Touhou Music Reviews: Undefined Fantastic Object

While it does kinda suffer from being squished between two of my favorite mainline soundtracks in the franchise, Undefined Fantastic Object does have yet another stellar score, one of the more emotional and experimental ones out there, and heavily utilizing one of my favorite ZUN instruments, the UFO saxophones. And similarly to Phantasmagoria Of Flower View, I also hold a lot of nostalgia for this soundtrack since it had some of my earliest Touhou listens.

A Shadow In The Blue Sky
This is a pretty good title theme, nice and chill. It takes the Theme Of Eastern Story and makes it a bit jazzier, with a bouncy guitar riff, upbeat percussion, and a fantastic UFO sax chorus.
4/5 Stars

At The End Of Spring
This was my first Touhou track, the first one I ever heard, and to this day, it's one of my absolute favorites. That opening piano solo is so beautiful and iconic to me, I want to learn how to play it one day. The way the track starts off so soft before bursting into an incredibly badass verse, all culminating in a powerful saxophone chorus, it's everything I've grown to love about Touhou music all condensed into a single awe-inspiring package. I have so much nostalgia and love for At The End Of Spring, what an amazing track.
5/5 Stars

A Tiny, Tiny, Clever Commander
How is this a Stage 1 boss theme?! I feel like I should've seen this coming after the last two games, but A Tiny Tiny Clever Commander goes insanely hard for no reason. That opening piano intro perfectly captures what you'd expect from a mouse like Nazrin, it's so plucky and innocent... and then you hit the drop. The rest of the track is a hard-hitting rock theme with some of the best electric guitars in the series, and some fun alternations between piano and sax.
5/5 Stars

The Sealed Cloud Route
The Sealed Cloud Route is definitely an unconventional sounding track, with a really unique sounding lead that I don't think ZUN has ever used outside of this game. Overall, this is a pretty atmospheric piece that does a good job at giving off the vibes of floating through the clouds, even if its melody isn't quite as easy to latch onto. The saxophone part is pretty though.
4/5 Stars

Beware The Umbrella Left There Forever
An incredibly fantastic theme that I like more and more with every listen. It takes some unique risks like looping the bit right before what was supposed to be the chorus, but it gives a solemn vibe to an otherwise cheery song. The whole track perfectly toes the line between upbeat and melancholic, with a bouncy percussion riff and wailing synths. It all leads to a truly outstanding chorus, an outpouring of emotions that is also a massive head-banger.
5/5 Stars

Sky Ruin
I feel like you're either partial to The Sealed Cloud Route or Sky Ruin, and I personally lean far towards the latter. Between the lovely piano riff, to the great saxophone bridge, to the haunting choirs, to the energetic and empowering chorus. If The Sealed Cloud Route is about floating through the clouds, then Sky Ruin is about racing through them.
5/5 Stars

The Traditional Old Man And The Stylish Girl
Just pure, unadulterated fun. The opening saxophone riff is enough to instantly get you in a good mood, and the pace remains brisk and energetic throughout the whole track. The bridge is especially great, where after a brief moment of calm, we get the most exhilarating part of the song, bolstered with intense saxs and fierce electric guitars.
4/5 Stars 

Interdimensional Voyage Of A Ghostly Passenger Ship
What a bop. Easily one of the most experimental and distinct Touhou tracks, Interdimensional Voyage goes full funk with a sick spooky-sounding synth, bouncy percussion, and a groovy piano melody. Like with all the best Touhou songs, the calm piano-heavy bridge giving away to an intense ZUNpet chorus ends this track on a high note. The cherry on top of an already phenomenal Stage 4 theme is that infamous Windows pop. Never has a musical error been this perfectly fitting.
5/5 Stars

Captain Murasa
Yet another fantastic and intense boss theme, Captain Murasa is shamelessly dramatic and grandiose, with an incredibly powerful main melody. Like with most UFO boss themes, there's some great electric guitar usage making for a real head-banger, and as usual, the highlight is the phenomenal sax-heavy climax. 
5/5 Stars

Provincial Makai City Esoteria
I adore this song so much. I'm a sucker for some crazy time signatures and this track's wild 11/4 not only sounds great but gives the whole theme a smooth, elegant waltzy feel. It's also the first song where we get to hear the UFO saxophones and the ZUNpets in conjunction with each other and it sounds absolutely glorious, especially in that slow bit in the second half. I also have to give props to that shimmering chime sound effect in the background, really heightens the regal feel of the track.
5/5 Stars

The Tiger Patterned Vasiravana
The Tiger Patterned Vasiravana was always kind of a weak point in an otherwise stellar soundtrack, with a pretty repetitive main melody that doesn't really evolve at all. What saves this theme for me is the driving instrumentation and the fantastic tango-sounding bridge section that works a fantastic relief from that main melody.
3/5 Stars

Fires Of Hokkai
With the exception of Voyage 1969, I hadn't truly loved any final stage themes up to this point. They were always a bit short, meant to hype up the final boss and nothing more. Fires Of Hokkai breaks that trend, proving that you can hype up the final boss while being a phenomenal piece of music in your own right. Let's get the obvious out of the way, that heartbeat makes this song. It gives the whole track a rhythmic and intense feel, especially as instruments keep on slowly layering. First the percussion, then the piano, then the saxophones, all culminating in an incredibly dramatic final note.
5/5 Stars

Emotional Skyscraper - Cosmic Mind
We can all agree this one of the best final boss themes in the series, right? Like it's genuinely awe-inspiring, with an uplifting but no less climactic tone that sounds fittingly godly. The whole track is fantastic, using every instrument and trick that ZUN had used throughout the game, but come on, the chorus is absolutely what makes the song. It's just so beautiful, exactly what you'd think of with the phrase Emotional Skyscraper. Kicking off with the saxophones, then the electric guitars kick in, and finally, the ZUNpets show up for one final powerful reprise. I never realized how little the ZUNpets were used in UFO, but every time they do show up, it's incredibly impactful.
5/5 Stars

UFO Romance In The Night Sky
This is such a fun and quirky track, from the cute synth lead, to the goofy lone ZUNpet, to the infrequent giggle sound-effects, to the Mario Sunshine-esque "Doo" vocals in the background, UFO Romance is such a cheery and likable extra stage theme. That bridge is especially fun, with its slightly off-beat melody and laughing effects. I just love how happy this track is.
5/5 Stars

Heian Alien
Yep, that's an extra boss theme alright. Spooky, off-kilter, and weird, the perfect theme for fighting an alien. The sudden jazz refrain in the mid-section is especially memorable, almost like it's setting up for a more soft and sympathetic chorus like in Hartmann's Youkai Girl only to creep you out even more. I do kinda like Galaxy Collapse a bit more though.
4/5 Stars

Youkai Temple
The closest ZUN has gotten to lo-fi, Youkai Temple is incredibly chill even by ending theme standards. The laid-back percussion and chimes really make for such a vibe of a track.
4/5 Stars

Returning Home From The Sky - Sky Dream
This is the first game to turn a pre-existing theme into the credits theme, a trend ZUN would continue to do from here on out, but sadly, I don't think he fully nails it here. For the most part, it's a nice chill remix of Emotional Skyscraper, but man, that intro sucks. The off-beat claps really sully the mood every time they pop up, this really could've been one of the best staff roll themes if that wasn't there.
4/5 Stars

Similarly to Subterranean Animism, UFO intertwines its cast by having (almost) all of them be disciples of the Myouren Temple. While I'm not quite as big on this cast as I was with the last one, there are still some truly stellar characters here.

Nazrin
No wonder Nazrin's got a huge fanbase, she's adorable. Super fierce and badass when the time comes, but otherwise, easily one of the cutest characters of the series.
4/5 Stars

Kogasa Tatara
Who doesn't love Kogasa? The one character in this game not related to the Myouren Temple, Kogasa is a cute umbrella youkai with heterochromia who's so cute she's incapable of actually scaring anyone. This is both adorable and kinda sad when the supplementary material reveals that this gives her self-esteem issues, poor thing. And similarly to with Mystia, it's also revealed that she works a part-time gig as a blacksmith which is so random and out of left field that I absolutely love it.
5/5 Stars

Ichirin Kumoi
I feel like I keep forgetting about Ichirin which is a shame because she's a fun character. Where so many in the Myouren Temple take their jobs deathly seriously, Ichirin's is just having a good time, with barely a moment where she's not sporting a massive grin on her face. Obviously, the novelty of her essentially having a stand isn't lost on me either.
4/5 Stars

Unzan
However, while I really like Ichirin, I never really got the appeal of Unzan himself. I know that the rare male characters we get are all pretty popular for their scarcity but, like, he's just a cloud. He solely exists to make Ichirin more interesting.
2/5 Stars

Minamitsu Murasa
That's Captain Minamitsu Motherfucking Murasa to you! What a fun character, a badass pirate who uses an anchor as a weapon. Despite her penchant for capsizing people, Murasa's laid-back and chatty attitude reminiscent of Komachi still keeps her pretty likable overall. Very happy to see her back in 17.5 along with Kogasa.
4/5 Stars

Shou Toramaru
I'm not huge on Shou. As far as fifth stage servants go, I find her to be pretty unremarkable. Not a character I actively dislike or anything, once again ZUN does a pretty good job of translating an animal into a human person, but personality-wise, she doesn't have much making her stand out. Also her curvy lasers are the absolute worst.
2/5 Stars

Byakuren Hijiri
Not gonna lie, I really like it when the Touhou antagonists aren't really bad people. She literally just woke up and now Reimu and crew are challenging her to a fight. Seriously though, Byakuren is great. She's got a great backstory and lots of lore behind her, a heartwarming relationship with her disciples, and her intent to preach human and youkai coexistence is noble. Also, in the fighting games, she gets a motorcycle and a eurobeat remix of her boss theme and how can you not like that?
5/5 Stars

Nue Houjuu
Nue is kind of an enigma, and that's entirely intentional. She is very much a UFO, often showing her face to prank others but never revealing more than what is at face value. On top of that, her design is sick, her friendship with Mamizou is fun, and I kinda like that she sticks around at the Myouren Temple despite being another chaotic wild-card.
4/5 Stars

Touhou Music Reviews: Subterranean Animism

And here we are, my favorite Touhou game. Subterranean Animism is borderline perfect in my eyes, it's got a great cast, a sick partner mechanic, super creative weapon types, a nice variety of biomes, stunning bullet patterns, one hell of a boss lineup, and hands down the best soundtrack in the series.  I spend a lot of these music reviews gushing, but prepare for gushing like you've never seen it before.

Awakening Of The Earth Spirits
For the first time since the PC-98 days, we finally get another intense and fast-paced title sequence, and it's so good. By simply spacing out the individual notes of the Theme Of Eastern Story, this track manages to give an oft-remixed melody new life and gravitas. I love how there's no intro, the song just bursts out of the gate with shamelessly dramatic choir samples as its lead instrument. Easily one of my favorite title themes.
5/5 Stars

The Dark Blowhole
And the first stage theme is pretty phenomenal too. The echoing piano, melancholic tone, ambient sounds really give this track a subterranean feel, with an intriguing and magical melody that makes you feel like you're exploring an entirely new place. It's also got a stellar drop, starting off subdued and menacing before bursting into its fast-paced and exhilarating main verse. It's got all the briskness you'd want from a good first stage theme, but with a bit of an edge to it for good measure.
5/5 Stars

The Sealed-Away Youkai
This is just a really energetic theme, with a fast-paced upbeat melody, hard-hitting guitars, a godly choir prechorus, and a soaring high note at the end of the track. Like most Stage 1 themes it's not super long, but the sheer intensity and denseness of it makes for another one of my favorites.
5/5 Stars

The Bridge People No Longer Cross
Stage 2 themes are rarely the most memorable tracks in the game, but ZUN went so hard with this one in particular. It's so haunting and dramatic, with a chill-inducing marimba intro, a powerful rhythmic melody, and once again, lots of choirs. The Bridge People No Longer Cross is beautifully composed and a perfect example of how consistently stellar this soundtrack is.
5/5 Stars

Green-Eyed Jealousy
Definitely one of the best fitting boss themes, with a sorrowful waltz-like melody that gives off really bitter vibes. And yet it also works as just a great boss theme, with fast-paced piano and percussion instrumentation keeping the whole song moving. It's that blend between a slow-paced waltz melody and blisteringly fast background instruments that make Green-Eyed Jealousy sound super novel and fresh to this day.
5/5 Stars

Walking The Streets Of A Former Hell
Yuugi's themes aren't my favorites in the game but they work perfectly as a breath of fresh air in an otherwise intense soundtrack. Walking The Streets Of A Former Hell has got a super catchy and festive main melody, a pretty iconic background riff, a powerful last chorus, and the introduction of the amazing UFO saxophones, one of personal favorite instruments in ZUN's arsenal.
4/5 Stars

A Flower-Studded Sake Dish On Mt Ooe
This theme is fun. It's not super long or complex, but it's got a great flute intro, cute melody, breezy vibe, some great ZUNpet usage, and a stellar piano solo around the halfway point. It perfectly encapsulates Yuugi's carefree attitude.
4/5 Stars

Heartfelt Fancy
Satori's themes are shamelessly gothic, filled to the brim with harpsichord. Compared to its more fun boss theme, Heartfelt Fancy is atmospheric, melancholic, and somber, with a slow haunting melody filled with held notes, and chill-inducing choirs in the background. However, this is still a stage four theme, so the main riff is catchy enough that the track also feels somewhat urgent and propulsive. Definitely a highlight in an already stacked score.
5/5 Stars

Satori Maiden - 3rd Eye
Satori Maiden is just the Halloween Touhou theme, it captures that spooky vibe so well, with harpsichord as its lead instrument and eerie ghostly sounds in the background. There's a lot to like here, from the moody yet catchy melody to the fantastic piano solo in the pre-chorus to that amazing ZUNpet chorus.
5/5 Stars

Lullaby Of Demonic Hell
This is one of those Touhou songs where it's hard not to sit back in awe every time you hear it. In an already moody and atmospheric soundtrack, nothing really tops those first few seconds of just wind, followed up by one of the most beautiful melodies in the franchise (which sounds like it takes cues from folk song Scarborough Fair, not that it's a bad thing). The ominous acoustic riff, the dramatic ZUNpet chorus, and of course, that amazing flute outro, all make for an incredibly atmospheric and impactful piece of music.
5/5 Stars

Corpse Voyage
The mood whiplash between Lullaby and this theme is absolutely hilarious. Coming off the heels of possibly SA's darkest track is possibly its lightest, with a catchy and cheery melody, a fun piano bridge, and just the right amount of ominousness to keep Rin feeling intimidating.
4/5 Stars

Hellfire Mantle
The weakest favorite stage or boss theme in the game which is a testament to how good the rest of the soundtrack this is. I like how unrelentingly frantic and intense it is, with booming instruments that almost sound disorganized at points. The whole song sounds like it's in panic mode, which is fitting given what comes next. There's also a pretty great piano solo near the end.
4/5 Stars

Solar Sect Of Mystic Wisdom - Nuclear Fusion
Similarly to Mystic Square, the last three main themes in this game form one hell of an impressive streak, starting off with Utsuho's phenomenal theme. Nuclear Fusion is my favorite final boss themes in the series and one of my favorite themes in the series period. It's so bombastic and grand, with an empowering melody, frantic instrumentation, and loads of moving parts. This theme is badass, it makes Utsuho seem like a badass, and it makes you feel like a badass for fighting for. Everything about Utsuho's fight is one of the coolest things Touhou has ever done, and this really is the only theme that could've done it justice.
5/5 Stars

Last Remote
Does anyone not like Last Remote? This theme is ZUN at his most shamelessly dramatic, intense, and powerful. It crams in so much, so many instruments and melodies, throwing every single trick in the book. You got an intense intro that bursts out of the gate, frantic instrumentation, a beautifully somber and calm piano solo, driving guitars, and one of the absolute finest ZUNpet choruses in all of Touhou. Nuclear Fusion is still my favorite track in the game but man does this come close. A jack of all trades and a master of all of them.
5/5 Stars

Hartmann's Youkai Girl
As far as the frantic extra boss themes go, I don't think anything really tops Hartmann's Youkai Girl. The frantic and all-over-the-place tempo-changing melody is so chaotic and weird, and yet, it still sounds great. It's intense, terrifying, and also a bit of a banger too. But the bit that really completes the track is that calm piano solo chorus, a perfect contrast from the rest of this chaotic mess of a song. The calm in the storm.
5/5 Stars

The Earth Spirits' Homecoming
A fine enough ending theme but not super remarkable, especially within an otherwise amazing soundtrack. It's lighthearted, chill, and catchy, but I don't love how the theme keeps starting and stopping. It's alright.
3/5 Stars

Energy Daybreak - Future Dream
On the other hand, this is one of the best staff roll themes in the series. Intense, exciting, powerful, and bittersweet. The flute chorus is super catchy and pleasant to listen to, and the exhilirating accompaniment keeps the song moving.
5/5 Stars

Subterranean Animism has a pretty great cast with some of my favorite characters, but what makes them even better is the fact that they kinda all live in the same living space this time around. Even the earlier bosses live underground, which I think works as a point in these guys' favors. And like with Imperishable Night, the amazing doujin At Chirei is so good that it made me like them even more.

Kisume
Kisume is just that one youkai in a bucket and I'm kinda fine with that. I don't think we need more depth to Kisume, her design and gimmick is cute and charming in its simplicity.
3/5 Stars

Yamame Kurodani
Once again, we don't know much about Yamame other than she's a spider. If I did this a few years ago, I'd probably give her a 2/5, but her depiction in 17.5 really won me over. Giving her actual spider legs under her dress makes her look way more unique and cool.
3/5 Stars

Parsee Mizuhashi
Parsee is interesting because I find her to be super unlikable, because that's entirely the point. Parsee is incredibly jealous and bitter pretty much all the time, which makes her a pretty un-fun youkai to be around. And yet, you can't help feel bad for her since she's basically stuck spending the rest of her life feeling shitty. I like seeing fan creations that group her with Yuugi because Parsee deserves that kind of positive force in her life.
4/5 Stars

Yuugi Hoshiguma
Speaking of which, on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, Yuugi is a simple oni who's immensely likable for her carefree and fun nature. There isn't much depth to Yuugi because she always wears her heart on her sleeve, and her upbeat attitude serves as a perfect contrast to pretty much everyone else in the underground.
4/5 Stars

Satori Komeiji
And now we get to the Komeiji Sisters, two of the most tragic characters in the series. As per the usual, Satori is my preferred of the two. Because of her ability to read minds, everyone fears Satori, which forces her to isolate and fall into what seems to be some sort of really bad depression. She's not even really a bad person from what we've seen, just dealt a very bad hand. Besides, anyone who's loved by animals has gotta be a good person, right? (Read At Chirei it's very good).
5/5 Stars

Rin Kaenbyou
Despite being a pretty popular character, I'm not really the biggest fan of Rin. As far as dead people transportation goes, I find her a bit less interesting than Komachi. However, her cheery personality is still pretty fun, her design has some pretty unique color choices, her dynamic with Utsuho and the Komeijis is sweet, and her dance in Hopeless Masquerade is glorious.
3/5 Stars

Utsuho Reiuji
Utsuho, on the other hand, is a Top 3 character for me. On one hand, she has one of the sickest designs complete with giant hand gun and galaxy cape, a badass theme, a bonkers fight, and some of the coolest abilities out of any character in the series. She's a dangerous force of nature so powerful that she gets a klaxon warning before all of her spell cards. And despite all of that, she's also one of the ditziest and most simple-minded characters in the series, having figuratively stocked all of her intelligence points into nuclear fusion and nowhere else. I'm a big fan of this kind of juxtaposition and it makes Utsuho super charming and fun.
5/5 Stars

Koishi Komeiji
Koishi, Koishi, Koishi... What a fascinating figure. Unlike her sister, Koishi got so sick of being hated that she stabbed out her own satori eye only to essentially have become forgotten. If no one's looking at her, Koishi is basically invisible, and those who do notice her will mostly forget of her existence the moment they look away. She has no thoughts, and spends her time playfully wandering around and at times scaring people with how unpredictable she is. Koishi is often portrayed as a deranged murderer not unlike how Flandre is, but once again, that's kinda limiting. Koishi could kill people, she has no thoughts, she could do anything. But I find it more interesting to think of her as a tragic figure who has no idea of the tragedy she's going through, not so much edgy as just... sad.
5/5 Stars

Go Princess Precure (Series 12)

Tanaka Yuta has been my favorite Precure director for a while now. He was the main episode director of Fresh (my favorite season up to now), he helmed some of my favorite episodes of Suite through Doki Doki, and he even made the anniversary messages for HapCha. So when I found out he was directing this one, I couldn't be more excited, and he did not let me down. A lovable main trio, strong character development, a school setting, awesome side characters, fairies based on real animals, a redemption Cure, insanely good action, stylish presentation, amazing music, Go Princess is everything I want from a season of Precure and then some.

Go Princess Precure is about Haruka Haruno, who joins a prestigious noble school with the dream of becoming a princess. She meets an actual prince named Kanata who gives her a Precure transformation trinket which she, and her two classmates Minami and Kirara, must use to find nine keys and save the Hope Kingdom from where he hails from the evil Dys Dark. In a similar vein to Yes 5 and Heartcatch, GoPri is at its core a very character-driven Precure season. Each of the three main Cures has a strong and well-defined arc that they have to go through, usually involving a dream of theirs, though Haruka obviously gets the best arc here. Her growth from a naive princess wannabe to a proper princess in the face of constant bullying, ridicule, and people trying to crush her dream is so well-executed. I also absolutely adore the school setting in GoPri, it's a breath of fresh air that reminds me quite a lot of Princess Tutu. It also allows for a pretty wide array of memorable student characters, like the fun duo of Seira and Ayaka, the dog-opposed Reiko, and of course, Haruka's roommate Yui who follows the lead of Seiji from HapCha in being an awesome normal friend to the Cures. As GoPri goes on, it's hard to not get really attached to the whole class and not just the Cures. There's a great amount of slice of life too, GoPri constantly dedicates time to developing the characters and their bonds to one another. And while there is a victim of the week format, the show continues to iterate on the concept by having a quick flashback of the dreams of each victim, a structure that I think works pretty perfectly.

The plot in GoPri is very well-executed too, even if it's a bit simpler than in the last two shows. I think what elevates it is the lead villain Dyspear, who is absolutely ruthless. From seemingly killing off her subordinates to frequently pulling fast ones on the Cures, Dyspear is always scheming and that gives the show a good sense of forward momentum to spice up the standard "object-hunting" plot. The fairies are pretty stellar this time as well, with the super cutesy Puff and the more abrasive Aroma being a perfect pairing. Miss Shamour is the highlight though, a hammy spotlight stealer whenever she shows up. I've always preferred the fairies that look like normal animals so I couldn't be happier with their designs either. And of course, Go Princess also has a redemption Cure in Towa (aka Twilight aka Cure Scarlet). She's no Setsuna or Ellen and she was once again brainwashed, but I think her storyline was still pretty well-executed. Her villain form Twilight is so gleefully sadistic compared to the more hammy Siren and the eternally confused Eas, and when she snaps out of her brainwashing, the season does a good job of digging into the fact that she's a princess who lost months of her life and is forced to live as essentially a commoner, not to mention in a school that requires its students to be self-sufficient.

And of course, I can't talk about Go Princess without talking about how damn good the production is here. The fight scenes are absolutely wild, and not just in the super important episodes. Nearly every fight scene in Go Princess goes hard, they're so kinetic, fluidly animated, visually inventive, and bombastic as hell. And even when the Cures aren't duking it out, Go Princess is expressive, colorful, stylish, and confident in its direction. The only complaint I could really say is that the CGI attacks don't look quite as good as in HapCha but they still look pretty stellar, especially for the time. Obviously, Tanaka Yuta deserves praise for his direction but he only actually directed three episodes here, the whole crew at Toei did a phenomenal job. Go Princess feels like one of those seasons you can only get when the stars align perfectly, everyone involved was at the top of their game. That applies to the music too. The background music still doesn't quite top Doki Doki for me, but the transformation, attack, and fight themes, as well as the OPs and EDs, are fantastic across the board. 

Highlights:

I’m A Princess? Cure Flora Is Born (episode 1): Tanaka Yuta directed the first episode and man, what a perfect and confident Precure pilot. It introduces Haruka's main conflict super efficiently and caps off with an absolute show-stopper of a fight scene.

Big Big Big Pinch!? Pretty Cure VS Close (episode 11): This episode feels like a season finale, but it's literally just the last battle with the first villain. The action here was amazing even by GoPri standards, and for the first time in years, the Cures just flat-out kill Close. And yet even with all that bombast, the real star of the show is Yui Nanase, who, despite having just learned about her friends being Cures, still risks her life to save Haruka.

Secrets Of The Picture Books! What is a Princess? (episode 18): When working on a Precure show about being a princess, the crew at Toei had a question to answer. What makes a princess? You could go with the born of nobility definition and make GoPri about a bunch of actual princesses, but then you lose that relatability factor for the kids. So instead, GoPri posits that being a princess is what you make of it. it's about being the best version of yourself. The entire show deals with this conflict between the literal and metaphorical definitions of princess and is all the better for it, but this was the first episode where that really came into the forefront. But on top of that, this episode also had a really cool fight between the Cures and Twilight so it had a nice spectacle element in addition to those interesting themes.

Deliver The Feelings! Princess Vs Princess (episode 21): It may not have the utter devastation of Love Vs Eas or the operatic scale of Siren's turn, but the final battle with Twilight is still fantastic. The action itself is fantastic, Dyspear finally showing herself is great, and Kanata's sacrifice for Towa gives the episode some real emotional heft.

Flames Of Hope! Her Name Is Cure Scarlet (episode 22): "Then I shall live with my sins, I will carry their burden and try once again, and aim become a Grand Princess". Damn, that's raw. From Haruka breaking through Dyspear's vines onward, this episode goes from great to perfect for pretty much the rest of the episode. The violin duet, Towa's transformation, the first fight and the music that accompanies it, this is one of the sickest transformations a mid-season Cure has ever had. Of course, Yuta Tanaka directed this one, so you also get some super stylish cinematography to boot.

Together Forever! We are the Four Princess Pretty Cure! (episode 23): And this is the usual "redemption Cure struggles to atone" episode. This one takes a bit more of a comedic bend as Towa tries to work on her own only to realize she has no idea how Earth works, but the core arc of not feeling like she's allowed to be happy until she's fully atoned is still super compelling.

The Heart is Together! The Light of the Sun that Shines on Pretty Cure! (episode 28): Oh? You thought this was just gonna be a cute beach episode about Towa not being able to swim? Nope, instead for the first time in the entire franchise, the villains manage to steal the transformation trinkets, at least from everyone from Towa. That's a great twist that sets the stage for one of the season's best arc. And yet, I think Towa had my favorite bits. Her interactions with Yui were really sweet.

To the Future! The Crystal of Power, Princess Palace (episode 30): Like with the final battle with Close, the final fight with Lock is pretty much pure action from start to finish. The whole episode is stunning to watch, but once Lock turns into his monster form, the action gets cranked up to eleven and doesn't let up.

A Suspicious Trap...! The Lonely Princess! (episode 38): Man, that was a hard episode to watch, a token tragedy. After spending the entire season in pursuit of her dream of being a princess, Close manages to manipulate poor Haruka into believing all she's doing is hurting people. The awful timing of Kanata's comment didn't help matters at all, and I'd argue it's one of the best usages of an anmesia storyline in general.

Time for the Flower of Dreams to Bloom! Flutter, the Revived Princess (episode 39): What a brilliantly-executed episode. Visually striking, emotionally intense, amazing action, and a perfect cap to Haruka's character arc. The flashback sequence where Haruka reflects on why she wanted to be a princess to begin with was just perfect, and the big fight scene was one of the largest scale in the franchise.

Yui's Dream! Thoughts Within a Canvas...! (episode 41): Similarly to Smile, we get some pretty amazing character-focused episodes right before the final arc to complete some of the show's bigger arcs. First off is Yui, who finally gets some time to shine. Her storyline about entering a drawing contest isn't particularly novel for the series, but it is very cute, and seeing her manage to slightly overpower Dys Dark's trap shows that you don't have to be a Cure to be badass.

Dreams or Pretty Cure!? Sparking Kirara's Chosen Path/Kirara the Top Star! Toward the Stage of Twinkling Dreams (episode 42/43): Out of the character-focused episodes, Kirara had my personal favorite. It felt like the perfect culmination of everything she's been dealing with, as the weight from both being a Cure and being a model finally collapses in on her. Kirara is forced to make several decisions between the two facets of her life and both times, it's crushing. Episode 42 has Kirara miss her flight to fight with the other Cures and save her new assistant Karin (who by the way, is very adorable and memorable for a brief side chaacter), and Episode 43 has her take a job in Paris even if it means leaving her friends. Oh, and that mock fashion show was one of the funniest and most heart-warming things I've seen in a Precure show.

The Raging Feelings! Minami's Real Feelings!/Feeling I Want to See! To the Ocean of Minami's Dream! (episode 44/45): While not quite as much of an emotional rollercoaster as Kirara's arc, Minami's storyline is pretty stellar too. It's a bit more subdued of a two-parter, with more dialogue-heavy heart-to-hearts between cast members, like Minami and Kirara's chat on the beach and of course, Minami opening up to her parents about her new dream. Also, the christmas party sequence was once again a ton of fun.

Like a Flower...! Strong, Kind, Beautiful (episode 47): This is the perfect culmination of Haruka's character arc, and an inventive one at that. I don't think Precure has ever had the "perfect dream world" trope yet but it works perfectly for Haruka. After all of her growth throughout the series, she rejects the idealized life as a Flower Princess that she had initially wanted because, as she says "A dream you can reach without any effort isn't a dream at all". This is a very thematically resonant episode with a strong message, one that finally gives the show's mission statement that it's been setting up throughout its entirety. Being a princess is a dream that never ends, because it's about always striving to be the best you possible.

The Approaching Despair...! The Princesses in Grave Danger! (episode 48): This was the first time since Fresh where it really felt like the Cures revealing their identities was treated with the gravitas it truly deserved. Yui was the real star of the show in this episode, though, being the one to explain everything to rest of the students, breaking out of her cage on her own, and managing to encourage everyone else to do the same. I know everyone wanted Yui to be a Cure, but this moment would not have nearly the same impact. Yui may not be a Cure, but she's one hell of a hero. Oh yeah, and Shut decking Close in the face was pretty sick too.

The Decisive Battle Against Dyspear! Birth of the Grand Princesses! (episode 49): Once again, Yui is the real hero here, leading the student body to bring the Cures out of despair and helping them finally become Grand Princesses. That final blow with the giant key was pretty great.

To Our Dreams in the Far Distance! Go! Princess Pretty Cure! (episode 50): After a string of weaker finales, this is the best one we've had in a while. The fight between Flora and Close is fantastic, easily saving the best action sequence for last, and the message that hope and despair are two sides of the same coin is a pretty great way to end the series. The epilogue was the perfect length with everyone's farewell being given the emotional weight they deserved, there's a montage that shines a spotlight on every student, Haruka stating she wants to become her own princess is the perfect cap on her arc, and that ambiguous ending is just perfect.

Dishonorable Mention:

Minami's Fiancé!? The Super Celeb Makes a Come Back (episode 32): So normally I wouldn't do this especially with a show as good as Go Princess, but when every other episode was good at worst, Episode 32 being such a blemish really stands out. Kimimaro is the worst, such an utterly disgusting simp, and we're forced to watch half an hour of him trying to control Minami. And the Cures just think he's being funny? Eww, no, get a restraining order yesterday! The only redeeming factor is how Haruka and Minami act like they're dating the whole episode, though then again that's basically the entire show.

Go Princess Precure really is a perfect magical girl season, a complete package. It's an uplifting and thematically rich series with an engaging plot, lovable and developed characters, intimidating villains, show-stopping action, and one hell of a final stretch. This is the best Precure season yet, and it'll be a hard one for Toei to top.

5/5 Stars

Touhou Music Reviews: Mountain Of Faith

And now, we finally arrive at the second Windows generation of Touhou, my personal favorite era as far as music is concerned. The stretch from Touhou 10 to 13 is pretty phenomenal in the sound department, with even the fighting games (Scarlet Weather Rhapsody) and some of the spinoffs (Double Spoiler) reaching truly towering heights for the series. While Mountain Of Faith may not be the best on a gameplay level, I just love the aesthetic and presentation of it, and its soundtrack is easily one of my favorites. It goes for a comfy naturalistic vibe that just screams autumn, you can't hear a single one of these tracks without imagining bold orange and red trees and leaves flying over the place. It's just plain pretty.

Sealed Gods
Sealed Gods does a great job of setting up Mountain Of Faith's more naturalistic vibe, with ambient rain sounds in the background, and a very grounded guitar melody carrying the song along. Even with how relaxing the Windows title themes are, this is one of the most relaxing.
5/5 Stars

A God That Loves People - Romantic Fall
I love the PC-98 sounding synth that's used at the start and end of this track, it gives Romantic Fall a lot of energy and momentum while also creating the vibe of a new start for the series. The rest of the song is great too though, from the catchy ZUNpet melody to the complex piano bits in the pre-chorus.
4/5 Stars

Because Princess Inada Is Scolding Me
This is one of the shortest themes in the entire series, so you'd think I'd find it lame and repetitive, right? Wrong, this song slaps! It's crams so much into a short amount of time, and has one of the most catchy and cheerful melodies in the series. This adorable remix only bolstered my appreciation of this track, it just makes me happy.
5/5 Stars

The Road Of The Misfortune God - Dark Road
While not one of my favorite Stage 2 themes, Dark Road is just plain catchy. It's hard not to clap along with the chorus, especially the second time around. I like how the opening riff seems menacing in a vacuum, but the upbeat instrumentation and fast pace makes the overall track feel more whimiscal than anything.
4/5 Stars

Dark Side Of Fate
That drop after the intro is so good. I don't know how ZUN managed to make a song that sounds like spinning but yeah, Dark Side Of Fate is a spinning song. With the mindblowingly fast piano melody, brisk percussion, and relentless pacing, Dark Side Of Fate is an incredibly energetic banger of a second boss theme.
5/5 Stars 

The Gensokyo The Gods Loved
This is yet another iconic track that is absolutely deserved of its praise, and the point where the stage themes really step it up a notch (which makes sense considering you start your climb up the mountain now). It feels like the definitive Gensokyo theme, so proud, grand, sweeping, and flat-out beautiful. There's so much to love like the booming ZUNpets, the patriotic-sounding melody, and the lovely flutes, but man, that piano solo in the bridge is just too good.
5/5 Stars

Candid Friend
It's a testament to how good this soundtrack is that I find Candid Friend a bit unremarkable by its own standards because it's still a great theme with a cute waltz-like melody and a powerful ZUNpet chorus. It kinda just suffers from being right in between two of my favorite tracks of the series.
4/5 Stars

Fall Of Fall - Autumnal Waterfall
Fall Of Fall is an easy Top 3 favorite track in the franchise. For a while, it flat-out was my favorite. There's just something so nostalgic about it, maybe it's how it's a rare woodwind-centric piece, maybe it's the melancholy melody, maybe it's the pleasant autumn vibes, maybe it's the stellar piano solo. Whatever it is, it hits every time I listen to it.
5/5 Stars

Youkai Mountain - Mysterious Mountain
As per the usual, Aya's theme slaps. It lacks the distinct PoFV percussion but it has that same energy you'd expect from her themes, as well as one hell of a ZUNpet chorus. The swing melody, intense guitars, and romantic-sounding chorus makes for a theme that kinda sounds pirate-y, if you get what I mean? Either way, it's badass as hell.
5/5 Stars

The Japanese Wilderness The Girl Watched
Oh, boy, this theme... This is the only Touhou theme that can bring me to tears, it's so emotional and sweeping, and manages to accomplish so much all at the same time. It captures the sense of wonder of making it to the top of the tallest mountain in Gensokyo (that godly intro), it captures Sanae's tragic backstory and her unfamiliarity with Gensokyo (I like how her main boss motif is slightly shakier in this theme), and it's a climactic stage theme befitting Stage 5 (yet another booming ZUNpet chorus). And the fast-paced outro is just the cherry on top of an amazing song.
5/5 Stars

Faith Is For The Transient People
And Sanae's actual theme ain't half bad either. As a matter of fact, it's nearly as good. I mentioned how a shakier version of Sanae's leitmotif is used in the Stage 5 theme, but for her boss theme, it's given a more intense rock edge to it. It's cool to see ZUN slowly get better and better at pulling off his obligatory rock number, but this is the most convincing one yet, completing with heavy guitars, intense percussion, and even drumsticks knocking together.
5/5 Stars

Grave Of Being
Like many Stage 6 themes, Grave Of Being is a bit on the short side, but it has an enough energy and drive to keep it memorable. With a exhilirating ZUNpet chorus and the rock instruments from Sanae's theme being brought back, this final stage theme does a great job at hyping you up for the final battle ahead.
4/5 Stars

Suwa Foughten Field
Ah yes, the intro so good ZUN would continue to use it as the game over theme for the rest of time. You can't blame him, it's incredibly badass, and the rest of the theme is too. The first half as a whole is pretty good and plenty intense, but I can't understate how much the second half elevates this theme, from the brief moment of calm to the glorious ZUNpet chorus. Once again, it really feels like the culmination of Mountain Of Faith.
5/5 Stars

Tomorrow Will Be Special, Yesterday Was Not
This is one of the calmer extra stage themes but I think that works pretty well in its favor here. There's a real festive vibe to it that always manages to put me in a good mood, with a super catchy flute melody and percussion that almost sounds like clapping. It's definitely one of the more autumn-y themes in the game.
4/5 Stars 

Native Faith
Dark Side Of Fate already had one of the craziest piano melodies in the series, but leave it to ZUN to one-up himself in the same game with a piano-heavy track that he didn't even think was possible to play in real life (marasy begs to differ). As any good extra boss theme should be, Native Faith is frantic and chaotic, but the unique focus on piano helps it stand out. The slightly calmer chorus is also great, fully encapsulating the cheery vibe of Mountain Of Faith.
5/5 Stars

Shrine At The Foot Of The Mountain
Even the ending themes are pretty great this time around. Similarly to the title screen, the focus on acoustic guitar makes for a really calming, comfy, and atmospheric track.
4/5 Stars

The Gods Give Us Blessed Rain - Sylphid Dream
This staff roll theme gets off to a pretty great start by bringing back the Kanako intro, only to abruptly shift gears into a more calming flute-heavy melody with the pouring rain sounds from Sealed Gods and even a brief bit from Dream Of A Spring Breeze. I do think that aforementioned transition is a bit too abrupt, but putting that aside, this is an absolutely lovely piece and a great way to cap off an amazing soundtrack.
4/5 Stars 

Mountain Of Faith's cast is pretty good, lots of iconic characters here. But really, the stars of the show here is easily the Moriya family, one of my personal favorite sub-casts in the franchise.

Minoriko/Shizuha Aki
As per the usual, the first boss isn't much to write home about. The fall motif is nice, but aside from that, we really don't know much about this duo.
2/5 Stars

Hina Kagiyama
Despite being the misfortune goddess, Hina's kinda one of the sweetest youkai, taking other people's misfortunes and chasing them away for their own protection. She seems super sociable but by her nature, she has to isolate herself which is really quite sad. Also spin.
4/5 Stars

Nitori Kawashiro
Similarly to Rika and Rikako, Nitori is memorable for being the "tech guy" of the cast, constantly working on new inventions, tanks, and weaponry that otherwise probably shouldn't exist in Gensokyo. She can be a bit off-putting depending on how she's written (too greedy or withdrawn), but in general, I do think she's pretty great.
4/5 Stars

Momiji Inubashiri
Out of all the mini-bosses, Momiji is my personal favorite despite her not gettting all that much focus. Her design toes the line between cute and badass, her rivalry with Aya has a lot of potential to be pretty fun, and she's the only example we have so far of a non-crow tengu.
5/5 Stars

Sanae Kochiya
The sheer disdain some people have for Sanae kinda stuns me, especially those who go far enough to call her a slut because she has too much screentime? What is up with this fandom sometimes... Personally, Sanae's one of my favorite characters, Top 5 even. Her backstory is so compelling, someone who was essentially adopted by Kanako and Suwako and had to move to Gensokyo from the Outside World (the first to even travel between the worlds since Yumemi). There's a lot of mystery around what happened to Sanae's parents, but even outside of that, the found family dynamic between the Moriyas is something I find incredibly wholesome and endearing. Being knowledgable about science and Outside World concepts, Sanae can be a pretty big dork at times, but she's also lacking much knowledge on how Gensokyo works and seems to take pleasure in exterminating youkai just for the sheer novelty of it. It's that naivety, off-beat attitude, and at times misplaced cheerfulness that makes Sanae such a fun and interesting character, and her rivalry with Reimu in the mangas is an absolute blast.
5/5 Stars

Kanako Yasaka
And it's not just Sanae I like, I adore the entire Moriya family. Once again, I just love the found family dynamic that these three share. Kanako is the schemer of the trio, constantly trying to find ways to gain profit/faith, even if that leads to like three different incidents in a row. I like how despite being a god herself, Kanako is more of the cynical salesperson compared to Suwako doing all the divine heavy lifting. It's even funnier considering technically the Moriya Shrine belongs to Kanako now and she's still making Suwako do all the important work. Kanako's kind of a jerk now that I think about it, but she's a fun jerk, and her more composed personality contrasts well with both Sanae and Suwako.
5/5 Stars

Suwako Moriya
Suwako on the other hand is, as usual, the more mischievous and playful of the duo. Despite her childish appearance, however, she does all the divine heavy lifting and while still a schemer, takes her role with a bit more seriousness than Kanako does. It's neat how depending on the circumstances, any of these three could be the straight man of the group. I also absolutely love her dynamic with Sanae in the manga where she basically plays the role of the "cool mom" who can kinda be a bad influence at times, like when she encourages Sanae to get revenge on Reimu for not including her in the latest incident. Seriously, I love these guys, they're the best.
5/5 Stars

Touhou Music Reviews: Phantasmagoria Of Flower View

Phantasmagoria Of Flower View's soundtrack is often overlooked by fans due to it employing remixes and lacking stage themes, and that's a real shame because I think it's one of the better ones. There aren't that many remixes and the original character themes it does use are pretty fantastic, especially with its distinct drum kit that I'd argue is the best in the series. Not to mention that being the soundtrack that got me into the series to begin with, I also have a lot of nostalgia for it.

Kaedizuka - Higan Retour
As far as title themes go, Kaedizuka is good but unremarkable. I like how atmospheric it is, but it doesn't quite hit as hard as the last few, lacking any really powerful individual melodies outside of the usual Theme Of Eastern Story reusal.
3/5 Stars

Spring Lane - Colorful Path
One of my favorite Reimu themes for how serene and nostalgic it sounds. The melody is both catchy and calming, and the way it uses the percussion is stellar. The drums are used to push the song alone, only to dip out every once in a while for some more chill piano segments.
5/5 Stars

Oriental Dark Flight
Similarly with Spring Lane, I really like this Marisa theme. It's got a nice menacing vibe to it, and once again, the phenomenal percussion really elevate the track. There's a bit of a build-up, but the chorus is fantastic and a great pay-off.
5/5 Stars

Flowering Night
Iconic for a reason, Flowering Night is the definitive Sakuya theme and an easy Top 10 theme in the franchise. It's both elegant and fierce in a manner perfectly fitting Sakuya, the main melody is insanely catchy and memorable, and those piano solos. Amazing piece of music.
5/5 Stars

Mystic Oriental Dream - Ancient Temple
And here we start the remixes. This is mostly just Ancient Temple again. The pitch is slightly lower but it hardly makes an impact, the ethereal vibes are still on-point.
5/5 Stars

Lunatic Eyes - Invisible Full Moon
Hardly any changes here outside of some minor soundfont modifications. Lunatic Eyes still slaps.
5/5 Stars

Adventure Of The Lovestruck Tomboy
This is the only one of the five remixes to actually sound vastly different from the original. While it lacks the icey feel that the original had, the goofier vibe fits Cirno's character a bit more, and I love the catchy new bridge they added at the end.
5/5 Stars

Phantom Ensemble
Similarly to the other Perfect Cherry Blossom track, Phantom Ensemble is in a slightly lower pitch, but that's really it. Otherwise, it's the same fantastic track it's always been.
5/5 Stars

Deaf To All But The Song - Flower Mix
Out of all the remixes, this is the only one where I'd argue the improvements are noticeable enough that I outright prefer this version over the original. The techno and guitar flange instruments are pushed more to the forefront to give the song more of a punk feel (this isn't even a joke, ZUN said this, he knew), and the track gets a head-banging new outro to it. This was already one of my favorite low-level boss themes, but now it's just one of my favorites in general!
5/5 Stars

White Flag Of Usa Shrine
See? That wasn't too bad, now we're back to the original stuff. I wasn't huge on it at first, but Tewi's song is definitely one that keeps growing on me over time. The main melody and verse is catchy, and is only bolstered by the bouncy piano and typically energetic percussion. But the real highlight is the godly woodwind chorus that perfectly captures the playful and historical sound that the song is going for.
5/5 Stars

Wind God Girl
As far as characters with consistently stellar themes go, I don't think anyone can top Aya. She's the character I associate PoFV's musical style with the most, and pretty much all of her tracks are fast-paced, energetic, and insanely good. And yet, nothing really tops Wind God Girl. It's the quintessential Aya song, with hard-hitting percussion, flamboyent ZUNpets, and one of my favorite choruses in the series. And that final key change as the ZUNpets swell is just perfection. Obviously, the PoFV version did have to cut a bit from the full song, but even without the admittedly amazing piano solo, Wind God Girl is still a jam.
5/5 Stars

Poison Body - Forsaken Doll
There's a lot of tracks in this game I could easily call underrated, but Poison Body is especially underrated. It has the same dark and menacing vibe that Oriental Dark Night had but with a bit more energy, less of a build-up, and one hell of a ZUNpet melody. It can be a tad repetitive, but otherwise, it does an impeccable job at creating a very specific mood.
5/5 Stars

Gensokyo, Past And Present - Flower Land
Flower Land mostly suffers from having to follow up Yuuka's phenomenal themes from the PC-98, but it definitely ain't bad either. The organ intro is iconic for a reason, the piano pre-chorus is super jazzy, percussion at the forefront, and a solid ZUNpet chorus. It's very PoFV, even that means it blends in with the rest of the soundtrack a bit.
4/5 Stars

Higan Retour - Riverside View
Another one of my personal favorite tracks in the series, Higan Retour is absolutely stunning from start to finish. The main melody is so elegant and magical, and the way the piano and ZUNpet come together to play it in the chorus is ZUN at his best. Not to mention the stellar pre-chorus, the amazing percussion as usual (I'm sounding like a broken record here), and that insane high note that caps off the track.
5/5 Stars 

Eastern Judgement In The Sixtieth Year - Fate Of Sixty Years
BAD. ASS. That organ intro that kicks off the song is one of the most flat-out epic pieces of music ZUN has ever made, and that sense of gravitas remains for the rest of the song, from the dramatic ZUNpet tunes to that phenomenal organ bridge around the midway point. As far as the Windows games go, this is the best final boss theme yet. Not only does it fit Shikieiki perfectly, but it's just plain fun to listen to.
5/5 Stars

The Mound Where The Flowers Reflect
Oh boy... So while I will rave about PoFV's character themes like mad, my biggest gripe with this soundtrack is that the non-battle themes are hit or miss. The Mound Where The Flowers Reflect is mostly just the already pretty average title theme but with some sort of guitar instrument over it that can sound a bit off-beat during the chorus.
2/5 Stars

Mound Of Life
Mound Of Life does a much better job at generating tension, using a simple but nail-biting main melody and PoFV's percussion to great effect. My only gripe is that it's really short and repetitive. Don't listen to it for too long, I implore you.
3/5 Stars

The Flower Like The Fantasy
This is my favorite of the non-battle themes. It's a good ending theme, calming and cheerful with a bit of melancholy to it. The main melody is super comfy to listen to and just feels distinctly Touhou.
4/5 Stars

Flower Of Soul - Another Dream
I... don't like this song. Is this my first 1/5? Flower Of Soul just annoys me, between the wailing alarm sound in the opening and the off-beat piano in the chorus. The percussion is still great but that doesn't mean much when the song itself is kind of a pain to listen to. Real shame to end on such a dud note considering I adore most of the rest of the soundtrack.
1/5 Stars

Being a Phantasmagoria game, Flower View doesn't add too many new characters. However, its cast as a whole is pretty stellar (they brought back Mystia!), and the new characters they did introduce are great across the board.

Aya Shameimaru
Aya is one of my favorite Touhous and it should be pretty obvious why if you've seen some of my Precure reviews. I love the intrepid reporter trope, doubly so if they exaggerate or stretch the truth just for the sake of the scoop. Aya's a fun character, and her upbeat and charismatic personality not unlike Marisa makes her a fun character to follow whenever she chooses to take the lead.
5/5 Stars

Medicine Melancholy
Medicine is one of the most overlooked characters which is a real shame because I think there's a lot of neat potential that could be mined from her. Medicine is a doll youkai who has the ability to poison people, and because she's scared of humans, she'll actively attempt to poison anyone who comes near her making her insanely dangerous and terrifying. In the material she does appear in, Medicine at the very least tries to socialize which could lead to a pretty neat character arc, it's just not one we really got all of.
3/5 Stars

Komachi Onozuka
As I've repeatedly said, I think scythes are cool, so Komachi was always gonna be a favorite. But on top of that, I find her personality fascinating. Not the slacker side that everyone jokes about, but how chill she is in the face of constant death. Komachi is often shown engaging in super philosophical and thoughtful conversations about life and death with the most laid-back attitude. Seems like a fun person to be around.
5/5 Stars

Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu
Shikieiki is a pretty great character who a lot of people seem to sell pretty short... literally, she's not actually that short. Shikieiki has one of my least favorite fanon portrayals, as she's often depicted as a raging petty jerk with a Napoleon complex when in reality she's far more respected. Shikieiki towers over a large portion of the cast, and while she is harsh, it's made clear that she's only as harsh as she is because she doesn't want people to go to hell. For me, that makes for an infinitely more interesting character.
5/5 Stars but only the canon version

Touhou Music Reviews: Imperishable Night

Imperishable Night is an iconic entry in the series for a very good reason. I may have my gripes with the endgame, but between the lovely night-time atmosphere, one of the most fun stories in the series, the utterly wild amount of content, and some of the best boss fights period, it has a lot to love. But most of all, it's yet another entry in my Top 3 Touhou soundtracks. Beloved for its iconic piano and stellar-across-the-board second half, Imperishable Night's music is easily some of ZUN's best.

Eastern Night Vignette
I don't think any other title theme in the series sets the tone this well. Eastern Night Vignette's spacey synths and sparse piano perfectly capture Imperishable Night's vibe, and makes for one of the best iterations of Theme Of Eastern Story in the entire franchise.
5/5 Stars

Illusionary Night - Ghostly Eyes
Ghostly Eyes is pretty good, but not one of my favorite first stage themes. It does mostly stick to that one melody, but the driving percussion, eerie atmosphere, and strong instrument choices do still carry it.
4/5 Stars

Stirring An Autumn Moon
Pretty good first boss theme, but just like the character herself, not super remarkable. While short, Stirring An Autumn Moon has a lot of pretty great musical flourishes like the plucky acoustic intro, those ghostly synths that pop in at points, and the great electric guitar accompaniment that shows up in the second half.
4/5 Stars

Song Of The Night Sparrow
Imperishable Night's central instrument is the piano and this is the first song where that really becomes apparent. Song Of The Night Sparrow is already great for its fast pace and sense of urgency, but it's the numerous absolutely bonkers piano solos that really make the track.
4/5 Stars

Deaf To All But The Song
As far as the early game goes, this is easily my favorite theme. It's such a banger from start to finish, with an endlessly catchy main motif that's just melodic enough to fit Mystia, and a fantastic blend of elegant piano, brilliantly-used ZUNpets, hardcore guitars, and even a bit of a techno element that would only get heightened in the Phantasgmagoria version.
5/5 Stars 

Nostalgic Blood Of The East
The stage themes just keep getting better. Nostalgic Blood Of The East starts off as a pleasant breather after the high intensity of Mystia's theme, with a super catchy melody to boot. But then the chorus comes in and the song just kicks into high gear, with some energetic percussion and a great piano tune to end the song on a high note.
4/5 Stars

Plain Asia
Plain Asia is a song I like more and more as I continue to listen to it. While I initially passed it off as yet another repetitious single-melody boss theme, the way the track resembles some of the final boss themes is really cool, and that piano solo bit is absolutely fantastic. It also helps that the melody itself is pretty good and once again makes great usage of IN's staple piano.
4/5 Stars

Retribution For The Eternal Night - Imperishable Night
And here we are, the point at which IN's soundtrack officially becomes perfect. Hearing this song for the first time and discovering that ZUN turned the Theme Of Eastern Story into a fast-paced heart-pumping stage theme was absolutely mind-blowing. I love how relentless this track is, it's one of the speediest songs in the series but by focusing on piano and ZUNpets, it doesn't cross the line into overwhelming either. And if you've played this stage before, you'll probably know that this theme also has hands down the finest stage sync in the franchise. I adore Retribution, it's a high point in an already outstanding soundtrack.
5/5 Stars

Maiden's Capriccio - Dream Battle
Reimu and Marisa's themes are remixes from the PC-98 era, but I think they're both vast improvements on the original versions solely for how energetic and bombastic are. Far faster-paced and featuring way more electric guitar, these boss themes feel like ZUN just cranked the original themes up to eleven and I love that about them. Maiden's Capriccio - Dream Battle in particular is noteworthy for some truly godly piano solos, even by this game's already high standards.
5/5 Stars

Love-Colored Master Spark
But if you thought Maiden's Capriccio was good, holy crap. Love-Colored Master Spark is just so bombastic and that fits Marisa perfectly. The intense percussion and electric guitar, the blaring ZUNpets, the sheer volume of all the instruments, this track is loud, fast-paced, exciting, and above all, badass. It's impossible to not bang your head like mad during this tune. And similarly to Retribution, kickstarting the chase phase of the boss fight just as the song reaches its apex is a transcendent experience.
5/5 Stars

Cinderella Cage - Kagome Kagome
While a bit slower paced (emphasis on a bit, it's still frantic as hell)  than the last few themes, Cinderella Cage is still phenomenal. It might be the best and most majestic ZUNpet showcase of them all, showing that they can and will carry an entire piece almost entirely on their own. The way it uses a pre-existing nursery rhyme and makes it sound badass is also absolutely genius.
5/5 Stars

Lunatic Eyes - Invisible Full Moon
One of the most iconic themes in the series for a reason, Lunatic Eyes is noteworthy for the sheer dissonance between its first and second halves alone. The first half is a pretty menacing piano-heavy bit, and then the second half is a burst of ZUNpets and guitars in a triumphant chorus. Both halves are equally iconic in their own ways, but I mean come on, that chorus is pretty amazing.
5/5 Stars

Voyage 1969
I've been raving about the final boss themes and how they feel like the full encapsulation of everything the game had been building up to musically, but in the case of Imperishable Night, it's this theme. As the main cast finally takes off into space, you get this absolutely blissful and atmospheric piece of music that's pretty much all piano and ZUNpet. The piano flourishes are on another level entirely, the ZUNpet chorus is majestic, and the whole song keeps the fast pace that the rest of the game's soundtrack while introducing a more spacey vibe that fits the stage's aesthetic. To put it simply, this is one of the finest stage themes in the series and absolutely deserved of the praise many pile on it.
5/5 Stars

Gensokyo Millennium - History Of The Moon
Imperishable Night has a whopping two final boss themes this time, a rarity in the series, but I think Gensokyo Millennium is the better of the two. It is so grandiose and majestic, kickstarting off with a dramatic ZUNpet verse that just screams "YOU ARE IN OUTER SPACE", then continuing on with yet another Theme Of Eastern Story reprisal, and ending off with a godlike chorus that's almost on the same level as the Lunatic Eyes chorus, with just as much blaring ZUNpets, intense guitars, and insane piano solos. What a theme...
5/5 Stars

Flight Of The Bamboo Cutter - Lunatic Princess
Eirin has the super intense final boss theme, while Kaguya's final boss theme is far more elegant. I think the intro is the highlight here, it's such a simple but effective melody that encapsulates Kaguya's character perfectly, but the rest of the song is pretty stellar as well. The pre-chorus using the Voyage 1969 motif is great, and it uses the same loud triumphant chorus trick that the last two boss themes did. And damn it, it still works.
5/5 Stars

Voyage 1970
While I still adore the Border Of Life guitar solo, I do like Voyage 1970 a bit better solely for the fact it's based on one of my personal favorite themes. It's also a bit longer than Border Of Life, with a pretty fantastic electric guitar appearance in its second half.
5/5 Stars

Extend Ash - Hourai Victim
Did you think the streak of 5/5s would be over with the final boss themes? Hah! Tense and exciting, Extend Ash is one of the best extra stage themes in the series, with a super catchy piano riff, some fantastic ZUNpet usage, and a godly chorus.
5/5 Stars

Reach For The Moon, Immortal Smoke
Mokou's theme is just as intense as you'd expect from a character like her. While not as chaotic as the last two extra themes, I personally think it packs a bit more of a punch from how impeccably it's crafted. The main melody is so good, catchy, dramatic, and utterly beautiful. The distinctive ping-pong backing track is genuinely really good and keeps the tune moving at a brisk pace. The synths are biting and harsh without being ear-grating. The ZUNpet chorus is great as you'd expect it to be. And of course, that goddamn piano solo. Have I mentioned how much I like this soundtrack yet?
5/5 Stars

Evening Primrose
Okay, we made it through the best of it. Evening Primrose is a super chill Theme Of Eastern Story reprisal that might not be one of the best ending themes in the series, but still does its job really well. I don't love the slightly off-beat melody but the guitar and piano accompaniment are blissful enough to more than make up for it.
4/5 Stars

Eternal Dream - Mystic Maple
Maple Dream remix time! While I do think this version gets pretty vastly overshadowed by the godly album remix, and the main melody can similarly feel a bit off-beat, the iconic riff that made Maple Dream such a phenomenal credits theme is still here in spades, beautifully reimagined with Imperishable Night's token piano.
5/5 Stars

Eastern Youkai Beauty
This is the only game to have a Last Word theme, and that does end up doing Eastern Youkai Beauty a bit of a disservice. Without a theme to fit with, a character to apply to, or any other songs of its kind to compare it with, Eastern Youkai Beauty kinda just exists. However, it's still a pretty fun theme with a catchy melody and some great percussion.
4/5 Stars

Now this is a banger cast of characters, rich with history and lore, not a bad one in the whole group. Even some of the lower level bosses are great! And I've only grown to like them even more over time thanks to some stellar fan creations like The Immortal Who Saw The Death Of The Universe.

Wriggle Nightbug
Wriggle is the only IN character I'm not huge on and she's not even bad, just not super memorable outside of her uniquely androgynous design. The cape that looks like firefly wings is pretty clever though, and her ability to accidentally kick you out of the sky is pretty funny.
2/5 Stars

Mystia Lorelei
Mystia is one of my favorite Touhou characters and the easy highlight as far as the low-level cast goes. Her design can jump from adorable to menacing at a moment's notice, her boss fight is ridiculously fun, her music slaps, and she has so many hidden depths revealed through the books, like how she runs an eel stand or how she's in a freaking punk rock band with Kyouko (my favorite pairing in the series, by the way). Criminally, criminally underrated.
5/5 Stars

Keine Kamishirasawa
I've warmed up to Keine a lot over the years. I initially found her to be kinda dull, but the more I learn about her, the more I find her to be pretty cool actually. Her all-blue design is super pleasing, her were-beast form is a pretty badass gimmick, the fact that she teaches in her spare time is a great hidden depth similar to that of Mystia, and most of all, her odd friendship with the otherwise lonely Mokou is incredibly sweet.
4/5 Stars

Tewi Inaba
As far as mini bosses go, Tewi is definitely the one ZUN has fleshed-out the most, seeing as she would appear in two more mainline entries and well as a bunch of the mangas. Tewi is memorable for a similar reason to Remilia or Yuyuko. On the outside, she's a childish playful mischievous prankster who likes to put Reisen through the ringer. And yet, she's also one of the oldest and most knowledgable characters in the franchise, an incredibly skilled leader of all the other rabbits, and has a hidden mature side that she'll pull out when you least expect her to.
4/5 Stars

Reisen Udongein Inaba
Reisen is another one of my favorite Touhou characters because Stage 5 bosses are pretty much always amazing. She's a gun-wielding bunny girl in a suit who can make people go crazy which is already badass as hell, but it's really her backstory and personality that I find especially interesting. She's the relative straight man of the Eientei crew, but she's also dealing with some real trauma from her time as a slave under the Lunarians. The fact that she actually gets a full-on resolution to this in Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom where she returns to face off against the Lunarians and heads back home to officially declare herself a rabbit of Gensokyo is even cooler. ZUN rarely ever revisits a character like this and makes Reisen all the more special.

Though I do have to say, I despise how often Reisen gets abused especially in the fanworks. Abuse jokes aren't even funny to begin with, but it's especially not funny considering everything Reisen had to deal with on the moon.
5/5 Stars

Eirin Yagokoro
I'm split on Eirin. On one hand, she's a super intelligent and calculating character with a great final boss fight and theme, a terrifying backstory, and some really great moments in Silent Sinner In Blue. She also often plays the role of Gensokyo doctor which is pretty fun. However, her abuse of Reisen especially in the Inaba comics is dreadfully unfunny and does make me like her less as a character. 
3/5 Stars

Kaguya Houraisan
Kaguya is yet another one of my favorite Touhou characters because this cast just does not let up in the slightest. Plenty of Touhou characters are based on actual fictional characters from myths and stuff, but none of them are as blatant as the series' Princess Kaguya pastiche. Kaguya's design is perfect, easily one of my favorites in the series, her carefree personality is a ton of fun especially when she drops it to fight Mokou the billionth time, and because she has all that lore behind her, her backstory is super deep and developed.
5/5 Stars

Fujiwara No Mokou
There's a lot to unpack about Mokou. There's her deep hatred for Kaguya, her wholesome friendship with Keine, her badass fire powers, her introverted loner personality, her similarly very complex backstory, but as a whole, it all adds up to a fascinating portrait of the consequences of being immortal. Mokou is alone because of her immortality, her friendship with Keine is as sweet as it is because she's able to get Mokou to open up despite all her baggage, and while Mokou does very much despise Kaguya, it's often mentioned that she also can't live without her either. Kaguya and Mokou are the only ones in Gensokyo (though Eirin is also immortal, she's not taking it as hard at least right now) who understand what each other is dealing with, so despite all their fighting, they need each other for their own sanities.
5/5 Stars

Touhou Music Reviews: Perfect Cherry Blossom

While I already loved Embodiment's soundtrack, Perfect Cherry Blossom is an improvement on its predecessor on pretty much every level, and that includes the music. The music in this game has such a wonderfully ethereal feel to it, easily one of the best Windows soundtracks in the series.

Mystic Dream - Snow Or Cherry Petal
Easily one of the best title themes in the series, it's just so calm and peaceful. The usage of almost solely piano really makes for a comfy piece of music, and the way that main riff plays around with the Theme Of Eastern Story by slowing it down is masterful. It genuinely took me until now to realize it even was that theme because of how different it sounds.
5/5 Stars

Paradise - Deep Mountain
Continuing the comfy vibes, Paradise is definitely one of the more subdued and melancholic first stage themes of the bunch, kicking off with a chill acoustic intro, some wistful woodwinds, and a light piano melody. However, it does eventually keep in line with the rest of the series's first stage themes as the percussion kicks in for a slightly more upbeat and energetic second half.
4/5 Stars

Crystalized Silver
Crystalized Silver is another fairly short and simple first boss theme, though with a pretty catchy main melody to it. What really makes this track for me is the intriguing guitar melodies, especially that one in the intro and outro of the song.
4/5 Stars

The Fantastic Legend Of Tohno
The Fantastic Legend Of Tohno is a song of two halves. The first half is intriguing and mysterious, with a twinkly piano melody, a lovely flute bit, and some haunting choirs. The second half is much more energetic and upbeat, with a far catchier melody. Both halves perfectly intersect to create a song that feels adventurous and like it's telling a story. No, a legend.
5/5 Stars

Withered Leaf
Once again, as an early game boss theme, Withered Leaf is pretty simple, but the sheer godliness of its melody more than makes up for it. There's just something so inspiring and ethereal about Withered Leaf's chorus, and the woodwind-piano combo really makes for a beautiful-sounding piece.
5/5 Stars 

The Doll Maker Of Bucuresti
The Doll Maker Of Bucuresti is yet another stellar Alice theme. Dark, mysterious, intriguing, slightly haunting, perfectly fitting for the character. The usage of harpsichords definitely creates a spooky vibe, all the while the driving percussion maintains the vibe of a Stage 3 theme. But what really solidifies Doll Maker as a phenomenal piece of music is that godly piano chorus that caps off the whole thing. You know it, I know it, it's a truly chill-inducing melody that feels so quintessentially Perfect Cherry Blossom.
5/5 Stars 

Doll Judgement
Doll Judgement is a pretty good theme, even if I think it does pale a bit in comparison to some of Alice's other themes. It has a bit too much of a build-up to it, though the chorus is still absolutely fantastic and deservedly iconic, and the louder more flute-heavy reprise at the end of the track makes sure it ends on a high note.
4/5 Stars

The Capital City Of Flowers In The Sky
Capping in at around four minutes, The Capital City Of Flowers In The Sky is a true epic of a stage theme, perfectly fitting one of my favorite stages in the series (that's right, I said favorite). Despite mostly using the same melody, ZUN manages to keep it fresh throughout the entire length of the song, with a chilling intro, frequent changes in tempo and pace, and a real banger of a chorus. Once the percussion starts to kick in and the synths start blaring out the main motif, it's almost impossible not to bop your head along with the song. Easily one of my favorite themes in the game.
5/5 Stars

Phantom Ensemble
Phantom Ensemble is a brilliantly-crafted theme, prioritizing each of the Prismrivers' main instruments. The intro is piano-centric, the verse is violin-heavy, the chorus is all ZUNpets, and it culminates in a great fusion of all three instruments. And on top of that, the melody itself is fantastic, equal parts melancholic and cheerful.
5/5 Stars 

Mystic Oriental Dream - Ancient Temple
I've frequently used the term ethereal when describing this soundtrack, but Ancient Temple is especially so. The haunting choir, the chill-inducing wails, the beautiful piano and guitar plucks, the flute, all culminating in a forceful and formal chorus that perfectly epitomizes Youmu's character. It's just so magical and serene, definitely another highlight.
5/5 Stars

Hiroari Shoots The Strange Bird - Till When?
After such an amazing stage theme, Youmu's boss theme is such a huge let-down, especially since it gets off to such a good start. The intro is super frantic and energetic, and the main melody does fit Youmu in theory. However, the theme never evolves past that, it just keeps reusing that same melody before looping again. For a Stage 5 boss theme, Hiroari Shoots The Strange Bird is far too short and repetitious.
3/5 Stars

Ultimate Truth
Ultimate Truth is a pretty good Stage 6 theme even if it's once again on the short side. There's a real sense of urgency to it that really fits with Youmu's last stand.
4/5 Stars

Bloom Nobly, Ink-Black Cherry Blossoms - Border Of Life
Yada yada yada, perfectly culmination of everything the game has been building up to musically, I probably sound like a broken record here but ZUN's final boss themes really are that good. Everyone knows and loves that iconic main melody, it fits the sheer cherry blossom beauty of Yuyuko's fight and paints her as incredibly grand and imposing. But nothing tops that dramatic and cathartic synth/ZUNpet chorus, capped off with the perfectly jarring transition from the loudest ZUNpet wails in the series to a calming acoustic tune. It's like a sigh of relief after an outpouring of emotions, and it's masterfully executed.
5/5 Stars

Border Of Life
Bad. Ass. The exciting intro, the triumphant reprisal of Border Of Life's melody, and especially that bonkers guitar solo, this is the bar that all final spell themes will strive to meet.
5/5 Stars

Charming Domination
This is a pretty good extra stage theme, even if it isn't one of the most memorable of the bunch. There's a great sense of intrigue with its ominous piano trills, and pretty much everything from the pre-chorus onwards is perfection. We get one of ZUN's first caesuras before the ZUNpets blare out one hell of a chorus.
4/5 Stars

Charming Domination - Who Done It?
Personally, I prefer the original version. I get that Ran's themes are more orchestral while Yukari's themes are more synth-based, but I'm not sure if the synths here work quite as well. Who Done It lacks a lot of the intrigue that the pianos managed to create in the other version. It's still Charming Domination so the melody is still pretty great, but it just doesn't hit quite as hard.
3/5 Stars

Necro-Fantasy
And now, we have the power-duo of Necro-Fantasy and Necrofantasia. I tend to go back and forth on which I like better, but I think it might actually be this one. Necro-Fantasy is a bit easier on the ears, starting off with a bit of a build-up which in turn makes that iconic chorus all the more satisfying and impactful. It doesn't hit as hard when the entire song was already up to eleven. I also love how the song keeps up the pace headed into its second verse, and the way the ZUNpets slowly build back up over the course of the bridge and second reprisal of the chorus is perfect. Necrofantasia may have more going on, but Necro-Fantasy's willingness to hold back a bit makes the moments it lets loose hit a lot harder.
5/5 Stars

Necrofantasia
Necrofantasia, on the other hand, is far louder and more arcade-y. There's no build-up here, it's all melody all the time, and the songs kicks off basically without any intro, just immediately blaring into your ears. On a bad day, it can be a bit ear-wrecking, which is an issue UN Owen also had since it uses the exact same synth lead. Can't wait for ZUN to move on from that instrument next game. However, unlike with Charming Domination, I do think the synths work really well overall, especially with the chorus and bridge. It's chaotic, fitting Yukari, but also a bit more triumphant and exhilirating. The newly added pre-chorus is one of my favorite bits in both songs, a perfect breather within all the chaos. As I said, I do prefer Necro-Fantasy at least right now, but both extra boss themes are phenomenal, easily two of the best themes in the franchise and which one you like better really all comes down to preference. Personally, I think the combination of the two approaches in Magical Astronomy's arrange of Necrofantasia make for the definitive version of the track and one of the best Touhou themes period.
5/5 Stars

Dream Of Spring Breeze
This is my favorite ending theme. There's something so mesmerizing about its melody, from the calm acoustic plucks to the repetitious piano riff, everything comes together for a song that's hard to not completely sucked into despite its short length.
5/5 Stars

Sakura, Sakura - Japanize Dream
While not quite as triumphant as Crimson Belvedere, with a pretty plucky melody that doesn't quite live up to the grand scope of its intro, Sakura Sakura is still definitely one of the better staff roll themes. I can't understate how chill-inducing that intro, and the choir in that bridge is sublime.
4/5 Stars

As for the characters, I'll be honest and say that while Perfect Cherry Blossom does have some great individual cast members, the cast as a whole isn't quite as strong or tightly-knit as the games before and after it.

Letty Whiterock
Letty... exists. Her design is pretty, but like with many first bosses, we don't have much to go off of with her personality. Her powers involving cold also don't do her many favors since Cirno exists and is way more developed and interesting.
2/5 Stars

Chen
. As a character, I find Chen to be not super interesting, but in terms of her fighting style, I'll never forget those hilarious spins she does during her battle. I know Ran does them too, but I associate the spinning more with Chen. Oh, and obligatory CHEEEEEEEEEEEEN!
3/5 Stars

Lily White
All Lily White does is show up, announce spring, shoot an ungodly amount of bullets at you, and leave. That's really it. Because of her role in Gensokyo, she doesn't have much more of a personality than that, so there isn't much for me to latch onto with her.
1/5 Stars

Prismriver Sisters
I quite like the music-themed youkais, even if I generally prefer the Tsukumos to the Prismrivers. Their backstory and the mystery of Layle Primsriver is definitely intriguing, but since there's a whopping three sisters, it's a bit tough for me to really tell them apart. I don't even remember Lunasa and Merlin's names.
3/5 Stars

Youmu Konpaku
Okay, finally, we got to the great characters. I adore Youmu, she's definitely one of my favorite characters in the series. Being a speedy ghost samurai, Youmu is incredibly badass, but it's her relationship with Yuyuko that really solidifies her as great. Her dedication to her task really shines in her actions in the game, and her hidden dorky side that Yuyuko often tries to bring out of her makes for a very endearing character.
5/5 Stars

Yuyuko Saigyouji
As a boss, Yuyuko is one of the best in the series. Super imposing and intimidating, with one hell of a final spell that can and will catch you off-guard. As a character, Yuyuko is also kind of a ditz. The juxtaposition of her regal and childish sides, similarly to Remilia actually, makes for a super fun character. And once again, her cheerful demeanor alongside Youmu's attempted seriousness makes for a very fun dynamic. Oh, and that's not even getting into her shockingly tragic backstory that shows so much whiplash compared to her current personality that you may never be able to look at her the same way again. I may not be big on all of PCB's cast, but the Hakugyokurou duo is a real highlight of the series.
5/5 Stars

Ran Yakumo
Ran is neat but pretty massively overshadowed by both Yukari and even Chen to a degree. She's less enigmatic than Yukari is, and Chen pulled off the spin better. And while Kitsunes are cool, Ran doesn't quite have the majesty or the mischievousness you'd expect of one from that species. I still like Ran well enough, but I think she could've been even cooler.
3/5 Stars

Yukari Yakumo
I can't really decide if I like Yuyuko or Yukari better. Yuyuko's design is a bit easier on the eyes, but Yukari is hands down one of the most fascinating and intriguing characters in the series. Yukari knows everything, her powers are greater than a vast majority of Gensokyo's youkai, and she has no alignment. You never know what Yukari's planning unless she tells it to you, and she has no problem with toying or manipulating you to get what she wants. She can play both heroine and villain at will, or jump between a comedic prankster and a terrifying force of nature. And that's not even getting into the can of worms that is her potential relation to Maribel.
5/5 Stars