The Grimoire of Marisa - Pages 44-47 - Suika Ibuki's Spell Cards
Kishin "Missing Purple Power"
User: Suika Ibuki
Notes: Usually seen at parties, doping type (alcohol)
Reference Level: As if
She gets bigger, usually when she's drunk at parties. I mean, she's always drunk, but y'know.
This sorta thing ain't danmaku. Totally useless as a reference. She really is just a monster.
Oni Sign "Complete Massacre on Mt. Ooe"
User: Suika Ibuki
Notes: Usually seen at parties, a real spicy drunk
Reference Level: Won't
She catches and throws you, usually when she's drunk at parties.
Again: not danmaku. Hurts a ton, too.
Ghastly Air "Deep Fog Labyrinth"
User: Suika Ibuki
Notes: Usually seen at parties
Reference Level: Doesn't seem likely
She shows off a trick where she disperses her body like mist, usually when she's drunk at parties.
A monstrously crafty Spell Card where you can't touch her at all, but she can attack all she wants.
I wonder how the world looks to her while she's in mist form?
As always, I can't use this as a reference.
"Night Parade of a Million Demons"
User: Suika Ibuki
Notes: Usually seen at parties
Reference Level: ★★★
Suika's only danmaku-like danmaku.
Even though it's her only one, it attacks with nothing but projectile quantity, making it the most danmaku-like danmaku in Gensokyo.
It just flattens you with pure power, so forget tryin' to strategize your way through it. It's pretty difficult to imitate, too.
She hardly uses any Spell-Card-like Spell Cards, but when she does decide to use one once in a while, she throws out this sort of overpowered mess. Oni really are behind the times. They don't understand these newfangled pastimes of ours at all.
The Grimoire of Marisa - Pages 37-38 - Komachi Onozuka's Spell Cards
Death Song "Ferry of the Deep Fog"
User: Komachi Onozuka
Notes: Possible on land too, "I personally" type (*see reference at bottom of post)
Reference Level: I ain't feeling this one
A Spell Card where she rams you with a boat that a bunch of phantoms are riding on.
I'm recording various Spell Cards in this book not to research countermeasures for them, but rather to widen my own magical repertoire. But there's no point in referencing something where the ghosts just decided to tag along of their own accord.
That aside, though, the phantoms are just floating in the air. They're not actually riding in the boat. What the heck is her job, anyway?
Malice Sign "Regretful Bound Spirits"
User: Komachi Onozuka
Notes: Seems like phantoms tend to gather around waterfronts
Gloominess: ★★★★★
A Spell Card where phantoms cling to you and follow you around.
Having phantoms cling to you is the worst kind of nuisance. You can shoo away mosquitoes, but your hand will just go right through a phantom.
Hm? Why do you still take damage if they just pass through you? I bet the secret of the phantoms' gloominess must be hidden there.
Death Price "Price of Life"
User: Komachi Onozuka
Notes: Mainly a popular party trick, servant-type (invisible)
Believability: ★
A Spell Card that changes the value of the opponent's life into money and shows it to them.
As you're surrounded by money, your own agitated movement tarnishes its beauty in this fearsome danmaku.
But what interests me is that, no matter who she does this little fortune-telling show for, the amount of money is basically the same... is she just messing with us?
By the way, a human's life is priceless.
*A possible reference to a line from Klaus, the final boss of Xexex, "I myself will come out!" (Watashi mizukara ga deru!, 私自らが出る！). Despite the quality of the game itself, the low-quality character graphics and the final boss's humorously bizarre last words have given the game-- and this line in particular-- memetic notoriety among Japanese shooting game fans. (from the Touhou Wiki)
In a world without rules, danmaku would be nonsense.
Foreword
The stars that shoot through the night sky, the butterflies that dance to the scent of flowers, the water that flows seeking lower altitudes, and the deep, dark mist.
All natural phenomena have some sort of reason behind their occurrence. Humans created reasoning in order to explain these very phenomena.
And so, every phenomenon that could be observed would therefore belong to the human race... supposedly.
Naturally occurring phenomena were explained differently throughout various places. Humans, being fond of unified theories, would thus come to believe that all but one, or perhaps even all forms of reasoning were false.
However, the youkai think like this: all observations, all the phenomena that occur in the world, and all forms of reasoning behind them are true. This is precisely because youkai themselves were born from natural phenomena and the thoughts people have about them.
I happened to see a tengu's notebook once. The notebook was full of writing by the tengu, detailing all the events of the world around us.
It described all the most insignificant bits of daily life, from a completely different point of view from mine. The tengu's observational skills were sharp; it seemed as if she had already transcended the world that I comprehend, and was building another all of her own.
Even if it's just insignificant everyday events, writing everything down ought to let me see something new. As I thought that, I decided to compile a book of what I thought had become the everyday scenery of my life --- Spell Cards.
Although I have to recall memories far older than the time that I saw the tengu's notebook, I may be able to acquire hints for new magic by writing them down.
From that train of thought, this book was born. It is the only danmaku grimoire in Gensokyo that a human has ever written. I'm not just copying Alice and the grimoires she writes. Honest.
I want to become able to use more magic. No, I plan to become more able. I will eventually be known as a great magician.
I won't spare any effort needed for that purpose, and I hope this book will be another step in obtaining that goal.
Well, if it doesn't, I'll just name it something big an' fancy like "The Fantasy Danmaku Image Compendium" and pawn it off to a library for a high price, so it'd be OK either way...
The Grimoire of Marisa - Pages 30-31: Hina Kagiyama’s Spell Cards
Wound Sign “Pain Flow”
User: Hina Kagiyama
Notes: Near the river that flows down from the mountain
Reference Level: Too unlucky to reference
Ripples of pain. She likes to save up bad omens in her body, and just by getting close to her, it feels like the misfortune will cycle over to you.
This Spell Card uses her specialty well; she just has to spin around in the water, and the water becomes a prickly mess. I can't copy this, and I sure as heck don't want to.
Flawed Sign “Broken Amulet”
User: Hina Kagiyama
Notes: Near the river that flows down from the mountain
Recycle Level: ★★★★
Danmaku that just throws broken amulets. Since they're broken, they fall apart immediately, and their fragments fall irregularly in this Spell Card.
I really don't wanna get hit by one. It's bad luck.
I bet Reimu would do fine against this, though. She's got way more amulets than Hina, and they aren't broken. They do have "full house" (大入) written on them, though.
The Grimoire of Marisa: Pages 25-29 - Youmu Konpaku’s Spell Cards
Hell Realm Sword “Two Hundred Yojana in One Slash”
User: Youmu Konpaku
Notes: Confirmed in the Netherworld, theatrical type
Reference Level: Too hard while unarmed
Unique danmaku in which she cuts up the danmaku itself.
Directly revising the danmaku you just sent out... I could say it has a sort of "live performance" feeling, or a "didn't do enough prep work" feeling, or maybe a "cheating at rock-paper-scissors by making your move late" feeling. At any rate, it feels like watching some sort of play. Let's call it a theatrical type.
By the way, the large orbs come from Youmu's ghost half. It can shoot danmaku well enough, so maybe it's actually her main body?
Human Realm Sword “Fantasy of Entering Enlightenment”
User: Youmu Konpaku
Notes: Confirmed in the Netherworld
Reference Level: ★★★
Apparently, this one's meant to represent humans attaining enlightenment and ascending to heaven... and then being knocked back down.
I see. The danmaku chases you from behind, so you're forced to move forwards.
Quite a stubborn spell card.
Heaven Sword “Five Signs of the Dying Deva”
User: Youmu Konpaku
Notes: Touch it and death creeps up, bug type
Reference Level: I ain’t using this
These signs are said to appear when a deva is about to die.
There's five of 'em: constant uneasiness, withering of the flower crown, perspiration of the armpits, blemishing of the clothes, and an odorous body. To put it in a way that's easier to understand, you lose interest in various stuff, your hair gets messy, you sweat, your clothes gets dirty, and you stink. Basically.
Sounds like the signs of a stinky old man. I wanna avoid those at all costs, but showing those signs is natural for humans.
But conversely, if you can avoid those phenomena, then can you avoid dying? Always have fun, keep your hair well-kempt, always be in a cool place and don't exercise, constantly keep a change of clothes ready, and use floral scents. ...Hmm. Sounds like someone who won't die any time soon, sure, but what sort of human is that?
By the way, the danmaku is an utterly simple straight-pitch, straight-line attack. You have no choice but to observe carefully and dodge, but it's unexpectedly difficult. With the motif being what it is, though, I'd really rather not get hit with it...
Six Realms Sword “A Single Thought and Infinite Kalpas”
User: Youmu Konpaku
Notes: Feels similar to Sakuya somehow
Reference Level: Can’t imitate it, but there are things to learn from it
A Spell Card where the user cuts around herself at super-high speeds.
Most of the time, when Youmu gets into her fighting stance, tensions run high for both parties and time seems to run slower than usual. But this attack happens too fast to keep my focus. Because of that, it's a very busy spell.
I thought it might be scarier if she just slashed directly at you with that speed, but thinking about it calmly, it'd leave her wide open if she missed. A spell like this is a lot tougher, since slashing indiscriminately around herself doesn't leave any gaps.
Celestial Star Sword “As the Silent Nirvana”
User: Youmu Konpaku
Notes: Hardly ever seen, silent
Reference Level: ★★
Tensions run high when Youmu readies her sword. Normally, it just feels as if time is passing slowly, but when she really concentrates, you can't even hear any sound or see any color.
But does it actually affect my dodging in any way? Does dodging become more difficult without sound? Does it become harder to discern things without color? Maybe I'll try this out the next time. "Monochrome Silent Spark."
Hesitation-Cutting Sword “Slash of Departure from Hesitation”
User: Youmu Konpaku
Notes: Confirmed in the Netherworld, just a drive-by slasher
Reference Level: I wanna reference this more than I expected to
A Spell Card where she just smacks you with her sword.
"This isn't danmaku, is it?" Touche.
By the way, "Departure From Hesitation" is apparently the boat that ferries souls across to Higan from the world of the unenlightened. So I guess a literal translation would be "Gonna-Kill-Ya Slash".
“Matsuyoi-Reflecting Satellite Slash”
User: Youmu Konpaku
Notes: Can only be seen on the night before the full moon
Reference Level: ★★★★★
A Spell Card where she lunges at you at high speed while reflecting the light of the moon. The chilly radiance will have you seeing stars.
After a long charge-up period, she slashes at you right as the moonlight wavers, and you're surrounded by bullets of light in a single instant. A fearsome, indiscriminate attack.
Its weak point is that, because it's so powerful, it takes a great deal of time to accumulate. If you move while she's charging up, you won't get hit, so all you have to look out for is getting cut directly by Youmu like an idiot.
What's contained in the Machiyoi's light, though? Just by taking a little bit into the tip of her sword, she blankets the earth with countless blades. I wanna do some research on Spell Cards that use the moon's light too.
A laser of the moon's light, Moonlight Ray... I think I've heard of a spell card with that name before... nah, I'm just imaginin' things.
The Grimoire of Marisa - Pages 32-34: Ran Yakumo’s Spell Cards
Shikigami “Banquet of the Twelve General Gods”
User: Ran Yakumo
Notes: Confirmed in the Netherworld, slave type
Reference Level: ★★★★★
An exceptional slave-type spell.
It's a crafty Spell Card where she remotely controls twelve slaves at once. Yep, I still really want slaves that I don't have to control directly.
The slaves' attack seems impossibly intense at first glance, but on closer inspection, each individual slave is just repeating one simple attack pattern. As long as you keep an eye on the ones that are spinning around, it's not that scary.
Shiki Shot “Ultimate Buddhist”
User: Ran Yakumo
Notes: Confirmed in the Netherworld, movement stress type
Reference level: ★★★
Now THAT'S a manji (卍).
Ran forces everything around her to spin in circles. It's like a folk dance in a Buddhist temple garden. Strong folks always tend to have at least one movement-restricting Spell Card like this, probably to show off how effortlessly they can fight. It's like that story with the Buddha's palm.
By the way, a manji apparently represents the shape of some super-awesome god's chest hair. Gods really are on another level, huh.
“Kokkuri-san’s Contract”
User: Ran Yakumo
Notes: Invisible slave & stress type
Reference Level: ★★★★★
I had her tell me who Kokkuri-san was afterwards.
It's a fox spirit, apparently, but it gets all full of itself and starts pretending to be Inari-san when humans call upon it. But it's a pretty mischevious spirit, so as soon as it gets bored, it amuses itself by frightening the humans instead.
It sounds like summoning Kokkuri-san to play a divination game is pretty popular down in the Human Village right now. There ought to be some merit in trying it out. I might be able to make it my slave, for one thing.
Shikigami “Protection of Zenki and Goki”
User: Ran Yakumo
Notes: Confirmed in the Netherworld, invisible slave type
Reference Level: ★★★★
More invisible slaves.
This fox sure uses slaves a lot, doesn't she? But surprisingly enough, she's a slave herself.
Superhuman “Soaring En no Ozunu”
User: Ran Yakumo
Notes: Confirmed in the Netherworld, doping type
Reference Level: Nope, not any time soon
A technique that dramatically raises one's physical capabilities, it seems. Has a very "now this is a youkai!" feel to it.
En no Ozunu was a magician from a very, very long time ago. An ancient senior of mine.
They say he could fly through the sky and used a bunch of different slaves. This Spell Card of Ran's is made in his image, she says; it's not actually summoning the guy. So she can boost her physical capabilities just by picturing him? Bah, friggin' youkai.
The Grimoire of Marisa - Page 31: Kisume’s Spell Card
Horror “Tsurube-Otoshi Apparition”
User: Kisume
Notes: Seen in the evening from fall to winter
Reference Level: It’s only a jerk-in-the-box
A Spell Card where she just suddenly lunges at you from somewhere like the top of a tree, or the ceiling of a cave. As long as she doesn't catch you by surprise, there's absolutely nothing to be frightened of.
