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Youkai

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Revision as of 21:29, 5 May 2005 by Rukaroa (talk | contribs) (Cross-references mostly)
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(妖怪)
Translation varies from "spirit" to "weird creature" to "demon"

Youkai is a term mostly associated with Japanese folk creatures and ghosts. The term can also apply broadly to anything that is a supernatural being or legend, from any culture. Because there are hundreds of stories of magical beings around the world, the different types of youkai are endless. Fairies, vampires, spirits, and nekomatas can all be found in Gensokyo. Alternatively, it is a common Japanese belief that after a certain amount of time, ordinary objects and animals gain life and personality, becoming a kind of youkai as well.

Gensokyo youkai tend to live within the wilderness, far away from human settlements. Normal youkai seem to behave like wild animals, attacking humans within their territory on sight. Exceptional youkai are less common, but they often enjoy speaking to humans, and are much stronger than an ordinary Gensokyo human, one on one. These youkai are almost always humanoid in appearance, and can be quite unpredictable; friendly one moment, hostile the next.

  • Example (normal): most enemies that appear during a non-boss encounter
  • Example (exceptional): Rumia, Yukari Yakumo