Sariel

Sariel is an angel of death who serves as the final opponent along the Makai route of Highly Responsive to Prayers. Reimu Hakurei encounters them within the Fallen Shrine located in Makai. As Sariel has no character profile and engages in no conversation with Reimu, no further information is known about them.

Sariel
Origin
Origin	Touhou Reiiden (Wondrous Tale) ~ The Highly Responsive to Prayers
Creator	ZUN
First Appearance	Touhou Project - Highly Responsive to Prayers
Characteristics
Species	Angel
Gender	Female
Pronouns	She/Her
Sexuality	Unknown
Age	Unknown
Birthday	Unknown
Height	Unknown
Weight	Unknown
Ethnicity	Makai Angel
Status	Alive
Alignment	Neutral Evil
Archetype	Dark Lord
Occupation	Angel of Death
Time Period	Non-linear
Language	Unknown
Combat Style	Magical Combat
Homeworld	Makai
Relationships
Affiliations	Shinki, Maki
Enemies	Reimu Hakurei

Background

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Sariel’s story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Highly Responsive to Prayers English TranslationJapanese “ A small shrine resting in a country far to the east, the "Hakurei Shrine". Many out-of-the-ordinary events transpire here, causing normal people to almost never draw close to the shrine. On the other hand, there is also a reason that "things that aren't human" never descend to terrorize the Human Village: because shrine maidens, females with the power to channel the gods, have lived at this shrine for many generations, guarding the gates to other realms such as Hell and Makai where those "things that aren't human" reside. Long ago, powerful mountaineering ascetics, exorcists, and spiritual leaders from all areas of the country gathered in order to seal away youkai, demons, and other creatures from their land. Despite their great success, the recoil from performing the ceremonies was so tremendous that it annihilated everyone gathered there. Much time passed after that — so much time that the effectiveness of the seal began to fade. The shrine maiden currently living at this shrine has trained her body and mind intensely in order to fight these unstoppable enemies, these "things that aren't human", and prevent them from reaching the Human Village. Even though she knew it was a futile effort, even though she knew her life would be forfeit, she made her way to one of the gates. ...Actually, it's not really that serious. The truth is that this shrine maiden is Reimu Hakurei, who always gets caught up in strange things. One of the "things that isn't human" destroyed her shrine, and she flew into a rage. There is only one thing that will quell her anger: the total annihilation of all "things that aren't human"!! ...Well, that's half wrong too. The real truth is that Reimu Hakurei is actually quite the optimist. Acting on her whims as always, she figured she'd go and enter one of the gates. After a while, she realized that only the Hakurei Shrine's greatest treasure, the Yin-Yang Orb, was effective against these non-human creatures. Reimu "Well, whatever. Things will turn out just fine as long as I use the yin-yang orb skillfully!" What sort of fate awaits this shrine maiden? „ ~ Highly Responsive to Prayers Prologue English “ ここは東の国のとある小さな神社、‘博麗神社’、ここには色々な出来事が起こるため、普通の人はめったに近寄ったりしなかった。しかし、‘人間でない何か’が、人里におりてこないのにはわけがあった。それは、この神社には代々、神に通ずる力のある女性、つまり巫女がいたからであった。 なぜ、この小さな神社に力の在る巫女がいるわけは、ここには地獄や魔界、といった‘人間でない何か’の棲む世界との接点（ゲート）が重なっているからである。 その昔、ここから現れる妖怪、悪魔などを封印するために、全国各地の力のある修験者、調伏師、などが集まり封印に成功した。　が、そのときの反動は非常に大きく、集まった者も全滅した。 それから時がたち、あれほどの力をもった封印の効力も薄れてきた。この神社の巫女は、‘人間でない何か’を人里におりていかない様にするためかなうはずもない敵に対し、精一杯の修業を積み、それでも無理と分かっていながら、自分の身を犠牲にし、このゲートへ向かっていった。 う　・　そ ほんとは、変な事巻き込まれ体質の巫女、博麗靈夢。‘人間でない何か’に、神社を破壊されちゃって、おこちゃったのだ。この怒りを沈めるには、‘人間でない何か’を、全滅させるしか！！ って、半分うそ ほんとのほんとは、博麗靈夢は、かなりの楽天家。今回もきまぐれで、ゲートに入ってみたのであった。 ここの魔に対して効力のあるのは、博麗神社最大の秘宝‘陰陽玉’だけであるということが分かったのも、しばらくしてである。 靈夢「ま、いっか。‘陰陽玉’をうまく使えば、なんとかなるわよね」 どうなることやら・・・・ „ ~ Highly Responsive to Prayers Prologue Japanese A shrine located in the Far East, the Hakurei Shrine, houses a powerful seal that has begun to deteriorate. As a result, numerous non-human entities have started to emerge. It is implied through Sariel showing Reimu different periods in time during their fight that Sariel is the cause of the deterioration of the Hakurei Shrine's seal. Reimu only encounters Sariel if she chooses the Makai route, where Sariel is the final boss that end sup being defeated by Reimu. Sariel has not been seen again, but due to Reimu rarely killing any of her adversaries unless they directly broke the laws of Gensokyo, it is very likely Sariel is still alive. ZUN has made word too that characters from PC-98 games are still alive and are just "retired".

Name Meaning

The name "Sariel" translates to "Command of God". In Judaic and Islamic traditions, Sariel is identified as an archangel. Certain Judaic-Christian texts, however, describe Sariel as an Angel of Death alongside Michael, Gabriel, and Samael, while other sources refer to Sariel as a fallen angel. Religious depictions consistently portray Sariel as male, though the incarnation in this game is left sufficiently ambiguous to allow for either gender.

Within Coptic tradition, Sariel is believed to be the angel of the church of Sardis mentioned in the Revelation to John. This figure is attributed with vast knowledge of magic, magical rituals, and powers that enable him to lead others astray. Appropriately, Sariel's second theme in the game is titled "The Civilization of Magic".

Appearance

General Description: Sariel is a ghost-like angelic figure. They have knee-length white hair and what appear to be blue eyes. Their build is obscured by their clothing.

Facial Features: Their hair is white and falls to knee length. Their eyes appear to be blue.

Clothing/Outfit:

• Primary Outfit (Highly Responsive to Prayers): A long, simple blue dress paired with long white sleeves. They carry a wand of an unusual design. They have six angel wings, a trait associated with seraphim, the highest order of angels in Christian angelic hierarchy.

Special Features: Sariel possesses six angel wings, visible in their sprite. They hold a distinct, strangely designed wand.

Alternate Forms/Disguises:

• Second Form: Sariel's appearance changes to a silhouette containing a black hole-like mass within it.

Personality

Sariel has no spoken dialogue or narrative exposition in Highly Responsive to Prayers. Their actions and motivations are not explained or referenced within the game.

Goals

• Not known, other then possibly defeating Reimu (Failed).

Relationships

Shinki

While she and Shink never directly interact, Sariel is a resident of Makai, and Shinki is the goddess and creator of Makai. Meaning that Shinki created Sariel, as she created other residents such as Yumeko.

General Information

Name: Sariel

Title: Angel of Death

Origin: Touhou Reiiden (Wondrous Tale) ~ The Highly Responsive to Prayers

Overall Series: Touhou Project

First Appearance: Touhou Project - Highly Responsive to Prayers

Latest Appearance: Touhou Project - Highly Responsive to Prayers

Company: Team Shanghai Alice

Creator: ZUN

Actor: N/A

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Unknown

Pronouns: She/Her

Handedness: Likely Left-Handed (Wields and swings, her rod with her left hand)

Age: Unknown

Birthday: Unknown

Time Period: The world of Gensokyo itself is in a non-linear time period

Timeline: Main Timeline

Homeworld: Makai

Residence: Makai

Story Role: Final Boss

Legacy: Unknown Legacy

Influence: No Influence

Language: Unknown

Ethnicity: Makai Angel

Religion: Makai Religion

Classification: Angel of Death' Sariel'

Species: Angel

State of Being: Regular

Physiology: Angelic Physiology

In-Universe Creator: Shinki

Occupation: Angel of Death

Combat Style: Magical Combat

Affiliations: Shinki, Makai

Enemies: Reimu Hakurei

Height: Unknown

Weight: Unknown

Status: Alive (Noted by ZUN that characters from the PC-98 games have probably retired and are warmly watching over things from various places nowadays)

Alignment: Likely Neutral Evil (Sariel is the one likely responsible for destroying Reimu's shrine, and as a makai demon she will go around attacking anyone she sees)

Threat Level: Global Threat (Noted to be pouring out of the broken seal from the Hakurei Shrine, being an overall threat to the world outside of Makai)

Potential

• Type(s) of Potential: Fixed Potential
• Level of Potential: Fixed
• Description: Hasn't had any real statements to showcase anything beyond the standard potential.
• Limitations: Standard limitations.

Archetypal Tiering: Dark Lord

Codex Statistics

Grade: A

Tier: At least Low 8-C, Far Higher with Spiritual Power

Cardinality: Finite

Dimensionality: 3-D

Power Source: Magic

Attack Potency: At least Small Building level (Size) (Her size vastly eclipses Reimu, putting her at least around this size), Far Higher with Spiritual Power (Noted how even Yumemi Okazaki's scientific magic truly pales in comparisson with the real thing). Can ignore covnentional durability with Magic (Magic exists outside of the Grand Unified Theory, a theory with any model that merges electromagnetic, weak, and strong forces into a single force at high energies, unifying gravity with the electronuclear interaction, providing a more comprehensive theory of everything. Yumemi explains that on her world, all power can be explained by the Grand Unified Theory, however she posits an existence of a power not covered by the Theory: the power of magic. Yumemi also explains that in the world of Gensokyo, magic unifies everything. Magic is noted by Yumemi to have close ties with religion)

Durability: At least Small Building level, Far Higher with Spiritual Power

Striking Strength: At least Small Building Class (Size)

Lifting Strength: At least Superhuman

Travel Speed: Unknown: True level (As she does not move during the boss fight)

Attack Speed: Superhuman (Capable of tagging Reimu Hakurei with her attacks). Magic Attacks lack a defined speed (Magic exists outside of the Grand Unified Theory, a theory with any model that merges electromagnetic, weak, and strong forces into a single force at high energies, unifying gravity with the electronuclear interaction, providing a more comprehensive theory of everything. Yumemi explains that on her world, all power can be explained by the Grand Unified Theory, however she posits an existence of a power not covered by the Theory: the power of magic. Yumemi also explains that in the world of Gensokyo, magic unifies everything. Magic is noted by Yumemi to have close ties with religion)

Reaction Speed: Superhuman

Stamina: Superhuman (She does not at all seem to get tired, despite her shooting out a multitude of attacks all over the screen)

Range: Tens of Meters through sheer size. At least Kilometers with Attacks (It is shown that Sariel is attacking from far in the sky, and is constantly changing the background, causing the entire background to go on fire), likely Universal (Some of her attacks has the background change and show different periods of time inside of bubbles)

Intelligence: Unknown Intelligence

Knowledge: Likely Cosmic level (Sariel seems to have an awareness of differnet time periods, being able to show Reimu different periods of time inside of bubbles)

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Powers and Techniques

• Superhuman Physical Characteristics
  • Superhuman Strength
  • Superhuman Durability
  • Superhuman Speed
  • Superhuman Reaction
  • Superhuman Lifting
  • Superhuman Energy Efficiency
• Weapon Mastery
  • Rod Mastery: Her art depicts her holding a rod while attacking, and she is directly shown moving her rod while doing some attacks.
• Large Size
  • Building Sized: Her size vastly eclipses Reimu, putting her at least around this size.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall ( Touhou characters constantly acknowledge being a stage boss)
• Cartoon Physics (Gensokyo is a world that lacks and defies common sense, where characters can explode, this is even acknowledged with ZUN roleplaying as the characters in-universe that they explode upon defeat. Despite this they will still come back, even human characters that do not have regeneration)
• Non-Standard Interaction
  • Metaphysical Interaction: As a non-human that can only be truly harmed from powerful spiritual attacks, she should also be able to harm other non-humans.
• Non-Standard Damage (Sariel attacks mainly with magical attacks, which are innately spiritual and go beyond conventional attacks)
• Non-Standard Defenses (Reimu realized that only the Yin-Yang Orb was effective against non-human creatures, with it being noted that Reimu using her ofuda, her spirit power, and her martial arts all prove to be useless against her enemies, meaning Youkai cannot really be harmed by regular or standard weaponry. It's noted that one cannot defeat spirits or devilish powers without a weapon with an unnatural amount of spiritual power such as the Yin-Yang Orb)
• Transformation
  • Transformative Arsenal: When defeated in her first form, she transforms into her second form.
• Teleportation (Seemingly teleports into the battlefield during the intro sequence of the battle. Seemingly teleports her and Reimu to different areas through the background changes)
• Flight (Naturally flying in the sky, and she has four wings)
• Cosmic Awareness (Sariel seems to have an awareness of differnet time periods, being able to show Reimu different periods of time inside of bubbles)
• Familiar Summoning (Can summon spinning objects to attack Reimu. Can draw a shining sparkle across the screen, summoning red birds to attack Reimu. Summons two orbs to attack Reimu)
• Curtain Fire
  • Multi-Directional & Rapid Fire: Can shoot out multiple lasers and energy projectiles across the entire screen, along with her second form shooting energy projectiles all over.
• Magic (Magic exists outside of the Grand Unified Theory, a theory with any model that merges electromagnetic, weak, and strong forces into a single force at high energies, unifying gravity with the electronuclear interaction, providing a more comprehensive theory of everything. Yumemi explains that on her world, all power can be explained by the Grand Unified Theory, however she posits an existence of a power not covered by the Theory: the power of magic. Yumemi also explains that in the world of Gensokyo, magic unifies everything. Magic is noted by Yumemi to have close ties with religion)
• Transferal (Magic users can transfer their magic into a tool, having the tool change depending on the user)
  • Transmutation
• Acausality
  • Irregular Causality: It's noted that Reimu's power exists outside of the Grand Unified Theory, a theory with any model that merges electromagnetic, weak, and strong forces into a single force at high energies, unifying gravity with the electronuclear interaction, providing a more comprehensive theory of everything. It's further explained that magic is a force that cannot be explained by the Grand Unified Theory, with Yumemi even proposing a "Non-Unfied Magic World" theory. Yumemi explains that on her world, all power can be explained by the Grand Unified Theory, however she posits an existence of a power not covered by the Theory: the power of magic. Magic does not exist in Yumemi's world, which is a Probability World, a different world, but in the same dimension.
• Holy Manipulation (Magic is noted by Yumemi to have close ties with religion)
• Fire Manipulation (Can set an entire area on fire through manipulating the background)
• Energy Manipulation
  • Energy Projection (Fires multiple lasers and energy projectiles)
• Space-Time Manipulation (Some of her attacks has the background change and show different periods of time inside of bubbles)
• Link Manipulation (Strong Emotions can be contained in objects that can connect between the main world and the netherworld)
• Spirit Manipulation (The bombs used are referred to as spiritual attacks, being directly called spiritual attacks)
  • Explosion Manipulation (When bomb users are cornered from attacks they cannot repel with regular attacks they can release a massive spirit explosive that destroys all objects on screen, along with killing all enemies on screen)
  • Magnetism Manipulation (When using a bomb, all items on screen will be attracted towards the user)
  • Perception Manipulation (When using a bomb the screen flashes white and an image of the bomb user can be seen)
  • Logic Manipulation (The Great Hakurei Barrier is a boundary of common sense, which things with high spiritual power in the cause to waver)
  • Nullification & Erasure
    • Projectile Nullification & Physical Erasure: Bomb users can use a bomb to nullify & erase all projectiles on screen. This makes the enemy incapable of shooting out any further projectiles until the bomb's duration is done.
  • Invulnerability
    • Physical & Metaphysical: When a character uses a bomb, they are temporarily invincible to all attacks and is allowed to attack freely herself.

• Resistance to
  • Probability Manipulation (Yumemi explains that on her world, all power can be explained by the Grand Unified Theory, however she posits an existence of a power not covered by the Theory: the power of magic. Magic does not exist in Yumemi's world, which is a Probability World, a different world, but in the same dimension)

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Equipment

Rod

Sariel's rod shown in her hand

• Description: While not outright stated, a lot of Sariel's attacks comes from a rod she wields in her left hand.
• Appearance: The rod has a similar color pattern to her own being, likely being a magically manifested object, it has tendril-like objects right below the sphere on top of the stick.
• Usage: Sariel uses it for some magic attacks such as summoning red birds to attack Reimu with.
• Function: It seems to function off of magic and spiritual energy, as it's noted that magic users can transfer their spiritual/magical energy into objects.

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Notable Techniques

Phase 1

Sariel Phase 1

Random Lasers

Sariel fires lasers from fixed spawn points and angles. While the number of possible trajectories is limited, no position on the battlefield is completely safe. Laser frequency increases on higher difficulties.

Vortex Pair

Sariel summons two vortices from the left and right screen edges. They converge toward the center before rising diagonally while firing a 2-way spreadshot. Upon reaching their apex, the spreadshot escalates to 3-way. The vortices then drift toward one side, with a chance to suddenly reverse direction mid-flight.

This attack functions primarily as a movement constraint; the spreadshot density makes slipping through the gap without destroying pellets nearly impossible. On Easy difficulty, the vortices remain far apart, rendering the attack nonthreatening. On Lunatic, they move significantly closer together, leaving negligible safe space.

Red Birds

Sariel traces an ellipsis with red dots, from which creatures emerge and flee while firing projectiles. Higher difficulties increase the number of spawns. This attack possesses two variants: a simpler pattern of aimed pellets, and a denser pattern of 6-way radial rings.

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Phase 2

Sariel Phase 2

Spiral Barrage

Two rotating spirals of projectiles descend from the upper corners of the screen, persisting throughout the entire phase.

Sariel fires a pellet toward the opponent's current position, twice in succession. The blast radius remains active for an extended duration and can easily be collided with accidentally during evasion.

Pellet Cluster

Sariel throws a cluster of pellets toward the player's current position.

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Phase 3

Sariel Phase 3

Four-Shot Volley

Sariel fires four aimed lasers from fixed spawn points, in the following order: right side close to Sariel, left side close to Sariel, right edge, left edge. The second laser deviates from standard aiming behavior, deliberately firing away from the opponent's position rather than tracking them. Laser velocity increases on higher difficulties.

Subsequent laser volleys throughout the phase are supplemented with random, unaimed pellets. On most difficulties, these pellets simply fall vertically and pose minimal threat. On Lunatic, each pellet receives an angular offset, resulting in incoming fire from varied trajectories.

Screen Shake

Sariel shakes the screen. Making it harder for the opponent to dodge attacks due to the disorientation.

Spiral Pattern

Sariel initiates a sustained barrage of desynchronized fire. On each frame of the attack, she fires a 3-way spreadshot, with every third center pellet replaced by a laser that accelerates on higher difficulties.

Harder difficulities have these differences:

• Hard: A 2-way spreadshot trails behind the primary volley.
• Lunatic: A 3-way spreadshot and an additional single pellet follow further behind.

Despite the density, the pattern predominantly fires away from the center of the screen.

---

Phase 4

Sariel Phase 4

Symmetric Creatures

Sariel summons creatures arranged symmetrically, which toss gravity-affected pellets from the sides.

Four Semicircles

Sariel fires four descending semicircular arcs of pellets.

Ground Sweep

Sariel sweeps the field, causing pillars of pellets to erupt from the opponent's position and both edges, followed by random pellets descending from the top of the screen.

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Final Form

Sariel Final Form

Pellet Spray (Multi-Directional)

Sariel sprays pellets from right to left, then immediately from left to right.

Pellet Spray (Double Volley)

Sariel repeats the multi-directional pellet spray, this time executing two full cycles.

Horizontal Line

Sariel generates a horizontal line across the middle of the playfield, which subsequently releases randomly descending pellets. Bullet density scales with difficulty, and higher settings often force the opponent out of center positioning.

Indestructible Leaves

Following the first full cycle, Sariel begins launching projectiles that transform upon reaching the top of the playfield. These become indestructible leaves that sway gently downward. Initially, this attack appears in isolation, affording a window to damage Sariel unharassed. As time elapses, the leaves begin to overlap with the pellet-based attacks.

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Other

Standard Tactics

• Phase 1: Sariel initiates the fight with a randomized sequence of up to seven attacks, cycling through her attacks as needed. She may transition immediately after her opening laser volley, or loop through all available attacks twice and fire a third laser spam.
• Phase 2: Sariel cycles between two primary attacks for up to five exchanges, accompanied by a persistent secondary hazardn.
• Phase 3: Sariel cycles through a sequence of up to six actions, transitioning to the next phase after three to six executions. The cycle consists of aimed laser volleys, screen shakes, and a sustained spiral pattern.
• Phase 4: Sariel performs two to six actions from a fixed set, cycling as needed.
• Phase 5 (Second Form): Sariel cycles through three attacks in fixed order.

Weaknesses

• Magic Weaknesses: Magic users taking too much damage will cancel out their attacks. If a magic users spirit is depleted they enter a state of "Guard Crush" where they can't use bullets, special moves, or spell cards at all. Repeatedly attacking red glyphs will break one's defenses.
• Unique Weaknesses: Nothing notable.

Note

• Even if characters have not showcased using a bomb, they should all be able to use bombs, as bombs are realistically just spiritual attacks and to even be able to fight the non-human entities, requires a weapon with an unnatural amount of spiritual power such as the Yin-Yang Orb, meaning everyone that is non-human or is fighting non-humans is using spiritual energy.

Explanations

Canoncity of Touhou Project

The Touhou Project franchise canoncity mainly falls under any media worked on by ZUN are official and canon to the overall lineup.

There are various aspects constantly debated about within the canon:

PC-98

Media like PC-98, has been noted by ZUN to be ignored as one can ignore derivative works. He has also said that anything prior to Embodiment of Scarlet Devil can for the most part be ignored and one can think fo Embodiment of Scarlet Devil as the starting from a clean slate and starting a new series, he's also referred to Highly Responsive to Prayers as a study product. With this in mind, one would assume that PC-98 is thus non-canon to the Windows continuity of games.

However, ZUN has also directly stated PC-98 games are the same world as the Windows Games, stating that any contradictions that exist from PC-98 can be ignored from the retcon in Windows Era. While one argues ZUN noting the works are derivative works to be ignored and Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil should be seen as the starting point, these statements are moreso telling a fan to not worry about having to play PC-98 games or learn more about their stories.

It's also been noted in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil's おまけ.txt that the game chronologically is not too far from the previous title, which would be Mystic Square, the PC-98 title. ZUN has also directly brought back characters from PC-98 games, noting he wanted to bring back characters from before Embodiment of Scarlet Devil and notes any of the other older characters that don't appear have probably retired by now and are warmly watching over things from various places nowadays. When asked where Mima from PC-98 has gone, ZUN notes that he doesn't bring them back due to making things complicated and having potentially angry fans ask where she has been the entire time, he has also noted that there's not much use for characters like Genji as Reimu can fly now and also notes he is not dead. ZUN has also made mention to Genji probably living in the lake in the back of the shrine. In Touhou Sangetsusei ~ Strange and Bright Nature Deity, Reimu and Marisa were talking about glowing moss with Reimu saying it would be nice to transfer it to the pond in the back of the Hakurei Shrine and Marisa saying that she could make it grow there on the turtles' back, referencing Genji.

In Touhou 07 Perfect Cherry Blossom, when Alice meets Reimu, she tells her long time no see, noting that they've met before calling her "old friend". In Yuuka's mode in Touhou Project - Phantasmagoria of Flower View, Reimu directly references defeating Yuuka back in PC-98. If Yuuka defeats Marisa in the same game, she will note that Marisa has grown up quite a bit, when the last time she's seen her has been in PC-98.

Seeing as ZUN himself has directly said both PC-98 and Windows are in the same world and that characters directly acknowledged PC-98 events and reference characters from it, PC-98 is completely canon and any contradictions PC-98 have can be ignored.

Side Games Time Placements

Touhou 7.5 - Immaterial and Missing Power takes place between Perfect Cherry Blossom and Imperishable Night.

Multiple Playable Routes

In the series, there are multiple playable character routes, including some where the characters fight Reimu herself and defeat her, calling question into what route is canon. ZUN has elaborated that canonically, anytime Reimu and the gang are defeated, they challenge again however many times they want, but on the youkai side, they do not challenge again after being defeated and are not attached to the results of winning or losing.

In terms of how playable routes have went, some examples of canonically noted routes:

• In Reimu's profile on Perfect Memento in Strict Sense, it's noted that Reimu resolved the Scarlet Devil Mansion Incident alone.
• Reimu is also acknowledged to have resolved the Spring Snow Incident in Perfect Cherry Blossom, though it is not noted if she did this alone.
• Reimu claims she solved the Eternal Night incident, however if one asks her about the cause or the perpetrator, she'll only respond with ambiguous answers, it is also not noted if she did this alone.

With some of these examples, it is normally assumed that in some way Reimu has some part in resolving every incident and other routes are dubiously canon depending on what transpired.

Spell Card Rules

There are many cases of weaker humans beating stronger Yokai or vice versa within the Touhou series, this has been elaborated on in Reimu's profile on Perfect Memento in Strict Sense. Reimu introduced the spell card rules as the youkai had no way to defeat the Hakurei shrine maiden, making many youkai feel that their meaning to exist have dissapeared. The rules incoporate the following:

• Spell cards are techniques specially-named by the individual, and they must be declared upon use.
• The number of each party's spell cards must be determined in advance of a duel.
• The first party to have all of their spell cards beaten must admit defeat.
• The victor is entitled only to what was agreed upon before the duel. If they're not interested in what their opponent has to offer, they can refuse a duel.
• Winners should generally allow losers a rematch.
• Always prepare for the unexpected.

The original draft held these rules:

• Combatants will give names and meanings to the duel for the benefit of beauty.
• Combatants will declare the number of named duels before beginning.
• Combatants may not repeat attacks by relying on stamina.
• Combatants may not deliver attacks that do not have meaning. The meaning itself becomes the attack's power.
• In the case that a combatant loses a named duel, that combatant will admit defeat, even if he or she has strength remaining. No combatant may kill a human, even upon victory.
• Combatants will write the duel's name on paper in the format of a contract. By doing so, the above-mentioned rules become absolute. These papers will be called spell cards.

These rules allows for duels that feel almost like sport rather then a match, and have allowed for weaker fighters to challenge stronger ones, due to this though, it also has become possible for youkai to freely defeat Reimu without worrying about the consequences.

Due to them being written into cards and essentially affecting the ability and power of an attack, the spell cards are likely the thing binding attacks to specific properties.

Parallel Worlds

Parallel Worlds is a topic brought up at some points in the Touhou Project franchise, they are worlds called "Probability Worlds" by Yumemi, stating that those and parallel worlds are one and the same. This essentially means that parallel worlds in Touhou are based on the concept of probability. Yumemi and Chiyuri use a "Probability Space Hypervessel" in order to travel to alternate worlds and time periods, further showcasing that probabiliy serves an importance.

Magical vs. Physical Strength

There are multiple occasions of characters commenting on humans like Reimu being strong. Despite this Reimu showcases physical strength that isn't superhuman, such as the fact that she cannot cut a bamboo stick while Fujiwara direclty does in front of her.

This is due to the difference between magical and physical strength.

In works like Symposium of Post-mysticism, Yuugi Hoshiguma's profile has Suika directly state that Yuugi is weaker then her in magical powers, but stronger than her physically, lining a clear difference between magical and physical strength.

While one can be physically stronger then another, such as how Onis are physically the strongest, magic users are still able to keep up with them due to using a different form of attack.

An example can be found with Yuugi herself, when Reimu fights against her in Subterranean Animism, with her acknolwedging her strength, something Yuugi only does to those who are truly strong. This establishes even with spellcard rules, Yuugi considers Reimu a strong fighter. Reimu herself is very clearly not at an oni's physical strength, as she cannot do the things they can, however, her magical strength allows her to keep up with them.

To defend against magical based properties requires Non-Standard Defenses as it is acknowledged as not being something of standard physicality.

Trivia

• Sariel's design motif has since been used in other media, one of the most popular examples being Asriel Dreemurr & Toriel from Undertale, where they both share a similar outfit motif to Sariel's. Asriel's name is even has all the same letters as Sariel, the a and s are merely swapped. Even Toriel's name has the -riel part of the name, showing further similarity. This is clearly intentional too as Toby Fox is a fan of the Touhou series and has worked with ZUN before.
  • Asriel's name is also derived from Azrael, the angel of death, Sariel's title in Highly Reponsive to Prayers.

• Sariel's battlefield undergoes multiple transformations over the course of the fight: a starry night sky, a river flanked by two floating yin-yang orbs, what appears to be a blazing inferno with human arms stretching from the earth, and a set of orbs displaying scenes of Reimu and her shrine from a different point in time.

• During the second phase of the encounter, Sariel is depicted only in silhouette—a presentation style that would later become characteristic of Windows-era cover art. This marks the first instance in the entire Touhou series of a character appearing in silhouette.

• Sariel is also the first character in the franchise to be associated with more than one distinct musical theme.

• Sariel's in-game sprite was visually inspired by the sprite of the final boss from Tournament of the Gods II, a title developed by AliceSoft.

• The Western Fanbase of Touhou tends to have Sariel be shown to be with Rinnosuke Morichika, this is likely due their color schemes.

Gallery

• 

  Sariel's sketch art in the good ending credits

Misconceptions

Reimu is the 13th Hakurei Shrine Maiden

This misconception has been fully debunked by ZUN, essentially noting it were a lot of people that made additions to the original text causing confusion.

Characters Have Flown Through Outerspace

One example of this is believed to be in Touhou 02's Stage 3 Scarlet Dream ~ Scarlet Dream where it displays stars and a space-like effect in the background, however this is actually the World of Fantasies, the world that lies between Makai and the human world, with Genji confirming this is definetely not outerspace as Reimu can breathe just fine there.

All Characters are Children

This is an argument that spawns from how small the characters look in different works, though this is moreso due to the "moe" artstyle Touhou tries to capture, in many of the manga characters look far older.

Majority of characters in the series are outright shown to drink alcohol on a daily basis, where one needs to be at least 20 years old under Japanese law to drink, where Japanese law requires no underaged characters to be shown drinking. This is even acknowledged in the series itself with a note saying alcohol is only for those over 20 years old. Thus if a character is ever seen drinking alcohol in the series, they are an adult.

The only direct non-adults in the series are Sumireko Usami, Chiyuri Kitashirakawa, and Hieda no Akyuu in her first appearance.

Songs:

III Now, Until the Moment You Die We Shall Die Together/Civilization of Magic (Arranged name in Mystic Square's music room and Akyu's Untouched Score vol.5: Civilization of Magic)

Battle Records

0 - 1 - 0

VictoriesLossesInconclusive

None.

• Reimu Hakurei - Fight
  • Conditions: None.
  • Location: Final Stage - Makai Route

None.

References

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