use it]].
* PercussiveMaintenance: Extending the "shikigami = computer" analogy, ''Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red'' shows that Yukari sometimes fixes Ran's malfunctions by hitting her with her parasol. Ran herself is okay with this, though Aya is somewhat disturbed.
* SayMyName: Fanon tends to toy around with this due to her ActionMom status... ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jip6DJC7qZA "CHEEEEEEEEEEEENNNN!!!!"]]''
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Fried tofu is traditionally loved by kitsune, and according to ''Perfect Memento in Strict Sense'' Ran is no exception. It's said that one could persuade her out of fighting by offering her some. She's seen at Reisen's stand in ''Wild and Horned Hermit'', buying some.
* TheWatson: To Yukari, especially in ''Manga/SilentSinnerInBlue''.
* WillingChanneler: "Ran Yakumo" is technically not the kitsune, but the shikigami possessing her body. Unlike Chen she willingly stays in shikigami mode pretty much all the time.
* YamatoNadeshiko: A common {{Fanon}} portrayal, since she looks after Yukari's house while she's asleep.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Yukari Yakumo]]
[[quoteright:251:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_yukaripcb.png]]

::''Youkai of Boundaries''
::'''Yukari Yakumo'''

-->''"Oh, so that's a 'strange incident'? Then I suppose I'm a mobile strange incident."''

The mysterious "youkai of boundaries" and one of the most powerful beings in Gensokyo[[note]]Exactly how powerful is vague, as most of the information on Yukari's abilities [[UnreliableExpositor comes from Yukari herself]], but she's crafty enough to outwit most of the entities stronger than her anyway.[[/note]] - her signature [[CoolGate "gaps"]] allow her to travel almost anywhere (including the Outside World), her UsefulNotes/{{Onmyodo}} skills let her [[TheOmniscient find out almost anything]], and she's no slouch in combat either. She tends to [[{{Troll}} mess around with people]] or [[TheChessmaster use them as pawns in her schemes]], but most of the time she has the best interests of Gensokyo at heart. It's heavily implied that Yukari was one of the architects of the Great Hakurei Barrier[[note]]The actual crafting of the barrier was a massive effort involving large numbers of youkai and humans.[[/note]], and she will quickly show up to repair it if damaged. However, as she sleeps through the day and hibernates through winter, she leaves most of her work to her shikigami Ran. Yukari is an old friend of Yuyuko, and the closest thing [[BarrierMaiden Reimu]] has to an employer.

----

* AncientTradition: A one-woman variation, but only helps when she sees fit.
* AnonymousBenefactor: Occasionally leaves things in the Hakurei Shrine's donation box when Reimu's not looking.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification: Claims that she herself is the representative of Gensokyo's reality. How [[UnreliableExpositor honest this statement is]] however is up in the air.
* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: Yukari is mostly content to have Reimu and her shikigami solve most issues, partly due to her odd sleep schedule, partly due to [[TheGodsMustBeLazy just being lazy]]. If something happens that is actively threatening Gensokyo however, Yukari will not hesitate to get involved; Eientei and later Tenshi learned this the hard way.
* TheArchmage: The UsefulNotes/{{Onmyodo}} version, not the quasi-scientific magic practiced by youkai magicians.
* ArtificialBrilliance: In ''Perfect Cherry Blossom''. Unlike any other boss in the series, Yukari will actually pause her attacks (and the timer) during her final spellcard whenever the player manages to gain some form of invincibility, and will calmly wait until it wears off before resuming.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Yukari's ultimate spell card in the fighting games, ''Obsolete Line: Trip to the Old Station'', trumps most every other card used by any other character in sheer damage output. However, it can be avoided by flying over it (not grazed or blocked, however), and the portal for summoning the [[CoolTrain train]] takes a long time to open, so any opponent worth their salt will knock you upside the head while you're channeling it. [[GameBreaker If Typhoon is active, however....]]
** It is, however, one of the best [[NotCompletelyUseless Okizeme (wake up game) supers]] in the game. Yukari has some very easy set ups that give her ample time to channel the super while the opponent is flailing through the air and or getting up from the floor, and if done correctly these setups lead to the opponent rising to an unblockable, ungrazeable train to the face.
* BadBoss: Yukari's article in ''Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red'' describes her disciplining Ran by hitting her with an umbrella. She claims that, since shikigami are first and foremost tools, it's not abuse but rather PercussiveMaintenance.
* BarrierMaiden: She was instrumental in gathering support for the construction of the Great Hakurei Barrier, and her powers are based around manipulating barriers, but she leaves the Barrier's upkeep to Reimu and usually steps in only to repair major damage.
* BarrierWarrior: Her "control over borders" ability can easily manifest in stuff that blocks enemy attacks.
* BeneathTheMask: In ''Manga/WildAndHornedHermit'' chapter 35, when Kasen rejects the idea of being "on her side", Yukari seems genuinely ''sad'' for a moment before quickly resuming her usual StepfordSmiler attitude.
* BerserkButton:
** Damaging the Great Hakurei Barrier. Her laziness, her shikigami and the other resident incident resolvers are not excuses for her to sit idly by while someone damages Genskoyo's foundation, and she makes sure the perpetrator knows it. Case in point: her story mode in ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'' consists of her going on a personal manhunt for Tenshi after her earthquake damages the Hakurei Shrine, beating up everyone she encounters for information along the way. By the time she reaches Iku, she's so angry that she openly declares her intentions for Tenshi, and they are ''not'' spellcard-kosher.
--> [[KilledOffForReal "I'm going to make her become deceased for a bit."]]
** Though more of [[{{Fanon}} fan-conceived]] notion, Yukari also hates it when Reimu's life is threatened. Opinions for this tend to shift between Reimu's death being TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, Yukari actually caring for Reimu, or both.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Yukari makes it clear that despite her whimsical demeanor, she can and will fuck up someone's day if they continue to be a problem to Gensokyo or to her.
** When Kasen [[spoiler:unintentionally brings in Dandelions through her excursions to the outside world; Yukari is very passive-aggressive in warning Kasen about her travels to the outside and the damage it can cause.]]
** As retribution for losing to Eirin, [[spoiler:Yukari concocts a very elaborate plan to defeat the Lunar Capital; not through battle but through wits. The goal being that Yukari wanted to show Eirin that despite her intelligence she cannot know everything; and that she should fear Gensokyo's youkai. While the theft of sake isn't really a big deal; the fact that Yukari can do so despite Eirin's planning is what causes Eirin to become scared of Yukari.]]
** Tenshi learned this the hard way when [[spoiler:Yukari hunted down and delivered a serious beat down on Tenshi for all the damage she had caused to the Hakurei Shrine and Gensokyo's barrier as a whole. Her dialogue with Iku even states that she briefly considered just ''killing Tenshi'' after their battle.]]
* BigGood: She's mostly an authority figure when she actually shows up, but Yukari isn't human and [[BlueAndOrangeMorality the oddity of some of her behaviour]] occasionally pushes her towards being more of a MysteriousBacker for Reimu.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Her philosophy seems to be some form of UsefulNotes/{{Taoism}}... as interpreted by a [[ShapedLikeItself "very youkai-like"]] {{Youkai}} with a manipulative streak. Even other youkai have trouble understanding her motives.
* BonusBoss: Notable for being the only "[[UpToEleven bonus bonus boss]]" in the main series, the boss of ''Perfect Cherry Blossom''[='=]s Phantasm stage.
** TrueFinalBoss: Accessing the Phantasm stage is also non-standard, requiring not only clearing the Extra stage, but having captured at least sixty of the game's spell cards.
* BoobsOfSteel: One of the few characters portrayed in-game with a noticeable bust... and possesses god-like powers.
* BrilliantButLazy: Though it's hard to tell what parts of Yukari's actions are complex plotting disguised as laziness, or laziness disguised as complex plotting.
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: In ''Immaterial and Missing Power''.
-->'''Sakuya:''' Whatever. Stop lying and give up your schemes, now.\\
'''Yukari:''' ''(Which lies and schemes is she talking about? It's hard to keep track of them all...)''
* TheChessmaster:
** She's had a hand in many, many schemes over the years, the complexity and scope of which makes Kanako look upstart. Including the disastrous Moon invasion 1000 years ago that taught youkai not to overstep their boundaries, and made Yukari well-known, even among the humans (whether Yukari knew they would lose and this would happen is up for debate). Then, 500 years later, in order to return leverage to the youkai over that of the humans, she laid the groundwork for the Hakurei Barrier, by establishing the area of Gensoukyou as a youkai haven, where they could emigrate to and be free from the outside, after which the Barrier took 400 years more to be completed. Even the debates and conflicts over the Barrier and their use in distracting from Gensoukyou's vulnerable human population until youkai and humans could live together there were possibly foreseen by her. Lastly and most strikingly, the entirety of ''Manga/TouhouBougetsushou'' was planned out by her, manipulating the Watatsuki sisters, Eirin, and Remilia against each other, all of whom are quite clever in their own right.
** Yukari openly acknowledges herself as this when playing as Sakuya in ''Perfect Cherry Blossom''.
-->'''Sakuya:''' So, is law enforcement [in the Netherworld] always like this?\\
'''Yukari:''' There's no law in this world. As we can't have a death penalty, of course.\\
'''Sakuya:''' Oh, what about the [[{{Psychopomp}} Yama]]?\\
'''Yukari:''' One just needs to be stronger than the Yama and they can do as they please. That's the way of this place... no, of all places.\\
'''Sakuya:''' Stronger how exactly? Financially?\\
'''Yukari:''' In cunning.
** By the by, the First Lunar Invasion [[XanatosGambit was no different]]: it's implied it really didn't matter whether it failed or succeeded: either way, ''Yukari won''. If they won, good, they have access to Lunarian technology and gain control of the Moon. If they failed, the youkai were taught a fierce lesson about expansionism and either way Yukari has the chance to examine the barrier separating the True Moon from the barren satellite... which was doubtlessly of extreme interest of someone in need of such barriers to, shall we say, [[OhCrap create a sealed realm of her own]]...
** Marisa's ''Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom'' ending and Chapter 35 of ''Forbidden Scrollery'' implies that she was responsible for the world ending UrbanLegend, and that perhaps even the events of ''Urban Legend in Limbo'' and ''Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom'' were all part of an unknown plan to eventually shake Gensokyo's social paradigm. It ''is'' rather suspicious that in both cases she (at least directly) stayed out of their events despite the direct danger both Sumireko and later the Lunarians posed to Gensokyo, and interfering with the Barrier (like the former did) in particular being one of Yukari's few {{Berserk Button}}s.
** Even though she never reveals exactly why, in the final arc of ''Forbidden Scrollery'' [[spoiler:she influences Kosuzu to use the Night Parade scroll and end up getting possessed by the oni inside, which prompted action to finally subdue it and put into the hands of a more responsible owner, that being Mamizou. This seemed to be all a lesson to teach Reimu that she has a responsibility to protect both humans ''and'' youkai from each other]].
* ColourCodedCharacters: Reimu and Yukari form the "Border team" in ''Imperishable Night''. It's rather convenient that the colors of their outfits correspond to the borders between visible and invisible light.
* ColourfulThemeNaming: Her name means "violet" in Japanese. See Chen's entry above.
* CompressedHair: Somehow manages to hide almost all her hair in her hat in the fighting games. Said hat might contain a gap.
* CoolTrain: Attacks with one in one of her spell cards in ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody''. All Aboard the Yukari Express!
** The train returns with Yukari's appearance in ''Antimony of Common Flowers'', except this time it crashes into the side of the stage and [[MadeOfExplodium EXPLODES!]]
* CrypticConversation: Tends to make confusingly vague remarks, though not as much as Yuyuko does.
* DamageSpongeBoss: A literal case of UpToEleven: Yukari has ''eleven'' health bars compared to the Extra stage bosses' ten, giving her the distinction of having the most HP of any boss in the series.
* DirtyCoward: Dream Kasen thinks she's a coward due to in her eyes talking a big game but being reluctant to actually attack directly.
* EvilRunningGood: A PragmaticVillainy variant. Officially she and Reimu are on opposite sides of the human-youkai conflict, and Reimu has fought Yukari on multiple occasions. In practice she offers Reimu a great deal of support and guidance, and may be responsible for her position in the first place. She seems to value Reimu as both a neutral party who can break up conflicts between youkai factions, and a way to prevent youkai from [[CorneredRattlesnake pushing the Human Village too far and sparking a war]].
* EvilutionaryBiologist: Over time Gensokyo's {{youkai}} have drifted from their origins as manifestations of human fear, becoming less aggressive and more capable of developing individual personalities. Yukari was somehow involved in most of the factors contributing to this.[[note]]The Great Hakurei Barrier cuts them off from the influence of Outside World beliefs and superstitions, while the Spell Card system allows them to gain sustenance from [[FriendlyWar "attacking" humans without actually hurting them or risking death in return]].[[/note]] The "evil" part comes in because youkai haven't become fully independent beings yet, and Yukari [[ImAHumanitarian helps with the food supply]].
* FastballSpecial: Her usual method of using Ran. Yukari is the pitcher.
* FrameBreak: Sort of. In ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'' Yukari's spell cards Boundary "Border Between 2D and 3D" and Boundary "Objective Border" travel along the edge of the screen.
* TheGodsMustBeLazy: Has power rivalling a god, and seems to see herself as the custodian of Gensokyo. So lazy she sleeps 12 hours a day and "hibernates" though the whole winter. Even when she's awake, she still doesn't take much direct action, instead manipulating others into doing her job for her. Anything that ''does'' spur her into taking direct action is considered a GodzillaThreshold.
* GoodWithNumbers: Since a familiar's power is derived from its master, Yukari is even better at numbers than Ran, who is known to calculate the Sanzu River's width out of boredom. Ran mentions that if Yukari wanted, she could have calculated the depth of the Sanzu River as well, ''even though it's known to be bottomless''.
* GracefulLadiesLikePurple: Exemplary even in her name, which means "violet", and she has a very refined manner, though she can be strange even by youkai standards.
* GradualGrinder: In the fighting games. She's slow, has high {{Knockback}} and [[ScratchDamage Chip Damage]], and is hard to put under pressure but likewise has trouble pressuring enemies herself. She's also poor at aerial combat, but makes up for it with AntiAir attacks.
* GreenLanternRing: While the only confirmed uses of her boundary-manipulation abilities are ThinkingUpPortals and [[TrueSight seeing through barriers]], it's implied that she is capable of far more things, like manipulating the border between night and day.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Her [[LimitBreak Last Word]] in Antinomy of Common Flowers is called ''Lend Me Those Beautiful Legs'', in which she (temporarily) [[https://youtu.be/CsD-rJfELjY?t=234 bisects her opponent]] with a PortalCut. In addition her Occult in the same game is based on the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teke_Teke Teke-Teke]] Urban Legend and thus involves her using her gaps to bisect herself and rushdown the opponent with her upper half.
* {{Hammerspace}}: Tends to become a HyperspaceArsenal at times with traffic signs, tombstones and a '''train.'''
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: Even ''more so'' than Reimu.
* HeavySleeper: She hibernates through the wintertime. Some fanon theories claim that this is because Yuyuko's death traumatized her in some way, but there is no evidence of this.
* ILetYouWin: One of Yukari's most common techniques to resolve a problem is to set herself up as an enemy and let her opponent defeat her. She does this in the manga in order to accomplish two things: stop Reimu and others from investigating the true reason behind people disappearing, and give Reimu some good publicity. The reason she did this was to buy herself some time to actually resolve it without letting people know that people disappearing was actually them getting transported to the outside world. She also does this in the fighting games, and if she manages to defeat an opponent in the story she'll sometimes reveal that she was holding back.
* ImmortalImmaturity: Some fans tend to portray her this way.
* ImAHumanitarian: Teased throughout the series. She hints at storing humans for the winter to Marisa in ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'', ''[[UniverseCompendium Perfect Memento In Strict Sense]]'' says she might attack humans from the outside world to keep her youkai status, and she openly admits in ''Manga/WildAndHornedHermit'' that Gensokyo's youkai's "food supply" comes from the outside world. She also hints at having a fridge full of dead humans.
* ImTakingHerHomeWithMe: Most of the fluctuations in the Great Hakurei Barrier that can send clueless humans into Gensoukyou are her doing, "spiriting away" some of the folk she finds ''fascinating''. In fanon this sometimes is manifested as literally taking people home with her.
* InsistentTerminology: Yukari [[Manga/WildAndHornedHermit will have you know]] that "spiriting away" is ''her'' thing, and suggests that you use some other term if a person disappears without her involvement.
* KansasCityShuffle: In ''Manga/SilentSinnerInBlue''. [[BatmanGambit Relying on Remilia's greed to create a decoy]] is one thing. ''[[spoiler:Being a second decoy]]'' [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome is quite another]].
* LadyOfWar: Being super-refined and super-dangerous are her most pronounced traits.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygy6O9kVt7U "Necrofantasia"]] from ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'' (a remix/expansion of the chorus of Ran's theme), and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPMgCFHQY4g "Night Falls ~ Evening Star"]] from the fighting games.
* LimitedWardrobe: Avoided. She wore a western-style one-piece dress in her debut appearance in ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'', but ''Immaterial and Missing Power'' gave her a new dress in a mishmash of western and Chinese styles to further symbolize her boundary-related powers. Although the latter outfit appears to have stuck in the games for the time being, fanworks tend to depict her in either outfit, depending on the artist's tastes. Yukari also wears a unique purple sleeveless dress with white shirt underneath in the Boundary Team ending in ''Imperishable Night'', meaning she averted this trope within a single game. And in ''Manga/WildAndHornedHermit'' and ''Manga/ForbiddenScrollery'' she appears with different sets of clothes.
* MeaningfulRename: "Yukari Yakumo" is not her real name, but something she chose to call herself; she also gave Ran her current name. Fans sometimes use this as evidence that she is really an older [[Characters/TouhouOtherOfficialWorks Maribel Hearn]]. Chapter 26 of ''Curiosities of Lotus Asia'' features Rinnosuke pondering the possible reasons she chose that name.
* MightyWhitey: Maybe. It's been implied that Yukari was originally a Western human ([[MukokuSeki not that you could tell from the art]]).
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Yukari seems more interested in preserving the balance between humans and youkai (or possibly even helping humans) than in helping youkai, though she tries to cover it up (which is one of the reasons she rarely acts directly). It's implied that [[ProHumanTranshuman she was originally human herself]]. On the other hand, it's all but outright stated that she eats human flesh like most youkai and in fact provides the "supply".
* NiceHat: A mob cap [[GeniusBonus decorated with a thin, red ribbon tied into a lemniscate.]][[note]]The word "lemniscate" comes from the Latin "lēmniscātus" meaning "decorated with ribbons."[[/note]]
* NotMeThisTime:
** Most of the fights against Yukari in ''Immaterial and Missing Power'' and ''Antinomy of Common Flowers'' are the result of the player character assuming that she must be the cause behind the incident and attacking her.
** {{Double Subverted|Trope}} in ''Manga/WildAndHornedHermit'' 35, where Reimu comes upon Yukari working on a solution to the "humaning away" incident and mistakes her for the culprit. Yukari decides to play along and fight Reimu in order to conceal the incident's true cause.
* TheOmniscient: Yukari is likely the most well-informed person in Gensokyo, deriving from her network of shikigami spies, divination magic, ability to travel to the outside world and the lunar capital, and possibly [[TrappedInThePast being from the future]].
* OmniscientMoralityLicense: She loves creating a GambitPileup all by herself and puts everyone against everyone else for reasons only she could possibly understand but ultimately she has good intentions... we hope.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
** Generally speaking she is so lazy to the point that even incidents are usually not a big enough concern to get her to go into action, relying mostly on Reimu and her Shikigami to do any work, and if roused into actually putting in effort [[BewareTheSillyOnes it's best to steer clear of her]].
** Yukari is conspicuously absent from the events of ''Urban Legend in Limbo'' and ''Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom'', despite them featuring a plot which could have destroyed the Great Hakurei Barrier and/or led to Gensokyo being invaded by Lunarians. Then, in one of the endings of the latter game, she appears before Marisa to see the [[MineralMacGuffin Lunar Capital Occult Orb]] that sparked everything. To Marisa's surprise (and mounting horror), Yukari has no interest in destroying the Orb or even taking it for herself, and instead seems to love that Gensokyo has found such a great catalyst for change.
-->'''Marisa:''' "What? Sayin' this isn't like you. I was certain you were [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant the type who'd protect the barrier 'n reject change]], but..."
-->'''Yukari:''' "Ufufufu, was that so?"
** In Chapter 35 of ''Wild and Horned Hermit'' when Kasen tells Yukari that she is ''not'' on her side [[spoiler:as a fellow Sage]], Yukari seems genuinely ''sad''.
** Again from chapter 35 of the same entry, Yukari is known to take interest in various people or at the very least treat them as beneath her notice. However, for whatever reason she goes out of her way to avoid making any sort of contact with Sumireko. This only further inflamed the EpilepticTrees surrounding the two of them, Renko, and Maribel.
* OperaGloves: In at least her ''Perfect Cherry Blossom'' appearance.
* OppositesAttract: Despite being on opposing sides of the human-youkai conflict, and even being perhaps the primary representatives of their sides, Yukari and Reimu seem to be helping each other more often than not.
* OxymoronicBeing: According to Akyuu in ''[[UniverseCompendium Perfect Memento in Strict Sense]]'', despite being a youkai she has has almost never been seen actually attacking humans (though Akyuu assumes she is just doing it outside Gensokyo). A popular [[EpilepticTrees fan theory]] is that Yukari has managed to build [[TheDreaded such a terrifying reputation]] that she can generate enough human fear to sustain herself just by ''showing up''.
* ParasolOfPain: She always carries a parasol and uses it as a weapon in the fighting games.
* ParasolOfPrettiness: What her parasol is normally portrayed as in both canon and fanon artwork.
* PerpetualSmiler: Is almost always seen having some sort of smile on her face, and as Aya puts it, comes of as highly unsettling to those around her.
-->'''Aya''': She always wears ostentatious clothing and an unsettling smile, intimidating all who come in contact with her.
* PortalNetwork: It's implied that her powers tap into one of these, relying on spiritual similarity between two places rather than connecting any two arbitrary points. However, it has so many entry points that it usually makes no difference. Most notably, she can only access the Lunar Capital by opening a portal inside the reflection of the full moon on a large body of water.
* PowerPerversionPotential: Her ability to manipulate boundaries normally manifests as a combination of {{Hammerspace}} and Instant PortalPicture To Anywhere. And looks suspiciously like a vagina. With multiple unblinking eyes staring from the inside.
* ProphetEyes: When drawn by Harukawa Moe she has eyes that look almost like gemstones completely lacking pupils, further cementing her otherworldly nature.
* PurpleEyes: On top of all her other purple symbolism, she was originally drawn with purple eyes, symbolizing her mysterious nature.
* PurpleIsPowerful: Her most well known outfits are purple, her name means "violet" (as in the color), and she's one of the most powerful beings in Gensokyo.
* RealityWarper: According to Akyuu (who admits that [[UnreliableExpositor some of her profiles are exaggerated]], but not which or how):
-->The ability to manipulate boundaries is a terrifying ability capable of fundamentally undermining reality. As far as we know, everything is built upon the existence of boundaries. If there was no water surface, there could be no lake. If there was no sky line, neither mountain nor sky could exist. Were it not for the Great Barrier, even Gensokyo itself wouldn't exist. If there were no boundaries, everything would probably exist as a single enormous object. Thus, the ability to manipulate boundaries is by logic an ability of creation and destruction. It essentially creates a new being, or rejects the existence of a being. [...] It's said that this ability is not limited to physical space, but also applies to pictures, others' dreams, and even stories.
* SchrodingersButterfly: Footnote 5 in Yukari's entry from ''[[UniverseCompendium Perfect Memento in Strict Sense]]'':
--> Indeed, she may spend the winters and the daytime, when she claims to be sleeping, in the outside world, and some even say that the world in Yukari's dreams ''is'' the outside world.
* ScrewYouElves: Yukari seems to have a distaste for beings from the Pure Lands in general, with the exception of Yuyuko and Youmu, from her scheme to break Eirin in ''Touhou Bougetsuhou'' using stolen Lunarian sake, to fighting Tenshi (and legitimately contemplating the notion of murdering her) in ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'' because of her interference with the Hakurei Shrine and looking down on Yukari for being an Earth-dweller.
* ShroudedInMyth: Appears to [[InvokedTrope invoke]] this deliberately.
* StatuesqueStunner: Being one of the tallest characters, mysterious and powerful, Yukari gets this treatment in fanart a lot.
* StoneWall: From ''Immaterial and Missing Power'': "Her fighting style is completely different from a human's measure. It's neither fast nor heavy-hitting. It is uncertain whether she is really tough or not. Her attitude makes you feel as if [[JustToyingWithThem you're being teased by her]], which is really irritating even if you manage to defeat her."
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: Has gold eyes in ''Immaterial and Missing Power'', ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'', and ''Antinomy of Common Flowers'', and power over boundaries.
* SupernaturalIsPurple: Her name means purple, her clothes are purple, her gaps are purple, her eyes used to be purple, and she's the most powerful youkai, if not most powerful ''anything'' of the setting.
* SuperpowerLottery: Definite winner.
* TalkingThroughTechnique: Does this with Yuyuko, most famously in ''Manga/SilentSinnerInBlue'' where it's used to catch the Lunarians off-guard.
* {{Telepathy}}: Appears to display this ability in the ''Manga/EasternAndLittleNatureDeity'' short story ''Fairy of the Moon''.
--> Luna, who thought she had erased all surrounding sounds, somehow heard a voice calling out to her. [...] Luna instantly knew that the owner of that voice was a dangerous youkai. She had erased all sound, so if she could hear this voice, it wasn't normal. Because it was a voice she heard in her heart.
* TeleportersAndTransporters: [[MemeticMutation She thinks with]] VideoGame/{{Portal}}s!
* ThinkingUpPortals: One of the most common uses of her power is using gaps to create portals.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Yukari is elegant and manipulative, compared to the tomboyish and honest Reimu. [[WordOfGod According to ZUN]] she was designed as a {{Foil}} to Reimu with similar powers so that they could team up in ''Imperishable Night''. [[LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine They are at opposite ends of the colour spectrum as well]], with Reimu as the "Red-White" and Yukari as violet.
* TricksterMentor: Acts this way towards Reimu.
* {{Troll}}: Fanon depicts Yukari as one of these, to the point where there's a pool on Danbooru dedicated to her trolling of the other characters.
** It's very apparent in Scarlet Weather Rhapsody as well.
** And then there's ''Manga/TouhouBougetsushou''. [[spoiler:Even after being trolled by Yuyuko, who stole ''only'' a bottle of 1000-year-old sake from the Moon, Yukari goes on to troll Eirin by serving her the very same sake in the last chapter of ''Literature/CageInLunaticRunagate'', leaving Eirin baffled and frightened about how Yukari got it.]]
* TroubleEntendre: Yukari is fond of delivering threats through implication, rather than stating them outright.
** In ''Manga/WildAndHornedHermit'' chapter 33, shortly after Kasen has begun travelling back and forth through the Barrier, Yukari appears at the Hakurei Shrine to note that ''someone'' has inadvertently carried western dandelion seeds into Gensokyo, which are displacing the native species. She then outlines her plan to get rid of them in front of Kasen - manipulating both humans and youkai into eating dandelions until ''[[WeHaveReserves both]]'' species of the flower are overharvested to near extinction.
* TheWallsHaveEyes: Her "gaps" are often shown filled with unblinking eyes (and occasionally ''arms'', struggling to get out). Some of her spell cards in ''Hisoutensoku'' create singular eyes that [[EyeBeams shoot beams]].
-->'''''[[http://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Touhou_Hisoutensoku/Spell_Cards/Yukari_Yakumo#Spell_Card_1 Magic Eye "Laplace's Demon"]]''''' - A large number of eyes appear staring at the enemy. Once the eyes see an exploitable weakness, they attack. It seems this is how Yukari [[TheOmniscient knows what's going on in all of Gensokyo at all times]].
* WellIntentionedExtremist: DarkerAndEdgier fan stories with Gensokyo's existence on the line will typically have Yukari going to extremes to preserve it, inevitably raising the ire of the current protagonists (usually for good reason). See: ''[[WebAnimation/DiamondInTheRoughTouhou Diamond In The Rough]]''.
* AWizardDidIt: In fanon, she's usually the wizard that did it.
* YinYangBomb: Yukari's boundary manipulation and the names of many of her spell cards involve the combination of opposing forces.
[[/folder]]
----

* ThinkingUpPortals: One of the most common uses of her power is using gaps to create portalsA.

* ShoutOut: Her name and status as an AnimeChineseGirl may be a reference to Orange from the PC-98 series.

* ArtificialBrilliance [=/=] LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In ''Perfect Cherry Blossom''. Unlike any other boss in the series, Yukari will actually pause her attacks (and the timer) during her final spellcard whenever the player manages to gain some form of invincibility, and will calmly wait until it wears off before resuming.

* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine [=/=] TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Yukari is elegant and manipulative, compared to the tomboyish and honest Reimu. [[WordOfGod According to ZUN]] she was designed as a {{Foil}} to Reimu with similar powers so that they could team up in ''Imperishable Night''. Plus they are at opposite ends of the colour spectrum too, with Reimu as the "Red-White" and Yukari as violet.

** Yukari is conspicuously absent from the events of ''Urban Legend in Limbo'' and ''Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom'', despite them featuring a plot which could have destroyed the Great Hakurei Barrier and[=/=]or led to Gensokyo being invaded by Lunarians. Then, in one of the endings of the latter game, she appears before Marisa to see the [[MineralMacGuffin Lunar Capital Occult Orb]] that sparked everything. To Marisa's surprise (and mounting horror), Yukari has no interest in destroying the Orb or even taking it for herself, and instead seems to love that Gensokyo has found such a great catalyst for change.

* ThinkingUpPortals: One of the most common uses of her power.

* GoodWithNumbers: Capable of doing complex calculations in an instant. She also calculated the formula used to calculate the width of the Sanzu River (which changes depending on the amount of spiritual wealth the soul carries to pay off the ferryman) in her spare time. Most likely, this skill of hers is part of an ongoing joke where ZUN compares shikigami to computers.

* GoodWithNumbers: Capable of doing complex calculations in an instant. She also calculated the width of the Sanzu River in her spare time. Most likely, this skill of hers is part of an ongoing joke where ZUN compares shikigami to computers.

** Again from chapter 35 of the same entry, Yukari is known to take interest in various people or at the very least treat them as beneath her notice. However, for whatever reason she goes out of her way to avoid making any sort of contact with Sumireko.

* ScrewYouElves: Yukari seems to have a distaste for beings from the Pure Lands in general, with the exception of Yuyuko and Youmu, from her scheme to break Eirin in ''Touhou Bougetsuhou'' using stolen Lunarian sake, to fighting Tenshi in ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'' because of her interference with the Hakurei Shrine and looking down on Yukari for being an Earth-dweller.

* SupernaturalIsPurple: Her name means purple, her clothes are purple, her gaps are purple and she's the most powerful youkai, if not most powerful ''anything'' of the setting.

* TheCameo: Appear alongside Raiko Horikawa in ''Antinomy of Common Flowers''' concert stage.

* ILetYouWin: One of Yukari's most common techniques to resolve a problem is to set herself up as an enemy and let her opponent defeat her.
She does this in the manga in order to accomplish two things: stop Reimu and others from investigating the true reason behind people disappearing, and give Reimu some good publicity. The reason she did this was to buy herself some time to actually resolve it without letting people know that people disappearing was actually them getting transported to the outside world. She also does this in the fighting games, and if she manages to defeat an opponent in the story she'll sometimes reveal that she was holding back.

The mysterious "youkai of boundaries" and one of the most powerful beings in Gensokyo[[note]]Exactly how powerful is vague, as most of the information on Yukari's abilities [[UnreliableExpositor comes from Yukari herself]], but she's crafty enough to outwit most of the entities stronger than her anyway.[[/note]] - her signature [[CoolGate "gaps"]] allow her to travel almost anywhere (including the Outside World), her {{Onmyodo}} skills let her [[TheOmniscient find out almost anything]], and she's no slouch in combat either. She tends to [[{{Troll}} mess around with people]] or [[TheChessmaster use them as pawns in her schemes]], but most of the time she has the best interests of Gensokyo at heart. It's heavily implied that Yukari was one of the architects of the Great Hakurei Barrier[[note]]The actual crafting of the barrier was a massive effort involving large numbers of youkai and humans.[[/note]], and she will quickly show up to repair it if damaged. However, as she sleeps through the day and hibernates through winter, she leaves most of her work to her shikigami Ran. Yukari is an old friend of Yuyuko, and the closest thing [[BarrierMaiden Reimu]] has to an employer.

* TheArchmage: The {{Onmyodo}} version, not the quasi-scientific magic practiced by youkai magicians.

* {{Onmyodo}}: She's such a powerful magic user that not only is her shikigami an old and mighty {{kitsune}}, but her shikigami has its own shikigami (and ''Manga/SilentSinnerInBlue'' shows that she simultaneously uses numerous lesser shikigami as spies). She occasionally tutors Reimu in the use of her own powers.

* AuthorAppeal: The violin, trumpet, and synthesizer are all common instruments in both PC98 and Windows MIDI music.

* {{Familiar}}: She's Ran Yakumo's [[{{Onmyoudo}} shikigami]]. This is quite unusual because Ran ''herself'' is also a shikigami (of Yukari Yakumo).

* {{Familiar}}: She's Yukari Yakumo's [[{{Onmyoudo}} shikigami]], and is powerful enough to have Chen as her own shikigami.

* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Her [[LimitBreak Last Word]] in Antinomy of Common Flowers is called ''Lend Me Those Beautiful Legs'', in which she (temporarily) [[https://youtu.be/CsD-rJfELjY?t=234 bisects her opponent]] with a PortalCut.