Yuyuko Saigyouji (Cherry Blossom)

Yuyuko Saigyouji (Cherry Blossom) was released on October 20, 2022 in "Festival Prayer: Perfect Ghost of Spring.” For more up-to-date analysis, be sure to visit the  Official Discord Server.

There is a world in which the beloved Yuyuko Saigyouji appears closer than ever to achieving her ultimate goal: To collect all of Gensokyo’s Spring and undo the seal upon the Saigyou Ayakashi beneath which the Daughter of Fujimi sleeps eternal. Beneath the calm beauty of falling pink petals lies a deadly Friend who will stop at nothing to ensure that her wish comes true.

The Yuyuko of the A7 World manifests her desires clearly through her Killers, all of which seemingly target any who would have opposed her during the Spring Snow Incident. Those Killers include the Human, Shrine Maiden, Magician, Maid, and Incident Resolver tags; a triple whammy for Reimu, Marisa and Sakuya. Yuyuko’s reach also extends to the forces of nature and resting spirits surrounding Spring itself, with Spring, Fairy, Soul Killers cutting down a variety of pesky opponents.

Yuyuko’s damage is equally divided between both Water and Wood Elements, with all three of her Spell Cards feature 3 lines each. While her first two Spell Cards are mostly Wood heavy in the front lines, her Last Word flips this on its head by moving Water lines to the front. This is of little consequence, however, due to the fact that players can access 5 of her 6 lines with a 2P Boost; easy enough to achieve with Yuyuko’s true value as a Support type Friend.

Yuyuko provides an incredibly valuable range of buffs to her team. Her second Skill, second Spell Card and her Last Word all contribute Spirit P to her entire team, while her first Skill provides herself a small boost; combined to give her just enough to allow her to fire off a 2P boost on Turn 1. Meanwhile, her skills and Spell Cards all contribute some measure of Yin ATK, Yin DEF (useful for Hard scaling), Yang DEF, Crit ATK and Accuracy to herself and her allies, raising their offensive capabilities. This can be further augmented by her Boosting and Grazing, which increase the party’s Yin DEF and Yin ATK by 1 per level respectively. Players will enjoy stacking these buffs even in long fights, with low cooldowns on all her skills allowing for quick reapplication.

The Princess of the Netherworld also comes with some bulk, protecting her teammates and herself from harm. Asides from raising Yin DEF, Yuyuko also increases team Evasion with her first Spell Card, while also recovering the Barriers of her team mates. Her Ability allows her to take more hits, with Yuyuko taking 30% less damage from Elements she resists. In need of some recovery? Her Spread Shot will heal 30% of her HP when boosted to 2P on her fifth bullet line.

Finally, Yuyuko has the ever useful anomaly set and break utility in her kit. Her second Skill Card will deliver up to three barriers worth of Freeze to a single enemy, while her first Spell Card lays down a single barrier worth of Freeze to the entire enemy party. These anomalies can be simultaneously broken with her first Spell Card at 2P, or on her Spread Shot at 2P.

In summary, Yuyuko is a great support Friend who fills her team with energy while enabling Yin teams to do their best against tier enemies. Should they happen to have a vested interest against taking back spring for Gensokyo, she will work doubly hard to purge them from existence.