Main Profile
Name: |
霊烏路 空(れいうじ うつほ)(通称:おくう) (♫) Utsuho Reiuji | |
Alternate spellings: |
Utsuho Reiuzi | |
Species: |
Hell raven, yatagarasu | |
Abilities: |
Manipulation of Nuclear Fusion | |
Age: |
Unknown | |
Occupation: |
Regulator of the flames in the former Hell of Blazing Fires | |
Location: |
The former Hell of Blazing Fires | |
Description: |
Long raven-black hair. Wears a white short-sleeved shirt with a red "eye" in the center, a short green skirt, and a green hair-ribbon. On her right arm, she wears a device known as the "Third Leg", which appears to regulate the power of the devices on her legs (aka a control rod). She wears a cape that's white on the outside and a starry pattern on the inside; the cape is kept aloft by her black wings. Her right foot is encased in congealed matter, representing the "elephant's foot" of Chernobyl. Her left foot is being orbited by atoms. | |
Relationships: |
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Appearances: |
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Titles: |
See Character Titles |
Utsuho is one of Satori's pets, a Hell raven who has lived in the underground world since before it was separated from Hell. Her job is to regulate the flames of the Hell of Blazing Fires. Before the events of Subterranean Animism, she was told by a voice (presumably Kanako Yasaka's) that she could swallow the god, Yatagarasu, that was hidden in the flames to gain a power that would fulfill the wishes of both the worlds below and above the surface. This power was nuclear fusion. Utsuho misunderstood what the voice had told her, and decided that, using these powers, she would take over Gensokyo. Her friend, Rin Kaenbyou, became worried about Utsuho, and drove evil spirits to the surface to cause an incident among the strong youkai above ground, in hope that they would come down to do something about it and, when they got there, defeat Utsuho and bring her back to her former self. What came, however, was not a strong youkai, but a strong human.
In Undefined Fantastic Object, it is revealed that the geyser she created with her newfound powers wound up blowing Byakuren Hijiri's ship out from the underground and into the sky, thus starting the plot of that game.
Fun Facts
- The characters for "Reiuji" literally mean, in succession, "soul/spirit", "crow/raven", and "path". "Utsuho" means "emptiness/empty-hole/cave" in old Japanese. The character for Utsuho also means "sky", and can be pronounced "kuu". Hence her nickname, Okuu.
- In ancient Chinese mythology, the three-legged crow is a mythical animal associated with the Sun, thought to be its guardian beast or, more often, the manifestation of the Sun's deity. This explains Utsuho's nuclear fusion power and association with heat.
- This myth of the three-legged crow and the fact that the crow tengu Aya Shameimaru calls her "hell crow" twice may be why people refer to her as a crow, even though she's a raven. (Actually, most Japanese don't distinguish raven from crow, except zoologists and curious people. The fact that both raven and crow are from the corvus genus doesn't help.)
- Utsuho appears to be the only final boss in a Windows game whose goal is explicitly conquering the world. A very common goal for villains in cartoons.
- Utsuho is also the only final boss in a Windows game who is a subordinate of an earlier boss (Satori).
- Utsuho's spell cards "Giga Flare" and "Mega Flare" share the name of the attacks used by the summon Bahamut of the Final Fantasy series.
- Her "Third Leg" resembles an arm cannon. In Touhou Hisoutensoku, it is used as one.
- "Unyu?" (うにゅ?) has become her trademark sound, ever since she said it in the Extra Stage back story.
- Because Utsuho is manipulated by Kanako, seems to have a simple and boastful personality, and is called a birdbrain by Orin, she's often considered an idiot by fans. ZUN also indirectly calls her an idiot in her theme song's description. This leads to comparisons (or pairings) with Cirno, and as the stage 6 boss, Utsuho is sometimes called ⑥ (which is an inverted ⑨).
- In Touhou Hisoutensoku, the idea of Utsuho being an idiot is corroborated. In Sanae Kochiya's story, she is called birdbrained by Sanae, forgot why she was fighting her in the first place, and then follows Sanae's orders after being told she was doing that. This was also stated in Reisen's script, who called her a moron.
- Utsuho is the only final boss in a Windows game that gives the player a warning before the spellcard begins. Two nuclear symbols appear, along with giant word "Caution" and Klaxons blaring in the background.
- Utsuho's spellcard background in Subterranean Animism and Double Spoiler has a real-world picture of a cat on it. One reason ZUN might have included this in the background could be because of the wild cats that have colonized the abandoned city of Pripyat'. Pripyat' was in close proximity to Chernobyl, and after the catastrophe there the population was evacuated. Recent excursions back into the ghost town lead to the discovery of a small community of irradiated wild cats that live comfortably in the foundations of abandoned homes.
- Furthering the Chernobyl links, Utsuho could be a reference to the so-called Black Bird of Chernobyl
- The red eye is proof that Utsuho obtained the power of fusion by absorbing the three-legged crow (Yatagarasu) because the three-legged crow's eyes are red, according to Chapter Three of Cage in Lunatic Runagate.
- And this "eye" in the center of her chest looks similar to one of J.R.R. Tolkien's creations, the Eye of Sauron.
- On the Interview of Caramel vol.8, ZUN mentioned that he tried to keep her from being indecent during the design process by adding a cannon on her arm instead of having an additional leg, thus solving the analogy of the third leg of the Yatagarasu.
- Her right foot is supposed to be encased in concrete (representing the concrete sarcophagus that was built to contain the Chernobyl reactor), but is often depicted in fan art as a gray ruffled legwarmer or an armored greave. The electrons orbiting her other leg are also often omitted in fanart, and sometimes the control rod on her arm is too.
- A silhouette of Utsuho occupies the front of Subterranean Animism's jewel case.
- Her sprite animations in Touhou Hisoutensoku greatly resemble and are most likely a homage to Souther of Hokuto no Ken fame, even having a spellcard attack similar to Souther's Fatal K.O., Nanto Hō-ōh Ken Ougi: Tenshou Juuji Hou. Because of this fans sometimes call that spellcard Nanto Hō-Ōkuu Ken Ougi: Tenshou Juuji Hou.
- In Story of Eastern Wonderland's Stage 4, in the second part of the background, there was an orange-like shine that was shaped like the orb that Utsuho points to in her Subterranean Animism portrait.
Official Profiles
Subterranean Animism - おまけ.txt
○6面ボス 熱かい悩む神の火 種族:地獄鴉 with 八咫烏 一際異彩を放つ姿を持つ鴉。 左足に『分解の足』 彼女はこれらの三本足で究極のエネルギーを操作するという。 永い眠りについた火焔地獄跡の上に地霊殿はあった。 空も燐と同じ、さとりのペットの一匹である。 燐は怨霊を、空は火焔地獄跡が暴走しないか見張っていた。 しかし、ある日を境にその日常が崩れてしまう。 何者かが地上から、誰にも気付かれる事なく火焔地獄跡まで一気に 『火焔地獄跡には究極にして人類が手のする事が出来る最後のエネ 彼女は光に包まれ、何者かが体に入り込んでくるのを感じた。 空は手に入れた力を使うのが楽しくて、気が付いたら灼熱地獄跡は 地上から訪れた者。 ――八咫烏(ヤタガラス) 八咫烏が持つ究極の力とは、原子創造の力、核融合である。 | |
Stage 6 Boss The Scorching, Troublesome Divine Flame Race: Hell raven, Yatagarasu A crow that gives off a conspicuously-colored light. On her left foot is the "Foot of fission"; Using these three legs, it's said she can control the ultimate energy. When she awoke after a long sleep, the Earth Spirit Palace stood above what was once the Hell of Blazing Fires. In this time when the underground was no longer part of hell, criminals were no longer banished underground, and the only ones that lived underground now were the hell ravens, the kasha that carried off the bodies of the dead, and various other curious youkai, as well as the evil spirits who only acted out of malice. Satori took the youkai who lived there as her own and raised them as pets. Utsuho and Rin were both Satori's pets. Rin and Utsuho both worked hard at their respective jobs, Rin at controlling the evil spirits, Utsuho at managing the the former Hell of Blazing Fires. If the flames became too hot, they'd open the skylight in the courtyard; if the flames became too weak, they'd throw in more of the corpses Rin carried off; they regulated the flames in this manner. They lived out their lives this way, doing the same thing every day but leading a peaceful, satisfying life.
However, one day that peaceful lifestyle was shattered. Someone from above stole into Hell without anyone noticing. "The Hell of Blazing Fires hides the secret to the ultimate form of energy that humans can attain. She was enveloped in light, and she felt someone entering her body. Utsuho enjoyed using her new power, and before she knew it the Hell of Blazing Fires had regained its original heat. The one from above ground. - Yatagarasu, the divine three-legged crow The ultimate power the yatagarasu possessed was the power to split and fuse atoms. |
Book Synopsis
The Grimoire of Marisa
- Main article: The Grimoire of Marisa: Utsuho Reiuji's Spell Cards
- Insert Summary Here