she's a Magician (natural born so Youkai by default), which are identical in all aspects to humans except a) they can use magic (obviously), and b) ones that have mastered magic no longer age
human Magicians (such as Marisa) are still humans until they master that same magic to stop their aging, at which point they are considered Youkai and no longer human
The definition for what counts as a Youkai is pretty broad though. Oni are a kind of Youkai. Yukari is a Youkai. Vampires are Youkai. Kappa and Tengu are Youkai. Makes me wonder what the bare bones definition of Youkai is exactly.
"Pretty broad"? I was under the impression that the term "youkai" basically encompasses every single supernatural being, from ghosts to the most bizarre monster you can think of.
unicode said: youkai has roots in a chinese word which basically means monster
Exactly, youkai = yao guai, literally translated into evil oddity of sorts. Its mostly the asian traditional belief that anything not exhibiting human traits as in supernatural are shunned and deemed evil of sorts.Hence a magician can be considered a youkai.
http://touhou.wikia.com/wiki/Youkai Youkai (妖怪) is a term mostly associated with Japanese folk creatures and ghosts. Fairies,ghost,oni, are considered youkai.
For what it seems, at least reading the wiki, youkai is used for almost every non-human being. I dont know if the goddess are in the group of youkais for example. If its just folk creatures then anything thats "unreal" would be a youkai, even the goddess.
wow pretty in-depth, didn't think it would need THAT much explaining so I gave the short version. far as Magicians being considered Youkai or not, Akyuu classifies them as Youkai in the Gensokyo Encyclopedia when they're natural born Magicians or after they transcend humanity if they are human Magicians
Steak said: Meaning her parents are human.
since she's natural born Magician it would mean her parents are Magicians as well.
JesusK said: For what it seems, at least reading the wiki, youkai is used for almost every non-human being. I dont know if the goddess are in the group of youkais for example.
In Japanese folklore, and in Touhou, all creatures fit into one of six categories: 1. Animal 2. Youkai 3. Human 4. Celestial 5. God 6. Other
sgcdonmai said: In Japanese folklore, and in Touhou, all creatures fit into one of six categories: 1. Animal 2. Youkai 3. Human 4. Celestial 5. God 6. Other
Thanks but i wonder what is that "other". Btw animals, probably means normal ones, not the ones like wriggle, tewi, chen, ran and such who are youkais right now. Going by this the ones that are not youkai nor human are: Kanako, Suwako, Tenshi... i think only those 3
JesusK said: Thanks but i wonder what is that "other". Btw animals, probably means normal ones, not the ones like wriggle, tewi, chen, ran and such who are youkais right now.
There's a little bit of overlap. Animal-type youkai still identify themselves as animals, too - Aya counts Yukari's disciplining of Ran as "animal abuse".
Going by this the ones that are not youkai nor human are: Kanako, Suwako, Tenshi... i think only those 3
Kanako and Suwako are gods (and Sanae is partially god as well), Tenshi is a Celestial Being. Komachi and Shikieiki fall into the "other" category; they're not youkai nor gods. They're considered to be not really living in the first place, so they're not part of the reincarnation cycle.
Most of the "other" category characters come from the PC-98 games.
well she IS a Magician class and they use blunt weapons ...well actually staffs and rods...why not call this thing (against all odds) a rod and make it a day? ---besides that... she looks sweet, cool and sexy, I likes a lot ^w^ c(_) *drinks tea*
I find the fact that Patchouli holding a giant fist shaped mallet resulted in a debate over what falls into the category of "youkai" oddly amusing in itself. Humans never fail to amaze me.
Youkai are a completely separate phylum from humans. Though they may take the shape of humans or humanoids, they are animals in essence and belong to different genus and species. Yukari for example is a one-of-a-kind gap youkai while Mystia and Aya are birds, etc. Yuyuko, Mokou and Youmu are based on humans and aren't considered youkai. I don't know about Komachi though; whether she's a human or youkai to begin with.
Lick_King said: I don't know about Komachi though; whether she's a human or youkai to begin with.
I would most certainly say the entire Yama's and Shinigami's are on a "Plane of higher" existance. You could consider them in the god realm like Tenshi and Iku.
This is my Patchouli in The Genius of Sappheirus, btw. 25 points in Knowledge Storage and suddenly the frail witch is my second best physical damage dealer. (that just keeps on going, because she gets a mana recharging spell)
