#But kochoki Nobu is sexy too

[orihara-infobroker]

Nobunaga The Fool

As I inevitably do when I sit down to write, I get distracted. Sometimes by things relevant to whatever I’m working on, sometimes not. Today it was Oda Nobunaga. I was talking to people about how, after watching Nobunaga The Fool, I can’t unsee/unhear Mamoru Miyano as Nobunaga. If you haven’t watched this anime I recommend it. It’s amusing. Just don’t... expect any serious history from it. XD

This led me to think, later, about how there are so many depictions of Nobunaga in media. I think the first time I remember personally seeing a reference to him was in Ninja Scroll where they call him the Shogun of the Dark at one point. (I might be misrepresenting. Haven’t watched that movie in forever).

So I turned to google in curiosity. FOR RESEARCH. What does this tumultuous man actually look like? The Adventures of Nobunaga in Google below the cut.

Well. Like this:

Well. Pretty average looking samurai dude. So, of course, I wanted to see how he’d been recreated in fiction. The truest to real Nobunaga shows up in Sengoku Basara and Samurai Warriors, both video games:

Where he looks like the badass villain. Cuz he kind of is in most video games.

But wait, how is that fair? Nobunaga unified Japan! He wasn’t a villain! (THE Problematic Favourite of Japanese History).

Well, let’s take a look at Nobunaga the dateable boyfriend! There are quite a few otomes that focus on Sengoku samurai. 

Ikemen Sengoku (same hair colour, same scary asshole. (I have this game on my phone but no time to play it. I started with Date Masamune so I have no idea what he’s like but screenshots say he’s still an asshole.)

Samurai Love Ballad. Reddish brown hair? Ok. Still an asshole to the MC like ALL THE TIME. (I played this one. He was my first pick. Because I like sadists I guess?)

Sengoku Night Blood - An AU where all them hot samurai are either werewolves or vampires. So meet Drac- Errr Nobunaga the vampire. Blonde is his powered-up form. I have not played this game. I started the anime at some point because “oooo samurai” and had no idea it was based on a game. I have not finished it because I have more anime on my watch list than time to watch it.

Well. ONWARD TO THE ANIME. There are a lot of variants of Nobunaga in anime. Apparently, in Japan, everyone loves a good Nobunaga story. BUT it wouldn’t be a good story until we gender-bend him!

Battle Girls, Sengoku Otome, and The Ambition of Nobuna. Redhead, Redhead, Blonde. Interesting. XD

Drifters, Nobunaga Concerto, and Nobunaga the Fool.

Almost forgot the gender-bent Nobunaga in the Fate game.

Then there’s this new anime that Funimation is airing. It just launched in July. I didn’t even know it existed until this search. Will watch. It’s about Nobunaga as a youth. A very pretty youth. Kochoki: Wakaki Nobunaga.

I’m probably missing some references but I think this is enough XD Now, after seeing all these variants, what shall I make my Oda Nobunaga look like? Hmmmmmm.

Lastly is a bonus. Not actual Nobunaga. Just his swords. In human form. Because who doesn’t like anthropomorphized swords? From the game Touken Ranbu:

Fudou Yukimitsu: Tanto Souza Samonji: Katana Yagen Toshirou: Tanto Heshikir Hasebe : Katana