東方三月精 ~ Visionary Fairies in Shrine. "Gensokyo's Weakest Are Back."

[Tiamat]

Well, if the wiki is correct on ZUN's old blog, Koakuma and Daiyousei are supposed to be mischievous and carefree.
As far as what he himself thinks of the two midbosses's personality.

Did he say that about Daiyousei too?  I thought ZUN only said that about Koakuma.  But I could be wrong.

[Drake]

ZUN: その性格は他の妖精と変わらず、陽気でいたずら好き。単純で表情豊かです。
ZUN: "Her personality, just like other fairies, is cheerful and mischevious. Simple and expressive."

He actually said it about Daiyousei first, then said "similar to the stage 2 boss[sic]". Really what he was going for with these two was that Daiyousei and Koakuma are two very similar characters, where Daiyousei is a particularly strong fairy (who are usually weak) and Koakuma is a particularly weak demon (who are usually strong). This is further reflected a bit in his choice of "names", contrasting "big fairy" and "little demon".

Really though this was all back in January 2004. His initial imagining of minor characters like this is pretty insignificant, and presenting them slightly differently than this one-off response to fit better 12 years later shouldn't be controversial nor unexpected.

[Reu]

Really though this was all back in January 2004. His initial imagining of minor characters like this is pretty insignificant, and presenting them slightly differently than this one-off response to fit better 12 years later shouldn't be controversial nor unexpected.

Never said anything like that, was only pointing out what ZUN said her personality to be in the first place.

Though the discussion between Daiyousei's supposed personality and the one scene she had in the fairies manga was a 2004-2007 gap iirc, dunno what you mean by 12 years later.

[Drake]

I meant having such a change now if she appeared in this manga. Regardless I think my comment holds for her appearance in SaBND as well; he might have had some imagining of Daiyousei in 2004, but it was pretty shallow and changing his mind isn't a big deal.

[HalfGrand]

First of all, I think it is fantastic that ZUN is still creating new Manga series to go along side his other Manga like WaHH and FS. It shows that his passion for Touhou still burns strong and that he still has ideas to build onto the world he created.

Honestly though, I am kind of disappointed that his new Manga is going to focus on these three characters... for the second time. The three mischievous fairies are my least favorite characters out of the whole long Touhou lineup and according to Touhou popularity polls, I'm not the only one who doesn't think that highly of them. Out of all the possible scenarios, characters to develop, places to flesh out and ideas to explore, ZUN wants to dedicate another Manga to these three insignificant Danmaku fodder that add nothing to the lore as a whole? Sometimes I really wonder what goes through ZUN's head when he plans out his Touhouverse.

We could have so many other more interesting stories to tell with more recognizable and loved characters than these three. We could have a Manga about Yuuka and her flower garden, Marisa and her thieving antics, something that explains Maribel Hearn and Renko Usami in more detail, backstory about Gensokyo before Reimu Hakurei and friends where born etc... but no, the focus is on these three little bastards again. Out of all the great things to make stories out of, it's these three again!

I mean, the three fairies seem so different to the rest of the Touhou cast that I find it kind of jarring sometimes. I mean, 90% of the cast have traditional Japanese names and then you have these three who's names are completely different. Star Sapphire sounds like a stripper name, Luna Child sounds like something that would be entered on a toddler fashion parade and Sunny Milk sounds like the name of a mascot on a packet of cereal. I know that they are faeries and so they are named differently than the regular cast, but still, imagine if Cirno was named Diamond Snowstorm or something.

I would have preferred any other scenario or main character(s) to these three again. I still have Eastern and Little Nature Deity sitting on my 'Too Read' list but I keep getting put off starting it because I really don't like these three numskulls.

Anything but them again ZUN! : <

[Prime32]

I would have preferred any other scenario or main character(s) to these three again. I still have Eastern and Little Nature Deity sitting on my 'Too Read' list but I keep getting put off starting it because I really don't like these three numskulls.

Anything but them again ZUN! : <

...so you hate something you've never read?

Honestly though, I am kind of disappointed that his new Manga is going to focus on these three characters... for the second time. The three mischievous fairies are my least favorite characters out of the whole long Touhou lineup and according to Touhou popularity polls, I'm not the only one who doesn't think that highly of them. Out of all the possible scenarios, characters to develop, places to flesh out and ideas to explore, ZUN wants to dedicate another Manga to these three insignificant Danmaku fodder that add nothing to the lore as a whole? Sometimes I really wonder what goes through ZUN's head when he plans out his Touhouverse.

Kosuzu sits in a shop all day and is actively shielded from learning certain information. The Fairies actively travel around Gensokyo getting involved in things. The fairies' manga aren't as dark as FS, but I'm not sure why you'd think they'd have have less worldbuilding. Heck, they've had long conversations with Yukari at least twice, where she talks about the true nature of youkai and the Great Hakurei Barrier.

I mean, the three fairies seem so different to the rest of the Touhou cast that I find it kind of jarring sometimes. I mean, 90% of the cast have traditional Japanese names and then you have these three who's names are completely different. Star Sapphire sounds like a stripper name, Luna Child sounds like something that would be entered on a toddler fashion parade and Sunny Milk sounds like the name of a mascot on a packet of cereal. I know that they are faeries and so they are named differently than the regular cast, but still, imagine if Cirno was named Diamond Snowstorm or something.

Lily White. Clownpiece.

Spoiler:

Patchouli Knowledge. Remilia Scarlet. Flandre Scarlet. Letty Whiterock. Alice Margatroid. Merlin Prismriver. Lyrica Prismriver. Lunasa Prismriver. Layla Prismriver. Wriggle Nightbug. Mystia Lorelei. Medicine Melancholy. Doremy Sweet.

And Cirno's name is basically a weird rendering of "Chilly" anyway.

[Tengukami]

Yeah, maybe not actually reading the other manga featuring them explains a lot of the complaints there...

Honestly, I think seeing Yuuka would be even weirder than the Three Fairies. But hey, fans gonna fan.

[Suspicious person]

Out of all the possible scenarios, characters to develop, places to flesh out and ideas to explore, ZUN wants to dedicate another Manga to these three insignificant Danmaku fodder that add nothing to the lore as a whole? Sometimes I really wonder what goes through ZUN's head when he plans out his Touhouverse.

Most of the various lore related elaborations and explanations from the mangas, novels and CD stories are mainly from the title characters'point of view (to a certain extent) : rather than serving the lore related stuff dry, the books are more about exploring the Touhouverse lore through the characters.

Compared to the more juicy stuff that Bougetsuhou, CoLA, RenMerries stories, WaHH and FS gave, the daily lives of the three fairies might seem boring an unappealing ; but if you look at it in another way, it's a breather : a fresh and simple addition to the already heavy and rich material available. Even Bougetsuhou, which had a fairly serious tone, had a light hearted 4koma side stories. And I don't quite think that these 4koma had a significant relevance, lore-wise.

Besides, there are new characters and new settings that weren't there back in the time of the three fairies. There many way of having them interact with these new things : trying their hand at urban legends ? Getting to know Shinmyoumaru ? Interacting with Clownpiece ? Or just a regular random adventure ? It's a good occasion to tie the old generation 2hus with the new ones. Besides, the book is not out yet, so it may turn out to be anything. Obviously, it's gonna be a Slice of Life kind-of manga so there won't be anything over the top

It's not quite possible to say what ZUN's thoughts and objectives were when he chose to start this new manga, but as far as character choices go, I think that there's no need to introduce new characters that would fullfill the same roles that some preexisting characters already do : If he intended to make another Slice of Life manga, new characters were never needed. Granted,  using more popular characters besides the three fairies might have been a valid move, but if ZUN chose these three then, hey, can't help it but trust the guy's judgment.



Anyway, it's not like we have a lot of information about this right now. It'd be better to just wait and see how it turns out, just in case this happens to end up being another Touhou-14.5-bashing-before-the-game-s-demo-actually-got-released.

[Reu]

First of all, I think it is fantastic that ZUN is still creating new Manga series to go along side his other Manga like WaHH and FS. It shows that his passion for Touhou still burns strong and that he still has ideas to build onto the world he created.

Honestly though, I am kind of disappointed that his new Manga is going to focus on these three characters... for the second time. The three mischievous fairies are my least favorite characters out of the whole long Touhou lineup and according to Touhou popularity polls, I'm not the only one who doesn't think that highly of them. Out of all the possible scenarios, characters to develop, places to flesh out and ideas to explore, ZUN wants to dedicate another Manga to these three insignificant Danmaku fodder that add nothing to the lore as a whole? Sometimes I really wonder what goes through ZUN's head when he plans out his Touhouverse.

We could have so many other more interesting stories to tell with more recognizable and loved characters than these three. We could have a Manga about Yuuka and her flower garden, Marisa and her thieving antics, something that explains Maribel Hearn and Renko Usami in more detail, backstory about Gensokyo before Reimu Hakurei and friends where born etc... but no, the focus is on these three little bastards again. Out of all the great things to make stories out of, it's these three again!

I mean, the three fairies seem so different to the rest of the Touhou cast that I find it kind of jarring sometimes. I mean, 90% of the cast have traditional Japanese names and then you have these three who's names are completely different. Star Sapphire sounds like a stripper name, Luna Child sounds like something that would be entered on a toddler fashion parade and Sunny Milk sounds like the name of a mascot on a packet of cereal. I know that they are faeries and so they are named differently than the regular cast, but still, imagine if Cirno was named Diamond Snowstorm or something.

I would have preferred any other scenario or main character(s) to these three again. I still have Eastern and Little Nature Deity sitting on my 'Too Read' list but I keep getting put off starting it because I really don't like these three numskulls.

Anything but them again ZUN! : <

I highly disagree for multiple reasons, for one thing the Three Fairies give us a decent point of view of things we really wouldn't be seeing with the other protags, and honestly the ONLY thing that I would prefer is a sonic universe comic type thing where each arc covers different characters to build the world as a secondary manga that ties in with the main series/other manga occasionally.

And quite frankly a manga purely about Marisa and Reimu or even Yuuka would honestly be quite boring for me, in one case the first two already get enough appearances as it is being the main characters and all, THEN they also play major roles in the other manga as pseudo protags there. For Yuuka she isn't really a good star if you ask me, she'd be fine as a supporting but I don't think her post-MS slowed down-not as fun cause older personality can support a whole manga to herself. Also I believe ZUN is keeping Maribel and Renko vague for a reason.

[Tiamat]

Yuuka's flower garden, meanwhile, would be much more restricted than that.  I'm.... honestly not sure what the heck you could do with her as a main character in the long term considering that she's really REALLY such an isolationist.

Maribel and Renko don't really need a manga because they already have their own ongoing series, even if it does take forever for each new story from that to come out.   Their series is one that doesn't require art anyways since it doesn't involve any other Touhou characters.  Of course, artwork of the various places they explore could be gorgeous but I imagine most manga artists would do an official Touhou manga with the intent to draw Touhou characters, not various real life locations...

Marisa can and does do thieving antics here and there in all the manga's she's in, which is all of them.  We don't need a manga starring her because she's already starring in other mangas a good chunk of the time (including the Three Fairy ones)

I imagine ZUN used the three fairies prior because they pretty much gave him an excuse to have a story anywhere that involves anyone as ZUN wanted.  I could have sworn he even explicitly said something to that effect in an interview but that was years ago.  Really, most of the other Gensokyo residents just don't travel around enough to fit the "Touhou character of the month" format that ZUN does his mangas in (one month of FS/ThreeFairies/WaHH/CoLA is centered around Kanaku's latest shenanigans, the next issue is about Reisen selling stuff, the next is about Kappa doing things, etc).  If ZUN wanted a serious story that focused on one story instead of "Touhou Character of the week", then sure, the Three Fairies are a bad choice for that.  But ZUN hasn't really done something like that since the post Imperishable Night manga/written work series, and I don't see any indication that he will again any time soon.  I too would love such a thing again but I'm not expecting it.  Like... ever again, really.

[Kasei]

First of all, I think it is fantastic that ZUN is still creating new Manga series to go along side his other Manga like WaHH and FS. It shows that his passion for Touhou still burns strong and that he still has ideas to build onto the world he created.

Honestly though, I am kind of disappointed that his new Manga is going to focus on these three characters... for the second time. The three mischievous fairies are my least favorite characters out of the whole long Touhou lineup and according to Touhou popularity polls, I'm not the only one who doesn't think that highly of them. Out of all the possible scenarios, characters to develop, places to flesh out and ideas to explore, ZUN wants to dedicate another Manga to these three insignificant Danmaku fodder that add nothing to the lore as a whole? Sometimes I really wonder what goes through ZUN's head when he plans out his Touhouverse.

We could have so many other more interesting stories to tell with more recognizable and loved characters than these three. We could have a Manga about Yuuka and her flower garden, Marisa and her thieving antics, something that explains Maribel Hearn and Renko Usami in more detail, backstory about Gensokyo before Reimu Hakurei and friends where born etc... but no, the focus is on these three little bastards again. Out of all the great things to make stories out of, it's these three again!

I mean, the three fairies seem so different to the rest of the Touhou cast that I find it kind of jarring sometimes. I mean, 90% of the cast have traditional Japanese names and then you have these three who's names are completely different. Star Sapphire sounds like a stripper name, Luna Child sounds like something that would be entered on a toddler fashion parade and Sunny Milk sounds like the name of a mascot on a packet of cereal. I know that they are faeries and so they are named differently than the regular cast, but still, imagine if Cirno was named Diamond Snowstorm or something.

I would have preferred any other scenario or main character(s) to these three again. I still have Eastern and Little Nature Deity sitting on my 'Too Read' list but I keep getting put off starting it because I really don't like these three numskulls.

Anything but them again ZUN! : <

I pretty much fully agree. The three fairies are basically wasted potential : the fairies themselves really aren't too interesting (or at least, not interesting enough to merit another manga), and whilst they do allow for worldbuilding, the interesting parts (the aforementioned conversations with Yukari, for example) are so few and far between that you could cut out most of the manga and it would still be the same.
The existing mangas were fun, don't get me wrong. It's just a real shame that ZUN's going to focus on the yet again, instead of... almost anything else, really.

[Tengukami]

(On a side note, you guys really don't need to quote the entire content of someone's post to show who you're responding to, especially if it's a text wall.)

I imagine ZUN used the three fairies prior because they pretty much gave him an excuse to have a story anywhere that involves anyone as ZUN wanted.

This is my feeling, too. It's a very common device to employ a marginal character or characters' perspective on the major players in a cast in order to provide some kind of "outsider's perspective". It's a narrative tool that gives an author a lot of freedom to flesh out the rest of the cast more fully. I get the frustration that personal favorite girls are not being focussed on instead, but even if VFiS is pretty much just about the Three Fairies, alone, with no other involvement of any other characters, the previous manga certainly wasn't that, and major players like Marisa are well-worn ground.

At the same time, I recognize it's hard to separate invested interests from the content creator's choices. We're all fans of what ZUN puts out, and look forward to what he's going to do next with anticipation. It's hard to not feel let down when the creator makes a choice you personally wouldn't make. I get that. I'm just offering the suggestion that maybe there was a deliberate narrative reason for making the choice he did, and maybe it's a biiiiit too soon to completely dismiss this new manga altogether.

[Drake]

Most of the various lore related elaborations and explanations from the mangas, novels and CD stories are mainly from the title characters'point of view (to a certain extent) : rather than serving the lore related stuff dry, the books are more about exploring the Touhouverse lore through the characters.

I highly disagree for multiple reasons, for one thing the Three Fairies give us a decent point of view of things we really wouldn't be seeing with the other protags

I imagine ZUN used the three fairies prior because they pretty much gave him an excuse to have a story anywhere that involves anyone as ZUN wanted.

* Drake sheds a proud tear

[Plubio]

Honestly though, I am kind of disappointed that his new Manga is going to focus on these three characters... for the second time. The three mischievous fairies are my least favorite characters out of the whole long Touhou lineup and according to Touhou popularity polls, I'm not the only one who doesn't think that highly of them. Out of all the possible scenarios, characters to develop, places to flesh out and ideas to explore, ZUN wants to dedicate another Manga to these three insignificant Danmaku fodder that add nothing to the lore as a whole? Sometimes I really wonder what goes through ZUN's head when he plans out his Touhouverse.

While I understand your complain (even if I don't agree with it ? but opinion diversity is great so) I wanna remind you of something.
Is not the first time ZUN says he does whatever he feels like doing on his games (or whatever Touhou-canon-related). I'm 100% sure that he doesn't follow up the fandom trends. If that would be the case, there would be Mimas every game or Sakuya as a playable character in every Touhou. And that's not the case.
I think that he likes the fairies so he's using them again, maybe for something bigger this time or who knows. They let us understand Gensokyo in a different way, as Kosuzu let us understand Gensokyo from a mere human standpoint, for example.

And personally I think is great to have a bunch of stories with a fairy point of view.

[PK]

I think that he likes the fairies so he's using them again, maybe for something bigger this time or who knows.

That'd be great. Looking at the english title it might have something more to do with the shrine. They could even discover who/what the Hakurei God is :V

[Alcoraiden]

Aw dammit. I hate these fairies and want ZUN to leave them by the wayside where I think they belong. ><

[Tengukami]

Maybe some of y'all can sign a group e-mail petitioning ZUN to abandon this project and do a manga about Yuuka.

[Drake]

change.org

[Tengukami]

change.org

Dozo.

[Critz]

Well, it *is* a quarterly series, guys. While I'm not particularly thrilled either and don't expect much compared to WaHH and FS, it's not like this will take ZUN's attention away from making the games.

On the other hand, it would be pretty swell of VFiS to give some spotlight to those who desperately need it - it could singlehandedly save the DDC cast by fleshing them out. The "higher deck" works seem to treat anyone not named Seija or Shinmyoumaru like they don't exist, whereas the new fairy manga could use the fairies as an excuse to provide some details on the Grassroots Youkai Network or the new life of the tsukumogami trio. Especially since the first three bosses got cheated out of even the usual pre-battle banter characterization by not being lucid at the time and the Tsukumo sisters didn't have much characterization to spare in the first place.

Not that I would balk at more LoLK cast, since they made much more of an impression on me, but they can wait for something more serious (read: another moon-themed work, which will appear without a doubt sooner or later).

[Drake]

Dozo.

lmao the best
why jack nicklaus

[Tengukami]

lmao the best
why jack nicklaus

Just look at that drive



How could it not be Jack Nicklaus?

[7TC7]

I am very excited about the return of my favorite trio of whimsical mischief makers. They always showed a side of Gensokyo much different from any other work and their victories and failings were always amusing to watch. The sheer length of their story also meant, that there are lots of great moments I remember with them and I am sure, they will not disappoint in there return.

Speaking of them, I feel it worth mentioning that Hirasaka Makoto never really stopped writing about these three, which is why it makes sense to me that she would come back to write for them in canon.
As far as I know she put out 5 more volumes since the official manga stopped, a 6th one being announced not long before the announcement of the official return. They feel very much like the official stories with them, so they are surely worth a read for fans.
The first three volumes are about the first meeting of the three fairies, while the other two volumes are about them with Kokoro and Koishi.

The following links go to danbooru pools, so there might be NSFW adds!
Vol.1
Vol.2
Vol.3
---
Vol.1
Vol.2

[cuc]

Hirasaka had finished drawing the first chapter.

[Tiamat]

I am very excited about the return of my favorite trio of whimsical mischief makers. They always showed a side of Gensokyo much different from any other work and their victories and failings were always amusing to watch. The sheer length of their story also meant, that there are lots of great moments I remember with them and I am sure, they will not disappoint in there return.

Speaking of them, I feel it worth mentioning that Hirasaka Makoto never really stopped writing about these three, which is why it makes sense to me that she would come back to write for them in canon.
As far as I know she put out 5 more volumes since the official manga stopped, a 6th one being announced not long before the announcement of the official return. They feel very much like the official stories with them, so they are surely worth a read for fans.
The first three volumes are about the first meeting of the three fairies, while the other two volumes are about them with Kokoro and Koishi.

The following links go to danbooru pools, so there might be NSFW adds!
Vol.1
Vol.2
Vol.3
---
Vol.1
Vol.2

...that.... I don't know if I find that really sweet that the artist loved them so much that she continued drawing them even after their official manga ended, or really heartbreaking that the artist loved them so much that she continued drawing them even after their official manga ended.  Maybe it's a mix of both.

Side topic:  I wonder if ZUN ever told her the canon reason why Sunny Milk hates Lilly White. 

Spoiler:

At least in that unofficial comic, apparently when Sunny saw her for the first time, Lily blasted Sunny with a ton of danmaku with her spring declaration

[CyberAngel]

...that.... I don't know if I find that really sweet that the artist loved them so much that she continued drawing them even after their official manga ended, or really heartbreaking that the artist loved them so much that she continued drawing them even after their official manga ended.  Maybe it's a mix of both.

I'd be hard-pressed to remember a doujin manga about the fairies by someone else. ...Actually, I can't remember a single doujin manga about fairies by someone else. That's touching indeed.

[Ps]

I'd be hard-pressed to remember a doujin manga about the fairies by someone else. ...Actually, I can't remember a single doujin manga about fairies by someone else. That's touching indeed.

Doujinshi.org has you covered. These are the results for works with all three fairies, there are a few more that only feature one or two. There are also slightly more results when including porn. Even so, there definitely aren't very many.

[cuc]

ZUN: I forgot to make the announcement. A new episode of "Touhou Sangetsusei" will begin serialization in this month's Comp Ace. The manga is a heartwarming, easygoing account of the shrine behind the curtains of its contemporary serialization Forbidden Scrollery. A chapter will be published every three months. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

[Tiamat]

Well, guess that confirms it's easy-going rather than something dark/serious/whatever.  Not that most of us didn't know that already but a few people here (or one. I forget) were hoping it'd be something more serious.

[Usamiko]

Huh, I must be one of the few fans who prefer the lighthearted nature of Touhou. The 'serious/dark' aspects of the series I find quite boring tbh and I can't take them seriously at all.

But anyways, I'm definitely looking forward to this! :3