Youmu Konpaku/RicePigeon's first version

''Honing her swordplay skills, Youmu retains her fast rushdown melee that she has always been known for. But her biggest advantages in the past may now be her biggest weakness, as she appears to have been inspired by another swordsman's style, thus granting her a more calm, refined approach.''

Gameplay
http://i.imgur.com/A253AT1.gif

Youmu is technically a six-button character, but plays like a standard three-button character, using the extra buttons for shortcut;, when used combined with or  acts as a shortcut for the character's   and   dash commands. is used as a shortcut for +, while is used as a shortcut for, used in the Level 3 Hypers. At the beginning of the match, Youmu must select from one of two mutually-exclusive Level 3 Hypers; "6-root Cleansing" is a powerful counterattack, while "Secret of Life and Death" grants Youmu with a clone that repeats her inputs for a limited time.

Youmu is a high-risk, high-reward melee-oriented offense character who, at first glance, may seem to excel at rushdown due to her quick speed and combo potential. While Youmu can indeed be played this way, her maximum potential comes from taking advantage of Youmu's unique Spirit Gauge mechanic. Youmu's Spirit Gauge will gradually fill as Youmu hits an opponent with an attack, successfully counters an opponent's attack with Insightful Sword or Netherworld Reflection Slash, or simply stands or walking close to an opponent. As the Gauge fills, some of Youmu's Normals and Specials will be altered, such as faster startup, more damage, increased hitbox size, or other properties. For instance, Youmu's aerial + will gain both an increased hitbox size and the ability to inflict on Counter Hit starting at Level 2 Spirit, with guaranteed  at Level 3 Spirit. However, Youmu must be played carefully, as Back Dashing, getting hit, or whiffing an attack will cause Youmu's Spirit Gauge to decrease.

Perhaps Youmu's biggest weakness is her low Life stat at only 850 Life. As the Spirit Gauge decreases, Youmu will begin to lose the benefits accorded with it. At higher Spirit levels, Youmu cannot afford to recklessly throw out pokes with her Normals like other characters can unless she has extra Spirit Gauge to spare. Furthermore, many of Youmu's better combos can only be performed at Level 2 Spirit or higher, due to some of her Normals having much longer startup times at lower Spirit levels, thus preventing some of her moves from properly connecting in a combo or blockstring. Because of this, maintaining offensive pressure against Youmu will keep her Spirit Gauge low and restrict her options.

General
""If there is something I can't make clear, I try cutting it!""

""If a sword's been used to cut so much that it became tainted with clotted blood, it becomes useless.""

""You never had a chance. You're an insult to my Roukanken.""

""The things that can't be cut by this youkai-tempered Roukanken are next to none!""

""Now then, today's training is done.""

""Past, present, and future... Events that have happened long ago, and those that have yet to happen. Surely, Lady Yukari might know something about the boundaries of time.""

Character-specific
""Maybe you say 'I shall make you the rust of my sword' because of the iron in blood?""

- vs. Reimu Hakurei

""If you're going to move that slowly, you'll never get out of the reach of my sword.""

- vs. Reimu Hakurei

""Don't use all your strength. It's easy for me to cut you down if you use strength.""

- vs. Marisa Kirisame

""Your mind is too clouded. You know you won't die a good death like this, do you?""

- vs. Marisa Kirisame

""So there are shrines in the outside world too, huh? I thought that they were already a lost culture.""

- vs. Sanae Kochiya

""By relying on the power of your gods, that must mean you'll never reach first place on your own.""

- vs. Sanae Kochiya

""Don't you use things like the Green Dragon Blade? I hear things like that often...""

- vs. Hong Meiling

""I sense hesitation in you. You're... holding something back?""

- vs. Hong Meiling

""Those rumors about Lady Yukari. They're true, aren't they? Or rather, they WILL become true? I'm not sure I understand.""

- vs. Lie Meiling

""That dark power... Just what ARE you?""

- vs. Lie Meiling

""Lady Yuyuko, why don't you train sword techniques with me sometimes? It'll settle your spirits, you know?""

- vs. Yuyuko Saigyouji

""What do you think of this incident, Lady Yuyuko? Things that happened long ago, yet never happened?""

- vs. Yuyuko Saigyouji

""Ah, Lady Yukari. Strange things are happening all over the place...""

- vs. Yukari Yakumo

""Ah, Lady Yukari. I've heard rumors saying you were involved in this incident...""

- vs. Yukari Yakumo

""I feel sorry for you. The both of you.""

- vs. Seiga Kaku

""I don't know what the two of you are scheming, but... ""

- vs. Seiga Kaku

Trivia

 * Youmu's Spirit Gauge mechanic bears a strong resemblance to Vergil's Concentration mechanic from Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition. This is further reinforced by the fact that Youmu's 8th palette is based on Vergil himself.
 * Youmu's sprite files contain unused spellcard text. It is possible that these were originally planned as Hypers at one point, but were ultimately scrapped.
 * "Matsuyuri-Reflecting Satellite Slash" was the name of Youmu's Last Word spellcard from Imperishable Night. This was most likely intended to originally be one of Youmu's two selectable Level 3 Hypers.
 * Devil Trigger "Doppelganger", Boundary Cutting Sword "Dimension Slash", and "Dark Angel" all reference attacks used by Vergil, indicating that an alternate mode based on Vergil may have been originally planned.
 * A "Level Max" sprite exists in Youmu's sprite files, but is unused. This was more than likely intended to be used to indicate a 4th level for Youmu's Spirit Gauge mechanic, but was never implemented.