CountVonNumenor

That is true. I feel like Chapter 3 has been quite a mess. Very long, with unnecessary detours and a lot of characters coming out of the blue, especially at the end of the chapter. The beginning of the Finale did not really help either, but I think that is perhaps I did not understand all the cultural references as an outsider. But at leas it was a little bit shorter than the previous chapter... Did Japan get the next story, or we pretty much caught up with them? Also a question for everyone: out of all the events in the past year, which one has been your favorite?

Honestly, now I really am curious for that history less. I get to learn a bit more about Burma from someone living there This reminds me of a similar discussion I have seen a long time ago. It is apparently something about people being interested to reveal more out of a character that s already wearing a lot of clothes instead of going for one that barely wears any. It is as as if we had some sort of desire - the more clothes there are, the greater the desire to see the person (or character) without them on. Which is some interesting line of though. My guess is that it causes curiosity in the mind of a human, looking to reveal whatever secret is hidden beneath all those clothes. It's basically like unwrapping a present if we are to thing of it as such. And speaking of desires, here comes a new round of questions: Why do people like so much seeing porn/erotic material done based on their favorite franchises? Like where is the charm coming from? Is it some sort of desire we have, or we merely treat is as just another object for satisfying our short-terms needs and wants? Could that desire for sex not be satisfied through other means? Like if you want some porn, why does it need to be about your favorite character(s)? I am also asking because this sort of thing (the existence and commonality of spicy materials related to my favorite series and characters) is basically a new experience for me. My personal stance on such materials can be very much split into two stages: the BEFORE and AFTER finding out what Danbooru is. Until finding out that website, I could not really conceive the idea of going after or seeing so much explicit material related to the thing you like. One of my friends pretty much decided to get me into a "drunk watch of Star Wars R34 art", minus the "drunk" part - all I can say is that evening was a little difficult to digest. Skipping a few months after that event, directly to when I found Touhou (so in like December 2020). Just as I drew my first Touhou fanart (seen in the Anime thread), and was asking by this friend why did I draw something with so small boobs. I told him a bit about what Touhou is, showed him a bit of official art, then he asked me what was the name of the character (I showed him an official art sprite of Yuyuko from PCB). Less than a minute later, what is the first thing he decided to show me? A R34 image of Yuyuko - my first taste of such content when it comes to Touhou. I was quite a bit shocked to see it, even if he intended it just as a joke and to get a laugh out of my innocence I still had at the time. Skip about a year later, and my first discovery of Danbooru. Initially, I was not even supposed to be on that website. I was using Safebooru for adding images to my collection, and remarked that by searching "Iku Nagae" I could not find anything. Thinking there was something wrong, I decided to go for other boards. Without paying too much attention, I ended up on her Danbooru page (and also realized I had to search it as "Nagae Iku"). What was the first thing that got into my face? Pretty much any kind of R18 I could imagine - from nude pose to intercourse (both straight and yuri - Tenshi included). For a while, I pretty much decided to NOPE, and stayed on Safebooru. But eventually, I ended up replacing Safebooru with Danbooru. For the past 6 months, I have only using the latter on a daily basis, so in the end I feel like I got quite desensitized to such kind of content. Therefore, my question when it came to all this research was out of curiosity, not any kind of outrage for the existence of such content. I pretty much went from "I cannot imagine this kind of content existing/I don't really want to be in contact with it or purposefully go after it" to "alright, this exists, I guess [example fitting my mentioned requirements] looks rather neat". Probably the creation of this thread was also the effect of simply going to Twitter one day based on a Danbooru link to check out the original artist, and saw that the artist retweeted dozens of other NSFW artists who were drawing Touhou stuff (I will be honest, some of it was rather neat, in other instances I was surprised as basically I did not know there was also an NSFW version of an image I was used to), and that made me start this question of why there is so much popularity for such depictions.

Time to make an update and bring the news roundup (it seems like I am pretty much the only one still keeping alive this place, so at least I should do it properly) News and Updates Maintenance starts in a few hours, so here are the things we have or will have soon enough: maintenance brings up another SFES character, the version of Sakuya we have seen in the newest Hifuu story, a special battle stage against Hifuu Remilia, Kogasa and retro Kanako banner, Mirror of Rebirth stages can be played 6 times a day instead of 3 for a limited time and Daily Quests are back (time to beat lvl 10 Star, Luna and Sunny again) Kakashi Spirit News has returned with a second issue (always good for getting a condensed, more focused version of the updates list) - thank you Hatate, I guess already mentioned in the two bits of info, we are getting new Fantasy Rebirth outfits, as well as a glimpse at what will come next (I know where I will use a ring at some point) - right now. 6/17 update gives us Mokou, Kaguya and Eirin JP is getting a bunch of new retro characters - both Scarlet and Komeiji sisters have been featured in Scarlet Devil Tower, so they will most likely come as a banner as well at some point (although retro Koishi banner seems to have already been announced) now on with the next category Miscellaneous community talk and memes a bit of talk in regards to the final act of the Hakugyokuro Arena story - after the mess that was Act 3, Act 4 ended up a bit quickly, and after some potential buildup that went nowhere there seems to be a trend nowadays of drawing renditions of what would MC ("main character"/insert however you decided to call her) look like based on the info we have received in the story and interactions; this is one of my favorite versions of her Sr Pelo has decided to delight us with some Patchouli art - everyone jumped to notice the reference he seems to have made to the Scarlet Win, White Win story card and the pose Patchy does in that artwork looks like it took someone quite a bit to realize Alterisa, Blue Reimu and Mysterious Sword Master are basically Hisoutensoku palette swaps and last but not least, this meme

Huh, so that is more than just a joke? In a way I feel impressed, but at the same time a little bit disappointed. But nothing to really bother me so much. Everyone has their own reasons for enjoying this series. Yes, I am familiar with at least a part of the cast and the original beasts of mythology that inspired them. And, if you took a look into the Nature of Gensokyo thread, I was having quite a bit of fun together with @Gou the frog in regards to mythical and cultural origins of some of the characters, while thinking of possible theories on how we ended with cute girls instead of the scary beasts of old from a lore point of view as well as what would happen if other pantheons somehow made their way to Gensokyo.

Continuing this thread in parallel with the newly one about modern Japanese art style and artistic choices.

I am not very sure about the Discord part, as I am neither on the MS Discord server, now am I aware of sharing a server with any of you. But nice to see we both appreciate the song. I have first found A Modern Girl Walks the Street thanks to Cinnamon, Cinnamon!! as it was exactly the next recommendation down the list. As for Cinnamon, Cinnamon!! I can thank the songs contest - now I am stuck with that song in my head (as well as the two songs from UNDEAD CORPORATION and the Pristine Beat arrangement from House Set of DDC) That one was my absolute favorite song out of Round 1 (and probably the best overall until now). Anyway, both of them are very good.

Got myself with 3 very cool songs recently, but now I am in the awkward situation of not being able to find the images used (dead IDs or just old content the artists may have deleted). Anyway, one song I have found thanks to a connection to the remix tournament: A Modern Girl Walks the Street. Circle: 全自動少女 (Automata Girl) The other things I have found are from UNDEAD CORPORATION. How did it take me so long to find them as a music group? Even if I got ever so remotely into their songs, there are quite some good ones (and some with little surprises) Embraced by the Flame - first of all, nice to see an arrangement in English. so I can finally sing along. It is rock, so bonus points. Last but not least, congrats to this song for actually making it into a mainstream western meme ("Mr Incredible becomes Ascended"), even if most would not even notice where those few seconds of song came from. Yogoto no Yami no Okusoko de Alright, I really love this one. Apparently, it is power metal or something (I am not very used to the classifications), but to me, it generally falls under the "rock" umbrella. Despite the song being in Japanese, it has quite the pretty vocals thanks to Merami. As reading the lyrics (the linked video will have English and Spanish lyrics as subtitle), it created a slight, yet very pleasant feeling of anxiety, which very much fits the theme of the song - an encounter with Rumia at night. I think the absolute hook for me was the instrumental. From the very start, the vocals + guitar got my curiosity, then THAT DRUM, that goddamn drum absolutely got me in. Also, does anyone know what sort of drums are those? they sound a little different from anything I am used to, but I love them so much.

News roundup 10/06/2022 Game update coming in a few hours after maintenance: There is also a cleaner version of the update info, done by a user of the subreddit (I think this Kakashi Spirit thing will sort of becoming a recurring element of that group, and I am very much up for that): This is the beginning of what I said in regards to the Kakashi style news thing https://www.reddit.com/r/touhou_lostword/comments/v5dukf/kakashi_spirit_news_issue_no1/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 Also for some other news from Global and JP servers: Touhou 18 cast is actually coming - first unit released on JP seems to be Misumaru, rated as FES unit. More about that here: meanwhile, Global will receive Keiki and Kutaka (time for the community to continue the Kutaka & her KFC style outfit jokes continue - that is a legit costume she can get) Yakumo Ambition event starting in a few hours on Global not really big news, but someone found a funny reference in regards to a pose done by Kanako and Suwako: Last hours of Conflux battle stage, I guess. I was thinking to talk a bit about it, but got way too annoyed by the locking mechanic that I dropped the stage after trying to get more than 0 stars of Hard (funny how they actually give you 0 stars, but still count it as a Clear). And after that, everything else happened, so I lost the chance to talk about that event battle. Anyone else played it or wants to share? I just think it was extremely annoying, and quite the epitome of my hate for the "Binding" mechanic.

Interesting thought. However, what is the proof for it? I mean I have personally seen it too in more or less ironic tones being said, but I never really took it seriously. It is basically this situation (cue to An Incorrect Summary of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance) My_source_is_that_I_made_it_the_F_up.mp4 Still, interesting point. Alo, despite this coming from Reddit (and a 9 years old thread to add to it), what this person said is not to be ignored: (original thread: Help me understand ZUN's philosophy https://www.reddit.com/r/touhou/comments/1rhif8/help_me_to_understand_zuns_philosophy/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) Back in the days when pirate websites like Moriya Shrine were still seen as justified, ZUN was not even planning to port his games to Steam yet as he was not caring about anything outside Japan, and the first fan-made anime were getting into a bit of trouble with the use of professional voice acting Meanwhile, there is also this opinion, much more recent, coming from Danbooru (as I was talking about that website in a recent discussion), in the context of a Touhou image that sparked much controversy: Then, there is this discussion based on a story card from Touhou LostWord which for some reason caught up on Twitter, then was discussed again on Reddit (sometimes, I really need to use any source if it is for research and studying human behaviour): Alright, now with the actual opinions expressed about the card itself, art and reception: User 1: I don't know if it's the reason in this particular case but I've seen a lot of people on Twitter who genuinely hate over-sexualisation of Touhou characters, which is really weird to me considering that a massive proportion of fanworks do over-sexualise the characters and that's a pretty big part of why the series is as big as it is (which is ironic considering the art ZUN draws). This game literally wouldn't exist if hordes of degenerates didn't draw mountains of Touhou porn over the last 20 years, increasing attention to the series, and I applaud their service. User 2 (reply): It’s not that hard to understand why a large portion of fans would hate over-sexualization when you consider that almost all the cannon material is void of sexualization. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that promotional Yuugi art by Alphes. User 3 (reply to User 1): This is quite an overstatement, imo. How many of those people who stumbled across porn as their exclusive first experience of touhou actually ended up supporting the game monetarily? How many people exist that actually had the porn as their first experience in the first place? How many people go spend money on non-porn content due to seeing porn online in general? Considering how many people have seen Bad Apple/U.N. Owen was her and other Touhou related music/video content (especially being featured in a lot of Nico Nico Douga videos), I sincerely find it hard to believe that a majority of consumers came from porn and not the variety of other content on many other websites nor do I believe the porn is high on the list of defining features that contribute towards purchase decisions that result in money that goes towards the game's development (I doubt ZUN sees any of the money from doujin/porn producers and people aren't buying the game for ZUN's attractive art). All of that is to say that the game series has far more qualities to it that far outweigh the porn aspect as far as its success. Saying the touhou series wouldn't exist without porn is like saying that every game and anime wouldn't exist without porn. It's absurdity. User 4 (reply to User 3): I am personally a degenerate so I whole-heartedly welcome the lewding, but I could see how somebody could dislike the over-sexualization. While l00ds have definitely helped the community grow, I wouldn't go so far as to say that they are a crucial part of the fandom. The mainline games as well as the SFW creative freedom that ZUN promotes is what has shaped the community by and large, and I think those alone could have definitely kept the fandom alive and well, if smaller. Somebody who loves the mainline games and/or characters might not like the franchise getting 'degraded' into just sexy anime women. User 5 (reply): This, for the most part. It seems to happen with basically every gacha game because the majority of the playerbase is, to put it bluntly, desperately horny. It stands out more here because unlike, say, Fate (which has characters like Nero) and Fire Emblem (ditto Tharja), Touhou has never been a "sexy" series. Hell, it's never even lived in the same town. I have a sex drive as functional as anyone else's and I enjoy a nice rack, but I also realize that I can find more porn on the internet, for free, than I could ever consume in my lifetime, so it doesn't need to be part of my gaming as well. Nobody likes a coomer who can't enjoy anything they can't get off to, and I have a lot of respect for ZUN keeping lewd content decisively out of his games. Seeing it here just feels crass. At least for now, I am not here to express my opinion on the matter. The materials presented are offered for starting a discussion, and anyone can take whatever they want out of it (after all, we have the right to expressing our opinion). Just let the info sink in...

A bit of text from a different era. Before the Touhou era, I have gone through a few more series. However, never so quick as from November 2019 to October 2021.In less than a year, i have gone the following route: Star Wars, -> WH40k -> SMG4/Meta Runner -> Rhythm Heaven -> Touhou Project. Each time I got into something new, passion for each being more and more intense. When I got into Touhou, I realize I might have gone a bit too far down the rabbit hole of Japanese stuff, and since I tried to basically quarantine it and not get any further into the rabbit hole of anime (even if Touhou is a game series). Only exception ever since was Hellsing Ultimate Abridged, but I was quite chill with that one (and that one also happened in late 2022, so out of the time frame) Anyway, here is an example of writing I was doing back in the spring of 2020, while still being under lockdown and in the Meta Runner phase. At the time, Season 1 was still rather fresh, Season 2 was still a few month before getting announced, and I was binge watching SMG4 as there was nothing better to do. (originally posted here https://european-war-4.boards.net/thread/12720/meta-runner) It was the first time I was actually getting crazy for something, rewatching it multiple times and trying to find out as much as I could. At some point, I even found concept art for the character of Tari, and I was simply amazed by the idea of finding such a thing. Nowadays, I am more chill about the show. I started Season 2 when it appeared (October 2020, every Friday at local hour 23:00), but somehow lost track midway through. A lot of designs changed, some for the better and some...that maybe could have stayed the same, but there was indeed a bit of progress in animation (this whole thing is made in Unreal Engine). And now that a third season was announced (and further seasonal redesings), I am completely clueless. Season 1 Tari Concept art, apparently inspired by a drawing done by the younger sister of the creators

Following the second survey, this time, on r/touhou, results are up. Unfortunately, I could only get half the number of people involved, and so things are slightly less interesting. But, when it comes to the results, this is where we are (based on a 3 days poll): a total of 160 participants "I like it a lot/Ilove it" - 8.75% "I like it quite a bit" - 30.62% "It is OK/could have been better" - 28.75% "I don't really like it" - 6.87% "I hate it" - 3.75% "I have not played the game" - 21.25% This with this poll have gone...the way they did. At least in initial stages, based on poor reception. Which might explain the lower number of votes, as Lost Word has become in just a year some sort of stigma in the Touhou community. I think the following post reflects quite well the situation presented: But of course, the most popular comment was the one saying "I have not played Lost Word", to which "based" and "the only correct answer" ensued.

Ah, yes. From this, I can understand 2 things: 1) the isekai harem protagonist part reminds me a lot about the idea of "John 2hu" 2) I heave heard of Invincible ever since Moriya Salesman brought it to YouTube. However, I have also heard a lot of negative opinions about the animation itself. It would be quite a shame if that thread is indeed gone. The whole premise sounded like something that was really worth exploring. The story, from what I managed to understand, is as it follows. I don't know how much of it is canon, and how much is fanon. Apparently, after Hou Yi killed Junko's son and husband, he took her as his wife. However, through some court plotting, Junko ended up killing him. And from then on, she kept the grudge on Chang'e, even if she was not directly involved. This whole thing goes into one of the version of the story of Chang'e and Hou Yi. It is he version in which she took the immortality elixir in order to escape from her husband, and in the end he became some sort of kind or something (can't remember exactly the details), or he just ended up killed by someone. Anyway, it is the version of the story in which Chang'e taking the elixir was not out of sacrifice. On a different note, why is Junko usually associated with the Xia dynasty of China (second millennium BCE)? I have watched this video long ago. I really like it though, just as the one about the history of the entire world, I guess. Also feel free to reply whenever you feel like it, as I have a few other threads going on and some more in planning.

News roundup for the end of May 2022: 1) Updates for June 2022 Global Conflux Battles ft. the Youmus (L1, R8, and B3). Unknown if it will be rerun. Special tasks for Fantasy Rebirth. A free Ring of Fate can be obtained. Good monthly login bonus for June with 50 cubes in total, Paper Doll, Divine Doll, Fortune Dust, 50 mirrors for characters with pre-existing rebirths Fantasy Rebirths for June are Ran, Chen, Mokou, Kaguya and Eirin (Note: at the time of this post, both Kaguya and Eirin do not have the costumes in JP yet) Weekly Arena planned for June 24th Event in June is Yakumo’s Ambition (about time) (one of the events Global skipped) General pool units for June are Kogasa, Mystia, Futo and Kutaka JP June Rebirth 2.0 Marisa (again) Sakuya (again) Reisen (again) Byakuren Kanako Nitori Red further in the original thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/touhou_lostword/comments/v07xn8/text_based_news_summary_more_jp_fantasy_rebirth/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 2) More of the Touhou 18 cast has started being featured on the JP version (we might be getting Chimata and Tsukasa soon...) The original thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/touhou_lostword/comments/v1nsoq/jp_spoilers_new_character_galore/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 3) Maintenance summary - Global will have maintenance on the 2nd of June, and the following will be added: Lunar War Kaguya (SFES) MoF Sanae Retro + Mononobe no Futo banner some new battle type - "Conflux Battle Stage" already ongoing things continue or have been extended (as in the case of Star EX) 4) Results of my poll are up. I am surprised about the overwhelmingly good reception of Lost Word after 1 year on Global, especially after all the things that have happened. Dis the developer team actually manage to redeem itself after the controversy at the half a year anniversary? Is the game just that good? Or people in that environment are just too used to gacha game they have become desensitized to absolutely anything? Results (based on 376 votes, voting pool closed after 3 days): "I like it quite a bit" = 53.72% "It is OK/could have been better" = 42.02% "I don't really like it" = 2.12% "I hate it" = 1.06% "I have not played the game" = 1.06% For more results, I will try the poll again, this time in a more neutral environment like r/touhou (or at least anywhere else but on r/touhou_lostword)

I will be honest. I really cannot recognize a song from Akatsuki Records if the voice singing is not Stack. Every time Asprey puts a song of their at the beginning of a stream and the singer is anyone but Stack, I simply fail to recognize the band. Is this just how much of a symbol she has become for the band, basically the thing you could recognize them from the rest of the music circles?

Oh, also good luck with this part. I wonder how acceptant would Eiki be of such a gift. Although I might imagine she would get into another lecture in regards to morals and whatnot. As for Komachi, I guess she would have some explanations to offer to her boss for how did she end up getting photos taken of her in such a, possibly compromising, pose for the lady shinigami herself. Now, if this discussion would take place publicly or in private, it remains to be seen (and most likely at the will of any artist wishing to illustrate such a scenario). ?

Hello again. I would like to reinforce my point one more time: I have nothing against the existence of such materials. I was more interested about their appeal and what makes people enjoy them so much. Also everyone has different tastes, which is perfectly fine. This is something I can agree with. It feels quite devoid of soul, mass produced and gross. It is also apparently accused of creating a bad/fictional/idealized image around how a male/female body should look like, as well as a poor understanding of relations and sexuality. I cannot confirm it though, as I try to stay as far as I can from it. But apparently it does create some problems in society. Long ago, in Romania was a bit of talk about how you are having a problem in Britain with an increasing amount of underage people being exposed to live-action porn, which combined with the lack of proper sex education lead to problems. Is this true, or some sort of fake news that came from Britain through shady sources (I do remember there was a British show airing every Saturday evening here in which some lady was advocating for sex education or something). Wait, you want to say that website and the whole idea of "Rule 34" in itself started as a joke? I know the rule itself came from an old joke on 4chan, but I did not know it extended to the creation of the website itself. Also, when did hentai the way we know it nowadays start making its appearance? We have already talked about the old Japanese erotic art, but the modern thing is quite intriguing as well. Also, is that traditional sort of art still being produced nowadays? I am not very sure about what you intended to say here. Could you please elaborate a bit more? It really caught my attention, but I did not fully understand. You say that governments/NGOs realized the overtly sexual style of anime illustrations as a whole? I mean, it is not like Japan took a lot of American influence in terms of animation. Maybe you can correct me, but from what I heard the Japanese were passionate about American cartoon since the interwar years, particularly stuff like Betty Boop or Disney animations. And after the war, the idea of comics was imported from the US as the Japanese were trying to copy the American lifestyle as much as they could. But again, maybe I am wrong again and what I remember is poor. But indeed, anime seems to be blamed for promoting an idealized version of the female form (which I think was the reason that attracted me into trying the style for my drawing - and I have been stuck into that for almost 2 years now despite questioning myself what I actually want to do - see the "How to draw" thread I started not loong ago in pursuit of a new artistic direction). Well, it looks like a change in direction would not be a bad thing. So we have the following questions: Why is Touhou so prolific when it comes to R18 materials? - already answered in the comments above (absolute freedom of expression given to the artists) Now, for the second question, hopefully better formulated this time: Why is R18 art so appealing? What is the thing that makes people like seeing their favorite characters in compromising poses, or having intercourse with a strange, faceless man? The faceless man is usually one of those things I found freaky. Why? Because one explanation for why people are usually faceless in such images/manga in the following: in order to make self-inserting possible. Basically, the idea is for you to be able to imagine yourself being the one making love with your favorite character. I can accept wholesome, consensual acts being depicted (I don't care if it's straight or yuri as long as there is some common sense), but at least please give those men some faces. Sorry for the final part and my very rough language (that is what spoiler is for). I really felt like I had to say it, just to mark a bit the line between what I personally find acceptable and what isn't. And it does not only apply to Touhou, but to any sort of media. Also sorry for going into another million tangents. I just like talking, and when I start talking about something, you can barely stop me.

Fascinating stuff. Even at 5% of all the stuff on a platform being Touhou, that is still quite a large percentage knowing how many anime, games, manga and other franchises and fandoms are there. Definitely. Sometimes, people are joking when they see Yuuka art and write that they want to be stepped on by her or make jokes about the "delicious buns/boobs of Sanae" (literally, Sanae is very much known in fandom as "Reimu but with boobs", "Reimu but fanservice material" or "doujin fam" - my opening post goes into possible explanations for why some of the 2hus are more popular in terms of questionable and explicit material) but in other situation I wonder how much of it is a joke, and how much is legit people getting horny over a JPEG. And I feel the horny has intensified quite a bit this year (and perhaps since last year because Lost Word/gacha is now a thing associated with the name of Touhou), especially since January and the rise of this meme format. I am also guilty of watching the OG post, and thought it will be just a meme staying associated with one channel, and which would die quickly. However, I was not expecting it to become so widespread, and still be alive after 5 months on so many channels. And this was such a thing in the western fandom that it made me for a while question the quality of the western fandom (and if overall we are not just a bunch of horny guys salivating after some art made in Japan). The original "I want mommy/I want milk" meme as created by XE3G weeb: I honestly wonder if the whole feeling of horny has always been a problem, only started to manifest after the lockdown(s) of 2020, or the cause is something completely different. Mice anecdote. It reminds me quite a bit of the classic stereotype in regards to Japan and why their population is decreasing. At least according to American memes, the cause for this decrease in population is not aging population, not the fact we are talking about an island with little natural resources of its own but 80 million citizens (Tokyo alone has a greater population than Romania at 37 million for the entire metropolitan area - twice the population of Romania actually) nor overworking which might reduce the stimuli for establishing a family (also the rise in the hikkikomori phenomenon), but the fact Japanese prefer to pleasure themselves with some hentai or a body pillow instead of meeting men/women. I am sorry for having to be so blunt, but this is basically what comes to my ears all the time (Romania is a country that sucks in quite a bit of American pop culture, even if still in small dose and with a great delay especially when coming to trends). Americans an be quite stupid and stereotypical at times. Just as I've watched that video. I like his way of presenting things, and indeed does make use of Romanian anecdotes. In the case of the video you provided a link for, I actually recognized the story about the peasant and boyar he was talking about, as i think it was the story related to Moș Ion Roată, a Moldavian peasant from the middle of the 19th century, and which was illustrated by Romanian literature as an example of the peasantry of the era in contact with the changing times. But yeah Romanian TVee seems quite like a nice guy.

@Gou the frog you might like this part. Digging a bit through Touhou written stuff, I have found some in-universe explanations for game mechanics and other gimmicks. I wonder if I could find something in regards to the use of Bombs, Lives and Continues, and how are those translated in-universe. I knew I read somehwere about the matter, but I cannot find the source anymore. How the "Spellcard Rules" work - oh wait, was I right in saying the creation of the barrier tamed them and turned them from the abominable monsters of old into the cute looking girls we like so much What an incident is

Alright, so since my last visit here a lot of interesting points have been brought up. The whole liberty in the creation of Touhou fan content is almost incredible, especially when compared to other series I am familiar with. The only odd part about ZUN being OK with his property being used by fans for smut is that I was once told that he sees the characters as basically his children. But I will get back later to the artistic value of this. Personally, I did not join for that either. But I accept its existence. And I think at times it is alright. Initially, i was just so much of an anti-horny as you. But since Touhou, I think I can split my stance on NSFW into 2 eras: pre-Danbooru and post-Danbooru. That is when I became more accepting of this sort of art, and when I created my set of principles to guide after for not falling into the way of the "coomer". Also yeah, there is quite a difference between cute/attractive/sexy and full-on NSFW. I mena I am 20, but only way too late did some mental process start developing for me (some I should have perhaps already gone through). But like you said. I am not angry or outraged by that game. I just think it is funny when someone who dedicated his work to NSFW content is trying to do a family-friendly product. As I was saying last night, I read a bit about those two people. What they are standing for seems like an extremely noble cause. Also, I did not know Japan is going through such a bad period in regards to copyright laws. There are still some areas in the world that are safe from most of the nonsense going on in the West, and I would say Romania is still one of them. I have never heard of Vee. Could you please give me some details about him? Especially if it is related to Romania, I would definitely love to see the point of view of that person. In my case, even if I follow Political Science in college, I am ironically quite apolitical myself too. I did not go voting yet (even if there was just 1 major electoral campaign since I turned 18), and pretty much hate all the parties equally (so I cannot be biased in favor of one of them). Which traits i think might be useful for a future scientist or other profession that needs a degree of unbias (at least if we go by the principles expressed by Max Weber himself). I have never officially admitted to be Agnostic (perhaps I'm still in denial), especially since no matter how much I would disagree with the promoted values, I still follow them to some degree almost automatically. Also, please keep in mind that in Romania, until a few years ago, Orthodox religious classes were a mandatory course in public education here. The course was known generically as "Religious Education" with the focus of "studying Christianity and the other religions of the world", but it regularly turned into "why Orthodoxy is the superior religion even among Christian branches" and "why Christianity is the superior religion and all other systems of belief are bad". And I had to go through this for 12 years of my life as a child, especially at the age when a child is easiest to be modelled mentally. Speaking of the woodblock prints. It is ironic how apparently even in the early Middle Ages, Europeans seemed to be much less prude than we are nowadays. yes, in that period stereotypically seem as fanatically religious. I wonder what created such a switch in mentality to have brought us in our state of thinking. Wait, early Comiket was more popular among women than men? That is something I really did not know. So I knew something about that. Thank you for the reminder. Also I guess attracting someone to the religion could have been done through different means, seduction included if Ii got the logic right? Interesting point. From what I managed to understand out of art history, it is that Western artists have sough to represent as faithfully as possible the reality around them. Ironically, we did have an artistic movement known as "Symbolism" going against the trends of Romanticism, Naturalism and Parnasianism, but it was more about explaining the world through symbols (also a lot of depressing literature if you are reading the poems of Romanian writer George Bacovia). This is basically a different way of saying "go touch grass". This is awesome to see some additional stats, and thank you for them. I admit, I did fail to bring a better image of the larger situation, but I worked with what I had available at the time a count of all Touhou NSFW art on Rule34 until June last year a chart made by our friend Tenkkko about the number of images related to a Touhou character as a whole vs how many of these images are under the R18 tag I have a few questions and notices: I have never checked the e-hentai website (I am honestly feeling way too ashamed to now I scrolled through such a source even if I had to do it for actual research). For the Gelbooru part, have you also added the "Questionable" label? Because from experience, the "Explicit" label only seemed to be used for images depicting intercourse (so no images of just half naked or full nude 2hus). Also Danbooru seems very weird nowadays, especially as the labels seem to have been changed to things like "General" and "Sensitive" instead of the old "Safe" and "Questionable". In the case of Rule34, if only 1.4% of the content is tagged as "Touhou", then where did the reputation of Touhou being among the most depicted things on that website come from? Same question for Pixiv as in the case of Rule34 - where did that popular idea of how much Touhou smut there is come from? And this is something I am wondering. Where did their whole different attitude towards such topics generally seen as taboo come from? For someone like me who loves history and want to study the sociological aspects of a society and its way of thinking, there are so man intriguing things in this story. Again, I will be honest. I would be a hypocrite if I said I hate this kind of art. In a way, there is something I can appreciate it for, and like I said in the opening post, I have a few self-imposed ideas to guide myself after in enjoying this kind of material. I tend to think erotic/pornographic material is usually devoid of any substance, only good for creating some short-terms pleasure. At least based on experience with the western idea of such materials (there are very much just the porn without any essence, without any thought-provoking ideas and concept, only there for a quick ride). I do not know how true this is, but perhaps we have a wrong understanding about what sort of media we are facing? But I can see what you mean through the idea of media being much more than what it seems. I guess there is just a difference between something done in good taste and something done just for the sake of it and in a cheap manner? For example this image. Even if it is tame, it still has a seductive charm to it. And I like it a lot: Art by Kagari Sato https://twitter.com/kagari_gogo1109/status/1373623211783450624/photo/3 (Twitter decided this is sensitive content and put it under spoiler) As for the "oh no sex" part. I live in a country where it is still heavily promoted the idea you have to remain a virgin until marriage. And what if I will never get married? Will I just die a virgin? All to me seems like a very flawed way of thinking, still connected to a piece of paper written 2000 years ago, yet still by some as if it was the holiest of things and the end of the world if you stray from its values. Pretty much. Confirmation bias strikes again, no matter what domain it is. Everyone tries to justify their point even if it means brushing off information they might find inconvenient for their cause. Alright, now that things seem to be settled for the time, part 2 of the question. We have gone through the creations themselves. The more philosophical question remains to be answered - why do people crave such kind of content? This is where the "thirst" part comes into play. Yes, we do have a lot of NSFW art. But since there is so much of it, it also means there is a high demand for such content. Where does this demand come from? To me, it is funny how many times I get into a discussion started by an image of a Touhou girl drawn to be atractive, or with little/revealing clothes. Some people are joking, others seem to be unironical in their demands to [REDACTED] the 2hus. Basically the kind of people you would tell to go touch grass (or get a girlfriend as said in the postcard of Tubonator). And a bit of a bonus: Long ago, I had with a friend from Ukraine a discussion in regards to tastes and art. Like where do you draw the line between an artistic nude and straight up porn. I know some draw such materials in order to make anatomic studies, and choose a Touhou character simply out of convenience. Others might be inclined to draw a nude for the sake of art, avoiding the provocative or erotic elements. And then the final category, the ones drawing nude in the purpose of creating smut. Anyway, our discussion started with me being too shy to draw a naked subject, and was looking to be given ideas how to overcome such a problem. And on the way, we ended up discussing the difference between porn and art. Here is an extract on how it went: Meanwhile, this is me being too shy to go beyond this level when it comes to study art Alright, this has been a long reply. Time to see your opinions on the matter, especially since it looks like I accidentally dumped in a lot of stuff again.

A very true statement. I would not have brought that if SasaMisa did not bring it up first in the first paragraph. Going on a political tangent he last thing I ever wanted to do, but I see he/she brought it up first, therefore I had to try defuse it somehow. Plus, I have only brought two extracts from legal acts in order to show a comparison between two very different systems, each with the own set of values and morals (at least from the perspective hitting closer to home). If I had a copy of the Japanese act too, I would have brought that in as well for a better image. Also yeah, the "us vs them" mentality can be quite unhealthy, especially when used for not so good intentions. But yeah, I would like to stay as far from that as I can, at least here, since it is so unnecessary. Anyway, back on the original topic of the thread?

Huh, I tend not to think about the fact there are also males like that. I just hope I do not get into that category, as this whole thread was a curiosity + vent sort of thing. As for the politics part, it is my field of study right now as I am preparing for a potential career in the field of diplomacy or public administration.

Hello. It seems like I accidentally angered you, for which I am very sorry. I don't know where you got the feminists part from (I am a dude), especially since in my country the feminist movement literally does not exist or it is seen as a joke and degenerate aberration created in the West (looks like some bits of dogma from the former communist regime are still alive in here, even 30 years later). Still, the principle is simple, at least according to state laws: if it is smut, it is smut no matter the character is real or not. This is the world I have been living in for the past 20 years now, the world I was born and raised in: This part is actually interesting. I like learning about new cultures, especially when they are extremely different to the one I am coming from. It is still more than likely a culture shock to me. We, as Romanians in general, look at Japan and the rest of North-East Asia as if it was a completely different planet from the realities of our own country, from customs to culture, values and even infrastructure & level of development. As for that materials, I guess they fall into the same category as that old illustrations Japanese have been creating since the 1600s? (funny how the whole tentacle trope thing for example has been illustrated since the 17th-18th century in old art) Even if rather vaguely, I think I have heard about the original scope of shrine maidens (a little bit of a refresh would be welcome though). I think you have mentioned at some point you are British, correct? Therefore, you might be an Anglican (sorry for making assumptions). Well, Anglicanism (and any other Protestant branch) is quite different from the Eastern Christian Orthodox faith I was born and raised in (yeah, here the parents and society basically born you into the religion, as children are baptized to the Orthodox faith at the age of a few weeks after birth - i.e you have already been part of that religion even before you were born) Orthodox Christianity is a bit of an odd one, probably the most rigid of Christian branches and closes to promoting basically medieval era values IN THE 21ST CENTURY. These sort of values could have worked in a predominantly rural community 100 years ago, but in the modern age things are different. Anime is basically seen as idolatry here, an object of abhorrent sin. Again, in the 21st century in a society that wants to be seen as modern. Aso I personally have nothing against the way people decide to live their lives. To me, as long as you are decent person and can have a nice conversation to, you can do whatever the heck you want or be whoever you want. I would definitely want to learn more about Shinto and Buddhism though, as they seem to be a very stark contrast from the values I was raised with in my community. Especially when it comes to what you have said. And for that, I am trying to be quite as open as I can in order to listen. Alright. So, if I gave you the impression I came here to condemn the entire hentai industry, then I think I have failed to express my message. I have personally come to accept the existence of such content, and sometimes there is also a bit of good in it too. In the original fanservice thread, I have already mentioned my personal conditions/preferences for what I accept even if the material itself is NSFW. Long story short, just to be in good taste (even if that is relative). I am quite ready to leave things aside, but I am way to curious. Curious to learn and understand better the way people think and act. After all, this is not too different from a sociology research we are so encouraged to try in college. Also if I ever tried to run for anything, I would not ban this content like you said (I am laughing quite a bit at how Australia has decided to completely ban hentai). Besides, nice take on the Eiki part. Played it quite well towards the sentiments of the original poster (me). These are my personal rules when it comes to accepting NSFW material: Let me be honest right now. I know absolutely nothing about that game I posted. All my info about it comes from a questionable source, I have only learnt about its existence today, and what I know from it comes from YouTube comments. Also sometimes known as: There is no doubt there are also decent people who make this kind of content. And I am quite glad you had the chance to get in contact with such a person. Overall, I feel sorry to have angered you. I can understand if you were just trying to vent, as I also tend to get into a heated argument when I feel like I want to get something out of me. Perhaps now it will be a little more clear from what sort of background I am coming from, and how did I end up asking this kind of questions. Maybe this unrelated thing will calm down the waters a bit. Therefore, my sacrifice:

This is hilarious. Meanwhile check out the penal code of the United States and Romania as a stark contrast: As you can see, drawing is included. There, if going by penal code, a good chunk of what e define as hentai is basically banned by law, even if Japanese legislation calls it "cultural and artistic activities" which are protected by freedom of expression." Here is also the Romanian Penal Code, Article 372 (might need to study the Penal Code more as a Political Science student myself) To translate for anyone not knowing Romanian: The Romanian Penal Code does not go in as much detail about all the media through which such content is created or spread, but has a different, interesting part - the "despite not depicting a real person".