Mixed Feelings
A show like Nobunaga the Fool will make you look like a fool at first glance. The premise sounds absurd, not to mention foolish and the first episode stops nothing at all to make viewers ask themselves what is going on. What it offers is a mixture of historical figures ranging from Joan of Arc, Leonardo da Vinci, Da Vinci, King Author, among others. It doesn’t stop there however. Rather, it steps up one more stage and decides to make usage of mecha warfare in a world of the unknown. Nobunaga the Fool is the type of show where you’ll be watching it trying toescape a labyrinth.
To venture into a show like Nobunaga the Fool will take an imaginative and open mind. While it seems absurd at first glance, one should acknowledge the creativity of the show. For instance, take a closer look at the setting. It’s divided into two halves, the West and East Star. Upon a closer glance, there’s conflicts in their world involving warfare. And as even a fool can guess, the show trifles by the idea of war as result of ideologies. But let’s go back to the basics. The show fuses together legendary historical figures, tosses in the mechanics of mecha, and empowers them in this bizarre setting.
For what’s worth, we get fusion of a steampunk/historical setting. The characters involved in the show may seem to be related to their legendary ancestors. Yet, their similarities only seems to scratch its historical domain. Starting off, there’s a blur of reality as Jeanne Kaguya d’Arc (based off of the character ‘Joan of Arc’), is burned at a stake in a typical witch hunt endgame style. Then flash forward and we find out that she has a powerful object that can potentially influence the world. Not only that but she also has visions relating to the one individual that will save the world, also known as the Fool, Oda Nobunaga. Here’s where the fun comes in. Oda Nobunaga is exactly as his name states. Not only is he the titular character but he is literally portrayed as a fool with his brash personality. His actions and behavior will get people talking despite it being harmless, on occasions anyways. But looking carefully, Nobunaga is a man that’s difficult to understand. It’s not an understatement either since his character is a representation of The Fool card based off of the tarot legend. The tarot cards bring about a purpose that serves as a fortitude of each episode. But behind those cards lies a meaning that unlocks each episodes’ morality through imagery, perhaps relating to the true visage of our titular character.
Nobunaga the Fool isn’t just about making a prophecy come true. Throughout the series, we see different sides of Nobunaga and Jeanne. Nobunaga for instance is portrayed as a hotheaded man that he seems to wear like a mask. Yet, we do see a different side of him when he is with those closer with others, such as his family like his sister Ichihime. Later on, Nobunaga’s relationship/partnership with Jeanne grows closer. It reaches to a point where he strives to protect her no matter what. At the apex, he puts his own life on the line to save hers. And as seemingly incompatible as the duo is at first, Jeanne herself also develops feelings throughout their journey. Originally, she questions herself whether it’s worthwhile to accompany Nobunaga. Later, there’s a 180 degree turn where she strives to help him no matter what. To point it in easier perspective, the duo becomes more than just partners in crime. There’s even instance of Jeanne seemingly question what she is to him. Unfortunately, the romance angle of the show is vague, with only sparkles towards the end. It fails to communicate that part of the message without a meaningful purpose in the first place.
Figures and legends that historians have been studying for ages. Nobunaga the Fool is a collection of noticeable characters from various backgrounds. One character of notoriety is Leonardo da Vinci. In contrast to Nobunaga, he is a man of intelligence known for his inventions from the West. His role as a journeyman is to seek out truth. Rather than power, he strives for knowledge and acts as a guide. With Nobunaga are also two other companions known as Akechi Mitsuhide and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. They serves as his arms and legs during his travels and yes, they are based off of historical figures from Feudal Japan. And finally, we can’t forget about someone that longs for Nobunaga’s attention. Serving as a love interest, Himiko (the queen of Yamato) makes offers to Nobunaga in exchange for one simple thing: his love. But a show like this only demonstrates love with a cliche way. It’s more like a niche, a badly executed one if it tries to construct a Romeo & Juliet story. The lack of chemistry is apparently present and their only closeness seems to be their common interests. On other hand, Nobunaga’s chemistry with his family makes up much more of his character. In one later episode, it truly brings out Nobunaga’s visage behind the mask he is wearing as he shows his sincerity, rage, and regret.
It’s hard to describe the style of Nobunaga the Fool. Absurd would be one of them for its package of colorful characters. Yet, the story itself does make sense later on when dangerous antagonists are thrown in and plot holes are formulated in Nobunaga and Jeanne’s quest. What stands between them is more than ideologies, but also weapons that can wipe them off the planet. The world this show takes place in has adapted the usage of mecha. Now, this comes with an odd mix because their world obviously has historical themes such as the shrines and temples. Nonetheless, mecha exist and stands for a testimony for being a superpower as a destructive ways of combat. The mecha are described as ‘sacred treasures’. Nobunaga pilots one of them which he nicknames “The Fool”. This doesn’t occur until after it’s unlocked by Jeanne with a little device known as the ‘regalia’. At that point, the show starts venturing off into a more sci-fi zone. Not only that but other characters also get their own mecha. It becomes absurd to a point of deconstruction where characters fight for affairs using these mecha devices despite having little to no experience prior. And here, I thought the taste of anachronism was weird.
Artwork comes together clustered but that’s because the fusion of historical and science backgrounds added together in a mix. When you have that, it comes out as zany. Yet, most of the designs are solid in particular with the world class backgrounds. It’s creative and invites attention to questions for viewers behind its origins. This can also apply to the mecha with their innovative designs that gives them a menacing appearance. The action they demonstrate will draw in eyes for attention with rapid movements thanks to its artillery. The characters themselves also have a good balance of mixture with their designs. Nobunaga looks like a badass, he behaves like a badass, and technically, he is a badass. Other characters such as Da Vinci, Ichime, and Hideyoshi stays true to their consistent character designs to match the right persona. On the other hand, Jeanne is hard to take seriously. Despite being portrayed as a stunning beauty with her long blonde hair, curves, and figure, her character doesn’t match at all with the historical counterpart. It’s just too damn silly.
Judgment of its soundtrack goes towards mostly for our characters’ voice mannerism since the show focuses a great deal to portray them individually. Of all the main characters, Nobunaga stands out the most with his commanding tone, intimidating nature, but also the same time a man heart of gold. However, others such as Himiko and Jeanne can come off as forceful with their voice mannerisms in particular during climatic scenes. On the other hand, background music has a decent degree of variances. It feels natural despite all the absurdity going on on occasions. The OP and ED songs also provide support for its moderate coordination with the OST.
It’s easy to say that Nobunaga the Fool isn’t for everyone. Even if you’re a historian, this show will at times dance around with its gimmicks to a point of deconstruction. But looking closely, the show have some merits to its themes and style. It’ll take time to get used to it but some patience may pay off. On the other hand, be ready for some cliché and gags that can be hard to praise with everything thrown together. The story itself is also clustered with weak writing and uninteresting characterization when it comes to development. All in all, this show isn’t like reading a history book to get its message. Rather, it’s like a foolish textbook of literature taught by a professor of the coming ages.
