First Impressions / Nobunaga the Fool

OP Sequence

OP: 「FOOL THE WORLD」 by Chihara Minori

「恋人 THE LOVERS」

This week’s episode was mainly introductions and establishing plots and motivation, so nothing particularly exciting happened story-wise or through action. There are a few interesting points to note concerning the story though, so let’s delve into those in more detail.

First, the composition of characters from each star differ wildly in their organization of history. The East Star mainly sticks to displaying the Sengoku period, specifically during Nobunaga’s time. This makes it easy to make natural connections between characters if one knows the history. The betrayal of Mitsuhide against Nobunaga. The general wimpiness of Nobukatsu as compared to his aspiring older brother. The constant pressure of Uesugi and Takeda on the Oda clan during Nobunaga’s first campaign years. It all makes general sense when compared to the original source.

The west star on the other hand…oh boy. You’ve got characters from the B.C.E period interacting with people from the Renaissance, ranging from the very real Caesar to the very mysterious and mythical King Arthur all the way to the Renaissance polymath da Vinci–a span of time that covers around 1500 years of western civilization. However, one thing that interestingly unites most of the West Star characters–specifically those at the Round Table–is their relation to the concept of the empire. Although we haven’t been formally introduced to all of the characters at the Camelot table, I have a gut feeling that most of these characters will be famous leaders who lead expansionist ideals during their reign. King Arthur and Caesar have been the first to be introduced, but I would hanker a guess that from who we’ve seen, among their ranks is Catherine the Great of Russia, Suleiman the Magnificent of the Ottomans, and Alexander the Great of the Macedonian Empire. If this were the case, then it would make perfect sense why these characters were selected–to create external pressure on the East Star, bringing motivation for Nobunaga to unite Japan even quicker.

Speaking of expansion, one does not expand an empire simply on a whim–motivation is a must. For the West Star, it is desire for harmony and the upholding of ideals, most likely spurred by King Arthur’s enigmatic relation to the mythology of the setting. As for Nobunaga on the East Star, his motivations are mostly intrinsic and stem from a desire for agreeable peace, without much concern for the West Star at all (currently). However, this sort of self-fueled motivation comes into direct conflict with Jeanne’s own beliefs, that her mission and by extension Nobunaga’s is guided by fate, destiny, and the mythological. They came into conflict with these ideals this episode and it sure won’t be the last time they butt heads on it. This is a great example as to the potential of Nobunaga the Fool, where it is clear that if these two historical figures came into contact in our world, they would have the same reaction. Joan of Arc was guided by her visions and by her god, leaving fate and destiny to inspire and beat back the English. Oda Nobunaga on the other hand firmly believed in his own machinations–that rationality and self-actualization should be at the forefront of his administration and conquest, rather than at the hands of Buddhism and Shinto blessings.

The OP and the show itself hints at many more of these conflicts to come in the future, which excites me for the future of this show. Will Mitsuhide and Jeanne go against Nobunaga’s wishes and hamper his work? Will Brutus betray Caesar for an unknown Cleopatra? Sure, this was a pretty boring episode, but upon inspection it reveals the more exciting events that will soon unfold. Keep at it my friends and hold on, because I have hope that this show will pick up steam soon enough.

Apologies again for the delay–those of you who read my Nourin post know already, but I had a member of the family in the ER over the weekend, which took a toll on me. Post release times should stabilize as of next week. Thanks for understanding!

 

ED1.1 Sequence

ED: 「AXIS」by STEREO DIVE FOUNDATION

Preview

72 Comments

    3. Pretty good series so far but what got me worried is how many episodes is going to be, I hope 24 because I can´t see the storry really being develop well enough with only one-cour. If we judege by the episode tittles it might be 22 episodes, there are 22 major arcanas in the tarot deck, The Fool is number 0 and the last is The World, if they take the episode tittles from the major arcanas then it´s it´s safe to asume this is going to be two-cour.

      haseo0408
      Reply

  3. As it happens, according to the official website the extra members of the Round Table are:

    Hannibal Barca (gender bent – the silver haired woman)
    Charlemagne (male, platinum blonde/silver haired, no mask)
    Caesare Borgia (orange hair with feather)
    Niccolo Machiavelli (gender bent, blue-purple hair, not officially one of the Round Table, there as Caesare Borgia’s assistant)
    Chandra Gupta (not enough info on the website to tell which one, there are 3 possibilities according to wikipedia, 2 emperors of the Gupta Empire and the founder of the Maurya empire)
    Alexander the Great (big blonde guy)

    What I find interesting is that King Arthur does not look entirely human – his/its completely obscuring clothing is at odds with everyone else at the table. The talk of dragons in the initial exposition in episode one has me wondering whether there’s more going on than meets the eye.

    Mahavira
    Reply

    2. It makes sense that King Arthur is garbed differently than the rest due to his status as a legend rather than a historical figure.

      Also, man did I miss the mark minus Alexander. They do all seem empire-oriented though–quite ambitious people too actually. But those genderbends…man. I could’ve sworn one of them would be Catherine the Great, given her unique status in instituting a Golden Age for the Russian Empire. Ah well.

      Thanks for looking up the information! It’s nice to see what figures we have planned in advance.

      Zanibas
      Reply

    3. It’s interesting we have a member of the Borgia clan on the Roundtable as that is not a name you hear often outside of Italian history or toxicology. Now a question of if and not when someone winds up dead from poison.

      For some reason I find a gender-bent Machiavelli to be hilarious too. Considering the material contained within the Prince, I’m guessing she acts like a dominatrix and has some form of -dere personality.

      Pancakes
      Reply

  4. Oh god I’m loving this now, it’s literally history porn with the the massive bat of fan-fiction taken to its face. Combine that with all the steampunk and mecha and we have ourselves a wonderful example of Japanese anime: pure, f*cked up insanity that somehow manages to be awesome.

    While I cannot comment much on Japanese history, Western history-wise it appears we will be seeing the generals-made-statesmen for the Roundtable. After all we saw Caesar and Hannibal with King Arthur being, well, king. Alexander is a good choice I expect too, but I expect others like Ivan the Terrible (conquest of Siberia), Darius I, or a member of the Habsburg dynasty (Charles II anyone?); Catherine the Great is possible, but we also have Maria Theresa who would fit just as well.

    Now just have to hope Nobunaga the Fool doesn’t collapse under its own weight 😛

    Pancakes
    Reply

  5. This episode is as fabulous (look at all the fabulous hairstyles) as ever. Why do I have a gut feeling that Mitsuhide likes the sister? The last scene where he seems to be looking at her longingly. I hope that wouldn’t be the reason for his potential betrayal (if he ever does it). On a side note Hideyoshi is probably one of the better characters Yuki Kaji has ever voiced. Hideyoshi is just pure whacky and hilarious (especially with his interaction with Jeanne)

    Asmalti
    Reply

  6. Sigh… why must they make the best looking girl cross-dress and pretend she’s a guy….

    Although considering that he told Jeanne to take on the name of Ranmaru, it could mean something significant in terms of relationship considering the actual history of Oda Nobunaga.

    Euzio
    Reply

    1. Given that the opening credits consistently show Jeanne in her western and obviously female garb, having her pretend to be a man may be either a short term thing or setting up a gag as even given chest wraps and the fact that kimonos don’t particularly emphasize the figure, I have difficulty believing she can pass for male except at a distance (and preferably under armor). It may also be a reference to the real Jeanne d’Arc wearing male clothes.

      Mahavira
      Reply

      3. This is anime, where boys are more feminine than girls, the weak man gets the harem, and giant mecha fly through the sky. You’re saying we cannot make a girl into a guy now? Well there might not be much demand for that, but we can do it too. Just watch us take those breasts and place them in…well, another location. How about that yaoi hole those crazy chicks keep going on about? Yeah that’s where, that mystical boys’ love place. Never doubt us, we will succeed. Anime conquers all.

        Pancakes
        Reply

      1. I REALLY hope no incest. It just brings in all kinds of weirdness to the plot that would have to be addressed. The instant you add incest to a plot, you basically know half the plot since there’s so many things that are just required in an incest plot.

        Beyond that, it seems strange to find an excuse to remove Nobunaga’s very real sexual relationship with a younger boy and then give him a (as far as I can tell) fictional incestuous relationship with his sister.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

      2. Indeed… I hope they don’t go that route. Though according to the history sources, it is implied that Nobunaga and Oichi shared a close relationship as siblings.

        Assuming there will be romance in this series, I’m shipping Jeanne x Nobunaga now cuz I think its just more interesting. Besides, it would fit into the theme of such a universe. They could channel Shakespeare by playing on the whole star-crossed lovers thing (Jeanne being from the West and Nobunaga from the East).

        Euzio
        Reply

  8. The Eastern Star mixes more subtle elements from later Japanese history, esp. Tokugawa isolationist policy.

    The Eastern Star limiting Western Star traders to Takamagahara is reminiscent of strict foreign trade limitations imposed during Edo-era Japan(1630s-1868), which was isolationist(foreigners banned from entering, locals banned from leaving).
    The ruling Tokugawa shogunate limited foreign trade and commerce to designated port cities/domains, the only places where foreigners could sell their wares and make diplomatic arrangements with authorised locals.(ex. the Dutch/Chinese in Nagasaki.)

    Contrast with the real Nobunaga’s time(1560s), where European traders freely traded and interacted with locals. Even some foreigners were known to befriend local warlords.

    zztop
    Reply

    1. Interesting…good catch! It is true that there are reflections of Sakoku even during what should be a Western-friendly Oda clan. If I had to bet though, this isn’t probably going to play a significant role besides creating a setting where West and East have limited contact, as to create the shock when members of East and West collide.

      Zanibas
      Reply

  12. I’m officially behind the series now. Nobunaga embodies one of my favorite character archetypes: A boisterous Large Ham with a giant robot. It may not be complex, but it will always be a fun watch, especially with Kawamori directing. Add that with a premise that allows many historical references and it would be a perfect geek-out for a history buff. History is one of the few things someone can have geek knowledge of and actually have the excuse of considering it educational.

    Also interesting use of Tarot symbolism. On hindsight, The Fool is actually a clever title as its one of Nobunaga’s titles and an appropriate Tarot embodiment for our main character.

    Jeanne is being pretty passive for now. I’m really hoping she gets to use that giant sword she has on the OP real soon. I don’t want another useless eye-candy like Mikono.

    fragb85
    Reply

  13. I enjoyed this a lot. I’m curious at the specific reference of the lovers in regards to Nobunaga and Ichi. The combination of that word, the moment it was said, and his choice to hide Jeanne’s gender seem to suggest incest. Which would be strange given that, as far as I know, it’s never been suggested that Nobunaga had an unusual relationship with his sister. THey were just fond of each other.

    I know tarot names aren’t always straight-forward though (I’m no tarot buff) so maybe it’s not that obvious. But then why hide Jeanne’s gender specifically from his sister? Weird.

    Anyway, I really hope that isn’t where they’re going. The problem with incest in fiction (besides being rather strange in real life) is that it nails down the plot. You have to have forbidden love, the condemnation of family and society, tragedy of various kinds, and so on and so forth. It’s very hard to do a particularly unique incest story.

    I’m FAR more excited by the insane possibilities of Nobunaga and Jeanne d’Arc than any dumb odd incest stuff with his sister. I hope the reason he’s hiding Jeanne is that his sister is very close and a ‘normal’ (for anime) bro-con, not anything more.

    KaleRylan
    Reply

    1. Same here. And to be honest, the reason I pick this anime in the first place was because of the posibility that I can see my favorite heroine Jeanne get ship with the crazy awesome Nobunaga (the intersting plot does help, too). No incest, please!

      May12
      Reply

      3. Has there been any hint that Nobunaga’s historically biological sister is suddenly adopted in this? Because that would be weird. To decide to make a figure adopted just so you can carry out an incest plot when you ALREADY have brought in freaking Jeanne d’Arc to tell a weird forbidden love story thing is just going too far.

        Also, given that everyone almost universally hated the main characters in Aquarion EVOL and wanted more focus on the side-characters, it would be highly unfortunate if Kawamori made the opposite mistake here and spent a bunch of time on people like Ichi right when he’s finally got two leads that people seem to actually like.

        Just nothing about the Ichi plotline excited me. It struck me like a few moments in EVOL where I just had an immediate gut reaction of ‘nothing good can come from this.’ I’m sticking around for Nobunaga, Jeanne, and the mecha action, but this does make me leery.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

  15. I actually think that Jeanne and Mitsuhide pointing swords in the OP is actually Jeanne defending Nobunaga against Mitsuhide. They probably made it look that way to be symmetrical in the image, but it looks as if Jeanne is looking at has her eyes squared on Mitsuhide while pointing in.

    Annyms
    Reply

    1. This would also fit her being Ranmaru Mori in this show. Ranmaru is famous in Japan, not for being Nobunaga’s lover, but for being incredibly loyal to the point that he’s sort of the patron saint of loyalty in Japanese culture.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  16. With all this Nobunaga talk’s has anyone here read Nobunaga no chef?
    it’s a pretty good manga about a modern day chef being magically transported
    to the warring state period during Nobunaga’s reign

    lol
    Reply

  17. Unlike the others I can’t feel the Star Driver on this. Sure it’s fab and mechy, and fabulously mechy, but there’s no fab hand signs, no singing maidens, no highschool hijinks.

    To be honest it I can’t compare it with anything. This will be my first anime where they took historical figures and ran away with it as far as possible, like a lunatic, without turning back. It has lots of potential.

    I sincerely hope they throw away all the history and just really run away with it without a drop of being based in historical records. They already portrayed the characters in a great loose fashion so I expect none of any historical none-sense in this show.

    Anyway I’m wondering what was the author thinking trying to ship Jeanna x Nobunaga? I imagine the author trying to make historical Jeanne and historical Nobunaga fit as a pair but can’t and said “to hell with this” and just re-created them in true fujoshi bait fashion.

    TheMoondoggie
    Reply

    1. Actually so far the show’s been pretty spot on in regards to Nobunaga, as several people have pointed out. It’s really just the westerners that are presented loosely. And even that’s in line, since Nobunaga really was a big fan of western culture and used western weapons (guns, not robots) to achieve dominance.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

      1. I can’t feel Nobunaga’s love for the west in this show. I do understand that he’s the type that just do whatever he please though. He didn’t go nerd with the mech or the ship.

        Or guns.

        TheMoondoggie
        Reply

      2. I’d say 1. we’re only on the 2nd episode and 2. it’s a matter of interpretation.

        I mean, yeah, he didn’t just lose it over the robots. But he wanted it, and he was pretty excited to name it, and then gave a pretty hammy reveal of the robot to his family. I’d say it still fits the mold. Too soon to say though.

        Either way, I would say the real question based on what we’ve seen so far, and what’s in the opening, is how the random westerners will fit into Nobunaga’s life story as we know it.

        KaleRylan
        Reply

    1. When he introduces himself, it was made very clear, at least in the subs I watched, that Vinci was where he comes from, as he mirrors Nobunaga naming his province in his introduction. The calling him Da Vinci thing seems to be a bit of a nickname/Japan doesn’t get it.

      So they didn’t totally miss the point. They clearly point out it’s where he’s from, and then go on to call him by that anyway.

      KaleRylan
      Reply

  22. The Lovers in tarot usually represent dual partnerships (mostly romantic),but it can also mean establishing personal beliefs and determining one’s values.
    Jeanne and Nobunaga did discuss their beliefs, and there is the partnership between Nobu and his sister, and a possible one between Nobu and Jeanne.

    zztop
    Reply

  24. Things are looking good for the fool, but Nobunagun isn’t being blogged ;/ Its second episode was an improvement, the action looked better compared to episode 1, they was just holding out on us.

    I don’t think it’s fair that only the west side got combined historic people in it while the east pretty much has only the predictable sengoku people. Toss some other people in the east like Musashi and Kojiro. Also, Yukimura better be in this.

    Magoiichi
    Reply

  26. Huh, there was a lot less action this episode than I would have thought. Still pretty good though, and it does look to be building up some excitement coming up.

    I’m glad we get to see the other members of the Round Table, though I’m surprised Arthur is sitting in a floating throne above them, as that would kind of defeat the purpose of a round table.

    Now we’ve got a Brutus for our Caesar, and they got my favorite male voice actor to do him too. I’m hoping he doesn’t betray Caesar like his real life counterpart/previous incarnation (though if Caesar turns out…really bad, I may have to eat my words).

    Anyways, with Jeanne now taking the role of Ranmaru, I still have hope that she won’t be as ineffectual as a lot of people are thinking she is. Please, creators, give her a Giant War Armor!

    Also, I’m already very fond of Hideyoshi, that dirty monkey. I really hope they don’t kill him off.

    P.S. Wow, my post is really late.

    P.S.S. I really like the opening (song and visuals), but the ending kind of disappointed me, being comprised of art released before the show aired, played to a song that wasn’t as good as I was hoping.

    One last note: I don’t see how this show can be the epic it seems to be trying to be with only 12 episodes, so I hope the information that that’s all we’re getting isn’t true.

    starqo
    Reply

    1. Yeah, there’s a ton of interesting stuff going on & lots of possibilities with all the historical figures … just not sure how they are going to mesh it all together into something cohesive in 12 episodes.

      Or maybe they will just throw random hijinks about & it’ll be mindless fun. I’ll give it a shot ..

      FarHorizon
      Reply

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