It's been so long since I've honestly sat down and talked about Touhou. I barely keep up with news nowadays. But Touhou is still a overwhelming influence on my mentality and philosophy on character design, writing, and the role that I wish for fandom to play in the works I create. Even after all this time, my heart still beats Touhou blood.
Whenever you hear the phrase "Japanese indie game with an all-female cast", it is a sad truth that a product that you can find actually enjoyable and not alienating as someone who relates more strongly with women is not what you can expect. But it is in this regard that Touhou is the diamond in the rough. In an era where the worst aspects of "waifu culture" were gaining traction and digging their roots into the world of fandom, Touhou created an indie empire around itself that went unchallenged for the better part of 12 years, almost entirely on the merits of having a cast of women who were actually relatable and/or aspirational characters and enthusiastically embracing and supporting fanwork. For over a decade, Touhou had both the largest presence at Japanese conventions and the lowest proportion of the racy content that Japanese fandom is traditionally most infamous for. People respected Touhou. And even if its glory days are behind it, Touhou is still kicking today, and still providing an outstanding example of what so many should do but so few are willing to do.
It's been so long since I've honestly sat down and talked about Touhou. I barely keep up with news nowadays. But Touhou is still a overwhelming influence on my mentality and philosophy on character design, writing, and the role that I wish for fandom to play in the works I create. Even after all this time, my heart still beats Touhou blood.
Whenever you hear the phrase "Japanese indie game with an all-female cast", it is a sad truth that a product that you can find actually enjoyable and not alienating as someone who relates more strongly with women is not what you can expect. But it is in this regard that Touhou is the diamond in the rough. In an era where the worst aspects of "waifu culture" were gaining traction and digging their roots into the world of fandom, Touhou created an indie empire around itself that went unchallenged for the better part of 12 years, almost entirely on the merits of having a cast of women who were actually relatable and/or aspirational characters and enthusiastically embracing and supporting fanwork. For over a decade, Touhou had both the largest presence at Japanese conventions and the lowest proportion of the racy content that Japanese fandom is traditionally most infamous for. People respected Touhou. And even if its glory days are behind it, Touhou is still kicking today, and still providing an outstanding example of what so many should do but so few are willing to do.