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The New New Touhou Character Alternate Interpretation Compendium

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danna45 Owner of Dead End from Wagnaria Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Owner of Dead End
#451: Dec 19th 2013 at 7:00:08 AM

Deliciously pink.

"And you must be Jonathan Joestar!" - Sue
Antimatter625 Baring hearts for years from my secret place Since: Jan, 2012
Baring hearts for years
#452: Dec 19th 2013 at 7:50:47 AM

I think I mostly said my peace on her in the last compendium. She's got the gate guarding duty because no one else wanted it (Let's see, stand alone, bored to tears, until someone thinks they can break into Makai. If they can, you're the first casualty, and if they can't then they probably can't even reach the damn gate.)

Emphasis on that loneliness. Recall that Stuff from Makai is basically 'alive', which is why Byakuren's scroll is able to take its own actions in buffing her (aka is cursed/possessed/whatever Akyuu calls it). And while Makai may be a bustling place full of so much life that even the rocks could have a passing word with a stranger, Sara's stuck outside. Alone.

And she can't just leave. Oh no. If they ever found out she abandoned her post? She'd never see the light of day again. Sara is not in a good position. Not at all. So she sits there and just... waits. Maybe some magicians go through, but she isn't allowed to attack those because they're on business so she just... waits some more.

It is basically the worst times.

edited 19th Dec '13 7:51:48 AM by Antimatter625

I write some fanfiction. Satori's Tale is done... but I'm not.
Tacitus Since: Jan, 2001
#453: Dec 19th 2013 at 9:33:36 PM

Cut off from all her friends (or chatty scenery), depowered due to being cut off from the miasma/her goddess... it's hard not to feel like gatekeeper duty is a punishment. So what did you do, Sara?

It'd be easier to say more about her if we knew more about this Sara Brownie character she's supposedly an homage to. So, anybody got a copy of Nijiiro Bakuhatsu Musume♥?

Also, a certain mermaid should visit Makai to get some rocky friends, or possibly some friendly rocks.

Diamite Rainy Echoes Since: Jul, 2013
Rainy Echoes
#454: Dec 20th 2013 at 12:44:06 AM

Perhaps Sara used to be a delinquent back in the day, beating up demons weaker than her. Shinki saw this, so she honeyed her with a job opportunity to put all her rambunctious energy into. Yes, it was being the gatekeeper. Because surely there will be a lot of invaders. Sara, obviously intrigued by this wonderful chance, accepted.

Too bad she realized too late that she got burned. But hey, at least she mellowed out.

Or it could be like this; when Shinki started her tourism plan, she contacted Sara and made her guard the gate to ensure demons got into Gensokyo safely. So fighting and getting steamrolled by the four may have been her first time stepping foot outside of Makai.

Leylite Since: Jun, 2009
#455: Dec 20th 2013 at 10:43:12 AM

It's also probably worth mentioning that the other character with a stake at the title of "Gatekeeper of Makai" is YuugenMagan from Highly Responsive to Prayers.

Without derailing too much from the topic of Sara, YuugenMagan also is notable for its laser attacks. The 5 Magic Stones, sometimes considered the gatekeeper of Mima's mansion, also have laser attacks. Kurumi, gatekeeper of the Lake of Blood, is notorious for her laser attacks, and Yoshika also has (one) laser attack. However, Elly, Hong Meiling and Kyouko (gatekeeper of the Myouren Temple) don't have laser attacks at all.

So, the question being raised here is "Is the capability of firing lasers a necessary prerequisite to being a gatekeeper?" It would seem the answer is "no", but I'd appreciate some alternate commentary on this issue.

edited 20th Dec '13 10:43:29 AM by Leylite

GAP Formerly G.G. from Who Knows? Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: In love with love
Formerly G.G.
#456: Dec 20th 2013 at 12:50:08 PM

[up]To be fair, Meiling msotly relies on her martial arts in her danmaku, Elly is a shinigami and Kyouko uses sound in her attacks. It isn't a s though they need alsers to fight intruders.

"Fan, a Mega Man character."
Prime32 Since: Jan, 2001
#457: Dec 20th 2013 at 2:06:47 PM

Elly is a shinigami
[citation needed]

edited 20th Dec '13 2:07:26 PM by Prime32

Tacitus Since: Jan, 2001
#458: Dec 21st 2013 at 1:13:11 PM

Well, 100% of the shinigami we've seen in the series have carried scythes. Elly carries a scythe. GED.

We've said about as much as we could hope for about a PC-98 Stage One boss, so let's give Sara one last round of applause! After this current profile we'll be discussing Ellen, Eiki aaaand Raiko! Pretty soon after the last time, hopefully not too soon. But first,






Deified Human of the Wind
Sanae Kochiya

Appearance:

Stage: A Wind Blows on the Sacred Mountain
bgm: "The Primal Scene of Japan the Girl Saw"*

Theme: "Faith is for the Transient People"*

Spellcard Motif: Miracles, Divinity, Stars, Wind
Notable spellcards: MoF, Hisoutensoku, DS
Esoterica "Secretly Inherited Art of Danmaku," Miracle "Mid-Day Supernova," Sea Opening "Moses's Miracle," Divine Virtue "Bumper Crop Rice Shower," Great Miracle "Yasaka's Divine Wind," Frog Sign "Wily Toad," Youkai Extermination "Bewitching Power Spoiler"

Write-up:
Sanae Kochiya is a lot of things simultaneously. She's a bizarro version of Reimu, a dutiful miko with a close relationship to the Moriya shrine's deities, and perhaps too much enthusiasm when it comes to youkai extermination. She is - or maybe was, by now - the setting's token normal human, an ordinary high school student dropped into a world of magic and monsters after her goddesses decided to relocate to Gensokyo. Yet she's also an arahitogami, both human and divine due to her ancestry, which led some to worship Sanae in the outside world, but in Gensokyo is relatively mundane.

This makes Sanae quite the flexible character. In some works she's the only sane woman in the setting due to her grounding in a non-magical world, while others embrace her comments about not being "held back by common sense in Gensokyo." She has a canonical interest in hard science and giant robots that certain stories happily make use of, while in less lighthearted works her "youkai extermination" mode is played up, to the misfortune of those around her. Sometimes she's a gung-ho faith extortionist working to ensure the survival of her divine household, but other works give a more sedate and domestic portrayal of the Moriya Shrine. In short, Sanae's got a lot going for her, and given the importance of the Moriya Shrine in the setting, she's unlikely to be going anywhere soon.

Relationships:

  • Kanako Yasaka (goddess, boss)
  • Suwako Moriya (other goddess, ancestor)
  • Reimu Hakurei (the Mario to her Luigi?)
  • Hisoutensoku (not a real robot, dammit)

Interpretations:
Sanae Kochiya
by diamite

"Good Shrine Maiden"
by Otherarrow

"Vessel of the Gods"
by Antimatter 625

See also the first two Compendiums.

edited 31st Dec '13 10:46:38 PM by Tacitus

Grounder Main Character Since: Aug, 2013 Relationship Status: All is for my lord
Main Character
#459: Dec 21st 2013 at 1:37:49 PM

She's slowly losing her grip on reality, even as far as Gensokyo is concerned.

It took them a while, but Kanako and Suwako are starting to notice this, and if it goes too bad, they'll send her through the border again in the interest of her mental health.

Oh, and Rinnosuke just irritates her, thinking he knows so much when he clearly doesn't.

Antimatter625 Baring hearts for years from my secret place Since: Jan, 2012
Baring hearts for years
#460: Dec 21st 2013 at 3:24:40 PM

My understanding was that her divine+human status didn't come from her ancestry, but her actions. She channeled miracles powered by Kanako/Suwako, but since people of the outside world are losers, they thought it was her performing the miracles... so she got faith and ta-da, arahitogami. The fact that she's a descendent of Suwako is more of an interesting aside (or perhaps explains her particular talent at channeling Suwako and her partner-in-not-crime.)

Actually, that's something I want to comment on. While Sanae seems to be super-comfortable summoning Suwako and Kanako, she goes to Reimu to summon up the god of metallurgy for some Palladium. So... why? Does she not know the proper rituals? Or does she just lack confidence? Or does she rope Reimu into it so that they can simply use the Hakurei Shrine (positioned -slightly- better than the Moriya Shrine for the villagers) as a demonstration ground?

Personally, I think it's that Sanae just... didn't know how. I mean, she was pretty devoted to her two gods, and they just taught her how to invoke them. She likely never had any sort of 'instruction manual' or training as I suspect Reimu did (at Yukari's prompting in SSIB at the very least). Sanae did at least know -which- god she needed, so she's not a bad shrine maiden, exactly, just one who had little cause to interact with gods other than those of her shrine. I wouldn't be surprised if its something she's working on improving... but neither would I be surprised if she, like everyone else, just figures "Eh, I can just get Reimu to do it."

As for why she has such affinity for her two goddesses, my best guess is that she was simply exposed to them as a young child and never 'grew out of' her imaginary friends. The fact that they could summon rainstorms and such probably helped in that regard, though her divine bloodline likely contributes as well.

I write some fanfiction. Satori's Tale is done... but I'm not.
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#461: Dec 21st 2013 at 3:39:13 PM

Maybe its like that thing from 8-bit theater where Cleric was an agnostic because you couldn't buddy up to one god too closely and still be on good terms with the rest.

As far as other gods are concerned, Kanako/Suwako have Sanae tied up as their follower so there's nothing for them to gain there so why bother? Meanwhile, Reimu is so unconcerned with her own god that she's fair game, probably.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Prime32 Since: Jan, 2001
#462: Dec 21st 2013 at 3:40:14 PM

Sanae knows a lot about physics, but sucks at history. And maths apparently.

As for the differences in what she can do compared to Reimu, see conversation from last thread starting here. I guess you could go with "Sanae is bad at channeling gods unless she's already friends with them", but "each shrine's techniques are a separate Secret Art" seems more likely. IIRC Reimu wasn't particularly surprised that Sanae would need her help.

edited 21st Dec '13 3:45:43 PM by Prime32

Diamite Rainy Echoes Since: Jul, 2013
Rainy Echoes
#463: Dec 21st 2013 at 3:40:21 PM

Sanae Kochiya:

The divine shrine maiden of the Moriya Shrine with the power of miracles. Smart, enthusiastic, and curious.

As one who hailed from outside of Gensokyo, Sanae has a ton of knowledge of the current happenings. At least, what was current at the time. Upon her arrival, she had a vicious better-than-you attitude. Being defeated by the strongest human locals humbled her somewhat.

She began to learn Gensokyo's ways. One that especially caught her interest was youkai extermination. The UFO incident was her first crack at it, and she realized to her surprise that she enjoyed fighting youkai. She may have entertained the thought of actual murder at one point. But she is smart. That, and some lectures from Eiki made sure she kicked those extreme, destructive urges back.

Seeing things in Gensokyo that are commonplace in the outside earth excites her. She'll also be to share her knowledge of anything Earthrealm. Of course, it'll sail over everyone's heads. I wonder if she can leave Gensokyo at will. Having a divine heritage should give her such a power. Then there's her complicated miracle powers. If not, screw the rules, she has green hair!tongue

Watching Gingitsune gives me this line of thought; as one who is a descendent of a god, Sanae had The Sight from birth, allowing her to see the shrine's host gods, Suwako and Kanako.

Hmm... I do wonder why she doesn't know the reason behind the presence of two gods in the Moriya Shrine...

She must have friends outside. They're probably wondering about how she's doing.note 

edited 21st Dec '13 8:29:24 PM by Diamite

Otherarrow Since: Jul, 2010
#464: Dec 21st 2013 at 3:43:09 PM

Good Shrine Maiden

Sanae! Sanae is a human from the outside world! Because of this, I would say it is fair to think of her as the audience surrogate: as someone not from Gensoukyou, she is constantly surprised by all of the fantastic things that happens, and ignorant of how things work and how the various factions and such are set up. Basically, Sanae is the person who it would be acceptable to have others to explain stuff to without her coming off as an idiot (Well, too much of an idiot. She is a bit of an airhead).

More important to the setting than that, of course, is the fact that Sanae is....a big ol fucking nerd. While mocked for not knowing how modern technology works (to be fair, she told Akyuu that such lacking knowledge is common and she has a point) and how she had to look up who Miko was in a school text book, Sanae has also shown herself to be quite knowledgeable in matters of science, or at least, more so than anyone in Gensoukyou. She also thought that the giant weather balloon was a giant robot mecha from her Japanese animes. No one is perfect.

Oh and she might also be a living god shrine maiden or something like that I dunno.

Sanae is a arahitogami, or a living god. I don't think it's made clear if this is due to her divine ancestry or just her ability to perform miracles and draw from the power of Kanako, and thus Kanako's feats were attributed to her. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a combination of these factors. As a god, Sanae is capable of gathering faith, but, according to Akyuu, her powers as a god are mostly faint as she is getting little, if any, of the gathered faith.

Sanae's ability is the ability to create miracles! These range from simple parlor tricks to Biblical feats to the likes of cataclysms. In order to perform her miracles, she needs to prepare the spell first. This can be as simple as saying a single word or as complex as setting up a separate spell card first and still having to spend days of just reciting the words for casting, depending on the magnitude of the miracle.

Naturally, since this is Touhou, her miracles are interpreted as danmaku. Marisa even comments on how clever she is for making her prep spell danmaku as well and ponders about stealing that idea for herself.

Sanae's primary role is that of the shrine maiden of the Moriya Shrine, thus her main job is to go out to gather faith and exterminate youkai (among other shrine maideny things) in the name of the shrine, something which her miracles come in very handy for. She goes about her duties as shrine maiden rather zealously, perhaps even too zealously in fact. When she gets down to it, she can get rather passionate about exterminating youkai, though this may also come from a misplaced case of human pride.

Yes, Sanae is a bit perplexing, as while she embraces and brags about her status as a goddess, she is also very proud of her status as a human, and will often up her youkai hunting if she feels that the youkai are harassing humans (she doesn't know how things work, remember?) or insulting "human dignity".

As the shrine maiden of the Moriya Shrine, Sanae spends most of her time around youkai and gods, but as a human girl, she wants to have human friends. Unfortunately, the closest humans are not the humans of the village, but youkai like humans who live at the foot of the mountain (who she fears she will become like if she doesn't watch it).

All and all, Sanae is a nice girl. She isn't the brightest bulb and she can be a bit overzealous, but her heart is in the right place and she strikes me as the type who puts in 110% into her job. Her deities are counting on her after all! It contrasts with Reimu quite nicely I'd say.


Oh snap this turned out write up length again. I like Sanae. That's my excuse.

edited 21st Dec '13 3:52:37 PM by Otherarrow

Don't PM me. We don't like being PMed.
Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#465: Dec 21st 2013 at 3:47:36 PM

How can someone like physics but suck at math(s)? I just don't understand that.

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Prime32 Since: Jan, 2001
#466: Dec 21st 2013 at 3:48:44 PM

[up] Albert Einstein. tongue

I think Sanae's "extermination mode" is less human pride and more "I'm the hero of a real-life videogame!"

Watching Gingitsune gives me this line of thought; as one who is an descendent of a god, Sanae had The Sight from birth, allowing her to see the shrine's host gods, Suwako and Kanako.
I love it when doujins do this.

edited 21st Dec '13 3:49:32 PM by Prime32

Bocaj Funny but not helpful from Here or thereabouts (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Pining for the fjords
Funny but not helpful
#467: Dec 21st 2013 at 3:51:16 PM

The thing about Albert Einstein sucking at 4th grade math is a myth that was invented to make people bad at math feel better about themselves.

If we keep repeating it, it might bring Einsten back from the dead and then bork his intelligence. That would be a very rude thing to do to a person.

[up] Video game is exactly the framing device used by that Stripe Pattern doujin. How I hate it.

edited 21st Dec '13 3:51:57 PM by Bocaj

Forever liveblogging the Avengers
Prime32 Since: Jan, 2001
#468: Dec 21st 2013 at 3:52:31 PM

Sanae is a geek, not a physicist. She can spout trivia without being able to do square roots in her head.

GAP Formerly G.G. from Who Knows? Since: May, 2011 Relationship Status: In love with love
Formerly G.G.
#469: Dec 21st 2013 at 4:38:41 PM

[up][up] What?!!! Awww. sad You crushed our self esteem Bocaj.

[up] Sanae is physics otaku, she may be an expert but she isn't as good at it as some people.

"Fan, a Mega Man character."
Hylarn (Don’t ask)
#470: Dec 21st 2013 at 5:06:32 PM

Video game is exactly the framing device used by that Stripe Pattern doujin. How I hate it.

Eh, I actually kind of liked that one

So, Sanae. Defaults to a polite young girl, but tends to get excited about things and go overboard. Though she's been more in control recently

Otherarrow Since: Jul, 2010
#471: Dec 21st 2013 at 5:51:28 PM

Personally, seeing as the other recurring heroines are "Reimu the jerkface" and "lying witch Marisa", I have to say I do like Sanae's spunky "being a human (who is also a god) and shooting stuff is pretty cool" attitude.

I dunno. It's like...she adds a perspective that the other protags don't really cover.

edited 21st Dec '13 5:52:22 PM by Otherarrow

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Prime32 Since: Jan, 2001
#472: Dec 21st 2013 at 5:53:31 PM

Music and other stuff:

edited 21st Dec '13 6:00:02 PM by Prime32

Clarste One Winged Egret Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: Non-Canon
One Winged Egret
#473: Dec 21st 2013 at 6:20:32 PM

The thing about Albert Einstein sucking at 4th grade math is a myth that was invented to make people bad at math feel better about themselves.

Really? I thought it was a cautionary tale meant to imply that teachers can't always recognize or teach to genius. I never imagined the possibility that he was actually bad at math.

Sanae is... a science person. This is a technical term. It has nothing to do with what she does or doesn't know, or how smart she is, it's just a way of thinking. Science, facts, progress. These are the things she understands and values. Poetry, literature, history? They confuse and frighten her.

Being a science person is not a good thing in Gensokyo. While presumably the world works in some kind of way, it doesn't use science logic. In Gensokyo, reproducibility isn't what gives a fact its power and truth, but instead it seems like the more obscure the detail, perhaps written down as a footnote in one forgotten book and dismissed by scholars as rhetorical flourish, the more important it turns out to be. That's a kind of truth, and there's definitely a kind of logic in applying it, but it's not Sanae's logic. She just doesn't get it here.

She tries to fit in, she does. She does what people tell her too, or imitates her peers where necessary. But ultimately that's only superficial. She only sees how they act, but doesn't understand why they act. What kinds of motives and logic run behind all their decisions. It probably doesn't help that her best friends here are outcasts...

Also she doesn't like drinking. That doesn't help.

Otherarrow Since: Jul, 2010
#474: Dec 21st 2013 at 6:48:33 PM

I dunno. I've seen enough evidence here and there that facts and progress and the weirdo fantasy nature of Gensoukyou aren't mutually exclusive (probably because, pocket dimension or no, Gensoukyou is still on Earth and is subject to Earth reality rules. It jut has more house rules on top of it)

But yes, just because Sanae may not be completely off with being a science person doesn't mean that being one will benefit her instead of confuse her. Gensoukyou is a weirdo fantasy land even if it is on Earth, and if Sanae can't really get that, then yeah, she is going to have a bad time.

I do agree that in Sanae's attempts to fit in, she picks up on how folks act, but not why they act that way, which leads to her interpreting what the other heroines do rather differently than what they themselves see it and makes her come off as even more weird.

She doesn't like drinking? Can't blame her. But since everyone else is a drunk of some capacity, it's probably going to be hard for her. Fight on Sanae.

Don't PM me. We don't like being PMed.
danna45 Owner of Dead End from Wagnaria Since: Aug, 2012 Relationship Status: GAR for Archer
Owner of Dead End
#475: Dec 21st 2013 at 6:54:32 PM

Sanae has wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too many rape doujins...and that's all I'm saying on the matter.

Designwise, she's probably one of my favorite characters. I don't know why, but that bright green hair and miko outfit looks great on her, and while Reimu's the one famous for her armpits, I find myself liking Sanae's more. I would kill to see Sanae in a ponytail, because ponytails are dabest.

Her theme song's overall upbeat, but I sense some melancholy here and there. Perhaps its her missing her world? I dunno, I suck at songs. Still, it also sounds a little heroic in my opinion, which I think probably refers to her miracles. By the way, that's a pretty awesome power.

And hm, her being a science person explains that mecha-Sanae form in one of the Touhoumons. A Lways wondered why that was there.

edited 21st Dec '13 6:55:01 PM by danna45

"And you must be Jonathan Joestar!" - Sue

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