Main Profile
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Name: |
魂魄 妖夢(こんぱく ようむ) |
Alternate spellings: |
Youmu Kompaku | |
Species: |
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Abilities: |
Swordfighting, concentration, superhuman speed(?) | |
Age: |
Unknown, but less than 60 years old | |
Occupation: |
Gardener, sword instructor | |
Location: |
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Description: |
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Relationships: |
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Appearances: |
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Titles: |
See Character Titles |
Youmu is one of the stranger entities in Gensokyo, part-human and part-phantom at the same time. Her two halves are not intermixed like one would expect from a cross-breed, but actually exist in physically separate bodies. Youmu has a straightforward and focused personality, which complements her swordfighting skills well. However, her personality conflicts with that of her master, Yuyuko Saigyouji, who is very whimsical and playful in nature. Still, she serves Yuyuko as best as she can, tending to the gardens in Hakugyokurou and following her orders.
Youmu commonly wields two blades at once, having studied some under her predecessor, Youki. The longer blade, called 楼観剣 (Roukanken) - Lookout-Tower Sword, is said to be able to kill ten ghosts in one swipe. The shorter blade, 白楼剣 (Hakurouken) - White Tower Sword, is able to cleave through a person's own confusion. However, not much is known about her particular style of swordfighting or about her parents. What is known is that Youki, also a servant of Hakugyokurou, had begun training a very young Youmu (possibly as a child?) when he suddenly disappeared one day, leaving her style incomplete (and presumably causing her to teach herself). No one currently knows his whereabouts.
During the events of Perfect Cherry Blossom, Youmu was ordered by Yuyuko to gather as much spring essence from Gensokyo as she could in order to get the entire cherry blossom garden, including the legendary Saigyou Ayakashi, to bloom perfectly. Youmu's efforts indirectly caused winter to continue unchecked in Gensokyo, prompting the player to find the source of the problem. Youmu tried to prevent the player from reaching Hakugyokurou but was defeated. She also tried to stop the player's confrontation against Yuyuko but was defeated again. In Imperishable Night, she traveled to the world of the living with the intent to fix the moon--although Yuyuko was more interested in having a feasting tour with a "dragon dish" as the crowning attraction. In Phantasmagoria of Flower View, she was minding her own business but kept encountering various people barging into Hakugyokurou suspecting her of being behind the flower incident. When she traveled to Gensokyo herself to behold the spectacle, she immediately noticed what was going on but thought nothing of it. During the events of Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, she set off to investigate, concerned as to how and why someone was slaying ghosts. After a hint from Yukari, she found and defeated the culprit.
Fun Facts
- Youmu is often called "Myon" by fans, as she inexplicably asks Yuyuko why she is present at such a "myon" place in the PCB extra back story. ("Myon-na" is a portmanteau of "hyon-na" (unexpected) and "myou-na" (strange).) Her phantom half is also sometimes called Myon. It's also occasionally referred to as an "option" (like the ship accessories in Gradius), but this is less common.
- It is generally accepted in fandom that Myon and Youmu are each able to sense what the other feels.
- The characters for Konpaku mean simply "soul", and Youmu something like "bewitching dream".
- Although both "Kon" (魂) and "Paku" (魄) are "soul", their elements are different. "Kon" stands for a mental soul, which is separated from a body as soon as human dies and ascends to Heaven. "Paku" is a physical soul which remains in the body a few days and goes back to the Earth. In this case, "Kon" is Youmu's phantom half, and "Paku" is the human half. The entire Konpaku family is comprised of half-phantom half-humans, as noted by Perfect Memento.
- The kanji that makes up "Youmu" (妖夢) are also part of the kanji for Perfect Cherry Blossom (東方妖々夢).
- Her phantom half is often treated in fanworks as "food" (usually eaten by Yuyuko). In Hisoutensoku this has gone farther; in her script, if she loses to Sanae, the latter asks her how "the marshmallow looking-like thing" tastes.
- Some in Touhou fandom say that Youmu can instead of creating duplicates of herself(via one of her Spell Cards in Immaterial and Missing Power to Hisoutensoku), she can triplicate herself as well.
- In Phantasmagoria of Flower View, Youmu's name is written in Roman letters Japanese style, with her surname first, during pre-battle conversation with her, even though every other character in the game with a Japanese name has their name romanized western-style, with their given names first. This is one of several typographical inconsistencies in the game (another being the inconsistent spelling of Aya's name).
- Because of Youmu's spellcard "200 Yojana in One Slash," she is said to be capable of striking at speeds most would consider physically impossible (200 yojana can be a distance anywhere from 1,320-3,000 kilometers or 825-1,875 statute miles in length). In order to cover that kind of distance in the split-second a typical sword slash takes to execute, she would have to be capable of moving at far beyond hypersonic speed; her slowest sword slashes have been calculated to move at speeds in excess of Mach 70 (70 times the speed of sound, or 53,200 mph/85,120 km/h at sea level), fast enough to circle the entire Earth at the Equator in less than half an hour and around three times the speed required to orbit the Earth, for reference. One doujinshi (Touhou Kaidan Seven #3) went into far too much detail trying to work out the specifics of this, and determined that her theoretical top speed was approximately one quarter of the speed of light...
- Her theme song is titled "Hiroari Shoots A Strange Bird ~ Till When?", named after a story in which a warrior named Hiroari slays a youkai known as the Nue. This is a pun on the storyline. The "strange bird" is a Nue, also called the "Itsumaden", since it makes this cry near unmourned corpses, meaning "How long (will this corpse remain unattended)?"
Judging from the story of Perfect Cherry Blossom, the heroine plays the role of Hiroari, Youmu is the Nue, and the corpse is probably Yuyuko Saigyouji. (See also Flandre Scarlet and Yukari Yakumo.)
- Ironically enough, considering her species, Youmu is afraid of ghosts, as shown in Imperishable Night's Extra Stage. After defeating Fujiwara no Mokou, Yuyuko pretends there is a ghost under a tree, earning a terrified shriek from Youmu. It is a wonder why she doesn't cower away from Yuyuko, whom herself is a ghost.
- It could be that Youmu has grown used to Yuyuko's presence for a long time(possibly as long as she can remember), or that before his disappearance, her father Youki, casually introduced her to Yuyuko.
- Fanworks occasionally depict Youmu as idolizing Sakuya, most likely because they are similar characters; they are stage 5 bosses who use bladed weapons, have silver hair, eyes that changed colors from red to blue, have power over time(though some fanart switches between both eye colors, e.g. Sakuya has red eyes while Youmu has blue instead), serve a mistress, and reappear in stage 6 as a midboss. In these comics, Youmu addresses Sakuya as "Onee-sama", a title usually used to refer respectfully to an older sister or to an older woman one respects or admires. Though a very small amount of fandom can state they're related in some way in that they are actually like sisters...or not.(Though Yuyuko, Remilia, or Meiling tend to get very jealous in possible artworks)
- They also seem to possess cooking skills, as stated in Sakuya's bios were she's a good cook, and for Youmu, the obvious reason is because of Yuyuko...
- Additionally Youmu frequently gets parodied crossing over with Jean-Pierre Polnareff of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (a fast-moving sword stand-user), much like Sakuya and Dio of the same series. This is even present in Touhou Hisoutensoku, where one of her alternate palettes turns her completely silver, a subtle reference to Silver Chariot, Jean-Pierre Polnareff's stand. One of her spell cards has her assault her opponent with multiple copies of herself, just like one of Polnareff's supers in the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure fighting game. Both Sakuya and Youmu can be seen in the style of "gold&silver" due to these palettes.
- Also from Hisoutensoku, one of Youmu's new Spell Cards resembles one of Grant's supers from Garou: Mark of the Wolves.
- Both characters even play out similar to Mega Man X and Zero from the Mega Man X series, with Sakuya wearing blue with skills in projectiles, and Youmu on the other hand, fights well in close combat like Zero as well his Z-Saber noting to her green color. Both characters are also loyal to their duties, but Youmu and Sakuya have yet to have a bond as strong as X and Zero.
- In Hisoutensoku, Sakuya, like most of the Mega Men in the Vs. Capcom crossovers can shift from close combat to pure keep-away at a moment's notice(though most Touhou characters can play in this style if needed). Youmu is also somewhat of a "combo freak" like Zero in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, but is more like Zero from Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars and Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of the Two Worlds, where both Zero and Youmu can force strong pressure strings on their foe on both physical combos and projectile pressure, but are somewhat lacking in defense tools.
- Coincidentally, one or two of Youmu's Spell Cards in IAMP-Hisoutensoku highly resembles Zero's Sougenmu(Twin Phantasms) technique from Mega Man X5, Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ua-S, and Marvel vs. Capcom 3: FTW. It may also play similar to Yun's Genei Jin(Phantom Formation) and Yang's Seiei Enbu(Marking Shadow Waltz) from Street Fighter III: Third Strike and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition.
- In Hisoutensoku, Sakuya, like most of the Mega Men in the Vs. Capcom crossovers can shift from close combat to pure keep-away at a moment's notice(though most Touhou characters can play in this style if needed). Youmu is also somewhat of a "combo freak" like Zero in SNK vs. Capcom: SVC Chaos, but is more like Zero from Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars and Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of the Two Worlds, where both Zero and Youmu can force strong pressure strings on their foe on both physical combos and projectile pressure, but are somewhat lacking in defense tools.
- It can be said that if their pairing grows strong enough(to the small possible point of being the new main characters), Sakuya and Youmu's bond can be compared to other long time duos in most different series, Sakuya can be compared to Sonic the Hedgehog(where they both are themed with blue and are oriented towards speed than power), while Youmu can be compared to Miles "Tails" Prower from the same series(where they are more focused on skill). The way Youmu looks up to Sakuya in fandom can be easily compared to how Tails sees Sonic as a role model, and both characters have phasmophobia(fear of ghosts).
- Coincidentally, in Koumajou Densetsu II: Stranger's Requiem, Youmu shares Tails' current seiyuu, Ryou Hirohashi. Ironically, Youmu is an enemy of the game and shares no close relations to Sakuya whatsoever. This may change overtime however.
- Also, Yuyuko in the game is voiced by Hekiru Shiina, who voiced Tails in the Sonic OVA.
- Coincidentally, in Koumajou Densetsu II: Stranger's Requiem, Youmu shares Tails' current seiyuu, Ryou Hirohashi. Ironically, Youmu is an enemy of the game and shares no close relations to Sakuya whatsoever. This may change overtime however.
- Youmu seems to have some knowledge of Chinese legend and history because of her particular win quote against Meiling, in which she asks why the latter does not wield Guan Yu's Green Dragon Blade. By the way, women didn't use polearms traditionally in Chinese martial arts. Youmu said that she's only heard about them in stories, so this misinformation is likely on purpose.
- In the game "League of Legends" is an Item called "Youmu's Ghostblade" as tribute to Touhou.
- Also, there is a champion named Orianna as tribute to Youmu
- Due to artworks and her sprite in Hisoutensoku, Youmu may be ambidextrous, but more so that it is possible she's more left-handed. Her Roukanken could be sheathed similar to how Zero from Mega Man X sheathes his Z-Saber in terms of the X and Zero similarities (Both characters sheath it behind the left shoulder).
- Coincidentally, Sakuya is also seen as somewhat ambidextrous, though fan works might display her to be right-handed in contrast to Youmu.
Official Profiles
Perfect Cherry Blossom - キャラ設定.txt
○幽人の庭師 | |
Ghostly Gardener
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Immaterial and Missing Power - 上海アリス通信.txt
○半分幻の庭師 | |
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Imperishable Night - Manual
○半人半霊 魂魄 妖夢(こんぱくようむ) | |
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Imperishable Night - キャラ設定.txt
○半人半霊 | |
Half-human half-phantom Species: Comprised equally of human and phantom She's the gardener of Hakugyokurou (which is in the world past death), but originally she was a swordmanship teacher for Yuyuko. Even she herself is not certain either she is alive or not, human or phantom. However, she slowly but surely grows older as time passes, so maybe she's alive. Konpaku's swords were designed primarily for use against ghosts and spiritual beings, but they still seem to work well against "pre-deads". |
Phantasmagoria of Flower View - Manual
○半人半霊の半人前 魂魄 妖夢(こんぱく ようむ) | |
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Phantasmagoria of Flower View - キャラ設定.txt
○半人半霊の半人前 | |
Half-human Half-phantom and Half-baked |
Scarlet Weather Rhapsody - chara.html
○半分幻の庭師
職業:庭師 住家:あの世に存在する白玉楼 能力:剣術を使う程度の能力 性格:自分のスタイルを気にしない。色々な事に一生懸命。 はっきりと自分をさらけ出すが、我侭は言わない。 | |
Half-phantom Gardener
Occupation: gardener Place of residence: Hakugyokurou, in the afterlife Ability: the power to use sword techniques Personality: doesn't pay too much attention to her own style. Tries very hard, in many ways. Wears her heart on her sleeve, but isn't self-indulgent. |
Book Synopsis
Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red
- Main article: Article and Interview: Youmu
Aya catches wind of an enormous gathering of ghosts flying around Gensokyo and immediately rushes out to investigate. The ghosts are all being led in the same direction by Youmu Konpaku. While in mid-flight, Aya asks her why this is happening. After Youmu explains everything, she warns the readers not to become attached to any stray ghosts.
Aya comes back for an interview after a year has passed. Despite Youmu's efforts, ghosts are still plaguing Gensokyo. Aya has gotten used to it, while Youmu is unhappy with the situation. Youmu believes that the natural way is the true way, but with life still working normally, is now uncertain about her purpose. The interview ends with Youmu in tears over having no pay and no vacation and with Aya wondering if the natural way is really always the right way.
Perfect Memento in Strict Sense
- Main article: Perfect Memento: Youmu Konpaku
- The Konpaku family is a family of half-phantoms and half-humans. Currently the only one that is known is Youmu, the gardener of the Hakugyokurou.
- Her appearance does not differ from a normal human but she has a much longer lifespan than one.
- The phantom-half of Youmu is different from a normal phantom like herself not being like a normal human
- She has been seen frequently in the human world, particularly so due to the weakening of the border between the two worlds.
- She is a very powerful swordswoman who uses two swords, the Roukanken and the Hakurouken. Furthermore, she patrols daily around the Netherworld on the morning and at night. She is very dedicated in her work.
- Unlike normal youkai, she does not attack all of the sudden unless provoked, and one could probably get her to not attack you if you apologized to her. Still, if you get into a fight with her one should start praying...
The Grimoire of Marisa
- Main article: The Grimoire of Marisa: Youmu Konpaku's Spell Cards
- Insert Summary Here