YOKOHAMA, Japan — Archaeologists have recently unearthed the ruins of an ancient fandom that sheds new light on the understanding of early Japanese popular culture. The unearthing of the derelict fandom, known as “Touhou Project”, has excited archaeologists from all over the world.

Touhou Project may have had a huge following, dominating the doujinshi scene of ancient Japan, the report states. Researchers have uncovered fan-made music, comics, artwork, and even fan-created games that would have all been traded at Comiket in massive, unimaginable scale.

Researchers believe that Touhou Project was some kind of video game franchise featuring girls with magical abilities, where the player had to dodge bullets. Evidence also suggests that the music featured a fusion of reggae and Neo-Baroque Bluegrasscore elements.

“The origins of Touhou are far before recorded history, but our theories suggest that Touhou came into major prominence in around the year 2004,” Japanese historian Kawamori Yuuji tells Anime Maru. “We’re not clear on how or why a silly-looking game like Touhou managed to spawn such a large fanbase.”

“There were even music videos that may have even achieved meme status,” Kawamori added as he examined an unearthed YouTube video titled “Bad Apple”.

Archives recovered dating to 2005 confirm that Touhou Project was still in full-force during Comiket 69.

Records show that the civilization’s decline began in 2009, and by 2011 the fanbase has basically vanished from existence.

“It’s pretty cool how we’re able to revisit something so long-forgotten. What was the fan culture like? Which characters were popular? I personally think the maid girl is pretty cute,” said Kawamori.

“Understanding ancient and extinct fandoms like Touhou Project helps researchers understand modern fandoms, like Wake Up Girls or Kancolle.”

“What?? What do you mean you don’t know about Wake Up Girls? WUG is gonna be the next big thing I swear!” Kawamori screamed as our interviewer left the room.

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