"Touhou" has historically been among the most well-represented franchises in doujinshi circles. Before powerhouse franchises like "KanColle", "Idolm@ster", and "Fate" started gaining more traction, "Touhou" had always been the most dominating presence at every Comiket (a famous bi-yearly doujinshi fair). And while I have always been horrifyingly bad at actually playing the "Touhou" games, I have been a fairly big fan of "Touhou" doujinshi. With that said, I thought I would spend some time talking about my favorite fan-made products based on "Touhou". I'm going to avoid talking about lewd doujins, btw.
And Then, To You (Part A)
And Then, To You (Part B)
The most common theme among my favorite "Touhou" doujins is the concept of humans having drastically shorter lifespans than youkai. That's why my favorite character relationships are always humans with youkai. In this case, it's a story of Reimu and Yukari.
My favorite part of this doujin is seeing the difference between what Yukari sees when she looks at Reimu and what she actually looks like after all the decades that have passed. It's like how we, as humans, often have trouble understanding the aging of animals because we're only used to seeing the symptoms of aging for other humans. Similarly, Yukari can't discern the changes to Reimu over time.
I also like how it's not exactly clear how Yukari sees Reimu. She obviously cares deeply about her, but it's not explicitly romantic. Within the "Touhou" canon, Yukari is more of a mentor-figure to Reimu. Yukari is basically the one in charge of all the shrine maidens in Gensokyo, and she is frequently seen guiding and supporting Reimu on top of just hanging around and bothering her.
Whichever way it is, Reimu's words do still reach Yukari in the end. Even if she's passed on, Yukari will still live on and grow to love the next shrine maiden. Such is the fate of an immortal.
Let's Trade!
I've Brought Three Pairs of Spare Clothes
This next doujin is the only one on the list that isn't agonizingly tragic. It's set in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, which you'll probably be able to tell, by the end of this list, has my favorite cast of characters in "Touhou".
I just think this doujin is a good representation of these characters' personalities. Remilia is childish and impulsive, Sakuya is very proud of her position as the head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and Alice is caring yet competitive. Also, mini-Sakuya is so cute with how she tries to show up the real Sakuya, but there's no chance.
The doujin is just very adorable, true to the characters, and it feels like it really could be another day in Gensokyo. That verisimilitude within the context of the Touhou universe is what cements it as one of my favorite doujins on top of just featuring best girl Sakuya.
Demon & Her Dog
Alright, that's enough fluff now. Back to heart-wrenching misery. I made the comparison between the youkai's relationship with humans and a human's relationship with their pet animals, and this doujin sort of takes that analogy and runs with it, turning Sakuya into an actual dog.
It may feel demeaning from the perspective of a human to think about a human as being such a fleeting, almost expendable existence as a cat or a dog, but from the perspective of an immortal, that really is just how it's going to feel. Remilia could probably live through the lifespan of several dozens of humans in what feels like the blink of an eye.
It's just very tragic to think about the fact that no matter how much Remilia wants to cherish her time with Sakuya, she simply can't survive for a significant portion of Remilia's life. There's just so much about Sakuya that makes her my favorite character in Touhou.
To You a Hundred Years From Now
Now, I haven't actually played many of the later Touhou games. Most of my play time of the series is still with Touhou 6 and 7, so I do feel a deeper connection with Reimu and Marisa compared to a lot of other characters in the universe. I've always seen them as sisters of sorts because of my time playing those games, but this doujin tells a story of these two having that bond completely dashed.
In a world of vampires, hermits, spirits, fairies, and other immortal beings, Reimu, Marisa, and to some extent, Sakuya only really have each other to feel grounded to the world. This makes it so depressing that Marisa has chosen to forsake her mortality and leave Reimu alone. It's just very lonely seeing Reimu gradually becoming weaker as she ages while Marisa's body stopped aging.
It's especially tragic when you consider that the only reason Marisa wanted to become a Magician was to be a stronger rival and get closer to Reimu. But because time stopped for her, it wasn't even a competition anymore. Her attempts at becoming closer to Reimu ended up pushing them further apart.
The ending here is also similar to the ending of "And Then, To You". With Reimu gone, the next shrine maiden that takes her place will surely be just as loved and treasured as Reimu was. I appreciate that positive look to it after all of the sadness up to that point.
If I Were to Die Today
This Touhou doujin is very weird to me. I can't decisively say that it's my favorite, but it's undoubtedly the one that I go back to read over and over at least once a month or something.
The doujin features Sakuya, who I can't get enough of, but it does have more than that. It addresses the topic of human lifespans in a world filled with youkai again, which I love to see, but it still does more than that. What's interesting to me is how Sakuya's death doesn't exactly feel inevitable. It's canon that humans have many ways of becoming immortal, but many of them choose not to.
I noticed that a lot of people interpreted the twist at the end very literally, claiming Sakuya was never going to die that day. But the way I saw it, Patchouli and Remilia (and maybe Flandre?) actually did fight off the shinigami to extend Sakuya's lifespan against her will. That's why Patchouli said, "the book never said that non-humans need to respect a human's mortality." It's misleading because it's played off as a joke, in the end, but that's how I saw it.
The ending of this doujin also really gets me every time. As the person who wanted to deny Sakuya's death the most, it was so beautiful to see Hong Meiling say that, wherever she's reborn, she would find her.
Conclusion
I can see that my favorite "Touhou" doujins are a little bit one-note. The theme is pretty much always the same, it mostly involves the characters from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and they all have a very moe art-style. But, you know, when I think about the doujins that stick out most in my mind, these are just the ones for me. I think they make the most use of the premise and setting, and the characters feel the most well-realized in these. Feel free to let me know what you think about my picks or which ones you would include in there, if you know any.
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