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<p><h2><I>Retelling of Oriental Stories</I> Preface</h2></P>
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<p class=MsoNormal>    Welcome! If you're reading this, then you've stumbled upon <I>Touhou Ibunshu</I>, a large arc of fanfiction that is a retelling of the Windows Touhou games from EoSD to IN. </p>

<p class=MsoNormal>     If that introduction makes no sense, don't worry. Keep reading and it will become clear.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal>     This is Usually Dead speaking. (You probably guessed that, given the name of this website.) One of my great interests in life is independently-produced Japanese media. This includes music, comics and games that are made by small groups of talented people, who sell their work at big conventions in Japan or openly on the Internet. This genre of media is called <I>doujinshi</I>, which is roughly translatable to "indie" in modern English.</P>

<p class=MsoNormal>      One very notable <I>doujinshi</I> creator is a man allowing himself known only by the online alias of "ZUN". He's the maker of a long-running series of <I>doujin</I> games. He's so far released over a dozen titles in all. The name of each games starts with the <i>kanji</i> characters 東方, pronounced <i>touhou</i>. The meaning is similar to the English "Far East," and "Oriental." </p>

<p class=MsoNormal>    While popular in Japan, very few people know Touhou outside of its own country. Among the small, English-speaking Touhou fan community, the most popular games are those released for Microsoft Windows. Notably, <i>Touhou Koumakyo</i>, <i>Touhou Youyoumu</i>, <i>Touhou Eaishou</i>, <i>Touhou Kaeiduka</i>, <i>Touhou Fujinroku</i>, <i>Touhou Chireiden</i> and <i>Touhou Seirensen</i>. Their English names are not translations, and make little more sense to the casual observer. <i>The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil</i>, <I>Perfect Cherry Blossom</i>, <I>Imperishable Night</i>, <I>Phantasmagoria of Flower View</i>,  <i>Mountain of Faith</i>, <i>Subterranean Animism</i> and <I>Undefined Fantastic Object</I>.</p>


<p class=MsoNormal>     Those who like the Touhou games have many reasons. The gameplay is easy to learn but difficult to master, allowing the player quick access to the <i>movement</i> that is so important to video games. While none of the games are played in 3D, they all have visually pleasing graphics. Their musical scores are stunning, and have inspired dozens of fan renditions and remix albums. But more importantly, the games have a strong and colorful cast of characters. And even better, the characters are <i>all female</i>. That's a huge winning point for male gamers. </p>


<p class=MsoNormal>     I've played the listed Touhou games, and a couple
others. I'm not good at them, but I enjoy their concept. I like it so much, in fact, that I wrote a story around it. It's a multi-part series of short installments, overall called <I>Retelling of Oriental Stories</I>. Just for fun, I'm also giving it a Japanese name, 東方異文集, which is pronounced <I>Touhou Ibunshu</I> Each indivdual installment also has a <I>touhou</I> title, available to see at the beginning of each story.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal>     I’m aware of the negative stigma against fanfiction. It's is largely the domain of unskilled writers. In many people's minds, the very term "fanfiction" is synonymous with incorrect grammar, spelling mistakes, bad style and a complete lack of authorship skill. A lot of that bad press is totally deserved, but not all of it. Some few bits of fanfiction can cause a good emotional reaction in the reader, and some even feel as though the time spent reading them wasn't a total waste.</p>

<p class=MsoNormal>     So here it is, for you to enjoy (hopefully). <i>Touhou Ibunshu</i> might introduce new people to the Touhou universe. It might be read only by people who already know Touhou. Perhaps neither. Whatever its outcome, I hope it can be better than most people's idea of the word "fanfiction."</p>

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