When Doujin games encounter narrative controversies：caught in a media storm

[不人气的大狸子]

This article is part of a study on the Chinese Touhou community. It aims to examine the entire incident from a neutral and objective perspective, and the author does not favor any particular side.

On November 28th, Touhou Doujin's game "射命丸文的寂静故乡"（For some words that do not have an official English translation, I will use the original Chinese） was released. It had been in development for five years and is available for free download. Since it's a free game, I recommend that readers try it out on their own.（But it does not currently support English）

2025 was a historic year for the Chinese Touhou community, with record-breaking numbers of offline events, a significant increase in Touhou-related videos on Bilibili, and a large influx of Alpha Generation Touhou fans dedicating themselves to Doujin creation.

Against this backdrop, many Chinese Touhou Doujin games emerged this year：东方幕华祭 永夜篇、魔理沙！还书！、东方绮樱绘、东方资志疏、东方三妖精大冒险、绯红编年史......Due to space limitations, I cannot provide a complete overview. However, a rough count shows that there are more than a dozen Chinese Touhou Doujin games released on Steam this year.

The creative team behind 射命丸文的寂静故乡 is 热心市民封兽鵺 and FIND真心. The former is responsible for the code programming, while the latter focuses on the plot and writing. A two-person team that spent five years developing the doujin game is certainly a great achievement.

The community is always very tolerant of free-to-play games, especially when the game looks to be of decent quality. Because of the collective identification with Touhou, community don't dwell too much on some of the issues within the game. I haven't played many FPS games, but I can tell it borrows gameplay elements from the Dead Space and Fallout series. As a Doujin game, I think it's very successful. By the way, if you're not a Touhou fan, you might have a hard time understanding the plot, but that seems a bit unnecessary.

However, as an FPS game, the controls didn't feel satisfying, which is a major drawback. I can understand that the game map has many useless areas due to the large amount of development involved; I can also understand 3D motion sickness, which varies from person to person. But overall, it failed to provide a good experience.

I think that's understandable. Many Touhou Doujin games focus on "Touhou" rather than "game," and finding the balance between the two is difficult.

However, its most serious problems are the plot and the controversial statements made by the developers. To describe the game's world as concisely as possible: The humans of Gensokyo have disappeared. The youkai, having lost their fear of humans, gradually lose their vitality and eke out a living in the "Sanctuary No. 139," managed by kappa. The youkai rebelled in search of "nourishment," but were suppressed by Remilia, plunging Gensokyo into a brutal, survival-of-the-fittest society. Yukari, as the sage, did nothing, allowing the youkai to perish.

To avoid spoilers, readers who wish to learn more can download the game and experience it for themselves.

The development team claims to "respect the characters and story." However, the characters exhibit serious "out of character" behavior, including, but not limited to, Eirin,Reimu,Remilia,Yukari, Patchouli...

However, what ultimately sparked public outcry was the inappropriate remarks made by a developer, FIND真心, from the development team. It was responsible for the storyline and script, and unfortunately, the storyline was the game's biggest problem. Therefore, in response to criticism in the video comment section, it made many inappropriate remarks in a QQ group.I believe that focusing on a person's words and actions should not involve their past statements; this is the most basic objectivity. Therefore, I will only release recent statements related to FIND真心:

“Because you skipped the storyline, you deserved not to receive a reward.”
“It's not that games need players, but that players need games.”



At worst, the game doesn't need to gain fame in China; it can gain fame overseas after being translated into English.

On Baidu Tieba, criticism of the game has never stopped. In the game's official QQ group, a group that fully supports FIND has formed. It's quite bizarre that the Touhou community on two different platforms has such diametrically opposed attitudes.


Regrettably, Fengshouye, the 热心市民封兽鵺 for the game's programming (I'm certain it handled the vast majority of the game's workload), never responded to FIND真心 remarks.

As I write this, things are getting increasingly polarized, with two distinct factions: one supporting FIND真心 and deeming critics too extreme, while the other arguing that the game's extreme fans are destroying Touhou Doujin's core values by deifying the creator and treating the game like gospel.

Things are starting to look like a farce, aren't they?

I approach this matter from a neutral perspective: any creative system devoid of communication and reflection struggles to withstand pressure from the community. While Doujin creators certainly enjoy ample freedom of expression, criticism from players is also a crucial component of the Doujin ecosystem. Finding a balance between respecting creative freedom and upholding the spirit of the characters, and maintaining a minimum level of rationality and respect when diverse viewpoints clash, are all issues that need consideration.

Regardless of their stance, every participant should recognize that the doujin culture has endured not through blind following, but through sustained creativity, a shared atmosphere of communication, and a cherished collective identity as "Touhou."

Here, I leave my observations and record of this event to the readers to judge. In any case, the Touhou community is still evolving.

 

[vanyk]

That was an interesting read. It is nice to see there are a lot of new fangames. From what I saw this game looks to be big. I cannot say anything about gameplay, as I didn't play it. I agree that these comments by are FIND真心 questionable.
In my opinion if you like the game you play it, if you don't like it, you don't play it. If you want you support the doujin creators, if you don't want to support them, you don't do that. That is a normal thing in Doujin. Criticism helps creators to make their work better, so it is okay to criticize doujin works. But if you don't like some doujin works at all, you don't have to interact with them.

 

[Bhrjr]

Alpha Generation Touhou

You said before that the lack of commercial game/anime release for Touhou has seriously hampered those below high school from getting into Touhou, right? (the same probably can also be said in the Korea, west, and everywhere else except Japan, where the omnipotene of Yukkuri dougas have fostered lots of elementary/middle school Touhou fangirls. Does that mean that it's also more difficult for girls to get into Touhou in China compared to Japan?) Are there any specific reasons as to why chinese gen alpha fans have increased lately besides the reason that now is the time for them entering high school?

Back on the game, the primary reason for this doing so well must be because Touhou fps fangames haven't been a thing until recently, with 异变战区 E.E.R.I.E being this thing's only competitor (does that game also have insane controversy surrounding it in China?). As seen by this video, Touhou Fortress 2 has a lot of nostalgic hold amongst, and even outside Touhou, there's clearly a big hunger for "waifu shooter games" with actual fps gameplay (as seen by other modding stuff Loyalist has done). So this game probably should mark the start of Touhou fps fangames. (or maybe not, since complex 3d games like fps are likely time consuming to make, so we'll probably only see this in few short bursts in China)

At worst, the game doesn't need to gain fame in China; it can gain fame overseas after being translated into English.

If so, that guy better start promoting his game on western thtwt as hell asap and release it on Steam since me and few others viewing this thread have never heard of this game until now; he can't just cross his fingers that some western fan will translate it as he seems to be overestimating the scale of the "western touhou fangame translation community".

 

[不人气的大狸子]

Does that mean that it's also more difficult for girls to get into Touhou in China compared to Japan?

I actually lack relevant data sources because I rarely interact with female Touhou fans. But I admit that Chinese female have a harder time understanding Touhou than Japanese female. From what I've learned on Tiktok and Xiaohongshu, female Touhou fans are more enthusiastic about cosplay and Doujin art. I don't think this is a stereotype, but it's true that men make up the majority of Doujin creations. And Touhou is a male-oriented IP, right?

Are there any specific reasons as to why chinese gen alpha fans have increased lately besides the reason that now is the time for them entering high school?

The growth of the Alpha Generation fanbase is more like the result of multiple combined forces. I believe short video platforms have played a significant role; the short video trend has repackaged Touhou as Doujin music, meme culture, and adorable characters. Furthermore, the recent surge in Chinese Doujin illustrators, music creators, MMD creators, and even Doujin game groups has exposed the Alpha Generation to "Eastern content within their own cultural context," greatly enhancing their sense of connection. A group of Gen Z fans who joined in the 2010s have become established creators and content disseminators, their works continuously influencing young fans aged 13-17, creating a "cross-generational dissemination" effect. This phenomenon has spread from online to offline, leading to the rapid development of various Touhou events.

In summary, I believe that the Chinese Doujin community has matured and formed a healthy Doujin ecosystem, making it one of the most accessible subcultures for young people to join.