>>49704281
Unfortunately what I like about Okina (the Touhou character) is pretty difficult to divorce from the "schizo shit". Her (what you would call) background lore is such a big part of the appeal.
Even if Matarajin wasn't real, the lore would be really fascinating and be basicaly tailor made for Touhou's whole passing into fantasy thing. The idea of there being a deity who was widely worshipped, who was of extremely ambiguous nature, and then became scorned and largely forgotten is a very interesting one.
The way ZUN touhou-fied the lore is really great. Land of the Backdoor is such a great, weird concept. Okina (the touhou character) being the creator of Gensokyo is a great play on how Matarajin was sometime seen as a wrathful manifestation of Amitabha Buddha, who is revered for creating the paradisical Western Pure Land. Having the two servants Matarajin has in that famous piece of art as her servants who are fought together is great, as are how their abilities are depicted. I also really like Okina's (the touhou character's) powers are related to the seasons and how she can unlock the potential via "backdoor", they are very fun interpretations of some lore related to the Big Dipper.
Unfortunately further discussion about the backdoor, unlocking the potential, Mai and Satono controlling life and mental energies, the four seasons etc. gets in very "schizo" territory and would be very long, involving all kinds of ancient Chinese beliefs about life energies, acupuncture points and the role of the heavens/stars in controlling all of this and the role of the Big Dipper...
But even before I knew all of that, the way she is depicted in Touhou, she has a very powerful and appealing presence. I really like the vibrant orange and green color scheme, orange is one of my favorite colors. I love her outfit, I love stars and the large Big Dipper on her tabard is great. She has one of the best hats in the series. Her boots are nice. I like the throne she sits on, the auroral flames surrounding her, I even like the drum she has, how mirrors are associated with deities in Japan and that type of drum with Noh...but that's getting back to the "shizo shit" again, now isn't it? Even the way she just looks is connected to such immensively deep history.
She's refined, elegant, beautiful, powerful, mighty and she knows it and acts like it. What's not to love?
