Alice Margatroid | Touhou Project Character Reference

Overview

Alice Margatroid is a magician in the Touhou Project series, recognized by the title Seven-Colored Puppeteer. Formerly human, she became a magician through training and currently resides in the Forest of Magic. Alice specializes in doll manipulation, using enchanted puppets for daily chores and combat. She appears across the series from the PC-98 era's *Mystic Square* through Windows-era mainline shooters and fighting games, serving as both a boss and a playable character. Official profiles highlight her strategic combat style, her collection of magic items, and her dynamic with fellow magician Marisa Kirisame.

Abilities and Doll Manipulation

Alice's magic manifests through the manipulation of dolls. Official sources describe her technique as controlling dolls with magical threads rather than physical hands, allowing her to move them with dexterity comparable to living beings. Her skill in manipulating multiple dolls simultaneously is ranked among the finest in Gensokyo. While her magic does not grant life to the dolls, she can command them to perform nearly any action a human can, including having dolls control other dolls.

Alice creates her dolls entirely by hand; she does not use dolls to manufacture new ones. Her home contains a vast collection of handmade puppets, including notable creations such as Shanghai, Hourai, and Medicine Melancholy. She delegates household tasks like cooking, laundry, and cleaning to her dolls. However, because the dolls act under her direct magical control rather than autonomously, managing them can be tiring. Alice's long-term goal involves creating an autonomous doll capable of independent life.

In combat, Alice deploys an army of dolls that can outnumber opponents and replace defeated units. Many of her dolls are equipped with gunpowder or can be detonated via magic, serving as kamikaze explosives after use. This mechanic is referenced in spell cards such as "Magic Sign 'Artful Sacrifice'" and "One Lemmings' Parade." Despite the strength of her doll army, Alice's primary weakness is her own physical vulnerability; concentrating on doll manipulation makes her movements sluggish and lowers her personal combat ability.

Personality and Lifestyle

Alice is characterized as an "indoor type" who spends most of her time alone in the Forest of Magic. Official profiles note she is generally indifferent to others but possesses a timid side beneath a confident exterior. She has a strong obsession with magic and collecting magic items and books, which occasionally leads to friction with Marisa Kirisame, who shares similar interests.

Despite her reclusive nature, Alice is hospitable to lost travelers. She offers shelter, tea, and cake to visitors, such as the Three Fairies of Light. However, her home is filled with dolls, and her lack of eagerness for conversation often creates an eerie atmosphere that causes visitors to flee. As a former human, Alice retains human habits like eating and sleeping, even though she no longer requires sustenance.

Alice's combat philosophy prioritizes strategy and intellect over raw power. According to *Perfect Memento in Strict Sense*, she dislikes winning through overwhelming force and instead fights at a level slightly above her opponent's capabilities. She holds back her full strength even when losing, believing that a defeat with all her power would leave no way out. This cautious approach is compared to the personality of Reimu Hakurei.

Environmental factors in the Forest of Magic affect Alice's daily life. High humidity can cause mold to form on her dolls, prompting her to research self-maintaining puppets. She also participates in local festivals, where she performs puppet shows for crowds. Her character design and name draw inspiration from Lewis Carroll's *Alice's Adventures in Wonderland*, a reference reinforced by the stage music "Alice in Wonderland" in *Mystic Square*.

Game Appearances and Roles

Alice has appeared in numerous official Touhou Project titles, transitioning from a boss role in early games to a playable character in later entries.

Here is the short version:

* **Mystic Square:** Alice serves as the Stage 3 Boss and Extra Boss. She attempts to stop the heroine from proceeding and uses magic learned from a grimoire. * **Perfect Cherry Blossom:** Alice appears as the Stage 3 Midboss and Boss. She is introduced with the title Seven-Colored Puppeteer and investigates the flow of spring's aura. * **Immaterial and Missing Power:** Alice is a playable character and possible opponent. Her attacks involve dolls and explosives. * **Imperishable Night:** Alice is a playable character. * **Shoot the Bullet:** Alice acts as the boss in stages 3-1, 3-3, 3-5, and 3-7. * **Scarlet Weather Rhapsody:** Alice is a playable character and possible opponent. * **Subterranean Animism:** Alice appears as a playable partner. * **Touhou Hisoutensoku:** Alice is a playable character, possible opponent, and the final boss of Cirno's scenario.

Alice also appears in print works, including articles in *Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red* and *Perfect Memento in Strict Sense*, as well as chapters in novels like *Strange and Bright Nature Deity* and *Silent Sinner in Blue*.

Music Themes

Alice's character themes are featured across multiple soundtracks. Official music data lists the following tracks associated with her:

Here is the short version:

* **Plastic Mind:** Appears in *Mystic Square*. * **the Grimoire of Alice:** Appears in *Mystic Square* and *Touhou Hisoutensoku*. * **Doll Judgment ~ Doll Judgment:** Appears in *Perfect Cherry Blossom*. * **Bucharest Puppeteer:** Appears in *Immaterial and Missing Power* and *Scarlet Weather Rhapsody*. * **Doll Judgment:** A variation appears in *Immaterial and Missing Power*.