Touhou: The Characters of Double Dealing Character

It's been a while since the release of the fourteenth Touhou game, but I have decided to take a look at the characters within it. Better late than never, huh? Anyway, there are some familiar faces mixed in with the new ones, and I'll be going over all of them.

Reimu Hakurei

The ever-present main character of the Touhou games, the Shrine Maiden of Paradise, Reimu Hakurei. She is the shrine maiden of the Hakurei Shrine, and generally the person responsible for resolving incidents within Gensokyo. She possesses the ability to fly.
Reimu's main goal is youkai extermination, yet practically every youkai she has defeated went on to become friends with her, even visiting her shrine for parties and such. As a result, not many humans visit the Hakurei Shrine. Reimu treats everyone with the same, which explains why so many youkai get along with her.
As you would expect, Reimu is the first of the three playable characters available in Double Dealing Character.

Marisa Kirisame

The Ordinary Magician, Marisa Kirisame. Just like Reimu, she is ever-present in the Touhou games. She becomes involved in the incidents that occur on a regular basis in Gensokyo, though she has a lot more self-interest than Reimu.
One of Marisa's main traits is her tendency to help herself to anything that she deems interesting. It doesn't matter if it belongs to someone else, she will acquire it. Fandom may have slightly exaggerated her kleptomaniac tendencies, however... Despite being a normal human, Marisa is able to use powerful magic, thanks to her research and Mini-Hakkero. Her signature attack is her Master Spark, which she actually copied from Yuuka Kazami (I think).
Marisa continues to be the second playable character throughout the main series of Touhou games, and the case is no different in Double Dealing Character.

Sakuya Izayoi

After an absence as a playable character since the 9th Touhou game (not counting spinoffs and fighting games), the Perfect and Elegant Maid, Sakuya Izayoi makes a return. Just like Reimu and Marisa, she is an ordinary human. However, she has the ability to manipulate time. Sakuya also goes into battle with numerous knives that she throws at her adversaries.
Sakuya is the only human who lives in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She loyally serves her vampire mistress, Remilia Scarlet, as head maid of the mansion. She first appeared as an enemy in the sixth Touhou game, Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, but quickly became an ally to Reimu and Marisa after they had defeated Remilia. She become involved in a couple of incidents after that, but then as focus drifted away from the Scarlet Devil Mansion, her appearances became less and less.
Of course, Sakuya has made a triumphant return as the third playable character in Double Dealing Character. This was probably done on purpose, as ZUN had said he wanted to create a "neo-retro" game. Having Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya as playable characters definitely gives it the feel of the first generation Windows games.

Cirno

Another familiar faces returns. This time, it is the Fairy of the Ice, Cirno. As you can tell from her character title, she is a fairy. She possesses the ability to manipulate cold.
Even in the midst of summer, the area surrounding Cirno will be chilly. She is generally depicted as an idiot, and she has quite a childish personality. There is evidence to state that she has been around for more than sixty years, but that hasn't done anything for her personality. Cirno enjoys freezing frogs and watching them thaw out, though one in three attempts to do so fail, and she causes the frog to shatter.
Cirno appears as the midboss of the first stage, much like she did in the seventh game, Perfect Cherry Blossom. Coincidentally, Perfect Cherry Blossom was the first game where Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya were the playable characters.

Wakasagihime

If you think back, you'll probably be able to recall me introducing this character along with a few others around the time Hopeless Masquerade and the demo for Double Dealing Character was released. Well, here she is again: the Mermaid Living in Fresh Water, Wakasagihime. As you can see, both from the picture and her character title, she is a mermaid. Her power increases when she is underwater.
Generally, Wakasagihime is a quiet, peaceful mermaid. She resides in the Misty Lake, which is also where Cirno can generally be found. Wakasagihime spends her time singing and picking up stones. However, due to the events of Double Dealing Character, she became ferocious.
Wakasagihime is the first boss of Double Dealing Character.

Sekibanki

The Rokurokubi Horror, Sekibanki is a rokurokubi. A rokurokubi is a youkai from Japanese folklore who gains the ability to stretch its neck to great lengths at night.
Despite being referred to as a rokurokubi, Sekibanki possesses the traits of a different youkai called nukekubi, which can remove its head completely. In other words, Sekibanki possesses the ability to detach her head from her body. However, she does possess an elongated neck. A translation, or close approximation, that ZUN uses is "Dullahan".
Sekibanki's appearance is as both the midboss and boss of the second stage of Double Dealing Character.

Kagerou Imaizumi

The Bamboo Forest's Loup-Garou, Kagerou Imaizumi. She is a werewolf, which of course means that her ability is to transform into a wolf during a full moon.
Despite being a werewolf, she actually has a calm demeanour. During a full moon, Kagerou acquires some wolf features, not too unlike the were-hakutaku Keine Kamishirasawa. However, she also possesses the ability to into an actual wolf. Once again, due to events of Double Dealing Character, she becomes a lot more aggressive, attacking the protagonist as they fly through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.
Kagerou Imaizumi is both the midboss and boss of the third stage in Double Dealing Character.

Benben Tsukumo

Now, we get on to the new characters. This here is the Tsukumogami of an Aging Biwa, Benben Tsukumo. A tsukumogami is a type of youkai produced from a tool or object inhabited by one of the Eight Million Gods. The particular object inhabited by one of the gods is the biwa, which you can see Benben playing in her picture. As one would expect from a youkai based on an instrument, she has the ability to make sounds and perform on her own.
She gets her power from the Shining Needle Castle, and decides to overthrow society as tools.
Benben is either the midboss or boss of the fourth stage of Double Dealing Character, depending on which shot type the player chose. She also appears as the midboss of the Extra stage, alongside the next character.

Yatsuhashi Tsukumo

The Tsukumogami of an Aging Koto, Yatsuhashi Tsukumo. She isn't actually related to Benben by blood, but the pair became sentient at the same time. A koto is traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument. Just like Benben, she has the ability to make sounds and perform on her own.
Alongside Benben, she gets her power from the Shining Needle Castle. Together with Benben, they want to overthrow society as tools.
Once again, her role in the fourth stage depends on shot-type chosen. If Benben is the boss, she will be the midboss, and vice-versa. She also appears alongside Benben as the midboss of the Extra stage.

Seija Kijin

The Counterattacking Amanojaku, Seija Kijin. As an Amanojaku, Seija is similar to an oni. An amanojaku is a particularly twisted type of youkai who can provoke people and make them perform evil deeds. Her ability allows her to turn anything upside-down.
Seija's goal in Double Dealing Character is to overthrow society, and allow the weak to rule over the strong. She will think the opposite of others, like what they hate, and hate herself for making others happy. She likes the fact that no one likes her. Seija can also be quite talkative.
Seija appears as the midboss and boss of the fifth stage, and the midboss of the sixth stage in Double Dealing Character.

Shinmyoumaru Sukuna

The Descendant of the Kobito, Shinmyoumaru Sukuna. A kobito is effectively a Japanese version of a dwarf. Shinmyoumaru possesses the ability to use the Miracle Mallet. The Miracle Mallet is an ancient kobito artifact with the power to supposedly grant any wish. However, only kobito are able to use it. There is a price for using the Mallet, and if a wish is too large it extracts the price before it even grants the wish.
Shinmyoumaru used the Miracle Mallet to make herself bigger. As a result, this caused magical energy to leak out into Gensokyo, causing normally peaceful youkai to become aggressive, as well as creating tsukumogami. In addition, Reimu's purification rod, Marisa's Mini-Hakkero and some of Sakuya's knives had started to act "strangely" as a result of the leak of the magical energy.
Shinyoumaru serves as the boss of the sixth and final stage in Double Dealing Character. Of course, in typical Touhou tradition, there is the Extra stage, which means there is one final character to introduce.

Raiko Horikawa

The Phantasmal Percussionist, Raiko Horikawa. Much like Benben and Yatsuhashi, she is a tsukumogami. She has the ability to make anything follow a rhythm.
Raiko was originally born as a tsukumogami from a taiko drum. However, she now borrows the "magic energy" of modern drummers from the outside world, hence her use of a modern-day drumset.
Raiko just wants to be free, and is very laid-back. After being defeated, she befriends the main character, and even manages to earn sympathy for tsukumogami. She was the one who allowed Benben and Yatsuhashi to stop relying on the power of Shinyoumaru's Miracle Mallet, allowing them to become independent.