touhou

Touhou, short for the Touhou Project, is a Japanese bullet hell shooter series created by ZUN (Jun'ya Ota) under the dōjin circle Team Shanghai Alice. The first games appeared in the mid to late 1990s for PC-98 and Windows, and the franchise has since grown into a large multimedia phenomenon. The stories are set in the fictional realm of Gensokyo, a land sealed from the outside world by magical barriers, where humans and a wide variety of youkai live alongside shrine maidens, witches, fairies, and other supernatural beings.

Gameplay centers on danmaku, or bullet patterns, requiring precise navigation through intricate projectiles while dispatching enemies. The mainline titles are primarily vertical scrolling shooters, though the series includes spin-offs in other genres. The recurring protagonists often include Reimu Hakurei, a pragmatic shrine maiden, and Marisa Kirisame, a prolific when-it-comes-to-looting magician, who together investigate and resolve disturbances in Gensokyo. The series is renowned for its dense, creative bullet patterns, evolving difficulty, and a distinctive musical and visual style.

Development and distribution are uniquely doujin in nature. ZUN writes the music, designs the graphics, and programming is typically done by himself, with Team Shanghai Alice functioning as a small, largely solitary operation. Official releases have historically circulated at doujin events such as Comiket and through online channels. The franchise has generated an enormous fan ecosystem, including fan games, manga, music remixes, art, and extensive online communities, making Touhou one of the most influential and long-lasting doujin phenomena.

Beyond games, Touhou has influenced broader otaku culture, spawning countless fan works, concerts, and derivative media. It is widely recognized for its distinctive characters, expansive lore, and enduring impact on the bullet hell genre.