Thread not dead! Only distracted by Dragon Age!
Shinki ? Legendary Illusion ∼ Infinite Being.
This piece is about nothing less than a God - a truly divine being immaculate in her splendor - and her realm. She is a different kind of God to Kanako ? the latter is an animistic goddess, more of a protector of her realm, invincible whilst in it, but ultimately tied to it ? should her realm weaken, then so will Kanako. Shinki, however, holds absolute power in and of her realm. It is not conceivable for her realm to weaken, as she could simply choose to make it stronger. Indeed, Shinki?s power is almost of Biblical proportions, as she is able to create and shape all around her to her whim. Of course, in her divinity she is not without flaws, and these really flavour her behaviour, giving the listener a glimpse into her motivations and her desires.
The piece starts off with the now-familiar Makaian atmosphere. This time, however, it feels charged, much like how one can feel the tension in the air before a thunderstorm. The energy present does not go anywhere because it already has nowhere to go ? everything around the listener is saturated to the brim with a power that seemingly comes from all places at once. Much like with Yukari, it is impossible for Shinki to be in the vicinity and for everyone not to feel it at once. It is not a benevolent, nor a malevolent power that the listener feels, however. It is a power that is simply there, doing what it is meant to do, regardless of whether it helps or harms someone.
Then Shinki appears. Several factors come together to create this awesome atmosphere around her. Of course, the melody?s long, sustained, smooth notes playing a confident theme create the necessary sense of majesty, the impression that this person has the luxury of deciding her own pace, as nothing can stop her from doing so. The supporting sharp chords almost echo, which adds that cosmic expansiveness that we?ve often heard in other boss themes. The deep, unrelenting bass adds a seriousness to the generally high-pitched melody, almost a growl to remind the listener in whose presence he is in. Ornamentation appears quite often in this segment, adding a bizarre touch of playfulness to a generally grim and cosmic melody ? this clearly comes from Shinki herself, as if she is playing with her surroundings as if they were mere clay at her hands, shaping the world around her to fit her tastes.
The atmosphere changes greatly in the second part of the piece, and here is where we learn about Shinki?s inner workings. The oppressive bass retreats to the background, and the echoing chords vanish. Instead of the dignified, almost solemn melody of the first part we hear an upbeat, simple 2x4-bar tune, employing a significant amount of syncopation, mostly in major. I believe that Shinki is, for all her grandness and power, quite childishly selfish. She is a great craftsman, and she knows it ? she enjoys her work and takes pride in her creations, but, on the flipside, she wants to keep them to herself, wants to surround things completely under her control, and hates intruders and anything that might upset her perfect little world. Obviously she would react poorly to the protagonists? assault on Makai.
The third part, shortest of all three, seems the inevitable conclusion of the character traits we see in the second. The melody is subdued, no longer tending to hop across the octaves. Bell-like sounds accompany the melody to add back in the characteristic otherwordly feeling into the generally melancholic motif. Soon enough, what could pass for an oboe enters the melody, adding that very powerful, lonely sound on top of everything else. Yes, Shinki, in her state of self-imposed solitary confinement, where everything is under her control, is lonely. In that case it?s quite expected that she would cause such an upset as opening up Makai to the outside world for a breath of fresh air, as it were.
I hope I?ve made some satisfactory points about Shinki, her being our first really major character from the PC-98 era. I don?t know if I?m grasping at smoke here, but I?m really seeing some severe differences between PC-98 and Windows Touhou, mostly the increase of grimdark aspects. I?ll honestly say I thought people were talking rubbish when they were saying old Touhou was darker, but, well, I?m convinced.
