History YMMV / DiamondInTheRoughTouhou

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: A DeconstructorFleet of the typical Western Touhou FandomSpecificPlot of its time, adhering closely to the canon of Gensokyo and tearing apart orientalist Gappy Stu fanfiction to the point it essentially [[GenreKiller wiped them off the map.]] Well, that was how it was treated in the early 2010’s. When canon works like ''Forbidden Scrollery'' began to lean into (reasonably) darker interpretations of Gensokyo and ''Urban Legend in Limbo'' essentially played out ZUN’s version of a Gappy plot, ''Diamond In the Rough'' just wasn’t as unique as it once was. Combined with the evolving tone of the series and [[FandomLifeCycle changes in the fan creator culture of the western Touhou fandom itself]], to the point where Walfas isn’t even updated anymore, you see things like the above HypeBacklash as emerged in the early 2020s (An easy example can be found in all reviews as of July 2021-- they're all outstandingly negative). Not helping is the fact that tropes like [[spoiler:RapeAsDrama]] became played ''very'' differently in later years of the 2010s, and the shockingly horrific conclusion sequence of ''Diamond in the Rough'' contrasts with the much more subtle {{Gothic Horror}}-esque dystopian readings of Gensokyo the manga provide.

** [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic Oddly enough]], [[GodIsGood Eiki Shiki herself can count as this]]. [[FridgeLogic As pointed out by one sharp-eyed reviewer on Deviantart]], [[TheConscience Shiki's job is to call out any and all wrongdoing when she sees it]]. [[JerkassHasAPoint Shiki certainly has plenty of reasons to tear into Brolli for his many, many sins and character flaws]]. However, [[CharacterFocus the narrative's intense focus on Brolli]], [[AuthorTract Arturo]] and [[StrawCharacter the other Gappy Stus]] means that Shiki doesn't actually call out any of the canon characters [[IdiotPlot for contributing to the Gappy Stu nonsense.]] Besides, [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Shinki never got a chance]] to call out [[BigBad Yukari]] for being such a horrible person.

* AuthorTract: Spaztique created ''Diamond in the Rough'' as a response to practically EVERY stupid, poorly written, self-insert wish-fulfillment fanfic ever, [[WriterOnBoard and it shows.]] [[AuthorFilibuster It really, REALLY shows.]] [[WordOfGod ESPECIALLY in his author's notes on Deviantart.]]

** [[DesignatedHero Tenshi crosses it after]] [[spoiler:[[ItAmusedMe ordering an attack on the Tengu Village and Kappa Valley, killing thousands]]]].

* AudienceAlienatingPremise: One of the main causes of AngstAversion, it's the story of a boy who goes to a magical fantasy world in hopes of going on an adventure and becoming a hero, only to end up on a long downward spiral of loneliness, paranoia, betrayal, and death, and the audience is frequently reminded [[TheHeroDies Brolli will die]]. [[BrokenBase There's another portion of the audience who are fine with this, saying Brolli deserves to die for being shallow and ignorant]]. However, approaching the halfway point, we find out the characters are more than they appear to be and some of the events didn't really happen the way we thought, as well as bringing up some rather obscure Touhou facts [[AllThereInTheManual only found in the source books]], showing the audience [[TakeThatAudience they're no better]].
** In a meta sense, modern audiences can be alienated by the fact that it’s based on an ''actual fanfiction'' and Brolli himself was someone’s ''actual self-insert.'' The above “obscure Touhou facts” are still pulled from the UnreliableNarrator of the Gensokyo Chronicles— meaning that [=DiTR=] opted for the darkest reading possible at the time, even if that ultimately made it DarkerAndEdgier than canon. Ironically, this pretty much makes it an UnintentionalPeriodPiece of the 2013 western Touhou fandom.

---> '''Calamity2007''': I don't getit Spaztique, how do you want us to feel about Brolli? Because you have mentioned before that people wanting to see him die is a reaction you're going for. I'm not complaining, I just find it strange that your giving him all these heartwarming moments if that was the reaction your going for.

** The depiction of Yukari creates a lot of conflict, because when she reveals that [[spoiler:her plan to guarantee the Gensokyan paradise is to create a ForeverWar between humans and youkai]], some people declared her to [[MoralEventHorizon be morally bankrupted]], even considering BlueAndOrangeMorality. [[WordOfGod Though it's explained that]] [[IntendedAudienceReaction she's portrayed purposefully this way, in order to make a contrast with the way she's portrayed in gappy fics]], [[TakeThatAudience basically as a Female Japanese Blonde Santa Claus]], and following her actual canon portrayal of a manipulative and ruthless {{youkai}}.
* CaptainObviousReveal: It's obvious from the start [[spoiler:Yukari's meat is made of people]], but the fact that Brolli and the other Gappies (along with [[MisaimedFandom some audience members]]) don't suspect a thing drives home how much these unsuspecting kids [[spoiler:trust Yukari]]. Then you realize [[spoiler:it's not just any people: it's every previous Gappy]]. It doesn't help that [[spoiler:minus the part about the Gappies, Yukari gapping in humans for food for the Youkai]] is canon.

* CharacterRerailment: Yukari, who in canon is an [[AmbiguouslyEvil ambivalent figure]] who [[WellIntentionedExtremist has Gensokyo's prosperity in mind]], but is [[ManipulativeBastard incredibly cryptic and manipulative in her pursuit of this goal]]. Gappy fics tend to reduce her to a BigGood and a convenient means of transportation from the real world to Gensokyo, or even a ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}-like fourth wall-destroying comic relief, completely glancing over the underlying darkness of her character. Here, Yukari's darker and manipulative aspects are on full display, as she is the BigBad and actively exploits the fan perception of her as a benevolent entity for all it's worth. Her BlueAndOrangeMorality as a youkai are also on full display as she not only [[ToServeMan views humans as food]], but also considers that the survival of Gensokyo is contingent on the perpetuation of the conflict between humans and youkai, with her "Gappies" serving essentially as a PretextForWar. It's absolutely '''jarring''' to someone used to softer portrayals of Yukari, but considering she has done things like orchestrating a war between Gensokyo and the Moon in ''Silent Sinner in Blue'', entirely in-character for her.

* HypeBacklash: It may have been the best thing Walfas had to offer in the early 2010s, and a LOT of the community hyped it up as so--Even Wiki/TVTropes is guilty of it! However, fast forward to 2020, most people would tell you it's not as good as others said it was.

* ShockingMoments: According to the Ustream audience, [[GutPunch the incident]] scores extremely high, featuring massive danmaku battles, [[spoiler:virtually every alliance in Gensokyo falling apart as things constantly go FromBadToWorse]], [[spoiler:the [[AnyoneCanDie entire cast getting picked off]] [[KillEmAll one-by-one]]]], and dozens of [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Awesome Moments]] and {{Call Back}}s.

** Mokou mentions her father was humiliated and killed trying to attain one of Kaguya's impossible requests. In the original ''Tale of the Bamboo Cutter'', only one of the princes was killed trying to get the cowrie born from swallows.

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: A DeconstructorFleet of the typical Western Touhou FandomSpecificPlot of its time, adhering closely to the canon of Gensokyo and tearing apart orientalist Gappy Stu fanfiction to the point it essentially [[GenreKiller wiped them off the map.]] Well, that was how it was treated in the early 2010’s. When canon works like ''Forbidden Scrollery'' began to lean into (reasonably) darker interpretations of Gensokyo and ''Urban Legend in Limbo'' essentially played out ZUN’s version of a Gappy plot, ''Diamond In the Rough'' just wasn’t as unique as it once was. Combined with the evolving tone of the series and [[FandomLifeCycle changes in the fan creator culture of the western Touhou fandom itself]], to the point where Walfas isn’t even updated anymore, you see things like the above HypeBacklash as emerged in the early 2020s (An easy example can be found in all reviews as of July 2021-- they're all outstandingly negative). Not helping is the fact that tropes like [[spoiler:RapeAsDrama]] became played ''very'' differently in later years of the 2010s, and the shockingly horrific conclusion sequence of ''Diamond in the Rough'' contrasts with the much more subtle {{Gothic Horror}}-esque dystopian readings of Gensokyo the manga adaptations provide.

* HarsherInHindsight / HilariousInHindsight: Many of the comments from the early episodes, and many more by the time the series wraps up...

** [[NightmareRetardant However]], after numerous complaints from people taking the events too seriously, [[WordOfGod Spaztique DID eventually come out and say]] [[CaptainObvious that ''Diamond in the Rough'' is not, and will NEVER be canon]].

** Hell, even ''VideoGame/LenEn'' (a ShootEmUp game based on ''Touhou'') portrays a fantasy world and some outsider humans coming to Mugenri (the equivalent of Gensokyo), where they gain powers and resolve incidents. However, later games (''Brilliant Pagoda or Haze Castle'' in particular) show that some of these outsiders are becoming corrupt and the residents are planning to kick them out. Coincidence.
** And now in the territory of official works, in ''[[Manga/TouhouSuzunaanForbiddenScrollery Forbidden Scrollery]]'' chapters 46-50, some plot points used in Spaztique's webcomic come up, such as [[spoiler:the Youkai's importance to Gensokyo's ecosystem, and Kosuzu, being influenced by a Youkai by using the titular scroll and using that power intending to bring balance to Gensokyo.]]