Oda Nobuna no Yabou – 04
Hattori Hanzo. Master of the Ninja Arts. His Kung-Fu is stronger than yours.
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On the fourth episode of Oda Nobuna no Yabou, it’s time for the Battle of Okehazama! Will Oda Nobuna prevail against a numerically-superior opponent? Or will it go just as planned, like Imagawa Yoshimoto thinks? |
Episode 4: “Winds of change! Okehazama!”
I’ve been waiting for a character in a Sengoku-themed anime to say that one.
I was definitely saying “wow”, “cool”, “awesome” and other such adjectives when this episode aired. This episode delivered comedy, romance, and action in spades. Everyone in the cast (especially Shibata Katsuie and Niwa Nagahide) gets their moment of awesome, whether it’s on or off the field of battle, and we were treated to a little bit of fanservice near the end. Hmm, that last one may or may not have been necessary, depending on your taste.
Let’s take a look at Imagawa Yoshimoto. Like all daimyo of the Sengoku Jidai period, she desires the unification of Japan under her clan’s banner. Unlike Oda Nobuna or Saito Dousan, however, she never leads from the front, and uses Matsudaira Motoyasu’s (the future Tokugawa Ieyasu’s) forces as expendable meat shields to soak up the brunt of casualties from the battlefield, while her own forces remain fresh and strong.
“We will enter the capital elegantly and unscathed. That is how a noble fights” – Imagawa Yoshimoto
Looking at history, most armies (with notable exceptions) after the Roman Empire and before Napoleon Bonaparte tended to be on the small size, due to difficulties of logistics and communication. You had to feed both men and horses, and supplying food for the men and fodder for the horses was tough, even at the best of times. Objectively speaking, Imagawa Yoshimoto was acting in a sound manner, keeping forces in reserve, and preferring not to risk danger on the front lines. Her quote above reminds me of magus Tohsaka Tokiomi from Fate/Zero, who, like Yoshimoto, placed too much stock on concepts like “refinement” and “nobility”.
However, it is exactly this mindset that perhaps led to Imagawa Yoshimoto’s defeat. Personally, I believe it is her lack of empathy with her troops and allies that doomed her campaign from the start. If a commander does not share the hardships with those they command, the soldiers will have less respect for them, and even less incentive to fight – and die for them. Case in point, Oda Nobuna’s outnumbered troops fought for her precisely because she fought alongside them. Yoshimoto on the other hand, preferred to recline on her chair, eat grapes, drink wine, and play with her ball.
Hanzo: “Naruto? Oh please, that orange-jumpsuit ninja wannabe has nothing on me.”
Once Sagara Yoshiharu appealed to Hattori Hanzo’s devotion to his master Motoyasu, it was decided that Okehazama would end with an Oda clan victory. Sagara Yoshiharu probably knew this well from his game The Ambition of Oda Nobunaga, and decided to risk everything on the chance that Hanzo placed his master’s safety above everything else, or perhaps he thought that Hanzo was a closet lolicon. Hohoho…
The anime version of the Battle of Okehazama went just like its real world counterpart: the Imagawa’s campaign is brought to a halt, and Nobuna establishes herself as a front-runner daimyo for the unification of Japan.
Sagara attacks Katsuie for Maximum Damage! It is Super-Effective!
The one thing that played out differently is that Sagara decided that he would let Yoshimoto live because “killing a beautiful girl is such a waste”. That was fine with me, but did he really have to fondle Katsuie’s chest while trying to save Yoshimoto? C’mon! I mean, melon farming is a legitimate male fantasy, but to add ecchi moments when the plot doesn’t need it, it’s just too much of a mood whiplash for me (or maybe I’ve been watching too much Hagure Yuusha no Estetica and Dakara boku wa, H ga dekinai! to appreciate what Sagara did. KINGDOM!!!).
Preview:
No, this is not your Sengoku Jidai-era mail delivery service.
Next week on Oda Nobuna no Yabou, it looks things have calmed down after the Battle of Okehazama. Why has Azai Nagamasa returned? Will Katsuie feel the “taint” of Sagara Yoshiharu’s hands on her chest forever? Who is the youthful white-haired girl? Find out in the next episode: “Strategy of the genius tactician”.
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POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
This is steadily becoming one of the best animes this season. I like how Sagara continues to prove worth. Though he isn’t a fighter, he makes up for it by being a strategist and utterly loyal to Nobuna. Also, you gotta love his honesty. “Killing a beautiful girl is such a waste”. I guess fondling Katsuie’s chest was to make sure she’d keep her word of not killing Yoshimoto. Agreed, Hagure Yuusha no Estetica and Dakara boku wa, H ga dekinai! are corrupting our views.
What’s good about this show is that there is more plot and character development and seriousness rather than just plain mindless comedy spaning about 3/4 of the series which is a plus.
Hahaha, Nobuna’s brother is such a pimp. He has his own personal army of female warriors and he’s on his way to seduce a noble while declaring it in front of them and they accept it without a fuss. Damn that lucky pint sized bastard.
Regarding the ending, the fight was epic but having it out in the rain and hot girls owning the enemy made it priceless. Popcorn movie material.
POWUH: iLurker with 18 comments
I guess that’s why he’s nicknamed “Saru”; instead of attacking his opponents head on, he uses their weaknesses against them. Just like what a monkey would do in fables and folk stories. XD
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I thought it was a “I’m *really* going to get your attention!” kind of move. If he’d just run up and said “Stop don’t kill her!” it wouldn’t have had nearly the impact (or the success chance).
POWUH: iLurker with 18 comments
Oh he got Katsuie’s attention all right. Maybe we should nickname Shibata Katsuie as “Katsudon” or “Tonkatsu”. OM NOM NOM NOM. XD
I can see a running gag in future episodes now, whenever Saru wants Katsuie to stop doing something rash (like killing the other princess generals), he’ll mention this incident and Katsuie will freak out – and stop. XD
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
OMG, a bishie in Oda Nobuna? I was not expecting this at all.
POWUH: iLurker with 18 comments
The bishie count:
1. Azai Nagamasa
2. Hattori Hanzo
3. That dude (with his eyes always closed) in the OP standing beside Hanzo
I think it’s safe to say we’ll have more bishies in future episodes to balance the predominantly female cast.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Yeah, this episode was really good. I’m still having trouble when they go into naming factions, provinces, and people with no reference on the screen, but I’m slowly learning who is who. This show had a great mix of action, intrigue, strategy, and fun.
I think the role that Dousan has moved into is a great one for the show. I hope he continues to be that kind of side adviser for the characters. You get the impression that they all need that voice of experience, and that wall of reflection.
POWUH: iLurker with 18 comments
I specifically went out of my way to avoid mentioning
lolisin the “Next Episode” preview, seeing as you didn’t want anymore of them. Fortunately or unfortunately, we’ll be getting at least two more. XDAgree with you on Saito Dousan’s role. The story needs Dousan alive so he could impart his words of wisdom to Yoshiharu and Nobuna when they need it the most. Although I wish he would return to the battlefield sometime in later episodes.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
You misunderstand me. I just don’t want lolis for myself. 🙂 I try to limit the personal ‘dirty old man’ stuff, so they don’t really do anything for me. You can talk about lolis all you want. 🙂
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I’m not fluent in Japanese so I must wait for good subs, but I’m so tempted to spoil myself by reading this post (I managed to placate myself by skimming through the comments)…
doh hoh hoh…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
So I finally got around to watching this episode. I expected Yoshimoto to be spared Saru is building up his loli harem to compete against Nobusumi – though he’s wayyyy behind), but seeing Saru cope a feel while pleading for mercy gave me a good laugh.
I half expected Katsuie to use the blunt end of the spear – Saru’s getting off pretty easy with just two feet to the face.
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
OMG *P* * DROOOLS* HANZOOOOO !!! I HAVE TO WATCH THIS !!