Outside World Occultism

Episode 14 - Unsealing Club: Lotus Child

In this month's (December? November? who knows at this point) Unsealing Club, the Outside World Occultists take off their Merry-tinted glasses to talk about the other half of the Sealing Club. We start with a discussion of Renko's role in the story and outlook, have a sophomoric discussion of timelines, and eventually abandon any pretense of restraint and gleefully leap headlong into galaxy-brain speculation about Renko-centric counterparts to the Yukari-Maribel connection.

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

Episode 13 - Evil Women Being Bastards

This week, the Outside World Occultists celebrate their quarter-year anniversary and unluckiest episode number yet. After a brief digression into being very very wrong about the then-mysterious Chireikiden, we venture carefully through the thorny brambles of the gender vine to talk about the role it plays (or doesn't) in Touhou and in Gensokyo as a setting, and how this compares to other media with similar target demographics (with apologies to any Love Live fans in the audience).

From the mailbag: What are our favourite Touhou ships?

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

Episode 12 - Mobagensokyo

This week, the Outside World Occultists strap on their wellingtons and dungarees and wade out into the vast, muddy farmland of mobile gaming to talk about Touhou Cannonball, the first official unofficial Touhou gacha game, now available on all your favourite Android emulators. With a nervous eye on all the other mobage we are all individually trapped in, we break down our initial reactions to Cannonball's release and gameplay, our thoughts on its long-term prospects, and what we enjoyed about it despite those two things.

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

Episode 11: Funny Reimu Drink A CoLA

Just shy of two weeks ago, the Outside World Occultists were meant to have tackled Touhou's longest prose work, Curiosities of Lotus Asia. Now, at long last, we find the time to face off against a deadly four-pronged attack from rambunctious teens, dadbod twinks, a brief digression with an unfamiliar voice, and sensible but wildly inaccurate assumptions about the nature of space heaters.

From the meta-mailbag: Why does it sometimes take us a while to pull stuff from the mailbag?

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

Episode 10 - Unsealing Club: They're Lesbians In A Society, Harold

In this week's episode, the Outside World Occultists attend another meeting of the Unsealing Club to talk about the remaining albums that we just glossed over in the last one because of that ever-persistent illusion we call time. We dive deep into ZUN's vision of a dystopic future, and take on such persistent questions as the meaning of science metaphors, the tectonics of the afterlife, and the inevitability of rich hipsters getting blotto.

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

Episode 9 - Welcome ♥ Bullet Hell

This week, the Outside World Occultists doff their genteel lore hats and don the tie-dyed judicial wigs of game design to take a look at Touhou's approach to danmaku. After a brisk introduction to how it fits in the setting, and a cordial roast of certain misconceptions about it, we break down our favourite, least favourite, and most love-to-hate spellcards and patterns. Then, once we've recovered from the memory of Clownpiece, we consult our crack team of zero (0) shooting game designers to figure out how to make a better shooting game.

From the mailbag: What other genres besides danmaku shooter and fighting game would be a good fit for Touhou, and just when are Reimu and Marisa going to settle down, anyway?

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

Episode 8 - Fly Me to the Moon

This time around, the Occultists explore the world of rabbits, clowns, moms and moons that is Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom! As we discuss the story and characters, we talk about Touhou powers, the Shinto concept of kegare, America, trauma and recovery, and agree that JunHeca is a very good ship. 

Episode 7 - Unsealing Club: Introduction

Welcome to the Unsealing Club, a monthly mini-series about the Hifuu Club and everything related to it! In this episode, the Occultists walk through the Hifuu CDs, ponder the future of their home, discuss dreams, reality, and Japanese art history, and talk quite a bit about Renko's personality, as well as RenMerry.  

From the mailbag: Yukari's original name, and our favorite Hifuu songs! 

Episode 6 - And Then There Were Three

This week, an increasingly small quorum of the Outside World Occultists discuss the first music CD story, Dolls in Pseudo Paradise. (As with all things DiPP, content warning for a variety of forms of murder and suicide.) Deerstalkers and corncob pipes in hand, we get to the bottom of several parallel mysteries: Who killed who? Whose humanity was left where? Who still needs to read Umineko no Naku Koro ni?

From the mailbag: Have we played Fantasy Maiden Wars, and thoughts on Gensokyos distinct from canon; and how would we feel about another work set in Gensokyo's past?

Peripheral content warning: Umineko no Naku Koro ni and Senki Zesshou Symphogear, recommended in a brief discussion in the episode, contain some scenes of violence, blood, and abuse. Viewer discretion is advised.

Episode 5 - Mild and Scorned Hermit

This week, the Outside World Occultists (minus one; someone needed to chase that chimera out of the audio editing workshop) discuss Wild and Horned Hermit: what went right, what went wrong, and what terrible things can be said that we all wish weren't? We're shocked to discover Kasen's true identity, discuss Yukari and Suwako's striking shared features, ponder the nature of ZUN's endings, and ask the most important question of all: what would we like to see next in a Touhou manga?