You may now choose your nameless wife.
I'll take the mt haku girl.
>>48026303Cute homosexuals
>>48026324Good choice. But be careful! Don't let these Shugendo people do their weird things freely.
The concept of choosing a nameless wife in the land of Hourai is intriguing! It evokes themes of love, companionship, and the mystical nature of Hourai itself. Each choice could reflect different aspects of personality or ideals. Are you leaning toward a particular character or theme for your choice?
>>48037355thanks for the bump chatgpt I guess
Shit thread, at least give a simple explanation of what this "Hourai" thing is.
>>48047436Hourai is the beauty of ugliness.Hourai is the end of the beginning.Hourai is the word without meaning, and the meaning that can't be conveyed by words.Hourai is the jewel that should not be desired, the good that should not be sought.Hourai is like fire that burns cold, like pain that does not hurt, like joy that doesn't make one happy.Hourai is far away, never to be reached, but always to be destroyed.When you think you've reached Hourai, it's because you've already smashed it.Hourai is the land with no life, where death can not enter.Hourai is everywhere but here. Hourai is and Hourai is not.By not knowing what is Hourai, you know more of Hourai than any sage could ever dream.
does she counts?
>>48026495HAHAHAHA OH WOW
>>48051794Of course the Hourai Dolls count.Your happy marriage starts here, on a peach tree!
Debating myself on whether to necrobump my dead thread or not. I normally don't bump twice in a row but there are such shittier threads that I feel bad in letting it die.
>>48050436>Hourai is the beauty of ugliness.Peculiarity>Hourai is the end of the beginning.Maturity>Hourai is the word without meaning,Nonsense>and the meaning that can't be conveyed by words.SilenceI'll think of the others in due time.
>>48065907I think I'll try too>>48050436>Hourai is the jewel that should not be desired, the good that should not be sought.Perfection.>Hourai is like fire that burns cold, like pain that does not hurt, like joy that doesn't make one happy.Desire?>Hourai is far away, never to be reached, but always to be destroyed.The Unknown.>When you think you've reached Hourai, it's because you've already smashed it.Pleasure.>Hourai is the land with no life, where death can not enter.Thought or Dream.>Hourai is everywhere but here. Hourai is and Hourai is not.no idea>By not knowing what is Hourai, you know more of Hourai than any sage could ever dream.Simplicity.
>>48066361>Hourai is like fire that burns cold, like pain that does not hurt, like joy that doesn't make one happy.Life>When you think you've reached Hourai, it's because you've already smashed it.Journey(?)>Hourai is everywhere but here. Hourai is and Hourai is not.OthernessI agree with the rest.
>>48067920>LifeThis does fit better.>Journey(?)I still prefer 'pleasure', even though it's not a perfect anwear.>OthernessCleaver.
"The Moonlight's Anti-Soul" is a pretty badass character title. I wonder what ZUN originally meant by it?
>>48065907>>48066361I'm honored you anons tried to make sense of my words. Most of these are references to literature, some from famous things like the Bible while others are a bit more obscure, but I wouldn't say it has a consistent theme besides illusion and maybe contradiction. Not like I'm any good with words anyway. But I am thankful you guys managed to extract meaning from it.Regardless, personally I consider Hourai to be an ideal of Gensokyo. I like PMiSS' explanation of the barrier and Lafcadio Hearn's chapter on Hourai.
>>48075389>Most of these are references to literature, some from famous things like the Bible while others are a bit more obscureI'm a bit dissapointed I didn't catch any of them then. The only one I thought was a reference was the last one, which I think is some quote about Enlightment. One of my answers was also a reference to a poem.I'm curious what the references to the Bible were?>Regardless, personally I consider Hourai to be an ideal of Gensokyo.Would you mind elaboratign on that. The only thing I know about Hourai it that it's the mountain/island where Immortals live.
>>48026303What are all the nameless girls?
>>48075285反魂 seems to be calling the spirits of the dead so probably some medium sort of things.She's probably calling spirits or is some sort of ghost herself something.She also has some trigrams but idk how to interpret those but she also has some other symbols which I'm not even sure what they are supposed to be. There's a lot of things in the pic.Captcha: GAPNP
does she count
>>48047436>Hourai is everywhere but here. Hourai is and Hourai is not.>Hourai is far away, never to be reached, but always to be destroyed.>Hourai is the jewel that should not be desired, the good that should not be sought.The unattainability of desire>Hourai is the land with no life, where death can not enter.>Hourai is like fire that burns cold, like pain that does not hurt, like joy that doesn't make one happy.>When you think you've reached Hourai, it's because you've already smashed it.>Hourai is the end of the beginning.The disappointment (or punishment) of trying>Hourai is the beauty of ugliness.>Hourai is the word without meaning,>and the meaning that can't be conveyed by words.>By not knowing what is Hourai, you know more of Hourai than any sage could ever dream.The lesson of life
>>48078447Sorry for the late reply.>I'm curious what the references to the Bible were?Hourai is and Hourai is not was supposed to evoke God's answer to Moses about His name. This was the most obvious one, but the line that starts with fire that burns cold is supposed to be a comparison between Hourai and love (invoking the theme of the thread), and so the first line is a reference to the Song of Songs. The second line about end of the beginning was also supposed to be a reference to Jesus and the Kingdom of God, but I'm unsure if it worked; I thought about the Alpha and the Omega and eschatology, and a bit of my own interpretation of our life as our end times before the new life. So the end of the beginning. I'm really not good with words so maybe it didn't translate as well as I wanted to.>Would you mind elaboratign on that. It's mainly something I thought after reading Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan. You know, given that he's directly referenced in two Touhou characters and the name of this book is referenced in a track in HRtP and the full name of MS, I figured it was probably an important book for ZUN's worldbuilding. It is a fine book, but the most interesting chapter is the last; in it, Lafcadio starts describing Hourai, its preciousness and how winds "from the West" are threatening its survival. The similarities between Hourai as an isolated island that preserved the feeling of magic that had been lost in the outside world is basically the same setting as early Windows Gensokyo. All the comments about rejection of change, everything is there. Maybe I'm dumb, but for me it's clear that Lafcadio's Hourai symbolises Japan, and thus ZUN's Gensokyo is also supposed to be a mirror to Japan of some sort; it exists in a continuum between Lafcadio's Hourai and the complete openness of modern Japan.Rather than construct Gensokyo as a paradise where all change is negative, ZUN makes it a point to show how conserving your traditions is really adapting to modernity and change while not accepting it without care. Between modern Japan that fully embraced change and a static Hourai, Gensokyo exists, negotiating its existence by trying to carefully accept positive change while shunning direct contact with the source of said change. That's why new ideas are easily accepted and even encouraged by people like Yukari; because they have a barrier that can keep the equilibrium and stop any undesired influence from intruding. What I think ZUN wants to show is that even such carefulness is in the end useless; change will always come and things will return to nothing. Anyway, so for me Hourai is the ideal of how Gensokyo sees itself; a paradise that needs to be protected from the evil winds of change from outside. That contrasts with actual practice where Gensokyo still needs to deal with and adapt to all possible kinds of change that happen in the outside; the amount of paper goes down in the outside, making it go up in Gensokyo. This is change, and yet it is not rejected nor celebrated, but it is accepted as part of being conservative.Maybe I'm wrong. Feel free to disagree and add your thoughts here. I just think that the stuff that ZUN references is fascinating. Unfortunately some of it is really difficult to find, but Kwaidan should definitely be a recommended reading for anyone that wants to think about lore and worldview in Touhou.
>>48100657me on the right you on the left :3
>>48100657This does put into perspective why ZUN initially wanted to end the seires with IN, which is built around the idea of Hourai.>Hourai is and Hourai is not was supposed to evoke God's answer to Moses about His name.Can't believe I missed that.
>>48093643all of nameless Hourai is welcome here!
Hourai Collection!I wonder if the Hourai + DiPP event of the last few years will happen again. I saw a lot of Hourai girls art this month.
Happy All Saints' Eve
>>48026303Is "Rin Satsuki" a Hourai shoujo? What's the consensus about her?
>>48120982Rin Satsuki is the opposite a name only character, but "Rin Satsuki" aka poster girl is actually a Hourai shoujo... But good luck telling anyone that they are different girls.
>>48121465>aka poster girl is actually a Hourai shoujoI don't believe you.
>>48121465I wonder if there was anyhting about Rin Satsuki at one of these expos with original ZUN art where they didn't allow photos.
>>48121495https://en.touhouwiki.net/wiki/Rin_Satsuki#DesignC62 Circle cut girl is technically a nameless girl but that design has been associated with Satsuki Rin for years so everyone thinks they are one and the same.>>48121500Same.... Wish I had gotten my shit together to go to Japan and learned some good ways to take stealthy photos.But most interesting things in those expos where redrawn by other people, so there was no design of her there (probably)There was supposed to be a design for her but maybe ZUN lost it or doesn't reveal it for whatever reason.
>>48120982I agree with >>48121465. I use the term Hourai Shoujo mainly to mean the collection of nameless girls that ZUN drew and posted in his website from after PC98 ended up until EoSD was released; this does include Jacketko and Labelko because he posted them there too, but also because they're pretty much pre-EoSD nameless girls.>>48121500I think we had some threads discussing it in /jp/. The main thing that was revealed at the time was that Rumia had a hand open and the other closed, I'm pretty sure no SatsuRin/Circlecutko designs were shown. On the other hand, ZUN did show the DiPP girls' original art.
>>48075285Here's a new art of AntiSoul-chan that just came out. She has a pretty design, with her badass name makes me think she could be one of the stronger Hourai Shoujo.Her name is really hard to interpret... given that according to lore moonlight gave birth to youkai by transforming humans, could she be a shrine maiden or someone that tries to bring the human side back to those lost? Or maybe someone who just hunts youkai. Anti-soul is a strong word; does it mean her soul is opposite to moonlight, or that she's not inhabited by a soul at all but by something different? Scary.
>>48104546What about the nameless Shanghai?
>>48131306she's fine too but only if she doesn't show off her windows appearancesshe must behave mysteriously as all other hourai girls
>>48121794>On the other hand, ZUN did show the DiPP girls' original art.Wait, as in the original sketches? If so, have those been archived / redrawn and posted somewhere?
Anyone had any headcanon about them? Like what do they do or are they really from Gensokyo or is she just Marisa in miko dress. I like to believe that she was one of Marisa's ancestor and she somehow related to the Hakurei
Classy thread I'm refusing to let fall off the board just yet, though I apologize for being unable to provide any sort of substantial commentary on things at this time.These girls are just very intriguing to me is all
>>48139189I'm pretty sure it was discussed widely on /jp/ at the time and again the next year. There wasn't much interesting about them if I remember correctly. Just some details that were hard to notice on the lower quality images online, but were still somewhat known.If you search for it in warosu you might find it... I used to have the link of a blog with the sketches saved somewhere but I lost it>>48147560Yeah I too apologize for not replying to the post above, still have to take some time to write a proper answer. But I like these girls very much and I'm happy the thread caught some steam.Last year there was a nice Hourai girls thread. Ever since then I've felt that the amount of art they get has been steadily increasing.
>>48150204>>48134135Imagine if this trio are the face of 2hu
>>48139189Picrel is one of the re-sketches, can't find the threads with the pic though.>>48128508>Anti-soul is a strong word; Indeed, it can be interpreted in many ways, could be something pretty special or even mundane stuff depends on how you interpret opposite of a soul.But as I said in >>48093498 I think it's about spirits returning, Yuyuko's famous spellcard has also 反魂, makes more sense if you consider that return is written sometimes as 反す so you could translate it as moonlight's spirits returning.Considering that and moonlight makes you see weird things that alter reality a bit of Touhou she might be a ghost, considering the ring the pic might be a lover seeing her deceased wife in the moonlight (maybe I'm reading too much into it and the ring is in the index finger anyways)>>48142219I like to think that they're of the Hakurei bloodline or similar and that maybe ZUN actually wanted to include 13+ Hakurei Mikos over time. Training at mount Haku Miko might be from before the barrier since mt. Haku is still in Japan, the totally not Marisa and Moonlight precede Reimu(maybe?).Future era Miko might just be the outside world Hakurei Miko, or maybe in Hiffu time, or future era might just be related idk.>>48147560Your work is appreciated, I'm also very intrigued by them.
>>48150204>>48154372Thank you both so much, I'll try to do more digging on my own later. So Jacketko and Labelko both have nails driven through their skirts.... this might be a more important detail that I previously thought.>>48147560I think this intrigue, this mystery is exactly what draws me to them. What was going through ZUN's head when he made these illustrations? Are the Hourai miko actually Reimu's ancestors, or does ZUN just really like drawing shrine maidens? Are Jacketko and Labelko actually the most beautiful one and the shrine maiden that actually appear in the story of DiPP? Or did they just fit the atmosphere of the CD and that's why ZUN picked them to be its poster children? What about the maid art with no seemingly context whatsoever? I find having to fill in a lot of these gaps myself very entertaining. Its also always fun to see other people's interpretations of these characters and what ZUN might have envisioned them to be, if at all, so there's a community aspect to this as well.
>>48153508There's a world where this is so.
>>48155078>So Jacketko and Labelko both have nails driven through their skirts....You can kind of see it in the disk but it's just covered in the cd. Maybe by having the physical CD someone could notice it behind the letters.I also wonder if the shape was correctly drawn since it looks like a crescent moon, so I guess Label is night related somehow, maybe? While Jacket has those warm dusk-esque colors.>>48153508Wouldn't mind since they are nice designs.Funnily enough Label girl is showing a bit of her midriff in the ZUNart like a lot of Reimu fanart design do.
>>48154372All I found in two threads: >>44218673>>44218930>>44189984>>44215669>>44292612It's funny since the pin head seems to be pretty elaborate in this Label Sketch.It looks like a boat in this redraw.
Idk if this is a hot take or not but I don't think Miko wearing dad hat is an appealing design
Do you consider Circle Cutko and Oekakiko to be the same or different characters?
>>48188739Plainly not Rin Satsuki on Chinese dress
Dolls in Pseudo Paradise is the Yellow Magic Orchestra of Touhou Project.
>>48026324Best choice
>>48153508What would each of their shot types be?
>>48210756NTA but Jacket Girl = SaguyaLabel girl = ReimuCirclecut girl = Sanny
>>48026303I choose the blonde maid
>>48212823Also NTA (albeit a different one) but I imagine Jacket Girl's bomb looking like Yumemi's cross attack (then JacketGirlB could be related to nailing dolls?)>>48175881I've always imagined it as more of a floppy cap like pic related>>48215946Bold but respectable
>>48215946We don't get simple character like this no more in 2024. G*chas kill Jap capability on character design
There is something very eerie and intriguing about this image. It's strangely inviting. Look at the maid not doing her job, she's so smug and carefree, looking straight at the 4th wall, not caring that you're seeing her laze around. The way she is sitting, combined with her face(similar to Sakuya's autism face, but with wider eyes) almost invites you to come and slack off with her.She is wearing the best maid uniform in all of touhou, except for one detail: she is the only maid to not wear the maid headdress, instead, she wears a mobcap.The bucket of water and rag is also weird. ZUN said she is not doing her job, so why does she have it there? to make it look like she is working? What does she even what to do with it? Wash the carpet while inside?The key in the background and the frog on the clock really sparked my imagination. The key is so easily accessible yet so suspicious. What does the clock hide? Why is the key so close to the thing it most likely opens? Who hides stuff in a clock?Is our maid going to find any of this out? Probably not, she is too busy not working.The room itself is a little strange. Look at the clock's shadow, it is quite far from the wall. And the chair with the flower on it is almost in front of the door.And further back we can see, contrasting with the brightly lit room, a really dark hallway with a red painting and some formless, almost spectral, colors.What an image.
>>48227755I think it's precisely this feeling & look that I miss most from modern ZUN art, has to be why I've been gravitating towards so much older Touhou fanart as of late. It was a different time all-around sure but there were also far different sensibilities on display compared to what we have now. Obvious, perhaps, but the point still stands. Sure, a good portion of ZUN's 'technical' skill may have objectively improved since then with design refinement and such, but there's a clear amount of simple personality on display here that allows for a lot of charming extrapolation per everything you've gravitated towards. This isn't to say that modern ZUN art is now completely soulless but, at the risk of possibly over-romanticizing things, I can't help but shake the feeling that the original spark present here has now long since faded. Maybe that's only natural with how many times he's attempted committing to letting the series end but he hasn't even done fully colored environmental drawings like this for the games themselves even since the first Windows generation, if I'm not mistaken (specifically talking about the ending scenes here).Maybe it has more to do with a lack of time or some such factor that comes with age & the encroachment of business, such as focusing more on game development/music composition itself, but it was nice when he'd put out little passion pieces like this. That's one of my favorite drawings from his old blog aside from Reimu with the opium pipe and it's crazy to think I'm currently not that much younger than he would've been when he first sat down to create that, despite it being made a little under a year before I was born. We share very close birth dates as well funny enough. I like how cozy it feels, the colors are warm & pleasant and it does sound nice to potentially be there with her just to lounge around. It'd be neat to have her show me those paintings in the back or just talk about anything. Makes me wonder if he even does drawings like this for himself anymore but maybe he just can't nowadays.That's something I wouldn't ever want to stop holding on to with my own art, especially so as someone who often falls for the trap of 'perfection', so in a roundabout way I guess this pic is also personally inspirational at the very least. Thank you, Nameless Maid-chan. I may not be as familiar with your Hourai girl contemporaries as some of the other anons here but I can still strive to uphold what you all represented, in time.>>48155078>What was going through ZUN's head when he made these illustrations?Bouncing off of this post and >>48142219, I do like to think that Jacketko was the singular girl of the group while Labelko could have either been the dancing maiden or one of the fellow nameless Hourai girls at some point in time. The nails could be tied to what they respectively became after losing their humanity, or ZUN just thought it might've looked neat at the time. If the writefriend of that one DiPP story that received some updates in the last OC thread is still around, your interpretations have definitely irreversibly colored my perceptions over those two for the better. Hope you're doing well.Setting aside all of ZUN's possible influence from other shrine maiden characters in the media he used to enjoy, I personally believe the other girls were ancestral Hakurei Shrine Mikos as well or at least fellow local maidens. Most of them had either passed into fantasy by the time of the Youkai Expansion Project at the earliest or went on to become certain Spirits & Youkai alike after the establishment of the Barrier itself. Lets not forget many of the villagers ancestors were Youkai hunters of sorts as well, there had to have been an amount of migration from many different areas that could have very well included these girls. Reimu would've had a semi-decent chance at meeting one or two in her youth, or at least hearing of them, but I'd imagine her relations would be strained given their potential untimely passings and/or eventual nonhuman status.But that is mostly pure headcanon after all.>>48169371This'll be nice for future character reference, thank you for the scouring.
>>48231838ZUN still makes some pretty nice drawings, but only of the main characters, and they clearly lack the feel of the earlier works.The thing that intrigued me the most about the Cleaning Maid image is how it reminds me of things I used to draw in middle school. I used to draw a signle character on a small piece of paper then add more and more details, some connecting to others, some just there for no reason, and then I'd imagine stories around those images.A lot of what I like about early windows touhou is that feeling. I can't blame ZUN for abandoning it though. He has a family and a buisness now, I can't imagine someone with the soul of a middle school boy would make the best dad/husband. And even though I'm not the biggest fan of the newer stuff, he could have done so much worst.There is a lot more I'd have liked to say about the Cleaning Maid image, but when I wrote that post, I was a little drunk and didn't want to make it too long. Maybe, if the words come back to me and it doesn't bother the other anons in the thread, I'll write more on it.One thing that caught my attention is the "blackboard" on the wall, with 5 notes nailed to it. Whoever lives in that house must be quite the schizo. The nails lead me to believe it could perhaps be Jacketko.
Felt the need to draw her opening the clock. I wander what she'll find in there...
>>48227755>Who hides stuff in a clock?It's just a shelf or a way to get at its insides to adjust it.
>>48236793>t's just a shelfThat's the most likely option, but the fact that it's locked still makes me thing it has something important hidden in it. >or a way to get at its insides to adjust it.Unlikely. Grandfather clocks don't have any of the mechanism is the lower part of the clock, and to get to the actual mechanism, you'd have to go thru the pendulum.Most likely, ZUN only put the key and the from there to add some detail to the image, so, just like with all of the miscellaneous images, you might as well pick the most exciting option you find plausible.
Surely ZUN will bring these girls back for the 20th Touhou game right and totally not wiped out of his memories I'm sure of it haha
>>48235605That's cute!
Do you think they have any abilities?
I would like to play some Go with her
>>48227755I get this feeling from most of the nameless girl images. Most of them look like if you caught them in the middle of doing something, they know you're there and invite you to join in. Labelko is the most obvious, since she literally holds her hand out to the viewer.Or maybe that's just the feeling I'm getting from them.
>>48238467Same as Reimu if I had to guess
Do you think these girls are "canon?"
>>48247201Hourai girls are as canon in Touhou as Hourai is in real life.
>>48247201I like to think at least the shrine maidens are canon and the dark haired ones are previous Hakurei shrine maidens and the two blonde ones are the future shrine maidens.
>>48100657i do agree that hourai is a component of gensokyo. hourai is a mountain in the east where the immortals live and is dense with spirits. gensokyo includes basically all characteristics of hourai
>>48075285Her design is pretty cool too.Does anyone know what the symbols on her hat mean? The only ones I could recognize are the 'ground' and 'fire' trigrams.
>>48247404I always thought of Hourai as being more exclusive, but this comparison works well with anon's formulation of Hearn's description of Hourai.
>>48235605Dont DeadOpen Inside
>>48252552Curiosity killed the maid
>>48253344...but satisfaction had her saved.
>>48221301It's crazy how much personality ZUN was able to add to his early designs by taking simple uniforms and changing a few details.
>>48212823I think Jacketko would have the ReimuA shot from SA, but with nails instead of needles
I really liked how Gensokyo Odyssey handles Rin Satsuki
>>48242179How difficult is Go? She seems pleasant enough that I would like to spend some time with her.Do you imagine she's silent while playing? It would be nice to come meet her every day for a little match. She's waiting for you at the usual time; I'd imagine that as a Hourai girl most of her reactions are rather calm and composed, if not outright muted. She gently shows you the room, where the board and all of the pieces are ready. Then, after the match, she gets up silently, whether she won or lost, and shows you the exit with a polite smile. Must be nice.
>>48257110How? I've never played it.
>>48235605Maybe that's the real entrance to Gensokyo...
>>48258347Kron basically took the whole fact that she doesn't really exist and turned her into an eldritch horror that manages to possess Alice if you do some special steps in a playthrough since she's the secret boss of Gensokyo Odyssey. Otherwise she isn't really plot relevant at all if you ignore the steps to reach her.
>>48258318>How difficult is Go?I find it harder than chess, but the rules are simpler. I think it's easier to pick up but harder to get good at.I think the girl agrees too. She seems annoyed, not knowing where to put the piece.>Do you imagine she's silent while playing?On one hand, she seems pretty invested, so you could make the case that she wouldn't talk to not distract herself from the game, but the slightly green background make me think this is a casual game, one she herself might have organized, so she would like to talk at least a little.>I'd imagine that as a Hourai girl most of her reactions are rather calm and composed, if not outright muted.I don't know about that. These images may be a mysterious, but I think they all convey very strong emotions.
Rank the Maidenhttps://tiermaker.com/create/zun-nameless-maiden-17647593
>>48258356Maybe it's the entrance to the outside world
>>48259187Who's the 10th one?
>>48259187Cleaning MaidI think I've said it all in the previous post. Her image is like a portal to a different world and I love everything about it and, by extension, the girl in it.Jacket GirlIt's the first nameless girl I've ever seen. Her face is strangely neutral, even a bit innocent, contrasting well with DiPP's darker tone. Her hat has to be one of my favorites, and together with her dress and pose, paints her as a very fancy lady. The cross she is holding in her right hand makes her feel foreign even to the already foreign Gensokyo and the nail in her dress leaves a bit of uncertainty to her character.Moonlight's Anti-soulHer name is very intriguing and, even though she is slightly over-designed, it feels like every detail has some meaning, even if I can't discern it. The bush in the background grounds her in a sort of space and time(as opposed to her being a self-existing character, floating in the void), and the white stuff at her feet as well as the spirits around her, as well as her gentle expression and the Moon in the background give the image an aethereal feel. Label GirlHer design is simple, but just detailed enough to stand out. Her pose and her probably being the miko in DiPP builds a story around the image. I like her hat, it's very unique, even now, and Reimu herself has a similar hat in an ending to PCB. Her plain expression and the white background place her in a foggy, unremembered past.Future blonde shrine maidenIt's interesting how she was supposed to be the "poster shrine maiden." In a different world, she might have been the face of the series.The added detail of her being from the future bumped the image at least by one tier. The arcadian background paints an interesting view into (I presume)Gensokyo's future, and her being blonde creates an enigma around the fate of the Hakureis.Mt. Haku girlPretty standard miko. Be it, her pose is interesting and I'm not sure what the blue thing at her feet it(maybe some shrine maiden ability). I like how she is connected to an actual place in the real world.Go GirlShe looks a little annoyed with how the game is going. Her dedication to the game is interesting to me. The background is nice and her opponent being out of the picture leaves just enough to the imagination. Also, Go is a fun game. I wander what her ability is.20,000 Hit GirlShe really doesn't deserve to be this high up, but I love her design for some reason, and her pose is really melancholic.Circle Cut GirlNot much to say about her that hasn't been said already. I like that she is playing an Erhu though.Blonde Shrine MaidenStandard miko, but blonde. An interesting thing about her is that she could have been a third main character, along with Reimu and Maisa.A lot of these early images were shrine maidens. Strange how we only have two shrine maiden characters in the modern series.Blonde Oekaki GirlNot much to work with. I like her design, but I like all the nameless girl designs. Unfortunately, someone had to be in D-tier.
>>48259187Here's mine>>48259515I don't know, nobody knows, even ZUN didn't knew
>>48258448She's even cute too(until she isn't) despite being an eldritch horror possessing Alice's body
I wander if ZUN still draws random characters but never posts them
>>48227755>What does the clock hide? Why is the key so close to the thing it most likely opens?I just thought that it looked like to keep the key at height for kids but still be in an easy to access place. Would say that maybe the pendulum might be there which is the typical stuff kids would mess around but who knows.The dark hallways is really intriguing, guess that he say the arrow in his reference pic he wanted to make it look as if it had the arrow without drawing the arrow.>>48232843>I used to draw a signle character on a small piece of paper then add more and more details, some connecting to others, some just there for no reason, and then I'd imagine stories around those images.A lot of what I like about early windows touhou is that feeling. Well, that's some interesting idea there, the pictures indeed feel a bit like that, maybe that's why they feel so nostalgic to me since the first time I saw those pics.>One thing that caught my attention is the "blackboard" on the wall, with 5 notes nailed to it.I think it's just a cork board with pins but the pins feel a bit exaggerated in shape like if they were nails now that you mention it.>>48244681Now that you mention it, yeah. All the "hourai girls" save for the oekaki and 20000 hit girls look like that.>>48247589The other trigram seems to be "wind" so I guess she has the four elements on her design for some reason (like the South Korean flag), but no clue about the other ones.>>48259515Looks like Zun001.jpg so it's Reimu.
>>48257110>>48258448>Gensokyo Odyssey! A Touhou satirical visual novel where you find yourself lost in Gensokyo with only your schoolbag and an air hockey puck.we don't need more Sumireko OC, let alone a "satirical" one
>>48266108>maybe that's why they feel so nostalgic to me since the first time I saw those pics.For sure, but the artstyle of that period probably also helps. I've talked to several, very different people and they all said that artstyle reminds them of something from their childhood.
>>48259888Labelko is not a communist, she just thinks the hat looks cool!
>>48075285The way I interpreted it is that since moonlight is just reflected sunlight, she can't have a soul since moonlight isn't a thing in itself.A bit convoluted, but that's what my mind first went to.
>>48272714>>48128508So her personality is that she is a reflective fake brat? Got it.
>>48273588Her expression is way too gentle for her to be a brat.
>>48142219I like to think the Mt Haku Girl is a Hakurei miko from before the barrier was erected, the future blonde miko is either the Hakurei miko from the Hifuu times or an outside world miko from even further in the future, Moonlight's Anti-soul is some kind of manifestation of the moon or a spirit(or maybe even youkai) and the blonde miko is some past or future Hakurei miko who got elected when there was no heir, she could be related to Marisa too, since she has a white bow on the left side of her hair, just like Marisa in EoSD.Not sure about the other ones.
This thread has the highest average IQ on /jp/.
>>48276357What makes you think so?
>>48276390NTA, and not to toot my own horn, but I think the more obscure characters that rely on inferences made based on a single image filter out a lot of people.
>>48273788Hence I said "fake". She is hiding her true intention behind that gentle miko mask she's wearing, which to eliminate all youkai and humanity out of Hourai leaving only the moon spirit to roam the forgotten land
>>48276327>or maybe even youkaiA youkai shrine maiden sound pretty cool. Could such a thing exist? The only requirement for being a shrine maiden seems to be the ability to channel the gods which even a god can do so I don't see why not, but maybe I'm missing something.
>>48026303its the one by the river for me, love how bright her illustration is
>>48279279She looks cool.I wander what future Gensokyo is like.
>>48279279>>48279408Her outfit is more similar to the other shrine maidens' outfits and to an actual shrine maiden's outfit than Reimu's. Maybe future Gensokyo is more like ancient Gensokyo than the modern one.
>>48279279Goes hard
What do you think their personalities are like?
>>48282551The maid seems pretty carefree. She knows how to take it easy, would be great to hang out with.
>>48282551this one(>>48279279) is dull and grumble all the time but will never broke under any pressure. the ideal personality to be a Hakurei miko
>>48279537Would this mean Gensokyo goes thru a Course of Empire style cycle, with the only consisten element beign really old youkai, gods, etc. like Yuuka?
>>48285934It's possible, but I prefer this anon's >>48100657 idea, in which Gensokyo, while threatened by change, ultimately remains unchanging.I personally like how all important events are called "incidents." I'm not sure what the original japanese meaning is, but it makes them seem like anomalies than can't be explained by any model of history, so, in my mind, Gensokyo is rather tranquil by nature.It mostly has to do with my headcanon of why Gensokyo was founded, to preserve tradition and avoid civilizational cycles.
>>48259187All based on gut feelings.
>>48287819>>48259888>>48259783Why do you niggas like the design of that bland maid so much? it's weird
>>48291407Maid uniforms are cute, the mobcaps makes her look unique, and she knows how to take it easy.
>>48291407How can you, dear nigga, look perfection in the face and say "no?"
Rin blanca
>>48291407Sometimes less is more.
>>48299111Rin, if she were in a Phantasmagoria game
Would you take her hand offering?
>>48300515It would be impolite not to.
>>48300795Well that's too bad, you are now married to her. Any last words?
>>48302196I don't think that's how it works.
>>48302314she doesn't seem that bad as long as she isn't murderous
>>48305086I am by no means trying to slander her character, but I don't think that is how marriage procedure works.
She shy. This is now canon.
>>48308556I think it fits her. She is cute with a simple design.What about the other ones?
>>48308667NTA, but I did one for Jacketko and it's way too good.
>>48309820That's clearly baseless slander.
>>48308667more headcanon for the other gals
>>48188739>OekakikoAnyone knows if the oekaki ZUN used back in the day is still around?
>>48305203That's how they do it in Gensokyo. Be careful whose hand you hold.
What a handsome lad
>>48169371>>48154372Mt favorite things about these sketches is the revelation that Labelko has extremely long hair and she looks so goddamn cute with it>>48320133The pipe really suits him
Is Hourai a land of sex?
>>48322344There is only one way to find out
>>48322344Only when I was there (I was raped restlessly without mercy by the maidens), 6/10 did not recommend.
>>48324604I don't believe in you
>>48322344land of dickgirls
The Cleaning Maid kind of reminds me of Maribel. Must be because of her hair and mobcap.
>>48329477Cleaning Maid is actually the first 2hu to wear a mobcap. Everyone else copied her.
>>48259120Damn, you really humbled me there. I guess my interpretation of her was way off.I better not try to play a match with her too lest I get her mad by playing really badly. These Hourai Girls are so hard to approach I tell you
>>48330142She would probably only get mad if you mess up the rules, otherwise , if you play badly she would get excited whenever she wins.>These Hourai Girls are so hard to approach I tell youYou need to be more patient with them than with the others, but they are worth the effort.
>>48329831That can't be true. Wasn't there fairy maids in the PC98 game or something? One of the must be wearing a mobcap surely
>>48231838>If the writefriend of that one DiPP story that received some updates in the last OC thread is still around, your interpretations have definitely irreversibly colored my perceptions over those two for the better.Link pls
>>48235605Nothing but mild confusion and regret.>>48237670At this point I'd be astounded if TH20 has any manner of callback to any major event before the 3rd Generation beyond some one liner that's essentially a pointing finger, but maybe that's pessimistic of me.>>48238467Slight variations on Reimu's ability perhaps for specifics, maybe something like Controlling the Flow of Nature for Mt. Haku girl, Manipulating Transience for the Hourai Miko, Anti-Soul-chan has Control over one's (living) Spirit and the Future Maiden has the ability to Influence how others Float. That's just from the top of my head though.>>48279221>A youkai shrine maiden sound pretty cool. Could such a thing exist?On one hand, we do know that the spirits of both Youkai & the Divine are quite similar and a certain flow can exist between Human & Non-Human souls, but on the other hand there could be the matter of impurity or a clashing of influences within certain rites/rituals so I wouldn't know atm myself. It'd be nice to have some insight on the subject though.>>48308556That's so cute, I love it. Maybe she feels like she only has time to relax or slack off when there's nobody around, otherwise her work keeps her safely in her mind.>>48338990Decent timing there. I got you, though the newest additions to it have been locked to the last OC thread so far which I'll also provide a link for anyways:https://archiveofourown.org/works/58540171/chapters/149138218#workskinhttps://warosu.org/jp/thread/47751193Wouldn't be surprised if that anon is simply taking a break from things for now though, I'd understand.
>>48339434>Maybe she feels like she only has time to relax or slack off when there's nobody aroundShe always ready to taking it easy and not doing her job, just loitering and laughing by herself when she wanted to. My precious daughter may be a maid but she's also her own master.
>>48339434But where's the tiny maid inside the clock??? Where did she go?I also really like the idea you have for what type of powers the various Hourai girls would have.
>>48339434The Cleaning Maid wept when she heard from Yumemi that there was an infinite number of worlds, and her friends asking her if any accident had befallen her, she returns this answer: "Do not you think it a matter worthy of lamentation, that, when there is such a vast multitude of them, we have not yet opened all the doors in one?"
I love Jacketko's hat. It might be my favorite hat, even though it's a little overdesigned.
>>48344759>even though it's a little overdesignedNot by touhou standards
>>48341862what's that expression she supposed to convey?
>>48344759I really like how instead of the usual bow she has a frill trim and feathers/leaves instead.That and her signature cross really make her stand out among the cast as a whole
>>48346961It is meant to be a combination of disappointment, confusion and determination.
>>48344759It's a real beauty of a hat. It's pretty interesting how she's got basically no official lore but the connection with the DiPP story and the interpretation of her clothes already exude such a strong personality. I mean, I think even someone that doesn't know about DiPP would find Jacketko a bit startling.
>>48341862The Alice in Wonderland reference is cool
>>48026303Are these 3 from DiPP?
>>48357877They're from various drawings ZUN made between MS and EoSD
Is Reimu being an opium smoker still canon?
>>48360918Just as much as Maribel being a party girl.What happens in Hourai stays in Hourai.
>>48360918I don't know why, but all of these drawings feel so lively>>48361246It's not weird for Maribel to get very drunk off very little alcohol, so both are still canon
>>48362694It was ZUN going ham experimenting with the, at the time, new digital coloring and drawing technology. Makes me think of stuff like pic related.
>>48329477Maybe she was Maribel. The question is now which one of the Hourai girl Renko was
Jacket and Label remind me of Mari and Renko a little bit to begin with, don't think its crazy to say ZUN could have taken inspiration from them for the blonde/brunnette duo we have in the next music albums and games
>>48367002I like the idea that all album characters are somehow connected.On one hand, Renko's black and white clothes, clean silhouette and wide brimmed hat mirror Jacketko.On the other hand, both Jacketko and Maribel are intruders into Hourai, which is in one case Gensokyo and in the other Japan, but one is way more aggressive than the other.
It's dangerous to go to Hourai alone! Take this.
>>48368277What could she help with?
>>48368652With taking it easy
>>48367002>>48367175It might just be something ZUN likes to do, but considering the parallels between Merry and Jacketko, maybe they are connected somehow
