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The Touhou Theoretical Power & Tactics Scale


Reitisen

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Alright this has probably been brought up by a lot of Touhou fans, but today I want to discuss who beats who.

The characters included will be from the main era games since PC-98 games conflict with mainline games in terms of character conflicts and ZUN himself stating they wouldn't fit nowadays. SRC:  Yuuka's Text from Who's Who

A lot of information covered will be supplemented by sources from official sources. (Touhou Wiki is sort of semi-good for looking it up, but I will be using official sources from the manga and or official games as there might be some holes not covered)  

And yes, I will be using common sense if I can't find a source for information. Can't always get the specifics from vague translations.

Now I won't be covering ALL Touhou characters that can beat whoever, that will take freaking eons to sort out the table. Just the ones that have a major presence in a sort of sense.

Characters that are MCs are going to have wins practically cut in the official games. This means winning in the official games don't count towards the ruling as some of them might complicate rulings. This is mainly to deal with Reimu & Marisa being the top of the power and tactics scale as that isn't deterministic of their actual ranking. They still have a presence within the ranking though as they do hold powers themselves.

I'll mainly be doing 4 as each one takes probably 20-40 minutes to writeup and research.

HERE ARE THE RULES FOR RATING POWER & TACTICS

  1. We are rating both POWER & TACTICS to make this scale. (Flandre would probably wreck everybody if she decided not to play with them first, oh and her not being a shut in.) (This is proven by the fact that Okina used Flan in Ibun to deal with Toutetsu [Brains & Brawn])
  2. How many situations can they deal with? (Basically how many conflicts can they solve. This will include situations they have been in)
  3. Tactical acumen and power - How do they fight? Can they use situations to create a favorable environment against others? Do they choose to use their power? Do they have a ally to help them?
  4. Weaknesses - From specific weaknesses to literal water
  5. Presence within Gensokyo - quite vague, but this is based upon their influence/presence within Gensokyo. Are they the ones that hold current soft power. (soft power being influence upon the residents) Sort of involving both 2/3 as some characters are semi-present within Gensokyo. These characters might have their own rating in their own space, E.G: The moon sisters, celestials

Here are some Abbreviations for you all who don't know about the sources SCO (Strange Creators of Outer World) PMSS (Perfect Memento in Strict Sense) (BA) Bohemian Archive.

Alright let's get into it shall we?

1. Yukari Yakumo (What you expected someone different?)

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Yukari Yakumo SRC SCO - Pretty much first hand source - written as a way of covering all the Touhou characters. This will be the most reliable as it is written without bias of Gensokyo's residents. BA SRC Aya - Interviews from Aya from the residents of Gensokyo. Take a whole lot of salt on this one as Aya is known to pick some particularly egregious things for her newspaper, though some information might be true in a sense of peering through the shroud. SRC PMSS though it is part of Akyuu's reasoning based upon Yukari - The Entire PMSS is written by Akyuu's perspective of everyone she has saw. So IDK take a grain of salt when reading PMSS articles as Akyuu records Youkai as actual threats. (Yes I'm getting that deep into Touhou lore for these sources)

"Master manipulator, tactician, smarts, and whatever the hell she finds amusing to call herself." "She is the Youkai that has lived longer than many other Youkai around." assumed to be 1,200 yrs old by chroniclers of Hieda's bloodline, though this is when she is first recorded, so she is probably older than that. She is one of the most important people in Gensokyo given her status as a part of the council of sages which created the barrier.

Yukari Yakumo has way more than you expect her to be. (I mean literally, what the hell is up with the hands she has in that gap?) Her powers of gap travel are only a fraction of what she can do. Her age and knowledge knows no limitations due to her various encounters with forces extraterrestrial from Gensokyo itself. She also holds the powerful abilities of barrier creation/border manipulation - the ability to bend reality between to set forms. This ability is practically cheating (Her manipulation of boundaries exist in both physical, metaphysical, theoretical and whatever forms she can feel to manipulate E.G Dreams, time, fucking danmaku battles?????, IDK, if she can think of it she can manipulate it), though even her herself seems to restrain herself to the spell card rules, as she seems to enjoy limiting herself in a fight. That is if she isn't cheated of something. (Impossible Spell Card)

She herself primarily relies on her various connections and her shikigamis to do her "dirty work" as a way of spying and communications, but it's mostly her off-loading her duties and sleeping during the day. (Something she seems to enjoy doing, even if Gensokyo's residents aren't happy about her playing around.)

Her status and history as a sage of Gensokyo is well known to the residents of Gensokyo. To humans, she is the first Youkai that comes to mind when describing Youkai. To Youkai, she is the top of the top and should be feared if you step out of line. She is sometimes seen around various locations, but never to fight unless provoked.

Probably one of her main allies is the Hakurei family itself, even though she is a Youkai, she holds a lot of power and standing over Gensokyo through the use of Reimu acting as a human force rather than a Youkai force. Acting as a way of balancing both human and Youkais, her main beating stick as to say. (Manipulating sides seems to be her forte) It is assumed that Yukari has indeed worked with previous generations of Hakurei Maidens as she herself watches over the generations that come and go. 

I don't even think Yukari is a "Youkai" Youkai in the first place, her abilities are way too drastic and can change her image to anything else. She might be an interdimensional horror from the 4th dimension for all we know. she even backs it up with her quote in IMP stating that even killing her won't stop her from utterly demolishing you.

This is way she is the first on the power scale. Her powers and tactics way exceed other gods, Youkai, human, and whatever else. She herself holds Gensokyo within her grasp of her own thoughts and powers. She uses her own allies and minions to exert more control for her own downfalls or simply laziness. She is simply the best in Gensokyo.

2. Okina Matara (Why is it always the blondes?)

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SCO Okina SCO Interview, not a lot of sources for this one, so it would be short. (for my sanity)

"The god of your life." "The Backdoor god." "Gensokyo's hidden god." Her powers can create, manipulate or empower many of Gensokyo's residents. She is also one of Gensokyo's sages that have remained hidden for some time.  She is also assumed to be older than the history of Gensokyo itself. 

Okina is what one can think of Yukari, but less mysterious and more prideful than most. She herself holds Gensokyo to a high degree and will do whatever to maintain the peace. (Events from Ibun, HSIFS) Her powers can create and empower Youkai. (Cirno being tanned and all powered up)

Her ability to manipulate seasons/life energy is also something to note as she can freely manipulate it without help of others. With this, she claims that she herself is enough to make Gensokyo with her powers alone.

She can also manipulate mental energy as the heroines couldn't beat her at first and can only face her in the extra stage with some amnesia during their fight with story Okina. Though this is not explored upon, it might be much more powerful depending on how much she exerts her power.

She seems to have much more fighting prowess than most bosses in general, as she can manipulate the characters easily with the backdoors to her advantage. Not much about weaknesses are known.

Her minions are Mai and Satono. These characters seem to only obey Okina's will and have no memory of what their former lives were, they hold some powers over life and mental energy from their master and perform her duty within Gensokyo. She is fairly new to Gensokyo, but has made a huge debut to the population as a way of announcing her own arrival to the scene.

I'm also assuming Okina has a better IQ than most residents of Gensokyo given her backstory, her own prideful nature, and the events of Ibun. She herself also knows and talks with Yukari as some sort of equal standing.

Though this is short (this isn't short at all LOL), Okina will remain second due to her power of manipulating life and mental energy. Though she isn't that big of a master planner. She holds specific aspects that remain powerful to her ability as a dutiful protector of Gensokyo. Her own IQ is probably at par with Yukari given the amount of time she has experienced, and her way of planning and dealing with incidents at hand. She is probably one of Gensokyo's true gods.

3. Reimu Hakurei (Main Character Moment)

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SCO Reimu BA Reimu PMS Reimu

"The Shrine Maiden of Paradise" "Incident Resolver" "Hakurei Maiden" "She will beat you up before asking questions" Reimu Hakurei is depicted though a lot of media. Her age is assumed to be around 20 - 30, but time is all kinds of screwed up within Gensokyo and who knows if being the Hakurei Maiden comes with some beauty and youth benefits. (I mean even the Yin-Yang Orb provides some weird powers for Reimu to use) SRC

Reimu Hakurei holds a lot of abilities as the "Hakurei Shrine Maiden" her abilities allow her to "fly" and her occupation/"bloodline" allowing her to manipulate the Hakurei orb and perform easy Youkai extermination. (not much is known about how the Hakurei Maiden is chosen, though Aya did mention in "Silent Sinner in Blue" that the Hakurei Shrine Maiden was mostly found. How they determine who's the maiden is not known.)

She is also well versed in barrier techniques and plays around with a lot of her equipment, Ofuda, Yin-Yang Orbs, Gohei, or the purification needles. She mostly attacks with a combination of Ofuda attacks, Gohei swings, barrier manipulation and some good ole melee combat and a spell card to seal off opponents as a finisher. 

Her tactical acumen within fights is mostly supported by her allies. (Yukari, and or others) She herself is mostly a fight first, talk later fighter in which if she thinks you are an enemy, be prepared to fight. She is usually the glass cannon but without the glass and a giant gohei stick being bashed to your face. Though this is if she is in her "incident mode". Her regular mode is mostly her in the regular shrine maiden mode in which she exhibits human qualities and a easygoing nature.

Speaking of allies, Reimu seems to have a wide array of powerful friends that visit or even accompany her during incidents. Be it Yukari, Suika, Sanae, Marisa, or whoever. She seems to grow quite a following due to her own nature and occupation. This also leads to her gathering a lot of information about various Youkai and allowing her to make some advantage depending on which Youkai.

This leads to Reimu's own reputation within Gensokyo as she is pretty well known on both sides for being the tyrant or the inhabitant of the Youkai Shrine. In other words. She is feared and known by many who wouldn't want to deal with her on a regular day, especially if an incident is occurring.

She remains the top of the human scale, but not top in the total scale. Her own inherent powers make up a large part of her ranking, but her own access to various types of information and her own prowess as a shrine maiden has allowed her to place 3rd in Gensokyo.

3-4(depends). Marisa Kirisame (Inherent Power)

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PMS Marisa SCO Marisa BA Marisa

"Ordinary Magician" "Ms. Steal Everything" "Rainy Magician" "The adventurous troublemaker" Marisa Kirisame comes around as the most human of all humans compared to Reimu. Her age also seemingly around 20-30 depending on what you think.

Marisa Kirisame is one of the most tactical/hardworking way in her way of life, she sees something that she likes, she steals it and improves upon it for her own use in her arsenal. This can range from spell cards to items she fancies to take and "borrow" for her own use. Her way of life has strengthened her in both body and soul. With the help of her gadgets and potions. She has exceeded in the usage of speed and magic use. (She lives in a forest of magic poisonous mushrooms)

Her main weapons is the Mini-Hakkero, a magical furnace with the ability to output a giant beam attack with the incantation of a spell. Her other weapons that she regularly uses is her trusty broom and potions in which provide her power and speed against her opponents. She also can fly standalone through some means magic or some other, but she mostly uses her broom for such occasions. (GFW Fight scene)

That aside, her own nature has lead her to fighting opponents to test out her spell cards and equipment. Reimu included. Sometimes she wins, sometimes not. Though this is how she improves upon her abilities and eventually wins over opponents that a regular exterminator could've thought of ever beating. Her weakness is her own way of improving her strength.

She does have allies in some sort of way, though they are mostly just acquaintances (Alice, Patchy) that sometimes helps out during incidents. (She sometimes steals from them as both are magicians) Marisa mostly works alone during incidents or jobs as they are mostly her own adventures.

Marisa's presence within Gensokyo is mostly that of a thief, (not helped due to the fact that she constantly steals from others) though she is also thought to be a sort of bounty/youkai hunter for various jobs and such through her shop. Though not a lot of requests are made due to the location and general hidden nature of her house within the Forest of Magic. Her personality is mostly one of condescending nature according to Akyuu, but her nature is one of inquisitiveness allowing her to research what most find boring.

She remains at the 3/4th ranking as her own powers are determined based upon who she is fighting, and if she has the necessary firepower or equipment to deal with them. Her own personality allows her to learn from fights lost and allow her to perform upgrades or copying from others to add to her own arsenal. Although she is mostly a lone wolf, she remains as the only true human that is powerful enough to go against some of the powerful Youkai in Gensokyo.

Concluding

Alright this is my scale depending on the sources I've read. I spent too much time on this so it will remain at 4 because too lazyyyyyy. (and I got to sleep)

Keep in mind this is just my opinions on who would be the most powerful in Gensokyo, there might be some information which might conflict, but that would take forever to cross check with recent information.

See ya.

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 1683735564_GapEyeIcon.png.510261214f2118b1068fb86f8b100dcb.png Touhou Enjoyer & World Building Enthusiast  1683735564_GapEyeIcon.png.510261214f2118b1068fb86f8b100dcb.png

 

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