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This page covers all characters from the Borderlands in Game of Touhou. For the rest of the characters, see this page. POV Characters will be noted with asterisks.

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The Borderlands exist to the very south of Noros, making it the closest place in Noros to Essos. It is large, but sparsely populated, with only two major cities existing either side of the region, Mayohiga in the west and the Shrine of the Sea, its capital and Holy City, in the east. In the center is a thick forest which apparently houses tribes, though as Yukari's one POV shows, they have since been converted into a cache of wights. They are apparently the origin of the predominant faith in Noros, a polytheistic faith known as 'the Old Gods of the Borderlands'. Bastards in this region have the surname 'Borders'.

    The Borderlands In General 
  • Authority in Name Only: While Septa Reimu Hakurei supposedly rules the region, it's obvious the Yakumos truly rule the region.
  • Demoted to Extra: The region as a whole is a reference to the areas fringing Gensokyo, which are of high importance in Canon, but the Borderlands themselves play a small role in Game of Touhou, though Yukari Yakumo does not.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: In order for the Borderlands to be united, this has to occur, as Septa Reimu is a pious devotee of the Old Gods while Lady Yukari is a 'heathen' warlock.
  • Sixth Ranger: Both the rebellion and the loyalists (with exception of the Moriyas) turn a blind eye to them, and they mostly are caught up doing their own thing. As it turns out, when the Moriyas consider the Hinanawis the bigger threat and see Yukari as a mere Sixth Ranger, it allows her to become a Sixth Ranger Traitor to the Vale as a whole.

House Hakurei

The ruling house of the Borderlands, they take residence in the Holy City of the Shrine of the Sea. They are a notably pious noble house, their ruling members being Septons or Septas of the Old Gods of the Borderlands. Due to their religious principles, the ruling members never marry or have children, so the line of succession goes from uncle/aunt to nephew/niece. Their family has a feud with the Moriyas, which are more libertarian preachers of the Old Gods, as opposed to their fundamentalist worldview. Their sigil is a black-and-white emblem of their patron god, The Border (resembling a yin-yang symbol) on a red field, and their motto is 'Tradition, Honor, Power' according to supplementary materials.

    In General 
    Septa Reimu Hakurei* 
The Lady Paramount of the Borderlands and Septa of the Shrine of the Sea. A pious girl of sixteen that has inherited her family's hatred of the Moriyas while being too naive to question it. Becomes a POV character in Chapter 19.

  • A Child Shall Lead Them: Is ruling the Borderlands at sixteen.
  • Action Girl: Tries, and fails, to be this.
  • Adaptational Villainy: Is a bigoted, borderline idiotic fundamentalist in this, as opposed to slightly sarcastic Hero in Canon.
  • Adaptational Wimp: Is The Hero in Canon, but an ineffective fighter in this.
  • Black-and-White Morality: Is extremely self-righteous, and sees the Hakureis as automatically good and the Moriyas as automatically evil.
  • Character Development: In thanks to a good amount of trauma from the Blue Wedding, Reimu slowly becomes a better person.
  • Crisis of Faith: After the Blue Wedding, she suffers a major Heroic BSoD and ends up losing faith in her Gods.
  • Dirty Coward: Runs for the hills after the Blue Wedding, not even thanking Sangaku for his Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Evil Is Petty: Mocks the Moriyas for their take on the Old Gods after the Hinanawis take over the Vale as a form of gloating.
  • Foil: In a way, to Kikuri. Both are sixteen and in a position of authority, but while Reimu is a poor fighter, Kikuri is skilled, and while Reimu is easily strung along and gullible, Kikuri is independent and a badass.
  • The Fundamentalist: Is extremely pious and obsessed with her family faith, continuing the feud with the Moriyas. This doesn't last after the Blue Wedding.
  • Heel–Faith Turn: Inverted. She becomes a far more sympathetic character after she loses her faith.
  • Heroic BSoD: Suffers one after the Blue Wedding, her following POV having her raving in her mind and confusedly flitting from faith to non-faith.
  • Hollywood Atheist: Becomes one after her Crisis of Faith, resenting the Gods for never helping her.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: She ends up trusting Lady Yukari Yakumo of all people, something even Shingyoku doesn't do.
  • Jerkass: Is noted as one by Sanae's POV, and most readers would agree due to her raving fundamentalism and petty nature.
  • Miles Gloriosus: Goes into battle thinking her Gods will protect her. She ends up having to retreat from Battle Couple Sanae and Sangaku.
  • Misery Builds Character: As it turns out, it helps build her character quite a bit.
  • Odd Friendship: With Koakuma Waters, of all people.
  • Pet the Dog: Her care and grief for Shingyoku Borders despite his bastardy. Also, her genuine love for Genji, and her concern whenever he mentions how aware he is of his imminent death.
  • Smug Snake: Seems to think that she's got Yukari well under her control. No-one but her is convinced.
  • Sigil Spam: Her personal armor spams the emblems of the Old Gods.
  • Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With the heathen warlock Yukari. It goes as well as you'd expect.
  • That Man Is Dead: After her inverse Heel–Faith Turn she resents her formerly pious self.
  • Unreliable Narrator: As a sixteen year-old blinded by faith and religious hatred, she is certainly this.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Is one to Yukari, quite obviously to everyone but her.
    Maester Genji Hakurei 
Great Uncle to Septa Reimu and Maester of the Hakureis. An old, rickety man who's well aware he's close to death. Turns out that thanks to study, he's not believed in the Gods for some time.

    Shingyoku Borders 
The bastard cousin of Reimu Hakurei fathered by an unspecified uncle of hers. Is an ascetic to the the Gods to make up for his 'taint' of bastardy.

  • Bodyguard Crush: When given charge over guarding the hostage Nitori Kawashiro, he ends up falling for her, and in an unusual case, his love is reciprocated.
  • Character Development: Goes from The Fundamentalist to Thinks Like a Romance Novel due to falling for Nitori.
  • Face Death with Dignity: After accepting his imminent death at the Blue Wedding, Shingyoku decides to have one last, long kiss with Nitori.
  • The Fundamentalist: Even more so than Reimu initially due to his 'taint' of bastardy. He mellows out after falling for his hostage, Lady Nitori. His initial piety has him intensely distrust Lady Yukari, which turns out to be the smartest thing he's ever done.
  • Heroic Bastard: Tries his damnedest to be by the standards of the Old Gods, as the Hakureis seem to view bastards as, well, bastards by default.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: With Nitori Kawashiro, given they are opposing sects of the Faith of the Old Gods.
  • Thinks Like a Romance Novel: When he falls for Nitori, he becomes very obsessed with her and becomes a cheesy romantic, much to Reimu's chagrin.
  • The Unfavorite: Of the Hakureis, due to being a reminder that at least one of their members is not so holy after all.
  • You Need to Get Laid: Never said, but implied to be the case as Shingyoku becomes noticeably calmer and clear-headed after implied sex with Lady Nitori Kawashiro.
    Ser Gomasuri 
A lickboot of a knight that kisses the ass of his current leader and switches over to the Yakumos after he thinks Reimu is dead from the Blue Wedding. Dies by being shivved by Reimu's Scarlet child soldiers after she finds out about his change of alliegence.

    Kojirou 
A boy in the Shrine of the Sea who becomes Maester Genji's novice, set to replace him as the city's scholar should Genji die.

House Yakumo

House Yakumo are the rulers of Mayohiga, the major city of the western Borderlands. It is a mysterious place where it's rumored the babies are weaned on shade-of-the-evening and the ruler, Lady Yukari Yakumo, isn't as young as she claims but is in fact an immortal warlock who has been ruling since House Yakumo was founded. As Yukari's one-time POV shows, the latter rumor is very much correct. Their motto is 'We Are Everywhere', referring to their army's mysterious ability to appear literally anywhere, and their sigil is a cyan octogram on a dark purple field.

    In General 
  • Black Comedy Cannibalism: The Yakumo Commanders stationed in Mount Tengu are heavily implied to be the victims of this at the hands of Aya Shameimaru and Hatate Himekaidou, being made into 'pork' for 'katsudon'.
  • Happily Adopted: As far as we know, Ran Yakumo and Chen Borders.
  • The Magocracy: Under the warlock, Yukari Yakumo.
  • My Grandson, Myself: Rumored to be the case with the ruling members of the Yakumos throughout history. As it turns out, yes, Lady Yukari is in fact the same person as the one who founded House Yakumo.
  • Offscreen Teleportation: Their army's ability, likely an ability caused by their warlock leader, Lady Yukari.
  • Psycho Serum: Rumors imply drinking the magical shade-of-the-evening is the norm for them.
  • Purple Is Powerful: Are extremely powerful in terms of magic, and have a purple field.
  • Sixth Ranger Traitor: To the Hinanawis, the Vale, and the Rebellion.
  • Shout-Out: Their field color being purple may be a shout-out to what 'Yukari' means in Japanese: purple.
  • Wizards and Witches: Mayohiga is implied to be a city full of them.
    Lady Yukari Yakumo* 
The Lady of Mayohiga. A warlock with strange, pallid skin and the nifty ability of Offscreen Teleportation, with the downside that being seen renders it ineffective. According to supplementary material, she is the third 'Yukari Yakumo' to rule Mayohiga. As it turns out, she's one and the same as the founder of House Yakumo, also named Yukari. Has just one POV chapter, Chapter 127.

  • Adaptational Attractiveness: Inverted. Yukari in Canon is a slightly mature-looking, yet still somewhat cute-looking woman, while in this she's an almost zombie-like, blue-lipped monstrosity.
  • Anyone Can Die: As one reviewer pointed out, Yukari has an air of invincibility that makes one assume she'd survive anything. She does not, suffice to say.
  • Blood Magic: Most of her teleportation requires merely pain to work, but crossing the sea requires her to drink a mixture of shade-of-the-evening, blood, acid, and dissolved skin.
  • Cannot Cross Running Water: Her teleportation powers require intense pain to work, but with the cases of crossing running water and the sea, special preparation needs to take place.
  • The Chessmaster: On the same level as her partner in crime, Yuyuko. She plays Reimu like a fiddle and sets up a wedding massacre that puts most of the Vale under wight control, and is ultimately only brought down by Reimu's refusal to die and Koishi living on in a wolf, unravelling Yuyuko's grasp over the Minelands, the region best positioned to attack Mayohiga.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Is unflinchingly polite at all times. Also perfectly willing to backstab her Lady Paramount to take the Borderlands for herself and murder several Vale nobles at a wedding.
  • Immortality: Is immortal thanks to her magic.
  • The Informant: To Yuyuko.
  • Looks Like Cesare: Has huge bags under her eyes.
  • My Grandson, Myself: A rumor about her that's completely true.
  • Not in This for Your Revolution: Both to Reimu and Yuyuko. With the former, it's clear she couldn't care less about the Hakureis' literally religious hatred of the Moriyas, and the latter due to her not giving a rat's ass about smallfolk rights, merely wanting to back what she thought was the most powerful player in Noros.
  • Not So Stoic: While generally calm, she freaks out after realizing her attempt to pull a Screw This, I'm Outta Here won't fly due to Yamame observing her through her spiders, cutting off her planned Offscreen Teleportation to Qarth and causing her to die by poison.
  • Offscreen Teleportation: Her chief power involves instantaneous teleportation to anywhere so long as she has no observers.
  • Perfect Poison: Whatever poison is used to commit the Blue Wedding is this, causing quick unconsciousness and death after a slight lag. Averted with the spider venom that kills Yukari, which is slow-acting and begins with nausea and weakness.
  • Psycho Serum: Drinks shade-of-the-evening in lieu of say, wine, and this results in her Undeathly Pallor and blue lips.
  • Psychotic Smirk: Constantly wears one on her (as we are regularly reminded) blue lips.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Is actually the same person as the woman who founded House Yakumo.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Pulls this twice with Yuyuko, once as a way of throwing off potential informants from their far more sinister allegiance, and the second in earnest. Later attempts this in her POV chapter, by trying to teleport to Qarth. This fails due to being observed (and poisoned) by Yamame.
  • Shout-Out: Her ability to perform Offscreen Teleportation is a reference to her usage of 'gaps' in Canon.
  • Undeathly Pallor: Her skin is pallid and corpse-like, probably due to living for thousands of years.
  • Vetinari Job Security: The reason Reimu tolerates her as an ally is due to her being simply too powerful to not have as an ally. This allows her to play her like a harp.
  • Wizards and Witches: Is a warlock presumably from a Qartheen ancestor. turns out she is said ancestor.
    Ran Yakumo 
Supposedly the sister of Yukari Yakumo. Turns out she's not related at all.

  • Demoted to Extra: Has barely any lines and only a few crucial actions, unlike her Canon counterpart, who is an extra boss and prominent character.
  • From Bad to Worse: Gets an injury in battle against the Moriyas, and in the end gets killed at the Blue Wedding.
    Chen Borders 
Supposedly a bastard of an unspecified, unseen brother of Yukari. Turns out she's adopted, and her 'father' does not exist.

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