Touhou Discussion Thread - Page 237

where Farmer has to decide whether or not to accompany Nathaniel to see Ran

Danmaku: I liked (but didn't particularly love) his implmentation of the spell card system. I agree in general that the translation of the spell card system is a very odd process. There are so many more questions then answers...

Mechanics --
-What the effect of a bullet hit is, or rather, what does it take to break a spell card. Usually a solid hit, enough to break concentration, or a lapse of concentration from other means (e.g. strain, fatigue) will trigger a spell card dissolve, but Owen uses a more gradual system where getting hit sort of makes you lose concentration like sand slipping through your fingers. This solves the next problem of...
-assuming spellbreak happens with lack of concentration, wouldn't it be possible for more durable and pain-resistant persons to take a significant amount of hits before losing focus?
-What sort of (lasting) damage does danmaku do? How superficial or not?
In ASSM, danmaku does particularly little damage to surrounding objects, and seems mostly ethereal/conjuration besides the fact that it hurts a lot to get hit.

Logistics --
-Who "gurantees" the spell-card system. In the cases where it is mentioned, common backers are Yukari and sometimes also Reimu. Personally my head canon is that they are the backers, with the Yama loosesly supporting them (as in she will act, but only if things get really out of hand).
-What exactly is the role of the spell-card system/how much does it replace real combat. My impression in ASSM, is that danmaku is just contest of wits and agility, and only takes the place of a friendly match.
-How does danmaku scale, if at all, with the power level or intelligence of the user. Are there people who are bad at danmaku, but good at real fighting? Vice Versa?

Implications-
There are a lot of semantics you could go into, and with other things like youkai eating humans etc. but basically, in a serious conflict, its hard to justify why both sides still use danmaku. If yukari is strong enough to back up the spellcard system, then why doesn't she just solve the problem on her own. If reimu is insanely good at dueling from so much pratice (at the very least, she eventually beats basically every character in the windows game, if you admit those events), why would people who fight her do so in her strongest suit. (As a side not, there totally needs to be a story with a really strong beat-the-shit out of you battle monk Reimu, with needles, amulets, fantasy orbs and all)

Writers, for their stories generally come up with and pick consistent and somewhat logical combinations of answers to these questions. They don't really explain (show, not tell) the details, but it doesn't seem terribly neccesary to do so. I think it's a good idea, as a writer, to have that stuff sorted out, to neatly avoid contradictions/potential small plot holes.

Actually, in many stories, especially the more serious ones, the spell card system is largely set aside, since its non-lethal, and you need real conflict (Lies, real stories are born from drinking alchoho tea)
One could just disconsider the TH main events, or say they were fought out with actual combat.