「織田信長」 (Oda Nobunaga)
“Oda Nobunaga”

Alright, I’ll admit it. I came in expecting some sort of craziness, but this episode far eclipsed the amount I thought we were going to get. It’s like they decided to shove the action scenes of Kill la Kill together with the light-hearted monster bashing nature of Vividred Operation (there were some rear end shots included)—resulting in an experience that was both over-the-top and a hit/miss. Needless to say, action fans will love this series, but it’s not exactly a series with appeal for those seeking something more.

Indeed, it’s pretty obvious from the get-go that we’re likely not going to get much of a story here. Maybe we will, but it’s more likely this’ll be one of those shows people watch for fun—and it looks like you’ll get a lot of it with this series. After all, the main characters (known as E-Gene holders) are wielding historical figures as weapons—Nobunaga as a machine gun! Whee!—there’s plenty of monster (Evolutionary Invasion Objects) beating to go around, and a pretty decent soundtrack to go along with it all. There’s also a unique art style that makes it quite different from your average show, and the pacing is fast and adrenaline rush inducing. It requires a bit of disbelief suspension sure, but when you get people getting blown apart like it’s nothing to start off the first episode, that’s the intent of and likely par for course when it comes to Nobunagun.

As such, there really isn’t much to say about what we got here with Nobunagun’s introductory episode. It’s a straight forward show—at least, it seems like it will be—and the conclusion ends up similarly so. If any of the above discussion or screenshots haven’t turned you away from the series, you’ll probably going to be alright with this series. If you find yourself on the fence after this introductory episode though, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere this time around. I’ll continue watching regardless myself, but this is a show better watched rather than covered, so don’t be surprised if this doesn’t end up being picked up in future weeks.

OP Sequence

OP: 「Respect for the dead man」 by Pay money To my Pain

47 Comments

    1. He’s one of the first people in Japan who were total nerds for the west.

      He’s “revolutionized” warfare for Japan, using “modern” tactics and weapons.

      And yeah, he’s probably a badass too.

      TheMoondoggie
    1. Yeah, and for someone who lived in Taiwan for six years, this so nostalgic and cool at the same time. I can just imagine how it is for the people who actually live in Japan and watch anime like Durarara! or Steins;Gate

      Leon Maxwell
  1. Jack the Ripper is the only serial killer that ever gets glorified on screen (see: Soul Eater, Babylon 5, Time After Time, and many more). The real person was never caught so it is easier to apply a cooler persona to the fictional version. No one will ever do the same to John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy (well no remotely mainstream storyteller). The real Jack the Ripper was no doubt a similarly pathetic person but since no one figured out who was then he gets to live on in infamy (albeit anonymously). Moral of story: Don’t get caught.

    Oh and this might be my favorite show featuring Nobunaga this season but it is still too early to tell.

    Absaroka
    1. From what I remember, he was known for his nonviolent approach. In that sense, the depiction of him makes sense here, because it was said he’s there for “protection” (I believe the premise summary had him as a shield or something) rather than anything offensive-related.

  2. Generic start, generic plot. But Oda Nobunaga makes everything either badass or fabulous. The animation style is old, but really nostalgic. I’m giving this the 3 episode rule like Nobunaga the Fool.

    TheMoondoggie
    1. You should watch the other Nobunaga show before calling this one generic. I think Kawamori has been making the same show over and over again for at least a decade.
      At least this one makes the historical characters reasonably interesting instead of cringe-inducingly embarrassing.
      And another plus to this show is that I don’t know what will happen. I can already guess with the other one.

      celebrinen
  3. This really is a show that even if you find it stupid, its stupid fun so enjoy the ride.

    Its also nice to see Bridge still around, I really enjoyed their adaption of Mitsudomoe.

    Longhaul
  4. It was a lot of fun. Loved the animation style too, as it reminded me a lot of Kyousigiga. Like you said Zephyr, not sure about the plot, but it’ll be a good watch for someone looking for a fun and stylish action show. I’ll probably keep watching it.

    katsudon
  5. I dunno if it was intentional but I laughed my ass off at the end of the episode where Oda is laughing like a madman and blasting everything.

    Seems like another ‘shut your brain off and enjoy’ series and I’m ok with this.

    Spike
  6. This episode wasn’t very exciting as an action junkie. It started off cool, but the action was a miss for me. Everything before shit got real was fine, I liked the little words popping up Sherlock Holmes style.

    It gave me Onimusha feels a little bit when Nobunaga got stabbed by that thing and the big monster with its spawn.

    Maybe next episode will have better action because our heroine is about to go Call of Duty on them monsters.

    Magoiichi
  7. I absolutely loved the art! I spotted at least 4 different techniques/shading styles such as the flashbacks, the normal art (made me think of Kill la Kill), the flowers on the normal girls and military camo on the heroine, and the ambiance shift once the action kicked in.

    I wonder if we will get some of the same characters in this series and The Fool? Excluding Oda Nobunga of course.

  8. I was going to not watch Nobunagun because Nobunaga the Fool was so terrible, I temporarily lost faith in Nobunaga adaptions. Luckily, my friend convinced me to watch this.

    Did anyone google search what “inny” was to find out that
    Show Spoiler ▼

    FlavorOfEvil
  9. The plot of this show isn’t the most original, and a lot of the same cliché elements of the other Nobunaga show, but I have to admit I wasn’t bored for a second. I though the episode was pretty fun, to be honest. The vibe of dumb, fun action reminds me of stuff like Space Dandy. I also liked the oldschool artstyle, our protagonist and the other characters hold promise as well.

    Hardly anime of the season material, but fun-factor alone already makes me certain I’m going to keep following this.

    Dvalinn
  10. As far as I’m concerned, I was disappointed. I could get through the art style (with quite a lot of effort), but the animation itself made it look like the team bought drinks and cookies instead of using the budget for the anime. I’ve never seen an anime where things would look so blatantly static, oh hey, there are clouds of dust… Too bad you would have to be blind not to see that they are just renders moving around, with no real animation. And that’s just one example. The overall story seems to be practically nonexistent. I think I can’t even go through the ‘three episodes before dropping’ rule with this one.

    Misk

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