Just a thought..?

[Nekomata-chan]

   Well, lately I've come across several different fan depictions of the Shrine Maiden of Paradise herself, Reimu Hakurei. One being the hard-done-to binbou-miko that tries hard to please everyone. Another is the lazy, do-I-really-care type of arrogant girl.
   I've always seen Reimu as the witty, humdrum kind of girl that just gets through each day as it comes, never missing a beat and trying rather hard for herself and others, but her occasional apathy makes it so nobody feels she's worth donations. Poor Reimu.
   I wanted to know, how does everybody here depict Reimu as, be it your own spin on her or something you've taken from canon as you think it's the most fitting. Elaborate~!

[Alfred F. Jones]

Perhaps this readin' here would interest you.

[iK]

I've always just gone with canon Lazy-prodigy Reimu who solves the incidents because they either bother her personally, bother the Hakurei Shrine, because she has nothing better to be doing (As said in her PoDD ending, "These odd incidents are at least better than having nothing to do at all."), or because she is designated to do so as the Hakurei Shrine's Maiden. As far as I know, she's never been in perpetual poverty as portrayed in fanon (Though it's also canon that currency is of little value in Gensokyo in general) and only recently been receiving fewer donations due to the Moriya Shrine and Myouren Temple taking away its followers.  I think my least favourite portrayal of Reimu in fanon is by far the "Evil bitch who kills innocent Youkai" Reimu. She is disliked by the humans of Gensokyo because she's too lenient on them so this depiction makes no sense to me. It fits Marisa's  "Don't give a fuck about no one" attitude a lot more.

[Starxsword]

I think Reimu is not lazy as much as taking it easy. She likes to take her breaks and enjoys life. She is rude to most people
and does not believe in doors, like many touhou characters... Here is a picture of Reimu taking it easy.

[iK]

I meant lazy in the "Neglects her daily training" sort of way, not the pure lethargy sort.

[Vael]

Reimu...well I guess in a way, she reminds me of the Fae-touched, people after experiencing the realms and wonders of the Fae end up back in their mundane lives, detached and far away from it all, at her most extreme that is.

However, the thing I get from her, and I'm not sure how much of it is wish-fulfillment, is that she's alone. Whether by choice or not, she lives in a remote shrine far away from the village, alone. This is something that had me wondering for the longest time, just why the Hakurei Shrine would be so far away from its potential worshipers and then it hit me when Reimu went to the moon.

It was so far away to keep the Shrine Maiden pure. Far away from human influences such as greed, cynicism, envy, rage, grudges...in the middle of a magical forest inhabited by equally pure Fairies, the Shrine Maiden's purity would be preserved.

[Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin]

I don't think fairies can really be described as "pure." Nor do they really inspire "purity" in others.  :wat:

[Vael]

While I can't speak for any other characters/persons/beings/what-have-you's, Gensokyo's fairies to me, are pretty much children, dangerous long-lived children with supernatural abilities, but children nonetheless. Remove their powers and what you have left are children playing around with no adult supervision.

[haoreos2]

I like to imagine her as secretly seeking the approval of parental figures such as Yukari and Rinnosuke, but also being rather rough around the edges to avoid getting too close to people. Seems reasonable for a person who has been given great duty and made to live alone at that age to have that sort of personality, and makes for a reasonably unique character compared to the rest of the cast.

[Zil]

I think of her personality as being exactly like that of Miko Mido.

[Zap]

No matter how I try to look at it, Reimu seems to have a personality similar to Shikamaru from Naruto. She likes to take it easy, thinks incidents are a drag, est.
I know this isn't entirely correct, but it's easier to think of her as such IMO.

[ふとくていなねこじょおう]

I see Reimu as the lazy, happy-go-lucky type that doesn't really give a fuck about anyone, but WILL go take care of an incident because it's her duty to do so, even if she considers them a drag. I also see her as a bit of a hothead, since as far as I've seen she has little patience with both humans and youkai.

And forgive me, but I do like some comic relief in characters, so I see greedy Reimu as part of my headcannon Reimu. Of course, she's not so greedy as to steal from someone, but she does try and get more donations for the shrine, indicating new visitors where the donation box is before even greeting them and such, and immediately snatching any stray cent she finds.

I know she's not poor ALL the time, but it seems that she is most of the time.

[Nyarly]

I think Reimu is not lazy as much as taking it easy.

So even normal human Reimu is actually a yukkuri?

That actually sounds about right. Me, I view Reimu as a generally rather apathetic girl, who isn't really lazy, but doesn't see much point in doing certain tasks and training. The latter seems rather pointless since she is a prodigy and doesn't need any training, as her innate abilities make her powerful enough. She seems to be pretty content with her live as Hakurei shrine maiden (except the nearly-nonexistent contents of the donation box). Taking it easy, day after day, is enough and the occasional incident serves as diversion. Whether she even needs that diversion is up to debate.

Reimu may not be interested in other humans and youkai, but thanks to her relaxed nature, she isn't generally annoyed by their presence either (of course, one shouldn't try her relaxedness and piss her off).

I actually kinda like the "evil bitch" interpretation, but only as it joke (and I can't recall that I've ever seen it used seriously). The same with the "perpetually poverty" thing. Although I wonder where she gets money, when she barely gets donation. I recall reading that, when Reimu isn't looking, Yukari slips a few coins in the box once in a while, though.

[Starxsword]

Well I know she does get random bottles of beer appearing in that mini shrine. Maybe that is from the outside world, maybe it is Suika
donating it, or maybe it is Yukari who put it there, that is hard to say.
As for donations, she might make some money from time to time, since youkai tend to set up their stores at her shrine on holidays.
Obviously, this means humans won't visit, but it isn't like humans visit that place anyway, now they just have less incentive to do so.

[Vael]

I think the random bottles and cash could also be from the other Hakurei Shrine across the Border, it's been shown that when certain conditions are met, objects can be transported across the Hakurei Border into Gensokyo, so this could also include any offerings humans would make to the empty shrine.

[Zil]

Isn't Hakurei the name of a Japanese beer or something? I recall hearing that's where ZUN got the name.

[Vael]

Umm, a google search had me find this: lol?

[Nyarly]

Isn't Hakurei the name of a Japanese beer or something? I recall hearing that's where ZUN got the name.

That wouldn't surprise me at all (well, it's doubtful that anybody would be surprised).

[Starxsword]

I think the random bottles and cash could also be from the other Hakurei Shrine across the Border, it's been shown that when certain conditions are met, objects can be transported across the Hakurei Border into Gensokyo, so this could also include any offerings humans would make to the empty shrine.

It could be, that is one of the explanations you get.
Although, you also see Suika's image several pages before, so you can assume it is Suika who puts it there. Since she can most likely
put objects without any of the fairies detecting her.
Same case with Yukari.