Miscellaneous Questions Thread 4 - Bring us your Questions!

[Kilgamayan]

Nope! We'll be listening to the Q&A panel ourselves with no audio recording devices, and then keeping all of the answers to ourselves! We've even convinces AWA staff to not post any videos of the panel to their YouTube channel! THE SESSION WILL FOREVER BE KEPT ALL TO OURSELVES! AHAHAHAHA!

[Sagus]

TAOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISTS

[Sungho]

Two questions.

私のカメラが火を噴くわ！
Hatate's line in th125, when you select a scene where she hasn't taken a picture yet.
Is this supposed to be some kind of idiom or reference?

Is てゐ pronounced the same way as てい, or is ゐ pronounced separately?

[Drake]

There is an idiom where 火を噴く means something was kept pent up and then it bursts out, like keeping yourself composed and then bursting out in anger. I guess that sort of makes sense if you considered it meaning like "my camera is raring to go!" or something.




And yes, same as てい.

[game2011]

From Touhou Wiki:
"Apparently her arms are connected inside her body as well, so she can retract one while extending the other, such as in one of her spellcards from Mountain of Faith."

I don't think the name of that spell card is supposed to be taken literally...

[CyberAngel]

That's from SoPM. An actual characteristic found in some kappa stories too. I'd say our kappas just use tools instead.

[Drake]

That's a pretty concrete interpretation of a paragraph from SoPM:

They also have a characteristic called tsuuhai. Tsuuhai means that their arms are connected and able to stretch or retract freely, but it is also said that they are actually using some kind of tool to just make it look like their arms are stretching instead.

The wording is actually even less "certain" than this translation. I feel the nuance is more like "Kappa are supposed to have this ability, buuuut people are saying it's just a trick".

Really, this is Akyuu reporting on what kappa are apparently able to do without having even seen it in action. We're explicitly shown a "kappa's arm" to be the usual extending machine, in WaHH 1, but I guess if you do assume that the gift was just a fairy prank after all, that it doesn't really mean anything. Personally, I think the existence of the machine combined with people saying Kappa's tsuuhai is just a machine, probably means it is. Seems like an odd thing to make up, in any case.

[Shrinkon]

I decided to post this post because of a bunch of Touhou fangames ON THE FREAKING APP STORE. Did ZUN change his minds on Touhou fangame apps, or he didn't?
Edit: I Cirnobrain'd myself. Sorry for inconvidences, moderators.

[Clarste]

That's a pretty concrete interpretation of a paragraph from SoPM:The wording is actually even less "certain" than this translation. I feel the nuance is more like "Kappa are supposed to have this ability, buuuut people are saying it's just a trick".

Really, this is Akyuu reporting on what kappa are apparently able to do without having even seen it in action. We're explicitly shown a "kappa's arm" to be the usual extending machine, in WaHH 1, but I guess if you do assume that the gift was just a fairy prank after all, that it doesn't really mean anything. Personally, I think the existence of the machine combined with people saying Kappa's tsuuhai is just a machine, probably means it is. Seems like an odd thing to make up, in any case.

I agree. The article sounds like Akyuu is just reporting what she hears, but is very skeptical of it. Given what else we know about the kappa it's certainly a trick. Whoever read it completely literally and wrote it on the wiki was missing the point.

[CyberAngel]

Don't worry, they've taken that into account. The rest of the paragraph that game2011 cited:

"This would appear to be another commonality among kappa, but some speculate that this may be the effect of certain tools they use."

They just copied and slightly rephrased the description from SoPM, it seems.

[game2011]

Thanks for the clear up on the kappa stuff!

[TresserT]

Forgive me if this has already been asked, or if this is the wrong place to ask.

I remember reading that not all Shinigami are supposed to take lives. Most just do tour-guide things around Hell, or official documentation for lives. So my question is, are the Ferryman type shinigami the ones who actually do take lives, or is there another kind who does that kind of work?

[Clarste]

Forgive me if this has already been asked, or if this is the wrong place to ask.

I remember reading that not all Shinigami are supposed to take lives. Most just do tour-guide things around Hell, or official documentation for lives. So my question is, are the Ferryman type shinigami the ones who actually do take lives, or is there another kind who does that kind of work?

According to Komachi in WaHH chapter 13, no shinigami are supposed to take lives, ever. Death is something that happens on its own, the souls naturally float towards the Sanzu river, and the shinigami merely ferry them. When the afterlife wants someone dead (for example if they're evil and immortal) they send a Kishin to kill them. But killing them isn't the same thing as taking their life. There's no "soul collection" process. They're just dead now, so the natural processes can work on them.

The entire idea of shinigami collecting souls is a lie spread by the Bureau of Right and Wrong, for whatever reason.

[Drake]

Don't worry, they've taken that into account. The rest of the paragraph that game2011 cited:

"This would appear to be another commonality among kappa, but some speculate that this may be the effect of certain tools they use."

They just copied and slightly rephrased the description from SoPM, it seems.

That isn't the issue, the problem is that Darkslime rephrased it in a way that doesn't keep the original's meaning and instead makes it sound as if they do actually have that ability and that the tools are just speculation with little basis. Really, it's the opposite. The machine arms explain how the kappa integrate their historical extending arm with something more appropriate for the kappa of Gensokyo. That's my problem here. I think I'll change it a bit.

[Scarlet Commander]

Wow. Never heard that one before. EoSD a PC-98 game. He'll be delighted to hear that.

I wasn't referring to the game itself, but some of the characters within it.

Double "wow." I guess you haven't heard of the cameos and mentions that they've made in the manga and other literature then (such as Rumia's cameos in Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red and Oriental Sacred Place, or Flandre's importance in a certain article in BAiJR and heavily-implied cameo in Inaba of the Earth and Inaba of the Moon)...? And you haven't seen them appear in Shoot the Bullet as bosses? Or, you haven't seen them grouped with the other first several Windows games' characters in Perfect Memento in Strict Sense?

I'm not trying to slam you because, clearly, if you're making a truly baffling statement like that, then I'm justifiably inclined to believe that you haven't done a lot of research on these characters to begin with; I'm being sincere here.

I am purely speaking of appearances in games here. But if we bring in cameos and other appearances in literature, than one can argue that Rumia's and Flandre's appearances are far less than other peoples. And their appearances in PMiSS and BAiJR were a given, because those essentially covered every character ZUN made to those points within the Windows era, and to find out more about their personalities and histories. And in retrospect, I have never truly played StB or even DS.

I will quote this, as it wasn't said by me but I agree with it (pertaining to Flandre only):

Strangely, some fans are now starting to come up with the idea that Flandre has become a "PC-98 character" who has disappeared from the Touhou Project (like Mima and Shinki). This is due to Flandre not making many appearances and because Embodiment of Scarlet Devil was released not far from Mystic Square. Her lack of appearances is however likely to be her limits on movement as her only appearances is within or around the Scarlet Devil Mansion. The number of appearances in-game and within print works is average compared with many other characters. Although when grouped with other characters from Embodiment of Scarlet Devil (Excluding mid-bosses), her appearances do appear to be limited

[Tengukami]

(For reference: Helepolis was pointing people away from the Ask ZUN Questions thread to this thread in order to sort out questions that were being posed to ZUN that could be answered here instead.)

Flandre did not appear in any PC-98 games. She appeared in a Windows game. She is by definition not a PC-98 character.

Ignoring the ZUN-written works she has appeared in does not change this.

What you are quoting is the "Fandom" section of her wiki article, which is always ridiculous.

What you're basically doing is conflating "PC-98" with "characters who have not returned", which is changing what PC-98 means for your own purposes, and seems like a silly argument to make.

Might as well say the world is flat. This is a non-issue that isn't even really up for debate.

[Failure McFailFace]

Are there any official names for the different kinds of bullets? There are no sources anywhere that specifically say that. Yes, I checked the Touhou Wiki.

[Drake]

Official no, de-facto yes.
小玉 - shoudama - small bullet
中玉 - chuudama - medium bullet
大玉 - oodama - bubble bullet
粒弾 - tsubodan - dot/pellet bullet
米粒弾 - kometsubodan - rice bullet
水滴弾 - suitekidan - water droplet bullet
結晶弾 - kesshodan - crystal bullet
鱗弾/楔弾 - urokodan/kusabidan - triangle/wedge/scale bullet
楕円弾 - daendan - oval bullet
ナイフ弾 - naifudan - knives duh
クナイ弾 - kunaidan - kunai duh
Would be some common ones.

[Shrinkon]

Sorry if this was asked before, but is Touhou "protected" ? I wondered about that because I saw a Touhiu app on App Store, and it would be against the Touhou fan works guideline, and the Apple's application uploading guide lines if Touhou is protected.
Edit: Grammar fix for grammar nazis... possibly.

[Drake]

Putting Touhou derivative works on systems such as App Stores or Xbox Live is explicitly forbidden by ZUN.

[Scarlet Commander]

(For reference: Helepolis was pointing people away from the Ask ZUN Questions thread to this thread in order to sort out questions that were being posed to ZUN that could be answered here instead.)

Flandre did not appear in any PC-98 games. She appeared in a Windows game. She is by definition not a PC-98 character.

Ignoring the ZUN-written works she has appeared in does not change this.

What you are quoting is the "Fandom" section of her wiki article, which is always ridiculous.

What you're basically doing is conflating "PC-98" with "characters who have not returned", which is changing what PC-98 means for your own purposes, and seems like a silly argument to make.

Might as well say the world is flat. This is a non-issue that isn't even really up for debate.

Oh, I thought Helepolis was pointing it this way because it wasn't relevant to the subject of asking questions for the ZUN interview...

I didn't think of it like that, to be honest. I thought the term was generally pointed in the direction of "characters who have not returned", since the only PC-98 era character to come back was Yuuka (which she first made her appearance in LLS).

If I offend or make it seem silly, I apologize, as I am still quite new to Touhou and I learn a great many things about it everyday (some of which seems to be fandom). It only makes it harder when I try to sort out the facts in my head and often get myself confused on some of the issues. I usually don't speak with people who are so knowledgeable on the facts.

[Accela]

Does Nue have a true form? In some of the extra stages of UFO, it implies that her true form is her humanoid form. For example, Nue says things like "I was just thinking...I'd better do something before you hurt my true form" and "But now that you've seen me, I'll have to bury you so I can go back to being an unknown." However, in SoPM, Nue is described as " a youkai whose real form cannot be established."

[Shrinkon]

Putting Touhou derivative works on systems such as App Stores or Xbox Live is explicitly forbidden by ZUN.

Ok. Thank you for answering.

[Drake]

Does Nue have a true form? In some of the extra stages of UFO, it implies that her true form is her humanoid form. For example, Nue says things like "I was just thinking...I'd better do something before you hurt my true form" and "But now that you've seen me, I'll have to bury you so I can go back to being an unknown." However, in SoPM, Nue is described as " a youkai whose real form cannot be established."

I've always found this funny because it doesn't make any sense for Nue to just decide to show you her true form for no reason and then complain that she's shown you her true form. On the other hand, it would make sense for her to try and trick you into thinking it's her true form. She might as well have said that for any form she could have taken, and you would have to believe her just the same.

In my view, her "true" form just means it's the form she prefers to take to represent herself. Especially considering youkai phase into existence, a true shapeshifter by nature shouldn't have any one true form. However, for the purpose of defining a character, yes, this would be her true form. Her only other form is the nueball anyway, as far as we know.

If I offend or make it seem silly, I apologize, as I am still quite new to Touhou and I learn a great many things about it everyday (some of which seems to be fandom). It only makes it harder when I try to sort out the facts in my head and often get myself confused on some of the issues. I usually don't speak with people who are so knowledgeable on the facts.

A pointer, the official books are a very important resource on Gensokyo. They very often contain a great deal more of detailed information about characters, places and the world, than the games do.

Very rarely do characters actually return in later games; generally the only times they do is if they're a player character, it's a camera game, or it's a versus game. However, many characters do reappear in written works, especially in the various manga. The written works, unlike the games, have a chance to show you the life in Gensokyo when the protagonists aren't going out to solve some incident. This is naturally where you see the various previously-established characters and places reappearing.

[Starxsword]

I didn't think of it like that, to be honest. I thought the term was generally pointed in the direction of "characters who have not returned", since the only PC-98 era character to come back was Yuuka (which she first made her appearance in LLS).

Yuuka is not the only character to have returned. There are 2 characters that returned from PC-98. Yuuka and Alice. Both have them also make random appearances in the manga, the latter even appears in the fighting games and some main games.

Does Nue have a true form? In some of the extra stages of UFO, it implies that her true form is her humanoid form.

Yes, that is Nue's true form. Hatate was able to take a picture of Nue's true form, thus more or less confirming that it is her true form.

[Zil]

There are 2 characters that returned from PC-98. Yuuka and Alice.

And, like, Marisa and Reimu. (And if the yin-yang orb is sentient, that too I guess?)

[TrueShadow]

While on the topic of Nue, what her ability does is making people perceive things differently, right? So if she uses her ability on a bird, some people might see it as still a bird, some people see it as an UFO, some people see it as other random stuff their brain perceives it as. Then what if someone takes a photo of said object while it was under Nue's power? Would it show its true form, or would each people still perceive them differently?

[CyberAngel]

While on the topic of Nue, what her ability does is making people perceive things differently, right? So if she uses her ability on a bird, some people might see it as still a bird, some people see it as an UFO, some people see it as other random stuff their brain perceives it as. Then what if someone takes a photo of said object while it was under Nue's power? Would it show its true form, or would each people still perceive them differently?

I don't think this could be answered, since there were no instances of this. Hatate's case might be special, since she uses spirit photography. But personally, I'd say the photo would show the object's true form anyway.

[Tengukami]

If I offend or make it seem silly, I apologize, as I am still quite new to Touhou and I learn a great many things about it everyday (some of which seems to be fandom). It only makes it harder when I try to sort out the facts in my head and often get myself confused on some of the issues. I usually don't speak with people who are so knowledgeable on the facts.

Hey, we were all new once, it's no biggie.

Except Drake. He was never new to the forums. He was here before the code was even written.

[Clarste]

In my view, her "true" form just means it's the form she prefers to take to represent herself. Especially considering youkai phase into existence, a true shapeshifter by nature shouldn't have any one true form. However, for the purpose of defining a character, yes, this would be her true form. Her only other form is the nueball anyway, as far as we know.

Nue's not really a shapeshifter anyway. All she has is her "unidentified" illusion power. She can't intentionally choose the shape of herself or anything else, all she can do is make sure that the observer can't recognize it. So she has her actual form, and the "unidentified" form which the player sees as a glowing energy ball.