The Touhou Project (Japanese: 東方Project, Hepburn: Tōhō Purojekuto, lit. "Eastern Project"), often referred to simply as Touhou (東方), is a bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series created by one-man Japanese dōjin soft developer Team Shanghai Alice. Since 1995, Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta has independently developed programming, graphics, writing, and music for the series, self-publishing 22 main titles as of August 2019. In addition to the bullet hell games, Team Shanghai Alice has produced various related print works and music albums, and collaborated with developer Twilight Frontier on six official spin-off fighting games.
The setting of the Touhou Project is Gensokyo, a "fantasy land" sealed from the outside world and primarily inhabited by humans and yōkai, legendary creatures from Japanese folklore. Reimu Hakurei, the main character of the series and the miko of the Hakurei Shrine, is often tasked with resolving supernatural "incidents" caused by other Gensokyo residents. The first five titles were developed for the Japanese NEC PC-9800 computer series, with the first, Highly Responsive to Prayers, released in August 1997; danmaku (弾幕 "barrage", lit. "bullet curtain") mechanics were introduced in the second game, Story of Eastern Wonderland. The release of Embodiment of Scarlet Devil in August 2002 marked a shift to Microsoft Windows, bringing the series to a wider audience. Numerous sequels followed, including several spin-offs that departed from the traditional bullet hell format.
The Touhou Project has become notable as a prominent source of Japanese dōjin content, with the series spawning a vast body of fan-made works including artwork, music, print works, video games, anime, and Internet memes. The popularity of the series and its derivative works has been attributed in part to the few restrictions placed by ZUN on the use of his characters and settings. Unofficial works are frequently sold at fan conventions, including Comiket, where the franchise has frequently held the record for circle participation, and the official convention Reitaisai, where trial versions of the official games are typically distributed prior to release.
Comments