Outside World Occultism

Episode 24 - All Hands, Abandon Ship!

In our slightly belated Valentine's Day episode, the Outside World Occultists look to each other and listeners for advice on unusual Touhou ships. A few occasionally contradictory definitions of "unusual" later, our audience's cosmic crania bring us a variety of Touhou ships with a varying degree of supporting materials. Also shout out to a few other things. Watch Samurai Flamenco.

This is a non-commercial, non-profit fan-made podcast. Touhou Project is the property of ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice.

Episode 23 - Unsealing Club: I Trapped Myself In Another World For Internet Clout?!

This week, the Outside World Occultists turn back the clock on the Unsealing Club to take a look at its founder and senior light-novel protagonist, Usami Sumireko. Starting with a broad look at her character, we move into comparing her with her [precise relation redacted], Renko, and consider how her role in expanding the setting relates to ZUN's own statements on the "chuunibyou spirit".

This is a non-commercial, non-profit fan-made podcast. Touhou Project is the property of ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice.

Episode 22 - Causing Problems on Purpose

This week, the Outside World Occultists grow out their best pointed goatees as they look at the nature of villainy and villains in Touhou, and how they've changed over the years. In no particular chronological order. From the sages to the Seishins, we try and resolve the question of whether or not a given Touhou antagonist is a villain, and possibly even defining what a villain is at all.

This is a non-commercial, non-profit fan-made podcast. Touhou Project is the property of ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice.

 

Episode 21 - Everyone is Gay in Gensokyo

In this week's episode, the Outside World Occultists take one of the most venerable Touhou memes at face value, discuss the nature of text and subtext, and examine the past and present of the yuri genre. Apologies for the late release, but at least we're not a whole week behind again...

This is a non-commercial, non-profit fan-made podcast. Touhou Project is the property of ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice.

Episode 20 - Emperor Mickey Fiddles While The Vault Burns

The Occultists are back after a GDQ hype-induced break! This week we discuss ZUN's comments about wanting Touhou to become something like the Cthulhu mythos, looking at other media franchises along the way, and think about how he might achieve that. We also ask ourselves, "What constitutes canon in Touhou anyway?" 

Episode 19 - Hotline TORIFUNE

This week, the Outside World Occultists take a long, hard look at the mass of papers in their "in" box, and dedicate a whole episode to answering questions from you, the listeners. Here's to 2020! From the mailbag:

• Why don't we have an intro?
• What's our favourite obscure reference?
• Where would we divide Touhou into "classic" and "modern" eras? Is there a third era?
• What do we think of ZUN as a writer?
• Opinions on a Seihou Project fan theory?
• What happens with Reimu if Marisa gives up her humanity?
• Was Dolls in Pseudo Paradise about Alice?
• What's our favourite crackship?
• Bad Apple II: The Quickening?

This is a non-commercial, non-profit fan-made podcast. Touhou Project is the property of ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice.

Episode 18 - Unsealing Club: We Wish You A Merry

In a very merry episode of the Unsealing Club, we follow up our look at Renko with a turn for the Sealing Club's purpler half, the ever-untranslatable マエリベリー Hearn... but like, ideally, actually about her this time, not her thematic implications. (A promise we only half keep.) Starting with her presumed background and theories on how she met Renko, we try and step back from the blinders of Renko's perspective to look at things from Merry's point of view... and also end up talking about Yukari a bunch. Merry Merry, one and all!

This is a non-commercial, non-profit fan-made podcast. Touhou Project is the property of ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice.

Episode 17 - Me Hoy Miyoi

In this week's episode, the Outside World Occultists look at the other new manga, Touhou Suichouka, which we mostly call Lotus Eaters. Starting with the manga's sinister atmosphere, we move through the first chapter with only a few brief digressions into Greek-English linguistic drift and completely forgetting about what we were talking about (appropriately enough). From the mailbag: We'll get to it on New Year's!

This is a non-commercial, non-profit fan-made podcast. Touhou Project is the property of ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice.

Episode 16 - Loose Cannon Satori

Today, the Outside World Occultists take their (collective) first look at the first of the new official manga, Cheating Detective Satori. While Rin and Satori start their investigation into who didn't quite kill Patchouli, we marvel at TH6 characters having speaking lines. From the mailbag: What are our favourite flowery Touhou titles (off the top of our heads)?

Translations of Cheating Detective Satori can be found at the Chireikiden blog on Tumblr.

This is a non-commercial, non-profit fan-made podcast. Touhou Project is the property of ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice.

Episode 15 - Welcome ♥ Old Hell

In a schedule-adjusted backup episode, a quorum of the Outside World Occultists prepare to discuss Cheating Detective Satori with a look back at the story and cast of Subterranean Animism stage-by-stage, from spider construction workers to the suspicious and highly unorthodox lack of an extra stage boss. Regular-timed episode releases should resume next week, thanks for bearing with us!

This is a non-commercial, non-profit fan-made podcast. Touhou Project is the property of ZUN and Team Shanghai Alice.