why i love touhou ♡

little note ♡

u don't need any touhou knowledge 2 read this.

this is just me talking about why this series means so much 2 me.

how it started ♡

i've known touhou 4 a very, very long time. i think my first encounter with it was around 2009, when i randomly came across bad apple online.

i had no idea what touhou even was back then, but something about it just stayed in my mind. the music video, the atmosphere and the lyrics fascinated me so much. i thought the german bad apple cover by strawbellycake was rlly iconic.

slowly i started discovering more & more about touhou. characters, songs, memes, random clips, nightcore thumbnails & all the little things i found online.

even without knowing the full story behind everything, there was always something that made me curious.

finally playing touhou ♡

around 2015 i started getting more & more into touhou.

i still remember my old skype friends being completely obsessed with it. they talked about it all the time and some of them were even lunatic players.

seeing how passionate they were about the games made me want 2 understand why they loved this series so much.

one day i was taking a walk and saw the moon. for some reason i decided 2 listen 2 eirin's theme while looking at it:

i didn't know much about eirin or her story yet, but something about that moment felt really special.

i remember thinking:

"okay, i want 2 play touhou now."

so i did.

of course i struggled a lot bc bullet hell games r really difficult lol. but somehow that didn't stop me. i felt drawn 2 the games immediately and wanted 2 keep trying.

pc-98 love ♡

i'm also one of those fans who became really interested in the pc-98 era at first. i still love those games a lot hehe.

there is something special about their atmosphere, music & the feeling they have. they feel like their own little world. they also made me fall in love with old computers again.

characters & the world ♡

honestly, i don't think there is a single touhou character i dislike. every character has something unique about them, and i love how much personality they all have.

i also rlly appreciate that touhou has such a huge female cast without being a fanservice series.

it feels pretty rare 2 see a game with so many female characters where they are allowed 2 just be characters. they can be funny, strange, serious, annoying, kind or whatever they want 2 be.

bullet hell & focus ♡

i never expected 2 enjoy bullet hell games. i always thought they looked way too chaotic & impossible.

but somehow they became something that helps me focus. when my thoughts get too loud, playing touhou gives me something 2 concentrate on.

even tho the screen can be full of bullets & chaos, it can become strangely calming once u get into the rhythm.

what touhou means 2 me ♡

touhou also taught me that not every conflict needs a simple good guy and bad guy. the characters aren't perfect, and the world isn't perfect either.

sometimes things can't be fixed completely. sometimes people can't understand each other. sometimes there is no perfect answer.

but that doesn't mean everything is hopeless.

i feel like touhou is a lot about finding balance. it's about accepting that the world can be difficult while still choosing 2 create something kind.

it's about meeting people, finding a place where u belong & continuing even when things aren't easy.

it reminds me that u don't have 2 become cruel just because the world can be cruel.

drawing inspiration ♡

another thing touhou gave me is inspiration 4 drawing.

i rlly love ZUN's simple art style. it reminds me that u don't need a perfect art style 2 create something meaningful.

sometimes i struggle with motivation 4 drawing, but whenever i create something, i think about ZUN.

he started with his own style and his own ideas, and i find that really inspiring.

it's okay if something isn't perfect. sometimes the things with the most personality r the things that r a little different.

music & memories ♡

touhou music has also helped me through many difficult times. both the original songs & fanmade arrangements mean a lot 2 me.

i love how music doesn't always need lyrics 2 tell a story. sometimes a melody can say things that words can't.

there r so many touhou songs that carry certain feelings & memories 4 me.

fumos & community ♡

i also rlly enjoy collecting touhou stuff. my fumo family keeps growing and i honestly love seeing them around. ♡

one of my favorite things about touhou is the community. of course, the community isn't perfect. no community is.

but the people i met through touhou, even the ones i'm not in contact with anymore, r still precious memories 2 me.

this series connected me with people i probably would've never met otherwise. plus i love the fact that ZUN allows us to create so much fanworks unlike other certain creators or companies. we have enough room for headacanons.

old & new touhou ♡

i'm someone who loves retro things, but i still enjoy modern touhou too. i actually rlly like playing the newer games and i've defended them many times.

i probably prefer some older gameplay mechanics & older tracks, but when it comes 2 characters and storytelling, i think ZUN improved a lot over the years.

why it is special ♡

whether someone loves touhou, knows it well or has never played it...

i think almost everyone who spends time online has encountered a touhou song, a meme or a character somewhere.

and i think that's one of the most special things about this series.

it has existed 4 so many years, but it keeps finding new people.

and somehow, it always feels like coming home. ♡