Part 2: Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame

Part 2: Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame

Reimu and Marisa from the comic "Silent Sinner in Blue"

Introduction:

When you start up the game you get to choose which character you will play as, as each character has their own unique skills and abilities. The story is a little different depending on the character you choose to play as (duh) but the story also changes, especially in the later games, depending on which danmaku/shots you choose for that character.

Each game always has 2 or more characters to choose from (except for a few spin-off titles such as Shoot the Bullet or Fairy Wars) but there are 2 characters that appear in every game (with a few exceptions) and they are the Shrine Maiden, Reimu Hakurei and the Human Magician, Marisa Kirisame.

When you first dive in, there is no prologue (if you download it from a 3rd party site). And when there is a prologue attached to the game it isn't even in the game, but is usually located in a file that comes from the game,.. if it is there... and even if it is it is very likely to be in Japanese only. Because of this unless you search for the translated prologue online (and if you even know that you have to do that) you are essentially flying in blind. The Touhou Wiki has the prologues up and translated for each game 

To help I am going to give you all the information you need to know about these two.

Note: The info given will not take in account for the PC-98 games as many people say that Touhou 1-5 are non-canon. 

Biography Section:

Reimu Hakurei (Ray-moo Ha-coo-ray) 

(yes it is reversed, because in Japan you call someone by their surname first, but since this blog is for western audiences I felt it is necessary to do it the western way)

Reimu in Legacy of the Lunatic Kingdom
(Touhou 15)

Age: Not known but at least younger than 20

Occupation: Shrine Maiden of the Hakurei Shrine (more on that below)

Abilities: 

• She can fly
• Manipulate Auras
• Has the powers of a Shrine Maiden (again more on that later)
• Proficiency with barriers

Personality: 

Straight from the Touhou Wiki: "Her personality is straightforward, optimistic, and a bit curious. She's quick to anger if offended, but just as quick to offer help to those in need."

Her helpful nature does not only apply to Humans but Youkai as well. In the future games many of the enemies she fights she ends up befriending afterwards.

Even though it is her job to exterminate Youkai as a Shrine Maiden and she tends to have a "shoot first ask questions later policy" she actually wants to obtain peace in Gensokyo without violence.

She is good friends with Marisa Kirisame

Backstory:

Pretty much unknown, since the PC-98 games are non-canon any info on her on those games cannot be given. The only canon info is that there was a previous Hakurei Shrine Maiden, and it's assumed that there are a line of Hakurei Shrine Maidens.

What's a Shrine Maiden?

Shrine Maidens  at a shrine in Aso, Japan

Shrine Maidens are known by a few other names, (巫女) "Miko", "Priestess", "Shamaness" "Medium" "Prophet" "Consecrated Virgin" "Nun" "Witch" and "Sorceress"

Boy that's a lot of names...

Shrine Maidens work at a Shinto Shrines (Shinto is the prominant religion in Japan), and have a distinct red trousers known as "Hakama" or a long red pleated skirt ties with a bow, a white jacket that resembles a kimono called "haori" and some white or red hair ribbons

A shrine maiden are usually female virgins and take various rites of purity and chastity. They also undergo many different forms of physical and mental training. 

Back in the older days they practice sealing and purification rituals, and are used to bless, purify, or exorcise vengeful spirits using various tools, Reimu uses a stick with elaboratley folded paper on the end which is called "Gohei" or purification rod. She also uses small rectangular papers used for sealing called "ofuda" which usually have elaborate symbols or rites of sealings on them. (Most of Reimu's "Danmaku" (Bullets) in the game are ofuda)

Shrine Maidens also can be possessed by spirits or let others be posessed to ascertain the Gods. Reimu also has this ability and is able to invoke the Gods of Gensokyo into her body. She once used this ability to guide a wooden rocket to the moon using the Gods of Navigation and Voyages (This makes sense in context I swear)  

Modern Shrine Maidens today usually perform ceremonial dances, offer fortune telling, and sell souvenirs.

Marisa Kirisame (Ma-ree-sah Kee-ree-sah-may)

Marisa in Legacy of the Lunatic Kingdom
(Touhou 15)

Age: Not known but around the same age as Reimu

Occupation: 

• Magician
• Kirisame Magic Shop Owner
• Burglar
• Youkai Hunter

Abilities

• Can use magic (kinda obvious)
• Specializes in Light and Heat Magic
• Can learn other people's moves

Personality

Straight from the Touhou Wiki: Marisa is very straightforward and informal with everyone. She can be condescending as if trying to make fool of others and often has difficulty expressing sympathy. 

She's quick to act if she hears anything interesting. Marisa is also a habitual liar, but she makes no effort to actually deceive as her lies are extremely obvious. However, she's shown to have intelligence.

She's almost obsessed with collecting things and is very stubborn. She is also good friends with Reimu and often hanging out at the Hakurei Shrine

Backstory

Marisa is originally from the Human Village and lived with her parents, but due to unexplained reasons she left her home and cut off all contact with her family, the only connection she has to her old life is a half-youkai called Rinnosuke Morichika (his only appearances are in print works and he is one of the very small number of named males in the series) he worked with Marisa's father at the family shop

Since then she lives in the Forest of Magic a place that is known as a focal point of all things evil, ominous, and repulsive. Her home doubles as a place for the Kirisame Magic Shop. But since due to the nature of the forest she rarely receives any customers.

Additional Information

Mini Hakkero in the comic "Silent Sinner in Blue"

Mini Hakkero

Translated as mini-Eight Trigram Furnace or mini-Elemental Furnace.

It is one of and is one of the best known of Marisa's weapons, and it is ridiculously powerful

It was given to Marisa from Rinnosuke after she left her parents home and is said by Rinnosuke as "capable of reducing a mountain to ashes."

It is a potent source of heat and magical energy and uses it to for research and combat most notably for the power source for one of her attack "Master Spark"

Master Spark in "Touhou 8: Imperishable Night"

That's all the information I can tell you at this point of the blog. More relevant information will be added in future posts when I am finally going to get to the Games themselves.

Next post will be about the human village and Gensokyo itself. And after that I can finally get started in talking about the actual games themselves starting off with Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil.