Mike Goutokuji

豪 (ごう) 徳 (とく) 寺 (じ) 　ミケ goːtokɯdʑi mike Mike Goutokuji Mike Goutokuzi More Alternative Spellings
Mike Goutokuji in Unconnected Marketeers Lucky Charm for Prosperous Commerce More Character Titles
Species	Maneki-neko
Abilities	Beckoning in money or customers
Occupation	Happily unemployed
Music Themes
大吉キトゥン (Unconnected Marketeers)
Appearances
Official Games
Unconnected Marketeers (Stage 1 Boss and midboss) 100th Black Market (Tutorial, 1st Market Boss)

"Those cards are dangerous items. They sure ain't cat toys, I can tell you that much."

"Hmph! You might say that... but you want 'em too, don'tcha? And they're not dangerous or anything. I mean, everyone's collecting 'em!"

— Marisa Kirisame and Mike Goutokuji (Unconnected Marketeers Stage 1)

Mike Goutokuji (豪徳寺 ミケ, Goutokuji Mike) is a maneki-neko residing along Gensokyo's mountains who also acts as the Stage 1 midboss and boss in Unconnected Marketeers.

General Information

Personality

Mike is shrewd and cunning, immediately attempting to bargain with the protagonist for the cards being circulated in Gensokyo during the events of Unconnected Marketeers. She continues to push the cards on the protagonist even when she's defeated, apparently considering a successful sale a kind of victory in itself. She speaks in the style of a smooth-talking salesperson, reflecting her design as a maneki-neko (often called a "Lucky Cat"), which are considered good fortune for businesses in Japanese folklore.

Abilities

She has the ability to invite money or people to do business. However, due to the fact that she was unable to train as a maneki-neko due to her backstory, her ability developed imperfectly and she can only invite one of the two - and the other will often be driven away.

Occupation

She states herself to be happily unemployed.

Backstory

According to her backstory in Unconnected Marketeers, she initially set out to become a proper maneki-neko of Goutoku-ji, a Buddhist temple in Tokyo. However, she was born as a calico cat, whereas maneki-neko traditionally have pure white fur. She was teased and jeered at by the other maneki-neko trainees ruthlessly, where they even went as far as attempting to bleach her fur white against her wishes. She angrily insisted that there was nothing wrong with being a calico maneki-neko, but was nonetheless cast out from the temple before her training was complete, leaving her unable to perform her duties as a maneki-neko effectively.

Feeling as though she had no place as a maneki-neko in the Outside World, she eventually traveled to the mountains and found her way to Gensokyo, where she's become content with her relatively care-free life in a land accepting of misfit youkai.

Character Design

Origin

Mike is based on a Maneki-Neko, a famously traditional figurine that serves as a good luck charm to (most commonly) business owners whenever they're placed in a house or shop.

Name

Her surname, Goutokuji (豪徳寺), is taken directly from the real-world Goutoku-ji temple, which is said to be the birthplace of the maneki-neko.

Her given name, Mike (ミケ), is taken from mike-neko (三毛猫) (lit. "three-haired cat"), the Japanese word for 'calico cat'.

Design

Her design is very reminiscent of maneki-neko, with the key difference being her calico colouration, present in her hair, fur, and clothing. She wears a collar and wrist bracelets with brass-coloured bells. In her left hand, she holds a koban coin, also typical of maneki-neko. In her Unconnected Marketeers portrait, she also has her right arm in the typical "beckoning" position of a maneki-neko.

Story

Mike's sprite in UM

Games

Unconnected Marketeers

She appears as the Stage 1 boss of Unconnected Marketeers, attempting to sell cards to the protagonist. She also informs the protagonist that it's "against the rules" to take the cards by force, and they must be bartered for in some way.

Spin-offs

100th Black Market

In 100th Black Market, Mike appears as the one of the 1st market bosses. Her ability card, a Maneki-neko, can be acquired.

Spell Cards

Spell Cards

Name	Translated	Comments	Games	Stage
Total: 3
招符「弾幕万来」	Beckon Sign "Danmaku Business Boom"		UM 100BM	St. 1: E/N/H/L Tutorial
招符「弾災招福」	Beckon Sign "Shoot Away Disaster, Beckon in Fortune"		UM	St. 1: E/N/H/L
金符「三毛猫に小判」	Money Sign "Casting Koban Coins Before a Calico Cat"		100BM	1st Market

Fandom

Main article: Fandom: Mike Goutokuji

Official Profiles

Unconnected Marketeers - omake.txt

○１面ボス 　　商売繁盛の縁起物 　　豪徳寺 ミケ（ごうとくじ みけ） 　　Goutokuzi Mike 　　種族：招き猫 　　能力：お金かお客を招き入れる程度の能力 　　豪徳寺にすむ招き猫は、本来は白猫である。 　　しかし三毛猫として生まれた彼女は、その外見の所為で苦労したようである。 　　時にはまがい物と疎まれたり、時には毛を染められそうになったりもした。 　　しかし、彼女は三毛で何が悪いと開き直っていた為、仲間外れにされ、 　　招き猫の修業も出来なかった。 　　その所為か、招き猫の能のが不完全な物になった。 　　お金とお客を招くのが招き猫なのだが、お金かお客のどちらかを招き入れると 　　もう一方を遠ざけてしまう物になってしまった。 　　こうなってはもうお店に置いても価値は無い。当然、引き取り手も無いだろう。 　　彼女はむしろ幸いだと思い、清々しい気分で招き猫社会を離れた。 　　そして、山で悠々自適な新生活を送ることになった。

Stage 1 Boss Lucky Charm of Prosperous Business Mike Goutokuji Species: Maneki-neko Ability: Capable of beckoning in money or customers The maneki-neko of Goutoku-ji temple are ordinarily white cats. She, however, was born a calico cat, and it seems that she struggled quite a bit due to her appearance. At times, she was shunned as a poor imitation, and at other times, those around her tried to dye her fur. But because she spat back at them that there was nothing wrong with being calico, she was ultimately cast out from the group and was unable to partake in her maneki-neko training. Perhaps because of this, her ability as a maneki-neko developed imperfectly. Maneki-neko are meant to beckon money and customers, but in her case, beckoning one of the two will end up driving away the other. By that point, she was worthless to place in a shop. And of course, none were likely to claim her. She thought of this as a stroke of good luck, if anything, and abandoned maneki-neko society feeling wholly refreshed. And thus, she set out to live a new life in the mountains, comfortable and free of worry.

Official Sources

Official sources

• 2021/03/21 Unconnected Marketeers - omake.txt (trial profile, stage 1 dialogue)