Although TheBigN beat me to it, I’ve been dropping hints left and right that I’ve joined the mass that is Touhou Anonymous, least of which would be an amusing cry for help on my mini-blog, but I think it’s time to make this official: my name is CCY … well, my psuedonym is CCY … and I’m a Touhou addict.

Who knows what it is. The manic gameplay that shoots adrenaline through your veins as quickly as the characters shoots bullets, the immense music scene from its hard-rock remixes to the drug-like addictive flash songs and everywhere in between, or just the sheer size and limitless bounds of the fandom … perhaps I’ll never know a reason until I fall out of Touhou.

But until then, in my typical analytical style, I can’t take it lying down. I’m very bad at admitting I simply like things because I do, and so it’s time to dig up the roots of, at least, my Touhou fandom and shine some light on some of the intriguing, curious, or just plain weird ends of the Touhou universe.

There’s a method to every madness, and it’s time to find mine, in this mini-series of mini-posts. And target number one …

Yukkuri are one of the strange outliers of a strange fandom, being almost intentionally ugly and deformed representations of the Touhou characters. Their name spawned from the original Japanese phrase “Yukkuri shiteitte ne!”, translated as “Take it easy!”, the catchphrase of these beings. A simple bodyless head with a simple personality, they spout equally uncomplicated phrases that directly reflect their moods, revealing a sort of childish, helpless mentality.

It’s a tribute to the massiveness of the Touhou fanon (fan-canon) that the page at the Touhou wiki for Yukkuri extends on to the length of a research paper, with extensive detail on how each Yukkuri-representation of a character has its own unique quirks, not to mention describing in detail how a Yukkuri lives, acts, and yes, reproduces.

It almost reminds me of the Churuya fad in how the fandom sort of evolves in on itself, spouting branch after branch of meme-worthy material that continues to astound a simple mind such as mind.

Perhaps this is least such because, as much as I try to look away and go “this is dumb, and ugly, and dumb”, I find myself increasingly attracted to these fluffy piles of randomness, to the point which I’ve combed Danbooru time and time again for more images and comics to view.

Suddenly I found myself at what felt to be the bottom of the situation, and felt myself to suddenly understand a lot more what the crusaders against moe were arguing against - oddly enough, despite their looks, Yukkuri are practically pure moe producing machines.

Or, perhaps, their looks are an extension of their purpose, to give a sort of retarded look to a mentally retarded being. Yukkuri, from what I’ve figured, aren’t the type to survive on their own, and are typically seen clinging on to more realistic portrayals of the Touhou characters in doujinshi.

Likewise, they are on the most part extremely naive (described as ‘able to forget anything in a matter of hours’) and simple-minded, saying what they think straightforwardly, as amusingly false as it may be. (As in, when one covers their eyes, they shout “it’s nighttime!”). Somehow it feels analogous to having a kid with Down’s Syndrome.

And oddly enough this sort of this is actually quite attracting in a way, to the point that I really feel this more than anything fulfills not only the standard definition of moe but also the fears of the moe-averse.

It’s not quite a parent’s love as you never really get to see the Yukkuri grow. They stay dumb and smiling, being adorable with their foolish actions (although maybe not with their appearances), and they never really do mature.

Rather, the standard idea of moe as ‘the urge to protect’ applies completely here. You see what you imagine as ‘these poor things’ and you can’t help but feel a bit for them inside (at least, speaking from the perspective of the Touhou characters in the doujinshi), especially when you are showered with that form of mentally challenged affection.

And likewise, these Yukkuri symbolize everything that is wrong with moe at its worst, in that they really are somewhat respectable characters (although the issue with Touhou being by and large a blank slate) reduced to a singular point which shows little to none of their actual personality, to speak none of the faulty framework of a Yukkuri, which seems more similar to an animal than a human (or is that the point?).

Perhaps this too is why they are so attractive, since they are meme-worthy and easily remembered that they stick in your head like a random guitar lick.

Who knows. Whether I should feel guilt for liking such a silly thing is up for judgment. It all depends on in what frame you view the Yukkuri. Are they an experiment gone wrong? Loving pets? An instance of the hyperextension of a fandom?

Perhaps, the Touhou universe is one of those forces too giant to be explained, inside or outside of canon. If I continue getting sucked into this vortex of fanwork, I just might find out. Until then…take it easy, eh?

-CCY
(Went through two other post drafts before deciding on finishing this article. Yeah, I have nothing else to say here.)

This post is tagged Analysis, Rapidfire, Touhou