Touhou Project Characters Guide

Overview

The Touhou Project features a vast cast of characters spanning mainline games from Touhou 1 through Touhou 20, alongside official spin-offs, manga, and supplemental works. The series centers on Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame, who serve as the primary protagonists and are playable in nearly every title. The roster encompasses a diverse range of beings, including ordinary humans, yōkai, vampires, magicians, and gods, all set within the fictional region of Gensokyo.

Protagonists and Playable Roles

Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame are the series protagonists, appearing as playable characters in the majority of Touhou Project games. While they anchor the gameplay experience across the franchise, several titles feature different playable rosters.

*Shoot the Bullet* and *Double Spoiler* make Aya Shameimaru playable, with Hatate Himekaidou also becoming playable in the latter title. Spin-off games such as *Fairy Wars*, *Impossible Spell Card*, *Violet Detector*, and *100th Black Market* feature distinct playable characters; these include Cirno, Seija Kijin, and Sumireko Usami, who serve as the sole playable character in their respective games.

Mobile spin-offs like *Touhou LostWord* also utilize the character roster, classifying friends based on ZUN's games and manga within the L1 Universe.

Character Introductions by Game Era

Each mainline game introduces a new incident and a corresponding set of boss characters. The cast expands significantly through the Windows generations, with rosters organized by game release.

**Windows 2nd Generation** * *Mountain of Faith*: Shizuha Aki, Minoriko Aki, Hina Kagiyama, Nitori Kawashiro, Momiji Inubashiri, Sanae Kochiya, Kanako Yasaka, Suwako Moriya. * *Scarlet Weather Rhapsody*: Iku Nagae, Tenshi Hinanawi. * *Subterranean Animism*: Kisume, Yamame Kurodani, Parsee Mizuhashi, Yuugi Hoshiguma, Satori Komeiji, Rin Kaenbyou, Utsuho Reiuji, Koishi Komeiji. * *Undefined Fantastic Object*: Nazrin, Kogasa Tatara, Ichirin Kumoi, Unzan, Minamitsu Murasa, Shou Toramaru, Byakuren Hijiri, Nue Houjuu.

**Windows 3rd Generation** * *Double Dealing Character*: Wakasagihime, Sekibanki, Kagerou Imaizumi, Benben Tsukumo, Yatsuhashi Tsukumo, Seija Kijin, Shinmyoumaru Sukuna, Raiko Horikawa. * *Urban Legend in Limbo*: Sumireko Usami. * *Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom*: Seiran, Ringo, Doremy Sweet, Sagume Kishin, Clownpiece, Junko, Hecatia Lapislazuli. * *Antinomy of Common Flowers*: Joon Yorigami, Shion Yorigami. * *Hidden Star in Four Seasons*: Eternity Larva, Nemuno Sakata, Aunn Komano, Narumi Yatadera, Satono Nishida, Mai Teireida, Okina Matara.

Print works and music CDs also introduce characters, including Rinnosuke Morichika and Laika in *Touhou Kourindou*, and the Three Mischievous Fairies in *Touhou Sangetsusei*.

Notable Groups and Early Encounters

Early-game encounters often feature recurring characters such as Rumia, Daiyōsei, Cirno, Hong Meiling, Koakuma, and Patchouli Knowledge. These characters frequently appear in the initial stages of mainline titles.

The Scarlet Devil Mansion hosts a distinct faction of characters, including Izayoi Sakuya, Remilia Scarlet, and Flandre Scarlet. This group is central to the narrative and gameplay of *Embodiment of Scarlet Devil*.

Species, Abilities, and Boss Structure

The Touhou Project cast ranges from ordinary humans to supernatural entities such as yōkai, vampires, magicians, and gods. Most characters reside in Gensokyo, a landlocked region where humans and yōkai coexist, often in conflict.

Boss characters typically possess unique titles and associated theme songs, whereas midbosses generally do not have unique musical themes. Windows-era characters frequently have defined abilities named using the format "capable of...", which describes their specific power or strength.

Documentation and Fan Art Archives

Fan translation archives catalog characters game-by-game, providing romanized names and artwork counts that reflect the depth of community documentation. One fan-art archive tracks character popularity by artwork volume: Reimu Hakurei is listed with 299 artworks by 125 artists, while Marisa Kirisame has 185 artworks by 84 artists.

Humans, Youkai, and Everything Between

Part of what makes the roster so large is that Gensokyo's population is deliberately eclectic. The human side is anchored by the two protagonists — Reimu Hakurei, the tasked-with-everything shrine maiden, and Marisa Kirisame, the magician who borrows power — but most of the cast is yōkai: vampires, ghosts, tengu, kappa, oni, magicians, and stranger things besides. A single mansion, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, contributes an entire subsystem of characters — Sakuya, Remilia, Flandre, Patchouli, Meiling, Koakuma — each with distinct designs and fan followings.

New characters arrive with every incident. Each mainline game introduces a fresh set of bosses and midbosses, which is why the cast has grown from a handful in the PC-98 era to well over a hundred and eighty named figures today. Spin-offs add their own: the fighting games give existing characters full move sets and dialogue, while print works and music CDs flesh out backstories without requiring a new game at all.