Jump to content

What do you not understand about how people like/hate Specific Touhou Characters?


Gou the frog

Recommended Posts

We'll have seen X character is too hated for no actual reason, how can one anyone not love X, etc. That might be pretty subjective otherwise, there are some that go a bit much with their view. This might sound very much like "what character is your least favorite and which is your fav" 

In which case Aya, sure she shed some truth in her own questionable headlines but I don't see why she quite hated. 

Shall this post be serve as a way to possibly vent some frustrations that you may or may not have. Also, feel free to give your opinions and reasoning on this matter. (I might need to add some more text later.)

  • Like 2
  • Thinking 2

Truly is Yin & Yang. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess the only thing I don't understand is why some people ignore the official depictions. They just view the characters based on how the community treats them. That might be an issue with fandoms in general, but at least I don't have to agree with them either.

Meiling for example, is sometimes hated for being lazy or weak. I still thinks she's the best gatekeeper in Gensokyo. She's cool for mastering different types of martial arts too!

Edited by Isaac
  • Like 3
  • Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Gou the frog said:

In which case Aya, sure she shed some truth in her own questionable headlines but I don't see why she quite hated

I think some of the hate for aya comes from the fact she kept appearing as a playable character in games that really didn't need her to be. Leading to the meme of her being zun's wife.

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Darksymphony777 said:

I think some of the hate for aya comes from the fact she kept appearing as a playable character in games that really didn't need her to be. Leading to the meme of her being zun's wife.

Aya also represents everything wrong with the media, but yeah she shows up in pretty weird games. Also, didn't she have a book made about her?

 

Wait, do people hate her for taking someone else stage 4s? (Momoji wants to know since she need to have that 100% of her own thing)

Edited by Gou the frog
More thoughts
  • Thinking 2

Truly is Yin & Yang. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Isaac said:

Meiling for example, is sometimes hated for being lazy or weak. I still thinks she's the best gatekeeper in Gensokyo. She's cool for mastering different types of martial arts too!

Yeah, she is awesome. Most of time her opponents are simply protags so, she might seem weak there but that is infact, quite admiring. Although, danmaku not her finest craft yet she is still cool nonetheless.

  • Like 1
  • Up 1

Truly is Yin & Yang. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't we already have a couple of threads about this already? I recall the character hate one especially, because I said Komachi first of all, though my opinion of her has changed considerably from the time I originally played Wandering Souls and rage quitted over that damn annoying boat move of hers. Amusingly as well, despite both her & Aya not being among my favourites, both their theme tunes are - go figure. (^_^;)

Edited by SasaMisa
Inserting a sentence.
  • Like 1

1665302947_LancerDoll.png.f3d1d67b8a45698f0a8a0ea85f46d0fc.png As the Dollmaker herself would agree: Lancer Doll is best doll! (#^_^#)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Darksymphony777 said:

Leading to the meme of her being zun's wife.

Don't forget about that famous photo of ZUN standing next to a woman (some say it's his real life wife, some say she isn't/wasn't) cosplaying as Aya as well. However, the title of "ZUN wife" also seems to have been shared through time by Sakuya and Sanae (funny Sumireko did not get the title, given how proéminent she was around the time of her debut - but talking about Sumireko is a whole different can of worms in itself, be it canon or fanon). 

  • Like 2
  • Up 1

spacer.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, SasaMisa said:

Didn't we already have a couple of threads about this already?

Yeah, you're right about this one chief. TheM3ds with his Flanderization thread (God, I miss him a lot),  Count with his underappreciated character thread and yeah the character hate thread. I don't really know how to make a good title; consider this as a refresher.

Ay, I ain't aware of the "Aya being Zun's wife" meme but this is the one right?

 All right, it's for announcement of 15.5. Very nice picture and how I miss this by not checking Twitter. 

 

Back on the topic of Aya

For a crow, I've to say she has got a strong voice and cows naturally have it too. Anyways, I would really love to read her newspaper since it contributes the expositions among characters well in a natural way. If only she took several pic of Alice and put 'em on the front (as well as other forgotten charaters from the banished realm).

Also, one question. Where does the "ayaayayayaya" meme comes from?

  • Like 4

Truly is Yin & Yang. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, CountVonNumenor said:

Don't forget about that famous photo of ZUN standing next to a woman (some say it's his real life wife, some say she isn't/wasn't) cosplaying as Aya as well. However, the title of "ZUN wife" also seems to have been shared through time by Sakuya and Sanae (funny Sumireko did not get the title, given how proéminent she was around the time of her debut - but talking about Sumireko is a whole different can of worms in itself, be it canon or fanon). 

Maybe sumireko was never in a main game and stuck in the spin offs so everyone shrugged.

 

As to why I think all three getting the title, I think it comes down to the fact that at various times they have all been used as playable characters in games that never really made sense to have as a character. While we get for example, reisen being playable in LOLK because it made sense being a space rabbit and the only character that had a stake in the story outside of "we don't want the lunarians here"

  • Like 2
  • Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/30/2022 at 8:25 PM, Isaac said:

Meiling for example, is sometimes hated for being lazy or weak. I still thinks she's the best gatekeeper in Gensokyo. She's cool for mastering different types of martial arts too!

MEILING APPRECIATION!!! JAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

meiling-hong-meiiling.gif.31e107c7f3fa02ebf5f1ca161dcd584f.gif

Ok, back to the topic I hope I didn't misunderstand this topic

I can't really get how people like Sakuya? Just, idk, she's a bit basic to me. Like yeah yeah time stopping is cool yadda yadda, but it's nothing really special yk? I may be a bit biased, not so sure. Is it because she's (probably) a DIO reference?
 

  • Like 2

Number 1 Alice, Meiling and Youmu fan! jaooooooooo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, sodaodaoda said:

I can't really get how people like Sakuya? Just, idk, she's a bit basic to me. Like yeah yeah time stopping is cool yadda yadda, but it's nothing really special yk? I may be a bit biased, not so sure. Is it because she's (probably) a DIO reference?

She's always pretty wacky whenever she appears, outside of her ability (see CoLA 4-5). But I've held this belief for a while that most people go through a Sakuya phase at some point before moving on.

jk i respect saguya fans

 

  • Thinking 1

everything is just peachy tonsh.gif.0b4075faabf61d7265e5c3fea342964f.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Definitely support the Meiling Appreciation Fan Club that seems to be gathering steam in this thread (I know my mate Chris would be totally onboard with it, so I get two tries okay), but Sakuya... can't say I ever went through a phase with her myself, Tenkko. Granted, her Stage 5 theme is awesome; easily the best tune in EoSD in my humble opinion. However, right from the get go, I took an instant dislike to her in Wandering Souls, not least because she appeared to have that big sister of the group vibe going on. I suppose it didn't help much that she was way underpowered compared to Reimu & Marisa either, something even Estheone admitted when I eventually pointed it out to him. (=^_^=)

(It says わくわく / waku-waku on that Meiling GIF by the way, indicating she's trembling with excitement.)

Edited by SasaMisa
Putting in an edit.
  • Like 2
  • Up 1

1665302947_LancerDoll.png.f3d1d67b8a45698f0a8a0ea85f46d0fc.png As the Dollmaker herself would agree: Lancer Doll is best doll! (#^_^#)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SasaMisa said:

Definitely support the Meiling Appreciation Fan Club that seems to be gathering steam in this thread (I know my mate Chris would be totally onboard with it, so I get two tries okay), but Sakuya... can't say I ever went through a phase with her myself, Tenkko. Granted, her Stage 5 theme is awesome; easily the best tune in EoSD in my humble opinion. However, right from the get go, I took an instant dislike to her in Wandering Souls, not least because she appeared to have that big sister of the group vibe going on. I suppose it didn't help much that she was way underpowered compared to Reimu & Marisa either, something even Estheone admitted when I eventually pointed it out to him. (=^_^=)

(It says わくわく / waku-waku on that Meiling GIF by the way, indicating she's trembling with excitement.)

i do like her stage 5 theme, though i do have to admit i prefer the luna nights rendition, myself.

 

i guess a character i don't understand the like for is byakuren's group, all of them. i could never figure them out.

 

and yes, someday meiling will get her time. someday she will get her own adventure.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't get the hate specifically about the Moon sisters, I mean everything about the way they are is explained perfectly in the context, and while I don't really care about them either I think all the ranting about them is obnoxious. Their attitude? They're literally brainwashed by Lunar Capital propaganda, and in fact if their story is anything to go by they're actually less snobby and obnoxious compared to the Lunarian elites(there's also the fact that "impurity" has an actual physical effect in Touhou, and it's lethal to the Moon people. Like, avoiding someone or something infected with Ebola or smth isn't really a bad thing now is it?). Their power? You can't be the defender of a powerful and legendary kingdom without being OP to some degree. Them being unable to be featured in a game due to being powerful? BS, Hecatia is literally a boss in LoLK, the reason they can't be portrayed is because Touhou is a low-res bullet hell game, and the Moon sisters(Yorihime in particular) are like RPG characters that would require entire pages worth to explaining all their abilities and what they do. Imagine trying to render all of that crap in a game format like Touhou of all things...it might literally crash it. I simply can't find fault in them to hold against them, and they are exactly the way ZUN wants them to be. If anything the subject of hate should be the unknown Lunar elites instead. They also aren't infallible either, Yorihime fell to a trap, and got knocked out ffs. If an enemy of the Moon like Junko happened to be in the vicinity when that happened, then it would've been lights out for good.

 

Edited by Scyzer
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/31/2022 at 3:13 PM, sodaodaoda said:

MEILING APPRECIATION!!! JAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

meiling-hong-meiiling.gif.31e107c7f3fa02ebf5f1ca161dcd584f.gif

Ok, back to the topic I hope I didn't misunderstand this topic

I can't really get how people like Sakuya? Just, idk, she's a bit basic to me. Like yeah yeah time stopping is cool yadda yadda, but it's nothing really special yk? I may be a bit biased, not so sure. Is it because she's (probably) a DIO reference?
 

 

On 7/31/2022 at 3:55 PM, Tenkko said:

She's always pretty wacky whenever she appears, outside of her ability (see CoLA 4-5). But I've held this belief for a while that most people go through a Sakuya phase at some point before moving on.

jk i respect saguya fans

 

 

On 7/31/2022 at 5:11 PM, Darksymphony777 said:

Meiling fans unite 

 

17 hours ago, SasaMisa said:

Definitely support the Meiling Appreciation Fan Club that seems to be gathering steam in this thread (I know my mate Chris would be totally onboard with it, so I get two tries okay), but Sakuya... can't say I ever went through a phase with her myself, Tenkko. Granted, her Stage 5 theme is awesome; easily the best tune in EoSD in my humble opinion. However, right from the get go, I took an instant dislike to her in Wandering Souls, not least because she appeared to have that big sister of the group vibe going on. I suppose it didn't help much that she was way underpowered compared to Reimu & Marisa either, something even Estheone admitted when I eventually pointed it out to him. (=^_^=)

(It says わくわく / waku-waku on that Meiling GIF by the way, indicating she's trembling with excitement.)

I've found my people.

Throwing my two cents into this, I'd say that it mainly deals with how many times characters appear whether it be in canon or fanworks. Characters like Sakuya and Aya have been around for around 20ish years, so they've had plenty of time to permeate throughout the series. I think a big reason why people like them is simply because they can associate them with more content than other characters like Rika who have been around for longer but have not gotten much love from the source material or the community. Using Sakuya as an example again, she has been playable in a few mainline games, has plenty of remixes of her themes, an endless amount of fanart, plenty of fangames, etc. I can't remember the last time I have seen fanart for a character like Riko that I didn't go out of my way to look for. 

  • Like 2
  • Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see a similar in style thread to this one came to be on r/touhou just hours ago. However, it is still very blunt in nature of not outright spreading misinformation in the answers given by people: 


Just read this for example:

Spoiler

I know this WILL get me cancelled but I don't really like The Scarlets. I just can't get myself to like them- Remilia is a brat, (I know, I love Joon but I think she's the kind of character you love to hate) and I think she's supposed to be likeable, and Flandre is that "omg psychopath kid so cute" that annoys me.

Honorable mention to Sakuya, she's basically a Mary sue 😭

I am not the biggest fan of the Scarlet sisters (though I personally don't hate any of the 2hus - only categorize them in "I like/are interesting" and "still need to find them interesting"), but this is not really a good explanation for them. Yes, Remilia might be childish, and that one specific animation her her from IaMP spawned the "charism break" meme. But no, I am more than sure Flandre is not a psychopath. Just because fans loved/love to depict her as such for 2 decades does not mean she is canonically that (especially given basically the lack of info we got until Cheating Detective Satori). I am not very sure what I could say about the Sakuya part though, if she is or is not a "Mary Sue". 

This new discussion (the one on Reddit), at least based on the current comments, seems to be turning into a spread of misconceptions from the fandom combined with tiny bits of close to correct lore info. But it remains to be seen how it will evolve in the following hours as more comments are being submitted. 

Edited by CountVonNumenor
  • Like 1

spacer.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Like other people said in this chat, Hong Meiling is a character that is always made fun of, but I think there is something else to this whole situation.

Meiling is my favourite character for 3 years now, so sorry if this post sounds biased or even straight up angry. I had all those thoughts building up inside my mind, and this is the only chance I found to let them all out.

Let's begin. Meiling always gets mocked for a multitude of reasons, like being weak, sleeping on the job, and being good for nothing, and this is only to name a few. Yes, I know that the whole "sleeping on the job" thing became kinda canon with PMISS, Soku and CDS, but at least the canon trait isn't as bad as the fanon makes it look like. I am thankful that the Meiling abuse meme didn't become canon, because dear God, some people in this community go to gruesome extents with this, ranging from "Meiling gets knifed by Sakuya for doing something wrong" to "Meiling gets all her body parts ripped off for just existing".

Thinking about all of this, I have realised something: all those negative fanon traits were made up just because she is Chinese. The Japanese and the Chinese aren't too friendly towards eachother, to say the least, and since during the early 2000's the Fandom was almost entirely made out from the Japanese, they were very quick to treat her like some moronic Chinese stereotype. People gave the Chinese Girl the whole "useless" label because they see all Chinese products as "low quality". And to top it all of, after a poll that was made to decide if she should be called "Hong Meiling" or "Kurenai Misuzu" (her Japanese name), some random guy came in out of nowhere and said "Hey, why don't we just call her China?", and everyone agreed. And so, during the late 2000's and early 2010's, there isn't a single Touhou fan who didn't call her "China". Nowadays, most people call her by her real name, and seem to respect her more than during the so-called "golden era" of the fandom, but people still recognise her only for her sleeping habits. Just try to find a Meiling-related post on the subreddit (or most other communities) that doesn't reference that either in the post itself or in the comments.

While yes, the fandom is behind most of Meiling disrespect, but there is one more individual I do have to talk about. That person is none other than Mr. Touhou himself, ZUN.

Think about it. In most entries of the series after EoSD, ZUN treated Hong Meiling like a joke:

  • In the interview in BAiJR between Aya and Meiling, the first reference to her sleeping on the job was made. Other than that, we found out that she is the gardener of the mansion, which is nice.
  • One year later, PMiSS made the sleeping gag canon. We did get some neat characterisation about her.
  • Hisoutensoku is when things start to get messy. Here, Meiling's campaign where she defeated the evil Taisui Xinjung and his assasins was revealed to be all just some dumb dream. At least we got more characterisation for her, so that's also nice.
  • But there is more: The Inaba manga had a scene where Meiling was shown as incompetent when she had to check the invitations of some mere bunnies and the Eitnei crew (might have percieved the manga in a wrong way, tho). They already passed the gate before she even managed to finish with the invitations. It's still unknown if the manga is canon or not.
  • In WaHH, Remilia and Sakuya started to violently tease her (to be fair, it was because Remilia and Sakuya drank something that made them behave like Oni, but still)
  • And finally, to end this, we have the shitshow that is CDS. Why is it so bad, you may ask? Well, for one she openly admitted in the first chapter that she sleeps on the job almost every day, then she had an arguement with Sakuya when the maid got suspected for "poisoning" Patchoulli, then it was revealed that Patchy was actually possesed by an evil vengeful spirit that wanted to create havoc in Gensokyo, said spirit later possesing Meiling, as well as putting her into a coma, and for the grand finale, she gets almost strangled to death by Flandre herself because of that vengeful spirit that was inside Meiling at the time. I heard that other characters got this kind of treatment as well, like Reisen and Kanako. 

I think it's pretty clear that ZUN doesn't respect her at all, at least to me. So all of this makes me wonder: why does ZUN treat Hong Meiling like this? Did he intend from the very beginning for her to be a joke character? Does he have a grudge against Meiling? Who knows.

One thing I do know is that her future is looking grim, and I actually dread the next time she appears in a another entry in the series, because she will most likely be treated like a joke yet again.

I mean, writing an essay for 2 hours straight isn't going to change the situation at all, so what can I do to actually change this? Well, nothing. I think it might be too late for anything to be done, unfortunately.

Hong Meiling had so much potential, yet all of that got thrown out of the window thanks to some memes that ZUN made canon for some unknown reason.

Well, that was a weird way to spend my evening, but at least I finally managed to say what I had on my mind.

Edited by AlexandruUnu
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.