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「秘儀王」 (Higi Ou)
“THE HIEROPHANT”
After all this buildup with Nobunaga going through his pouty phase, what does he have to show for it? Not much, really. If we had cut out all the intermediate sad scenes of Nobunaga and his dramatic cherry blossoms and waterfalls while skipping to the final fight with Takeda, everything still would make sense. So what gives? Where is the character development that was supposed to come out of all of this? Jeanne is still a really useless secondary character and Nobunaga is still the keen yet overly reactive individual that he started the series as. Maybe we’re supposed to see a new wave of confidence around him, but if so, it’s lost among the other traits that have practically stayed the same.
The only character worth mentioning in terms of development would have to be Mitsuhide, whose struggles are the most interesting to watch of all the characters. The man has some serious backstory issues thanks to his dad committing seppuku, which nicely ties into the emotional struggles he has to face. After all, one commits seppuku either for personal honor and/or for the ‘greater good’–its possible that Mitsuhide saw disgust in him causing the same pain to Nobunaga and Nobukatsu that he had to suffer through as his father made him witness. However, now that Mitsuhide must lie to everyone in order to preserve the fabric of the Oda clan, it can only go downhill from here–when one piece of Mitsuhide’s plan starts to unravel, the best solution for him is only to perform more questionable acts. Again, I stress again that one of the main selling points of the plot moving forward will be when Mitsuhide has to seriously draw the line between a satisfactory goal for the clan and the sacrifices that have to come with it.
In fact, I fear that Mitsuhide himself will probably make deals with figures from the West Star–god forbid that it includes Caesar and his sadist twin loli/shota assistants. I do concede that it was clever in using the fog to their advantage to take over the Takeda, but it all seemed too convenient and obviously shock-value related that it seems like a cheap move for the story. Add onto the fact that Caesar is still chasing after Nobunaga’s sister–the only family he has left mind you–and it just spells disaster for the future. I do hope that they flesh out both sides of the West Star just as they have with Mitsuhide. As it’s currently playing out, it’s too easy to perceive the Western invaders as power-hungry and expansionist individuals with no remorse in what they do, save for Leonardo and Jeanne. As we approach the halfway point though surely things will start rolling by now with all-out conflict between Caesar and Nobunaga. But honestly, there are only a few things to look forward to right now–seeing what Nobunaga’s true face is (with the revelation of his inheritance, most likely a regalia) and seeing how Mitsuhide interprets as justified means to a better end.
Preview
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Mitsuhide’s actions were necessary. Classic Machiavellian statecraft.
That fight between Nobunaga and Takeda was pure manly fan-service. To me that is what this anime is about. Not plot, character development, or relations, but Oda Nobunaga being a badass.
Exactly, that’s why I watch this show. For Nobunaga being the baka badass covered with all this japanese/western symbolism, oppai and great music. I don’t care about the quality of the plot.
I’m confused. Aren’t Oppai and Plot the same thing?
And God said, “Let there be oppai,” and there was oppai. God saw that the oppai was good, and he separated the oppai from the story. God called the oppai “plot,” and the story he called “fan service.” And there was oppai, and there was oppai. So much oppai.
It was also Sengoku Basara with mechas and Oda Nobunaga instead of Date Masamune…
Disagree partially with you on Nobunaga, Zanibas. Nobunaga’s actions now need to be separated from his personality. He will always remain an overconfident, egocentric brat, but the important thing here is how he has now focused on what is important: uniting his clan and completing vendetta for his dead brother. Not so much character development as as a redirection of personal focus.
It remains ironic though how Mitsuhide is the most fleshed out character so far, the only one whom we have seen torment over his actions and attempt to reconcile his morality with the need to protect his clan and leader (perfect example of the quote that state survival often necessitates being an amoral man). Mitsuhide will either learn to fully accept his choices or he will die by them; I personally expect the latter, he is too stoic to remain the rock against the torrent of duplicity which he must engage in.
It’s funny how much i don’t really care about Nobunaga as much as i do Mitsuhide. As you’ve said he’s the only character in the series that has undergone some good character development and ends up being tormented by his actions. Everyone else is still the same as they have always been despite what’s happened. Jeanne is just kind of there doing nothing, Da Vinci makes predictions and builds stuff, Nobunaga is still a baka etc.
You could say that Nobunaga is more responsible now but I’d call BS on that considering he knew full well that walking into enemy territory like that would result in a fight even though he claimed he only wanted to talk. And guess what? His actions end up only biting him in the but again. That dumb mist attack only helped Caesar and made it child’s play for him to take over the army by lying to them. Of course he didn’t know Caesar would interfere but again it could have all been avoided had he not started the fight in the first place.
A part of me wants to hate Mitsu but I can’t.
However I will say fuck Caesar.
Julius Caesar is probably rolling in his grave at having such a POS a-hole namesake
When Caesar inevitably kicks the bucket, I want those edgy twins to die with him. They’re so annoying, god damn.
The Hierophant represents knowledge and wisdom, the desire to understand and learn more. (the alien Hierophant-Pope imparts religious knowledge to the 2 awaiting acolytes.)
Nobukatsu’s death and Himiko’s critical state spur Nobunaga to directly seek answers from Shingen on suspicions of his involvement in sending assassins after both of them, a departure from the self-centred ‘Fool’ who left his subordinates,(ie. Mitsu) to handle state affairs on his behalf. In addition, Nobu and Shingen came out from their battle
wiser of each other’s beliefs and values, which were pretty alike to begin with!!
Next week’s ep, the Wands, mark an entry into the Minor Arcana of tarot.
PS.The Hierophant can also signify group identification, adherence to tradition and conformity, although the knowledge aspect of it is more prominent this ep.
^Exactly! There’s definitely some development here for Nobunaga,just not as much as some would expect. At first I was slightly disappointed as well but I’m content with this for now as I’m expecting more gradual development. Tbh,I’m quite curious how he’ll handler matters at home,getting along with his advisers & all. What’s certain is that Nobunaga’s character development needs to keep going. The next few episodes SHOULD also be a good time for Jeanne to play a more important role as well.
The problem that I’d see would be if we’d get non-stop fighting episodes that,while looking nice & all,would act as an excuse to ignore other things such as character development in favor of flashy entertainment. Not that there’s anything wrong with that,but I’m still hoping for this anime to be more than that – it DOES have the potential to.
The pronunciation of Caesar as ‘Kaisar’ in this show is historically accurate, as it follows the classic Latin language as spoken in ancient Rome.
The actual ae sound is one of my pet peeves, most people are unaware that ae should be pronounced as the i in isle and not as the ay in May or ee in Freezer 😛
have to admit Nobunaga the Fool really not make sense.Foot soldier fight with robot using spear,bow,sword,gun old gun? while robot can shot lesser,rocket,big sword,big spear and alot more.
I swear the only thing that irritates me is that Jeanne has been essentiality unless and even she acknowledges it. She has an amazing history to her character and it will bother me that they don’t explore the great leader that she was and the fact she had a whole army behind her. Were almost reaching the half way point so now that we explored the East Star quite a bit I hope we get to see more of the West Star in the upcoming episodes.
Almost half way point? This is 2cour show.
That is way I said half way point I know its a two cour show
I’m finding myself wishing I could take Mitsuhide out of this show and put him in a better one, because he’s the only actively interesting character in the whole cast right now. This show had a lot of potential but it’s going nowhere so far. I was really hoping that last week’s big moments would kickstart some interesting development for the rest of the cast, but no such luck.
The end credits give the twins a last name: Tepes (as in Vlad the Impaler/Dracula). “King Arthur” is looking more sinister by the minute.
Jeanne’s “disguise” didn’t fool Caesar for 2 seconds. Was anyone other than Nobukatsu fooled?
As to the merits of Nobunaga’s course of action, I think it was not as crazy as it seemed and actually panned out pretty well. Given Shingen’s demonstrated character to date, the worst case scenario “You were a fool to come. Sieze him!” was vanishingly unlikely (I wouldn’t suggest trying it with Caesar, mind). That leaves: not allowed into camp – Nobunaga would probably be able to escape and also unlikely given Shingen’s character; being allowed in for an audience then allowed to leave, or being allowed in for an audience and fighting a duel – this last is only a bad thing if you think your odds of winning are worse than your odds in a general battle. How did it pan out: Shingen, a dangerous enemy, is dead; Nobunaga has one more regalia than he used to; he still has to face the Takeda army and Caesar, but he’d still have to face both anyway (it’s not like Shingen was sending peace ambassadors) and it’s hard to believe Caesar + Takeda army is more dangerous than Caesar + Shingen + Takeda army; he has confirmation to his satisfaction that Shingen didn’t send the assassins. Not a bad day’s work.
Given that the Akechi ninjas know who sent the assassin after Nobunaga, it will be interesting to see if anyone ever tells him, or whether they have to keep it covered up because the chief retainers can say with complete honesty they were trying to kill Nobunaga to install Nobukatsu as leader, leaving Nobunaga’s camp as the only logical source of an assassin of Nobukatsu. I suppose they could always frame Caesar.
I wouldn’t say there was little or zero development on Nobunaga, but I’d concede the show isn’t all that heavy on character development and plot. The mopey scenes were a little too drawn out for my liking and the twins look to be another one-dimensional villainous pair. Might be a syndrome of having too many characters with too little specific focus on certain characters that make the show a little unenjoyable for some of us. All personal opinion though.
What I’m more interested in, though, is whether the Strength card will show up again. While it seemed cheap that Jeanne’s resolve came about so quickly, it’s commendable that she at least made a decision instead of being a draggy woman, uncertain where to go. Or perhaps not, seeing as the cards come out as per what happens in each episode. The plus points also include Mitsuhide’s past as well as his interactions with the characters around him and the battle. Pure action and bits of GAR there.
Caesar being set up to be a serious douchebag villain. Backstabbing people who are dying, maligning others by taking advantage of the situation and lusting after the sister of Nobunaga? That spells douchebag with a capital D. The icing on the cake comes with the preview at the mention of his ‘chivalry’.
All that said, I’d watch the show with lower expectations than before. Wouldn’t let the supposed lack of plot and development bother me that much and just enjoy the show for what it is…Unless every part goes to hell.
I believe the 24 episodes will cover all 22 tarot cards of the Major Arcana, and 2 cards of the Minor Arcana. And next week’s ep, Wands, is named after the Suit of Wands of the Minor Arcana.
Ah..Had no idea this was 24 episodes. That makes sense now..Thanks for the info.
So Caesar seems to be setting up the karma for his own backstabbing. There’s only so many times you can “play the fool”–in more senses than one–before you get your own just desserts.