The New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium!

... What? You expected the fans of the series that inspired OVERDRIVE to be sensible?

Reimu's the main character. She can't be a spotlight hog if the spotlight follows her around despite her best efforts to avoid it.

SDM was talking about Marisa being a spotlight hog. Which she is.

Reimu really isn't much of a spotlight hog both because she doesn't want to be and because nobody seems to really notice what she really does.

Not that she wouldn't appreciate some recognition for what she does, but that's how it goes.

Only because Aya is a journalistic hack.

She just stretches the truth a little. Or a lot. But she NEVER LIES. THAT'S GOTTA COUNT FOR SOMETHING.

Except for that time when she told Yuugi that Reimu was a tengu.

It was true in a sense.

She's a hack because she doesn't fact check or follow any good journalistic habits. Not even getting into the fact that she'll stir up trouble if its a slow news day.

She shows no real journalistic curiosity beyond the shallow. A real journalist wouldn't have stopped until she found out why winter was so long. Aya just wrote "Well, Reimu says she solved it but she's a drunkard and her story is suspicious so whatever." Reimu told her that she could talk to the other people involved and Aya said she'd save that for a slow news day.

It probably just bothers me because I went to school for journalism and worked at a newspaper for a while but Aya just has a journalism hobby. She's not a dedicated, intrepid journalist by any standard. She's only better than Randolph Hearst because she hasn't purposefully instigated a war yet.

edited 17th Jun '11 5:00:14 PM by Bocaj

I wonder if her tabloids actually have an audience.

The plot of Double Spoiler was basically caused by the Bunbunmaru being popular

I'm sure gossips absolutely love Aya's paper

Yeah, after beating DS I can say Aya is horrible at her job.

She tells Hatate to her faces that spending time writing articles is for losers compared to photo taking.

You know, photography is a job Aya.

... I was trying for sarcasm. Text makes it hard. Oh well. BACK ON TOPIC.

The star on Yuugi's horn. I'm inclined to think that it's a birthmark (indicating Deva-ness), but I've also heard theories on it being either painted on or a kind of tattoo.

Do you want an in-universe explanation or an artistic explanation?

In-universe is preferable, but artistic is also acceptable. Heck, I did it when we talked about Parsee's ears.

edited 17th Jun '11 9:02:21 PM by Pulse

Well, Zun added the star because of some anime refrence or another.

In universe, I just say one night she just got smashed and woke up the next day with that on her horn.

... And I'm an idiot. Granted, I don't know very much Japanese, but Yuugi's last name is Hoshiguma. Hoshi means star, at least in one kanji. Hey, somebody who's smarter than me! Is the Hoshi in Yuugi's family name the same kanji as the one I'm thinking of?

I don't know if it's for the Hoshi, but I know she does have the kanji for star in her name...

Wait... she's a reference to a Joestar... and she has the birthmark... and star in her last name...

ZUN!!!!!!! You put a reference in a reference.

You just can't do that!

EDIT: Yup, it's for the Hoshi.

edited 17th Jun '11 9:16:35 PM by Horselesshorseman

The Strong

It's an odd title for an oni, "the Strong." Given that oni are supposed to possess great physical might, it's redundant, and if an oni is one of the Devas of the Mountain you'd expect them to be powerful indeed. Further complicating matters is the fact that Yuugi is likely not as powerful as her comrade Suika, so why is it that Yuugi gets the honorific of "the Strong?"

Yuugi's strength is of a different sort, and it's why she leads the oni today. In the turbulence of the oni's grand migration underground, when they forsook their old lives on the surface and ventured into the unknown to live in a place free of human deception, Yuugi was the one who held her people together. Not through inspiring words or any particular feats of leadership, but simply by being Yuugi.

When the oni were journeying through the dark and treacherous underground, Yuugi was there, smashing aside obstacles and adversaries with a grin. When the oni were carving out their settlement in hell's hinterlands, Yuugi was there, flattening demons with one hand and sipping sake with the other. When some oni began having second thoughts about their decision to move, or lamenting the state of their new home, Yuugi was there, serenely enjoying her drink, unaffected by the trials facing her. Oni value physical prowess, of course, but there are other kinds of strength, and Yuugi's strength of spirit impressed them.

Yuugi is confident without being arrogant, courageous without being foolish, honest without being rude, strong without being domineering. She lives life to the fullest, laughs loud, enjoys a good fight, and is quick to make friends with her opponent afterward. Whatever the challenge, she tackles it with her horn lowered and a wide grin, and she never loses her grip on the booze. She's the oni-est oni of them all; not necessarily the most powerful, but a living example her people strive to follow.

That's my theory, anyway.

I like to contrast her to Suika. Lil' Ibuki has a force of personality several times larger than her loli-like default form, while I imagine Yuugi is the opposite - she could blend into a crowded bar, but her personality is turned inward and rock-solid. You might overlook Yuugi, but once you noticed her you'd wonder how the hell you didn't see her the minute you walked into the room - and if she clears her throat, you'd better believe everyone in the bar shuts up and listens. And while Suika has aspects of a gloomy drunk who notices peoples' flaws, if Yuugi is so critical she doesn't share her findings with others. I don't assign them a big sis-little sis dynamic because they complement each other as equals better. I'd love to see more official works where the two interact.

Can't help but wonder how the other two Devas fit into this dynamic. Heck, I'm curious if the posts are even currently filled. Maybe there's only two left these days after one became a hermit and the other became an astral knight.

edited 17th Jun '11 10:00:14 PM by Tacitus

Short but sweet, as opposed to my absurdly long and painful slogs. Your insight is simply yet beautiful, and the dynamic between the outspoken Suika and the quiet(er) Yuugi was something special. Yeah, where DO Kasen and Konngara fit into all this?

edited 18th Jun '11 5:13:57 AM by Pulse

Last I checked Kasen is on a renegade quest to close off the Underground, so best friend of the year right there.

Unknown Deva 4 is Unknown. That is all the information we have at the moment. Konngara's too busy being an astral knight/nature sprit/random hallucination.

edited 17th Jun '11 10:21:55 PM by Horselesshorseman

Maybe she's got a good reason, or it's all a bizarre misunderstanding. Correct me if I'm wrong, but last I checked, we still don't know a thing about her motives or her weird arm.

Not that I know of.

Still, if she is one of the 4 devas, locking one of the other 3 underground isn't always the nicest thing to do, even if she does have a valid reason.