Udzuki Kousei
"
あああああ ！！忘 忘 れてた ああああ ！" ——THE most famous line of Udzuki
Udzuki Kousei is the voice actress for Kirisame Marisa in the OG Cookie☆, and was an active member and livestreamer of Niconico. While playing the main role in the voice drama, Marisa Kirisame, her bouyomi was considered one of the most serious, and was an important factor of the drama’s terrible quality. Udzuki was placed in the center of a storm as the Cookie☆ controversy blew out in full, and had become the target of both general discussions and more malicious attacks. Although she had long vanished from the internet, she remains one of, if not the most important and popular character of the entire subculture.
Real Life History
In Voice Drama
Udzuki plays the protagonist of the voice drama, Marisa Kirisame, who in the story worked with Sakuya and Koakuma in order to make cookie presents for Alice. However, she is mostly a clumsy troublemaker which leads to Sakuya and Koakuma mkaing the cookies. Nevertheless, Marisa and Alice love each other, and she was very happy with the cookie present.
Udzuki contributed to some of the most famous lines and netas of the voice drama, including:
あああああ ！！忘 忘 れてた ああああ ！: The signature scene of Udzuki. While not as much as the equally signature Puha Reimu, this image has also been used as the subject of many collages. She is often seen to have forgotten something and make this gesture in MADs. It is also an otoMAD makers’ favourite, and is used to make UDK synths(the audio of the line being stretched, with its inhumane tone compared to a synthesiser)てゅわああああああああああ : A mishearing of Udzuki’s line “Uwaaaaaa” as she screamed when beaten by Fast-talking Obasan. First seen in this video. It is often used as a her cry when is beaten. There are often confusions, but the gesture of Udzuki holding her head with her two hands is “Ahhhhhhh, I forgot!”, while the gesture of “Tyuwaaaaaaaa” is her covering her face with arms.サラダカウンター : A re-translation of her lineさらばだ as it is misheard asサラダバー .確定 確定 演出 演出 : It refers to her super long line in the drama, “As I thought, the brownies that Alice made are delicious. The texture is moist and yet it is not sticky, and it has a refreshing sweetness to it. Did you use the Van Houten cocoa powder?” It is known as one of her best bouyomis. In MADs, playing of this line often signifies that the MAD will soon switch from Cookie☆ to Inmu(known as Turning the Tide). Scenes other than this line and besides those of Cookie☆ are also called “presence confirmed” for their similar functions. The line is often abbreviated asやブ 美 美 . In moments of “presence confirmed” as mentioned above, Udzuki’s “yabumi” line is often played unprocessed. People thus comment悪 悪 意 意 の ある 無 無 編 編 集 集 as this seems like it is deliberately exposing her bouyomi.
Online Activities
An active user of Niconico, Udzuki has an enthusiastic love for the Touhou Project, and especially with the character Marisa despite her Touhou gameplay skills lacking. She likes painting, but her artworks are rarely praised. Despite her clumsiness in everything else, her piano skill is actually quite decent.
Uduzki became the most important figure of Cookie☆ due to several reasons, such as her signature bouyomi that led to her rumour damage, her role at the start of the Cookie☆ controversy, and the rich MAD materials of hers (alongside all others). She may also had been the person to initially propose Hazuna Rio’s to make the voice drama in the first place making her a significant figure in the genesis of Cookie☆.
Her personality seems like that of a typical high school otaku girl, and she behaves very unfeminine. However, unlike other otaku girls, she is not good at handling lewd netas which lead to her strong repulsion with the Manatsu no Yo no Inmu community's association with Cookie☆ community. She has a blunt, strong sense of justice, and would always stand out for what she found unsatisfied. People also found her inability to read the atmosphere annoying. For such reasons, many people disliked Udzuki at the beginning of the controversy, although her reputation recovered since her disappearance.
Despite her influence, Udzuki disappeared in 2011 and were not seen ever since. What happened to her after that remains a mystery. Rumours about her suicide and death were born and debunked, and ended up becoming part of her neta(as "Udzuki death theory").
Legacy
Since her disappearance, Udzuki disappeared from the interent. Her part in the voice drama and posts on the internet during her activity remained some of the most important contents of the Cookie☆ subculture. While she’s often referred as UDK-aneki from her handle name, her real name “
Udzuki makes frequent appearances in MADs on Niconico due to her unique lines and bouyomi; she often plays a main role in otoMADs and BB theatres. Her audio materials are very well developed, partly due to her voice in the livestream being exactly the same as in the voice drama, thus creating rich materials for creations. There are wide varieties of drawings of Udzuki on Niconico Seiga, including voice drama netas, porns, sadistic, and compliant contents. There are also many mangas on Seiga that feature her as a main character.
As a result of the growth of Cookie☆ and the spamming of Udzuki’s image, the role of Marisa Kirisame is often called as the role of Udzuki in later Touhou dramas and some people judge the quality of a Marisa’s voice in drama based on how similar it is to UDK's image.
As the central figure of controversies around Cookie☆, Udzuki was, for better or worse, discussed quite frequently on the Hon-thread. During the peak of the controversy, information on Udzuki were researched and talked about. When her friend, Sakurayuki, was being attacked; she cried and appealed for help. Even, after her disappearance, discussions about her continued; and many people consider Udzuki to be special and legendary. As a result, new voice actresses are sometimes treated as UDK’s successors.
In Derived Creations
In BB theatres, Udzuki is often portrayed as a good-hearted troublemaker, which reflects the personality of both herself and the character she played in the voice drama. BB theatres use the various art styles in the original voice drama as well as derived materials to portray the character. In order to distinguish her from the other Marisas, artists will often draw her with a pair of glasses as she wears them in real life.
Udzuki is often considered the eldest sister of a family with Mazu, Azusa, and Rei; together they are known as the Udzuki Sisters (UDK姉妹). Her pairings with other characters can often consist of Hinase, the original ship of the voice drama, or Reu, due to the two voice actors relationship in real life (see below).
Interestingly, in Battle Cookie theatres, Udzuki preserves many of the combat skills as the original Marisa with Udzuki often using her signature Master Spark in them. This is due to her character being developed so early on in the era when Cookie☆ had yet to fully separate itself from Touhou and Udzuki herself being so deeply merged in with Marisa in the hearts of Cookie☆ fans.
Relationships
Reu
Udzuki and Reu were friends in real life through school and they would frequently livestream together. It was thought that they no longer talked to each other but on August 16, 2019, Reu revealed that they had went out for drinks together the year before. Thus, this confirmed that Udzuki is still alive and the two have remained in contact. However, from Udzuki’s perspective, the disturbance her reappearance may cause would discourage her from associating with Reu, so it is possible that Reu lied about her contact with Udzuki to distract her haters from the discussions of her affairs.
“RUDK” refers to a ship between them. They both had worked together in the voice drama, had close relationships in real life, and even did a livestream together. Udzuki has been mainly portrayed as the one trying to approach Reu, while Reu has the attitude of “I neither hate her nor like her”. Reu has come out and claimed that she thinks they are best friends, so people have also portrayed them as so.
Nadeko
Udzuki and Nadeko met each other during the recording of Cookie☆, and would go to Karaoke together soon afterward; she is described by Udzuki as “cute and kind”. The tale about Udzuki patting her on the head when parting is the basis for the theory that Udzuki is tall. That meeting has been their one and only meeting ever.
Yamin
Udzuki bumped into Yamin when she was a livestreamer on niconico, and invited her to participate in the voice drama. Since then, they had been communicating on Skype. Yamin has commented that she is “interesting”.
Other Related Netas
Livestreams
あのさぁ…
A famous line, noted both for being also present in Inmu and for preceding the also famous line “I didn’t write it, the charr”(see below). This line grew so famous along with her, that some people falsely went back and attributed her as the origin of the line.
イワナ 、書 書 かなかった
A quote of Udzuki from her streams. She meant to say
ｳﾞｫｰ 東 東 方 方 動 動 画 画 や MAD 関 関 係 係 の コメント どぅあすなって ！
A quote from her streams, coming after the line “I didn’t write it, the Charr”.
ダキシ …
A transcription of Udzuki’s karaoke song "magnet" that she sang with Reu, when she made a mistake in the timing of the major chorus. By the way, the lyric after that
訴 訴 訟 訟 (きそ )
Udzuki saw the Inmu jargon “suing” appearing in her livestream, and said “please don't sue me”. It led to the neta that she can’t read the word
とろろ そば
During the nisi-led livestream, Udzuki seemed to have cried to defend Sakurayuki. It became known as the “Tororo Soba Conference” as her cry sounds like she’s actually eating soba(buckwheat noodles). It has then been drawn and made into a video by TKMY, and hence generated numerous derivative MADs with the tag “tororosoba”. In particular, a video posted on 22 October 2015 of Idolm@ster character Udzuki Shimamura eating soba noodles has received a million views, and remains (by June 2020) the most viewed video with the tag.
ラー の 鏡 鏡
Udzuki suddenly started to talk about “Mirror of Ra” when she saw it in the comments during a collab with Reu. She became excited in talking about this topic that she’s interested and failed to notice that Reu at her side was not interested at all. Thus it generated the neta of Udzuki suddenly starting to talk about the Mirror of Ra in MADs. Especially, her last phrase “I personally love ___” is frequently modified and used.
ラーテンション
An idiom to describe a situation where people became nerdy and started to talk about a topic they’re extremely fond of, like how Udzuki started to talk about the Mirror of Ra.
わーっは ！
Udzuki’s sudden scream during livestream. The reason why she shouted is unknown. In contrast with its original meaning, it is often used in MAD to express joy.
やるかぁ ！
A quote of her during livestream. While she said this meaning she wouldn’t do it, in MADs it usually means she is doing it.
なぁでこ ！
A quote of her during livestream. Typically used when she faces Nadeko.
RU さん ちょっとー ！
A quote of her during livestream. “Reu-san” became the standard name Udzuki calls Reu by in MADs.
"Starry Sky" and "The Stars"
Two poems written by Udzuki, with the theme of MariAli. Presented at the 2nd MariAli Literature Festival (held on 28 August 2010) in the Nico Nico community "MariAli Is My Justice“(the same community that produced Cookie☆ itself).
The poems are about Marisa thinking of Alice as she looked at the stars. The word
"Starry Sky"
星 星 空 空
いつも の ように 本 本 を 読 読 み 終 終 わり On a casual day, after finishing reading 私 私 は 窓 窓 を 開 開 け 夜 夜 の 星 星 空 空 を 見 見 上 上 げる I opened the window to see the starry night sky. 星 星 たち が 輝 輝 く 夜 夜 空 空 を 見 見 ながら 思 思 い 浮 浮 かぶ の は The sky lit by shiny stars drew my thoughts あなたの 星 星 の ように 輝 輝 いた 笑 笑 顔 顔 And I was reminded of your smile, bright as the stars. まるで 星 星 の ような あなた に 私 私 は どうして 届 届 かない の だろう ？Are you like a star, that I can never reach? どうして 振 振 り 向 向 い て もらえない の だろう ？Why did your gaze never turn to me? あなた は 私 私 の こと を どう 思 思 って いる の ？How exactly do you think of me? あなた の こと を 考 考 えた だけ で 胸 胸 が 苦 苦 しく なる For thinking of you sprung a pain in my chest. 明 明 日 日 も また こうして 夜 夜 の 星 星 空 空 を 見 見 る だろう Tomorrow, surely, I will watch the starry sky again like this. その たび 私 私 は あなた を 思 思 い 浮 浮 かべる Then, you too will appear again in my mind. この 夜 夜 空 空 に 輝 輝 く 星 星 の ような あなた を So I will think of you, bright and shiny as the star of night sky.
"The Stars"
星 星
暗 暗 い 夜 夜 空 空 に 輝 輝 く 星 星 The shiny star on the dark night sky 深 深 い 森 森 の 中 中 に 見 見 える 星 星 The shiny star seen behind the dense woods 数 数 ある 人 人 形 形 を 操 操 る 君 君 は You, manipulator of the dolls, 私 私 に とって は 大 大 切 切 な 星 星 Are the most important star of mine その 輝 輝 き に もっと 近 近 づき たくて I want to get closer to your brightness その 光 光 を もっと 知 知 り たくて I want to know more of your light だけど 近 近 づく こと が できない 自 自 分 分 が 憎 憎 い Yet I hate myself, who cannot reach you 君 君 は 私 私 を どう 見 見 て いる の だろう I would think how you think of me 気 気 に なって 気 気 に なって 仕 仕 方 方 が 無 無 い And so I thought and thought, but in vain 今宵 今宵 も 夜 夜 の 森 森 に 輝 輝 く 星 星 Tonight, as the stars still shine above the late, dark woods この 想 想 い が いつか 君 君 に 届 届 く と いい な May my feelings reach you some day, どうしても 手 手 に 入 入 れたい 私 私 の 星 星 You, my star, that I wish to hold in my palm
Arts
美 美 大 大 ボール
A nickname for a painting she drew and posted on twipic. The name came from the spherical object that appeared in the painting, as well as the fact that Udzuki failed to enter art school. Koshiro Miyazaki, an art teacher at the high school that she attended, drew many works with sphere, and it seems that she was influenced by this. For some reason, a rumour spread that people who saw the work for more than five times will die, and it became an urban legend. When the Udzuki’s face was leaked, a photo of what appears to be an early stage of this painting was also found, and is called the Proto-Art School Ball.
美 美 大 大 シリーズ
A group of MAD materials that made various objects using the Art School Balls. A lot of such materials were created by
星 星 態 態 勇 勇 儀 儀
Udzuki drew Hoshiguma Yuugi on twipic but wrote one character of her name wrong.
Udzuki as drawn by Udzuki
An artwork by Udzuki on twipic. It was published on a project of
Miscellaneous
当 当 の 本 本 人 人 は 自 自 覚 覚 して いない 様 様 子 子 ・・・・
What Udzuki wrote about herself on Niconico encyclopaedia. The full sentence is “While everyone says that Udzuki Kousei’s voice sounds like Marisa, she herself doesn’t seem to be aware of it. “ It was written by a user named
Assassin Udzuki (Piano Udzuki)
Udzuki wore a hood during her piano livestreams so that her face would not be shown. This appearance resembles the assassins in Assassin’s Creed, and hence it got its name.
Comiket Udzuki
Udzuki’s cosplay photo taken at Comiket, which was suddenly posted on Hon-thread. It was not taken seriously at the time, but when Udzuki’s appearance was revealed, the photo looked very similar to the her. She cosplayed Usami Renko from the Touhou Project, but her appearance and atmosphere with glasses is said to be more like Usami Sumireko who will appear later in the franchise.
多 多 少 少 ぶさいくな 女 女 性 性
A description of Comiket Udzuki. It originated from a porn ad that used a gif of Comiket Udzuki made by
Darumarina
Udzuki who have lost her limbs. The name refers to the daruma doll. It started with the drawing of ITNTN-aniki. He has been drawing related pictures ever since, and there were other drawers who followed. An example of how people insert their weird kinks into their arts and MADs.
Mentally Collapsed Udzuki
A neta starting to become popular in May 2015. It is an illustration of a child from the illustration of a clinical psychologist’s profession that resembles Udzuki’s face, and from which several collages and bb materials have been made. It was born on Twitter and died trending only on Twitter.