Nobunaga the Fool - 03

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With incredible animation, an amazing OST, interesting characters, and plenty of action, Nobunaga the Fool continues to be one of the best anime of the winter season.

It should come as no surprise that the elder members of the Oda Clan dislike Nobunaga, what with his carefree attitude that earned him the nickname “the Fool”.  But this distrust of Nobunaga’s judgment leads to their distrust of Da Vinci and Jeanne, as well as the Giant War Armor they’ve brought with them.  While we as the audience obviously have outside knowledge that this help from the Star of the West is necessary, it’s still somewhat frustrating that Nobunaga’s own father is even reluctant to follow his son’s suggestions.

His brother Nobukatsu, at least, believes in his ability.  In a rather touching scene where Ranmaru (Jeanne) and Nobukatsu are practicing archery together, the young Oda sibling begs Ranmaru to give Nobunaga a chance and try to see his integrity.

As Nobunaga takes to the battlefield on his wing-horse, we see just how skilled he can be as a warrior and a leader.  He takes out at least half a dozen Armor pilots with several well-placed shots from his bow, which is pretty amazing.  We also get to see some other technology other than simply mechs in this series, like the mechanized quiver Nobu has that dispenses arrows one at a time.  It’s always nice to see other kinds of technology other than giant mobile suits and spaceships every now and then.  Nobunaga’s felling of the mech pilots bolsters the morale of his own soldiers until Lord Shingen arrives in his own Giant War Armor.

And Lord Shingen’s War Armor seems as though it may be too much for Nobunaga to handle, as it has a Regalia that makes it more powerful and gives it special abilities.  Fortunately, Queen Himiko of Yamatai arrives in an airship to bestow a Regalia upon Nobu’s Giant War Armor.  However, in exchange she tries to trick him into becoming her betrothed.  Although he doesn’t technically finish saying the pledge to marry her, she gives him the Regalia anyway.

The next episode should give us the conclusion of the battle between Nobunaga and Shingen, which should definitely be interesting now that they’re more evenly matched!

 Nobunaga the Fool Episode 4 Preview

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(P.S. I should be able to get reviews for Nobunaga the Fool done more quickly from here on out.  I apologize for the delay.)