Attention Duelists!

Patchouli actually thinking! But yeah, unless magicians also have a printing spell and create paper spell, they need to go comission these books as well. Even they cannot escape society!

It's really cool of ZUN to publish full doujins (as in, the creators are writing themselves, not ZUN) in the magazine, it really makes the community feel like they're part of "Touhou" themselves.

The panel where Marisa pulls patchouli's hair cracked me up

Not a particularly interesting motive, but seeing a horse wield a spear was fantastic

Not a particularly interesting motive, but seeing a horse wield a spear was fantastic

Well you now ate your words! The inquisitor being akin to a witch from their obsession is quite funny. It is obviously not the classic definition of a witch, but in a way, if obsession is necessary to be one, and the other qualities can somehow be obtained unintended, then surely the inquisitor was in all ways an actual witch.

I wish they'd actually shown the humans trying to burn someone alive. Whether they succeeded or not, I dont care, but I think this whole thing was too quickly resolved at the end.

Riding the feels train to the last stop

Quite some magician's melancholy in this chapter. The cover art + "...I wonder why we had to turn out this way.", there was a lot of feels in this one. Ashiyama's take on the Reimu & Marisa dynamic is interesting as always. A Reimu who seems to acknowledge Marisa's hardwork, but a Marisa that seems disillusioned and won't say it?

The book seller who parallels Marisa in many ways says the words that Marisa would never actually say to Reimu. An ordinary magician without magic is just ordinary, something Reimu can never be.

I really hope Marisa can get back in the air. Have a feeling it's not going to though sadly enough with this recent chapter. Surprised Alice isn't in this one with her dolls acting as a way for Marisa to get ingredients considering her limited mobility and need for stuff in the forest

Wow... the situation start to go down hill isn't it.
Friendship between Reimu and Marisa going sour.
Marisa's status of returning to normal human life.
And Rinnosuke decide to close shop and wandering without telling Marisa.

The author seems to be very knowledgeable...

This is the best chapter so far, I feel that it's finally getting to the meat of the story.

This is the best chapter so far, I feel that it's finally getting to the meat of the story.

agreed!

Byakuren and Rinnosukes talk was very deep

Marisa looks so much like Lillie from Sun and Moon now.

Well, now that Reimu has decided to nearly try and murder her best friend and created an incident, I'm sure Yukari is going to give her an incredibly fucking stern talking too.

Well, now that Reimu has decided to nearly try and murder her best friend and created an incident, I'm sure Yukari is going to give her an incredibly fucking stern talking too.

Everything is allowed in war and love!

did marisa waste her bomb for a cat?

did marisa waste her bomb for a cat?

"Waste"?

did marisa waste her bomb for a cat?

"Waste"?

Ok, this reply sounded very threatening XD

This latest chapter puts a bunch of things in context.
This is my interpretation, so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

The relationship between the witch and the priest mirrors Marisa and Reimu's relationship. The priest (Reimu) knows that they shouldn't be friends with the witch. It goes against their code where they would exterminate those who break their religious beliefs. Despite those beliefs, they maintain their friendship.
When Marisa loses her powers, Reimu is at first relieved but slowly loses interest because Marisa is no longer the person that she became friends with. That curse, first established by the priest, awakens Reimu.
Because the priest and the witch, after those books were published and sent to her, brought context to the title of this doujin series.
The priest is the magician, the one who made the curse, and the witch is the fake, the one not responsible for the curse. The priest (Magician) who loved a Witch (Fake).

Bringing this post back to the present, Reimu has become "corrupted" by the priest's books/curse and has become the magician because she loved her relationship with Marisa the fake human witch. Reimu was never corrupted by the book, it simply enhances her previous emotions because she misses her old Marisa. Even if most of the village sees Marisa as Kirisame's daughter, Reimu only sees Marisa as the human witch. So when Marisa "learned" the abandon food skill, Reimu's life was already altered and after Marisa lost her powers is when the camel's back broke and allowed the curse to possess her.

While this story will most likely revert to the status quo of 2hu lore, it was a great read and I look forward to the author's next work. I'm very curious about which character they are going to focus on next.

There is no God or Buddha, only Reimari

There is no God or Buddha, only Reimari

Malice is the only true Marisa ship. >:|

That aside, this chapter felt underwhelming. Think it would have been better for Marisa to have to deal with her friend being a monster right there and then (as in, still within the town). Some good dynamics there.

Also, looking at the pixiv, the author has the title translated on there as "The Magician in love with a Fake", any reason for this change?

last edited at Aug 29, 2023 10:17PM

This latest chapter puts a bunch of things in context.
This is my interpretation, so take anything I say with a grain of salt.

The relationship between the witch and the priest mirrors Marisa and Reimu's relationship. The priest (Reimu) knows that they shouldn't be friends with the witch. It goes against their code where they would exterminate those who break their religious beliefs. Despite those beliefs, they maintain their friendship.
When Marisa loses her powers, Reimu is at first relieved but slowly loses interest because Marisa is no longer the person that she became friends with. That curse, first established by the priest, awakens Reimu.
Because the priest and the witch, after those books were published and sent to her, brought context to the title of this doujin series.
The priest is the magician, the one who made the curse, and the witch is the fake, the one not responsible for the curse. The priest (Magician) who loved a Witch (Fake).

Bringing this post back to the present, Reimu has become "corrupted" by the priest's books/curse and has become the magician because she loved her relationship with Marisa the fake human witch. Reimu was never corrupted by the book, it simply enhances her previous emotions because she misses her old Marisa. Even if most of the village sees Marisa as Kirisame's daughter, Reimu only sees Marisa as the human witch. So when Marisa "learned" the abandon food skill, Reimu's life was already altered and after Marisa lost her powers is when the camel's back broke and allowed the curse to possess her.

While this story will most likely revert to the status quo of 2hu lore, it was a great read and I look forward to the author's next work. I'm very curious about which character they are going to focus on next.

I agree with most of the comment, except when it comes to who the title is referring to. When the woman in the past said something about the priest possessing a much more powerful magic, I dont think she was being literal about it. (since per their convention, a witch must learn abandon worms, which clearly the priest hasn't) The powerful magic was the word, spread of false info and authority.

I am not even sure if a fake necessarily refers to another person, it could be Marisa (the magician) loving the state when she was a fake (Witch). (Iirc she was quite elated to have mastered the first few steps accidentally).

Either way, the temporal form of the title might play a more important role now

Also, looking at the pixiv, the author has the title translated on there as "The Magician in love with a Fake", any reason for this change?

That title first appeared on the cover of the tankoubon, i.e. after five chapters had already been translated and released. It's close enough (even if somewhat inferior imo) that I probably would've used it had it been there from the start, but I saw no need to force myself to adapt to it that far in. With the exception of "Gensokyo of Humans", which was added in the second chapter and was better than my original translation, I don't take the English titles on the cover of the books very seriously anyway. ("Foul Detective Satori" on the milder end, "There aren't many tiles that can't be discard" on the other.)

I don't think even Ashiyama was too committed to the English title, for that matter, since the same Pixiv release also calls it "A Wizard in Love with a Fake" and "The Wizard Who Fell in Love with a Fake". It seems the SCoOW tankoubon are all adding them to the covers as a matter of course, basically just as a design element. (https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/101271998)

Personally I think the question of past or present tense isn't too relevant either, being a series/book title.

last edited at Aug 30, 2023 4:09PM

applause