Yuuma Toutetsu

Image from Touhou Gouyoku Ibun ~ Sunken Fossil World (video game, 2022)

Matriarch of the Gouyoku Alliance

Copy Type

Original Media: Touhou Gouyoku Ibun ~ Sunken Fossil World (video game, 2022)

Yuuma Toutetsu

Story

Note: The second paragraph of this section is based almost entirely on details from official Touhou media; while some of it was adapted in stories in The Chaos Zone, most of it went unmentioned; it is important for understanding Yuuma’s past, though, so I have chosen to include it.

The second paragraph also mentions blood, so if you’re sensitive to such, be wary.

Yuuma is a taotie (a creature from ancient Chinese mythology), and the chairwoman of the Gouyoku Alliance, a gangster-like group with origins in Yuuma’s old home of the Animal Realm, an infernal world inhabited by countless animal spirits, who generally align themselves with groups like the Gouyoku Alliance for survival in its harsh, “might makes right”-based environment. That said, Yuuma isn’t especially close with those in the Gouyoku Alliance; she often prefers to do her own thing, and those in the Alliance tend to follow suit by doing their own thing.

This almost changed, however, when Yuuma came across the Sea of Petroleum deep within the “Old Hell” of Gensokyo, planning to use it as a dangerous tool to empower herself and the Gouyoku Alliance. Many tried to confront her, but while some of them were able to learn more about the Sea (such as its true nature as the Abandoned Hell of Blood Pools, a sea of blood from condemned souls), only one of them was able to actually defeat Yuuma: with the help of the deity Okina Matara, Yuuma was fooled into absorbing enough blood to become a giant, abominable creature, with her body being destroyed by her own attacks being used against her.

When Yuuma revived from the above experience (it’s never explained how exactly she revived), she found herself in Gensokyo, stripped of the power of the Blood Pools. With Gensokyo as a whole skeptical and averse to the lifestyle of the Animal Realm, Yuuma was unable to find much of a chance to restore her power…which led to Okina returning, this time giving Yuuma the offer to watch over the Blood Pools for her, as someone who both knew of its horrific power and how to control it. Unsure if she was really being given the best deal, Yuuma bargained four days to “think it over”.

Half of the time Yuuma was given to “think it over” was time she actually spent exploring outside Gensokyo, trying to see if she could settle down elsewhere for a better deal. It was through this exploration that she met Kogasa for the second time, and Daiyousei for the first time; while Kogasa was skeptic at first (having seen Yuuma’s actions in the Blood Pools with her own three eyes), both of them moreso expressed concern with the idea of affiliating with Okina; the deity had never told Yuuma about her more questionable actions, seeking attention by dangerously hijacking a festival (as seen in the book Grimoire of Usami), toying with the life force of fairies and viciously attacking the fairies who dared to challenge her (the final chapters of the comic book Visionary Fairies in Shrine), and even manipulating the life force of all of Gensokyo (the game Hidden Star in Four Seasons).

Learning the harrowing truth of Okina led to Yuuma being plagued with self-doubt over the kind of person she’d become herself. Just as it seemed she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, she found herself in Ruin Stage, and met Dual Lamia, who was more welcoming of Yuuma; even after Yuuma told Lamia about what brought her there, Lamia suggested the possibility that instead of trying to relapse into her old ways, she start a new life away from Gensokyo. After thinking it over, Yuuma decided she’d rather do such than be a pawn of Okina, and after rejecting Okina’s deal, Yuuma settled down in Ruin Stage, where she’s been living since.

Yuuma’s changed quite a lot from her beginnings in the story to now: She was once quite a scoundrel, taking advantage of people who weren’t paying attention, and generally using sneaky tactics to gain power. By the time she settled in Ruin Stage, however, she became more laid-back and affable, sincerely regretting her past choices to the point she’d understand if not everyone forgave her.

Voice

General Description

Adult; somewhat high-pitched, and a little gruff; slightly spunky; can give a sense of demanding authority if she needs to

Behind the Scenes

Yuuma was a character I considered introducing to Chaos Zone for a good while after her debut game; with how surprisingly villainous she acted (a surprise to me as many past antagonists of the Touhou series have gone on to be forgiven or accepted to some degree), I initially considered keeping her an antagonist, such as one who was lurking in the shadows.

The spark that inspired me to introduce Yuuma to Chaos Zone in late 2022 was a result of personal beliefs I began to hold regarding the idea of redemption (including ideas loosely related to the character of Eustace in the 1952 book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader); I thought of the strange possibility of Yuuma, antagonistic as she looked and acted, finding a path to a better life.

From this, I thought of a plotline that split off from how Sunken Fossil World originally ended (with Yuuma accepting the deal and becoming no better a person) and explored more of the morally questionable actions from the other character involved in the deal, Okina, and what characters had been affected by her in ways Yuuma didn’t know. With Gensokyo not being walled off from the rest of the world in Chaos Zone, that also gave me a chance to let Yuuma find another place where she could start a new life.

While she wasn’t especially complicated to write (even if it’s somewhat complicated to explain her), I found establishing Yuuma in The Chaos Zone an interesting experience, especially in contrast to official Touhou media, which still portrays her as villainous (such as in the 2023 game Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost).

Brash Buster