{ "title": "Episode 770: Touhou Project", "link": "https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-770-158549855", "pubDate": "Mon, 18 May 2026 11:00:14 GMT", "enclosure": { "url": "https://www.patreon.com/api/rss/u/qT6yj_KvyTyRfhY844EYuLQC6g56zang/e/158549855.mp3?sig=6GWCAGI2lf8dRekPDsyqMQv_PwPsVu6R9E8EeE7Fxms%3D", "length": "71115948", "type": "audio/mpeg" }, "content": "

Kevin: Every week hundreds, if not thousands, of new video games pop up on the web, many of them from indie developers putting their work out into the world. In Japan, some of those can be considered \u201cdoujin\u201d works: amateur projects historically created with no expectations of sales outside of people enthusiastic about the medium. But sometimes those efforts break out into the mainstream, as was the case with titles like Cave Story, Melty Blood, or the subject of today\u2019s episode, Touhou Project.

Touhou Project is primarily a doujin shoot-em-up series that started life on the PC-98 before jumping to Windows in the early 2000s. Starring a cast of goofball women, these typically see protagonists Reimu and Marisa shooting their way through the yokai denizens of the land of Gensokyo. But it has really taken a life beyond just the 20 mainline games developed by creator ZUN: Thanks to his fairly lax attitude towards using his characters and setting, Touhou Project has been picked up by other doujin enthusiasts for their own fan comics, animations, video games, musical remixes and covers, and even a handful of licensed commercial releases. If you\u2019ve ever played a recent Japanese rhythm game or have seen one of the many variations of the Bad Apple!! animation, you\u2019ve likely had some exposure to Touhou Project already.

Joining me to talk about Touhou Project are a pair of enthusiasts about the series: returning guest Will Cuevas and first-time guest Lindsey Kurano, curator of electronic games at the Strong Museum of Play and organizer of its recently opened Japanese Indie Games exhibit. There\u2019s such a vast amount of stuff to talk about regarding Touhou Project that I\u2019m not sure we covered even half the ground that we could have, but hey, maybe that means there\u2019s room to reconvene about the subject again sometime, eh?

Art: John Pading; edits: Greg Leahy

", "contentSnippet": "Kevin: Every week hundreds, if not thousands, of new video games pop up on the web, many of them from indie developers putting their work out into the world. In Japan, some of those can be considered \u201cdoujin\u201d works: amateur projects historically created with no expectations of sales outside of people enthusiastic about the medium. But sometimes those efforts break out into the mainstream, as was the case with titles like Cave Story, Melty Blood, or the subject of today\u2019s episode, Touhou Project.\nTouhou Project is primarily a doujin shoot-em-up series that started life on the PC-98 before jumping to Windows in the early 2000s. Starring a cast of goofball women, these typically see protagonists Reimu and Marisa shooting their way through the yokai denizens of the land of Gensokyo. But it has really taken a life beyond just the 20 mainline games developed by creator ZUN: Thanks to his fairly lax attitude towards using his characters and setting, Touhou Project has been picked up by other doujin enthusiasts for their own fan comics, animations, video games, musical remixes and covers, and even a handful of licensed commercial releases. If you\u2019ve ever played a recent Japanese rhythm game or have seen one of the many variations of the Bad Apple!! animation, you\u2019ve likely had some exposure to Touhou Project already.\nJoining me to talk about Touhou Project are a pair of enthusiasts about the series: returning guest Will Cuevas and first-time guest Lindsey Kurano, curator of electronic games at the Strong Museum of Play and organizer of its recently opened Japanese Indie Games exhibit. There\u2019s such a vast amount of stuff to talk about regarding Touhou Project that I\u2019m not sure we covered even half the ground that we could have, but hey, maybe that means there\u2019s room to reconvene about the subject again sometime, eh?\nArt: John Pading; edits: Greg Leahy\n\n10:13 -\u00a0Perfect Cherry Blossom: Doll Judgment\n\n16:24 -\u00a0Perfect Cherry Blossom: The Fantastic Tales of Tohno |\u00a0Gradius III\u00a0(SNES): Cosmo Plant\n\n26:22 -\u00a0Blue Revolver: Aerolith Aurorablast\n\n35:05 -\u00a0Touhou Luna Nights: Lunar Clock\n\n44:11 -\u00a0Lotus Land Story: Bad Apple!!\n\n54:53 -\u00a0Fairy Wars: A Midnight Fairy Dance\n\n1:05:18 -\u00a0Highly Responsive to Prayers: Eternal Shrine Maiden |\u00a0Embodiment of Scarlet Devil: Beloved Tomboyish Girl\n\n1:12:44 -\u00a0Story of Eastern Wonderland: Love-colored Magic\n\n1:21:24 -\u00a0Koumajou Densetsu: Scarlet Symphony: Divine Shrine Maiden\n\nClosing -\u00a0Story of Eastern Wonderland: Eastern Wind", "guid": "158549855", "isoDate": "2026-05-18T11:00:14.000Z", "itunes": { "duration": "5564", "image": "https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/4/patreon-media/p/post/158549855/9c15471253d94db0bf414aabbcc7dec5/eyJkIjo3MiwiaCI6MzAwMCwic3RyaXBfYWxwaGEiOjEsInciOjMwMDAsIndlYnAiOjB9/1.png?token-hash=0N1sNQ2gG-7ojuUrRCOs6_ylc2H2G2DvwheRXgqkvKI%3D" }, "itunes_duration": "1:32:43" }