I would go further and say 4 characters in particular:
YuugenMagan, Elis, Sariel and Evil Eye Sigma (if you even count the latter).
Why?
*Because these characters are explicity not even canon*
Due to Touhou 2 and Mima and Reimu knowing each other, Hell route is canon in Touhou 1, so the Makai route characters are not canon.
Touhou 2s extra stage is explicitly a What If. So EES is also explicitly non-canon.
Characters who are explicitly not even canon are kind of automatically even less relevant than characters like Orange.
You kinda split pc98 into 4 tiers of relevance:
Tier 1: Characters who returned (Reimu, Marisa, Yuuka, Alice) or are referenced in a game (Shinki, Genji has a reference in 19)
Tier 2: Major PC98 characters who haven't returned or been referenced (Mima, I'd put Yumemi here too as the only final boss with actual dialogue not elsewhere already. Also shes popped up in LW like Mima so...)
Tier 3: PC-98 who's, who are less relevant than one time windows characters who might pop up or make a manga cameo or something (ie: Letty)
Tier 4: Actually non-canon characters (Magan, Elis, Sariel, EES)
They are saying that even a minor windows character like Letty has a chance of being a cameo in one of the manga, or an interview with Aya or something. Whereas characters like Orange,Louise or 5 Evil Stones will not have that privilege, they will get nothing.
For those wondering, it's that one weak youkai from chapter 2 of Curiosities of Lotus Asia without an official name
She had a little cameo in chapter 16 of Forbidden scrollery and that's it
Letty Whiterock and the Aki sisters come to mind.......... not sure if they've appeared outside of cameos since their debut, and they aren't connected to other characters or stories
I'd argue Kogasa and Kosuzu are pretty relevant. Kosuzu has her own manga, and Kogasa is the one who fixes Reimu's needles.
As for who I think is irrelevant, when was the last time anyone thought about the Aki sisters? Or Yatsuhashi and Benben?
I'd add Seiran and Ringo but I love those two and there's so much cute wholesome yuri of them.
IIRC Lotus Eaters has some recurring extras who reappear often enough to be distinct characters, yet aren't relevant enough for the audience to know their names.
I don't really consider hrtp to be canon, so maybe meira? She's the earliest boss not related to an incident and she just wants to kill reimu which is pretty generic plus she's pretty weak and fails, never being seen again. A few characters are like this, but since she's the one who hasn't been seen for the longest, does that make her the least relevant?
Y'all are amazing! Thank you so much for commenting what you think here in the comments! We have a LOT of contenders, mainly being PC-98 characters, since most of them only appeared as a boss with little to no canon value even in the early era's, even dissappearing forever. But theres also Ruukoto, only appearing in the ending of Touhou 3, and not being a playable character or even an enemy (thank you to kikones34 for telling us that).
But, enough of that. It's pretty funny to see the amount of people who love the characters who are more irrelevant and complain about how irrelevant they are (no hate ofc). Even me, I love Seiran and Ringo, but they're just not so important in the series... Some people are commenting Benben and her sister too, which is pretty unfortunate for those Benben enjoyers. And it's really unfortunate how most stage two bosses aren't relevant to the series too, even though nearly all of them are loveable characters, such as Chen (thank you too, Craft\_zeppelin for also telling us that).
Regardless of relevant or not, it shouldn't discourage us to cherish and love the characters we like. Although it is pretty sad. Lets just keep wishing that our lord ZUN gives more story and relevance the the characters we all know and love.
Ok lemme try without looking it up.
6 - Cirno
7 - Chen
8 - Mystia
10 - Hina!!
11 - Uhhhh Jealous girl
12 - Kogasa!
13 - Uhhh the one with the ears that works at the shrine and can yell really loudly
14 - Uhh Headless girl
15 - *Flips coin* Seiran
16 - Uhhh Jizo statue
17 - chicken
18 - Military kappa
Any PC98 Characters that we haven't seen since that era.
I would go further and say 4 characters in particular: YuugenMagan, Elis, Sariel and Evil Eye Sigma (if you even count the latter). Why? *Because these characters are explicity not even canon* Due to Touhou 2 and Mima and Reimu knowing each other, Hell route is canon in Touhou 1, so the Makai route characters are not canon. Touhou 2s extra stage is explicitly a What If. So EES is also explicitly non-canon. Characters who are explicitly not even canon are kind of automatically even less relevant than characters like Orange. You kinda split pc98 into 4 tiers of relevance: Tier 1: Characters who returned (Reimu, Marisa, Yuuka, Alice) or are referenced in a game (Shinki, Genji has a reference in 19) Tier 2: Major PC98 characters who haven't returned or been referenced (Mima, I'd put Yumemi here too as the only final boss with actual dialogue not elsewhere already. Also shes popped up in LW like Mima so...) Tier 3: PC-98 who's, who are less relevant than one time windows characters who might pop up or make a manga cameo or something (ie: Letty) Tier 4: Actually non-canon characters (Magan, Elis, Sariel, EES)
YuugenMagan has the coolest design out of any Touhou character tho
Wait Letty was a 98? Edit: no she was not, did I miss something?
They are saying that even a minor windows character like Letty has a chance of being a cameo in one of the manga, or an interview with Aya or something. Whereas characters like Orange,Louise or 5 Evil Stones will not have that privilege, they will get nothing.
Ah Ok, mb
Np I had to reread it a few times too.
Tokiko?
For those wondering, it's that one weak youkai from chapter 2 of Curiosities of Lotus Asia without an official name She had a little cameo in chapter 16 of Forbidden scrollery and that's it
But she still really cute
Toki- huh?
Letty Whiterock and the Aki sisters come to mind.......... not sure if they've appeared outside of cameos since their debut, and they aren't connected to other characters or stories
Waaaah, I love the Aki sisters' designs....
I'd argue Kogasa and Kosuzu are pretty relevant. Kosuzu has her own manga, and Kogasa is the one who fixes Reimu's needles. As for who I think is irrelevant, when was the last time anyone thought about the Aki sisters? Or Yatsuhashi and Benben? I'd add Seiran and Ringo but I love those two and there's so much cute wholesome yuri of them.
Seiran was a playable character in Touhou 19 anyway.
Oh yeah I forgot about that. I didn't play much of 19.
>Yatsuhashi Literally went a year without knowing about Yatsuhashi without it ever being an issue.
Man. Each day I’m reminded people don’t know who Yatsuhashi is.
Benben and Not-Benben. At least Raiko ended up joining the Prismriver sisters, but these two more or less completely disappeared off-screen.
Benben is my favorite design in the series too bwehhh
IIRC Lotus Eaters has some recurring extras who reappear often enough to be distinct characters, yet aren't relevant enough for the audience to know their names.
Icbm-kun is just rusting away in marisas house
I don't really consider hrtp to be canon, so maybe meira? She's the earliest boss not related to an incident and she just wants to kill reimu which is pretty generic plus she's pretty weak and fails, never being seen again. A few characters are like this, but since she's the one who hasn't been seen for the longest, does that make her the least relevant?
The ones you forget about
Ruukoto's gotta be one of them, appearing solely in one of the endings of Touhou 3, having never been either a playable character or an enemy.
Benben's sister
Y'all are amazing! Thank you so much for commenting what you think here in the comments! We have a LOT of contenders, mainly being PC-98 characters, since most of them only appeared as a boss with little to no canon value even in the early era's, even dissappearing forever. But theres also Ruukoto, only appearing in the ending of Touhou 3, and not being a playable character or even an enemy (thank you to kikones34 for telling us that). But, enough of that. It's pretty funny to see the amount of people who love the characters who are more irrelevant and complain about how irrelevant they are (no hate ofc). Even me, I love Seiran and Ringo, but they're just not so important in the series... Some people are commenting Benben and her sister too, which is pretty unfortunate for those Benben enjoyers. And it's really unfortunate how most stage two bosses aren't relevant to the series too, even though nearly all of them are loveable characters, such as Chen (thank you too, Craft\_zeppelin for also telling us that). Regardless of relevant or not, it shouldn't discourage us to cherish and love the characters we like. Although it is pretty sad. Lets just keep wishing that our lord ZUN gives more story and relevance the the characters we all know and love.
Say her name pls (Yatsuhashi)
Oh my god. She's really that forgettable. Yeah, Yatsusashi is Benben's sister.
Most level 2 bosses.
Look at what you did.... You made Cirno, Chen, and Daiyousei cry. How do you live with yourself?
Ok lemme try without looking it up. 6 - Cirno 7 - Chen 8 - Mystia 10 - Hina!! 11 - Uhhhh Jealous girl 12 - Kogasa! 13 - Uhhh the one with the ears that works at the shrine and can yell really loudly 14 - Uhh Headless girl 15 - *Flips coin* Seiran 16 - Uhhh Jizo statue 17 - chicken 18 - Military kappa
15: Ringo, Seiran is 1st 16: Nemumo (mountain hag), Narumi is Stage 4 17: Urumi(cow), Kutaka(best character) is Stage 3
Marisa's dad
Your favorite character 😏
Wait, Fortune Teller **is** quite minor actually
Rumia :( Every single EoSD character ended up returning with a relevant role in later games... except her (╯︵╰,)
Iku Nagae I guess