The usual outfit of Kutaka from the Spirit River Railroad. Her whistle teacher, Piyo Sensei, sits atop her head.
Underground Waste Ward Aligner
Voice Lines
Gacha Pickup
I'm Kutaka Niwatari, porter, guide, and clerical god for the Spirit River Railroad. The little one on my head is Piyo Sensei. Tweet, tweet!
Introduction
Tw-Tweet! You there! It's not safe. Please stand behind the white line... Huh? Oh, right. I've arrived already so this isn't a platform. Hello, little human. I'm Kutaka Niwatari, a station attendant for the Spirit River Railroad. Sometimes me and Miss Komachi conduct the trains together. Can I help you...? Wait. I'm not on duty for once! I just said that out of habit, hehehehe.
Purple Heart
Tw-Tweet! My whistle sounds great, right? Tw-Tweet! Hehehe.
Blue Heart
My job is to line the souls up and make sure they wait their turn!
Green Heart
Lining up souls might sound dull, but it's a super important job. Trains are literally souls in alignment, after all.
Orange Heart
My job is to make sure souls are safe and secure on their journey. It'd be a big problem if, for some reason, they ended up at the wrong destination. The station master has good judgment, and I'm sure the train drivers work diligently!
Pink Heart
I once heard there's a strong connection between souls aligning and the climate and geology produced by temperament. In theory... it kind of makes sense, but I can't remember who told me about it. Hm... Ah, well.
Summer
When souls say they want to go to the beach, there's a way to make them go home. You ask the poltergeist ensemble... to play a going-home song!
Login
Gensokyo is on the surface. It's great! The air is so fresh. Tw-Tweet! It makes me want to blow my whistle! Hehehe!
Enhancement
Tweet! Tweet! Tweet! My whistle sounds better! Tw-Tweet!
Return
I thought I'd forgotten about battles of bullets, but muscle memory brought it all back!
Home 1
I went to the Youkai Mountain for the first time in a while, and it really took me back. Everyone does what they want, and there's no order... It's great.
Home 2
Tw-Tweet! This little one on my head is Piyo Sensei. She's my whistling teacher. The fairies were chasing her around earlier, though.
Home 3
Earlier I saw this world's Miss Komachi napping. I thought to myself, she's the same in every world, huh? ...What?! That was my world's Miss Komachi?!
Reaction 1
Hm? You look sleepy. Are you OK?
Reaction 2
I often give piggy backs to lost souls at work.
Reaction 3
She fell asleep on my back.
Task
Tasks? I'll take a look for you. OK, first question! Tw-Tweet!
Piyo Sensei brought us a message! Are you going to read it?
Errand Finished
Lady Eiki just called for me? Oh, right. She probably wants me to confirm the special unit's return.
Start of Battle
Tw-Tweet! You there! Please board in an orderly fashion!
Mid-Wave
The train on platform four is out of service. Tweet!
Victory
If you ruin the line, I'll have to escort you elsewhere. Walk faster! Tweet, tweet!
Defeat
No battles of bullets on the platform! It's dangerous!
Spellcard 1 Chant 1
Excuse me. Sleeping in the station
is extremely dangerous!
Spellcard 1 Chant 2
When I work long shifts,
I also... No, never mind!
Spellcard 1 Casted
Long Cry: Awaken, O Buried Phantoms
Spellcard 2 Chant 1
The trains are packed with
souls heading home for Ohigan!
Spellcard 2 Chant 2
But some of them forget
where they used to live!
Spellcard 2 Casted
Whistle Sign: O Phantoms, Return to Thy Proper Place
Last Word Chant 1
We will soon reach our final stop!
Please prepare to alight!
Last Word Chant 2
The number of umbrellas in lost and
found is increasing. Please take care!
Last Word Casted
Reincarnation Theory - Final Destination
Boost 1
Tweet!
Boost 2
Tw-Tweet!
Boost 3
Tweet, tweet, tw-tweet!
Graze 1
Platform two―
Graze 2
Is right―
Graze 3
Over there!
Command A
Lady Eiki is still working...
Command B
Hm? Where's Miss Komachi?
Command C
Work's not done yet!
Command D
Tw-Tweet! Form an orderly line!
Skill A
Can I help you?
Skill B
A lost item!
Shot A
Railroad Air Squad, go!
Shot B
Tweet, tweet, tw-tweet!
Damage
Eek!
Heavy Damage
Argh...
Guard
I'm fine!
Graze Activated
What was that?
Change to Rear
Tw-Tweet! Duty shift!
Change to Front
Tweet?! I'm on duty already?!
Buff/Heal
Wow, I'm so happy!
Knocked Out
How many times have I said battles of bullets are dangerous?!
Voice Sets
Spirit River Railroad Guide
VA: Omigawa Chiaki
Spirit River Railroad Conductor
VA: Yorita Natsu
Railroad Clerical God
VA: Takeda Rarisatago
Character Information
Temperament: Shinonome
Shinonome (a Touhou LW original) refers to the early morning when the eastern sky grows steadily brighter. It is the temperament of Kutaka, who has long overseen the passage of souls between worlds as a member of the Spirit River Railroad.
Kutaka's temperament has undergone soul modulation at the fundamental level. Souls are hard to control, but the employees charged with their management at the Spirit River Railroad do not allow change (Moon Essence) or selfishness (Star Essence).
Ability/Backstory: Capable of healing throat illnesses (Concealed)
The ability of Kutaka Niwatari from the Spirit River Railroad (a Touhou LW original). It is essentially unchanged from our version of Kutaka's ability. However, since there are many mysteries surrounding the railroad and those associated with it, it's predicted that some things about this Kutaka's ability are fundamentally different, just as they are for Eiki's. While she's a god of chickens capable of healing throat illnesses, her ability as a clerical god who manages the checkpoints of the worlds that come after death has been enhanced to a greater degree.
Surely everyone has thought about the afterlife. Most people probably thought particularly seriously about it during their youth. But after becoming adults, the majority of them stop thinking about it entirely, even though they've attained no certainty on what awaits them after death.
Those who never stopped or couldn't stop thinking about it have visions of the worlds after death. In the future, these worlds made peculiar advances to become the Spirit River Railroad, where this world's Kutaka works as a guide. In the past, it was said birds carry spirits. Echoes of this can still be observed in the stories about stalks delivering newborn babies. Roosters (male chickens) appear in legends as creatures that rule over early morning waking. They are strongly tied to the image of the rising sun and the start of a new day, as well as to the resurrection of the dead. Without Kutaka's guidance, souls of the deceased would surely be cast out into space and become lost. It's said that, so long as they can hear her song and whistle, they are at ease. Perhaps you have memories of it too. A person with white wings, an angel, stretching out a warm hand to pull you from a dark dream...
As the enclosed space of a train station expands, it's somewhat inevitable that it transforms into a complex labyrinth. This transformation is all the more pertinent if the station resides in an underground ward. It's long been accepted that underground structures are generally prisons, tombs, or storage spaces. In other words, places of punishment, places to seal away the dead, or places to store resources over long periods of time. That's right, all of the above perfectly describes Hell. Such places utilize complex designs to prevent escape and theft, and depending on the circumstances, may also place traps. Given the structures' purpose, they simply can't be easy to navigate or leave. And so guides are required in train stations, railways... and Hell.
"Tweet Tweet Whistle" is the not-so-elegant name of Kutaka's whistle, believed to have been thought up by Piyo Sensei. However, the whistle itself has no special power. Getting souls to line up is not the whistle, but Kutaka's voice coming through it. As such, her singing voice also has the power to make souls line up. The voice is made of (sound) waves, and by using a voice that directly affects the spirit, Kutaka can cause souls to act. This effect is similar to the poltergeist sisters' performances. Whistles amplify the voice, so the Tweet Tweet Whistle is a convenient tool for Kutaka to have at work. Although, if Kutaka did lose her voice from speaking loudly, she could always just heal it herself...
Attacks
Wing Semaphore
The Spread Shot of Kutaka Niwatari from the Spirit River Railroad (a Touhou LW original). She sends a message with semaphore flags. When she does so, the Railroad Air Squad comes to her aid. However, the "squad" is comprised exclusively of Piyo Sensei's companions. Then again, they are all the divine bird's kin. Underestimate them, and you're bound to regret it.
Bullets
Semaphore: Message Start
Semaphore: Go
Semaphore: Disregard
Semaphore: Message Over
Semaphore: Roger
Semaphore: Ready
Alignment Whistle
The Focus Shot of Kutaka Niwatari from the Spirit River Railroad (a Touhou LW original). She sends a message via whistling. The special baby chick on her head, Piyo (real name unknown), is said to have taught her this effective whistling method. According to one theory, the bullets fired in a battle of bullets are waves. Since sound waves are also waves, you can use instruments to produce bullets, and by nullifying the waves, you can defend yourself from bullets. That might sound like a leap in logic, but if you look at ripples, you'll surely realize their beauty is similar to that of bullets. However, it seems this attack has been made visible in a different sense.
Bullets
Tweet Tweet Whistle
Go Signal
Move Over Signal
Slow Down Signal
Reverse Signal
Stop Signal
Long Cry: Awaken, O Buried Phantoms
A Spell Card of Kutaka Niwatari from the Spirit River Railroad. She guides souls in this attack. The rooster's crow brings night to an end and makes the sun rise. Its miraculous long crow was spoken of in the Ama no Iwato myth and is said to even be able to wake the dead. People of old thought of the absence of the sun's light as death, and the reclamation of its light as resurrection. But who alive today recalls that the resurrection incantation originated from the awakening incantation? Although, in that sense, alarm clocks could be thought of as modern resurrection items, no? Now, phantoms, please enjoy this early morning solo performance.
Bullets
Wake-Up Call
Wake-Up Song
Resurrection Call
Resurrection Song
New World Call
New World Song
Whistle Sign: O Phantoms, Return to Thy Proper Place
A Spell Card of Kutaka Niwatari from the Spirit River Railroad. She guides souls in this attack. If you study the Six Paths and the Six Realms, you'll gain a good understanding of the path phantoms take after death. Cycling through the six realms is a soul's fundamental destiny. What about our ancestors who return to the world of the living on occasions such as Obon, an annual Buddhist event commemorating them? Well, those spirits await their reincarnation in a place called the Netherworld. It's similar to being in a train station or airport waiting room. Or you could say it's like staying overnight in a hotel adjacent to a train station or airport. If you think about it like that, being in the Netherworld sounds kinda fun, no?
Bullets
Platform Line
Transfer Line
Ticket Machine Line
Information Desk Line
Standing Soba Restaurant Line
Phantom Train Line
Reincarnation Theory - Final Destination
The Last Word of Kutaka Niwatari from the Spirit River Railroad (a Touhou LW original). She guides souls to their final destination. There is no end to the samsara cycle, just as there is no end to a circle. But that doesn't mean there's no escape route. It isn't depicted on the track schematics, but this route leads you through a mysterious tunnel to a station that should not exist. This phantom terminal station is the ideal land of eternal peace. Kutaka Niwatari is the divine bird, who will lead you there.
Bullets
Final Stop: Loss of Skandha
Final Stop: Loss of Rupa
Final Stop: Loss of Vedana
Final Stop: Loss of Samjna
Final Stop: Loss of Sankhara
Final Stop: Loss of Vijnana
Skills
Skill: Mergesort
Divide the elements, then compare adjacent lists. Waiting in line has never been smoother.
Skill: Quicksort
Makes those lines faster and smarter. Lines on the platforms, for the ticket machines, for soba restaurants... so many lines!
Skill: Heapsort
Apparently, you can use "trees" to organize lines efficiently. But why trees?