NOBUNAGA THE FOOL: Episodes 1-6 Review

What is it they say about shiny things and gold?

When I watched the first episode of
NOBUNAGA THE FOOL (and consequently reviewed it), I noticed some...
weird stuff. Stuff like how Jeanne d'Arc, one of the most badass
women in European history, develops a hardcore crush on the eponymous
Oda Nobunaga the instant she lays eyes on him. Stuff like Jeanne
throwing around the term "Savior-King" when she refers to
Nobunaga. It raised my hackles a bit, I admit.

But I shoved these concerns to the back
of my mind. Surely these were just there to add the flavor of romance
to the show! It's definitely about select historical badasses meeting
and exchanging words or blows or both, a la FATE/ZERO. While Nobunaga
is and should be the show's center of gravity (it is named after
him), the way the characters (as liberal reinterpretations of the
figures they're based on) interact will be at the heart of this show.

I was so blinded by the beauty of the
show I imagined that I didn't see
the show NOBUNAGA is.
And what it is is
nothing like I imagined...

I
should have listened to my instincts.

== TEASER ==

Following the first episode we learn
more about the Oda Clan and their complex relationship with their
heir. The advisors hate Nobunaga as he is wild, uncontrollable and seemingly without
forethought. His father can barely withhold his contempt for him. And
yet his siblings, along with his allies Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi, hold
him in nothing but the deepest esteem. They see his potential; feel it in an almost tangible sense, and want to help him achieve it.

Meanwhile
on the sidelines are Jeanne and Leonardo da Vinci. Jeanne has been
disguised as another historical figure, Ranmaru, so as to not sully
Nobunaga's reputation further.

The
Westerners watch. They wait. They try not to involve themselves,
aside from the fact that their very presence is disruptive. And the
fact that they've already given Nobunaga a giant robot, which really
does shake things up. They've already made their bed, here.

They're
supposed to be surrogates for the audience, observing Nobunaga
objectively and evaluating whether or not he could possibly be the
fabled "Savior-King," or even worthy of such a title. The
way the show does it, though, is by daring Jeanne--and by extension,
us as the audience--not to fall in love with his overly masculine
ways. Do you find Nobunaga too gruff? It's just because he feels
so strongly that he cannot
control his passion! Do you find Nobunaga inattentive? It's just
because he has deemed you unworthy of his attention.
Do you find Nobunaga too brutal on the battlefield? Fool! His victory was inevitable—why waste time
by drawing it out?

So manly! The manliest of men! Did I neglect to mention that episode 4 is just a wedding?

I'm
all for character analysis pieces—and Oda Nobunaga certainly
qualifies as a deep and complex enough personality to merit several
interpretations—but this is so far from the premise I glimpsed at
in the pilot episode that I feel cheated. This isn't about how
Nobunaga would interact with Jeanne d'Arc or Julius Caesar as I had
thought, but rather about everyone being sucked into the
gravitational pull of Nobunaga's ego.

If it
were as simple as lionizing the man, I might have been able to
continue the show. After all, the character design is intricate and
eye-catching and the world of the show is full of marvels and mystic
beauty. But NOBUNAGA THE FOOL actually takes a step beyond lionizing.

Recall
how Jeanne d'Arc is looking for the Savior-King. Recall how in real
life, Jeanne d'Arc claimed to hear the voice of God, and that she was
later canonized as a saint. A deeply religious woman, that Jeanne.

When there was only one set of footprints in the sand, they were giant because I was carrying you in my mecha.

That's
right: it seems the goal of the show is the outright deification
of Oda Nobunaga. The show goes
beyond the Christ symbolism of the Savior-King when da Vinci flat out
claims that Nobunaga has the power of either creation or
destruction—powers he claims only God has.

Perhaps
these are just cultural differences, but suffice to say I think I'm
done with NOBUNAGA THE FOOL. If it had been a straight-up historical
epic telling the story of the man or a straight-up fantastical epic
featuring the legend, I think I would have enjoyed it. If we could
have seen new scenarios wherein the philosophies and mettles of
historical figures are tested against one another, I think I would
have enjoyed it. Instead, we receive a history lesson of single man
and put him on a pedestal as high as the Tower of Babel. And we all
know how that went down, now don't we?

About the Author

Matt Murphy is a freelance nerd who has contributed to many nerd websites. You can reach him by going to where the light meets the shadow, by sending out zeta-brainwaves or by following him on Twitter @Murphix.