The New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium!

From Kaguya's profile:

The message Reisen got from the Moon (also in Kaguya's profile):

I just don't know how this can mesh with SSIB. There was explicitly fighting with a front line. There were humans still on the Moon and it seemed they had been winning since Reisen left given that they were building a permanent base. It looks like ZUN threw out this entire premise which is a shame.

Also, from Kaguya's profile:

Eirin does something unnecessary. Or not. Since Lunarians enter Gensokyo just fine in SSIB and Inaba. And its not even Toyohime with the power of borders, its just a random rabbit who manages it. My god, all these retcons.

edited 4th Sep '11 9:15:19 AM by Bocaj

Watatsuki no Toyohime

Watatsuki no Yorihime

Theme:
Watatsuki's Spell Card ~ Lunatic Blue*

Spellcard Motif: Summoning ancient gods

Write-up:
The two reigning Moon Princesses. Born from their celestial utopia, they lived carefree lives, a possible war with invading humans notwithstanding. Yet, their power is without peer.

Possibly the most controversial characters out of a combination of perceived Mary Sue power levels, and a form of the humans' pride of their home planet, it's meaningless to write much about who they are. Let the arguments speak for themselves.

Relations:

• Eirin (formerly a teacher, also distant relative)
• Kaguya (formerly fellow princess)
• Reisen (former pet)
• other Reisen (replacement)

Alternate Character Interpretations:
Lunatic Blue
-by Clarste

The Pure Ones?
-by Otherarrow

edited 8th Oct '11 3:00:32 PM by Fawriel

Sorry for being late, I freely admit I couldn't think of anything good to write and got lazy, oh whoops I forgot to add a picture.

Lunatic Blue - In my mind this is Yorihime's theme, since she's the only Watatsuki who ever fights, or for that matter, uses a spellcard. Anyway...

I kinda like it. It's got a good feel to it. Here's a fan remix of it. And here's another remix.

So. The Watatsukis. My big question is 'Are they related to Kaguya? And if so, how?' (Watatsuki no Kaguya-hime?)

edited 4th Sep '11 9:35:56 AM by asterism

>Themes

>non-game characters

What.

edited 4th Sep '11 9:34:42 AM by TARDISES

CDs sometimes came with the books.

edited 4th Sep '11 9:36:02 AM by Pulse

Yes.

Akyuu has two themes, remember?

I think the Watatsukis have an edge on Meiling to the possibly a dragon thing (Watatsuki). Plus Toyohime is named after Toyotama-hime (those of you who've played Okami will also know her as Otohime).

These are just my initial thoughts. I am probably wrong in mutiple areas. Sorry.

The Watatsuki sisters are partly a product of their civilization. The reason they are so carefree is because they were born and raised in a world of near perfection*

As for the sisters specifically, from what I know:

Yorihime is cool/cold and aloof, but appears to value the few people she does know on a personal level. She seems to be primarily a warrior; her purpose is to defend the moon, and defeat those who would do it harm, and so she shall. Toyohime, on the other hand, appears to be more social and friendly than her sister, but is actually not to be trusted as much, being more of a schemer, (or rather, I can see her seeing herself as one. Whether she actually pulls it off is something I don't know)

Also, this may just be my limited knowledge talking, but Toyohime seems to buy in to the "natural superiority of the moon" thing a little bit more than the other Lunarians I know of.*

The two aren't really villains though, they are mostly just doing their jobs keeping the Lunar Capital safe.

And they are apparently good to their Reisens. Or something.

EDIT:Their relation to the Dragon Palace myth made me wonder if they were associated with the Big D somehow, but in universe, the Dragon Palace seems to be something they made up to stop the guy from figuring out the truth about the Lunar Capital. So the naming could just be a coincidence?

edited 4th Sep '11 9:45:56 AM by Otherarrow

Here's their CiLR chapter.. Also about the 'sukis. The second one is only half translated.

Cage in Lunatic Runagate's quite informative, really. The stories are from the perspective of (in order): Eirin, Kaguya, Toyohime, Mokou, Yukari, Reisen II, Youmu, third person narrator.

edited 4th Sep '11 9:50:07 AM by asterism

"Good to their Reisens" in this context means "they treat those bunnies how Eirin treated the sisters when she was their teacher."

So strict but fairish.

That link reminded me that the Watatsukis are responsible for one of the most heinous acts in Touhou: they killed Yukari's pet crow. What a pair of bitches.

edited 4th Sep '11 9:51:44 AM by Bocaj

Reisen II: Reisen's Revenge also talks about the sisters in her narrative. So here. EXPOSITIONNNN~

BITCHES.

You linked the wrong version of that song. It's got a picture of Eirin and Kaguya. Fail. This version is more appropriate.

Upon reading at least the Moon Sister's Ci LR chapter, I noticed a few things.

It seems I was wrong about Toyohime. She seems to be a bit sympathetic towards humans. (Or rather, she was back then, to that one guy.)

The idea that the Watatsuki's would immediately fall under suspicion if someone from the Earth reaches the Lunar Capital really interests me. It makes sense (since their job is to stop any invaders from reaching the capital), but it still interests me all the same. I wonder if the other Lunarians consider the Watatsukis "less pure" somehow for having to watch over the "impure" Earth?

Also, this might be just me, but the Watatsukis seem like pretty nice people. Yorihime is serious, strict, and apparently a bit of a worrywart*

On a unrelated note, Eirin is old. The story outright says she is older than the Shinto God the the Moon. (Well, they just call him a sage, but he is named after the God and Amaterasu is identified as his sister so...)

Out of curiosity, did the message Eirin sent with Reisen II: Judgement Day relate to the events of Silent Sinner in Blue?

edited 4th Sep '11 10:24:00 AM by Otherarrow

According to the IN backstory, they already failed once. Unless that was retconned. But if it wasn't retconned, they apparently failed hardcore.

The message warned that Watatsukis that the vampire was coming and that Yukari probably was too. Basically the letter warned them that there was going to be someone taking advantage of the distraction that Remilia presented.

edited 4th Sep '11 10:54:29 AM by Bocaj

I just thought of the best scenario.

Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins fly off to the moon on the Apollo. In response, the Watatsuki Sisters attempt to stop them using their bunny forces but fail in Wil E. Coyote fashion due to the bunnies being ditzy. And all the while, Armstrong and Aldrin are completely clueless, explaining why there was no mention of bunnies in the Apollo 11 mission report.

The letter also told them that they could clear their names by capturing Reimu and demonstrating that she had similar powers. Eirin basically predicted exactly what would happen and what they should do about it to get the perfect ending. However, she stopped short at predicting Yuyuko stealing the sake. Well, she's only human.

If they don't lock their liquor cabinet, its their own damn fault.

And the apex of their bitchery: they get between Reimu and money she legitimately earned. They are simply irredeemable at this point.

OK. Thanks.

Something tells me if that part of IN's backstory was still canon, the Watatsukis would have been banished on suspicion of treason or at least failure in duty, since the humans were able to apparently find and wage war against the Lunar Capital and all. You have to remember, from what I understand, the events of Silent Sinner were enough to put them under suspicion (even though they actually fought the "invaders"). If a whole invasion happened like the one described in the IN letter, I doubt the Watatsukis would just get a stern warning. (However if that part of IN's backstory was retconed then, well, why did IN happen again? Eirin stopping moon rabbits from taking Reisen I to fight in a war that didn't happen? Bleh. Sorry.)

edited 4th Sep '11 11:15:00 AM by Otherarrow

The aliens in Apollo18 are actually the Lunarians.

edited 4th Sep '11 11:14:54 AM by raigakuren

Obviously. And the final shot of the film is of the grinning trollface of Watatsuki no Yorihime.

NO WAIT! The grinning trollface of Reisen II.

edited 4th Sep '11 11:32:56 AM by asterism

Lunatic Blue

Eirin taught them everything they know.

They learned that life is the cause of death. The weak perish while the strong or clever survive. Existence is a cutthroat battle for survival. That is, existence on the Earth. As citizens of the moon they have escaped all that, leading a lifeless, deathless existence free of struggle. Is this not the eternal paradise that humanity has always sought? Such is common sense on the moon. Yet to say they are free of struggle is a lie. Earthlings have constantly battered at their walls, knowingly or unknowingly, and there even needs to be an official Lunar Defense Corps. They have not and never will truly escape impurity. The Watatsukis do the dirty job that the moon doesn't want to admit it does: struggle for life. The impurity of the moon.

They learned that kindness is a cruelty. To act with thoughtless mercy or interest can easily come back to bite you or those you show mercy towards. As defenders of the moon their job is to defend the moon. When Urashima Taro washed up on shore they thought to entertain him in secret, showing him the wonders of the moon for three years. However, by doing so he knew too much, so the only option was to kill him. Or, as Eirin eventually suggested, "make him a dead man" by sending him to the future. Had they merely sent him away immediately, he could have lived with his family for the rest of his life. It seems the sisters didn't take this lesson entirely to heart though, when the time came for Eirin to betray the moon and become the most wanted criminal in history. By showing mercy to their old master, they earned the distrust of the moon.

They learned that the irreplaceable must be replaced. No one can live up to Eirin. The brain of the moon, the sage of the moon. Older than the gods, smarter than the gods, stronger than the gods. The one who always knows what's right, the one who can solve any problem. Their teacher, their mentor, the absolute existence in their lives and to the moon. Yet she left. She betrayed them. Leaving no one but two disciples who still doubted their own judgment and looked to her for all the answers. And they screwed it up, big time. They lost the trust of their people, they lost the safety of the moon, and most importantly they lost the certainty that what they were doing was right. Yet time marches forward. The irreplaceable must be replaced. The new Reisen isn't nearly as good at her job as the old one, is she?

Regarded as individuals... Toyohime is the eternal elder sister. At their age you'd think it wouldn't matter anymore, but being the eldest is the last certainty left in her life. Because of her brilliant delegation of duties, Toyohime gets a lot of time to think. Her powers are to connect the mountains and the sea. The earth and the moon. The destination and the origin. As such, she is deeply aware that her duties are in some sense futile. The moon can never truly be separated from the earth. Impurity can never truly be eliminated. Toyohime knows in her heart that even they are fated to die. But that doesn't mean her job isn't worth doing. Life is fun. Enjoy the moment, for someday it will end. Maybe that end is further in the future than it is possible to foresee, but it's coming. Best to make the most of all the days in between, and keep it at bay as long as possible. The moon is said to be lifeless, but Toyohime knows better than most what it means to be mortal.

By contrast, Yorihime is begrudgingly the eternal younger sister. Eager to prove her worth, she takes on more duties than she needs and keeps herself busy. Always training, always learning, she keeps herself a sharpened blade ready to be unsheathed in the case of unforeseen events. She aims to win the respect of her people, of her sister, of herself, by being the best she can be and fulfilling her duties as best as she is able. She knows she can never be Eirin, but she can be herself to the utmost. The best Yorihime there ever was. Her power is to summon the gods of the moon, which seem to be all of them. She has a tool for every purpose, a trick for every eventuality. Her goal is to be useful, to show that she's earned her place in the world. Defeat is not an option, because she has something to prove.

It could be said that Toyohime and Yorihime are simply Yukari and Reimu IN SPACE!. And to some extent that's true. Toyohime has bordery teleportation powers while being lazy and whimsical while Yorihime has maideny divine powers and likes to solve incidents. Yet in other ways they are complete opposites. While Yukari's domain is border, the separation of things, Toyohime's domain is "connection". She is the bridge that spans between opposites, in many ways Yukari's natural enemy. And while Reimu is said to rely on natural talents and good intuition, Yorihime has no faith in her nature at all and constantly improves herself. While their powers end up in the same place, the path to get there was completely different.

In the end, while it's natural to think of the Watatsukis as representative of the moon, I think to do so would be a pretty big mistake. Their circumstances mark them as outsiders among their people and their beliefs mark them as outsiders to the Earth. They may in fact be more welcome in Gensokyo than anywhere else in the universe, but their pride keeps them on the moon. And while perhaps pride shouldn't take precedence over everything else, isn't there something to respect about it?

edited 4th Sep '11 12:03:21 PM by Clarste

The Watatsukis are/were married, aren't they. I think, apart from Seiga, they're the only characters who were ever married.

Yeah, we on the moon!

Of Note: Yorihime

Yorihime is the younger sister. She is the leader of the Lunar Defense Corps.

She can use the powers of gods to help her. Can someone tell me where she does this? I want to examine the methodology. She uses lord Enma's power to do this, and can perform this better than Reimu, but only because she's trained. A nice subversion of Hard Work Hardly Works in my opinion.

She and her sister were the only two characters known to be married, but the Taoist just had have things their way.

Her and her sister's names are based on the names of the daughters of the dragon.

Has some separation anxiety when her sister isn't on the moon, and typically will follow her if she does leave.

She uses a sword. That's beginning to be something of note.

Of Note: Toyohime

She is the older sister.

Her power set includes: Born Lucky, can manipulate the boundaries of the moon (both ours and hers), can link the seas and mountains, and carries a fan of mass destruction. Does that fan have an official name?

Has a trademark favorite food in peaches.

Repeat the lines about marriage and the dragon from Yorihime's profile. Those also apply to this sister.

Music

I quite like this theme for never having heard it before. It sounds familiar to another theme, but I can't quite place it. It's lot more energetic than most of the recent Touhou themes. I don't know why, but I like when a boss theme is energetic, unless it's the final boss, then it must be epic foremost and energetic as an afterthought. Yes, they aren't really bosses, but if they were, this would be their theme.

Overview

I've never read any of the Touhou side material besides Perfect Memento and WAHH, so I don't know anything about the mooncesses, which is why I always voted for them. I don't quite believe Yorihime deserves all the hate she gets, and I've actually heard people saying she makes their top 3 characters. When it comes to Toyohime, I have nothing to say. Reisen II is a rabbit, and not a part of this discussion.

edited 4th Sep '11 11:46:00 AM by Horselesshorseman