I Witness the Glory of TOUHOU ZUNPETS for the First Time - MOKOU'S THEME
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- Today is a special day. I learned about Touhou zunpets while listening to Touhou music. More specifically Mokou's theme, Reach for the Moon Immortal Smoke. Good day.
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In this video I mentioned the video I did on Undertale's Battle Against a True Hero. Have you seen that one? > th-cam.com/video/bS7Dh_-6yys/w-d-xo.html
Hi! Liked your video a lot :)! I just want so say that there are 2 Touhou themes that I highly recommend looking together in a video, those themes are Necrofantasia, and "A maiden's illusionary funeral~Necro-Fantasy", also, I would recommend to look the second one(Necro-fantasy) first, aa it is the first you see in the game and, also, it's better to see the difference xd
you can whistle its fine
@@Sonicfalcon16 I mean, this theme is whistleable af, everytime I'm fighting Mokou I lots 1 life just because I'm whistling XDDD
Hi man ! This video was as great as the previous ones. If you want suggestions for touhou tracks to review, I could only recommand listening to necrofantasia (Yukari's theme), very popular ost. And as my favorite one, much less known but with absolutely gorgeous zumpets, idolatrize world (Keiki's theme)
@@speedwaifuthetrueandonlybe2744 UFF idolatrize word is just such a masterpiece dude. You are a man of culture lady speedwagon 🗿
“It gives me that sensation of infinity” you got extremely close to guessing that she’s immortal.
Zun is the king of conveying emotion
hes really good at this figuring out chatacters through music
Tbf, the theme is called "reach for the moon, IMMORTAL smoke" so... That really give more context.
@@calibula95 I can’t believe I forgot the name of the song when it’s in the title. What’s worse is, when talking about Touhou songs I usually shorten the longer names and when referring to this one I call it immortal smoke.
@@kingdynal7735 nos that i think about it... Are extra stage and boss' themes the only ones that aren't redundant?
I mean, most of the time Zun has 2 names for his songs, one in japanese and the other in english . Obviously when translated the two are somewhat similar but many extra themes aren't like that.
Well, whatever. More context for Davi to guess the character traits without even having played the games KEKW.
It's a testament to the musical competence of Davi and ZUN that the characters and their personalities are so accurately communicated just by sound and melody alone. So impressive.
DAVI who?
@@raandomplayer8589 the man in this video, its even in his channel name you lil goof lmao.
@@raandomplayer8589mama
@@raandomplayer8589 the bassist slapper
@@bobsmithy3103 different one, but yes, he probably does too
Mokou's theme is a great example of ZUN's ability to tell a story within a song.
Mokou's theme is excited, cheerful, but it is also tragic.
The song hinges on one main melody that repeats for most of the song, and has additions to it each time, reflecting that every time Mokou is resurrected, she's changed.
But it has one section that deviates from the main melody, which is that music box/glockenspiel break verse, that is using a low energy instrument for a fast paced section. And it ends by returning to the main melody.
It tells a tale of an eternal cycle that's broken only for a moment by death, which is practically a short sleep for her and music boxes are a well-known instrument for sleep, because she's brought back and forced to continue forwards, advancing with no real motivation to do so, but using her own emotions to power through it until even those burn away.
She is a great example character of the "Immortality SUCKS" brand.
10:00
The fact that you were able to accurately nail the entire purpose of Mokou in that segment is incredible.
The main melody sounds like it can infinitely loop because Mokou herself can “infinitely loop”- in other words, she’s immortal. She has the full powers of the pheonix, which reincarnates infinitely, basically meaning she’ll keep repeating forever just like the melody. The passion that you also pointed out in the song has to do with Mokou’s pheonix abilities too; she manipulates fire and can burn forever. Because she knows she’s going to live forever, Mokou is also a pretty laid-back and thrill-seeking character- you even caught that with the xylophone segment! Incredible stuff.
It’s not just that she’s immortal, it’s that she’s easily killed but comes back right away every time, in specific contrast to Kaguya, who can’t be killed at all. Kaguya is eternal, while Mokou burns out quickly but always comes back. I mentioned the contrast between the very structures of their respective theme songs elsewhere.
Well... every touhou theme infinitely loops...
@@brianchen1302 Yeah, but this one only has one short melody and yet does so much with it.
@@Dreigonix Isn't that practically every touhou song too though? The formula is just one short, memorable melody, a few interludes in between to connect the melodies composed of arpeggios/runs usually, then building on the melodies using new instruments, key changes, tempo changes, etc. Then they infinitely loop.
I feel like that can describe nearly every single touhou song, including this one. Not that that's bad. I love almost every single one of them. Just, looping infinitely and building on a short melody is not really special in the context of touhou.
@@brianchen1302 Although every touhou song needs to loop, not every song loops in the same feeling as this one. In his other touhou song analyses, we can see he hadn't commented on this part, yet within this video he can clearly feel and hear the loop, as it was much more impactful.
when you mentioned looping and infinity my jaw dropped. mokou is immortal. she will live INFINITELY. how do you keep getting these characters right from the music alone...
Goes to show what a musical genius ZUN is- everything about his characters can be summed up in their theme songs.
@@Dreigonix And this is probably why every theme Zun does I just like it more or more xd You can't find someone who can express their characters so well only by the music itself.
You knew ZUN was the best there is at what he does, and this video series is a professional from the same industry telling you why.
i mean, all touhou music is composed to loop forever.
@@galtonova But not all of them do it the same way(I mean, this guy didn't mention it in the last 2 themes).
Since you seem starting in touhou, you must hear:
Necrofantasia
Border of life + last spell border of life theme
Suwa foughten field
Native Faith
Cosmic mind
Broken moon
EDIT: stage themes are mostly good too, all I mentioned are bosses themes, but you should look for stage themes as well, such as The Maid and the Pocket Watch of Blood, Road of the Apotropaic God and Lullaby of the Deserted Hell.
fires of hokkai is so good too
I feel like Necro Fantasy ought to be a package deal with Necrofantasia. Their similarities and differences really do paint an interesting picture of the Yakumos.
Pure Furies
Mokou is about as far from Flandre and Koishi as you can get. She’s a vengeful, battle-scarred noblewoman whose family had their life ruined by Kaguya (yes, THAT Kaguya- Mokou’s story runs parallel to the legendary Tale of the Bamboo Cutter; look it up). In revenge, she stole the Hourai Elixir, becoming an immortal phoenix, and swore to kill Kaguya, and the two have been fighting ever since. While Kaguya is immortal in the sense that she can never die no matter what’s done to her, Mokou’s immortality means she respawns every time she dies- you actually kill her at least ten times over the course of the battle until she can no longer handle the pain of dying repeatedly and gives up. So Kaguya is eternity, and Mokou is ephemerality.
Also, if you listen to Flight of the Bamboo Cutter (Kaguya’s theme), you’ll notice that Kaguya’s theme is long and keeps changing with new motifs every section, in comparison to Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke, which uses only one short melody repeated over and over. I think this is also connected to Kaguya and Mokou’s respective themes of eternity and ephemerality.
One thing I love about Mokou too is how she fell into madness for several hundred years because her human mind couldn't comprehend her own immortality. A regular human was NEVER meant to live as long as her and she's suffered because of it. And it's not even the first time it's happened. She falls in and out of madness, and like you said she's ephemeral. She's in a constant state of change but is never truly destroyed.
Mokou do be needing that kamijou touma treatment
Well, Mokou's father was only really humiliated the way he was because he tried to fake the item Kaguya requested, only to have her pull out the genuine article when presented with the fake. Was it mean-spirited of Kaguya to request something that already was in her possession? Maybe. But if he had accepted that he couldn't fulfill her request, then at least he could have walked away with his dignity.
Besdes, Mokou has long since thrown away any feelings of resentment and regret. 1300 years is a long time to reflect on the past, and at this point she's just happy to be able to relate to Kaguya, in regards to the endless expanse of time that awaits them both. Even though killing each other repeatedly is the way they choose to go about it.
Besides, they're both Hourai immortals, which means that death (and thus life as well) doesn't apply to them. If their physical bodies are destroyed, their souls will create a new body from nothing, and their souls are also eternal, and disconnected from the cycle of life and death. Mokou will actually exploit this by burning herself to death, just to get a "fresh" body, if she has a reason to.
@@hoppefrosk The real fucked part of it all is those two will literally experience the heat death of the universe if they don't figure out how to die or jump to a new one
As among many that only know Touhou by it's soundtrack, Entrusting This World To Idols ~ Idolize World is one of my favs that you should give a listen to~
I agree
Yes yes YES I LOVE YOU MAN
I've been addicted to the theme for months now since I've discovered the theme. (I only know touhou by it themes/songs)
it slaps so hard from the very beginning damn
My only issue is that, Idolatrize World has Reimu's leimotif in it.
So idk, i think he should listen to one of Reimu's themes beforehand?
Some personal thoughts on this song. The vibes of childishness do make sense, in a weird way, as Mokou was born a mortal human, but became immortal, now being over a thousand years old. She's had multiple phases in her immortality, and now reached one where she basically decides to do whatever she feels like doing - usually helping people and fighting with strong people. I do think that the tenser moments of this song also sound like a cry for help from her, while the start represent her melancholy - her immortality is a prison for her, as she never wanted to be immortal, and was never taught how to bear that burden unlike the non-human characters.
To note, all the Touhou themes you've reviewed so far are the themes of the Extra bosses - the bonus, hyper-difficult, post-game bosses, which generally have among the most intense and urgent-sounding themes in the series, fitting for a one-off, no holds barred fight. If you want to review another one in that style (and currently my personal favorite of the bunch, though they're all great), I'd recommend the one from the most recent mainline game, Momoyo's theme: The Princess Who Slays Dragon Kings.
Comparatively, the final boss themes, while climactic, tend to be less frenzied, more serene, as you're usually fighting the mastermind of the game that the story has been leading up to. Among those, I really like Remilia's theme, from the same game as Flandre: Septette For A Dead Princess.
That part in particular sounds so "dreamy" for me, everytime i hear it i cant help but imagine mokou remembering her childhood when she was mortal, to me her appearence before drinking the elixir looks like a small girl
On the topic of extra boss themes, Futatsuiwa from Sado is CRIMINALLY underrated. It's one of the catchiest songs in the entire series and part of the reason why Mamizou is one of my favorite characters, it just suits her so well!
I also hear the aggressiveness and anger in her theme, which makes sense. She's in an eternal feud with Kaguya. She became Immortal for the sake of taking revenge on her, and because they're both Immortal, they'll always have each other when everyone else around them dies. Even if the whole world falls apart, they'll still be there, and fighting each other is what makes their isolation less miserable. Mokou's eternal hatred for Kaguya is what keeps pushing her forward and distracts her from the fact that everyone she gets closer to will die. It's the only thing she can ever rely on if she loses someone or something because mortality consumes them.
There's also Yuyuko's theme in PCB. The way how you describe final boss themes perfectly fits that one. I really love that theme.
I mean, she absolutely wanted to be immortal at first- she killed a man for it. It's more along the lines of her regretting that decision immensely.
This is why many people feel like ZUN is a genius. Not only does he make great music, but he makes amazing 'themes'. In his music, he can accurately represent the person or place the music is for. Just as you managed to do, you can loosely figure out a character just by their theme alone.
As a change up, you should listen to a stage theme from the series, rather than a boss theme. Some personal favorites of mine is 'The Gensokyo the Gods Loved' and 'The Capital City of Flowers in the Sky'.
Someone else recommending stage themes! You have good taste.
@@istokipsy6289 Some of my favorites are stage themes. It would be criminal not to recommend some
'Legend of Tohno' and Hina's stage theme from MoF are really good stage themes too. And if you want to have a boss theme as a stage theme 'charming domination' slaps hard.
I am really shocked how accurately you can nail down characters just by the theme used, but in the same time that also means that the Composers were geniuses in composing a theme which reflects the characters so well. It is just showing how much Genius music can be xd
Also the little word "Infinity" at the end, just.... I dont know what to say xd
@ZaHandle I hate how this is true 💀
You can't get past "flowering night"
I don't expect you to turn into a Touhou music channel exclusively but in case you want to continue talking about Touhou for a while...
How about Theme of Eastern Story? It's considered to be the main theme of the whole series. Its melody is found everywhere in other Touhou songs.
Other suggestions:
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye - for something classier and a little somber
Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom ~ Nuclear Fusion - for something badass
Tonight Stars an Easygoing Egoist (Live ver.) - for classic Touhou but with a silly twist
A Flower-Studded Sake Dish on Mt. Ooe - for something fun
A fellow Chireiden enjoyer, I see.
Thanks for including Tonight Stars, it's one of my favorites but often left aside because it's not from the main danmaku series.
Other soundtracks I like:
Cheat Against the Impossible Danmaku
Provincial Makai City Esoteria (even though yet another irregular time might be too much for now)
Beware the Umbrella Left There Forever
The Shining Needle Castle Sinking in the Air
Swim in a Cherry Blossom-Colored Sea
Sakura, Sakura - Japanize Dream (because ending themes deserve some love too)
Eastern Night Vignette - Imperishable Night - Eastern Night (because title themes deserve some love too, and it features the main theme)
And maybe a few PC-98 themes like Civilization of Magic, and a few CD themes like Ancient Temple in the Netherworld.
@@PhantomGato-v- You know, I didn't even realize I suggested 3 songs from Chireiden. I might be a little biased.
You should try listening to stage themes too!! They usually give off a different vibe, usually calmer and more melancholic- people keep suggesting boss themes, so why not stage themes? You could try listening to "Lullaby of Deserted Hell", "The Sea Where One's Home Planet Reflects", "The Shining Needle Castle Sinking in the Air", "Heartfelt Fancy", etc. These are some of my favorite ones but you can explore some more too!
"Walking the Streets of a Former Hell" is still one of the best stage themes.
Last Remote and Heartfelt Fancy are my two most favorite Touhou themes of all time. I just like calm music in general.
Among my favorite stage themes, the more calmer ones that haven't been mentioned yet are "Frozen Capital of Eternity", "The Capital City of Flowers in the Sky", "Voyage 1969", "Swim in a Cherry Blossom-Colored Sea", or even "Fires of Hokkai".
Something that I thing should be mentioned is that as this, as well as the previous two songs are for extra stage bosses, essentially a post-game that is unlocked for beating the game on normal without running out of lives, they are meant to be frantic and exciting. And as extra stage is the very end of every Touhou game (aside from 7, which is the only game to have a stage beyond Extra) they are almost always celebratory and exciting.
Now, as great as all these three are, they are also just a fraction of the musical genres ZUN covers in his works. The best part of ZUN's compositions is that they tell a story not only by themselves, but also together, together with both the gameplay and the musics that follow one another. For example, the stage 2 theme from Subterranean Animism, the same game Hartmann's Youkai Girl is from, is a slow, ominous music that evokes the feeling of going through an abandoned place. It is then followed by the boss Parsee's theme, Green Eyed Jealousy, which is a slow and sad sounding song that keeps the sad tone until the end.
Alongside this, ZUN also makes the musics before designing any of the characters or stages and builds the games around the music he's made, which results in characters and stages being intertwined with their respective themes as well as stages and characters having intentionally timed moments that almost always happen on time with a certain part of a song. It is one of the best parts of Touhou as a series and I think seeing it in action would enhance your experience with Touhou music as well.
One last thing I need to mention is that ZUN also has made several standalone albums that have musics that do their own thing, as they are not meant to be in a game. Some examples would be Mary the Magician which is ominous and outright scary, Satellite Torifune that gives the feeling of space exploration and many more.
綺麗にループするから不滅！？
すげぇ......これを作った神主も曲聞いただけでそこまで想像できるうｐ主もすげぇ......
The looping infinitely is a big part of this song. Mokou is an immortal phoenix. In mythology, phoenixes live, die, then gets reborn again, in an endless looping cycle. In the game, you kill Mokou multiple times only for her to revive over & over again; matching the loops in the song. You only win when she gives up.
In general, Touhou 8 has a feeling of infinity & vastness, since it’s a story about immortals/long-lived characters. It’s got a very dramatic “epic” style tragedy feel to it with it’s heavy use of classical sounding arpeggios & just the types of melodies it uses in general, but it’s also got a lot of tension & urgency because of the plot. (Whereas the previous game has a more sorrowful tragedy feeling to it, and the next game has a more wistful nostalgic feeling to it.)
I can't believe it, I KNEW YOU WOULD DO MOKOU'S THEME THANK YOU YOUR ANALYSIS ARE GREAT I LOVE TO SEE THEM!!!!!!
7:20 No problem whistling, it's quite normal when listening to Touhou music, there are videos of covers whistling Touhou songs although I don't know if they still exist.
Normally I find people because of Touhou music. You're the first person I found first and then started doing Touhou music to my surprise. And I love your takes on them.
I love hearing how close you can get to the story of a character through just listening to it, it's really insightful into how ZUN puts this much effort into the music.
knowing the character ourselves we can hear her story, her life through each stage of her theme, to your initial encounter, to her happiness as a child, to the hurt and pain she felt of Kaguya's actions toward her father, into that spiral of discord as she obtains the Hourai Elixer to become immortal and her thousand year of wandering and destruction looking for Kaguya in the intensity of the trumpets, you can feel her hatred and emotion. and finally looping back into a calm, an acceptance, and back into the loop as an immortal sadly will live through. Absolutely amazing stuff!
I recommended two songs before but this time I wonder if you would want to hear ZUN's first song at some point to get an idea of how he started to what he does now.
Eternal Shrine Maiden
th-cam.com/video/nWJ-MWfdiOM/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=RubixNG
Thank you for the touhou videos! Its always so fun to hear how others react to it and gets me back into listening to all the music!
Fun Fact: On record Touhou started in 1996 but ZUN has said touhou really started in 1995!
I love your videos man, simply because of how good you are at understanding melodies! I hope you continue this great work😁
We don't mind you whistling or humming along to the tracks you're breaking down Davi!! Thanks for the amazing analysis once again!
First undertale, and now Touhou??
I feel there are so many people who make "X reacts to Y" type videos, but I don't feel a lot of them actually tell you that much about what they are reacting to. I actually really like the way you explain things here though, and how show chords and notes and explain things with simple terms in a way where everyone can understand you. Keep up the amazing work!
Touhou music is so catchy you’ll be randomly doing something then you start humming or whistling without thinking.
Can't wait for "Idolatrize World" or "Pure Furies"
Of course, some looping is expected for a video game song like this, but the fact that you point it out here _specifically_ is interesting. Mokou's life is on a constant loop, as she is immortal. And it's not a pleasant kind of immortality, because she can't _stop_ (unlike the other "immortals" of the series who can technically die, it's just really hard to achieve), and having been born a normal human, she's not exactly mentally built for that.
The notes of both playfulness (she's reached a point in her infinite life of just kinda doing whatever she feels like) and loneliness (who can truly relate to an immortal?) also fit parts of her character.
By the way if you want to _really_ hear ZUNpets in action, try *Wind God Girl,* Aya Shameimaru's theme. The version in _Phantasmagoria of Flower View_ is the original, ZUN released an extended version in _Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red,_ and _Scarlet Weather Rhapsody_ has a fun remix (though that one might be by one of the TasoFro people instead of ZUN himself).
So far you've only reacted to boss themes, and yes, since this is a shmup series, almost every character is a boss (there are some exceptions though), but every boss has a stage section before it, and, IMO, stage themes in touhou can be pretty cool too
I insist on giving Rural Makai City Esoteria a chance. It is a very nice piece, and also kinda weird.
ooh, yes this one would be really nice!
Maid and pocket watch of blood is interesting because it changes BPM and time signatures along with keys.
Touhou 12 stage 5s theme is a but fun because of its unusual time signature.
My favourite stage theme from each game is (th 6 to 17)
EoSD stage 5
PCB stage 5
IN stage 5
PoFV spring Lane
MoF stage 2
SA stage 5 (ex and 6 come close)
UFO stage 4 (ex comes close)
TD stage 5 (4 comes close)
DDC stage 5 (4 comes close)
LoLK ex stage (stage 5 comes close along with 4)
HsIFS stage 4 (ex stage comes close)
WBaWC stage 4 (ex stage is p good)
UM ex stage ( stage 1 is p good)
Idk why but Zuns stage 5 tracks never miss.
YES.
YES THAT'S MY BOY!
(Mokou is my third favourite character in the entire franchise)
Reach for the Moon is an absolute masterpiece and one of ZUN's best. It's almost painful in it's beauty and it gives us so many clues about Mokou as a character, mostly that she's an immortal and that it's not always an easy experience.
According to the lore of the franchise, she essentially went through the stages of grief after realising her mistake of consuming the Hourai Elixir (which is what gave her her immortality) and those emotions are relfected really well in her theme, I think.
Also, like the last time, I again recommend you listen to Bloom Nobly, Cherry Blossom of Sumizome ~ Border of Life, Necrofantasia, Suwa Foughten Field, Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom, Emotional Skyscraper or Pure Furies. And for something COMPLETELY different, check out Pristine Beat.
Haha, now here is a name I recognize! Crazy to see you here
"Entrusting This World to Idols ~ Idolatrize World" is one hell of a banger if you plan to kept going with touhou
I love reach for the moon, immortal smoke
My OG favorite touhou song
Maiden's Capriccio ~ Dream Battle is also good, and Necrofantasia is downright iconic.
Maiden's Cappricio 2 is very very good.
妹紅は私の最も好きなキャラクターなので、このような動画がある事がとても嬉しいです！
Mokou is my favorite character，so I’m really happy
that thare are videos like this!
I really want to hear what he thinks about "Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom - Nuclear Fusion"
one of my personal favorites in the touhou series is "Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom ~ Nuclear Fusion", which is Utsuho Reiuji's theme
if you end up making a video on it, it'd be appreciated if you could include the intro audio as well, as it's a unique sound to Utsuho Reiuji specifically
Utsuho Reiuji.
Can't you just say Okuu
@@PhantomGato-v- utsuho is much more common than okuu
@@bellarosa_ I don't buy that. Seriously. I have seen her proper name being said a total of 5 times in the past week, while I've seen Okuu being said like 55 times.
@@PhantomGato-v- i meant it's more common to find actual content via that name. of course fans of the series will use the nickname more.
@@bellarosa_ yeah, That's a valid point.
So Davi, I’m actually really glad you chose Immortal smoke to listen to today. This song was the second song in the touhou project I ever listened to, my closest friend introduced me to this song, because it was his favorite. So there is one thing that you should keep in mind for EVERY TRACK IN THE SERIES, that being, none of them loop back to the beginning of the track. This is important, because the way that the bosses and levels in touhou work is that they perfectly line up with the music, this is because Zün makes the music first and levels second, so when the music ends, so does the boss, if you’ve survived to get there. If you were wondering what my first track was, “Lunatic Red Eyes- Invisible Full Moon”
It’s still one of my favorites even if it’s a little more simple.
I do recommend it though.
8:10 - Yes, basically it is!
Also, if you want another Touhou music with Zunpets: Wind God Girl (Aya's theme) from touhou 9 (I think)
ZUN is a musical genius and it's about time more people notice
Omg, another 2hu track and this time it's Mokou! Her backstory and circumstances for fighting you are a lot more tragic than most other characters and its captured perfectly by that lonely piano. The loopable nature of the main melody very much reflects her status as an immortal. Not too mention this is a very good theme for demonstrating how Zunpets are used throughout the series as a final accumulation of all the themes introduce to you throughout their run. ZUN does an insane job of creating memorable melodies that implant themselves in your brain and its nice to see u seem to be experiencing that effect and very much enjoying it. Fantastic vid and analysis, you continue to be insanely good at figuring out context based only on music!
I felt on a spiritual level that if there was any Touhou song I'd like you to analyze next, it would be this one. Color me surprised, and again, your analysis is incredible, even touching upon the themes of Mokou's character! I actually learned from this analysis how the song invokes those themes, which is honestly amazing. I would suggest Byakuren's theme, Emotional Skyscaper - Cosmic Mind, as another iconic and beautiful Touhou song, and one that I think carries a different flavor from the more action-y songs, although it does share some elements.
I love how genuinely invested you are always on your musical analysis!
You nailed the character/main traits of Mokou just from the music alone. She's a human that became immortal at a young age, with the passing of time she started to care less and less so now she just lives her life doing whatever she wants. I also always felt that the constant loop of the main melody gave it that infinite sensation to the song.
Also don't mind the whistle! I actually really like it, never heard a whistle were the notes actually sound like the song so perfectly before, I'd like to hear more!😄
Two suggestions that are way out of left field:
The song that might play when you fight sans.
Universal collapse from the terreria calamity mod
I'm just BEGGING for The Sea Where One's Home Planet Reflects + Pure Furies reaction
Your analysis is amazing ! I hope to see more of them on Touhou music, there are all so good.
My suggestion : Keiki theme : Entrusting This World to Idols ~ Idolatrize World.
Touhou goes from 06 to 18 since 2001.
Mokou theme is from touhou 09 made in 2004, Keiki theme is from touhou 17 made in 2019 and one of the best recent theme ZUN have made.
If you want premiere ZUNpets, I have to recommend Voyage 1969.
Thank you for continuing to look at touhou content! :D
As I said last time, I think it would be a really good idea to look at the "Music Room" in Touhou. Within Touhou, there's a music room where you can listen to all of the themes within the game, and ZUN will give his thoughts about the music, and some of his ideas when he was making the music. I think it would be a nice thing to tie everything together at the end of your videos!
Great video as always!
あなたの分析は的確で素晴らしい 😊
I'd love to see your reaction to more modern ZUN's theme, like Chimata's one (Immemorial Marketeers) or Keiki's (Idolatrize World).
I think you are the first musician who understands the characters through their themes and it's very cool :)
This is one of my favorite touhou tracks, thanks Davi!
...and no, I don't mind the whistling :)
loving your videos! it's always interesting to see professional music composers review some good ol videogame music
Recommend Marisa’s theme “Love Colored Master Spark” and Byakuren Hijiri’s theme “Emotional Skyscraper Cosmic Mind”, since you kept getting some music on the “unhinged” side.
I've been keeping up with this series for a while, another two I recommend are both of Yuyuko's themes (Touhou 7)
She gave herself Immortality specifically for the purpose of Continuing a childish feud It can't be anything other than that because they're both immortal
So far you’ve done only boss fights, but there are also a lot of great stage themes in touhou and they have different vibes, often times complimentary to their corresponding boss theme. Here are my recommendations for stage themes:
-extend ash (Corresponding stage theme for Mokou’s boss fight.)
-mystic oriental dream - ancient temple
-interdimensional voyage of a ghostly passenger ship (amazing drums on this one)
-the primal scene of Japan that the girl saw
-frozen capital of eternity
-The long awaited oumagatoki
So excited to get more touhou music analysis on TH-cam!!! It’s my fav
once again recommending "lullaby of deserted hell" cause its great :)
I think 2 touhou tracks that are generally really good are Lullaby of Deserted Hell, and Unlocated Hell. They both take place in different Hells, one being abandoned.
If you're a fan of the Zunpets, you should check out Solar Sect of Mystical Wisdom - Nuclear Fusion! It takes the Zunpets to the extreme!
I’m all for more Touhou Breakdowns. Been listening to them for years but it will be interesting to break them down from your point of view.
Most of ZUN's tracks do a very good job of conveying forward momentum, even for some of the slower stage themes. Speaking of, the past 3 songs you've reviewed have been Extra Stage boss themes. These are stages that you unlock for doing well in the main game, and often don't have the same pacing or sense of urgency as the rest of the game.
If you want to break pattern, I'd recommend looking for a stage or boss from the middle of a game, OR checking out some tracks from one of the side games.
My recommendations:
- Lullaby of Deserted Hell (from Subterranean Animism)
- Song of the Night Sparrow (from Imperishable Night)
- The Bell of Avici (from Double Spoiler)
- Newshound (also from Double Spoiler)
- Seven-Orb Collection Showdown (from Urban Legend in Limbo)
There's many MANY more, but those are my earworms at least.
Worth noting the last item is composed by U2 Akiyama.
I mean, it isn't like Hartmann where it show Koishi's childish, mystery, and kinda haunting personality, and UN Owen where it show Flandre's chaotic fun nature. It's just Mokou being carefree and stronk being immortal like a phoenix (looping life, or, tracks) so she'll just do whatever she wants, like helping people escort at Bamboo forest, fighting some stronk guys, and killing battle againts Kaguya
And tha's why the title are Reach for The Moon Immortal Smoke. Also one of my favourite Zunpets are at Prismrivers's Theme, Phantom Band Phantom Esemble. Like, Merlin literally plays a frickin trumpets
mentioning "infinity" without seeming to know about the character blew me away since mokou is immortal
This one hits real hard with ZUNpets
Invisible Full Moon - Lunatic Eyes
YES! MORE TOUHOU! xD
Raiko Horikawa's theme is also good to make an analysis
Years of playing the games an listening the OST made me notices, that zun tends to repeat segments two times, the main melody reapeats but with differents instruments then adds another layer wich also repeats two times, until finally all layers at same time but ZUNPETS, a clear example is Okina matara´s theme
Excellent choice, I've been loving these touhou videos!
I suggest you look at the prismriver sister's theme, Phantom Ensemble.
The group, in universe, are musicians, and perform their own theme, making it especially personal to them as characters. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. :)
If you want something from Touhou that doesn't sound like any other Touhou music you've heard so far, I suggest listening to " The Hall of Dreams' Great Mausoleum " or " Tomorrow Will Be Special, Yesterday was Not "
It's incredible how you can gess the personnality an caracteristics of carcarcers with just their themes
This came up in my subscription feed and binged all your touhou reactions. Thanks for making this!
"Everyone is a boss" is true enough lol
Occasionally you get a character from one of the print works that ZUN makes a theme for, but usually if a theme is made it's because you're fighting them!
Welcome to the touhou community the council had decided that you are now one of us
junko boss fight theme hit hard, you gotta listen it at least once
we need more! your reactions are very good
Zun describe this song as "This is Fujiwara no Mokou's theme.
I tried to bring out as much intimidation, power and coolness I could that some shadiness came out. But even if the song isn't shady, the character certainly is.
I always like kicking it old school for the Extra Boss song. This time around I really kicked it."
ここまでざっくりと言い当てれる人は
なかなかいませんね。とても複雑
な曲だということも当たってる。
東方の曲の解説を聞くのはとても
良いものですね！妹紅は不死鳥の
力を使える、不老不死の人物。
ボスってのは当たりですが妹紅は
EXボスですね。1から6面ボスが
一般的ですが時々EXボスという
ものがあります。前回のフランも
EXボスですね。んで、前々回の
こいしもEXボスですね。
僕の一番好きな曲は博麗霊夢の
少女綺想曲〜Dream Battleと
幻想郷3面道中テーマのBad Appleです！
(まぁ、Bad Appleはアレンジの
ほうが好きですが。)
編集お疲れ様でした！お体に気を
つけて頑張ってください！
If you like Touhou Drums, I almost want to recommend Raiko's theme, Primordial Beat ~ Pristine Beat. It's a drum-focused song more than a melodically focused one, though! (If the title didn't key you in to that.)
Other non-extra boss themes I recommend to give you a broader Touhou Scope (since other than Eirin's theme, you've mostly done Extra Boss themes), no order:
- The Gensokyo the Gods Loved
- Merry, the Magician (not from a game but from a supplemental CD)
- The Sea Where One's Home Planet Reflects + Pure Furies ~ Whereabouts of the Heart (these go together)
- Eternal Shrine Maiden (particularly if you can use the CD Version as well)
- Desire Drive
- Bloom Nobly, Ink-Black Cherry Blossoms ~ Border of Life
You need try more Zun crafts to feel his trumpet!Every characters got her own theme!
I would love to hear your take on music themes from Len'en Project, a game heavely inspired from Touhou games .
The creator Jynx, already made 4 Len'en games at this point and some of the music themes are very interesting to listen and there's a lot of zunpets in them.
For starter I recommend Tsubakura Enraku's Theme: "In this World ~ Monochrome Eye" from the first Len'en game: Evanescent Existence and also Tsurubami Senri's Theme - "Eternal Dance Engine ~ Shall We Dance!!"
From the third game Reactivate Majestical Imperial, Tenkai Zuifeng's Theme - "Present World Overhaul"
And from the fourth game Brilliant Pagoda and Haze Castle, Yago's Theme - "The Road-Pounding Steel ~ Cyclops Tech"
So here's a few of them, but there's a lot more interesting musics to discover from these games.
This is my favourite theme! I'm glad you did more after Hartmann and U.N Owen, those ones are meant to be crazy and unconventional because both characters are depicted as insane. Most songs are melodic like this.
Honestly, I want to hear him react to Phantom Ensemble. It's the boss theme of characters who are musicians and it feels perfect for this channel.
Ohhh! Good choice! This one is an absolute bop. Mokou is more of a tragic and lonely character compared to the other songs you have listened to. And yes, those are the famous ZUNpets :)
Honestly, with like 25 touhou games counting the non mainline ones and at minimum 14 new or remixed songs in each one of them there's a truly staggering treasure trove of music for you to go through. Enjoy the journey. Touhou music is really special.
And yes all the songs you've heard thus far are boss battle themes. Stage themes also exist but they're less bombastic and therefore less popular. But they're still quite special.
While each song speaks about the character the complexity does go up with the later songs generally speaking. U.N. Owen was simple because it's such an early piece. While it does its job that's the extent of it. Zun's skill with his musical craft goes way up with each new song. Hartmann's came after Immortal smoke and its simplicity comes from the fact that Hartmann's Youkai Girl sounds remarkably similar if you play it backwards. But that aspect is a thing that was meant to also speak about the character.
As for a suggestion this time, I'll throw my vote in for:
Heian Alien
Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom ~ Nuclear Fusion
Broken Moon
Mystic Oriental Dream ~ Ancient Temple (this is a stage theme)
I feel he should cover The Prismriver Sisters Theme called Phantom Ensemble, kinda embodies the idea of Touhou’s Music as they’re the Musicians playing everyone’s themes.
I'm curious what you'd think of two other Touhou songs from the 14th game, Double Dealing Character: Raiko's theme, "Primordial Beat - Pristine Beat" and Shinmyoumaru's theme, "Kobito of the Shining Needle - Little Princess."
yooo i relly like your reaction this is my favorite theme of all universe thanks to ear it :)
Cool how much you enjoy Touhou Music, I love it personally. If you want some suggestions, I vote Desire Drive from Ten desires, because I think it's really standout from other tracks, especially from it's game. Another classic is The Gensokyo the Gods Loved. But I love this series, I really appreciate you trying to brack down music theory for us layman. As well as hearing your interpretation, which are usually really spot on ^^
Have a nice day.
The trumpet sample ZUN (long-U sound, btw; sounds kinda like "zoom") uses is "Romantic Tp." from the Edirol SD-90 (and a couple others). It's his primary module. ZUN had a sort of awkward transition from FM-based music to the modern sample-based era and this song is right in the middle of when it was featred most heavily and kinda what sealed its fate as a meme/signature. After this point, you'll find that it shows up less and is generally more impactful when it does. For reference, this track is from the eighth main game in 2004; Flan's is from the sixth in 2002 (and used a weird production process, so it sounds pretty unique), and Koishi's is from the 11th game in *2008.*
Anyway you noted that you've only listened to boss themes so far and you're right of course, but it goes a step further: you've only listened to _Extra_ Boss themes; these are extra-challenging "secret" bosses for after you've gotten a 1 credit clear of the main game, and bosses are only about half of the music in general. I'm actually curious what you'd think of stage music intstead; how about things like:
_魔獄ララバイ_ (Lullaby of Deserted Hell, th11)
_天空の花の都_ (Flower Capital of the Heavens, th07)
_フォールオブフォール ～ 秋めく滝_ (Fall of Fall ~ Autumnal Waterfall, th10)
_春の湊に_ (At the Harbour of Spring, th12)
_ハートフェルトファンシー_ (Heartfelt Fancy, th11)
...at the same time, I think it's worth remembering that the stage and boss theme are kind of two sides of the same coin in a lot of cases. I struggle to think of a better example of this than the combination of _法界の火_ (Fires of Hokkai) and _感情の摩天楼 ～ Cosmic Mind_ (Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind), the final stage and final boss themes of the 1th mainline game, 東方星蓮船 ～ Undefined Fantastic Object
Also, it would be remiss of me to NOT point out ZUN's signature "Theme of Eastern Story", variations and motifs of which appear in every game since 2002. The Ur-Example is actually the ZUNsoft intro jingle that he started using in th04, but I think a really interesting sample is the sequence that starts with _花映塚 ～Higan Retour_ (Flower Reflecting Mound ~ Higan Retour, th09), then _封印されし神々_ (Sealed Gods, th10), and _地霊達の起床_ (Awakening of the Earth Spirits, th11). That's a very straight orthodox version, a melodic take, and a lively variation.
Oh god, I wrote another wall of text. Uhm, sorry? 😅
I suggest you to check Extended Ash ~ Hourai Victim. It's from the same game as this one (Imperishable Nigth) and it's the extra stage theme (the extra boss is precisely Mokou). It really emanates many emotions and it represents how is the backstory of the game like. It's one of my favorite tracks out of ALL (and they're many to say the least) and it would be very interesting to see what you think about it.
I guess that many people have told you already, but in 10:00 you nailed it, Mokou became immortal because of the Hourai Elixir (yes, it's in the name of the track i just mentioned) and also: In the past (around 1300 years ago), Mokou's father fell in love with Kaguya Houraisan, the princess of the Lunarians, who told him that to accept him he had to overcome five impossible request. He was unable to overcome those challenges and was unable to marry Kaguya, as well dishonoring the entire family. Mokou began to resent this and looked for a way to get revenge of Kaguya for the dishonor of his father but Kaguya disappeared. Rumors of Kaguya returning to the moon started to get spreaded, but Mokou had not lost hope.
In summary, Kaguya left a gift (Hourai Elixir, it makes you immortal) to the Emperor of Japan of that time, and the Emperor sent soldiers to get rid of it, they planned to thow it into a volcano, Mokou made a plan to steal it blinded by the power of being immortal and being able to get her revenge, but didn't find Kaguya after that.
She went 300 hundred years in isolation and 300 years attacking everything that crossed pass with her, in those 600 years she moved from place to place until she arrived Gensokyo (Touhou location) it is unknown when exactly she arrived Gensokyo, but after 900 years she found out that Kaguya didn't retuned to the moon and she also lived a life of escape because she also drank the Hourai Elixir and was banned from the moon. Mokou was happy to know that there was another person who had gone through the same thing as her, after that and since then, Kaguya and Mokou killed each other day after day after day aftery day for about 300 years and they keep going, so for me this is something that also represents the infinite melody that shows in here.
Try this: Kobito of The Shining Needle ~ Little Princess
Ayyyy my guy discovers the wonders of zunpets. Welcome to the rabbit hole. If you want to see something cool start listening to fan arrangements on Touhou themes. I like edm so I'd recommend Alstroemeria Records - Haunted Dancehall (Camellia, Masayoshi Minoshima), Shibayan Records - Magico Catastrofe, Syrufit - White Clear. But there's amazing Touhou arrangements in every genre.
If you're looking for more Touhou track recommendations - Maiden's Capriccio, Plain Asia, Necrofantasia, Desire Drive are some memorable ones.
that was a great analysis! seeing someone be able to pretty much understand the character from an initial listen is really special when a piece of music does that, and yes zunpets are amazing. most tracks use the funny zunpets but i'd personally recommend checking out...
- Inchlings of the Shining Needle ~ Little Princess
- Pure Furies ~ Whereabouts of the Heart
- Entrusting This World to Idols ~ Idolatrize World
- Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind
they're all final boss tracks and are mostly more recent compared to the other tracks you may have heard (all but one of them at least) but to me they're "peak zunpets", also shoutout to "Primordial Beat ~ Pristine Beat" thats another favourite!
The tiny pause is when she died and and resurrected in the middle when she is using a new spell card
I think some interesting is Tenshi's theme - Daughter of Bhava'agra.
YESSSSSSSSS THANK YOUUUUUU!!
Ever since I saw that you were doing Touhou theme I've been hoping for you to do Mokou's theme. I never thought you would do it though due to how many themes are in the series and how it wasn't as popular or well.. Mentioned, compared to the rest. But I'm so happy you did it! I absolutely love your vids and always watch your videos as soon as I can!
You've been listening to boss themes, so I'll just more or less repeat what I wrote on the community post.
"The Sea Where One's Home Planet Reflects", the final stage theme from Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. It's pretty serene and calm, which does somewhat reflect the final stage before the final boss shows up as the only enemy type in the stage are little spirits (plus some extra bullets and there), in contrast to the absolute mayhem that is Stage 5 boss, Clownpiece.
(Also on side note, I believe some people are suggesting the theme of LoLK's final boss, Pure Furies).
The other fun part is that depending on how you read the original name (故郷の星が映る海), it can also come out as "The Sea of Homeland Where Planets Reflect", which is more accurate to the fourth playable character in the game (as the sea in question refers to the Moon, where Reisen comes from).
There are so many awesome themes on the touhou soundtracks that is hard to say which one is the best.
One I would like to recommend is "Inchlings of the Shining Needle ~ Little Princess". At least I find it packed with emotions that reflect pretty well on the character and situation.
I freaking love earing your analysis of touhou's musics. They alway made me feels a lots of things, and seeing you talk about them allows me to better understand why and how they achieve such effect on me.
Thank you for doing it.
Also, I would love one on "septet for a dead princess"... scratch that, one all majors theme :D
Keiki theme keiki theme keiki theme Keiki theme keiki theme keiki theme
Keiki theme keiki theme keiki theme
Keiki theme keiki theme keiki theme Keiki theme keiki theme keiki theme
Keiki theme keiki theme keiki theme
Can you just do all of Touhou?
There is a lot… but they’re all so great and worth the time.
Time for 4000+ videos then lol
I'd recommend Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom ~ Nuclear Fusion (Utsuho Reiuji's Theme), as another action packed Touhou song you could listen to.
ZUN's music is insanely great at getting information about his characters across. It surpasses language. In-game you don't have too much text or lines to get a full idea of a characters true personality so it's told upfront by the music and that's part of what makes it so satisfyingly good
MY RECOMMENDATIONS:
Cosmic Mind
Broken Moon!!!
Lullaby of Deserted Hell
The Bridge People No Longer Cross
The Sea Where One’s Home Planet Reflects
Suwa Foughten Field
Grave of being
Native Faith
I can go on for hours but here are a few!