This was wild. I wonder if all Touhou music is like this... Maybe I'll make more videos to find out! In the meantime, check out the videos I've done on Undertale music: ua-cam.com/video/bS7Dh_-6yys/v-deo.html
Can’t wait to see more touhou ! In case you’re looking for some recommendations, here are some songs that I think would be interesting to analyse. - Necrofantasia - Border of life - Reach for the moon ~ immortal smoke - U.N. Owen was her - Pure Furies ~ Whereabouts of the heart - The lost emotion - Emotional Skyscrapper ~ Cosmic mind - Vanishing Dream ~ Lost dream - Dullahan Under the Willows - Poison body ~ Forsaken doll - Doll Judgment - Green eyes jealousy - Old Yuanxian
@@eridani069 This. There is no bad Touhou music. Only underrated Touhou music, mostly because there are too many OSTs for each character and stage of each game.
Ah yes, Koishi's theme! Unsettling, intense, and madness filled are great ways to describe her theme. Koishi is a mind-reading youkai called a satori, and both humans and other youkai fear her and her sister for it. Koishi closed her "third eye" that allows her to do said mind-reading because she wanted to be loved. As a result though, she became a being of pure subconsciousness. She's impulse and baser instinct, living in a waking dream state, and able to manipulate the subconscious minds of others. And she lacks presence. People forget about her as soon as she leaves their sight... except children. Koishi is the imaginary friend to many children. She's a character that is both tragic and yet heart warming. She is loved now, but is doomed to be forgotten as the children get older. But she has no conscious mind to care.
@@dragonclaw4159 what do you mean? the little girl locked in a basement for 495 years? an immortal person who still suffers pain no matter how many time she's killed? The girl who commited S to save many people, and her ghost forgot what she did? NAHHH it'll be fine.
@@calibula95 Don't forget the mother so enraged by her husband's betrayal and the death of her son that she became a spirit of pure vengeance or the young goddess created by oppressed spirits, yet ultimately could only hold the oppressors at a stalemate, not save those who made her or the fact that a character who initially appears to be a nine-tailed fox is actually a constructed intelligence installed on a subjugated nine-tailed fox
3:24 "Someone who stands out" is literally the most ironic description you could have given koishi since her main power is the fact that people can't even realize that she's there unless she allows them to, and even if they do manage to notice her, they forget about having seen her as soon as they look away.
A little context. This franchise began with a college student named Jun'ya Ota who released his first game in 1997 under the pseudonym ZUN in order to share his music. He created five games with his student group over the course of the next year, then graduated. 4 years later, he tried his hand at developing another game, which would not only become immensely popular, but also served to revitalise the bullet hell genre. For the next 20 something years, this man would continue to develop his bullet hell games, and occasionally release other titles in collaboration with other parties, as well as write several manga taking place in the universe of his games. There are 31 games in this series, 6 of which were developed in collaboration with Twilight Frontier, most of the aforementioned being fighting games. Those that he were the sole developer of usually consist of 6 stages of top-down shooting, each with a boss at their end, followed by an unlockable 7th Extra stage and corresponding boss. As such, you can imagine the original soundtrack is quite expansive. It is however a journey I would recommend undertaking.
Team LADYBUG's Touhou Luna Nights... one hell of a memorable entry in that enjoyable chaos that is Touhou. With great covers of the most iconic Touhou tracks, too. The franchise is the Gift that Keeps on Giving.
@@zennvirus7980 100% agree. Team Ladybug did awesome arranges. I particularly love their _Voile, The Magic Library_ , _Night of Nights_ and _The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood_ covers. They're epic !
@@rodrigoreismarinho9552 No, he said most of the games that were developed in collaboration with Twilight Frontiers are fighting games. These games are: 1. Immaterial and Missing Power 2. Scarlet Weather Rhapsody 3. Hisoutensoku 4. Hopeless Masquerade 5. Urban Legend in Limbo 6. Antinomy of Common Flowers The 7th game is Submerged Hell of Sunken Hollow, but it's a boss rush type of game.
The only way I have to describe Touhou's music is.... Touhou. ZUN has a very distinct style, in anything I recommend you listen on your own to the ost of the franchise (if you don't have time for videos) I'm not an expert on music, but Touhou has some extremely interesting peces and is worth listening to.
His music must have came from operating noises of a PC-98. This one is basically Bad Apple!! without the melody ua-cam.com/video/mMg0NvlwMVs/v-deo.html
"This is Koishi Komeiji's theme. I tried to make it eerie and have the aura of a broken girl. I think the eeriness is fitting for an extra boss. Actually, I think a garden with roses strewn all about where thorns can prick you is really fitting for a battle, but for some reason it's the shrine this time." - ZUN, 2008
The comparisons to Undertale are often made because for one Toby Fox openly stated that Touhou was a big inspiration for him but also because Undyne's theme plays homage to Touhou's signature trumpets (also called ZUNpets by the community) in one section. Good examples of these would be Aya's theme, Keiki's theme, Byakuren's theme, Reisen's theme, Prismriver Sister's theme, Ran's theme and many, many more. It's both the combination of the sound of the trumpets as well as them carrying the main melody that is very signature Touhou and if you give a listen to Undetale's "Battle against a true hero" afterwards, the homage becomes really obvious.
There's one really fascinating part of this song: aspects of it are a musical palindrome. A lot of the melodies and stuff, when played in reverse, are the exact same or become melodies used in other parts of the song. (I'm not good at music terminology I just know I've watched other videos talking about this)
Zun made a song called "Reverse Ideology" for a character that has the ability to " reverse " or " Turn over" "anything " The entire song is a Palindrome. Its a good song and a bit of fun trivia.
5:39 evidence that music can tell a story. Koishi as a character is quite an interesting one. In the game she is a satori, a type of Japanese mythological creature that can read minds. Acording to the game’s lore she chose to close her third eye /hearth because of her ability of reading minds and the hatered towords her kind. By closing her hearth she acts as her subconcious tells her to. We as people have the capaciy to question our subconcius, to don’t let the intrusive thoughts guide our every action. In the case of Koishi she is generally playful and free-spirited, being guided by her subcouncous thoughts. This goes in acordance to her first part of the theme, being all over the place, unsetteling, care free, being a reprezentation of the chaos in the thought process of someone’s subconcious. The second part, the one that sounds more peaceful gives the listener a feeling of bitter-sweetness. You can feel a bit of sadness when listening to this part. This could represent that beside her care free atitude, there is still a bit of sadness, of bitter memories of the past, a little bit of concoiusness that has been left after she closed her hearth
Musical symbolism has to be one of my favorite things in this series. Taking this a step further, listen to Heien Alien and then Grudge Arrow. Both are songs that belong to Nue Houjuu and they represent her character extremely well. One song portrays her as mysterious and disturbing while the other portrays her as curious and whimsical. Stuff like this is awesome.
YES FINALLY! Please do more, Touhou is more known for its music than anything else, most people find it through rhythm games than the actual games they come from. It's BEGGING for more music reviews. Personally I recommend anything from the games Subterranean Animism (Like the one you just reviewed), Imperishable Night, Perfect Cherry Blossom, Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, and anything from the PC-98 era of games. But to be honest all of the games have amazing music, just try not to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of songs.
Glad I could send Davi down this rabbit hole, as a Koishi fan. My interpretation of the calm part is the manifestation of Super-ego in the madness governed by Id. Since by lore Koishi doesn't have conscious mind i.e. Ego, and the whole lore and character design revolves around psychology concepts, mostly Freudian. (The "Hartmann" in the song title refers to the psychology expert too.) I like to imagine it as a rose blooming in the deep underground, as described by the name of her last spell card "Subterranean Rose".
Personal interpretation is that Reimu (or whoever you pick, Reimu is my go to) sees Koishi for who she truly is, and the temporary bit of calm is Reimu relishing in Koishi’s backstory. Of course, madness kicks back it during Philosophy Of The Despised (my favorite spell card) or somewhere around Subterranean Rose, as both are literal hell.
And this is why Davi's interpretations are so good. We've been listening to remixes of this theme, and hundreds more, for over a decade and a half, and it's easy to take for granted how much effort ZUN puts into characterizing his creations through music. And Davi, having absolutely zero context to draw from, NAILS it. Koishi is a disturbing character, capable of existing only in the subconscious, a creature that has a fundamental sense of *wrong* about her when you abruptly notice her -- and you can ONLY notice her abruptly. She's a walking jump-scare. Yet for all that she's not a bad PERSON. She closed her third eye because she didn't want her perception to be burdened with the little evils floating around in everyone's head; she wanted to see them for their actual value. That positive, heroic sequence is more on par with this side of her personality -- and it's a powerful one, because that's what drove her motivation. And yet, tragically, it's only that one sequence -- the moment you glance away and back, the monster of the subconscious is there again. I, and I'm sure many others, are absolutely craving future Touhou music interpretations on Davi's part. I deeply hope *Necrofantasia* has been recommended, though for a proper change of pace, from the alarming to the heroic, we ought to have *Idolatrize World* or *Broken Moon* , or the absolute tapestry that is *Gensokyo Millennium* .
Hearing this music immediately put me on edge! Like I was dropped into an intense fight and I need to be prepared for anything at any moment. I was almost panicked. Just heard the slow part It almost sounds like the hero is prevailing!
@@emblemblade9245 tbh as much as I love flowering nights I’m not sure there is much to say about it, there are many other songs that I think would be better suited for those kinds of analysis
Great video as always! I like the frantic yet sad vibes of this piece, it's very fitting to express the instability of the girl (Koishi). I've never played Touhou series myself, but I have a friend who's a big fan and I often watch her play. The music for Touhou series has an instant impact that draws you in, an addictive quality that lasts forever, and the characters and world-building are so precisely and beautifully put into it. The movement and colour of the barrage in the game is so beautiful, it almost looks like a kaleidoscope, and matches the music so well! I've started playing Undertale and I'm very excited about the Touhou influence on it! (Especially on Undyne music) Thanks Davi :)
I would like to suggest four tracks, two from a much earlier installment, and another two more recent. Each of these for the final bosses of their respective games. •Bloom Nobly, Ink-Black Cherry Blossoms ~ Border of Life (Game: PCB) I would also recommend the in-game arrange titled "Border of Life". •Legendary Illusion ~ Infinite Being (Game: MS) •Last Occultism ~ Esotericist of the Present World (Game: ULiL) •Entrusting This World to Idols ~ Idolatrize World (Game: WBaWC)
For reference, "SA" is short for Subterranean Animism (Touhou 11), Koishi is the name of the character the music is for (it's the theme song for Koishi), and "Hartman's Youkai Girl" is the name of the music track itself. The word 'youkai' is a bit of a catch-all term for creatures from Japanese folklore, from the massive Daidabarochi or Omukade to the wildly varied Tsukumogami (inanimate objects that have come to life). Not all youkai are hostile, either, with the Hakutaku, for example, being quite explicitly friendly to humans. As for the track... It being a bit unsettling is _perfect_ for Koishi's character. She's an extremely tragic character who closed her third eye (which was essentially lobotomizing herself) to get rid of her ability to read minds, as said ability caused people to resent her. As a result of said lobotomy, she became able to manipulate the subconscious mind of anyone around her, but at the cost of losing her conscious mind, and becoming unable to be remembered. With a few exceptions (such as young children, who will forget her as they grow older), anyone who meets Koishi will be unable to remember her. Furthermore, she completely lacks a consciousness, acting entirely subconsciously. Someone who acts entirely without thought, and who you can't remember meeting would definitely come off as creepy. The most tragic part is revealed- or, perhaps more accurately, pointed out to the player- in a later game. Koishi is a satori- a youkai. Youkai in Touhou are literally born from the fears of humans. A Youkai that cannot be remembered- that nobody knows? Well... How are you going to fear something if you don't have any idea there's anything to fear. In other words, she is literally fading away from existence. Fortunately for her, in Hopeless Masquerade, she obtains a magical mask (which is technically part of a different youkai) which lets people notice her... Even that, though, is bittersweet. Being separated from it's original owner, the mask of hope will eventually lose it's power, leaving Koishi to simply... fade away, forgotten.
Now that he's done done Koishi's main theme I would love to hear his thoughts on Last Remote, while Hartmann's Youkai girl is her more iconic disturbing battle theme I feel like Last Remote conveys feelings with Koishi as a character, it sounds tragic and depressing at points but happy and uplifting at other parts.
To enlighten some people about the character you fight in this song, her name is Koishi komeiji, she is a satori youkai, and younger sister to satori komeiji. Satori youkai are infamous in touhou for their ability to read minds, this causes even strong youkai like onis to fear and hate them. Having seen her sister getting bullied for her ability, Koishi decided to seal her ability to read minds. This, however, had an opposite effect. While she could no longer read people’s conscious minds, she could read their subconscious minds. Additionally, sealing away her ability made it almost impossible for anyone to see or remember her. Without having prior knowledge of her existence, you would forget about her the moment you looked away from her. Despite this, Koishi is portrayed as a very happy and excitable person, with many of her attacks using heart shaped bullets. If your interest in her, but don’t want a deep dive into touhou, I would recommend a video called bramble boundaries by minus t. It is a 3D animation based off the events and attack patterns used in this stage and has great characterization of Koishi.
Omfg, he's doing touhou music! I always love it when people get to experience this franchise and its vibe. And u started off with the theme for my favourite character. It's quite a chaotic thing with a little spice of tragedy; its the perfect reflection of literally no thoughts, head empty. Hoping we'll get to see more reactions to the music in this franchise cos there's a lot and its all banger. Great vid and analysis as always!🙌
Yes! More Touhou please! ZUN has a really distinct style that you can immediately tell "yep, this is a touhou song", adding in the fact that each one is connected to a character. And just like they say, there is no bad Touhou music. If you're taking recommendations "Necrofantasia" or "Entrusting this world to idols~Idolatrize World" would be a good listen!
I was also amazed by the uncommon time signature used in _Hartmann's Youkai Girl_ , and also by the time signature switch. It would be interesting to also see this dude's first impressions on _The Maid and the Pocket Watch Of Blood_ . That music is really underrated despite it's uniqueness (..if that word exists)
Woah, I couldn’t ever expect this. I don’t even know if I can do this here, but, if I can, I will recommend some more musical masterpieces from Touhou: -Suwa foughten field -Faith is for the transient people -Last remote -Heartfelt fancy -Satori Maiden ~ third eye (this and the previous should be listened to together) -Solar sect of mystic wisdom -Heian Alien -Shoutoku legend ~ true administrator -Reverse ideology -Exaggerated castle keep -Kobito of the shining needle (again, a pair) -Pure furies ~ whereabouts of the heart -Hidden star in all seasons -Electric heritage -Entrusting this world to idols ~ idolatrise world (these are a pair too)
Oh man, you’ve just entered an INSANE rabbit hole of awesome music. ZUN has basically said he’s a musician first and a game developer second. XD As for the character this song belongs to- Koishi Komeiji is a satori who has closed her third eye, destroying her conscious mind. She is thoroughly insane and extremely dangerous, with absolutely no control over her actions, and put simply is the embodiment of the phrase “no thoughts, head empty”. This is why her theme is so, for lack of a better word, schizophrenic. Most of her Spell Cards are references to Freudian psychology. Some recommendations from me: •U.N. Owen Was Her •Necrofantasia •Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind •Kobito of the Shining Needle ~ Little Princess •Pure Furies ~ Whereabouts of the Heart
YES! my favorite OST from Touhou! FYI, the Touhou games are mainly Bullet Hell games (like certain minigames in Undertale but way harder) and each game has 6 levels for the main story. Then, there is an extra stage that is more demanding than the base game (depending of which Touhou game, of course) and guess what? Koishi is the Extra Stage boss of her debut game... AHHHHH (yeah, sorry. I'm a huge Koishi fanboy). I'm looking forward to seeing you react to other themes. There are A LOT.
I would absolutely love it if you gave "Last Remote" from the same game a try! it's almost like a prelude to this song thematically and it's such a wonderful song with even harsher contrasts than this one!
I haven't actually played any Touhou games yet, but I'd recommend listening to U.N. Owen Was Her from the sixth game. It's one of the most well-known songs in the series. The "Death Waltz" remix by Cool&Create was also a really popular "impossible piano" trend in the late 2000s/early 2010s.
Hehe~ The time signature for this one oscillates between 7/8ths and 4/4ths, with the melody for those "tenser" bits containing a lot of chromatic notes that jump up and down, adding to the mish-mosh of paranoia... leading into the transition from E minor to A minor (a very large jump). I'm astonished you got the time sig so quickly, nice job!
Oh man, there are so many good tracks from Team Shangai Alice. Lovely Mound of Cherry Blossoms, Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17, Mystic Oriental Dream, Shanghai Teahouse, Greenwich in the Sky, and of course ZUN's finest work Necrofantasia. I could go all day with this stuff, he is so good.
Yes indeed her theme is quite fitting, Koishi might even be THE most dangerous person in 2hu due to her unique qualities. In the past, during a confrontation with a particularly old and powerful youkai, Koishi out of nowhere and without a hint of remorse, irony or fear told her to her face "I know! it's because you have no friends, right? So sad..." Yukari never recovered 😔
2:00 Someone probably already explain it, but Touhou is a Bullet Hell Genre (aka Danmaku), which is similar to those arcade-like space-shooter game where you dodge projectiles while shooting at incoming enemies, -but take it several dozen level higher in the difficulty scale- And yes, Koishi Komeiji is a Stage Boss. Specifically an Extra Stage Boss, which is unlocked after clearing the main game.
Touhou music is a whole new universe! I totally would like more videos on it! suggestion: Yuyuko's Theme - Border of Life (from Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom )
Your analysis is just amazing. I was just like “ah the atmosphere suits her” but now i understand how and why i felt so. Please make a video of Last Remote from the same title too!!!
Very interesting video. I find Touhou music to all be really good (or at least the ones I’ve listened to). If you’re taking recommendations for tracks, here are some of my favorite: - Flowering Night - UN Owen was her? - Border of Life - Phantom Ensemble
Touhou! Very nice, and a good choice for a starter. Stage 6 bosses and Extra bosses themes are usually incredible. Btw, my favorite is Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye, and Satori is the sister of this character
Ahhh yes such a good pick. Haven't been able to watch yet but I really wanted to hear your opinion on the crazy key signature and amazing use of key changes and syncopation. Can't wait
I hear Touhou, I scramble over. So, the songs I suggest you listen to areeeee: Fujiwara No Mokou's theme, (forget it's name) Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye (Satori Komeiji's theme, she's Koishi's older sister actually!) Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom (Utsuho Reiuji's theme) True Administrator (Toyosatomimi no Miko's theme) Border of Life (Yuyuko Saigyouji's theme) Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind (Byakuren Hijiri's theme) Legend of the Great Gods (Mononobe no Futo's theme) Love Colored Master Spark (one of Marisa Kirisame's themes)
Cliffnotes version: Touhou Project is a series of (predominantly) 2D vertical shooters under the sub genre of bullet hell. The creator, Jun'ya Ota (more commonly referred to as ZUN), started the series in 1997 officially with the release of Highly Responsive to Prayers and Story of Eastern Wonderland in the Summer Comiket of that year. Ota has continued to build on the series, rebooting it with Embodiment of Scarlet Devil released in the Summer Comiket of 2002, with other media such as stories included with music CDs and official print works. Koishi Komeiji is the Extra Stage boss of Subterranean Animism. She is a satori, a youkai typically depicted as a monkey like creature that lives in the mountains and is capable of reading minds. Her design, and the design of her older sister, Satori, is based off of the painting by artist Frida Kahlo, "The Two Fridas". Unlike her sister, Koishi made the decision to close her third eye, effectively sealing away her metaphorical heart. In the process, she gained the ability to manipulate the subconscious of those around her, and experienced a shift in personality, now mostly acting on whims without fully thinking through the consequences.
"Hartmann's Yokai Girl" is a popular song on the Japanese Internet, and I have heard it many times since I was a child, but I was surprised that I could make such an accurate character study just by listening to the song without any prior knowledge of the character, and I was also surprised at the creator of Touhou Project (Mr. ZUN) who incorporated the character's characteristics so well into the song. Thanks for the great video! Sorry for my poor English! With love from Japan!
Despite not knowing the context you hit the nail on the head and this was an amazing take. Just shows what a good composer Zun is and why we all got hooked on his games, and also what a good critic you are! Look forward to hearing more of yourr takes, respect
Oh man, you're doing Touhou. Good luck LOL. I would recommend looking at some other iconic tracks of the series like Dream Battle ~ Maiden's Capriccio, Love Colored Master Spark, among others. If you have time, of course, totally up to you :3
Welcome to the rabbithole, Touhou is an insanely wholistic franchise and most of it is because of its stellar themes. Also, I really recommend checking out Necrofantasia, Border of Life, Extend Ash ~ Hourai Victim, Whereabouts of the Heart ~ Pure Furies, Septette For the Dead princess, Gensokyo Millenium, Emotional Skyscraper ~Cosmic Mind, Where is that Bustling Marketplace ~ Immemorial Marketeers, The Venerable Ancient Battlefield ~ Suwa Foughten Field and Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom ~ Nuclear Fusion. Touhou's music in general is absolutely fantastic, there#s a reason it's been more or less dominating the Japanese self-published music industry for more than two and a half decades.
Pleasure to see you, invisible friend! You think you can see me? It's only pretend! It's funny, 'cause no one is keen to my kind. So maybe the truth is, you're losing your mind~
Pleasure to be here, impossible friend! So long as you see me, I'll stay till the end. I'm meeting myself, too, with every day. Promise to make sure you don't look away~ Who are you? (Who am I?) What are you? (What am I?) Look at me. (Are you blind?) Look again. (Never mind.) Are you there? (Stay away.) There you are. (Stay away.) Here I am. (Stay away.) Come with me. (Take it away...) Tell me your secrets, in case you forget! And I'll be your back-up, the faithfullest pet! As cute as a kitten, as smart as a crow. Got nothing to hide here, and nothing to show. Turn off your worries, and leave it to chance! We'll turn up the white noise and go for a dance! Your favorite tune? It's my favorite too! You follow my lead. I'm following you! Give in to nonsense! There's nothing to fight. I step with my left foot, and turn to the right! So what's coming next? That's a total surprise. Join into the game now. Look straight in my FACE! Who are you? (Who am I?) What are you? (What am I?) Look at me. (Are you blind?) Look again. (Never mind.) Are you there? (Stay away.) There you are. (Stay away.) Here I am. (Stay away.) Here I go. (No, I mean, stay...) (We may never know each other all that clearly. Really, will it matter when we drift apart? For as long as we can feign another moment loving dearly, I don't think I'll ever need to see into your heart.) (Memories are burning to a fading ember, Fragments of the feelings that were up to me. I'm sick of feeling sorry, sick of trying to remember; Cut my heavy conscience, I am ready to be free.) (I'm a little figment of imagination!! Nothing but the sort-of person no one knows. For a face to be forgotten is the fate of every face, Then every pretty smile withers over like a rose.) (Then again, with wide and happy eyes, you see me, Play with me again upon another day... And believing you believe in me is making me believe That maybe I'm a thing that doesn't have to fade away...) Pleasure to see you! I waited a while. You look like a grown up, but still like a child! Don't worry about me. I think I've been fine. I remember your face. You remember mine? What's with the mood now? You're frozen in fear. Like you’ve seen a stranger inside of a mirror. This isn't at all like the face that you showed, The first time we met on the side of the road. Sooner or later was anyone's guess. So maybe a new start would be for the best! You look in my eyes, yet you're looking too far. "Pleasure to see you"... whoever you are. -Lyrica Live Oh, btw, remember the FLowey Fight? The music of the Green soul is Koishi's theme and the Yellow one is Bad Apple.
A Touhou music reaction??! That's great! I would like to see more! Everyone will probably request U.N Owen was her (Flandre's theme, from TH6). This is a good song, but I believe there are better ones out there. You could one of try these: - Satori Maiden ~ 3rd eye (from Touhou 11 - Subterranean Animism) - Byakuren Hijiri's Theme - Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind (from Touhou 12 - Undefined Fantastic Object) - Mokou's Theme - Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke (from Touhou 8 - Imperishable Night) - Yukari's Theme - Necrofantasia (from Touhou 7 - Perfect Cherry Blossom)
I like this a lot! Super interesting an informative video. Drawing ideas of a character's theme based on how the song works is so interesting! To give you some insight into touhou music, pretty much all the music in touhou (an insane amount of tracks since the series has so many entries) is all phenomenally unique and powerful. Everyone that's into touhou are in agreement in this. There's a reason why some touhou players say that ZUN (composer and dev) is a modern Mozart. And I would be inclined to agree.
I knew it, you'll have to meet the agony of hearing Touhou music sooner or later! LOL, thanks for reviewing two of the most impactful games of mine, Monster Hunter and Touhou. Welcome to Gensokyo, Davi! Touhou is a series of bullet-hell shooter games made by Team Shanghai Alice which ZUN is the single member of it!
Ohhhhh man, this is a precipice, dude. Touhou is the longest-running independent game series of all time (going back to 1997), and its music has been a cornerstone of its appeal for the whole time. Its community is home to the largest fandom music scene of all time as well, with thousands of musicians paying homage to creator ZUN's compositions in endlessly creative and transformative ways. (If you're familiar with the titles _"Bad Apple"_ or _"Night of Nights,"_ then you actually *have* heard Touhou music before!) And yes, Touhou is commonly cited as an influence on many elements of Undertale, although musically it probably has stronger ties to the Mother franchise. Some Touhou influence is clear in tracks like _Battle Against a True Hero_ or _THE WORLD REVOLVING,_ though!
Less common Touhou track suggestion: "Mary, the Magician". I think it would be really interesting to analyse this track. (although it's not from a game but from a stand-alone spin-off musical CD).
I'll explain a little bit about Koishi and Touhou Subterranean Animism (SA) She is my favorite Touhou character. All Touhou games happen because of some incident, and Touhou 11 is no different. Reimu and Marisa notice that geysers are erupting near the foot of Youkai Mountain, so they build a spa with hot springs. But they realize that earth spirits are coming out of the underground. With that, 2 playable characters, with 3 characters for each to make a team. Reimu's route with Yukari is when Yukari sends Reimu underground with one of her gaps. The cause of the incident is Utsuho Reiuji, who with his power given by Kanako Yasaka, made a second sun in the underground. Koishi It doesn't show up at all, you know? That's because she's an extra boss, which has a higher difficulty than the Lunatic difficulty. With about 10 Spellcards. She can read minds just like his sister Satori Komeiji. But Koishi Komeiji didn't want to be hated for that power, so, she closed her third eye and gained the power to manipulate the subconscious. No one notices her anywhere, even seeing her. The story of the extra stage is when Koishi goes to the Moriya shrine to ask Kanako Yasaka to give powers to her pets.
Every Touhou Game is a very difficult SHMUP-style game that's divided into 7 Stages. 6 normal Stages and an EX Stage if you do well enough on the first 6. Each of them has a miniboss and then a Boss Battle and all of them are cute girls inspired by folk lore or myths. EVERY SINGLE BOSS has a theme associated with them, so you can already see that music is a big part of this series. My recommendation for a song you can listen to is Nue Houjuu's theme. She's a Shapeshifter akin to The Thing or The Imposter. Though a big difference is that she's an adorably cute girl that's interested in human culture unlike the other examples that only know violence. All the Boss Themes fit what the character is like, so once you find a character you enjoy, listen to their theme to get an idea of their personality or ability. It's common to have music associated with a certain aspect of a character. Not just having a certain song as that character's theme.
I would like to recommend an old game for you to listen. It’s called Dark Chronicle (or Dark Cloud 2). It has amazing soundtracks, each and every one is a masterpiece. Personal favorites include: Spiral of Dreams, Carnival Night, Gaspard’s theme, Gundorada workshop. I recommending listening to Rush's theme (the very first one) to get a taste. It is a bit different that what you usually analyze but I’m sure you’ll reach the hearts of everyone whose played it if you give it a try. Thanks again for the great video! Stay awesome!
You're spot on about the one word summary. That's a theme with a lot of the characters in Touhou. A beautiful, nonchalant, even elegant surface hiding a unique monstrosity in the form of the character's past. And with this character in particular, her symbol's a rose. The obvious "thorns underneath" theme here.
I would LOVE for you to cover you more touhou songs! Probably you will have to go for the most popular ones, but there's a ton than are not as frequently discussed that still deserve an analysis ^^
Undyne's battle themes in Undertale are the ones that are especially similar to Touhou music. Toby Fox even used the trumpet sound (a.k.a. the ZUNpet) that can be heard all over in ZUN's music.
Ooooooh my gods he's listening to Touhou music Ooooooh my gods this is such good news Keep at it, I love your videos, it's always so interesting to learn a composer's perspective on the musics I love
I see a bunch of comments talking about the origins of the series and the character associated with the track and such, but nothing about why the composer's style is what it is: he has no formal education in music composition. He's a genuine savant when it comes to this, often putting the tracks together when lightly buzzed on alcohol.
This was wild. I wonder if all Touhou music is like this... Maybe I'll make more videos to find out! In the meantime, check out the videos I've done on Undertale music: ua-cam.com/video/bS7Dh_-6yys/v-deo.html
There's no bad music in Touhou, like all of them are great
Can’t wait to see more touhou !
In case you’re looking for some recommendations, here are some songs that I think would be interesting to analyse.
- Necrofantasia
- Border of life
- Reach for the moon ~ immortal smoke
- U.N. Owen was her
- Pure Furies ~ Whereabouts of the heart
- The lost emotion
- Emotional Skyscrapper ~ Cosmic mind
- Vanishing Dream ~ Lost dream
- Dullahan Under the Willows
- Poison body ~ Forsaken doll
- Doll Judgment
- Green eyes jealousy
- Old Yuanxian
@@eridani069 This. There is no bad Touhou music. Only underrated Touhou music, mostly because there are too many OSTs for each character and stage of each game.
Do Necrophantasia next!
It doesn't have to be in a video, but just for yourself, search and find this theme reversed...
Oh god he's going down the rabbithole guys...
Do you shower
he likes touhou. that would be a no
rabbit hole mentioned
Ah yes, Koishi's theme! Unsettling, intense, and madness filled are great ways to describe her theme. Koishi is a mind-reading youkai called a satori, and both humans and other youkai fear her and her sister for it. Koishi closed her "third eye" that allows her to do said mind-reading because she wanted to be loved. As a result though, she became a being of pure subconsciousness. She's impulse and baser instinct, living in a waking dream state, and able to manipulate the subconscious minds of others.
And she lacks presence. People forget about her as soon as she leaves their sight... except children. Koishi is the imaginary friend to many children. She's a character that is both tragic and yet heart warming. She is loved now, but is doomed to be forgotten as the children get older. But she has no conscious mind to care.
Touhou has some very dark character lore.
@@dragonclaw4159 what do you mean?
the little girl locked in a basement for 495 years?
an immortal person who still suffers pain no matter how many time she's killed?
The girl who commited S to save many people, and her ghost forgot what she did?
NAHHH it'll be fine.
@@calibula95 Don't forget the mother so enraged by her husband's betrayal and the death of her son that she became a spirit of pure vengeance
or the young goddess created by oppressed spirits, yet ultimately could only hold the oppressors at a stalemate, not save those who made her
or the fact that a character who initially appears to be a nine-tailed fox is actually a constructed intelligence installed on a subjugated nine-tailed fox
Why would anyones imagination create a character like that?
wow. i need to read more touhou lore. been in love with the series for a while but have only known the basics
3:24 "Someone who stands out" is literally the most ironic description you could have given koishi since her main power is the fact that people can't even realize that she's there unless she allows them to, and even if they do manage to notice her, they forget about having seen her as soon as they look away.
Came here to say this
Double irony, she's also one of the most popular Touhou characters.
I knew someone would comment this
@@monochrome4937 who
@brain dead celestial duh bro it's... it's uh... y-you know she... *_uhhhh..._*
A little context.
This franchise began with a college student named Jun'ya Ota who released his first game in 1997 under the pseudonym ZUN in order to share his music. He created five games with his student group over the course of the next year, then graduated. 4 years later, he tried his hand at developing another game, which would not only become immensely popular, but also served to revitalise the bullet hell genre. For the next 20 something years, this man would continue to develop his bullet hell games, and occasionally release other titles in collaboration with other parties, as well as write several manga taking place in the universe of his games.
There are 31 games in this series, 6 of which were developed in collaboration with Twilight Frontier, most of the aforementioned being fighting games. Those that he were the sole developer of usually consist of 6 stages of top-down shooting, each with a boss at their end, followed by an unlockable 7th Extra stage and corresponding boss. As such, you can imagine the original soundtrack is quite expansive. It is however a journey I would recommend undertaking.
Team LADYBUG's Touhou Luna Nights... one hell of a memorable entry in that enjoyable chaos that is Touhou. With great covers of the most iconic Touhou tracks, too.
The franchise is the Gift that Keeps on Giving.
Correction: ZUN started developing the first game in 1995, the first display in 1996, then he released the game along with Touhou 2 in August 1997
@@zennvirus7980 100% agree.
Team Ladybug did awesome arranges. I particularly love their _Voile, The Magic Library_ , _Night of Nights_ and _The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood_ covers. They're epic !
Most of touhou games are fighting games?? I thought there were only three! are you talking about official ones?
@@rodrigoreismarinho9552
No, he said most of the games that were developed in collaboration with Twilight Frontiers are fighting games. These games are:
1. Immaterial and Missing Power
2. Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
3. Hisoutensoku
4. Hopeless Masquerade
5. Urban Legend in Limbo
6. Antinomy of Common Flowers
The 7th game is Submerged Hell of Sunken Hollow, but it's a boss rush type of game.
"I love not thinking!"
-actual quote from Koishi, being very literal as her mind is broken and her body now moves on instinct
How to turn thinking into hardmode and basically pointless: Have no actual thoughtspace or a memory to speak of.
"her body now moves on instinct". ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
@@idiom2805 I think she would legally be considered uncontious tho.
Koishi forget to install RAM on her hed pepega.
I can't believe she actually said that lol
The only way I have to describe Touhou's music is....
Touhou.
ZUN has a very distinct style, in anything I recommend you listen on your own to the ost of the franchise (if you don't have time for videos) I'm not an expert on music, but Touhou has some extremely interesting peces and is worth listening to.
and Zunpets.
Don't forget Zunpets.
@@calibula95 Welp, there were some games without Zunpets... A few...
i heard a song once and my mind said "sounds like touhou music for some reason" searched up the song and it was LMAO
His music must have came from operating noises of a PC-98. This one is basically Bad Apple!! without the melody ua-cam.com/video/mMg0NvlwMVs/v-deo.html
It would be super interesting if you could analyze Necrofantasia ! Definitely one of the more "unique" touhou songs around.
Definitely, and one of my favorites to, GAP HAG ftw!
Omg yessss
Nahh keiki theme
yeah, I would say that's one of the best theme with Meiling one and Un Owen was her
it's good, but not really that unique, there's a lot more experimental stuff in the Secret Sealing Club CDs
"This is Koishi Komeiji's theme.
I tried to make it eerie and have the aura of a broken girl.
I think the eeriness is fitting for an extra boss.
Actually, I think a garden with roses strewn all about where thorns can prick you is really fitting for a battle, but for some reason it's the shrine this time." - ZUN, 2008
its you again, octo da trupa, how can you be everywhere?
The comparisons to Undertale are often made because for one Toby Fox openly stated that Touhou was a big inspiration for him but also because Undyne's theme plays homage to Touhou's signature trumpets (also called ZUNpets by the community) in one section.
Good examples of these would be Aya's theme, Keiki's theme, Byakuren's theme, Reisen's theme, Prismriver Sister's theme, Ran's theme and many, many more.
It's both the combination of the sound of the trumpets as well as them carrying the main melody that is very signature Touhou and if you give a listen to Undetale's "Battle against a true hero" afterwards, the homage becomes really obvious.
Whoa, Undyne carries the ZUNpet legacy?
@@emblemblade9245 yes
Undyne’s theme also uses structure reminiscent of Touhou boss tracks
Funny how Toby Fox is such a big fan of Zun and Touhou yet the medium amount of Undertale fans are the opposite of him
@@emblemblade9245 How can anyone who knows Touhou listen to that theme and not notice...
Oh he's in for a wild ride.
Touhou music is GODLIKE.
There's one really fascinating part of this song: aspects of it are a musical palindrome. A lot of the melodies and stuff, when played in reverse, are the exact same or become melodies used in other parts of the song. (I'm not good at music terminology I just know I've watched other videos talking about this)
Zun made a song called "Reverse Ideology" for a character that has the ability to " reverse " or " Turn over" "anything " The entire song is a Palindrome. Its a good song and a bit of fun trivia.
In classical music, when you turn music upside down, it's called inversion, while if you play it backwards, it's called retrograde.
@@AkumuOukoku Yeah but Seija is a bitch to fight lmao
I remember listening to a reversed version and I commented "Wait where does the reversed part start? I can't tell"
5:39 evidence that music can tell a story. Koishi as a character is quite an interesting one. In the game she is a satori, a type of Japanese mythological creature that can read minds.
Acording to the game’s lore she chose to close her third eye /hearth because of her ability of reading minds and the hatered towords her kind. By closing her hearth she acts as her subconcious tells her to. We as people have the capaciy to question our subconcius, to don’t let the intrusive thoughts guide our every action. In the case of Koishi she is generally playful and free-spirited, being guided by her subcouncous thoughts. This goes in acordance to her first part of the theme, being all over the place, unsetteling, care free, being a reprezentation of the chaos in the thought process of someone’s subconcious.
The second part, the one that sounds more peaceful gives the listener a feeling of bitter-sweetness. You can feel a bit of sadness when listening to this part. This could represent that beside her care free atitude, there is still a bit of sadness, of bitter memories of the past, a little bit of concoiusness that has been left after she closed her hearth
I thought the same, that it sounds like that's how Koishi used to be before the closed her third eye. Thoughtful and lonely.
"I love not thinking!"
Musical symbolism has to be one of my favorite things in this series. Taking this a step further, listen to Heien Alien and then Grudge Arrow. Both are songs that belong to Nue Houjuu and they represent her character extremely well. One song portrays her as mysterious and disturbing while the other portrays her as curious and whimsical. Stuff like this is awesome.
YES FINALLY! Please do more, Touhou is more known for its music than anything else, most people find it through rhythm games than the actual games they come from. It's BEGGING for more music reviews. Personally I recommend anything from the games Subterranean Animism (Like the one you just reviewed), Imperishable Night, Perfect Cherry Blossom, Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, and anything from the PC-98 era of games. But to be honest all of the games have amazing music, just try not to get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of songs.
It's always fun o see composers get surprised by zuns "unique time signatures"
Another surprising thing is the way he manages to switch between different time signatures (7/8 to 4/4 in _Hartmann's Youkai Girl_ for example).
Would have been even funnier if he learnt about that with "Rural Makai City Esoteria".
Glad I could send Davi down this rabbit hole, as a Koishi fan.
My interpretation of the calm part is the manifestation of Super-ego in the madness governed by Id. Since by lore Koishi doesn't have conscious mind i.e. Ego, and the whole lore and character design revolves around psychology concepts, mostly Freudian. (The "Hartmann" in the song title refers to the psychology expert too.)
I like to imagine it as a rose blooming in the deep underground, as described by the name of her last spell card "Subterranean Rose".
Thank you for suggesting it, Locus!
Personal interpretation is that Reimu (or whoever you pick, Reimu is my go to) sees Koishi for who she truly is, and the temporary bit of calm is Reimu relishing in Koishi’s backstory. Of course, madness kicks back it during Philosophy Of The Despised (my favorite spell card) or somewhere around Subterranean Rose, as both are literal hell.
And this is why Davi's interpretations are so good.
We've been listening to remixes of this theme, and hundreds more, for over a decade and a half, and it's easy to take for granted how much effort ZUN puts into characterizing his creations through music.
And Davi, having absolutely zero context to draw from, NAILS it. Koishi is a disturbing character, capable of existing only in the subconscious, a creature that has a fundamental sense of *wrong* about her when you abruptly notice her -- and you can ONLY notice her abruptly. She's a walking jump-scare.
Yet for all that she's not a bad PERSON. She closed her third eye because she didn't want her perception to be burdened with the little evils floating around in everyone's head; she wanted to see them for their actual value. That positive, heroic sequence is more on par with this side of her personality -- and it's a powerful one, because that's what drove her motivation.
And yet, tragically, it's only that one sequence -- the moment you glance away and back, the monster of the subconscious is there again.
I, and I'm sure many others, are absolutely craving future Touhou music interpretations on Davi's part. I deeply hope *Necrofantasia* has been recommended, though for a proper change of pace, from the alarming to the heroic, we ought to have *Idolatrize World* or *Broken Moon* , or the absolute tapestry that is *Gensokyo Millennium* .
Lore fact:
The red clothes in the background are actually his pants
damn you were fast
??? Timestamp UwU
@@pico5433 it was said at the end of a hollow knight stream right before this video got uploaded
@@metajmw4717 ohhh ok thanks
Hearing this music immediately put me on edge! Like I was dropped into an intense fight and I need to be prepared for anything at any moment. I was almost panicked.
Just heard the slow part It almost sounds like the hero is prevailing!
I hope he’ll do more Touhou music ! That was a great video, I love hearing his opinions.
I can’t imagine him reacting to U.N. Owen was her
Or Flowering Night
@@emblemblade9245 tbh as much as I love flowering nights I’m not sure there is much to say about it, there are many other songs that I think would be better suited for those kinds of analysis
@@emblemblade9245 the remix maybe but the normal flower nights were a bit more “tame” compare to these if it’s the right word
@Donhimesama Daifutari or Ronald Insanity
i really don't know how you did it- but you absolutely nailed explaining koishi without even knowing what she is about
He said Koishi is someone who stands out, but she is not
It's called "ZUN is the best there is at what he does".
Ahh yes, definetly no third eye@@HyperVanilo
Great video as always! I like the frantic yet sad vibes of this piece, it's very fitting to express the instability of the girl (Koishi).
I've never played Touhou series myself, but I have a friend who's a big fan and I often watch her play. The music for Touhou series has an instant impact that draws you in, an addictive quality that lasts forever, and the characters and world-building are so precisely and beautifully put into it. The movement and colour of the barrage in the game is so beautiful, it almost looks like a kaleidoscope, and matches the music so well!
I've started playing Undertale and I'm very excited about the Touhou influence on it! (Especially on Undyne music) Thanks Davi :)
I would like to suggest four tracks, two from a much earlier installment, and another two more recent. Each of these for the final bosses of their respective games.
•Bloom Nobly, Ink-Black Cherry Blossoms ~ Border of Life (Game: PCB) I would also recommend the in-game arrange titled "Border of Life".
•Legendary Illusion ~ Infinite Being (Game: MS)
•Last Occultism ~ Esotericist of the Present World (Game: ULiL)
•Entrusting This World to Idols ~ Idolatrize World (Game: WBaWC)
Would add Necrofantasia, Faith is For The Transcient People, and ofc U.N. Owen Was Her?
oooh last occultism is good
You have just opened Pandora's Box to a realm of fantastical tunes. I do hope you will stay a while. A vast treasure awaits you.
4:07 誰もが憧れるシーン
For reference, "SA" is short for Subterranean Animism (Touhou 11), Koishi is the name of the character the music is for (it's the theme song for Koishi), and "Hartman's Youkai Girl" is the name of the music track itself.
The word 'youkai' is a bit of a catch-all term for creatures from Japanese folklore, from the massive Daidabarochi or Omukade to the wildly varied Tsukumogami (inanimate objects that have come to life). Not all youkai are hostile, either, with the Hakutaku, for example, being quite explicitly friendly to humans.
As for the track... It being a bit unsettling is _perfect_ for Koishi's character.
She's an extremely tragic character who closed her third eye (which was essentially lobotomizing herself) to get rid of her ability to read minds, as said ability caused people to resent her. As a result of said lobotomy, she became able to manipulate the subconscious mind of anyone around her, but at the cost of losing her conscious mind, and becoming unable to be remembered. With a few exceptions (such as young children, who will forget her as they grow older), anyone who meets Koishi will be unable to remember her. Furthermore, she completely lacks a consciousness, acting entirely subconsciously.
Someone who acts entirely without thought, and who you can't remember meeting would definitely come off as creepy.
The most tragic part is revealed- or, perhaps more accurately, pointed out to the player- in a later game. Koishi is a satori- a youkai. Youkai in Touhou are literally born from the fears of humans. A Youkai that cannot be remembered- that nobody knows? Well... How are you going to fear something if you don't have any idea there's anything to fear.
In other words, she is literally fading away from existence.
Fortunately for her, in Hopeless Masquerade, she obtains a magical mask (which is technically part of a different youkai) which lets people notice her...
Even that, though, is bittersweet. Being separated from it's original owner, the mask of hope will eventually lose it's power, leaving Koishi to simply... fade away, forgotten.
Now that he's done done Koishi's main theme I would love to hear his thoughts on Last Remote, while Hartmann's Youkai girl is her more iconic disturbing battle theme I feel like Last Remote conveys feelings with Koishi as a character, it sounds tragic and depressing at points but happy and uplifting at other parts.
_Tsuki mi wa murakumo_
@@SakuyaIzayoyyyy *Hana ni wa kaze to*
Wtf yall saying
@@pico5433 oboro fuka ni kakureta shousou
@@danmakufan please explain or else (nothing will happen dont worry)
To enlighten some people about the character you fight in this song, her name is Koishi komeiji, she is a satori youkai, and younger sister to satori komeiji. Satori youkai are infamous in touhou for their ability to read minds, this causes even strong youkai like onis to fear and hate them. Having seen her sister getting bullied for her ability, Koishi decided to seal her ability to read minds. This, however, had an opposite effect. While she could no longer read people’s conscious minds, she could read their subconscious minds. Additionally, sealing away her ability made it almost impossible for anyone to see or remember her. Without having prior knowledge of her existence, you would forget about her the moment you looked away from her.
Despite this, Koishi is portrayed as a very happy and excitable person, with many of her attacks using heart shaped bullets.
If your interest in her, but don’t want a deep dive into touhou, I would recommend a video called bramble boundaries by minus t. It is a 3D animation based off the events and attack patterns used in this stage and has great characterization of Koishi.
What I like most about this OST is the fact that it can be played backward and the original melody is still recognizable.
And Reverse Ideology (matches the most lmaooo)
We need more! More Touhou! There is a gold mine of music composition waiting.
Omfg, he's doing touhou music! I always love it when people get to experience this franchise and its vibe. And u started off with the theme for my favourite character. It's quite a chaotic thing with a little spice of tragedy; its the perfect reflection of literally no thoughts, head empty. Hoping we'll get to see more reactions to the music in this franchise cos there's a lot and its all banger. Great vid and analysis as always!🙌
Yes! More Touhou please! ZUN has a really distinct style that you can immediately tell "yep, this is a touhou song", adding in the fact that each one is connected to a character. And just like they say, there is no bad Touhou music. If you're taking recommendations "Necrofantasia" or "Entrusting this world to idols~Idolatrize World" would be a good listen!
I was also amazed by the uncommon time signature used in _Hartmann's Youkai Girl_ , and also by the time signature switch.
It would be interesting to also see this dude's first impressions on _The Maid and the Pocket Watch Of Blood_ . That music is really underrated despite it's uniqueness (..if that word exists)
Touhou! Can’t wait to see you listen to more.
Don't forget, that coding, visuality and MUSIC for those touhou games made 1 person.
Thank you ZUN
And beer
@@hermawandon7812 yeah
_“I don’t exactly think…_
_Therefore I ain’t exactly.”_
Woah, I couldn’t ever expect this.
I don’t even know if I can do this here, but, if I can, I will recommend some more musical masterpieces from Touhou:
-Suwa foughten field
-Faith is for the transient people
-Last remote
-Heartfelt fancy
-Satori Maiden ~ third eye (this and the previous should be listened to together)
-Solar sect of mystic wisdom
-Heian Alien
-Shoutoku legend ~ true administrator
-Reverse ideology
-Exaggerated castle keep
-Kobito of the shining needle (again, a pair)
-Pure furies ~ whereabouts of the heart
-Hidden star in all seasons
-Electric heritage
-Entrusting this world to idols ~ idolatrise world (these are a pair too)
My dude has fantastic taste right here.
>Suwa foughten field
based, I don't see this recommended often
Oh man, you’ve just entered an INSANE rabbit hole of awesome music. ZUN has basically said he’s a musician first and a game developer second. XD
As for the character this song belongs to- Koishi Komeiji is a satori who has closed her third eye, destroying her conscious mind. She is thoroughly insane and extremely dangerous, with absolutely no control over her actions, and put simply is the embodiment of the phrase “no thoughts, head empty”. This is why her theme is so, for lack of a better word, schizophrenic. Most of her Spell Cards are references to Freudian psychology.
Some recommendations from me:
•U.N. Owen Was Her
•Necrofantasia
•Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind
•Kobito of the Shining Needle ~ Little Princess
•Pure Furies ~ Whereabouts of the Heart
YES! my favorite OST from Touhou!
FYI, the Touhou games are mainly Bullet Hell games (like certain minigames in Undertale but way harder) and each game has 6 levels for the main story. Then, there is an extra stage that is more demanding than the base game (depending of which Touhou game, of course) and guess what? Koishi is the Extra Stage boss of her debut game... AHHHHH (yeah, sorry. I'm a huge Koishi fanboy).
I'm looking forward to seeing you react to other themes. There are A LOT.
I would absolutely love it if you gave "Last Remote" from the same game a try! it's almost like a prelude to this song thematically and it's such a wonderful song with even harsher contrasts than this one!
I haven't actually played any Touhou games yet, but I'd recommend listening to U.N. Owen Was Her from the sixth game. It's one of the most well-known songs in the series. The "Death Waltz" remix by Cool&Create was also a really popular "impossible piano" trend in the late 2000s/early 2010s.
He did
Hehe~
The time signature for this one oscillates between 7/8ths and 4/4ths, with the melody for those "tenser" bits containing a lot of chromatic notes that jump up and down, adding to the mish-mosh of paranoia... leading into the transition from E minor to A minor (a very large jump).
I'm astonished you got the time sig so quickly, nice job!
Oh man, there are so many good tracks from Team Shangai Alice. Lovely Mound of Cherry Blossoms, Shanghai Alice of Meiji 17, Mystic Oriental Dream, Shanghai Teahouse, Greenwich in the Sky, and of course ZUN's finest work Necrofantasia. I could go all day with this stuff, he is so good.
Yes indeed her theme is quite fitting, Koishi might even be THE most dangerous person in 2hu due to her unique qualities.
In the past, during a confrontation with a particularly old and powerful youkai, Koishi out of nowhere and without a hint of remorse, irony or fear told her to her face "I know! it's because you have no friends, right? So sad..."
Yukari never recovered 😔
Aren't Ran and Chen are technically Yukari friends?
Hi people from the stream !
Hi!
2:00
Someone probably already explain it, but Touhou is a Bullet Hell Genre (aka Danmaku), which is similar to those arcade-like space-shooter game where you dodge projectiles while shooting at incoming enemies, -but take it several dozen level higher in the difficulty scale-
And yes, Koishi Komeiji is a Stage Boss. Specifically an Extra Stage Boss, which is unlocked after clearing the main game.
I WOULD BE SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU REACT TO MORE TOUHOU TRACKS, you'd be set on a journey to a wild musical ride!!!
Touhou music is a whole new universe! I totally would like more videos on it!
suggestion: Yuyuko's Theme - Border of Life (from Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom )
i'm so glad you're covering touhou songs. they are probably some of my favourites game soundtracks.
Touhou got so damn many good music, including the fighting games, which I think has some of the best music
Great that you finally found Touhou! The series is full of amazing tracks.
Another interesting thing about Hartmann's Youkai Girl is its designed to sound similar when played backwards
Please do more touhou songs! Also, this was a really good choice for analysis in Touhou's music, this is definitely one of the more unique ones.
Your analysis is just amazing. I was just like “ah the atmosphere suits her” but now i understand how and why i felt so.
Please make a video of Last Remote from the same title too!!!
I agree with you.
YOOO TOUHOU MUSIC!!!! Zun's compositions are amazing!!! I'd love to see more
i have never played Touhou but i love its music , i am glad you're reacting to it :)
Very interesting video. I find Touhou music to all be really good (or at least the ones I’ve listened to). If you’re taking recommendations for tracks, here are some of my favorite:
- Flowering Night
- UN Owen was her?
- Border of Life
- Phantom Ensemble
He was thinking EXACTLY how this song should make you think. ZUN is a genius yeah
Touhou! Very nice, and a good choice for a starter. Stage 6 bosses and Extra bosses themes are usually incredible.
Btw, my favorite is Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye, and Satori is the sister of this character
It makes me happy seeing all these Touhou fans explaining more of the series and offering different themes to check out.
Ahhh yes such a good pick. Haven't been able to watch yet but I really wanted to hear your opinion on the crazy key signature and amazing use of key changes and syncopation. Can't wait
I hear Touhou, I scramble over.
So, the songs I suggest you listen to areeeee:
Fujiwara No Mokou's theme, (forget it's name)
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye (Satori Komeiji's theme, she's Koishi's older sister actually!)
Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom (Utsuho Reiuji's theme)
True Administrator (Toyosatomimi no Miko's theme)
Border of Life (Yuyuko Saigyouji's theme)
Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind (Byakuren Hijiri's theme)
Legend of the Great Gods (Mononobe no Futo's theme)
Love Colored Master Spark (one of Marisa Kirisame's themes)
Cliffnotes version:
Touhou Project is a series of (predominantly) 2D vertical shooters under the sub genre of bullet hell. The creator, Jun'ya Ota (more commonly referred to as ZUN), started the series in 1997 officially with the release of Highly Responsive to Prayers and Story of Eastern Wonderland in the Summer Comiket of that year. Ota has continued to build on the series, rebooting it with Embodiment of Scarlet Devil released in the Summer Comiket of 2002, with other media such as stories included with music CDs and official print works.
Koishi Komeiji is the Extra Stage boss of Subterranean Animism. She is a satori, a youkai typically depicted as a monkey like creature that lives in the mountains and is capable of reading minds. Her design, and the design of her older sister, Satori, is based off of the painting by artist Frida Kahlo, "The Two Fridas". Unlike her sister, Koishi made the decision to close her third eye, effectively sealing away her metaphorical heart. In the process, she gained the ability to manipulate the subconscious of those around her, and experienced a shift in personality, now mostly acting on whims without fully thinking through the consequences.
"Hartmann's Yokai Girl" is a popular song on the Japanese Internet, and I have heard it many times since I was a child, but I was surprised that I could make such an accurate character study just by listening to the song without any prior knowledge of the character, and I was also surprised at the creator of Touhou Project (Mr. ZUN) who incorporated the character's characteristics so well into the song.
Thanks for the great video!
Sorry for my poor English!
With love from Japan!
Koishi was the first Touhou Extra boss I ever beat because I loved her theme so much. (also because you can cheese her last spellcard lol)
Despite not knowing the context you hit the nail on the head and this was an amazing take. Just shows what a good composer Zun is and why we all got hooked on his games, and also what a good critic you are! Look forward to hearing more of yourr takes, respect
Oh man, you're doing Touhou. Good luck LOL. I would recommend looking at some other iconic tracks of the series like Dream Battle ~ Maiden's Capriccio, Love Colored Master Spark, among others. If you have time, of course, totally up to you :3
06:55
Davi Vasc : "I wonder if she is dangerous..."
Me : [*KKHTA flashbacks*]
YES FINALLY! Please do more, This video has given me a deeper understanding of Touhou music
Yessss so happy to see you react to touhou music
Welcome to the rabbithole, Touhou is an insanely wholistic franchise and most of it is because of its stellar themes.
Also, I really recommend checking out Necrofantasia, Border of Life, Extend Ash ~ Hourai Victim, Whereabouts of the Heart ~ Pure Furies, Septette For the Dead princess, Gensokyo Millenium, Emotional Skyscraper ~Cosmic Mind, Where is that Bustling Marketplace ~ Immemorial Marketeers, The Venerable Ancient Battlefield ~ Suwa Foughten Field and Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom ~ Nuclear Fusion.
Touhou's music in general is absolutely fantastic, there#s a reason it's been more or less dominating the Japanese self-published music industry for more than two and a half decades.
Pleasure to see you, invisible friend!
You think you can see me? It's only pretend!
It's funny, 'cause no one is keen to my kind.
So maybe the truth is, you're losing your mind~
Pleasure to be here, impossible friend!
So long as you see me, I'll stay till the end.
I'm meeting myself, too, with every day.
Promise to make sure you don't look away~
Who are you? (Who am I?)
What are you? (What am I?)
Look at me. (Are you blind?)
Look again. (Never mind.)
Are you there? (Stay away.)
There you are. (Stay away.)
Here I am. (Stay away.)
Come with me. (Take it away...)
Tell me your secrets, in case you forget!
And I'll be your back-up, the faithfullest pet!
As cute as a kitten, as smart as a crow.
Got nothing to hide here, and nothing to show.
Turn off your worries, and leave it to chance!
We'll turn up the white noise and go for a dance!
Your favorite tune? It's my favorite too!
You follow my lead. I'm following you!
Give in to nonsense! There's nothing to fight.
I step with my left foot, and turn to the right!
So what's coming next? That's a total surprise.
Join into the game now. Look straight in my FACE!
Who are you? (Who am I?)
What are you? (What am I?)
Look at me. (Are you blind?)
Look again. (Never mind.)
Are you there? (Stay away.)
There you are. (Stay away.)
Here I am. (Stay away.)
Here I go. (No, I mean, stay...)
(We may never know each other all that clearly.
Really, will it matter when we drift apart?
For as long as we can feign another moment loving dearly,
I don't think I'll ever need to see into your heart.)
(Memories are burning to a fading ember,
Fragments of the feelings that were up to me.
I'm sick of feeling sorry, sick of trying to remember;
Cut my heavy conscience, I am ready to be free.)
(I'm a little figment of imagination!!
Nothing but the sort-of person no one knows.
For a face to be forgotten is the fate of every face,
Then every pretty smile withers over like a rose.)
(Then again, with wide and happy eyes, you see me,
Play with me again upon another day...
And believing you believe in me is making me believe
That maybe I'm a thing that doesn't have to fade away...)
Pleasure to see you! I waited a while.
You look like a grown up, but still like a child!
Don't worry about me. I think I've been fine.
I remember your face. You remember mine?
What's with the mood now? You're frozen in fear.
Like you’ve seen a stranger inside of a mirror.
This isn't at all like the face that you showed,
The first time we met on the side of the road.
Sooner or later was anyone's guess.
So maybe a new start would be for the best!
You look in my eyes, yet you're looking too far.
"Pleasure to see you"... whoever you are.
-Lyrica Live
Oh, btw, remember the FLowey Fight? The music of the Green soul is Koishi's theme and the Yellow one is Bad Apple.
A Touhou music reaction??! That's great! I would like to see more!
Everyone will probably request U.N Owen was her (Flandre's theme, from TH6). This is a good song, but I believe there are better ones out there. You could one of try these:
- Satori Maiden ~ 3rd eye (from Touhou 11 - Subterranean Animism)
- Byakuren Hijiri's Theme - Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind (from Touhou 12 - Undefined Fantastic Object)
- Mokou's Theme - Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke (from Touhou 8 - Imperishable Night)
- Yukari's Theme - Necrofantasia (from Touhou 7 - Perfect Cherry Blossom)
So glad to see you reviewed some Touhou music! i love this theme so much! ^ ^
I like this a lot! Super interesting an informative video. Drawing ideas of a character's theme based on how the song works is so interesting!
To give you some insight into touhou music, pretty much all the music in touhou (an insane amount of tracks since the series has so many entries) is all phenomenally unique and powerful. Everyone that's into touhou are in agreement in this. There's a reason why some touhou players say that ZUN (composer and dev) is a modern Mozart. And I would be inclined to agree.
Finally! I've been expecting to see a Touhou video since I discovered this channel
YESSSSS, THE MOMENT OF TOUHOU HAS ARRIVED!!!
Looking forward to seeing more Touhou reactions!
I knew it, you'll have to meet the agony of hearing Touhou music sooner or later! LOL, thanks for reviewing two of the most impactful games of mine, Monster Hunter and Touhou.
Welcome to Gensokyo, Davi! Touhou is a series of bullet-hell shooter games made by Team Shanghai Alice which ZUN is the single member of it!
Ohhhhh man, this is a precipice, dude. Touhou is the longest-running independent game series of all time (going back to 1997), and its music has been a cornerstone of its appeal for the whole time. Its community is home to the largest fandom music scene of all time as well, with thousands of musicians paying homage to creator ZUN's compositions in endlessly creative and transformative ways. (If you're familiar with the titles _"Bad Apple"_ or _"Night of Nights,"_ then you actually *have* heard Touhou music before!)
And yes, Touhou is commonly cited as an influence on many elements of Undertale, although musically it probably has stronger ties to the Mother franchise. Some Touhou influence is clear in tracks like _Battle Against a True Hero_ or _THE WORLD REVOLVING,_ though!
東方が海外の方にもこんなに愛されているなんて……。嬉しすぎる……！
サビが特に中毒性あるよね
This man, literally, follows me directly. Undertale, the. Friggin Touhou. You are goddamned amazing. I love it. Please do more.
Its really cool to hear your perspective on game music. You do a great job of explaining things in a way anyone can understand
Less common Touhou track suggestion: "Mary, the Magician". I think it would be really interesting to analyse this track. (although it's not from a game but from a stand-alone spin-off musical CD).
I'll shill any and all Music Collection songs. I'd love this!
as somebody who exists, this was very unexpected, and expected at the same time.
I'll explain a little bit about Koishi and Touhou Subterranean Animism (SA)
She is my favorite Touhou character.
All Touhou games happen because of some incident, and Touhou 11 is no different. Reimu and Marisa notice that geysers are erupting near the foot of Youkai Mountain, so they build a spa with hot springs. But they realize that earth spirits are coming out of the underground. With that, 2 playable characters, with 3 characters for each to make a team. Reimu's route with Yukari is when Yukari sends Reimu underground with one of her gaps. The cause of the incident is Utsuho Reiuji, who with his power given by Kanako Yasaka, made a second sun in the underground. Koishi It doesn't show up at all, you know? That's because she's an extra boss, which has a higher difficulty than the Lunatic difficulty. With about 10 Spellcards. She can read minds just like his sister Satori Komeiji. But Koishi Komeiji didn't want to be hated for that power, so, she closed her third eye and gained the power to manipulate the subconscious. No one notices her anywhere, even seeing her. The story of the extra stage is when Koishi goes to the Moriya shrine to ask Kanako Yasaka to give powers to her pets.
Every Touhou Game is a very difficult SHMUP-style game that's divided into 7 Stages. 6 normal Stages and an EX Stage if you do well enough on the first 6. Each of them has a miniboss and then a Boss Battle and all of them are cute girls inspired by folk lore or myths. EVERY SINGLE BOSS has a theme associated with them, so you can already see that music is a big part of this series.
My recommendation for a song you can listen to is Nue Houjuu's theme. She's a Shapeshifter akin to The Thing or The Imposter. Though a big difference is that she's an adorably cute girl that's interested in human culture unlike the other examples that only know violence.
All the Boss Themes fit what the character is like, so once you find a character you enjoy, listen to their theme to get an idea of their personality or ability. It's common to have music associated with a certain aspect of a character. Not just having a certain song as that character's theme.
"Now I'm confused."
Welcome to Touhou. This is a feature, not a bug.
ohhh touhou has such tasty music! i really hope to see more
I would like to recommend an old game for you to listen. It’s called Dark Chronicle (or Dark Cloud 2).
It has amazing soundtracks, each and every one is a masterpiece.
Personal favorites include: Spiral of Dreams, Carnival Night, Gaspard’s theme, Gundorada workshop.
I recommending listening to Rush's theme (the very first one) to get a taste.
It is a bit different that what you usually analyze but I’m sure you’ll reach the hearts of everyone whose played it if you give it a try.
Thanks again for the great video! Stay awesome!
It would be awesome to see you react to junko's theme "pure furies" its such an awesome track
You're spot on about the one word summary.
That's a theme with a lot of the characters in Touhou.
A beautiful, nonchalant, even elegant surface hiding a unique monstrosity in the form of the character's past.
And with this character in particular, her symbol's a rose. The obvious "thorns underneath" theme here.
One of my favorite Touhou music
I would LOVE for you to cover you more touhou songs! Probably you will have to go for the most popular ones, but there's a ton than are not as frequently discussed that still deserve an analysis ^^
Undyne's battle themes in Undertale are the ones that are especially similar to Touhou music. Toby Fox even used the trumpet sound (a.k.a. the ZUNpet) that can be heard all over in ZUN's music.
Ooooooh my gods he's listening to Touhou music
Ooooooh my gods this is such good news
Keep at it, I love your videos, it's always so interesting to learn a composer's perspective on the musics I love
I appreciate that you’re covering Touhou, i feel like it doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves.
do not ask a Koishi fan what he was doing on the 21th of august 2015
I see a bunch of comments talking about the origins of the series and the character associated with the track and such, but nothing about why the composer's style is what it is: he has no formal education in music composition. He's a genuine savant when it comes to this, often putting the tracks together when lightly buzzed on alcohol.
This reminds me of a musical trivia that the Beatles can't read a note in a transcript yet they still belched out bangers in their prime lol
Hope you do more Touhou music listening reactions！ GJ