#azai clan

[neobrogrippa]

Why Azai Nagamasa?

Someone from Final Fantasy XIV asked me yesterday about why I like the Azai and particularly Azai Nagamasa so much.

To me the event that says so much about Nagamasa's character is at the fall of Odani castle, funny enough when the Azai are destroyed.

If you look at the fall of Odawara (the Hojo), or the fall of Osaka (The Toyotomi), entire clans getting destroyed and mass sepuku weren't uncommon. Nagamasa, however, insists on sending his wife and children to Nobunaga. Ultimately it is Nagamasa, and the Azai retainers, who commit sepuku in the castle.

To me that act speaks volumes both about his concern for his family but also about who he was as a person.

[redsamuraiii]

Strategist Kanbei / Gunshi Kanbei (Ep 35)

"When I first came here, I wanted to kill myself. My mother only married weak men like my father, Azai Nagamasa. They were both destroyed. Which is why I choose someone strong (the Taiko), even if he is my enemy. Even if I am criticized and slighted, I don't care."

Chacha finally comes to terms with her being a concubine of her enemy, the Taiko, as she realizes she can gain power through him and one day seize control of the clan to rule with her son.

Fumi Nikaido scene in Shogun as Ochiba where she told Ishido that she survived thus far by compelling fate to look at her so she could scratch out its eyes holds a whole new meaning now.

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Saizo / サイゾウ, Xaizor / サイゾー, and Asugi / グレイ

Saizo (JP: サイゾウ; rōmaji: saizou) is the fiery ninja that serves as a retainer to Hoshido's crown prince Ryoma in Fire Emblem Fates. This name is in reference to the fictitious ninja Kirigakure Saizō (JP: 霧隠才蔵). He belonged to a group of ninja known as the Sanada Ten Braves, who served the samurai warlord Sanada Yukimura during the Sengoku period. According to the tales, the Ten Braves participated in the Seige of Osaka, a year-long conflict in which Sanada, loyal to the Toyotomi clan, lost the defensive war of attrition. Of the ten, only Kirigakure Saizō and Sarutobi Sasuke really stuck in pop culture.

This choice of name for the Fire Emblem character is based not only on him being a skilled shinobi, but his fierce loyalty to Ryoma—also named after a renown Sengoku period samurai. Given the importance of the fall of Osaka, with the Tokugawa Shogunate becoming Japan's militant government system for the next two hundred years, the fall of Ryoma and Shirasagi Castle in the Conquest story route could be influenced by the Seige of Osaka. The death of Saizo's father may also pull from stories that claim that Kirigakure was the son of Azai Nagamasa, brother-in-law to the infamous warlord Oda Nobunaga—the very man who had killed Azai.

Xaizor is a dread fighter of Rigel that is fought in a skirmish at the foot of Fear Mountain in Fire Emblem Gaiden and its remake Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Though not immediately apparent, this random mook is also based upon Kirigakure Saizō. This could be surmised in the original release, with his Japanese name being サイゾー (rōmaji: saizо̄)—a less common rendering of the name in katakana—and the ninja-inspired design of the Dread Fighter class. The remake deepened this connection with additional lines in the script indicating a devotion to the noble Emperor Rudolf, rather than the cruel witch Nuibaba. One could even consider a parallel between the Seige of Osaka and the Deliverance storming Rigel, and thus, a parallel between Rudolf and Sanada Yukimura.

Asugi is the young, candy-loving shinobi and heir to the Saizo name in Fire Emblem Fates. Surprisingly enough, he shares quite a bit of intel on both his and his father's names in the game itself! Straight from the horse's mouth:

"Asugi" is a word in one of the languages they speak out there. It means "gray."

As it turns out, asugi is only a word in some languages of the Philippines, primarily Hiligaynon. In those tongues, asugi means mercury—not gray, but the silver color of the metal is gray-adjacent.

More than anything, the name Asugi was intended to be an anagram of Gaius, the character from Fire Emblem Awakening that he is practically a carbon copy of. And though the name is certainly not Japanese, when rendered in the language as アスギ, it would closely resemble アズキ (rōmaji: azuki), just with the dakuten (the two hash marks on the top right corner of ギ and ズ) changed. Azuki, more commonly referred in English as adzuki beans, are typically boiled with sugar to make red bean paste. This paste is a common ingredient in sweets in East Asia, used as a filling in Japanese dango, mochi, and other confectionaries.

In Japanese, Asugi is instead called グレイ (rōmaji: gurei). In internal files, this is romanized as Gurei, while the official artbook calls him Gray. In the original script, this is what he said about his name:

「グレイ」は、暗夜の言葉で「灰色」って意味だそうだ。

Translation: I heard that in the language of Nohr, "Gray" means "ash-colored*."

*In Japanese, the word for many colors refer to a common natural occurrence of that color. As such, the color gray literally means "ash-colored" in the language.

Much like the English localization, the name also makes reference to a familiar face. The rōmaji rendering Gurei is an anagram of Guire, the official romanization of Gaius' Japanese name. However, there is a possibility that there is a reference to another character in this name:グレイ is also the name of Gaiden's Gray. Though not indicated in the original game, the stats of the Ram villagers suggest that Gray is intended to take the Mercenary classline. This class distribution would be further pushed with the release of Shadows of Valentia two years after Fates. It's not an unreasonable possibility that Asugi and Saizo were intended to be named after the suggested choice of playable Dread Fighter in Alm's army and the only named Dread Fighter encountered by the Deliverance before the final battle.

As hinted earlier, Asugi also reveals some information about the Saizo name, at least in the world of Fates. Here's what he has to say in English:

If I understand right, [Saizo is] a Hoshidan word that means "color bringer."

In Japanese, Asugi instead says that Saizo means 彩りを造る (rōmaji: irodori wo tsukuru)—"making color." The kanji used in the phrase are alternatively read as sai and zou, making Saizo the only Hoshidan character in Fire Emblem Fates with a canonical kanji rendering of his name: 彩造.

[koorinokujira]

Hey-ya! I saw that your requests are open. Can i perhaps request Date Masamune, Azai Nagamasa, and Fūma Kotarō with an s/o who got hurt while trying to protect them? Thank you!

Ah, my first request, how delightful! You asked and you shall receive, dear Anon! Now, despite being someone who writes so much, I have somewhat of a terrible reading comprehension, so I hope you meant it in the way that the s/o was the one doing the protecting (maybe it's unreasonable, but my brain also interpreted the other way and now I'm unsure, oof). That's the way I wrote it, but of course I'll gladly write it the other way around in the future, or even make a part 2 of this with other characters! More author's notes at the end. Happy reading!

⛊ His Shield - SB Imagines ⛊

(Masamune, Nagamasa, Kotarō)

You're no fighter, and yet you sneaked onto the battlefield nonetheless, wracked with worry for your beloved. You know you shouldn't be here, but how can you just sit around in safety while he risks your life for you and his clan? The idea that you'll just wait there anxiously and he may or may not come back alive... it's too much. You find a good spot where you can see most of the battlefield while still remaining hidden. Everything goes well for a while, until you see an enemy wielding a tanegashima aiming at the love of your life, without him noticing. Without thinking, you rush into the fray, and make it just in time to jump in front of the bullet...

⛊ Masamune ⛊

When Masamune hears the gunshot, his head instantly snaps back in that direction. He expects to see one of his men and is already ready to give new orders to make sure the party doesn't stop because of a single wounded. But instead, he sees you. He's stunned.

Your eyes are wide as you slowly fall on your knees, clutching the wound with your hand. You're bleeding, and badly. At least the pain is not such a problem, as you are in a state of shock, barely even comprehending what's happening. The One-Eyed Dragon lets out a low, frustrated grunt, struggling to believe what he's seeing. But he's a leader, and knows he can't just stand there. So he quickly starts barking out orders, making sure your position is well-defended. He also doesn't hesitate to order Kojūrō to quickly carry you to safety. His loyal eye is reluctant to leave his lord's side, but any potential protests are quickly shut down. Masamune is seeing red, and before anyone can say anything else, he's already tearing through the enemy with all of his six claws. You were supposed to stay home, sure. You shouldn't have come here, so getting hurt is technically your own fault in his eyes... but he quickly put two and two together and knows you most likely saved his life.

He cares about you too much to not be absolutely furious when someone hurts you. He already caused many a scene when someone even said something bad about you, so this is serious. His party mood is long gone, and the Dragon is ready to unleash worse death and destruction than Orochi himself. For you. He would do anything to take revenge on those who have wronged you. He doesn't forget so easily.

Kojūrō takes you back to safety and it's clear that even if he wishes to join his lord on the battlefield, he will gladly stay with you and protect you on his orders. You are his lord's greatest treasure, and so he will make sure you are safe. He even reassures you a few times when you panic in your somewhat-delirious state. You lost a lot of blood, but the medics you were brought to made sure the bleeding got stopped.

Eventually, the battle ends and the Dragon of Ōshū comes back. There's blood all over his armor, face and clothes. But judging by his calm, measured expression, it's clear none of it is his. Without a word, he kneels down beside you, and once he's sure it's fine, he gently pulls you into an embrace, careful not to cause you unnecessary pain. He runs his bloodied fingers through your hair, trying to soothe you, relieved that you're still alive. And you feel relieved too. You're both safe again, and most importantly, you're together. You've never been as happy to see that piercing eye of his as you are now.

"What you did was really stupid... but also cool."

The last word rolls off his tongue as he speaks that strange foreign language again and he rests his chin on the top of your head. His expression is a mix of frustration and that comforting, almost arrogant nonchalance you know him for.

"If you're so desperate to join the party, then at least learn how to fight and wear some armor. You know where I keep my spares," he then huffs, but it's clear he's not truly scolding you or playing down your bravery, it seems more like an invitation than anything. "Can't have you embarassing me like that again, you see?"

His expression turns into a somewhat playful grin when you smile and nod, before he plants a kiss on your forehead. He could never really be mad at you. But losing you... it terrifies him.

For what is a dragon without his star to guide him in the night sky?

⛊ Nagamasa ⛊

Nagamasa feels like his heart stopped working when he turns towards the sound of a gunshot and sees you fall to the ground like a sack of rice. Like always, he was just focused on fighting for justice and leading his men to victory, tunnel vision obscuring most of the things around him. But all it takes is one distraction, and everything crumbles before his eyes. And oh, is you getting wounded a distraction.

After a moment of shock, he finally rushes to your side, yelling for his men to protect you both and to not stop fighting. He sounds angry, though you are unable to tell if he's more mad at you or the attacker. Considering that he can be a rather volatile personality, your guess is good as anyone's. And in his head, he's absolutely furious. He really, really wants to yell at you- for not listening to him and not staying home. That slowly turns into anger at how you most likely thought your life was somehow worth less than his to even begin thinking about saving him. He knew what he was doing, he was ready for death in pursuit of justice! And yet, you, someone who doesn't even know how to wield a blade properly, just saved him so selflessly, and... no. The more he stares at your now tear-stained face, the more he realizes how much of that anger is fear in reality. Fear that you'll die and he will be powerless to stop it. Who else could he hold each night as he sleeps, who else could he love? Who would soothe his pains after he comes home, weary from battle? No one. There's no one else but you.

He takes you into his arms, his grip firm yet gentle as he runs with you to the sidelines. He feels like he's failing his men, but you are his priority right now. The world seems to fade around you both as time keeps ticking. But luckily, he gets you to safety and his men start taking care of your wounds. He's there the whole time, holding your hand as he anxiously watches the battle and barks out an order or two. But he knows you need him, and so he stays there the rest of the battle, which the Azai army luckily ends up winning. His anger slowly subsides, and the only part that remains is a desire to take revenge. That can wait, though.

For now, you need your gallant hero to take care of you.

⛊ Kotarō ⛊

Everything was going incredibly well for him. After all, why wouldn't it? Kotarō was the best of the best. Those who saw him didn't usually get to live for long, unless they hired him. The very definition of a shadow, just a thousand times more deadly. He had everything carefully planned out, and he knew that he could count on his insane reflex speed and well-trained senses to drag him out of trouble if something unexpected happened.

But there was one variable he never really counted on; you.

And it wasn't the first time. That's what drew him to you in the first place- you were one of the few who managed to surprise him. But those surprises were sweet in nature. Not... not this one. He knew about the attacker, of course, but he figured he'd take care of him right after he finishes gutting another enemy soldier like a fish. But you jumped in, thinking he could die.

You put your life on the line for him.

Everything around him seems to happen in slow-motion, even though he hesitates for barely even a second before taking you into his arms and disappearing with you to safety in a puff of smoke and feathers. He feels something... unfamiliar, long forgotten. Worry. And perhaps even a sliver of empathy. That honestly sends him into a spiral of doubt, even if he knows he can help you.

He's a ninja, after all. He forsook his humanity the moment he began training, if he even had any before. Emotions are but a distraction. He needs to be fully at peace through the bloodshed, no matter how many screams he hears or how much more his weapons get stained with crimson. An attached ninja is a bad ninja, everyone in his profession knows that. Despite you two being in a relationship, he considered it more of a courtesy and kept his distance, since you wouldn't be denied and kept finding him no matter how well he disguised himself.

But now, once you're further off, safe in the deepest part of the woods and he gently sets you down on the soft moss... it's like something is tugging at his heartstrings. You let out a sob, thinking you're going to die and reach out your bloodied hand towards him. You jumped in front of that bullet for him. A ninja who never even smiled at you, who never spoke a word to you and seemed to merely tolerate your presence. You cared. And by the kami, he wants more of that sudden warm feeling spreading all across his chest.

Kotarō gently takes your hand in his, and decides that it's now or never for him. His other hand carefully slides to the back of his mask...

...and he lets it fall down to the ground.

His face is quite beautiful, a bit older than you thought it would be. There's scars all around his eyes. And oh, those eyes. Dark scleras and white irises, as if someone flipped their color scheme on its head. They don't look human at all, and yet, there is a sadness in them that you can't help but get lost in. Your own eyes widen, and you completely forget about everything else, even your tears seem to dry in an instant. He showed you something almost no one else as seen... or maybe even no one. He sees your trust and wants to repay it in kind.

His face is as expressionless as ever, but you catch his lips move. Maybe it's just the wind, but you swear you can hear a quiet voice come out of his throat as he mouths those words.

"...forgive me. I'll do better. I am grateful."

And he will start by fixing you up and carrying you home.

---

Whew, it's finally here! I'm so, so sorry for the delay Anon, I promise I didn't forget about you! Before Christmas, I had to quickly write a fairly long story for my English class (which I also set in the Sengoku period, funnily enough). While it was my pride and joy, I was already on the verge of a burnout, so I had to recharge! Aaand after that it was a mix of writer's block and procrastion. I'm kind of sick again at the moment, so I decided to comfort myself with finally finishing this! (*_ _)人

I really enjoyed writing about all three (even though our dear Nagamasa-sama has a shorter entry)! And I'm also glad I got to use Kotarō's supposed legendary heritage. Some stories about him say he was partly oni and had inverted eyes, and considering his upper face is covered instead of the lower one, I saw an opportunity!

I hope you enjoyed reading, requests will remain open!

And as I always say...

Have an amazing day!

[odaclan]

Oichi’s “beanbag” story

There is a famous legend that when Nobunaga was attacking Asakura, the Azai prioritised their Asakura alliance and turned against Nobunaga. Nobunaga’s sister Oichi, who was Azai Nagamasa’s wife, sent her brother this bag of beans that was tied on both ends. Nobunaga realised that this was a code indicating a pincer attack, and managed to escape the ambush.

Online, the widespread claim is that this story originated from Asakura clan records. I wasn’t able to verify for myself as I cannot read cursive calligraphy, but this online research database claims that a contributor or staff had gone and looked at the text and found that no such thing exist.

So, much like the time I debunked the story of the skulls, this is another case of a legend being falsely attributed to a real document. I don’t know yet if this legend was really documented in a different account (even if it’s Edo period/Meiji era), or if it’s completely made up by modern authors (again).

Historian Owada Tetsuo was quoted once to say that “it sounds made-up” when consulted about it for the production of Taiga dramas.

Various comments online still say that maybe even if Oichi never specifically sent a beanbag, she still might have sent something for real. Or, a spy that was inserted into the Azai house as part of Oichi’s retinue of attendants was the one who sent it, but it’s all imagination and speculation from the articles’ authors.

So this story is very dubious at best, and while is fine to utilise in fiction, should not be taken seriously.

[konpeitoandorchid]

Yoshinari Mori in my imagination is he's a middle aged tall, bulky man with sideburns and wild hair, and he wields cross spear (jumonji yari). He has laid back and sometimes goofy personality but he can also be serious and he has intimidating aura when in battlefield, literally he's a fucking strong officer. He's close with Nobunaga and sometimes act as Nobunaga's advisor, and every Oda officers and allies put respect to him. Yoshinari actually a caring & doting father to Ranmaru, despite his appearance and his ruthlessness in battlefield (he also kinda like Maes Hughes from FMAB). I imagine one of his quote when encounter him as enemy officer is like "Need to finish this quickly so I can come home and meet my son." His father instinct also kicks in when he's with Gracia or Mitsuki, because he wants a daughter.

At first he's underestimate Nobunaga but after he able to capture Mino, Yoshinari surrendered to Nobunaga (because he know his clan won't able to survive if he stay with the Saitō, and Nō convince him, because they're acquaintance). Yoshinari finally acknowledge Nobunaga's determination & his talent to gain his ambition, Yoshinari decided to support Nobunaga fully, sometimes act as Nobunaga's advisor. They both become closer (Nobunaga even plays with little Ranmaru, treats him like his own son). He's also a mentor figure to several Oda officers, like Toshiie and Katsuie refers him as his rival, but also respect him. When the Azai army attack Mt. Usa. Yoshinari fight bravely and sacrifice his life in heroic way, giving the Azai troops nightmare with his brutality in his last battlefield. Nobunaga came to assist but it was too late. He really furious for Yoshinari's death and his lateness to provide Yoshinari some aid. Yoshinari & Nō's death is the reason that make Nobunaga turned into demon king, who then burn Mt. Hiei, then he became Demon King. Nobunaga is the one who give the bad news to Ranmaru and decided to take care Ranmaru, to repay all Yoshinari's deed (also will give Ranmaru some reason why he's so loyal to Nobunaga, because Nobunaga take care for him after his father's death and he wished to be like his father, a dedicated & valiant officer to Nobunaga)

Bonus:

I also think of Yoshinari being a wingman for Ranmaru, who is close with Gracia, noticing his son has a huge crush on Mitsuhide's daughter.

Y: "You should be a man and make a move to Mitsuhide's daughter or you'll regret it. You're handsome & good fighter so you should be confident."

R: (flustered) "What!? We're just friends and it's not gonna be more!

Y: "Aww, but you two could be a cute couple! I approve her to be your wife! Please give your old man grandchildren."

R: (face red as boiled crab) "FATHER! I'M STILL YOUNG & NOT READY TO MARRY TO ANYONE & GIVE YOU GRANDCHILD!"

[cheeseandcake-from-ao3]

You ordered them all right, so don't worry. If you are curious, Wally's ancestor (Thus Bedi's descendant) is a ninja. Think her name's "Wendi" for the fusion. Anyway, her deal is like Oboro during the Sengoku Era, breaking and entering to save Oichi. It's Pokemon Conquest, but slightly more accurate to the historical records of Oda Nobunaga. Heck, Wendi's clan was hired by the Male Hero (who's design is based on Azai Nagamasa, Oichi's first husband). End boss is that shiny Rayquaza Oda summoned.

Good to know! I spent... far too long ordering and re-ordering. Far too long.

Ohhh, makes sense! I really like where you're going with this- (You have no idea how strange it is to hear "Pokemon" and "more historically accurate together" but I understand why you want it to be more accurate for this.)

JUST LEAVING HIM TO SUFFER, HUH? ...Honestly, fair. Always a sucker for free Suffering.

I'm guessing they'll be a different ending scene depending on the answer, then (in this hypothetical game)? Very nice.

[yeonchi]

Koei Warriors Retrospective Part 5: Samurai Warriors 1

Samurai Warriors (戦国無双) Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox Release dates: Japan: 11 February 2004 (PS2)/29 July 2004 (Xbox) USA: 6 May 2004 (PS2)/13 July 2004 (Xbox) Europe: 25 June 2004 (PS2)/24 September 2004 (Xbox)

After working on DW3XL, the series being headed by Akihiro Suzuki, Hisashi Koinuma wanted to create a game based on Nobunaga's Ambition to reflect the Sengoku era of Japan, just as Dynasty Warriors was based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms for the late-Han and Three Kingdoms periods of ancient China. Koinuma apparently wanted to make a multiplayer game with up to four or five characters fighting a single boss, but online multiplayer was premature at the time. Thus, a new team was formed and the Samurai Warriors series was born.

The series celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2024. Let's take a look at the game that started... well, some complicated feelings and situations later on down the line.

Samurai Warriors

Samurai Warriors focuses on the stories of three warlords of the era, namely Nobunaga Oda, Kenshin Uesugi and Shingen Takeda. Masamune Date was introduced in this game even though his relevance in history began a few years after Nobunaga's death. Goemon Ishikawa and Okuni were also introduced even though they weren't samurai or affiliated with the main clans, though for the former case you could say that for the female characters in Dynasty Warriors. Here's a full list of the characters who were introduced in this game:

Yukimura Sanada

Keiji Maeda

Nobunaga Oda

Mitsuhide Akechi

Goemon Ishikawa

Kenshin Uesugi

Oichi

Okuni

Kunoichi

Magoichi Saika

Shingen Takeda

Masamune Date

Nō (spelled Noh in this game only)

Hanzō Hattori

Ranmaru Mori

The following unique NPCs were introduced in this game as well:

Hideyoshi Hashiba

Yoshimoto Imagawa

Ieyasu Tokugawa

Nagamasa Azai

While Kennyo Honganji and Dōsan Saitō are also NPCs in this game, the former only appears in Magoichi's story and the latter only appears in a movie for Nō, so they have been separated from the list.

Unlike in Dynasty Warriors, where scenarios are defined by kingdom or taken from a shared pool of scenarios, Story Mode in Samurai Warriors is individualised and versions of each battle will be different for each character. Each character has five stages, but for most characters, there is a split path after the third or fourth stage. In the case of Keiji and Magoichi along with Goemon's upper path, their fifth stages are unlocked by fulfilling certain requirements in the stages before it. Okuni does not have such restrictions.

Because of the individualised Story Modes, Free Mode of course gives you the option to play any Story Mode scenario as any character. As I alluded to in the review for DW3, movies are unskippable when they are first played, but at least they're subtitled (captioned) in the English version. Some scenarios have third-party enemies, represented in yellow (instead of blue for allies and red for enemies) that can fight both armies in the battle.

Much of the stages revolve around Nobunaga's main campaigns such as Okehazama, Mt. Inaba Castle, Anegawa, Nagashino and Honnōji. Post-Nobunaga stages include Yamazaki, Ueda Castle and Ōsaka Castle (Siege of Ōsaka/The Ōsaka Campaign). Some stages are field battles and some are castle battles. Some, however, are siege battles, meaning that they are two-part field and castle battles. Yeah, you'll know if it's a siege battle when you see it.

At the end of each Story Mode, there are two endings you can unlock. Most of them are as simple as clearing the upper or lower paths, but for some, there are conditions you have to fulfil to unlock them, like achieving a certain mission or defeating a certain officer. I said that Okuni didn't have split paths or a fifth stage that needs to be unlocked a certain way, but Okuni has multiple "Dreams and Illusion" endings that are unlocked by achieving certain objectives.

Each battle has objectives/missions to guide you. The first mission typically begins at the start of each battle and certain missions occur depending on whether other missions are successful or failed. Certain missions also occur when you approach certain officers or areas. These factors matter if you are trying to 100% the game. Of course, you could disregard the missions, but the battles become a bit harder that way.

If you thought having your player character being listed as a subofficer was diminishing enough, imagine playing in Free Mode as a non-listed character only to be listed under the allied commander as literally "Player 1" or "Player 2". Not even that, it's also there on the battle preparation screen just before you start the battle. Even DW3 didn't do this.

New Officer Mode is the CAW system implemented differently, because after you name and pick a model for your character, you have to go through 12 months (sessions) of training and pass the Trials of Acceptance with a clan in order for your character to be saved. In each month, you pick a training exercise, which is the same as those in Challenge Mode, and at the end, two of those exercises become your Trials depending on the clan you decide to serve under. You need a combined score of 100 to pass (it is possible to pass with the first test, even if you go over 100), you are assigned the weapon you are the strongest with (sword, spear or naginata) and an element depending on the clan you picked, and your stats carry over into your growth in the main game. New Officer Mode is good, but I prefer to be able to directly create my characters rather than going through this training bullshit.

There are a total of 12 character models available, but four need to be unlocked. This can be done by having your weapon attack stat over 50 by the fourth month of your training, at which point you will encounter a Strike Ninja who has come to wreck the place. You'll fight him, but then you'll discover that he recovers his health every time. Your master will discover that Musou Attacks are his weakness and you'll use it to defeat him.

There are also other encounter events that are available if you select a particular challenge with certain stats above certain levels. Hanzo gives you an item for the game, Magoichi allows you to use a rifle instead of a bow for your R1 ranged attack and other characters allow you to unlock a particular skill once your character is saved. Do note that in most cases, you won't face a challenge with the same weapon you're training with, which can be detrimental if you've been training with a spear or naginata and you're suddenly given a sword (that you never trained with) for the challenge.

Speaking of these challenges, giving your characters certain names in the Japanese version will boost certain stats, which can help to achieve the encounter events particularly if you use the eight names listed below (I allowed space in my list just to do that). I don't know if such a feature exists in Western releases, particularly on the PS2 as the entry I found on GameFAQs apparently relates to the Xbox version.

Sometimes, your master, his daughter Saya or his other student Dokkimaru will give you something to boost/nerf your life/musou or recover your health (if you haven't recovered it during training). If you train with a particular weapon too frequently, your master will ask you to use another weapon for the next training session just to mix it up. Once your character is saved, they can then be played in Story Mode as they will have their own story. In fact, all the CAWs share the same Story Mode where they fight with different clans.

Each of the challenges make use of the game's battle mechanics. The Melee challenge is your usual "defeat as many enemies as possible" trial, Musou has you do that with only your Musou attack, Combo asks you to rack up 5+ hit combos, Archery has you shoot enemies to stop them from getting past you, Deflect requires you to skilfully deflect arrows with your attacks, Burst is where you get to the goal as fast as possible, and Riding has you run two laps around an obstacle-laden Honnōji on horseback as fast as possible. With regards to Riding, there'll be an enemy ambush you need to clear in the second corner of your second lap and after clearing the third corner there are two paths you can choose; one with obstacles and one with recovery items. I think it's obvious what players will likely pick.

Although it isn't mentioned on the wikis (or elaborated on in the manual) for some reason, Versus Mode is a thing in this game, where you can play challenges against another player or the computer. There is Showdown, where you race to be the first to defeat all your opponent's officers; Pursuit, where you gather information to find the real Goemon; and Strike, where you race to be the first to defeat 1000 enemies (enemy officers get you 50). You have infinite lives in this mode and you can defeat your opponent to delay them.

Finally, there is Survival Mode, aka the Infinity Castle Mode. In Abyss, you fight your way 30 floors deep into the castle where you will encounter Lu Bu (of the Bu Army) as a secret character. In Tower, you try to clear as many floors as possible within 20 minutes. There are items to be obtained when you clear 30 floors in either challenge. The game automatically saves every 3 floors so you can pick up where you left off. Of course, this mode gets harder the longer you play it, but since I was mostly playing to obtain all the items, I put on some cheats near the end. No additional voices are recorded for this mode except for Lu Bu.

Moving onto the battle mechanics of the game. You can keep up to 3 weapons per character. The item selection is similar to DW3 where you can pick up to five items (including saddles) to use in battle. Some items are specially made for field or castle battles. You can also select from three groups of up to 4 bodyguards to accompany you in battle, selecting their uniform colours and their orders. The bodyguard groups can also be edited and renamed, the various types being infantry, spear, ninja, archer, musket and lady ninja.

Depending on the weapon, characters can perform up to 8 Normal Attacks and 4 triple-tiered Charge Attacks. This moveset would become known in later games as the Charge/Power Attack moveset. There are four elements available; Fire, Ice, Lightning and Dark, the latter being where the player drains life from an opponent to recover theirs. There is still a bit of lock-on happening when you perform charge attacks, however, but it's not as bad as it was in DW.

Like in the Dynasty Warriors games, holding down R1 allows you to perform a ranged attack by shooting arrows, or becoming a sniper in the case of Magoichi Saika. There are no arrow stocks to collect so you essentially get unlimited arrows. Using the bow can help you in castle battles as sealing off strongholds/bases/checkpoints can give you an extra 60 seconds of time.

Musou Attacks in this series use up the whole gauge when activated and not for as long as you hold down the Circle button like in DW. If you're not holding down the button, you can freely perform other attacks until the Musou Attack ends with a shockwave finish. When triggering your Musou Attack, you will see a kanji character that is representative of the character at the start of it and you will see a different kanji for the True Musou Attack. For custom characters, the Musou kanjis vary depending on the gender of your character's model and the weapon they are using (for this game only, the spear Musou is different depending on the gender of your character). In the Japanese script, Musou Attacks are called Musou Ougi (無双奥義) instead of Musou Ranbu (無双乱舞) in Dynasty Warriors.

When playing with a second player, you both work to charge one Musou gauge from both sides and when one player activates their Musou, the other can perform their Attack too, before ending with the True Musou finisher (even if you haven't done anything). This is called the Double Musou Attack, or the Final Musou Attack (無双最終奥義) in Japanese.

When you end up in a deadlock and you push your enemy over the edge by pushing your bar up to the end, you perform a Deadlock Attack to deal damage.

When on horseback, you have the same 8 normal attack and 4 charge attack string you would have on the ground. This moveset would remain the same in future games. The horseback C1 usually has the horse stomp its front feet on the ground if you're stationary, but if you're moving then the Triangle button allows you to jump with your horse. Exclusive to this game, the horseback Musou has you swing your weapon back and forth while charging forward, similar to DW.

Aside from the ordinary horse saddle, the rare saddles you can obtain are those for Matsukaze and the Persian Mare, aka the Arabian Steed, the legendary horses for Keiji Maeda and Masamune Date. Take note that while riding on Matsukaze, you run the risk of running over allies and depleting their health.

At the end of each stage, you can earn skill points to unlock or upgrade skills. Skills can be upgraded up to Level 3, but when you reach level 20 at 99,999 XP, you stop earning skill points or boosting stats, which means you have to be conservative about what skills you decide to unlock.

The English dub of this game was produced by Voicegroup, which had previously dubbed DW4. As such, you can hear the likes of Douglas Rye as Nobunaga Oda and Tadakatsu Honda, Richard Cansino as Hideyoshi Hashiba and Yoshimoto Imagawa and Wendee Lee as Oichi and Ina. Those three voice actors would prominently be featured in future Dynasty Warriors games. I'm especially highlighting this here because I want to discuss the state of the Samurai Warriors English dub as time goes on. Narrations are not dubbed in this game, but the narrator in the Japanese version is Hiroshi Isobe, who also voiced Magoichi Saika.

Samurai Warriors Xtreme Legends

Samurai Warriors Xtreme Legends (戦国無双 猛将伝) Platforms: PlayStation 2 Release dates: Japan: 16 September 2004 USA: 9 November 2004 Europe: 25 February 2005

Like with the Dynasty Warriors games before it, the Samurai Warriors series also received its own Xtreme Legends expansions.

Hideyoshi Hashiba and Yoshimoto Imagawa were unique NPCs in the vanilla game, but in the expansion, they are made playable. Tadakatsu Honda and Ina make their debut as Tokugawa officers to complement Hanzō. All four officers have their own Story Modes with split routes.

Survival Mode is upgraded to provide gold rewards after playing. The two existing modes are also upgraded to Deep Abyss and High Tower. A new stage is added, Gold Rush, where you have five minutes to collect gold in the Training Hall while completing challenges to extend that time limit. You can only keep the gold you earned if you exit the stage in time, which is absolutely bullshit for someone like me who only bothers to play up to Level 3 weapons. With such a small time limit, you should be able to keep the money you earned (or part of it at least) if you run out of time and not die during the stage.

After clearing Gold Rush, you will be brought to the Armory, where you can upgrade weapons at the weaponsmith or engrave a name on a weapon (per character). This can't be done for Level 6 weapons at all and Level 5 weapons until you get the Level 6 weapon. You can also buy or upgrade items here, with the Golden Rune being a rare item only available through this mode for 50,000 gold. Also, you should be able to directly access the Armory without having to go through Gold Rush.

Three more challenges have been added to Versus Mode, those ones being those actually covered on the wiki. Duel is a simple one-on-one fight where you can also select different stages to give you a bit of a challenge; Sumo is where you play as Strike Ninjas to force enemies out of the ring; and Gatekeeper is where you defend the checkpoint and prevent enemies from escaping behind you.

Among other improvements to the game, you can still earn skill points and develop basic abilities even after reaching 99,999 XP and you can also upgrade your skills to level 4. You may also see a green frame when you select a character; that character is a lucky character and playing as them will give you a higher chance of getting good weapons and items. The lucky character changes every time the game is booted.

In the options, Player 2 can be set to have an individual Musou gauge and unleash Musou Attacks independently at the cost of you being able to use the Double Musou Attack. The expansion also introduces the Novice and Chaos difficulties to the game.

Throughout the game, you will get bonus (rice) points to use in rewards. You can unlock voice tests for characters, change the save icon in the memory card, unlock additional models for characters, enable those models to appear in the game when you use them on your character), reduce the minimum difficulty to unlock Level 5 and 6 weapons (from Hard and Chaos to Normal and Hard respectively) and allow character levels to progress past the normal limits.

I don't know if it's a thing in the English versions, but in the Japanese versions of the Warriors games, you can install data to the HDD/BB Unit to reduce loading times. This would also later become a thing in the PSP games, but in DW6 Special and Empires for the PSP, installing data to the Memory Stick Duo would also enable encounter and defeat voices in battle dialogue.

Rant: The benefits of the Create-A-Warrior system

More of a ramble than a rant this time around.

So at this point, we have two mainline games with CAW capabilities, namely being DW4 and this game. This would become relegated to the Empires games before coming back to the forefront in SW3 and SW4. Earlier implementations of CAWs were quite limited in their customisation, though there is more freedom for this in future games.

Edit characters allow for a more unique experience in games as aside from being able to be played in Free Mode (and possibly other modes), they also get other unique modes through which to shine. With Samurai Warriors, that unique mode is the New Warrior Mode, where creating characters involves having to pass a trial with a clan in order to pass and save them.

As CAW characters are a main feature of the Empires games, it would be ideal if they had functionality to import CAWs from the save data of the main games to save time on having to create characters. DW7 and DW8 do not have CAWs in the main game, but even without a unique mode for them, they can get a chance to shine in the auxillary modes before being able to be imported into the Empires games.

Samurai Warriors is a decent adaptation of the Sengoku era into a hack-and-slash game while also making it distinct from Dynasty Warriors in terms of gameplay. It had its own fantastical and romanticised elements (just like Dynasty Warriors and its source material, Romance of the Three Kingdoms), plus there are quite a few pop culture references in the Japanese version, particularly with the True Musou Attacks and victory poses. These references would be toned down in future games as Koei began to get more serious with these games.

Next time, we take a look at this game's spinoffs, namely State of War and the Pachislot game. Why the hell am I even covering the latter? You'll have to find out then.

[samuraifacts]

The Azai Ruled Omi? Right?

  Hey everyone! It has been a while! As I said previously I’ve been double checking my words and doing research before continuing to post on here. Today I’m back and want to start by talking about my favorite clan of the Sengoku Era. The famous Azai (or Asai) clan of Omi! The famous rulers of Omi right?   Well, not quite. In a lot of modern media it is common to say that the Azai ruled over Omi Province. Unfortunately, this isn’t quite true. Today I’d like to talk about the Azai and what land they did and didn’t rule over. I’m also going to be including brief history lessons on the Azai clan’s three rulers.    First let’s talk about Grandpa Azai, Mr. Azai Sukemasa. Before Sukemasa the Azai had no land to call their own and weren’t what one would consider rulers. However, due to an internal power struggle of the clan he was in he would end up gaining forces and build a castle in the Northeastern part of Omi called “Odani”. Unfortunately, he would soon find himself locked in conflict with the rulers of South Eastern Omi, the Rokkaku. The Rokkaku would prove so powerful in fact that the Azai would be forced out of Omi and seek refuge in Echizen to the North. WIth the help of the Asakura clan, Echizen’s rulers, the Azai would then move back South into Omi and pushed back the Rokkaku. Owing a large debt to the Asakura they re-established themselves at Odani, reinforcing their position and becoming the rulers of Northeastern Omi. So at this point they control only Northeastern Omi, and would also claim ownership of Lake Biwa.   Next came the second ruler of the Azai, Hisemasa. During and after the death of his father Hisemasa was locked into a seemingly endless conflict with the Rokkaku. In spite of Asakura assistance the Rokkaku clan was powerful and Hisemasa was considered a fairly weak fighter and general. Under his leadership the Azai would lose several forts and quite a bit of land to the Rokkaku forces. Fearing complete destruction and not wishing to flee to Echizen like his father before him HIsemasa would beg the Rokkaku to let the Azai become their vassal. While the Azai kept their castle, at this point we could say that all Azai lands actually belong to the Rokkaku. So, leaving this section, the Azai own one castle and clearly don’t own all of Omi.    Finally we have the most famous Azai, Azai Nagamasa. It is not exaggeration to say that leadership skipped a generation of the Azai family line. At a young age, bearing the grudge of his father and grandfather before him, Nagamasa would move the Azai’s forces South with the help of the Asakura. While the Azai didn’t take over much land they did regain all of the land they had previously lost to the Rokkaku forces. The Azai retainers asked Hisemasa to retire, and Nagamasa was made the Azai’s new Lord. This was the absolute peak of Azai land ownership. As most people know the Azai later fell to the Oda and lost all territory when their clan was destroyed but that is a conversation for another time.    The point I wanted to make with this post is that while a lot of video games and anime say the Azai ruled all of Omi, because splitting up Omi is difficult admittedly, this is in fact false. The Azai never ruled more than the Northeastern part of the province.    

[neobrogrippa]

Shiga prefecture (Omi Province) in Japan had a large festival marking the 450th anniversary of the death of my favorite samurai Azai Nagamasa. At the celebration they had limited edition Azai merchandise. Thankfully I found a sale online and I am so incredibly happy to have these.

[redsamuraiii]

Awaiting Kirin (Kirin ga Kuru) Episode 34

“The woman and children of this mountain carry hidden blades of their own. One day, they will rise up against us.”

The turning point for Akechi Mitshude when he realized what Oda Nobunaga has become, the point of no return as he ascends to madness and glory for power.

After the assassination of the 13th Shogun by Miyoshi Clan, the true power behind the Shogunate and the death of the 14th Shogun due to illness, Oda Nobunaga supported the 15th Shogun who is the younger brother of the 13th.

This triggers a war with Miyoshi Clan who supported the 14th Shogun. The weakened Miyoshi allied with Asakura Clan, the long time enemy of Oda and Azai Clan which betrayed Oda and side with Asakura, it’s old ally.

Given how strong Oda’s army is, the alliance proved insufficient that it involves the warrior monks who damned Oda for robbing them of their power, influence and land when he came into Kyoto with the 15th Shogun.

However, the warrior monks of that time weren’t exactly “innocent” as you think as they’re not the same type of monks you know today. They too were corrupted with greed, power, money and women and sees Oda as a threat.

So one might think that the war against the monks was justified, but Oda crossed the line when he showed no mercy to even civilians who were caught in the crossfire and scorched earth on Mount Hiei leaving no one alive.

Oda received support from the Emperor, who happened to be the brother of the leader of the “corrupted” monks, Kakujo. The Emperor thinks that Kakujo have forgotten his true purpose as a monk when he abandons those in need but did not expect Oda to be so ruthless by killing every single one in sight.

But Kakujo managed to escape the massacre on Mount Hiei to Kai to seek help from Takeda Shingen, who happens to be a devout Buddhist and not only sees it as a defilement of the Buddha by attacking the temple but sees Oda growing power as a threat, to both the Shogunate and the realm.

[tragedestined-a]

Headcanons about Nagamasa's Parents !

Nagamasa's mother —– Ono-dono ( 小野殿 ) / Ako ( 阿古 )

She’s originally from the Iguchi family. Her father (Iguchi Keigen) was the retainer and right-hand man of Hisamasa’s father (Azai Sukemasa), so it was natural that Ako and Hisamasa were married, given the friendship between their fathers and to keep the ties between their two clans strong.

Ako married Hisamasa when she was 14-15 years old, and when Hisamasa was 15-16 years old.

She had her first daughter (later known as Kyogoku Maria) a couple years after getting married.

Ako has a good relationship with Hisamasa’s eldest illegitimate daughter / Sukemasa’s adopted daughter Aku ( 阿久 ) / Shoankenkyu ( 昌安見久尼 ). Since they’re only nine years apart in age, Ako views Aku as something akin to a younger sister.

She also has an older brother, two younger sisters, and one younger brother who are related to her by blood?

As a teenager / young adult, Ako had a very positive and somewhat easily excited personality, but she was also very sheltered and naïve about some things.

Ako quickly developed romantic feelings for Hisamasa when she first married him. When she looks back on that time now, she realizes this was mostly just her being excited to be married (and to be the first daughter in her family to be married).

Several years of being a hostage and raising Saruyashamaru (little Nagamasa) all by herself forced her to mature quickly and learn to always be on the lookout for danger. She returns to the Azai as a cautious, wise-beyond-her-years woman, although she still retains some of her optimism.

Ako can’t help but wonder whether she could’ve curbed Maria’s cruel / selfish tendencies if she had been there to guide her when she was growing up.

Ako’s strongest bond is with Nagamasa, and Nagamasa is in turn very close to his mother, since the two of them only had each other to rely on during their time as hostages. Because of this, Ako is probably the only person in the Azai clan who has even a suspicion that Nagamasa’s time as a hostage was traumatic for him. Even though he doesn’t “act traumatized”, she believes that if he hadn’t been a hostage, his personality probably would’ve been very different. She worries about how much his time as a hostage has affected him and wonders whether she could’ve done more to protect him.

Ako currently has mixed feelings towards Hisamasa. Being a hostage for eight years (and, at times, fearing for her life and/or her son’s life) was a traumatic experience for her and she’ll probably never completely forgive Hisamasa for giving her to the Rokkaku as a hostage. In addition, she’s very hurt that he slept around during this time. However, Ako also wonders if Nagamasa’s actions towards Hisamasa (forcing him to retire and exiling him) were too harsh. In the end, though, she’s fine with the status quo of Nagamasa being in charge and Hisamasa being exiled. Ako could end up befriending Hisamasa, but there’s no chance that she’d fall in love with him again.

Ako was initially nervous about Nagamasa getting married, both because she had a feeling that he couldn’t deal with a loveless political marriage like she could, and because she was worried that he’d be too harsh on his future wife and scare her off. But she’s glad to see that a warm, loving relationship is slowly but surely blossoming between Oichi and Nagamasa.

Ako has interacted with Oichi in-person several times since Nagamasa’s marriage. She sees her younger self in Oichi a little bit, and tries to encourage her to be more confident and more open about her emotions with Nagamasa. However, Oichi’s Dark Hands and the “Demon King” side of Oichi’s personality seriously creep Ako out. XD So she mostly interacts with Oichi as a penpal, and the two of them send letters to each other on a regular basis.

Nagamasa built her a place specifically for her to live called 阿古の邸 (Ako’s Residence?), which is where she lives most of the time. It’s a quiet, peaceful place where her servants wait on her and treat her like she’s the owner of the residence, and because of this, she’s really mellowed out and come to peace with a lot of what’s happened to her. Despite only being in her late 30s / early 40s, she kind of lives and acts like a grandma now. XD

Ako ends up meeting a very terrible end. During the same month that Nagamasa dies (but before he dies), Ako gets captured by the Oda army. Over the course of a few days, each of her fingers are cut off, and then she dies.

Nagamasa's father —– Azai Hisamasa ( 浅井久政 )

Eldest son of Azai Sukemasa and the second-generation head of the Azai family.

Hisamasa is supposedly a legitimate child of his father Sukemasa, but there have been rumors ever since he was young that he’s the son of Sukemasa’s concubine. These rumors have followed him into adulthood.

Has four younger half-brothers (if the rumors are to be believed, one is his full brother), three younger sisters (half-sisters?), and two younger half-sisters.

Hisamasa resents his father for multiple reasons, some of which are obvious and others which are less so. One reason is that others often compare him to his father, Sukemasa, and consider him to be cowardly and foolish while they consider his father to be a brave, skilled warrior. He feels that they tend to ignore the talents he does have while putting his father on a pedestal. Another reason is that Sukemasa was tough on Hisamasa, since he was the eldest son and Sukemasa wanted him to be the Azai clan’s next leader. A third reason is that Sukemasa refused to confirm who Hisamasa’s birth mother actually is, even to his own son. The circumstances of Aku’s conception and birth also cause Hisamasa to bear a grudge against his father.

As a young man, Hisamasa seems like a good-natured and friendly young man, if a bit shy. However, on the inside, he’s very stressed and bears grudges against his father and some of his father’s men. 

Sukemasa died when Hisamasa was 16 years old, not long after Hisamasa married Ako. When Sukemasa died, Hisamasa had trouble inheriting the title of clan leader. Sukemasa’s son-in-law, along with the Kyogoku clan, tried to start a rebellion so that Sukemasa’s son-in-law could inherit the position instead. However, Hisamasa and his retainers talked him out of it.

As he grows up (and especially after Sukemasa’s death), Hisamasa loses the shyness and becomes very extroverted. To deal with his stress, he invests himself in culture and the arts —– Noh theater, renga, falconry, etc. He’s interested in trying all sorts of things!

However, no matter how many years pass, Hisamasa has little aptitude for fighting and battle strategy. His true talents lie in domestic policy and diplomacy —– he can be a very smooth talker and somewhat manipulative, especially in his later years. Even while he’s “retired” and exiled on Chikibu Island, he still exerts some influence over the Azai clan.

Sending his wife as a hostage to the Rokkaku clan was not a decision he took lightly, and it pained him deeply to make it. However, he feels that if he hadn’t done it, the leader of the Rokkaku clan would have become upset and crushed the Azai clan.

Although he tries to hide it, Hisamasa is the sort of person who constantly needs positive attention from others so that he can feel okay about himself. During the time Ako was a hostage, with Ako gone and his retainers starting to turn against him, Hisamasa started sleeping around, and that’s how Nagamasa’s younger half-brother Masamoto was born.

Hisamasa tried to rekindle his relationship with Ako when she returned, but she gave him the cold shoulder when she learned about Masamoto’s birth. To this day he’s still hoping he can win her back, and he sends her love letters every few months. She never responds back.

Hisamasa’s relationship with Nagamasa is strained at best. However, while Nagamasa hates him for being a weak leader and forcing Nagamasa and his mother to be hostages, Hisamasa’s only somewhat annoyed with his eldest son for usurping his title of clan leader. Hisamasa doesn’t understand why Nagamasa hates him so much, and he feels that Nagamasa should think more kindly of him since Hisamasa wasn’t anywhere near as hard on Nagamasa as Sukemasa was on him.

In general, Hisamasa cares about his children equally and treats them all quite warmly, showing them physical affection (e.g. hugs, headpats, etc.) and always doing his best to cheer them on at whatever they’re doing and compliment them. 

That having been said, Maria is Hisamasa’s favorite child, and he’s doted on her ever since she was young. XD As Maria has grown up and become more independent (and less reliant on him for basic needs and emotional support), though, their relationship is starting to show signs of strain.

Unfortunately, Hisamasa has never been able to feel any fondness for his eldest daughter, Aku, due to the circumstances of her conception and birth. When she was first born, he could hardly bring himself to be in the same room as her and her mother. However, he’s always felt guilty about feeling so detached from / disgusted by Aku, because he knows those feelings stem from how he feels about her mother and that Aku has done nothing to deserve that from him. After being exiled to Chikubu Island, Hisamasa’s loneliness and guilt caught up with him, and he started reaching out to Aku for the first time via a letter. To his surprise, Aku enthusiastically wrote him back, and the two of them became penpals.

Hisamasa has never actually met Oichi. But back when Nagamasa first married her, Hisamasa sent him a letter simultaneously congratulating him for marrying the most beautiful woman in the land and condemning his decision to ally with the Oda. Nagamasa never replied back.

Hisamasa hates Nobunaga and feels that Nagamasa’s decision to ally with him is one of the worst decisions he’s ever made. Hisamasa regularly corresponds with some of the older Azai retainers he knows who also dislike Nobunaga to try to sabotage Nagamasa’s alliance with the Oda.

Nagamasa grudgingly lets Hisamasa back into Odani Castle so he can have him help fight against Nobunaga. However, during the attack on Odani Castle, once the Azai start losing, Hisamasa sees the writing on the wall and commits seppuku.

[baozhcng]

Samurai warriors 5 is basically. how bisexual can you make nobunaga without making it too bisexual.

[odaclan]

「恋愛戦国ロマネスク ～影武者姫は運命をあやなす～」

Ren'ai Sengoku Romanesque ~ Kagemusha-hime wa Unmei o Ayanasu ~

Website: https://koiroma.renaigame.jp/

Look at the top poster. Which one of those characters is supposed to be Nobunaga, do you think?

If your answer is the menacing-looking black-haired individual at the back, you’re wrong. That’s Shingen. Nobunaga is the one with reddish-brown hair in front.

This romance game app was, well, one of the avant-garde adaptation types. That is, by using “alternate universe/multiverse” as an excuse, they can still keep the Sengoku samurai names and a vaguely Sengoku-esque setting, but forgo history facts beyond the barest of minimum (Shingen being the Tiger of Kai, Nobunaga won against Yoshimoto in Okehazama, and other primary school level minimal facts).

My previous post is also another one of these wild adaptations. I don’t know if the creators thought that the audience are tired of the “old tropes”, or if they just want to run wild and create original fiction, but use the samurai names as clickbait. There are many people who would flock to a product just because a famous samurai’s name is on it.

According to the summary in promotional material, the heroine “timetravelled” from modern Japan into an alternate reality where Nobunaga’s conquest is not entirely successful because Shingen lived and managed to push back against him. Upon seeing the heroine, Nobunaga formulated a strategy where he will release a propaganda saying that “Oda Nobunaga is actually female”, and hire the heroine to play the role of that “fake female Nobunaga”.

I’m not sure how that’s supposed to work, but I imagine from this point on it will just essentially be an original fiction with little to no semblance to actual history.

Whatever happened to change the “history as we know it” also changed the lineup of the clan alliances. For some reason Ieyasu broke off his alliance to Nobunaga, and is now part of the Shingen faction. Hideyoshi is already an indenpendent lord, who seems more or less on equal standing with Nobunaga in this universe, although he didn’t turn into an enemy (as far as I know). He seems to be still “Oda ally”. 

The weirdest part of this whole thing is probably Saitou Dousan being not dead and also a romantic option. I mean, naturally he is depicted as a quite handsome man here, but when I think of his usual depiction of a big, bald old man... I'm having a hard time reconciling the two.  

”Ｏｄａ　ｕｎｉｔ”: Oda Nobunaga, Akechi Mitsuhide, Saitou Dousan, Azai Nagamasa

”Ｔｏｙｏｔｏｍｉ　ｕｎｉｔ”: Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Katou Kiyomasa, Kuroda Kanbei, Chousokabe Motochika

”Ｔａｋｅｄａ　ｕｎｉｔ”: Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, Sanada Yukimura, Tokugawa Ieyasu

“Ｏｔｈｅｒ”: Saika Magoichi, Tachibanaya (another timetraveller)

[kougetsuin]

  thinking about them darn kids 

[venicepearl]

Oichi (お市, 1547 – June 14, 1583) was a female historical figure in the late Sengoku period. She is known primarily as the mother of three daughters who became prominent figures in their own right – Yodo-dono, Ohatsu and Oeyo. Oichi was the younger sister of Oda Nobunaga; and she was the sister-in-law of Nōhime, the daughter of Saitō Dōsan. She was descended from the Taira and Fujiwara clans.

She was an influential figure in Japanese history in the Sengoku period. Although remembered mainly for her tragic life as sister of Oda Nobunaga, Japan's first unifier, Oichi is also famous for her honorable conduct, her beauty and determination. She was present at two historically significant battles, the siege of Odani and the siege of Kitanosho, sieges that led to the extermination of the powerful Azai and Shibata clan, respectively.