I like this circle because they've created several of my favorite Renko x Maribel stories- but I've never liked this doujin as it implies in the end that Yukari & Ran abandoned Chen.

last edited at Sep 17, 2013 12:39AM

Ah~
While the Ran and Chen part is quite depressing, and to which I imagined and I somehow cried, the overall ending was satisfactory and Gensokyo was saved.

Still can't believe that Yukari disappeared though. Can't she just create a gap of her death and lengthen her life?

I can't accept Yukari and Ran abandoning Chen, it makes no sense with the characters and it's pointless with regard to the story. If Ran and Chen were both left behind it would work with the story where Yukari herself is vanishing, but having the two of them vanish and leave the third behind seems gratuitous at best.

The whole story kind of seems like that though, while it covers some events, it avoids getting into much depth about any of them. Yeah, you've got the emotional "everyone shows up to bolster the hero" but the story doesn't earn that with much lead-up, or in fact much of anything but a few minutes of Reimu feeling sorry for herself. Which is sad since there's so much potential to the concept. Was the gap youkai never really needed? Maybe something has changed and only now she's not needed? Maybe Reimu will take her place and become a youkai? I'd love to see stuff like that dealt with in a story, it's fascinating.

Unfortunately, this isn't that story.

I can't accept Yukari and Ran abandoning Chen, it makes no sense with the characters and it's pointless with regard to the story. If Ran and Chen were both left behind it would work with the story where Yukari herself is vanishing, but having the two of them vanish and leave the third behind seems gratuitous at best.

The whole story kind of seems like that though, while it covers some events, it avoids getting into much depth about any of them. Yeah, you've got the emotional "everyone shows up to bolster the hero" but the story doesn't earn that with much lead-up, or in fact much of anything but a few minutes of Reimu feeling sorry for herself. Which is sad since there's so much potential to the concept. Was the gap youkai never really needed? Maybe something has changed and only now she's not needed? Maybe Reimu will take her place and become a youkai? I'd love to see stuff like that dealt with in a story, it's fascinating.

Unfortunately, this isn't that story.

With all that additional stuff, I now want to know how things would happen...

And reading said additional stuff of yours, it piqued my interest that my imagination is now running wild... sigh

Wish that there is some sort of continuation or hell, I might continue this in a 1D kind of thing...

For anyone who doesn't want to draw their own conclusions:

Yukari was a human the whole time. She and Ran left to die together. Ran didn't want Chen to have the same fate, so she cut Chen's shikigami contract. (I don't know why they just left her there.)

By the way, in the actual series, Yukari is in fact post-human. Technically, she is not a youkai; she probably started identifying as one when she abandoned the surname Hearn.

In traditional Japanese folklore, oni are post-human as well, as are some animal spirits like snake spirits. A number of the Buddhist-based creatures are like that (although Tengu aren't), with people dying with certain thoughts like rage, jealousy, greed, etc. turning into creatures that prey on humans. Oni, for instance, were people who were so filled with rage and thoughts of revenge they became insatiable killing machines after death. Of course Touhou doesn't follow that.

Well this is an interesting read
Contrary to the comments above i like to think that it's not yukari and ran that abandoned chen you know

My thinking was when yukari "disappeared/died" ran who is the older one goes on a rampage and leaves or just can't cope with yukari "death" and try to search for yukari

As for chen she is the younger one and maybe quite helpless so she can only wait for her master to return
At least that's my best attempt to make sense