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, there are many versions and edits of Yukari. She is known for her spellcard Abandoned Line "Aimless Journey to the Abandoned Station" (jokingly referred to as the Yukari Express by some fans) which involves Yukari summoning a train through one of her gaps, which then launches the opponent up into the air up to 3 times. The move is unblockable, but the startup time is long enough for the opponent to interrupt Yukari before the train can spawn. Numerous videos on YouTube showcase several characters being KO'ed only by this move, much like Rugal Bernstein's Rugalspin.

Yukari also appears a victim of 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.

Gameplay
RicePigeon's old version has less reliance on projectiles and tries to emulate a more traditional fighting game character, and has a Spell Card select at the beginning that determines which supers can be used during the match. This version is a 3 button character, and uses, and  for her attacks. It is currently offline as the character has since undergone major revisions. Before she was taken offline, she used Karin Kanzuki's japanese voice from Street Fighter Alpha 3.

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, and the more damage will be done by her Gazing Eye and Laplace's Demon attacks.

Stats

 * Life: 1000
 * Power: 3000
 * Attack: 100
 * Defense: 100

Gameplay
RicePigeon's new version gameplay has been adjusted to match that of his newer characters. The sprites also include additional color separation. Many of her attacks have been redone from scratch, with their properties and animation timings adjusted to more closely resemble those in the source games. Her gap meter is still present, but it's maximum capacity has been reduced, allowing the player to fill the gauge faster. 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 her gaps. Up to 10 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, and the more damage will be done by her Gazing Eye and Laplace's Demon attacks.

Stats

 * Life: 1000
 * Power: 3000
 * Attack: 100
 * Defense: 100

Gameplay
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.

Ishtar


Ishtar is the goddess of fertility and war in both Sumerian and Assyrian Mythology. She is an edit of Yukari Yakumo by Lates and is a fusion with Gilgamesh from the Fate series, Ishtar focuses on the summoning of chains, sharp pointy objects and large lasers to destroy her opponents. Grapplers tear her apart, unfortunately, due to her resultant lack of close-range defensive options.

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 old version, when viewing the palettes for individual sprites, one will notice that the color palette for Yukari's Aerial Strong 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.