Well, she is a horned hermit after all. Really wondering if Reimu will ever figure out who Kasen probably/really is.

She'd probably still like Kasen though, she's not malicious or a freeloader.

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euronet said:

Well, she is a horned hermit after all. Really wondering if Reimu will ever figure out who Kasen probably/really is.

She'd probably still like Kasen though, she's not malicious or a freeloader.

Wouldn't she have to kill her for being a human turned into a Youkai? If she doesn't, Reimu's a damn hypocrite.

Virtud said:

Wouldn't she have to kill her for being a human turned into a Youkai? If she doesn't, Reimu's a damn hypocrite.

That thing is widely misinterpreted. I mean, there's never been even the slightest implication that she's supposed to kill, for example, magicians like Alice and Byakuren. The point is to stop current villagers in Gensokyo from turning, in order to maintain the local balance and fear of youkai.

How wide that stretches, and whether Marisa for example would count, is a common matter of speculation.

Levander said:

That thing is widely misinterpreted. I mean, there's never been even the slightest implication that she's supposed to kill, for example, magicians like Alice and Byakuren. The point is to stop current villagers in Gensokyo from turning, in order to maintain the local balance and fear of youkai.

How wide that stretches, and whether Marisa for example would count, is a common matter of speculation.

Say now that we are on the topic, why would she care about balancing the humans fear for the youkais sake? Fear is their main source of strength. Why is she voluntarily allowing humans to fear youkai, instead of helping them destroy them? She seems to be taking sides for a hidden reason, or she's just easy to manipulate.

Virtud said:

Say now that we are on the topic, why would she care about balancing the humans fear for the youkais sake? Fear is their main source of strength. Why is she voluntarily allowing humans to fear youkai, instead of helping them destroy them? She seems to be taking sides for a hidden reason, or she's just easy to manipulate.

I mean... that's quite literally her job. The purpose of the Hakurei shrine maiden is to maintain the balance between humans and youkai so that Gensokyo can keep existing (why she should care is a different question, but clearly she does), not to kill youkai left and right, and she personally doesn't seem to mind them too much. There's even a strong implication, if not direct statement in canon that while the shrine maiden acts as something of a neutral party, she's actually installed by the youkai.

She isn't just conspiring with youkai against humanity, either, since most of the time she's solving incidents and stopping the youkai from getting too uppity on their end. The humans are typically the underdogs, so they rarely need much stopping, the Fortune Teller being a very rare exception.

Levander said:

I mean... that's quite literally her job. The purpose of the Hakurei shrine maiden is to maintain the balance between humans and youkai so that Gensokyo can keep existing (why she should care is a different question, but clearly she does), not to kill youkai left and right, and she personally doesn't seem to mind them too much. There's even a strong implication, if not direct statement in canon that while the shrine maiden acts as something of a neutral party, she's actually installed by the youkai.

She isn't just conspiring with youkai against humanity, either, since most of the time she's solving incidents and stopping the youkai from getting too uppity on their end. The humans are typically the underdogs, so they rarely need much stopping, the Fortune Teller being a very rare exception.

Interesting, I see. What you say makes sense, and well what Zun says is what it is in the end, even though I see a flaw in that logic, I can still see why Reimu isn't completely psyched in destroying them either. For the most part, the youkai are in line and don't wreck havoc all the time, while trying to follow the rules.

Okay, I think I get it now, another reason why she doesn't break the cycle and balance created by youkais, is simply because of fear of change. Imagine, let's say she manages to kill all the youkais, now what? The barrier will certainly crumble, then they would be discovered by the rest of the world, and eventually be integrated and subjugated to live in a new life they do not understand. Rather, living in a cycle, one they are used to for generations, may feel like a safe space for them, don't you think?

Virtud said:

Interesting, I see. What you say makes sense, and well what Zun says is what it is in the end, even though I see a flaw in that logic, I can still see why Reimu isn't completely psyched in destroying them either. For the most part, the youkai are in line and don't wreck havoc all the time, while trying to follow the rules.

Okay, I think I get it now, another reason why she doesn't break the cycle and balance created by youkais, is simply because of fear of change. Imagine, let's say she manages to kill all the youkais, now what? The barrier will certainly crumble, then they would be discovered by the rest of the world, and eventually be integrated and subjugated to live in a new life they do not understand. Rather, living in a cycle, one they are used to for generations, may feel like a safe space for them, don't you think?

That sounds about right. I wouldn't mind living a life like that. Save for being poor. Reimu could do with some donations.