If you want to get into Touhou, it might seem like a challenge to do so, since the series seems like an endless well of content (which it is). This problem isn't easier to solve as a fan for reasons that'll become clear in a second.

To make this slightly easier, I'm going to approach this by eliminating the less good options.

Where Not to Start

Fantasy Kaleidoscope ~ Memories of Phantasm

It speaks to MoP's accessibility that most non-fans assume that Touhou is an anime. The truth is that Touhou has no official anime, and this is a statement I'm confident won't age badly, since ZUN himself stated that he doesn't want a Touhou anime.

That isn't to say that a Touhou anime couldn't work, in fact I would be all for it as a fan of both Touhou and animation, but the way Memories of Phantasm and most if not all fanime go about it the wrong way. Obviously these projects need a lot of funds and for that they need a lot of eyes.

To do so, they opt for fanservice. I don't even mean panty-shots and bathhouse scenes (although the latter does appear in MoP), I mean that to achieve max viewership they scrub the characters and plotlines of everything that makes Touhou unique. The characters are based on one dimensional, mostly even completely incorrect ideas of them, which in turn simplifies the plotlines into easy to digest, bland and safe happenings.

Considering ZUN's contrarian sensibilities of not even including major deities in his works to avoid being cliche, you may be able to see how bad of a representation it is for what Touhou is.

Touhou Lost Word

Touhou Lost Word has become a very popular option and many people get into Touhou through it ever since it came out. We could say that it somewhat dethroned MoP as the number one media non-Touhou fans know is Touhou.

LW has the same problems MoP does, maybe even multiplied. Since it's a live-service game with regular updates made by a well-to-do company, it produces a lot more content, than a fanime like MoP could, and said content, similarly, does a poor job of representing the series. If that wasn't enough, it's a gacha game, as well.

Gacha games are inherently predatory and were all made for the sake of profits first. Very antithetical to Touhou, which is made for the sake of self-expression first.

Memes and Fan Communities

Touhou fanon might be a chicken or egg situation, but considering the (mostly) all-female cast, I think it would make more sense if the mischaracterization originated from fan communities as opposed to an unexpectedly popular piece of fan media.

The western fandom originates from 4chan, which if you've been long enough on the internet, might know that it would result in a bigoted fandom. Unfortunately, the fan communities still hadn't shed those sensibilities.

Although ZUN proved his progressive views about xenophobia, capitalism and homophobia muliple times, these fans stay around and insist that anyone who agrees with those views is a "tourist".

Unfortunately, these views of course show up in posts, memes and fan works as well. For that reason, Touhou tends to boil down into "cute girls drinking tea" and "Japanese nonsense plots" from a fanon point of view.

Most Fangames and Doujinshi

For the reasons stated previously, most fan creations tend to misrepresent the series.

The issue is similar, and may ultimately be the same in origin to why MoP and LW are not the best entrypoints, which is that anime fan culture tends to be misogynistic, and in the west, rather ignorant of the culture anime and doujinshi originate from.

Even fan favorites like Mystia's Izakaya aren't immune to this, unfortunately.

Honorable mention:

  • THE Touhou Wiki. It's a good source for looking up gameplay summaries and character dialogue, appearances and spellcards, but it tends to be written from a western perspective (that is to say, without understanding how Shinto and Japanese Buddhism works) and character summaries and relationships tend to be stubs, partially correct or even false (one incident involved someone cutting canon information about characters to make them less gay). If you do dive into it, take its content with a pinch of salt.

Let me say that this isn't an invitation to harass anyone nor are these opinions entirely objective. There are plenty of open-minded people in the community especially nowadays, same with exceptional fan content and nobody, who plays Lost Word or watches Memories of Phantasm is a fake fan.

These options simply show a skewed image of Touhou that shows little if any of what makes it Touhou. They are not recommended for people who know nothing about the series, because they will be expecting something polished, simple and familiar and will be disappointed with ZUN's rustic, raw and unconventional way of storytelling, worldbuilding and game development.


The fact that the entrypoints that are the most popular are also the least good demonstrates the first problem of getting into Touhou really well: it's way easier to get into its fan content than the official games, CDs and written works.

The main reason for that is because Touhou is made for a very specific audience of doujins who are also bullethell players and fans. Touhou's genre is niche and difficult to get into by nature, not to mention that many people are repelled by ZUN's art style and general maximalism. That is not a bad thing, this series is definitely not for everyone.

If these facts do not deter you, however, allow me to continue with entrypoints that may be just a bit less non-optimal.


Where to Start if You Want to Suffer

Touhou 6 ~ The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil

EoSD is by far the most popular Touhou game, and for that reason it often gets recommended as the best entrypoint to the series.

The issue with that is that EoSD was ZUN's first time programming for Windows PCs, and for that reason, it's a very difficult to control game with not much content. I was one of those people who tried to play Touhou chronologically, got stuck on stage 4 for weeks, and gave up.

This delayed my entry into Touhou, but I can imagine that for a lot of people it leaves a bad taste in their mouth for life, making them miss out on the rest of the series

Touhou 1 - 5

Once again, starting Touhou chronologically might be a rough entrypoint. This includes reasons such as lack of accessibility, clunky controls, and the fact that if you take these games' lore seriously and/or get attached to the characters, you will be disappointed to find that it's not at all relevant to or resemble modern Touhou at all.

The absence of PC-98 fan favorites such as Mima and Shinki, who only made appearances in the first five games are a sore spot for many fans, for one.

Touhou 11, 15, and 20

They're the most difficult games. That's all.

Honorable mentions:

  • The photo games (Touhou 9.5, 12.5 and 16.5) because they're boss rushes and even disregarding the unorthodox photo mechanics, they're pretty difficult and can be frustrating for newcomers.

  • Touhou 14 ~ Double Dealing Character solely because stage 5 might discourage newcomers from trying a Touhou game ever again.

  • The manga Cheating Detective Satori solely because it's not especially well paced. People who like it are there to see their favorite characters and while you don't have any favorites, it's probably going to be a difficult read.

The second issue tends to be that picking anything Touhou to start with, is not especially straightforward, thanks to the huge amount of content available and because the most logical choices usually give beginners a bad time.

Fans also often recommend their favorite game or manga, but there are many of them that require preexisting knowledge or experience.

That isn't to say though, that there aren't better options at all.


Now I know, but Where to Start, then?

Now that we discussed media that would be a rough start, I'll try and narrow down the best options to start out with, based on you might be looking for in the series.

If You're Interested in the Shmup Games, Try:

Touhou 8 ~ Imperishable Night

Mechanically, IN is the platonic ideal Touhou game. It has responsive, fun controls, many characters to choose from, a lot to unlock, and it's one of the easiest games as well. Not to mention that it's an eye-candy and the music is one of the best and most beloved by the fandom.

Its lack of difficulty actually has some pretty complicated mechanics hidden behind it, so if someone decides to optimize their gameplay or try harder difficulties, it's a great game to do so with.

Highly recommended for people who are ready to jump into deep lore and aren't overwhelmed by all the options and characters.

Touhou 10 ~ Mountain of Faith

MoF is if a Touhou game was broken down into its bare essentials. A really simple adventure with only 2 playable characters, and pretty straightforward, but well-made stages, options and challenge.

Unlike IN, MoF is rather light on lore, and it's also light on difficulty. I personally consider it a tiny bit more difficult than IN, but it's simple enough so that no one gets overwhelmed by it.

And of course, the visuals and the music are beautiful as usual, maybe even more so, than IN's.

Honorable mentions:

  • Touhou 9 ~ Phantasmagoria of Flower View is a popular first game because it's objectively the most easy. The only reason I'm not wholeheartedly recommending it is because there are only a few games in the series that play like it, and the way it plays is rather chaotic even if it doesn't require pretty much any skill.

  • Touhou 16 ~ Hidden Star in Four Seasons is the most straightforward modern Touhou game. It has a good balance of lore, fun character moments, and some fan favorites such as Aya and Cirno are playable in it. It doesn't come wholeheartedly recommended because it's not the easiest game (medium difficulty if you're asking me), and because many players complain about a lack of visibility. Not to mention that the final boss and what her deal is is pretty difficult to wrap your head around, even if you're not a newcomer.

  • Touhou 13 ~ Ten Desires is only an honorable mention because it's kind of an outlier regarding tone, lore and musical style. Outside of that, it's pretty straightforward, fun and easy.

If You're Interested in the Fighting Games, Try:

Touhou 10.5 ~ Scarlet Weather Rhapsody

The second most popular fighting game, only eclipsed by its own expansion.

It has the most similarities to a traditional fighting game and a large online community to boot.

Highly recommended for people who want something familiar to start out with, but who still want to get a typical Touhou adventure out of it.

Touhou 12.3 ~ Hisoutensoku

By far the most popular Touhou fighting game, as mentioned before, the expansion of Touhou 10.5.

Largely the same experience as SWR, but of course, with more characters and locations to choose from. Soku also has the largest active playerbase out of the fighting games.

I'm going to be honest, fighting games are not for me, and these aren't based on my own experience, I collected opinions from reviews all over the internet. Considering that everyone but maybe one or two people put Hisoutensoku and SWR as their favorites, it's safe to say that they're the best options for fighting game aficionados.


If You're Interested in the Manga/Character Stories, Try:

Touhou Sengetsusei ~ [Any]

Sangetsusei is a series of four manga that follow the adventures of the three fairies of light.

They're lighthearted, fun slice-of-life stories set in Gensokyo, a really pleasant entry to the Touhou series.

Touhou Ibarakasen ~ Wild and Horned Hermit

WaHH follows the story of Kasen Ibaraki, a human(?) who's looking for her arm.

The story is easy to follow for anyone and brings up intriguing topics, such as self-acceptance.

The plot is full of slice-of-life chapters, recommended for people who don't mind if a manga is a little slow. It comes highly recommended for its art style as well, you can't go wrong with Azmaya.

Touhou Suzunaan ~ Forbidden Scrollery

FS is a story that depicts Gensokyo from a human perspective with the help of Kosuzu Motoori, a bookstore owner, who can decipher any language.

It comes especially recommended for people who are interested in youkai lore, and Touhou lore in general. You don't need to know any lore beforehand to understand it though, it has a straightforward plot.

Moe Harukawa's art style is very expressive and versatile as well, making this manga a fan favorite (though that's not the only reason that makes it so).

No honorable mentions this time, most written works sadly require some familiarity with the series. These ones have struck the perfect balance of being beginner-friendly, yet engaging and truly Touhou.


If You Like the Music, Try:

The Secret Sealing Club CDs

The Secret Sealing Club (or Hifuu Club) CDs follow the story of Maribel Hearn and Renko Usami, two college students who often find themselves face-to-face with the supernatural.

These are concept albums, whose stories are set in something like an alternate universe outside of Gensokyo, but not independent of it.

They feature songs from the games and companion albums (for written works) and remaster and recontextualize them. They bear ZUN's fingerprints (naturally), even despite the absence of Gensokyo's people.

Honorable mention (just one, technically, it's the same soundtrack):

  • Touhou 14.5 and 15.5 feature various fan musicians' remixes, in their respective styles. It's an honorable mention because fighting games are not for everyone (especially these ones), and on the other hand if music was what brought you to Touhou, you most likely already know these already.

And finally, for more adventurous people:

If You Don't Care to be Eased In and Just Want the Weirdest Things Touhou Can Offer, Try:

Hourai Dolls ~ Dolls in Pseudo Paradise

This album is a whiplash considering the otherwise lighthearted tone ZUN's works usually offer, as the story features a group of people who arrive in Gensokyo and get killed one by one, until only one remains.

Since this album was written in the early Windows are, the songs still bear the ghastly soundfonts of Touhou 6, which makes the album even more bleak.

ZUN hasn't written anything like this before or since, even himself stating that he has no idea why he made this CD.

Touhou 17.5 ~ Sunken Fossil World

Although not as bleak as DiPP, this game still features a place called the Hell of Blood Pools which is a not at all subtle metaphor for petroleum and how or why it's so sought after.

The game itself has a hybrid beat 'em up/platformer/fighter. It doesn't really fit into any boxes.

It features a lot of characters that haven't got much screen time up until this point, and its final boss is as deranged as she is entertaining.



After the First Contact

Now that you dipped your toes into Touhou lore, what's next?

That of course depends on where you started out, but you should be fine if you followed your heart (i.e.: what you're interested in).

That said, I'd like to give you some pointers as to where you might find more of what you enjoyed:

  • The omake. Every game comes with a character description for each character that's in it. These descriptions come in a file called "omake.txt". They can be found in the game's files, and on the Touhou wiki as well. They contain a lot of lore that doesn't come up in-game, and it's a goldmine for people who are interested in learning more about characters they like.

  • Written works (outside of manga). The official books and magazines offer a variety of genres and subject matter, and are interesting companionpieces for the games and manga. Here are some good choices for new-ish fans:

    • Grimoires (Grimoire of Marisa and Grimoire of Usami) revolve around the bullet patterns (danmaku) unique to individual characters.

    • Touhou Gumon (Perfect Memento in Strict Sense and Symposium of Post-mysticism) are encyclopedias about Gensokyo and the surrounding realms. Keep in mind that their in-lore writers and the people who speak in them are unreliable narrators.

    • Whispered Oracle of Hakurei Shrine. A collection of omikuji (fortune slips) related to characters. Just a fun read speculating on what blessings or curses the characters would be associated with.

  • Touhou 12 and 17. These two games are rather divisive; everyone seems to either love their treasure hunting mechanics or hate them. This might just be the best time to see which camp you belong to!