Miscellaneous Questions Thread 4 - Bring us your Questions!

[cuc]

I have a question: can someone list every instance of ZUN's use of the English word "border"? Of course I mean him writing "border" in English or katakana, not anyone's translations.

The reason behind the question is, I'm trying to figure out what "Border of Duel" (IaMP) and "Border of Attack" (shooting games) means. I seem to recall ZUN himself used "border" somewhere as a translation of "kekkai". If this is true, then we may have the definite proof that the spell card rules involves magical protection and enforcement right here before our eyes.

Then again, maybe I just mixed up translation and the original text.

[Fonzi]

On an unrelated note: Was it ever mentioned what blood type does Remilia prefer?

[Sungho]

I have a question: can someone list every instance of ZUN's use of the English word "border"? Of course I mean him writing "border" in English or katakana, not anyone's translations.

The reason behind the question is, I'm trying to figure out what "Border of Duel" (IaMP) and "Border of Attack" (shooting games) means. I seem to recall ZUN himself used "border" somewhere as a translation of "kekkai". If this is true, then we may have the definite proof that the spell card rules involves magical protection and enforcement right here before our eyes.

Then again, maybe I just mixed up translation and the original text.

In the Spellcard part of th08's online manual, ZUN uses 'Border of Life' for 決死結界, which explains deathbombing(喰らいボム)
Also, when you get hit in th08, a ring that says 'Border of Life' surrounds the player in the deathbombing frames.

http://www16.big.or.jp/~zun/html/th08man/th08manindex.html

On an unrelated note: Was it ever mentioned what blood type does Remilia prefer?

In th08's キャラ設定.txt, it is said that Type-B blood tastes most delicious to her.


A single question from myself.
Do normal people who uses English tend to not distinguish between subconsciousness and unconsciousness?
Is it because unconscious has a widely used different meaning?
I ask this because the word used in Komeiji Koishi's ability is unconsciousness.

[Tiamat]

Pretty sure almost everyone who speaks English equates Unconsciousness with being knocked out or asleep, typically the former as a result of lots and lots of violence!

Subconscious is more psychological, and seems to be what ZUN was shooting for given all the Freud etc references with Koishi.

[cuc]

Pretty sure almost everyone who speaks English equates Unconsciousness with being knocked out or asleep, typically the former as a result of lots and lots of violence!

Subconscious is more psychological, and seems to be what ZUN was shooting for given all the Freud etc references with Koishi.

On TVTropes this topic had been brought up before.

The way it works seem to be like this: at first "subconsciousness" was called "unconsciousness". Freud even disliked the word "subconsciousness" (see here). However, later people came to prefer using the word "subconsciousness" to avoid confusion between "unconscious mind" and "state of being knocked out".

Nonetheless, despite the potential confusion, the concept is only ever translated as 無意識 "unconsciousness" in Japanese. The Japanese has never adopted the word "subconsciousness" (unlike in Chinese, where it has been translated as 潜意识 or 下意识).

I hope this clarifies it.

In the Spellcard part of th08's online manual, ZUN uses 'Border of Life' for 決死結界, which explains deathbombing(喰らいボム)
Also, when you get hit in th08, a ring that says 'Border of Life' surrounds the player in the deathbombing frames.

Yes, that was what I remembered.

So here: the spell card duelists are protected by a "Border of Duel". The spell card duel rules themselves do have a magical component. Another old Touhou mystery solved.

[Belian7]

Quick (and hopefully easily answered) question from me:

Eiki's ability in PMiSS is defined as "distinctly judging things as right or wrong." Is this an ability specific to her only, or a characteristic of all the Yama (and I guess 10 Kings, too...)? The main reason I'm asking is that it seems like all the judges would require this kind of ability if there is to be an actual chance of resolving the...congestion issue...of too many souls with not enough judges.

And if you don't mind me mucking up the Koishi question a bit: "subconscious" could also be referencing the lower brain functions such as those performed by the brain stem and spinal cord. I honestly tend to picture her as something of a walking coma-patient. What I don't understand is how she can hold a conversation with anyone...

[Drake]

She has this ability because she is an Enma, yes.

[Sagus]

And if you don't mind me mucking up the Koishi question a bit: "subconscious" could also be referencing the lower brain functions such as those performed by the brain stem and spinal cord. I honestly tend to picture her as something of a walking coma-patient. What I don't understand is how she can hold a conversation with anyone...

Nah, the slew of Freud references that she and her spellcards have clearly indicates that "subconscious" in this case is being used in the place of "unconscious" (for reasons previously discussed; as cuc said, the original japanese only ever used unconscious), which is used in the Freudian sense of the word. Wikipedia sayz, "Freud was of the opinion that the unconscious mind has a will and purpose of its own that cannot be known to the conscious mind (hence the reason why it is called the "unconscious") and is a repository for socially unacceptable ideas, wishes or desires, traumatic memories, and painful emotions put out of mind by the mechanism of psychological repression"; if we go by this definition, it makes sense that Koishi can still speak. She's not really like a walking coma patient, she's someone whose mind is pure id (that Freud classified as unconscious by definition), caring only about fullfilling whatever desire she has at the moment and not really thinking about anything else.

[Kimmachinima]

I didn't feel like searching through the whole thread(s) for the answer to my question, and I am almost sure someone's asked this before, but here it goes:

Why are Touhou goddesses are always addressed to as 'gods'? That annoys me a lot, and that also made me wonder if the Hakurei Shrine god is really male (is he?). Thanks for answering.

[Drake]

Gods are genderless, for one. The term for gods (神) is not gender-specific, as are most nouns in japanese. There is 女神 which is specifically goddess, but this isn't a term used as a counterpart to 神. You can call them goddesses in english just because we have that distinction, but it certainly isn't a necessary distinction to make. It really doesn't matter. If you think "god" implies male you're doing it wrong.

[ToyoRai]

Has there been any mension in canon that people's ideas of youkais can alter the way they are? I was thinking if there would be any in-universe reason why Yoshika has traits of a zombie in her and it made me think that the popularity of zombies has altered the way jiang-shis are.

[CyberAngel]

Yes. In SoPM part 3, such thing is explained about tengu, and it seems to apply to all youkai.

[Ozzy]

This is really similar to a question asked a while back (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,15213.msg1022901.html#msg1022901) but does anyone know where ZUN gets his stage background images, or does he make those himself? I ask because I want to use non-ZUN assets for a danmakufu game that I may make sometime in the future. If ZUN does make them himself, then can anyone point me in the direction of similar type images that I could use?

[Drake]

Stage backgrounds are from the same sort of commercial texture packs if they aren't just picked from random images he found on the internet.

[paulcapua@ymail.com]

How big is the fanbase? I know Japan's touhou fanbase is bigger than the western.

[Zerviscos]

I know Japan's touhou fanbase is bigger than the western.

I don't know actually. But I'm pretty sure Western has a large fanbase compared to Japan. I mean, even if you say atleast 80% of Japan are Touhou fans. Around 100,000,000. It wouldn't still top every Western Country's fans, which includes also secondary fans.

[Biakmon]

- Do Japanese deity/gods like Amaterasu, Izanagi, Izanami, etc have a biological sex like us?
You know whether from the moment they were created they could be classified by their sex (male, female, intersex).

If you provide an simple answer that would certainly help me, thanks.

Also can Momiji see through things or pass the horizon with her ability on a flat land?

[cuc]

Very little is revealed about Momiji.

Some of the oldest gods, including the three gods of creation, are described by Kojiki as "hitorigami", singular and genderless, rather than paired with a god of the opposite sex. The current English wikipedia entry says "most are male", but according to Japanese wikipedia, the hitorigami of Kojiki are supposed to be genderless, and only Nihonshoki described some of them as male.

Most other gods are supposed to have a biological sex. That's an important part of Izanagi and Izanami's story.

While Kojiki said the gods of creation are genderless, it is also often theorized that Takami-musubi and Kami-musubi represents masculinity and femininity respectively. Takami-musubi is known for supporting Amaterasu's conquest of Japan, and Kami-musubi is known for answering the prayer of Ookuninushi's mother to revive him.

[Raikaria]

I don't know actually. But I'm pretty sure Western has a large fanbase compared to Japan. I mean, even if you say atleast 80% of Japan are Touhou fans. Around 100,000,000. It wouldn't still top every Western Country's fans, which includes also secondary fans.

I doubt Western fans are anywhere even close to 10,000,0000. Even very popular videos of the Touhou Fandom such as Bad Apple don't even cross 5 million.

[Raikaria]

Also can Momiji see through things or pass the horizon with her ability on a flat land?

The two italics are conflicting. The horizon is the curvature of the earth; and therefor is not 'flat ground'. Momiji would not be able to see beyond it. If Momiji could see through objects; her ability would be that; not 'ability to see long distances'. Bear in mind Momiji patrols the mountains; from a high elevation; where there is a very long distance view.

The most common interpretations of Momiji's ability that I see is that she can see things in great detail; and at distances far beyond what most could. Basically her vision would be 'perfect'. As long as it is in her field of vision; she would notice; even the smallest detail.

[game2011]

I'm sure I know the answer to this already, but I still want a clarification: demons, or youkai, are not immortal, right?  They're simply very hard to kill, but they can still die, right?

Thanks in advance!

[Rei Scarlette]

Speaking of death, I have a question. If danmaku is supposed to be non-lethal, how can Mokou be killed repeatedly in IN? She explodes and uses "Resurrection" several times. Maybe it's just the way I'm looking at it, but exploding and needing to resurrect sorta implies you were killed. (or as close to dead as Mokou would get, anyways.) I know that at least some of the teams realize they don't have to hold back against someone like her, but it's still the same old danmaku and you are playing by spellcard rules, yes? So you can't really tell in-game if they were still holding back or not.

I get the feeling that she isn't actually being "killed" at all, and her Resurrection thing between spellcards is just thrown in for no reason but to emphasize her immortality. Is that correct?


Small edit: Added one more sentence to make my point more clear, in case anyone else reads this. Looks like Starxsword already understood what I was getting at though and it's been answered. Thanks!

[Starxsword]

They most likely aren't holding back like they normally do. So, it would be fatal. Part of Spell Card rules is not to use full power, but since the opponent is immortal, they don't need to adhere to it.

[Rei Scarlette]

I see. That would also explain why Kaguya isn't constantly being blown up then, as if I remember correctly, they didn't immediately know she was immortal as well, so they weren't going all-out.

So if the danmaku itself isn't non-lethal, and it's just the way you use it according to the rules, I believe that covers it all nicely. Thank you!

[Tengukami]

I know Japan's touhou fanbase is bigger than the western.

I don't know actually. But I'm pretty sure Western has a large fanbase compared to Japan. I mean, even if you say atleast 80% of Japan are Touhou fans. Around 100,000,000. It wouldn't still top every Western Country's fans, which includes also secondary fans.

(First, please refer to this board's Welcome to TARC sticky when it comes to talk of "primary" and "secondary" fans.)

More on topic, this seems like it would be impossible to measure in any quantifiable sense. How are you defining what a Touhou fan is? How do we find them and count them?

I don't think this question can be answered. Maybe in some narrow scope, like number of YT videos tagged "touhou" v. number of Nico vids tagged "東方" or whatever. Even then, I still don't think you could get a clear picture.

[cuc]

I also once thought Mokou's death was a figurative way of representing her immortality, but no longer think so - Touhou's sense of humor is dark enough for her to die literally. She doesn't have to explode in-universe, only being fatally wounded is necessary.

However, since I've concluded earlier in the thread that the spell card rules really involve magical protection for the duelists, the problem becomes why is Mokou not protected from fatal wounds. Perhaps the protection is a smart system that automatically protects against severe damage, and as Mokou can't die, no damage is too severe for her to trigger the protection? This seems a bit too contrived for a theory without sufficient canon support.

In the case this theory is true, perhaps Mokou in a fighting game would have regenerating HP and/or some way to come back from HP=0, but no stun invincibility (which probably is the fighting games' way of representing this magical protection). But until then, this remains idle speculation.

I've heard another theory: Mokou's death is caused by herself pushing her body to extremes in a fight.

[game2011]

Seriously saying though, some spell cards look like they can really kill people, like Spear the Gungnir, Youmu's sword-based spell cards, and Tenshi's keystone-based ones.

[Clarste]

I've heard another theory: Mokou's death is caused by herself pushing her body to extremes in a fight.

Her suicidal tendencies are supported by CILR, in which she claims that she prefers starving to death and regenerating to eating food.

[Biakmon]

However, since I've concluded earlier in the thread that the spell card rules really involve magical protection for the duelists, the problem becomes why is Mokou not protected from fatal wounds. Perhaps the protection is a smart system that automatically protects against severe damage, and as Mokou can't die, no damage is too severe for her to trigger the protection? This seems a bit too contrived for a theory without sufficient canon support.

In the case this theory is true, perhaps Mokou in a fighting game would have regenerating HP and/or some way to come back from HP=0, but no stun invincibility (which probably is the fighting games' way of representing this magical protection). But until then, this remains idle speculation.

I think I may have miss something but where in the spell card rules is said/implied that the duelists are protected by some magical protection mechanism?

[CyberAngel]

I actually once thought about the whole Mokou situation, and my thoughts are as follows. Under spellcard rules (which are ALWAYS active), danmaku may not be lethal, but still can damage things (characters' clothes) and hurt living beings (Mokou being in pain after the fight). There were battles with humans before, and they were okay after a few spellcards' worth of danmaku, but a full Extra boss battle might be way more dangerous, which is why Reimu was reluctant to fight at first. Based on this, I've always seen Mokou's "Resurrections" as just her getting knocked out but instantly regaining consciousness thanks to her ability.

Based on cuc's "Border of Duel" theory, there may be another explanation. Everyone fighting has a barrier, which explodes once opponent is knocked out or out of power. Mokou, being a human, possibly just gets knocked out after each spellcard, but her ability restores her stamina until she's too hurt to fight.

Also, I wouldn't take the talk about anyone dying in a danmaku duel seriously, no matter how it's worded. In EoSD, Remilia and Reimu talked like the latter just killed Sakuya, but she was very much alive in PCB.

I'm sure I know the answer to this already, but I still want a clarification: demons, or youkai, are not immortal, right?  They're simply very hard to kill, but they can still die, right?

Yes, youkai have lifespans and can die, we know this much.

I think I may have miss something but where in the spell card rules is said/implied that the duelists are protected by some magical protection mechanism?

That's just a theory cuc worded earlier. It would explain a lot, actually.