12:01 "Old-style liquor has become harder to find as new-style liquor doesn't get you too drunk ..." Truly the most vile dystopia imaginable for ZUN, the man isnt holding back if he's willing to write touhou-inducing alcohol out of it.
Zun just lets the alcohol do the writing for him and it's eye-opening. Renko and Merry running a secret occult pseudo-society disguised as a university club, going on whacky adventures about phenomena, folklore, and taboo. It just seems like an incredible cartoon plot that would've been peak in the early 2000's.
Thumbnail straight out of Dr. Latency’s Freak Report 😭 Seriously though, this was an amazing video. I love the Hifuu Club. Didn’t realize there were so many animations of them to use as background footage though, that’s so cool!
@@GensouChronicledont go hard as i do everytime youtube randomly makes your video show up to me (Brother i was watching something related to physics, why the hell did youtube showed me this video as the first recommended :sob:)
Thumbnail putting the freak in Dr. Latency's Freak Report. Nice to see another video from you after so long, and it's one i've been looking forward to.
My favourite theory is that Maribel is Yukari's past. Since in akyuu's book we know that Maribel travels to the past of Gensoukyo. If her power keep developing, she can eventually go to further past and create Gensoukyo. Her appearance is getting closer and closer to Yukari BBA too.
I mean, the whole setup is perfect for that. They're both based on the same person, but Maribel is based on him before moving to Japan (Lafcadio Hearn) and Yukari is based on him after he moved (Koizumi Yakumo). They both have similar powers and Maribel's powers are getting progressively closer to Yukari's. Same for their appearances. Besides, ZUN never said they weren't connected lorewise, when asked he just said something along the lines of "Well there's this guy named Lafcadio Hearn... Don't think too much about it." I believe that the moment Merry permanently moves to Gensokyo and the moment she becomes Yukari will be the same, just like with Lafcadio. At this point I'll get pretty disappointed if they don't turn out to be the same person tbh ^^'
That's where it was originally headed, but then ZUN made 16.5 and ruin the plot point and the lore.... Violet Detector still going strong as the worst point of the touhou series ever
@@angeldirk00 i generally saw it in a very ''blazblue'' style way where yukari made maribel become yukari,which point in time the loop started in is unimportant because ''yukari just does what she fuckin' wants'' lol (i'm not taking this too seriously it's a cool mystery and this is my deranged take on it)
Based on Yukari's power she could just hijack the entirety of human history early thus preventing the need to make Gensokyo. But if Yukari is Maribel in the future then it is reasonable that Yukari would create Gensokyo instead of preventing the situation where the Youkai need a reservation for themselves.
There will never be an overpopulation crisis where "planned life expectancy" will be a thing. In fact, the opposite is more likely to happen. Goverments literally manufacturing people through artificial wombs or whatever, and giving them a set "fate" like being an engineer or something. Funny enough, that would also probably introduce planned life expectancy because the goverment wouldn't want people to outlive their usefulness.
Yeah, I'd argue that's because calling it an outright dystopia isn't right. It's kind of just our world+more. Our world sucks in a lot of ways, but it also has some upsides-the Hifuu girls live in a world where people never get sick and they can life for a really really really long time for example. It just also has those really bad parts. It's really scary because it's an amplification of our current world, which is really scary. It's a mirror of Gensokyo and the reason for why it even exists in many ways; Their story metanarratively is ZUN exploring why he makes Touhou at all.
@@victorpedrosoceolin3919 I think the moon capital is a really good parallel honestly, even moreso because that might cease to exist because of it-there is a few lines in MA that Gensou neglected to mention about how mankind might settle and develop the whole thing and how they want to go to the Lunar Capital before it disappears. It bodes poorly for the state of the Outside World as it is described in those same stories.
I'm glad you gave Welcome to the Hifuu Detective Agency a mention here. I love how it executes the idea of Renko and Merry becoming residents of Gensokyo since it allows interactions between them and the other Touhou characters, which is something you surprisingly don't see that often with other Hifuu fan stories. I'm really happy That_which_isnt's translations of the series became the offcial ones for them as well. I really hope it leads to more people in the English Touhou fanbase learning about the series, as they are great stories and are far more accessible to read then they were about a year ago.
12:04 "A world where there's no room left for imagination" reminds me of ZUN at some point mentioning that he didn't want to make "databooks" again, something like to avoid stiffling imagination, to not just hand it all on a pre-cooked silver platter
Yeah, though, I personally disagree a bit with him there. I think another data book could give just enough information to increase creativity. Especially with newer characters
I can't recommend Sealed Esoteric History enough. Not only do you get a neat adventure for the two girls which touches on the origin of Moriya Shrine/Sanae's family, you also get two bonus plots, Kaguya's exile and Yukari's attempted invasion of the Lunar Capital with Suika and Yuyuko. Far and away the best fan work I've watched and it being animated beautifully is the cherry on top
The state of Touhou's outside world was always kind of fascinating, as it creates an overall setting where we see the two sides of the Hakurei Barrier going to polarized opposites. Science vs magic, logic vs faith and belief. And a paradox has arisen where, although the two are incompatible with each other, they also are worse off without each other --- Gensokyo being forever stuck in the past, and life in the outside world losing much of its luster. I feel like Zun and Tolkien could have had an interesting conversation if they ever met. Both of their fantasy worlds come with the idea that, while the march of time and human progress are inevitable, we run the risk of losing something special along the way if we're not careful.
Once again, a Touhou Lore video that I'm really interested to watch the whole thing. And of course, it's all about Hifuu. Not gonna lie, I've been waiting for this topic to be talked about. Even though I have some knowledge of it, I never even realized just how deep the Hifuu Story goes. There are many parts in this video that I had no knowledge about. Thanks to this, now I know what this two characters have. Great explanation, by the way! Might save this in my Touhou lore playlist just in case I wanted to have knowledge of it once more to fully understand! 10/10!
Given my username, you can imagine how hyped I am to see a video about the Hifuu Club from you, haha. I'm so happy to see them get more love! I feel like the Merry-Yukari connection could be its own video entirely. You covered the more 'basic' stuff but it honestly goes so much deeper and is peppered through the entire story of the series. I also think even if they aren't directly connected to the games or other stories in the "directly mentioned in them" sense, the Hifuu side of things is foundational to understanding it completely because of that connection-it's why Gensokyo even exists. Metanarratively it's also why ZUN keeps making Touhou Maybe I shouldn't expect too deep a dive into their stories just because of how much I love them though-and you did a great job summarizing the albums!
@@GensouChronicle There's a lot of resources available to look at if you ever do! This was a really good basic intro honestly. Thank you for finally talking about them! They're my favorites. :)
Gensou mentions the bows that both Maribel and Yukari wear as representing an eight, but they could just as easily represent infinity as well. A closed loop without end, perhaps signalling that what has been set in motion by Maribel and Renko is simply one part of a greater cycle of inter-dimensional escapism. We made myths and legends up in the first place as much for entertainment as to make sense of the world around us; a collective hodgepodge of moral parables, historical recollections and intercultural/religious influences, with a sprinkling or two of artistic liberty, that formed, for a time, the folklore of a region and its sense of identity. Tales told around a campfire or smokey longhouse by people who constantly braved the elements and nature itself and found themselves asking questions they couldn't adequately answer about it all, not for lack of intelligence but the fact that for most of the time we humans have been here we have lacked the tools and empirical attitude to work these things out definitively. Wouldn't be that surprising for Gensokyo's existence to be exactly that, a time capsule of sorts where fantasy and whimsy can thrive, removed from the logical and increasingly artificial real world. In a way, we'd be coming full circle back to the anxiety and danger of a world we don't completely understand ruled by seemingly incomprehensible powers outside our control, but in that void of knowledge we also possess the capacity and desire to fill in the blanks ourselves, as well as the will to band together and survive to see more of it.
when i mentioned to my friend i was excited for this video i did not expect that thumbnail but honestly it makes the whole thing even better. 1000/10 girls kissing. dr latency reporting on that freak indeed. in all seriousness hifuu is probably one of my favorite parts of touhou as a whole. not just in terms of the themes presented and the philosophical parts of it, but also the music and how it takes a step back from needing to be a soundtrack for an intense bullet hell game and lets him experiment a lot with the sound and vibes. i actually think some of the songs that originally debuted in the games sound better in the cds (necrofantasia in particular.) in fact, hifuu (and touhou as a whole, but mostly hifuu) pushed me to take philosophy courses in college so there's that i guess. talking about imagination and science and dreams and reality is something i consider fun, turns out.
My favorite Touhou girls. What I love about their story, especially in Neo Traditionalism, is the love of mystery and imagination. It wasn’t just an image of hell that Merry saw, but something more. That reveal made me realize why I was drawn to the humans, youkai, and gods of Gensokyo. What a lovely series.
A couple of hours ago, I finished downloading the last two CDs' songs (Old Adam and TJD), and thus I now have all of the Hifuu songs in my phone (Not the songs from ALL the CDs, after all I still left out things like PMiSS, Akyu Untouched Score and etc). Given the entire plethora of Touhou-related songs I had downloaded, that was already satisfying, but now with the last Hifuu CDs done, I now feel COMPLETE (well, at least until I download more songs ig ^^') And a few hours after, there's this really cool video you made. You're awesome. It is as if fate had prepared everything in order for this to happen. Is this how Mima felt like when she said she felt like becoming a god in Mystic Square? I guess so...in fact, maybe even better. I am a full human, after all. Mima's only got the spirit.
The boundary concept is among the trickiest to consider in philosophy and cognition. The word for illusion used in touhou translates into the 'thought of the supernatural'. Thought implies that it is not necessarily objective but probably subjective. The supernatural refers to something you cannot explain, otherworldly. It might suggest why Maribel sees other worlds and unreal things that all are confined in her dreams and head. Besides if you want to link Hearn to Maribel then you would think of something that crossed a border, east and west being polar opposites. And the name Yukari can refer to connections. As a link. Human connections. Relation. Besides it refers to the red string of fate concept common in east asia. Zun almost certainly refers the concept of boundary as as ability to tell apart one thing from another and where one begins and the other ends. Where illusion and reality meet, truth and false the real world and the imaginary world. Considering the works in general lead me to think it ultimately links the 'form' of the object as understood by buddhism. The deepest truth one finds when you live long enough is that definitions get blurrier the smarter you and no matter how high your resolution is - it does not matter and it will never reflect the true reality. Therefore you figure out that since definitions dont matter (because it is futile to draw them). Only substance it is made of is real, and how you perceive it is not real, which leads to dualism of reality and illusion that Yukari is related to (literal yin yang dress, chen is orange yukari purple - common colors for yin yang other than white and black). The world is illusory, everyone given long enough lifetime will figure out that pretty much all you hold as truth is not true fundamentally. And that your own aparature was feeding you lies and your brain came up with lies based on lies it saw and heard, and people brand lies as truth. The unenlightened are doomed to an illusory life, effectively living in 'another world' that begins and ends in their cognition running on lies and incapable of noticing that they run exclusively on lies and therefore live an illusion. Buddha saw the nature of living things as the dukkha of cognition, born to be miserable and never learning to quit misery during lifetime, by realizing futility and learning to live with it in peace. Taoism is very similar in the regard to just let it go and not care. Gautama saw the natural tendency for misery of humans as the 'cycle of life and death' (that Yuyuko and Yukari in touhou 7 are related to) and escaped the doomed fate by realizing the ultimate truth to its deepest roots. Youmu has a theme song 'Ultimate truth' in stage 6 too that refers to the truth well described in the Heart Sutra that is considered the final and deepest truth that there is about the fate of sentient beings. Youmu is made to resemble a powerful deity of sword in the game that refers to buddhist and hindu traditions calling her deva (deva is related to word 'deus' by the way). Ran has a spellcard of 'the 12 generals' that refers to buddhist tradition. Ran and Yukari have taoist dresses that refers to China, Chen's name is of chinese origin and her dress is chinese too signifying prestige and antiquity. And back in the old days you had presitige the older something was since it had more legitimacy, claiming lineage of the oldest antiquity was the best way of seeking legitimacy. Thats my opinion on the thing.
One tweet was all it took for you to be convinced of Girls Kissing thumbnail... Anyways, great video! Even though its been half a year I dont feel like youve lost your touch with the script and the edits whatsoever. And I actually managed to understand what Taboo Japan Disentanglement is about after months of procrastinating it lmao
That quote from Izanagi's object 12:20 seems to resonate with the entirety of the Touhou project as a whole. While I could talk about how some characters view the outside world in relation to that quote. Instead I want to bring up on how this may be a hint on how ZUN plans to conclude the story of the Touhou project and by extension Hifuu. Simply by knowing the information of how such a story ended would kill any other possible canon endings and by definition restricting the imagination of how our time in the world of fantasy ended. In that aspect ZUN wouldn't give a true, everything's wrapped up ending in which a lot of the magic is explained. Like getting a direct answer on how Yukari and Maribel are connected. It's better to leave such questions unanswered. Hell ZUN almost did that in Imperishable night where it was suppose to be the final Touhou game. Nevertheless whether through intent or not as ZUN is not a Hourai immortal we may just see the Touhou Project as written by the creator just stop one day, and that would be totally fine and in line with how the series operates. (Perhaps you could say ZUN intents to conceal the conclusion. Eh? Get it?) It would then be up to the fan works using such imagination to either continue or conclude the story in their own right. Gotta say great job on video! Each time you upload I get hyped as each one is a banger. It also helps reinvigorate my passion for the touhou project being a fan of it for over a decade now. Keep it up and hope you excel in your works!
I've been waiting for this one so much!! The Hifuu girls have always fascinated me a lot, even before starting to read their story throught the albuns, just from what I've heard from them and looking at artworks of them made me dream... I love their story because it is much easier for me take their perspective (since they live in our world, even though in the future), and that makes Gensokyo even more real in my mind. Not to mention that the music of the albuns are always great and enhances a lot the story related to them. Thank you for another great video man! As always love your work, hope you keep it up!
asking touhou fans to read is a tall task i love hifuu i love social commentary but most of all i love waiting more than 5 years for another sealing club album
11:59 - Ah yes, the liquor distopia is the biggest of them all) Thank you for the video! Loved how I find this channel around a year ago. 12:35 - And that's I like this already. I always thought it's just a music arranges and some new OSTs and no lore/text at all. I think, I know how should I spend my time from now on. Btw, that about early XX-century imagination upon science itself? Thinking about fantasy and less technological times (I personally prefer 00's), but in terms of scientific explanation. Information is available, why not base your work on accepting it to create new fantasy, instead of denying it, moving back in time (like Gensokyo itself)? But I still understand ZUN, of course. Just wanted to clarify, that there is always more solutions to imagination than one.
Thanks for the new video! A bit more of a summary than the usual deep dives, but variety is good. I haven't really given much time to the hifuu side of the series, but this got me a bit more interested in checking it out.
I asked what people wanted me to cover with Hifuu, and the vast majority said they wanted to know what actually happens in the stories. So a large portion of this was dedicated to summarizing them.
The Hifuu club's interactions are the parts in Touhou where my head goes into the gutter. Especially after seeing Renko pleased that Merry thoroughly criticized her
I know exactly what you're referring to. To be fair, I think it's the one Touhou story where ZUN actually intends for you to think about that kind of thing with them, he just doesn't write it explicitly. But the final song for Dateless Bar Old Adam is 'Hangover of Bedfellows Dreaming Differently' and its tagline is "The horse thinks one thing, and he that saddles him another." And the joke wasn't that they woke up in bed together like that setup often becomes-the joke was that Renko wanted to go mountain climbing immediately and Merry was still hungover and said no.
@@Hifuutorian I won't say the animation/art itself is bland, but yea, it's just some very simple looking average-girl looking OC and always the same one...
Great video as always. I remember reading the fantranslation of Utsutsu no Yume during high school. It was a blast and what got me into the Hifuu Club's lore.
@@GensouChronicle yeah, we never got the translation for the book that was released alongside the album by TUMENECO Honestly, I always thought the new book was just a remake since it said to include manga and not just novel that's why the extra pages count but couldn't find any info just from scratching the surface.
Tempora Ocha is such an EPIC artist. Hearing one of their song here was amazing. The video too, even though I read through the albums a lot already, it was a nice refresher and it was relaxing too!
Thanks for making this video, when reading the Hifuu works, I found the environment they lived in very fascinating, the way it was described often felt like they were the only two people in the world.
I’ve only listened to the albums casually so I never would’ve thought there was such an interesting narrative that came with it, good job on explaining hifuu for someone with no knowledge whatsoever. Great vid
Hifuu Club activates my fucking almonds. And just to add to Maribel's and Yukari's connection, the designs of both had their eye colors changed around the same time.
0:36 i know you've already used that background image in a previous video, but it's the second time i get jumpscared by it because i've been using that for my pc log in screen for awhile now
I actually find out about Touhou from the Hifuu club fanime. I quickly look more into it and was surpassed to find that it was just a side story. Back then I thought the pair were an alternate version of Reimu and Marisa 🤦♂
There is this song called Yogensha M.A.R.Y by Diao Ye Zong. Give it a listen. There is also the All-Purpose Synthetic Classmate. All are Hifuu Club songs that are very interesting.
I really like Hifuu because rather than Touhou "the series", Hifuu is about Touhou "the concept". It feels pretentious saying it, but I do like where it's positioned within the franchise. Like, Touhou "the series" is bullet hell with distinct characters with their mythologies and a plot that can range from serious to silly. Touhou "the concept" is about the push and pull of tradition and advancement, of control and freedom; or most prominently with a purple youkai-like youkai and her muddied relation to the college girl known as Maribel Hearn, of dreams and reality. It really occupies a space within Touhou that is wholly unique to it.
It originally was one! Iori Miyazawa wrote it as an Otherside Picnic/Hifuu Club crossover fanfic before rewriting it and giving us what we have now, the inspiration is fairly obvious. If you like Urasekai at all you'll LOVE the Hifuu stories!
bait power aside, i love the thumbnail's association of dystopia with -anime- hifuu girls kissing. our world is problem ridden, life feels awkward and imperfect, but man is fiction sweet, and 2d girls are among its prime examples. it's so strong that we can still derive enjoyment from the rather dreadful depictions of our future. nice vodeo, see you next phantasm.
Awesome video once again. Side note though; where are these animations coming from? 0:40 with the train both interior and outside, 0:58 and 1:52 please
Yes, I said the last album's name wrong. lol
Deletee the channel
*delete the channel*
@@MauricioLSBNo.
Hey, where did you get the map on 0:15? I could use a source to that picture, if it is possible
devious thumbnail
s a y g e x
absolutely devious
hehe sesbian lex
Incredibly devious
furumero typa devious-
12:01 "Old-style liquor has become harder to find as new-style liquor doesn't get you too drunk ..."
Truly the most vile dystopia imaginable for ZUN, the man isnt holding back if he's willing to write touhou-inducing alcohol out of it.
Nothing like the most striking thumbnail I've seen this past year
Bro really have to get freaky with the thumbnail 💀
A little freaky- no, a little quirky one might say
@@Skywalker2016GDDr latency's freak report
Zun just lets the alcohol do the writing for him and it's eye-opening.
Renko and Merry running a secret occult pseudo-society disguised as a university club, going on whacky adventures about phenomena, folklore, and taboo. It just seems like an incredible cartoon plot that would've been peak in the early 2000's.
Isn't it kinda similar to "Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya"?
@@leonidtimofeev1178 that's it. Perfect way to describe it. Was thinking lucky star mixed with magic school bus for folklore, but that's way better.
@@Pudding404 Lucky Star mixed with Magic Schoolbus... seems like a good way to describe Haruhi
Thumbnail (animation) made by
furumero / フルメロ
Thanks
It's a shame they don't really make anything like it anymore.
@@Hifuutorian what he does now
@@akiradkcn his OC or some character
If anyone is interested, the thumbnail is actually a 40 seconds GIF.
Yeah, it's from bladerunner.
Thumbnail straight out of Dr. Latency’s Freak Report 😭
Seriously though, this was an amazing video. I love the Hifuu Club.
Didn’t realize there were so many animations of them to use as background footage though, that’s so cool!
Hifuu fans go hard.
More like Freaky Report
@@GensouChroniclethey are after that thumbnail 💀
@@GensouChronicledont go hard as i do everytime youtube randomly makes your video show up to me
(Brother i was watching something related to physics, why the hell did youtube showed me this video as the first recommended :sob:)
peak thumbnail
Thumbnail putting the freak in Dr. Latency's Freak Report.
Nice to see another video from you after so long, and it's one i've been looking forward to.
My favourite theory is that Maribel is Yukari's past. Since in akyuu's book we know that Maribel travels to the past of Gensoukyo. If her power keep developing, she can eventually go to further past and create Gensoukyo. Her appearance is getting closer and closer to Yukari BBA too.
I mean, the whole setup is perfect for that. They're both based on the same person, but Maribel is based on him before moving to Japan (Lafcadio Hearn) and Yukari is based on him after he moved (Koizumi Yakumo). They both have similar powers and Maribel's powers are getting progressively closer to Yukari's. Same for their appearances. Besides, ZUN never said they weren't connected lorewise, when asked he just said something along the lines of "Well there's this guy named Lafcadio Hearn... Don't think too much about it."
I believe that the moment Merry permanently moves to Gensokyo and the moment she becomes Yukari will be the same, just like with Lafcadio. At this point I'll get pretty disappointed if they don't turn out to be the same person tbh ^^'
literally my theory too lol i mean it just makes too much sense XD
That's where it was originally headed, but then ZUN made 16.5 and ruin the plot point and the lore.... Violet Detector still going strong as the worst point of the touhou series ever
@@angeldirk00 i generally saw it in a very ''blazblue'' style way where yukari made maribel become yukari,which point in time the loop started in is unimportant because ''yukari just does what she fuckin' wants'' lol (i'm not taking this too seriously it's a cool mystery and this is my deranged take on it)
Based on Yukari's power she could just hijack the entirety of human history early thus preventing the need to make Gensokyo. But if Yukari is Maribel in the future then it is reasonable that Yukari would create Gensokyo instead of preventing the situation where the Youkai need a reservation for themselves.
Hifuu's dystopia aspects unironically scare me. There's a lot of disturbing stuff that I can 100% see happening. Some sooner than others.
There will never be an overpopulation crisis where "planned life expectancy" will be a thing. In fact, the opposite is more likely to happen. Goverments literally manufacturing people through artificial wombs or whatever, and giving them a set "fate" like being an engineer or something. Funny enough, that would also probably introduce planned life expectancy because the goverment wouldn't want people to outlive their usefulness.
Yeah, I'd argue that's because calling it an outright dystopia isn't right. It's kind of just our world+more. Our world sucks in a lot of ways, but it also has some upsides-the Hifuu girls live in a world where people never get sick and they can life for a really really really long time for example.
It just also has those really bad parts. It's really scary because it's an amplification of our current world, which is really scary. It's a mirror of Gensokyo and the reason for why it even exists in many ways; Their story metanarratively is ZUN exploring why he makes Touhou at all.
@@Hifuutorian now that you mentioned, is it becoming that different from the moon capital? where everything is stagnant?
@@victorpedrosoceolin3919 I think the moon capital is a really good parallel honestly, even moreso because that might cease to exist because of it-there is a few lines in MA that Gensou neglected to mention about how mankind might settle and develop the whole thing and how they want to go to the Lunar Capital before it disappears. It bodes poorly for the state of the Outside World as it is described in those same stories.
...
I'm glad you gave Welcome to the Hifuu Detective Agency a mention here. I love how it executes the idea of Renko and Merry becoming residents of Gensokyo since it allows interactions between them and the other Touhou characters, which is something you surprisingly don't see that often with other Hifuu fan stories.
I'm really happy That_which_isnt's translations of the series became the offcial ones for them as well. I really hope it leads to more people in the English Touhou fanbase learning about the series, as they are great stories and are far more accessible to read then they were about a year ago.
Yeah. I want more people to at least be aware of works like that on the chance they appeal to them.
“Dystopian Future”
Girls kissing.. in my Dystopian Future?
More likely than you think.
The world might be dying but at least we have plenty of lesbians to go around
12:04 "A world where there's no room left for imagination" reminds me of ZUN at some point mentioning that he didn't want to make "databooks" again, something like to avoid stiffling imagination, to not just hand it all on a pre-cooked silver platter
Yeah, though, I personally disagree a bit with him there. I think another data book could give just enough information to increase creativity. Especially with newer characters
@@GensouChronicle absolutely, PPiSS & SoPM are my favs, so a third entry covering characters beyond Touhou 13 would be incredible
@@GensouChronicle I think a databook would help for newer characters who tend to be thrown aside
Bruh I didnt expect you to go through with this thumb, peak 🔥
I try to deliver
That thumbnail blinded me. I hope you’re proud of your creation.
I'm not.
I can't recommend Sealed Esoteric History enough.
Not only do you get a neat adventure for the two girls which touches on the origin of Moriya Shrine/Sanae's family, you also get two bonus plots, Kaguya's exile and Yukari's attempted invasion of the Lunar Capital with Suika and Yuyuko. Far and away the best fan work I've watched and it being animated beautifully is the cherry on top
The state of Touhou's outside world was always kind of fascinating, as it creates an overall setting where we see the two sides of the Hakurei Barrier going to polarized opposites. Science vs magic, logic vs faith and belief. And a paradox has arisen where, although the two are incompatible with each other, they also are worse off without each other --- Gensokyo being forever stuck in the past, and life in the outside world losing much of its luster.
I feel like Zun and Tolkien could have had an interesting conversation if they ever met. Both of their fantasy worlds come with the idea that, while the march of time and human progress are inevitable, we run the risk of losing something special along the way if we're not careful.
Bro came back and put the most eye-catching thumbnail ever
Once again, a Touhou Lore video that I'm really interested to watch the whole thing. And of course, it's all about Hifuu.
Not gonna lie, I've been waiting for this topic to be talked about. Even though I have some knowledge of it, I never even realized just how deep the Hifuu Story goes.
There are many parts in this video that I had no knowledge about. Thanks to this, now I know what this two characters have.
Great explanation, by the way! Might save this in my Touhou lore playlist just in case I wanted to have knowledge of it once more to fully understand! 10/10!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! It's one of the topics that deserves justice.
This channel IS the Touhou Lore Playlist
The thumbnail is the greatest tongue match that ever existed
Given my username, you can imagine how hyped I am to see a video about the Hifuu Club from you, haha. I'm so happy to see them get more love!
I feel like the Merry-Yukari connection could be its own video entirely. You covered the more 'basic' stuff but it honestly goes so much deeper and is peppered through the entire story of the series. I also think even if they aren't directly connected to the games or other stories in the "directly mentioned in them" sense, the Hifuu side of things is foundational to understanding it completely because of that connection-it's why Gensokyo even exists. Metanarratively it's also why ZUN keeps making Touhou
Maybe I shouldn't expect too deep a dive into their stories just because of how much I love them though-and you did a great job summarizing the albums!
Yeah, I didn't want the Merry-Yukari connection to detract from the topic. It really does deserve its own video.
@@GensouChronicle There's a lot of resources available to look at if you ever do! This was a really good basic intro honestly. Thank you for finally talking about them! They're my favorites. :)
Also I think editing my comment for clarity made the heart go away...
@@Hifuutorian dw bro. i gotchu
@@GensouChronicle Sis actually, but thanks! :D
Gensou mentions the bows that both Maribel and Yukari wear as representing an eight, but they could just as easily represent infinity as well. A closed loop without end, perhaps signalling that what has been set in motion by Maribel and Renko is simply one part of a greater cycle of inter-dimensional escapism.
We made myths and legends up in the first place as much for entertainment as to make sense of the world around us; a collective hodgepodge of moral parables, historical recollections and intercultural/religious influences, with a sprinkling or two of artistic liberty, that formed, for a time, the folklore of a region and its sense of identity.
Tales told around a campfire or smokey longhouse by people who constantly braved the elements and nature itself and found themselves asking questions they couldn't adequately answer about it all, not for lack of intelligence but the fact that for most of the time we humans have been here we have lacked the tools and empirical attitude to work these things out definitively.
Wouldn't be that surprising for Gensokyo's existence to be exactly that, a time capsule of sorts where fantasy and whimsy can thrive, removed from the logical and increasingly artificial real world. In a way, we'd be coming full circle back to the anxiety and danger of a world we don't completely understand ruled by seemingly incomprehensible powers outside our control, but in that void of knowledge we also possess the capacity and desire to fill in the blanks ourselves, as well as the will to band together and survive to see more of it.
Yeah, I think I neglected to add that portion. The kanji for 8 can also be used to represent infinity.
when i mentioned to my friend i was excited for this video i did not expect that thumbnail but honestly it makes the whole thing even better. 1000/10 girls kissing. dr latency reporting on that freak indeed.
in all seriousness hifuu is probably one of my favorite parts of touhou as a whole. not just in terms of the themes presented and the philosophical parts of it, but also the music and how it takes a step back from needing to be a soundtrack for an intense bullet hell game and lets him experiment a lot with the sound and vibes. i actually think some of the songs that originally debuted in the games sound better in the cds (necrofantasia in particular.) in fact, hifuu (and touhou as a whole, but mostly hifuu) pushed me to take philosophy courses in college so there's that i guess. talking about imagination and science and dreams and reality is something i consider fun, turns out.
My favorite Touhou girls. What I love about their story, especially in Neo Traditionalism, is the love of mystery and imagination. It wasn’t just an image of hell that Merry saw, but something more. That reveal made me realize why I was drawn to the humans, youkai, and gods of Gensokyo. What a lovely series.
bro that thumbnail is gonna get me in *_freaky_* mode
Dr. Latency's Freak Report
as a renmari enjoyer i have to say there are spicier renmari yuri pics that'll make you freakier
@@Darkusaido pinkpetbottle
@@GensouChronicle no futa
@@GensouChroniclei prefer ouma tokiichi and midorineko, dont like yuri and futa
>talks about old time fans
>shows yukari
Oh she's not gonna be happy about that.
Lately, I've been listening to Hifuu albums during car rides to and from work. What a coincidence to see a video uploaded today about the same topic.
Perfect timing then, huh?
AMAZING WORK my dude, my lazy arse needed this!!
11:54 why did I get chills from ts 😭I was like that ratatouille reading gif
12:37 i’m always happy when any author does this sort of thing and pulls it off (see touhou, jjk, dandadan)
3:20 I love the fact that Kagerou is mentioned so suddenly and realized she is your favourite girl.
I had to
@@GensouChronicle Elon Musk x GensouChronicle, new fav ship dropped 🗣
A couple of hours ago, I finished downloading the last two CDs' songs (Old Adam and TJD), and thus I now have all of the Hifuu songs in my phone (Not the songs from ALL the CDs, after all I still left out things like PMiSS, Akyu Untouched Score and etc).
Given the entire plethora of Touhou-related songs I had downloaded, that was already satisfying, but now with the last Hifuu CDs done, I now feel COMPLETE (well, at least until I download more songs ig ^^')
And a few hours after, there's this really cool video you made. You're awesome. It is as if fate had prepared everything in order for this to happen.
Is this how Mima felt like when she said she felt like becoming a god in Mystic Square? I guess so...in fact, maybe even better. I am a full human, after all. Mima's only got the spirit.
You got the real Hifuu experience.
Yuri in MY Chronicle?!?? Unconceivable.
Yuri in your vampire caboose.
@GensouChronicle Yuri in MY caboose?!?? Conceivable.
The boundary concept is among the trickiest to consider in philosophy and cognition.
The word for illusion used in touhou translates into the 'thought of the supernatural'.
Thought implies that it is not necessarily objective but probably subjective.
The supernatural refers to something you cannot explain, otherworldly.
It might suggest why Maribel sees other worlds and unreal things that all are confined in her dreams and head.
Besides if you want to link Hearn to Maribel then you would think of something that crossed a border, east and west being polar opposites.
And the name Yukari can refer to connections. As a link. Human connections. Relation.
Besides it refers to the red string of fate concept common in east asia.
Zun almost certainly refers the concept of boundary as as ability to tell apart one thing from another and where one begins and the other ends. Where illusion and reality meet, truth and false the real world and the imaginary world.
Considering the works in general lead me to think it ultimately links the 'form' of the object as understood by buddhism.
The deepest truth one finds when you live long enough is that definitions get blurrier the smarter you and no matter how high your resolution is - it does not matter and it will never reflect the true reality.
Therefore you figure out that since definitions dont matter (because it is futile to draw them).
Only substance it is made of is real, and how you perceive it is not real, which leads to dualism of reality and illusion that Yukari is related to (literal yin yang dress, chen is orange yukari purple - common colors for yin yang other than white and black).
The world is illusory, everyone given long enough lifetime will figure out that pretty much all you hold as truth is not true fundamentally.
And that your own aparature was feeding you lies and your brain came up with lies based on lies it saw and heard, and people brand lies as truth.
The unenlightened are doomed to an illusory life, effectively living in 'another world' that begins and ends in their cognition running on lies and incapable of noticing that they run exclusively on lies and therefore live an illusion.
Buddha saw the nature of living things as the dukkha of cognition, born to be miserable and never learning to quit misery during lifetime, by realizing futility and learning to live with it in peace. Taoism is very similar in the regard to just let it go and not care.
Gautama saw the natural tendency for misery of humans as the 'cycle of life and death' (that Yuyuko and Yukari in touhou 7 are related to) and escaped the doomed fate by realizing the ultimate truth to its deepest roots.
Youmu has a theme song 'Ultimate truth' in stage 6 too that refers to the truth well described in the Heart Sutra that is considered the final and deepest truth that there is about the fate of sentient beings.
Youmu is made to resemble a powerful deity of sword in the game that refers to buddhist and hindu traditions calling her deva (deva is related to word 'deus' by the way).
Ran has a spellcard of 'the 12 generals' that refers to buddhist tradition.
Ran and Yukari have taoist dresses that refers to China, Chen's name is of chinese origin and her dress is chinese too signifying prestige and antiquity.
And back in the old days you had presitige the older something was since it had more legitimacy, claiming lineage of the oldest antiquity was the best way of seeking legitimacy.
Thats my opinion on the thing.
One tweet was all it took for you to be convinced of Girls Kissing thumbnail...
Anyways, great video! Even though its been half a year I dont feel like youve lost your touch with the script and the edits whatsoever.
And I actually managed to understand what Taboo Japan Disentanglement is about after months of procrastinating it lmao
Perfect, I know almost nothing of canon hifuu club
Their stories are on the wiki. This video was a good summary but it still left some stuff out and they're really interesting!
That quote from Izanagi's object 12:20 seems to resonate with the entirety of the Touhou project as a whole. While I could talk about how some characters view the outside world in relation to that quote. Instead I want to bring up on how this may be a hint on how ZUN plans to conclude the story of the Touhou project and by extension Hifuu.
Simply by knowing the information of how such a story ended would kill any other possible canon endings and by definition restricting the imagination of how our time in the world of fantasy ended. In that aspect ZUN wouldn't give a true, everything's wrapped up ending in which a lot of the magic is explained. Like getting a direct answer on how Yukari and Maribel are connected. It's better to leave such questions unanswered. Hell ZUN almost did that in Imperishable night where it was suppose to be the final Touhou game. Nevertheless whether through intent or not as ZUN is not a Hourai immortal we may just see the Touhou Project as written by the creator just stop one day, and that would be totally fine and in line with how the series operates. (Perhaps you could say ZUN intents to conceal the conclusion. Eh? Get it?) It would then be up to the fan works using such imagination to either continue or conclude the story in their own right.
Gotta say great job on video! Each time you upload I get hyped as each one is a banger. It also helps reinvigorate my passion for the touhou project being a fan of it for over a decade now. Keep it up and hope you excel in your works!
Thanks!
I don't think there will ever be an ending of any kind; Just a point where we stop hearing new stories being told.
Touhou 5 was also intended to be the finale aswell, and it was similar, it wasn't a conclusive ending or anything of the sort.
I've been waiting for this one so much!! The Hifuu girls have always fascinated me a lot, even before starting to read their story throught the albuns, just from what I've heard from them and looking at artworks of them made me dream... I love their story because it is much easier for me take their perspective (since they live in our world, even though in the future), and that makes Gensokyo even more real in my mind. Not to mention that the music of the albuns are always great and enhances a lot the story related to them.
Thank you for another great video man! As always love your work, hope you keep it up!
asking touhou fans to read is a tall task
i love hifuu i love social commentary but most of all i love waiting more than 5 years for another sealing club album
11:59 - Ah yes, the liquor distopia is the biggest of them all)
Thank you for the video! Loved how I find this channel around a year ago.
12:35 - And that's I like this already. I always thought it's just a music arranges and some new OSTs and no lore/text at all. I think, I know how should I spend my time from now on.
Btw, that about early XX-century imagination upon science itself? Thinking about fantasy and less technological times (I personally prefer 00's), but in terms of scientific explanation. Information is available, why not base your work on accepting it to create new fantasy, instead of denying it, moving back in time (like Gensokyo itself)?
But I still understand ZUN, of course. Just wanted to clarify, that there is always more solutions to imagination than one.
"dystopian future" and it's just two girls kissing
Finally a good video that describes these side novels. You are a blessing for understanding touhou lore
That thumbnail my guy 😂
But no joke great video and I’ve been enjoying watching them, keep up the great work! 👍
Will do.
I recognize the GIF in the thumbnail
Really love your videos You made me fall in love with Touhou, and now you've made me fall in love with Hifuu.
Thanks for the new video! A bit more of a summary than the usual deep dives, but variety is good.
I haven't really given much time to the hifuu side of the series, but this got me a bit more interested in checking it out.
I asked what people wanted me to cover with Hifuu, and the vast majority said they wanted to know what actually happens in the stories. So a large portion of this was dedicated to summarizing them.
@@GensouChronicle Makes sense! It certainly seems to be a part of the series many fans aren't even aware of.
The Hifuu club's interactions are the parts in Touhou where my head goes into the gutter. Especially after seeing Renko pleased that Merry thoroughly criticized her
I know exactly what you're referring to. To be fair, I think it's the one Touhou story where ZUN actually intends for you to think about that kind of thing with them, he just doesn't write it explicitly. But the final song for Dateless Bar Old Adam is 'Hangover of Bedfellows Dreaming Differently' and its tagline is "The horse thinks one thing, and he that saddles him another." And the joke wasn't that they woke up in bed together like that setup often becomes-the joke was that Renko wanted to go mountain climbing immediately and Merry was still hungover and said no.
@@Hifuutorian That is actually hilarious.
@@darkbeetlebot ZUN's a funny guy. The best parts of his writing really shine through with the Hifuu stories because of their focus and format!
I know that thumbnail. I wish they kept doing Touhou animations...
Same, especially since their newer stuff is just bland. :/
@@Hifuutorian I won't say the animation/art itself is bland, but yea, it's just some very simple looking average-girl looking OC and always the same one...
Great Thumbnail!!!
Oh yea, great video as well. Time to wait a whole year for the next video
craziest thumbnail I've seen yet
Great video as always.
I remember reading the fantranslation of Utsutsu no Yume during high school. It was a blast and what got me into the Hifuu Club's lore.
Same here. However, I only read the 200 pages that got translated
@@GensouChronicle yeah, we never got the translation for the book that was released alongside the album by TUMENECO
Honestly, I always thought the new book was just a remake since it said to include manga and not just novel that's why the extra pages count but couldn't find any info just from scratching the surface.
Tempora Ocha is such an EPIC artist. Hearing one of their song here was amazing.
The video too, even though I read through the albums a lot already, it was a nice refresher and it was relaxing too!
I listen to their stuff at the gym.
@GensouChronicle that is insanely based damnn
and with this, I take another step towards Touhou Enlightenment.
Thanks for making this video, when reading the Hifuu works, I found the environment they lived in very fascinating, the way it was described often felt like they were the only two people in the world.
Me : It's just music CDs what could be wrong about it
The lore : (Dystopian screeching)
I did NOT expect to see this thumbnail in the morning.
Dude not Zun worrying about alcohol in the future SOB
I’ve only listened to the albums casually so I never would’ve thought there was such an interesting narrative that came with it, good job on explaining hifuu for someone with no knowledge whatsoever. Great vid
Now I have a deeper understanding of the thumbnail context thank you gensouchronicle
"Honey, wake up! New Gensou Chronicle just dropped!"
clicked for lesbians, stayed for infodumping
That's the goal lol
Hifuu Club activates my fucking almonds. And just to add to Maribel's and Yukari's connection, the designs of both had their eye colors changed around the same time.
Subbed for the thumbnail
My favourite part of this content is the culture along with the immersion of the topic your explaining.
My interest in hifuu started with Akatsuki Record videos. Especially "Black Mirror on the Wall".
Good choice
My favorite of theirs and favorite song period is Sci-Fi ROMANCE TRAVELER. :)
@@Hifuutorian Oh yes, I love that song aswell!
"Bon Voyage!" is another good one, if you enjoy the less dramatic songs. :)
@@Robert-vk7je I'll check that one out again, thank you. :)
0:36 i know you've already used that background image in a previous video, but it's the second time i get jumpscared by it because i've been using that for my pc log in screen for awhile now
saw the thumbnail made me go hell yeah-
Hell yeah
Instantly recognized the artist that drew that thumbnail.
we love lesbians
oh hey, i have that gif saved in my folder, how cool.
i'd recognise it anywhere.
Oh no, I've seen this thumbnail before..
Yeah, it's from bladerunner.
I, no joke, didn't know anything about the Hifuu Club until now
Dang, now I wonder how many views this video'll get with the thumbnail lmao
It will dictate how I do thumbnails in the future
I actually find out about Touhou from the Hifuu club fanime. I quickly look more into it and was surpassed to find that it was just a side story. Back then I thought the pair were an alternate version of Reimu and Marisa 🤦♂
Ah, The Distopia Storyline. Didn't expect this one but alas, I LIKE IT
HE DID THE THUMBNAIL HOLY SHIT
Dystopian thumbnail
Otherside Picnic is one of my favorite book series ever and you're telling me it stated as a Hifuu- WHAT!?
The fact that I know the artist of the thumbnail, I'm so cooked chat.
Same here dude, same here..
Holy shit Hifuu actually seems interesting
I knew my goat would deliver
Thank you for returning with this report after november ended
Never thought theses albums had any story behind, listened for so long and would never knew. Changeability of strange dream is so good
thumbnail brought me in, stayed for the lore cuz I love hifuu
great thumbnail to end NNN with
I've been putting Hifuu off forever saying I'd get around to it, thanks for reminding me
You won't regret it.
Thank you for the yuriful work as always
gensouchronicle upload my beloved
There is this song called Yogensha M.A.R.Y by Diao Ye Zong. Give it a listen. There is also the All-Purpose Synthetic Classmate. All are Hifuu Club songs that are very interesting.
DYZ has SO many good Hifuu songs.
If that is the dystopian future then I think I need it.
Awesome Lesbian Couple
Evil and Intimidating horse
So true...
Hifuu is really cool by the sound of this
I really like Hifuu because rather than Touhou "the series", Hifuu is about Touhou "the concept". It feels pretentious saying it, but I do like where it's positioned within the franchise.
Like, Touhou "the series" is bullet hell with distinct characters with their mythologies and a plot that can range from serious to silly. Touhou "the concept" is about the push and pull of tradition and advancement, of control and freedom; or most prominently with a purple youkai-like youkai and her muddied relation to the college girl known as Maribel Hearn, of dreams and reality.
It really occupies a space within Touhou that is wholly unique to it.
This reminds me of when I was a kid and wanted to make a sequel story to lord of the rings that takes place in modern day
THATS WHAT IVE BEEN WAITING FOR WOOO
Urasekai was originally meant to be A HIFUU FANFIC!??????
It originally was one! Iori Miyazawa wrote it as an Otherside Picnic/Hifuu Club crossover fanfic before rewriting it and giving us what we have now, the inspiration is fairly obvious. If you like Urasekai at all you'll LOVE the Hifuu stories!
There's a big reddit post taking about it if you want info.
bait power aside, i love the thumbnail's association of dystopia with -anime- hifuu girls kissing. our world is problem ridden, life feels awkward and imperfect, but man is fiction sweet, and 2d girls are among its prime examples. it's so strong that we can still derive enjoyment from the rather dreadful depictions of our future.
nice vodeo, see you next phantasm.
i love lebsian
Awesome video once again. Side note though; where are these animations coming from? 0:40 with the train both interior and outside, 0:58 and 1:52 please
The goat is back