The New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium!

Fawriel:

I wouldn't even have spotted that pun if you hadn't pointed it out. I think this comic does it worse, though.

The last panel of that confuses and intrigues me.

Write-up:
Here's a character who needs no introduction. For years Touhou fans have been captivated by this lovely lid's je ne sais quoi, and now their voices will be heard!

Relationships:

• Marisa - wearer.
• Alice - jealous, clearly.

Alternate Character Interpretations:

Marisa: The Hat. The Myth. The Legend.
by Super Dimension Man

edited 4th Jun '11 4:17:15 PM by Durazno

Marisa Kirisame

Voice: Rapping, Manzai, Fighting Vampire Slayers with Annoying Commentary

Themes:
Love-Colored Master Spark *

Oriental Dark Flight

Witch's Ball

Love-Colored Magic

Casket of Star

Magus Night

Stages:
Underneath Mana-Saturated Soil
Beneath these robust bamboo stalks grow even sturdier roots. Only foolish humans and youkai see nothing but the surface.
bgm: Retribution for the Eternal Night - Imperishable Night*

Loose Rain

Spellcard Motif: Astronomy, Light, Love
Notable spellcards: Imperishable Night, Double Spoiler, Great Fairy Wars
Love Sign "Master Spark", Star Sign "Dragon Meteor", Magic Sign "Milky Way"

Write-up:
Whenever an Incident threatens, you can be sure one of two people will be on hand to clean it up. You'll either get the miko... or a fun-loving wave of plunder and property destruction in the form of Marisa Kirisame!

So who is this dashing, dapper witch? We have it on good authority that she's trouble, for one thing. And an amazingly prolific liar. A cyclone of bullets and death rays, though that's all in good fun. A gifted burglar and fireworks technician. A lunatic, or so she claims, living alone in the Forest of Magic, where the spores of youkai mushrooms fill the air and deadly monsters stalk through the brush.

Marisa might seem selfish, caustic and mendacious in canon, obsessed with plunder and power, but you can see other sides to her if you look a little closer. We know she's a hard worker and avid reader. She's willing to play with weaker characters and go easy on them. The weather that reflects her spirit is soft rain, leading Komachi to speculate that she'll become a ghost that fades into the background, never rising or reincarnating. Clearly, our Marisa is far more than just a walking love-colored BFG.

But in the end, how close you look and where you focus is up to you. So let's hear it!

Relationships:

• Reimu - Fellow PC, good friend and rival.
• Alice - Fellow magician, frenemy and rival.
• Patchouli - Another fellow magician and frequent burglary target.
• Nitori - Friend and magic missile provider.
• Rinnosuke - Another friend.
• Mima - Partner in canon contortion.

I left "potential lover" out because apparently everyone is a potential lover for Marisa.

Picdump
by Tacitus

Alternate Character Interpretations:

Really Indirect Revenge Scheme
by Bocaj

She's Already There
by Durazno

A Youkai-Like Human
by Hylarn

Marisa Kirisame - Vessel of a Star
by [MODE]

Marisa - Protagonist, Not Hero
by Tacitus

Marisa - Drizzle
by yarrunmace

edited 4th Jun '11 4:11:12 PM by Durazno

Where to begin... Well, how about the music.

Love-Colored Master Spark - It's hard to find a theme that fits its character better. You've got the buildup at the beginning emphasizing power, then a playful melody, and then it gets frantic and... a little uncertain. Wild and energetic, but not something you'd associate with a heroine. Dramatic Mystical Chain remix here, epic vocal Morrigan remix here, fast-paced orchestral remix here, and a slow and dramatic heroic sacrifice remix here.

Oriental Dark Flight - I hear shades of Youmu's theme in this. And ZUN's right, it's fairly dark, at least initially, but I think that's appropriate for Marisa. It gets a bet lighter at the end, sorta like a guy shooting at you, emptying his clip, and then sticking his head out of cover to give you a wide grin while he reloads.

Dance of Witches - "Alice, let's tango!" Seriously, there's a few parts where it could segue very well into Doll Judgment. Of course, that's the modern remix that's all light-hearted and whatnot. The original has a more "awww craaaaaap" feel to it, with just enough bits to take the edge off that you won't mistake Marisa for a demon princess. Piano-y remix here.

Love-Colored Magic - Love it. Bouncier than the modern incarnation, and has a much more ambiguous feel to it. The background tune for the first part hints at tension or a crisis, reinforced by the energy of the third part. ZUN says "I just couldn't make something that had that heroine feel to it," and he's absolutely right - this is the theme of a not-quite heroine. I'll expand on that in a later post.

Vessel of Stars - This, to me at least, is Marisa's "heroine" theme, the musical equivalent of putting on your game face. It pretty much says "no more messin' around, time to get serious." Godly orchestrated remix.

Magus Night - And here's Marisa's villain theme, sinister and almost deranged in parts. A good reminder of how she'd look from the point of view of one of those fairy mooks. Yet as always there's that hint that you're not dealing with someone all-out evil, sort of like most Stage 6 boss themes. Needs more remixes.

Now I'd like to do a proper picdump, but apparently Marisa has something like 19,000 bits of fanart. So I'll just skim the Badass pool for now:

• I guess it's magical ammo or something
• Lightning, ruffles
• And now she has guns
• Light Sign "Earth Light Ray"
• I guess I'd understand it if I'd seen Trigun
• She's a-chargin' her laser
• So many colors
• Dat grin
• Dat smirk
• Okay, not from the Badass pool, but these two pics always make me smile.
• Also not badass, and highly out-of-character, but still cute

Re: dialogue, particularly in IN

I think ZUN honestly believes all of that is just good natured jabbing (yes, this includes the apparently racist overtones in UFO). He does seem to have an odd idea of the kind of stuff that can be considered butterflies and rainbows (e.g. Yuyuko's past vs. her current condition, Byakuren's sealing and the immortal rivalry). As far as he's concerned, it's all in good fun.

@Tacitus: Thanks for finding Witch's Ball. That was driving me nuts. Original's going in the profile now.

Marisa: The Hat. The Myth. The Legend.

No-one knows for sure where Marisa's hat came from, but one thing is certain: it could only be the masterwork of a truly legendary magician-milliner. Its potent enchantments allow it to repair itself from any kind of damage, either magical or mundane, and if it is blown off the wearer's head in battle, it will return of its own volition. Perhaps most astoundingly of all, it will change its own color to match the rest of the wearer's outfit, though there is only one instance of this in recorded history. Where lesser hats come and go, made and abandoned in the blink of an eye, Marisa's hat is eternal, always vigilantly protecting her scalp from the harsh Gensokyo sunlight and looking stylish doing so.

Marisa has worn it for as long as anyone can remember: it's seen her most glorious victories and her most shameful defeats. Every time she's learned a new spell, it's been there to see the first casting of it. Every time she's "borrowed" a book from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, it's been there as witness and accomplice. And in doing so, it has gained some of her power. Hundreds of years from now, when Marisa is dead and gone, her name and legacy will live on in her hat. It will be spoken of in myth among magic-users across Gensoyko — the legendary Hat of Kirisame. Some will wish to find it and claim its power for their own, and some will wish to destroy it, for such a powerful artifact can never be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. None will succeed. The Hat of Kirisame knows no master but the one it chooses, and the one it has chosen is Marisa.

Marisa does have a pretty awesome hat. But I guess all of their hat's are pretty great too... Just a thought though, isn't Marisa planning on becoming a magician youkai? If so her and her hat are gonna spend the next few hundred years stealing books and kickin' butt.

Will do write-up later. For now, art:

Studying
I'm not sure if this makes me want to fight her again, or just dread the possibility
That could go anywhere
Now with red
A bit older than usual
Never did like the purple
This seems familiar, somehow

So much shipping

Marisa does have a pretty awesome hat. But I guess all of their hat's are pretty great too... Just a thought though, isn't Marisa planning on becoming a magician youkai? If so her and her hat are gonna spend the next few hundred years stealing books and kickin' butt.

I might have been confusing Sengoku Gensokyo with canon again. It posits that she could become a youkai already if she wanted to, but she doesn't want to.

Besides, it's more impressive if she's long dead. That's how it always works in fantasy: if the legend of a magic item outlived its owner, then you just know it has some serious mojo.

edited 2nd Mar '11 1:16:01 AM by SuperDimensionman

This time I'll remember to do a write-up.

THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT

Ah, that's good. Because I won't be able to add anything that your write-up and Duraz's wouldn't!

I read the bold in Shuma's voice.

...Or Dr. Weird's voice...

A Youkai-like Human

If Marisa decided to become a youkai magician, I doubt anyone would notice, at least for the first few years. Her place in society already is pretty much the same as one. Sure, she's more likely to solve incidents than start the, but the same is true of Udonge. And the rest of the time she's more of a continual nuisance than a member of society. Her neighborhood is populated almost entirely by magicians. She spends a lot of time hanging out at the Hakurei shrine, which, as we all know, is the true sign of a powerful youkai

The main thing, though, is that she acts like a youkai. Youkai are chaotic and individualist, only bothering with society when it amuses them. I don't know anything that would describe Marisa better

Who knows, with all the advanced magic she's using, she might inadvertently become one. She wouldn't be the first formerly-human magician.

Now that I've had time to read the current write-ups...

Tacitus's music analysis.

Pretty much agree. I prefer Vessel of Stars and Oriental Dark Flight over her usual themes myself. And those remixes are godly.

Marisa: The Hat. The Myth. The Legend.

So Marisa's hat is the Gensokyo equivalent of Mario's hat. No wonder there are a bunch of characters with hats; they want to market theirs too (though I think Suwako's frog hat is the only other memorable one). The ones without hats are just avoiding following the trend-setter.

A Youkai-like Human

This makes me wonder about something: is Marisa's goal to become a youkai magician or is her goal simply to be the most powerful magician/human in Gensokyo?

Or does she even have a particular goal and just does things on a whim?

edited 2nd Mar '11 3:08:19 PM by Customer

I always thought Marisa does things on a whim. I'd expect her to decide to become a full youkai once she noticed that she's inevitably getting older, if Touhou characters actually aged

Her most likely reasons for doing so would be either because there's a profit in it, or just because someone has convinced her it'll be fun. She's not the type to consider things deeply when there's excitement to be had, and consequences are always things that come later.

That seems like it simplifies her too much. Apparently she's a woman of many contradictions. She is a hard worker who's been dedicating herself to the studies of magic. You don't do that kind of thing on a whim.

I read the bold in Shuma's voice.

IT'S NOT DIFFERENT AT ALL, IS IT DORMAMMU?!

Marisa - Protagonist, Not Hero

Marisa is not a heroine. It just isn't in her nature - she's more interested in improving her magical power than advancing the public good, and is motivated by the prospect of loot and a chance to show up her rival instead of anything like altruism. When Marisa resolves an Incident, it's mostly because her self-interest happened to coincide with saving the day. She's rash and loud, either an obnoxious brat or a lovable rogue depending on how you take such a personality. She lies and steals and picks fights and does it all with a smile on her face.

But she knows what a heroine is supposed to be. She tells off Byakuren for choosing to help youkai when it's humanity who needs a champion to protect itself from supernatural predators, and she knows enough about Magical Girl tropes to insist her magical laser is powered by love. But Marisa knows that it's Reimu who's the heroine of this story, what with the Hakurei legacy and godlike powers and status as shrine maiden. Marisa must rest easier knowing that she won't have to take the job, though I think she may privately be annoyed with Reimu for not living up to her expectations.

Marisa gets called the "black-white" occasionally, and I think this isn't just about her wardrobe. She began as an evil spirit's apprentice, after all, exactly the wrong sort of influence a growing magician needs. Fortunately getting shellacked by Reimu seems to have kept Marisa if not Good, than at least Neutral, and her competitive nature is being used for the greater good. She'll rob you, she'll insult you, and she might Spark you, but when something threatens Gensokyo, Marisa will ride out to defeat it. She may not be the hero, but she's the strongest "normal" human around, and Incidents give her an excuse to prove it. She's one foot in the Dark Side, but she solves more problems than she causes, so it all works out in the end.

I like comparing her to the other protagonist, since the girls are opposites approaching the same place from different directions, really. Reimu is straightforward, easy-going and uncomplicated; Marisa has the facade of a fun-loving maniac while resolving Incidents, but privately is studious and hard-working. Both girls suffered from some degree of Parental Abandonment, but while Reimu mostly ignored the lessons of her would-be mentor, Marisa found a patron who taught her to use her magical might to get what she wanted. Yet despite coming from opposite ends of the alignment spectrum - Marisa as a villain's flunky, Reimu as the ordained heroine - they end up acting very similarly during Incidents, as glimmers of responsibility propel Marisa forward, while annoyance at being disturbed shakes Reimu out of her indolence.

I wonder if Marisa was designed to compliment Reimu so well, or if it just kind of happened. Like, did ZUN know she was going to become the other recurring playable character when he first came up with her?

The other thing about Marisa is that she's a witch, and takes great care to make this clear to everyone. She sports the traditional Western pointy hat, rides a broomstick even though she can fly on her own power, and wears increasingly-ridiculous outfits just in case we don't get that she's supposed to be a Magical Girl. Her witchiness is key to her identity, what estranged her from her family and led to her living alone in the forest, spending her free time studying and experimenting to become ever-more-powerful. There's equal parts pride and defiance in Marisa's choice of attire. She's worked hard and sacrificed much to get where she is today, and she'll be damned if anyone forgets it.

And... that kinda rambled across half a dozen paragraphs. What can I say, it's late, I just tanked an hour-long Scholo run, and Marisa's one of my favorites.

Hmm, there's some interesting stuff in there. I like the idea of Marisa sporting the witchiness as some sort of rebellion against her family. That opens up major possibilities.

I do have to wonder where everyone's getting such a strong "anti" to her "heroine", though. In canon, I suppose she does some stealing in the endings and stuff... apart from that, I got a much more personable vibe from her dialogue than I got from Reimu or others. She seems like a really easy-going person to me when it comes to talking to people.

I do have to wonder where everyone's getting such a strong "anti" to her "heroine", though. In canon, I suppose she does some stealing in the endings and stuff... apart from that, I got a much more personable vibe from her dialogue than I got from Reimu or others. She seems like a really easy-going person to me when it comes to talking to people.

She's certainly more personable than Reimu, but it would be hard not to be, wouldn't it?

edited 3rd Mar '11 1:13:15 AM by SuperDimensionman

I do have to wonder where everyone's getting such a strong "anti" to her "heroine", though.

(opens mouth)

(stuffs fist in mouth and walks out of the thread)