Beware of Witch Burglary

Although it is not a visual novel, light novel, or anime (with the exception of a one episode doujin made work), I, BartreTheBeast, will introduce something new to this blog. And that is...

TOUHOU

Unsurprisingly, many Touhou jokes make use of yuri relationships...

For those of you who might not know (shame on you), Touhou is a series of doujin bullet hell/fighting games which, with the exception of the 3 fighting games, have been created by Team Shangahi Alice. Ironically, the "Team" consists of one man, who goes by the name ZUN. So all the programming, artwork, and music for the 10+ bullet hell games is the work of one man. The music in particular has been extremely popular and has inspired hundreds of remixes. I will say, though, that one has to actually play the games and see the context in which the songs are used in order to fully appreciate them. On this post, I will be talking about one of the songs from Touhou 8 (Imperishable Night).

Koi Iro Master Spark (Marisa Kirisame's theme)

ZUN

"Marisa has 5 themes, but I think this one suits her best" ~ZUN

Although a large number of ZUN's songs are very good, this is one which I think actually fits the stage very well. The tune starts off with a feeling of uncertainty, a nervousness about what awaits. The tension keeps building and about 30 seconds later, it erupts into one of ZUN's stereotypical crazy trumpet melodies. As a whole, I would describe the piece as being energetic, with a certain franticness about it, which fits in very nicely with Marisa's attack spread. Her opening attacks consist mainly of stars. Lots and lots of multicolored stars, both large and small. It would heaven for Fuko Ibuki were it not for the fact that touching them is lethal. the varying size and (for some attacks) the randomness of the spread match the uncertain feeling the song gives off. The trumpet melody is reminiscent of a desperate all-or-nothing attack, which matches with one of Marisa's final attacks, her famous "Master Spark," a huge laser beam which is renowned for its size, penetration, and power (ha ha). In essence, what makes this song memorable is not the melody itself (although I personally really like it) but how it fits in so well with the stage in which it is used. The energy, the frantic feeling, and the desperation, of the attacks are all brought to life by the melody. As a result, this is one of my favorite songs from Touhou (but there are still other excellent songs out there).

It takes up over half the friggin' stage, and it follows you around. Problem?

I will finish this with a statement on Touhou as a whole...

PLAY IT.

Yes, it looks impossible, but the actual hitbox for your sprite is very small. In addition, you do not die unless the entire hitbox is swallowed up by bullets.

Granted, it's still a crazy game to play, but it's fun. And the music's great. And it helps you understand the plethora of memes and references to Touhou out on the internet.

Oh, and now an explanation of the title. Marisa Kirisame is generally portrayed as a wild, energetic character (like her theme song, hm?). However, she has a habit of "borrowing" things from others, to add to her collection of items (this is a common joke). As a note, two of her attacks, her "master spark" and "nondirectional laser" are attacks also "borrowed" from other characters. So, I think my title is one befitting the nature of the character this song's post is meant for.

Coincidentally, the last two characters are from Touhou 8. Too bad I've never even reached them...