The number of female fans in the Touhou area is gradually increasing at live shows, Comiket, and other related events. Among them, we have witnessed visitors who would have been unthinkable just a few years ago: “elementary schoolgirls who love Touhou and their parents”.
What’s it about Touhou that attracts female fans? This time, Ranko from “BUTAOTOME”, Hotaru Muraki from “EastNewSound” and Sakiko from “Watashi Kisama” and “Girls Logic Observatory”, all of whom are active as vocalists in Touhou arrange circles, appeared. These girls, who are normally close friends to each other, talked about everything from their awakening as otaku, their views on pairings, their love of Touhou to the fun of their vocal activities, and more, all while keep laughing and revealing their dark history.
The reason for starting doing Touhou Vocal arrangements
“We played Touhou with a projector on a large wall in the meeting place at university”
Please introduce yourself first. Also, please tell us about your encounter with Touhou.
Hotaru: I’m Hotaru Murasaki from EastNewSound. My older brother is the type of otaku who goes to Comiket, and I was influenced by him to make my Comiket debut. One day he bought a copy of Mountain of Faith and we started playing it together, and that’s how I got introduced to Touhou. I started watching Nico Nico Douga around the same time, so I was totally immersed in the world of Touhou, including derivative works.
How did you get started in your vocal activity?
Hotaru: When I was a student, I worked part-time at a live bar, and it was there that I happened to meet Kumarisu, the EastNewSound chief, and he invited me to join. I had tried singing as a hobby up until then, but it was the encounter with Kumarisu that led me to where I am today.
Initially, I participated in the album “Split Theory” as a guest, then I became active as a member from the album that followed up.
Ranko: I’m Ranko, the BUTAOTOME vocalist. Both my parents were otaku, so I grew up in a house full of manga. My mother was especially a fujoshi, so doujinshi and the likes were close to me. My sister is in the circle with me now, but I remember watching her play games beside me from a young age.
My first encounter with Touhou was through Nico Nico Douga. I started watching Nico Nico Douga when it was in its golden age, and at the time, Touhou-related videos were always on the rankings, so that’s where I started. Also, I was in a band club at university, and my seniors were rather fond of Touhou, and we played it with a projector on a large wall in the meeting place.
–That’s quite a rare environment…! I don’t think there are many places in music circles that know Touhou.
Ranko: Of course, I think there were some jocks, but there certainly were a lot of otaku in the circle. Then my seniors were doing a Kisida Kyoudan and the Akeboshi Rockets copy band and I liked listening to them on Nico Nico Douga. That’s how I first got into music.
How did your vocal activity come about?
Ranko: I originally did a little bit of singing before I got into Touhou. And I’ve been getting help with that from (fellow circle member) Comp. At one point, I asked Comp, “I want to do Touhou arrangements!”, and he said, “Well, let’s try it”.
So it was your idea?
Ranko: I mean, that was the timing. Comp thought “I want to do something interesting with everyone”, and I wanted to do Touhou arrangements. That’s when I started talking to everyone about how interesting Touhou is, and how it’s this kind of thing, and then my sister, myself, Comp, and Paprika agreed to do it together.
Thank you very much. And at last, I ask Sakiko.
Sakiko: I’m Sakiko, a support member of Girls Logic Observatory and the vocalist of Watashi Kisama. I’ve always liked anime and manga since I was a kid, but I wasn’t always an otaku from the start… I think it was a copy of Animage that a friend of mine brought when I was in elementary school that made me step into this (otaku) side of things (laughs).
Everyone: Aa~~~~~~~!
Ranko: Animage is no good!!
Sakiko: I read Animage in turn, and I was like, “Eeeeeee, what’s thiiiiiiis”. Until then, I watched the works as they, as works of art. That’s what I like about Shaman King and The Prince of Tennis. When I read Animage, it made me think, “Hmm, there are other ways to enjoy this kind of work, aren’t there? I see. I see.” (laughs). That’s when I found out about the existence of “search engines” [*] and I started skimming the Internet…
[*] Search engines: Not search engines like Google, but a system of registered, privately operated site lists that existed in the former website culture. The system was subdivided into genres such as “Creative Works” or “Pokémon”, and users at the time were looking for comrades building sites in the same genre on that system. Search engines themselves were often operated by individuals, and they were an indispensable part of the Internet creative community at the time.
It’s straightforward. Where did you meet Touhou?
Sakiko: I was originally watching videos of IOSYS and others on NicoVideo. The first game I firmly played was Mountain of Faith. I originally liked the stories from Kojiki and such, so I said “I’ll have to do the Suwa War or something! Must buy!”. I started my vocal activity through mixi. There was a band offline meeting, and I just happened to be approached by someone in the form of “we are lacking a vocalist, would you like to do it?”. At the time, I was in a copy band of Kishida Kyodan & the Akeboshi Rockets.
Ranko: At the time, the only Touhou arrange rock band with a female vocalist was Kishida.
Sakiko: Oh yeah. That meeting included Terra from Girls Logic Observatory among others, and when he said “I’m starting a personal circle”, I had the privilege of participating as a guest. I mean, I’ve always been a guest participant. From there, I’ve been an eternal temporary worker, and now I’m here.
Each of their emotional attachment is different. Picking up favorite Touhou songs
I’m sure you’ve all sung various songs, but I’d like to ask you about your favorite Touhou songs. Let’s start with the original themes.
Hotaru: Ew! It’s hard to choose…….. if it’s an original theme there are all kinds of criteria like “it’s my favorite character’s theme”…….
Ranko: Well……..every year there’s the Touhou popularity poll. That’s what I’m scrutinizing, but my number 1 is Septet (“Septette for a Dead Princess”) every year.
Hotaru: I’m really torn…….I like “The Gensokyo the Gods Loved” and then there’s “Voyage 1969”, “Voyage 1970”, and “Hiroshige No.36 ~ Neo Super-Express”, which I used to listen to on my way to school. I’ve never sung (an arrangement of) those three songs, though.
Sakiko: If it’s an original theme, I’m still very invested with Mountain of Faith, so I’m really excited about “Native Faith”.
Ranko: Mountain of Faith has good songs.
Sakiko&Hotaru: For real!!! (in perfect unison)
Ranko: I liked “Candid Friend”, too.
Sakiko: Aaah! I like it!
Hotaru: …! …! (she says “I got it” but not in her voice)
Ranko: You’re muted!
Everyone: (burst of laughs)
The sound slipped past your giant voice, didn’t it (laughs)?
Hotaru: I got it… I got it… (gonna cry)
Sakiko: I’ve listened to them a lot because I’ve played the game so much, so it’s the nostalgia effect.
Ranko: We all do it, maybe. It’s difficult and I play it over and over again, so the more I listen to it, the more I like it.
How about a song that you were responsible for?
Sakiko: I simply got excited as an otaku when I was allowed to participate a COOL&CREATE compilation. “Oh, I must be singing this like it’s official!” (laughs). In terms of songs, I think I did a good job in “Night of Nights”.
Ranko: I was really excited when I participated in the “Bad Apple!! feat. nomico” album. “I’m singing the song from the video I watched!!!1111”
Hotaru: I sang the song “You’re the love of my life…“, and the PV, the arrangement, the original theme correction, the revision of the lyrics I got were really crazy. And the lyrics are very impressive to me because of the ship-like subject of Shinmyoumaru and Seija. I have fond memories of recording it in the middle of summer and feeling overheated and dehydrated.
Ranko: Risky!
So it was impressive in many ways.
Ranko: One of my favorite songs is the Mokou arrange “Utakata“. I’ve always liked this song partly because of the way the lyrics were applied to it, but thankfully, for some reason, this song is extremely popular in China. When we played at a concert in Shanghai last year, the reaction was such that when it started, I could hear the audience gasping for air. I’m happy to get that kind of response, and that’s part of the reason why I like this song so much.
Sakiko: I know this overlaps with the compilation I mentioned earlier, but I was really happy when I was allowed to participate in the songs I used to watch in the videos. “Night of Nights”, “Cirno’s Perfect Math Class”, etc. It’s been a pleasure to work with people I admire in this area of the series.
In terms of the joy of being able to express myself, I’d say Girls Logic Observatory’s “Last Donation“. I like it because it feels good to sing and I was able to sing it the way I wanted and the audience responded to that.
Singing Touhou arrangements
I’m still excited to talk about songs. What do you enjoy about singing arrangements of songs that you’ve always liked?
Hotaru: I used to do musicals in elementary school, and I was familiar with acting and the idea of being emotionally invested in something other than myself. One of my hobbies is cosplay, and I guess it’s a bit similar to singing for me. I think there is a kind of identity, or a feeling of “I want to be the same”, and I think singing is a way to achieve that.
Of course, there’s a part of me that genuinely enjoys the work, but at the same time, I want to put the emotions of this piece into myself once and digest them. Through the filter of myself, I have the feeling I want to formulate “My interpretation is this!”
Ranko: I couldn’t draw, but I could sing, so my motive was to try to express my love for Touhou in lyrics and songs. …But anyway, at the time, the world surrounding Touhou looked like it was really fun.
Hotaru: I got it, I got it. I watched a lot of videos of “trying to sing”, and I sang in karaoke.
Ranko: “Shiawase Usagi” and others were super sang.
Hotaru: I sang it!! I and my brother were imitating Beatmario and Amane!
Ranko: They look a little like each other when you imitate them!
Sakiko: Recently, I finally had the opportunity to have a drink with Mario, and I thought “ah, that’s Beatmario” (laughs).
Ranko: It goes beyond humans, it’s one piece of content.
Sakiko: It’s like calling a character by their full name.
Hotaru: I couldn’t put the “san” at the moment, I think it’s dangerous.
Sakiko: Talking about the vocals, I think I have a completely different stance than the two of you. The main thing I do is Girls Logic Observatory, which is Terra’s personal circle, and I’m there as a guest member. So I sing while imagining “I’m sure this is how Terra is chewing it up.” or “I guess this is the kind of lyrical intent he is talking about”. I’m not a vocaloid, but I try not to put too much of my emotions on it. I thought it wouldn’t be very beautiful if the song ended up going in different directions as a result of being chewed up in some weird way and having my intentions put into it.
Of course, I ask about the meaning of the lyrics, but I basically don’t put too much of my intentions and feelings on them. I’m rather conscious of the way I sing without adding my colors. So I change my voice and the way I sing, depending on the song.
It’s an image that gets nicely on the vector of the song itself.
Sakiko: That’s right. But I’m also active in a circle called “Watashi Kisama”, and I complain a lot about the lyrics (laughs). Like “Isn’t this strange in this vein?”. I’m severe on different interpretations (laughs).
Ranko and Hotaru, did you ever look at the lyrics you get and think, “That’s a misinterpretation”?
Ranko: I don’t anymore. I think Comp wrote the lyrics with the intention of having me sing them, so he didn’t write anything unnatural for me to sing in the first place.
Hotaru: Not often, but if I’m not sure, I ask the lyricist for help. If there’s a difference in interpretation, it’s interesting to take the lyricist’s interpretation and see how I can digest it myself. We’re not the same person, so we have different points of view, and I enjoy tasting those differences.