Yukari Yakumo/RicePigeon's second version

''Phantasm and Shadow, Light and Darkness, Wave and Particle, High and Low; Wherever there's a boundary, Yukari will manipulate it. Yukari is known throughout the world of Gensokyo as a youkai who toys with her opponents, and the move options available to this character are sure to keep its foes guessing.''

Gameplay


Yukari Yakumo is a three-button character that utilizes, and  for its attacks. Its moveset consist of various mixup options that allow it to play both offensively and defensively, such as a falling projectile for zoning the opponent, the ability to absorb incoming enemy projectiles and use them against its 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.

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.

At the beginning of the match, Yukari must select between one of two Level 3 spellcards to use during the match. Obsolete Line "Trip to the Old Station" is a large unblockable projectile attack that is extremely difficult to dodge, but has a very long startup time, so Yukari is susceptible to being interrupted before the train cars appear. It also has very few setup opportunities, but does very high damage for a level 3. Yukari's Arcanum "Danmaku Bounded Field" is a command grab hyper that, although weaker than Yukari's other level 3, has much faster startup and great range for a grab, but cannot hit airborne opponents or opponents with lower body invincibility due to its hitbox placement. Also, due to being a grab, it cannot be combo'ed into as it cannot hit opponents in hitstun, though various setups can allow this move to be used as a tick throw to increase the chances of successfully landing it.

General
"Ah, the dull... The dull go through so much trouble, don't they?"

"Were you under the impression that you could overcome certain boundaries? I can change those too you know."

"Such an amazing thing don't you think? A computer program that can merge worlds together. Humans must really have been inspired by me wouldn't you say?"

"Even if I had lost, I would have altered the boundary of victory and defeat. Losing is impossible for me."

"What was that snide remark about being beaten by an old woman?! I'm seventeen years old thank you very much!"

"I'll tell you a secret. My weakness is... nothing."

Character-specific
"A 1000 year imprisonment in Makai, huh? A saint cannot possess purity from impurity."

- vs. Byakuren Hijiri

"Are the Makai residents still offering tours to Gensokyo? We could use some more familiar faces after all."

- vs. Byakuren Hijiri

"Since when do pacifists go to war with Taoists? Ah, the words of a hypocrite."

- vs. Byakuren Hijiri

"Oh, the mirror world me again. It's nothing like sparring against that copy of me that that human raised."

- vs. Yukari Yakumo

"The mirror world has reversed right and left?"

- vs. Yukari Yakumo

"Perhaps the mirror world is that alternate timeline where the black dragon achieves the impossible? Then how is this me still alive?"

- vs. Yukari Yakumo

"China. That name bothers you doesn't it?"

- vs. Hong Meiling

"You living in a red building, that's some kind of joke, right?"

- vs. Hong Meiling

"If you're looking to train, maybe I can be of help. Hehehe... Well, shall we pay a visit to the Hakurei shrine?"

- vs. Hong Meiling

"Had I known you'd turn on me I never would have gone through with the plan."

- vs. Lie Meiling

"Its rare that I ever make a mistake. Am I losing my touch?"

- vs. Lie Meiling

"I never thought it possible for me to actually die, but for an instant... Have I made a serious underestimation?"

- vs. Lie Meiling

"A heart dwelling within a human-shaped object. How is that different from a youkai, I wonder?"

- vs. Alice Margatroid

"I've picked up an amazing toy dog recently. Though it looks weird, its moves were quite real."

- vs. Alice Margatroid

"Artificial Intelligence is what you're trying to create isn't it? What purpose does it serve to reinvent the wheel?"

- vs. Alice Margatroid

"Ah... Might you be missing vitamins? So you can become healthy."

- vs. Patchouli Knowledge

"The magic of the outside world is not so primitive. Now, there are even things like giant robots."

- vs. Patchouli Knowledge

"The grimoire in Meiling's possession was from your library was it not? I wonder what other dangerous artifacts the vampire has collected?"

- vs. Patchouli Knowledge

"Compared to a shrine maiden who's rarely in her shrine, I think I'm getting plenty of work done."

- vs. Reimu Hakurei

"Oh, it's almost dawn. I have to return home and sleep..."

- vs. Reimu Hakurei

"The night's still only just begun. No need to hurry."

- vs. Reimu Hakurei

"Even if you stop time, spilt milk can't be recovered."

- vs. Sakuya Izayoi

"One just needs to be stronger than the Yama and they can do as they please."

- vs. Sakuya Izayoi

"Time and Space are intricately intertwined. A distortion in space is much like the gaps that I open. Perhaps I should invite myself to YOUR world next time?"

- vs. Sakuya Izayoi

"Aren't you a little short to be a devil?"

- vs. Koakuma

"Ah, yes, your name suits you perfectly. Kogouki just doesn't fit you at all."

- vs. Koakuma

"If Koakuma is the name of your species, the perhaps your mirror world counterparts are the Kogoukens?"

- vs. Koakuma

Trivia

 * 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.
 * Yukari contains a special intro with RicePigeon's 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, it simply cancels out Lie Meiling's attack with her folding fan.
 * Yukari's first victory quote against itself may be a reference to Hikari Tannenbaum, one of RicePigeon's original characters whose design is largely inspired by Yukari.
 * Yukari's third victory quote against itself may be a reference to Lie Meiling.
 * Yukari's first and third winquotes against Hong Meiling are direct references to the plot of Touhou Rekkaden, in where Yukari takes Meiling in as an apprentice to train her, only to pit her against Meiling's future self.
 * The grimoire Yukari is referring to in itsel 3rd victory quote against Patchouli is yet another reference to Touhou Rekkaden.
 * Yukari's third victory quote against Sakuya is referring to Sakuya's World, one of Sakuya's spellcards.
 * Interestingly, Yukari contains victory quotes for Koakuma. This is unusual as many of RicePigeon's characters do not contain character-specific victory quotes against characters that RicePigeon himself has not yet made. While this was also the case for other characters in the past, many of those characters were eventually made by RicePigeon at a later date.
 * Yukari's first victory quote against Koakuma is a nod to a scene from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, where the protagonist, Luke Skywalker, disguises himself as an Imperial Stormtrooper to infiltrate the Death Star and rescue Princess Leia. Leia, upon noticing Luke's short stature, asks him "aren't you a little short to be a Stormtrooper?" Yukari's take on this quote, however, is also a play on Koakuma's name, which means "little devil".
 * Yukari's second and third victory quotes against Koakuma both refer to Akuma and Gouken, respectively. This is a play on words, as Koakuma means "little devil", while Akuma is known as Gouki in Japan.