I'm putting this as the "newest" "strip" for now as this is important for us weirdos still following the strip, but this was actually posted a few weeks ago (I missed it because I had changed computers and didn't reopen the Rakugaki-Biyori pixiv page until now). I'll move it in the pool to the right spot chronologically later. (EDIT: done; it was just two posts ago)

I machine-translated the description and then asked a few people who know Japanese somewhat to check that I understood it right, but I might still have some details wrong in the below. A proper translation of the description is appreciated! But the general gist is: after the current Alice/Narumi storyline, the main Echoes comics will end, at least for now. Instead, the next Echoes strips will be redraws of the earliest Echoes strips in the new art style found in these recent strips (something they previously did to specific panels of specific strips on rare occasion).

The FANBOX-exclusive comics will continue, and at a lower price. Collections of the FANBOX comics will also be made available (though it sounds like they're available only on FANBOX as well?).

This is specifically so they can focus on the new original 4koma series that they're currently publishing on the pixiv account. I uploaded the introductory strip (#0) and the title page, but they got zero attention and a bunch of disinterest votes, so I'm not sure if I will upload the newer strips here (though I will appeal those two first, at least; I'm appealing all of my posts at the moment). At the time of writing, it's up to 5 additional strips. The fact it's not a silent comic but rather requires translation will definitely be a barrier to entry for many of us here. It's also in a more detailed art style than the chibi style used for Echoes, and I can tell in advance that the style will polarize the reviewers here.

I'm a little sad but not surprised that they're putting the comic on hold. It's been going on for what, 11-12 years now? It's not the most complex story, but I'm still amazed they were able to keep going on for this long.

andlabs said:

I'm putting this as the "newest" "strip" for now as this is important for us weirdos still following the strip, but this was actually posted a few weeks ago (I missed it because I had changed computers and didn't reopen the Rakugaki-Biyori pixiv page until now). I'll move it in the pool to the right spot chronologically later.

I machine-translated the description and then asked a few people who know Japanese somewhat to check that I understood it right, but I might still have some details wrong in the below. A proper translation of the description is appreciated! But the general gist is: after the current Alice/Narumi storyline, the main Echoes comics will end, at least for now. Instead, the next Echoes strips will be redraws of the earliest Echoes strips in the new art style found in these recent strips (something they previously did to specific panels of specific strips on rare occasion).

The FANBOX-exclusive comics will continue, and at a lower price. Collections of the FANBOX comics will also be made available (though it sounds like they're available only on FANBOX as well?).

This is specifically so they can focus on the new original 4koma series that they're currently publishing on the pixiv account. I uploaded the introductory strip (#0) and the title page, but they got zero attention and a bunch of disinterest votes, so I'm not sure if I will upload the newer strips here (though I will appeal those two first, at least; I'm appealing all of my posts at the moment). At the time of writing, it's up to 5 additional strips. The fact it's not a silent comic but rather requires translation will definitely be a barrier to entry for many of us here. It's also in a more detailed art style than the chibi style used for Echoes, and I can tell in advance that the style will polarize the reviewers here.

One of the things about biyori's style is i think it's better at the level of detail Echoes is normally at. When you add more detail to it, it sorta conflicts with the style somewhat.

djseifer said:

I'm a little sad but not surprised that they're putting the comic on hold.

It's a worrying thing about the world of fiction in present year, regardless of medium, that followers of an ongoing work expect the creator to keep it going as long as they want when they want it.

This is the internet era, creators are supposed to have the freedom to time content releases entirely on their own terms. How have things gone so wrong?

RNGCombo said:

It's a worrying thing about the world of fiction in present year, regardless of medium, that followers of an ongoing work expect the creator to keep it going as long as they want when they want it.

This is the internet era, creators are supposed to have the freedom to time content releases entirely on their own terms. How have things gone so wrong?

That wasn't what they said at all. In fact, they said the exact opposite of it entirely, that they were expecting that it'd come to an end eventually, if not sooner than this.

In fact, I'm not seeing any backlash about this choice on pixiv, either. Where are you getting it from? Everything I see is either mild sadness or earnest support, especially about the compromise of redrawing the old episodes.

C-light said:

One of the things about biyori's style is i think it's better at the level of detail Echoes is normally at. When you add more detail to it, it sorta conflicts with the style somewhat.

I think this is exacerbated by the art style shift, which definitely seems to have fully abandoned hand-drawn comics in favor of computer graphics. Compare with the other stuff on the Rakugaki-Biyori DLsite, including even the Echoes artbooks. (I did buy them all, but I don't have the files on me right now (they're still on the old computer's hard drive); if I did I would point to specific ones by Hachimaki and also specific ones by Kirin, who I'm not sure is even involved in Rakugaki-Biyori anymore (they're still around but seem exclusively focused on posting about Umamusume on Twitter).)

And that's actually a point that I want to reflect on: I've definitely noticed that Echoes seemed to start running out of steam lately, if not outright slipping. I had a very difficult time following both the first Jo'on arc and the combined-dreams arc. The Kasen arc represents the move to the new art style, and I definitely noticed that there was a lot of recycling facial expressions and characters just standing around featureless voids that is symptomatic of the artist being on autopilot. That the storylines since seem to be a lot more ambitious (and understandable) is definitely a good thing, and may have been a sign of a creative spark caused by this new project, but even that new side story comic from a few months ago suffers from "trying to do way too much with a silent comic" syndrome, and I'm completely unsurprised that there's been so much trouble getting these newer posts approved.

But I am still a fan of this work, and am saddened to see it end. Personal story: my friends have been Touhou fans for a very long time and I've been exposed to the franchise for over a decade, but never properly dived in; my exposure was mostly limited to all the mostly Momiji and Kagerou art that was shared with me, and me subsequently associating with Momiji directly. I finally did take the plunge with the release of UDoALG, and this was one of the first comics I found and binged on; that was a sleepless night, and it was a fantastic one. And I've really enjoyed all the side comics as well. Echoes is still one of my favorite Touhou doujins even despite the above, and I want to thank Rakugaki-Biyori for the good times.

It was a long and a good run!
I do hope they'd come back to drawing Kyouko's shenanigans some day though, but the authors do deserve some rest from it as well!

RNGCombo said:

It's a worrying thing about the world of fiction in present year, regardless of medium, that followers of an ongoing work expect the creator to keep it going as long as they want when they want it.

This is the internet era, creators are supposed to have the freedom to time content releases entirely on their own terms. How have things gone so wrong?

You should probably go back and re-read what I posted, champ, because I have no idea how you came to that conclusion.

andlabs said:

I'm putting this as the "newest" "strip" for now as this is important for us weirdos still following the strip, but this was actually posted a few weeks ago (I missed it because I had changed computers and didn't reopen the Rakugaki-Biyori pixiv page until now). I'll move it in the pool to the right spot chronologically later.

I machine-translated the description and then asked a few people who know Japanese somewhat to check that I understood it right, but I might still have some details wrong in the below. A proper translation of the description is appreciated! But the general gist is: after the current Alice/Narumi storyline, the main Echoes comics will end, at least for now. Instead, the next Echoes strips will be redraws of the earliest Echoes strips in the new art style found in these recent strips (something they previously did to specific panels of specific strips on rare occasion).

The FANBOX-exclusive comics will continue, and at a lower price. Collections of the FANBOX comics will also be made available (though it sounds like they're available only on FANBOX as well?).

This is specifically so they can focus on the new original 4koma series that they're currently publishing on the pixiv account. I uploaded the introductory strip (#0) and the title page, but they got zero attention and a bunch of disinterest votes, so I'm not sure if I will upload the newer strips here (though I will appeal those two first, at least; I'm appealing all of my posts at the moment). At the time of writing, it's up to 5 additional strips. The fact it's not a silent comic but rather requires translation will definitely be a barrier to entry for many of us here. It's also in a more detailed art style than the chibi style used for Echoes, and I can tell in advance that the style will polarize the reviewers here.

Thankyou for the update. I’m proud of them. Been following them for years now and their comics always bring a smile to my face
Edit: aw shit, sorry, forgot about the bump checkbox