Yukari Yakumo


 * This article is about the boundary youkai from Touhou Project. For other characters also named Yukari, see Yukari (disambiguation).

Yukari Yakumo is a youkai who has the ability to manipulate boundaries. She is the first and only Phantasm stage boss in Touhou Project, first appearing in Perfect Cherry Blossom alongside her shikigami Ran Yakumo. She made her debut as a playable character in Immaterial and Missing Power, and later again in Imperishable Night, Scarlet Weather Rhapsody, and Hisoutensoku.

She is called the "gap youkai", although "gap youkai" is not the name of a species, as she is more of a one-of-a-kind type of youkai. Her power to manipulate boundaries allows her to control physical boundaries as well as metaphorical boundaries, as well as opening gaps in space to instantly travel anywhere of her choosing. Most residents of Gensokyo try to avoid her as much as possible due to her whimsically antagonizing personality, though she has managed to befriend a few residents, including Yuyuko Saigyouji, Suika Ibuki, and Reimu Hakurei, the latter of which is closely associated with the Hakurei Barrier around Gensokyo of which Yukari had a hand in its creation.

Although not considered part of Touhou Project's canon, Yukari forms a temporary master-apprentice relationship with Hong Meiling in Touhou Rekkaden, which results in the creation of Lie Meiling.

In M.U.G.E.N, has been made by various authors. She also appears as an victim in Lie Meiling's intro, in a scene that parodies Akuma's boss intro with M. Bison in  Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo.

Kurogane's Version


Kurogane's version plays like Immaterial and Missing Power.

Seravy's Version


Seravy's version plays similar to Immaterial and Missing Power, but still has custom gameplay elements.

Shiroto's Version


Shiroto's version plays more like a combination of Melty Blood and all 3 Touhou fighting games.

RicePigeon's version


RicePigeon's version is a three-button character utilizing, and  for its attacks. Its movelist consist of various mixup options that allow it to play offense and defense, such as a falling projectile for zoning the opponent, the ability to absorb incoming enemy projectiles and use them against her foe, a command grab and a move that, depending on button press, will keep its opponent guessing whether to block high, low, or cross up. To toy with its opponent further, Yukari also possesses the unique ability to teleport to the opposite side of the screen by backdashing next to a wall.

This version of Yukari uses Morrigan Aensland's English voice from Marvel vs. Capcom 3, while Ran and Chen use X-23 and Felicia's English voices, respectively.

The Gap Meter


Whenever Yukari absorbs a projectile with Ride the Waves, a visual indicator will show the capacity of its gaps. Up to 10 projectiles will be stored before its gap reaches maximum capacity. The more the gap meter is filled, the more projectiles will be released during Fight the Ocean, and the more damage will be done by its Gazing Eye and Laplace's Demon attacks.

Seravy & RicePigeon's Version


This version is almost identical to the pre-2011 version released by RicePigeon, but with edits by Seravy. This version has a Spell Card select at the beginning, and relies less on projectiles. Because it is based on a much older version of RicePigeon's Yukari, there are certain attacks from Ricepigeon's version that do not appear in this update.

The Gap Meter


Whenever Yukari absorbs a projectile with Ride the Waves, a visual indicator will show the capacity of her gaps. Up to 15 projectiles will be stored before her gap reaches maximum capacity. The more the gap meter is filled, the more projectiles will be released during Fight the Ocean.

Fhqwhgad7's version


Like Seravy & RicePigeon's version, this one is also very similar to RicePigeon's older version, except this time Yukari is a boss character that fights alongside the giant fish Primeus. She has a special intro against The Kid. This version of Yukari was released as both a standalone M.U.G.E.N character, and also as a boss character in I Wanna Be The Guy: The MUGEN-based Fangame.

Felicity's B.C.F. Yukari


This version plays like a fusion between Yukari and Seth from Street Fighter IV.

Trivia

 * Maxwell's Demon refers to a thought experiment proposed by 19th century physicist James Clerk Maxwell that demonstrates how the Second Law of Thermodynamics can be violated: the experiment proposes that a container filled with gas at equilibrium is divided into two compartments separated by an insulated door. An observer demon watching over the container opens this door, which allows only faster moving molecules to pass through, resulting in one compartment cooling while the other heats. Yukari, being a youkai of boundaries, could very easily fit the role of this demon.
 * In RicePigeon's version, when viewing the palettes for individual sprites, one will notice that the color palette for Yukari's Aerial Light normal attack effect is arranged to form the words "FUCK SALT". This is a reference to a scene from The Tourette's Guy, where in one video he begins to eat fishsticks before abruptly and violently tossing the plate aside in displeasure, shouting the aforementioned phrase.
 * RicePigeon's version contains a special intro with Ricepigeon's version of Lie Meiling, which is a direct reference to Evil Ryu's special intro against Akuma in Street Fighter Alpha 3, which involved Evil Ryu and Akuma performing the Raging Demon on each other simultaneously, cancelling out each other's attack. In Yukari's case, however, she simply cancels out Lie Meiling's attack with her folding fan.