Nobunyaga spotted at Tokyo Games Show 2026∼

My friend was attending Tokyo Games Show this weekend, and she made sure to share some pictures of Nobunyaga mascotte from the saga Nobunyaga's Greed (のぶニャがの野望, Nobunyaga no Yabou, localized as Samurai Cats)! --Obviously I couldn't keep this treasure for myself alone 😁

A few magazine pictures from "Ghost Sweeper Mikami" anime movie--

I was browsing through my collection of old Japanese magazines when I noticed an article about the anime movie Ghost Sweeper Mikami-- This came specifically from the 06/1994 issue of Animage. I think this is the first time Oda Nobunaga was ever mentioned in Europe, as this movie was imported in the late 90s over here.
I didn't watch this anime and I'm vaguely familiar with the manga, but I'm aware of this infamous depiction of our favourite warlord and I think it's worth a mention∼

The Nobunaga of Seishi Kimata

After the contribution of Kiyoshi Kimata, here's another look at the beautiful illustrations from another children book dedicated to Nobunaga; this time, it's the 24th volume of the Jidou Denki Series (児童伝記シリーズ) released by Kaiseisha. This book was published in 1978, the 15th reprint of the original book first released in 1970.

The illustrator is Seishi Kimata and the author of the biography is Daiji Kawasaki.
I would love to share some illustrations from the book with you guys.

Nobunaga's reference in "Shabake" anime!

Enjoying my anime fix I couldn't help but to notice this subtle reference to Nobunaga, involving one of the main characters of Shabake anime: --No doubt that whatever fire and a samurai doing harakiri in the middle of it, is Nobunaga at Honnouji! No extra infos are required 😆

This guy Sasuke, actually an inugami in human form, is portrayed like an energetic and kinda rough dude, but also a dedicated servant... I wonder if during this flashback he was Ranmaru, or just one of his fellow kosho... In a sense, I really like the idea of Nobunaga being protected by ayakashi∼!

First appearance of Nobunaga in "Baban Baban Ban Vampire" anime!

Yesterday the anime Baban Baban Ban Vampire aired its first episode on the Japanese TV (or Netflix, for the international audience) and we got to see Nobunaga during the Honnoji incident, as Ranmaru remembers of his "love stories"...

Baban Baban-- Nobunaga!

Ah, how long since I updated this place∼ Looks like I have a chance because next year we're going to get a new Nobunaga in the features of Shin'ichi Tsutsumi!

The project is the live-action version of the manga Baban Baban Ban Vampire (ババンババンバンバンパイア) by Hiromasa Okujima, a BL-ish comedy where Ranmaru is a vampire working in a bath-house, aiming at Rihito's virgin blood. Nobunaga's role is going to be marginal, as he just appears in a flashback, but it's meaningful indeed, as it explains the rivalry between Ranmaru and his brother Nagayoshi in this work.
The movie is scheduled for February 14, so I'll keep you updated about further visuals of our hero.

The heart of historical drama enthusiast skipped a bit because Tsutsumi acted as a young Yoshinobu in Takeda Shingen taiga drama in 1988, so it's going to be meaningful seeing him in another major historical role, if just for a few scenes.

織田信長は堤真一さん‼️
信長役は堤真一さんですと聞いた時震え上がりました。🥶それで一本映画撮れるでしょうに‼️映画館で観るのが楽しみで仕方ありません‼️ #ババンババンバンバンパイア pic.twitter.com/z0iJpNyiWm

— 奥嶋ひろまさ (@HiromasaOkujima) November 26, 2024

This said, Baban Baban Ban Vampire is going to get an anime adaptation earlier on January 11, so we may enjoy an animated version of Okujima's Nobunaga, too.

More Demonic Nobunaga! He's the "boss" in "Tousouchuu: Great Mission"!

I decided to go back to my usual otaku self, and during the current anime season I decided to watch as many anime as possible.

One of those is the actually mediocre Tousouchuu: Great Mission (逃走中 グレートミッション, On the Run: Great Mission, also anglicized as Run for the Money: Great Mission), that I was curious to watch because of certain premises. --Anyway, as I was lazing it off, Nobunaga appeared on screen!

Setting my eyes on some vintage Nobunaga manga...

I have to limit my Nobu collection, but I have a soft spot for vintage mangas (expecially when it comes to children literature), and sometimes I find myself lurking on certain titles.
Here are the ones that intrigue me the most at the moment∼

Nobunaga, is that you? Too iconic, despite Stitch

A few days ago I went to my usual comic shop and I noticed this manga about Stitch featuring Nobunaga. Long story super-short, Stitch and the Samurai (殿さまとスティッチ, Tono-sama to Stitch) doesn't feature Nobunaga but an original character inspired to him.
The appeal of the comic is the gap between the ruthless, silent warlord and his cute attitude towards the "blue tanuki" Stitch.

"Shincho Meikan" Review! And a few additions∼

I finally got my copy of the Shincho Meikan, the complete archive of Nobunaga's depictions from 1583 to-- yesterday! I'm still in the middle of browsing it, but I already checked its contents and mini-columns... There's lots of blissful suggestions to peruse for my Nobunaga Birthday Project ♥

The True Meaning of Power: Nobunaga in "SD Gundam World HEROES"

Yes, today I'm going to talk about an unexpected Nobunaga's rendition which becomes weirdly dear to me, and not just because I'm a hopeless gunota. I'm talking about the character Nobunaga Gundam Epyon appearing in the ONA series SD Gundam World HEROES (SDガンダムワールド ヒーローズ).

WTF as a Historical Stance, "Ikusa no Ko"

--In these past few days I managed to retrieve the missing volumes of the local release of The Legend of Oda Saburo Nobunaga (いくさの子 ~織田三郎信長伝~, Ikusa no Ko ~Oda Saburo Nobunaga den~) by Tetsuo Hara and while reading the absurdities in there I thought of the recently reviewed Yasuke. Why did I feel so outraged by the work of Lesean, and why am I so patronizing towards Hara-sensei? I wouldn't say because of the contents of the two works, they imply the same exact quantity of fantasy elements, but my tolerance surged by the different "approach", that probably made Ikusa no Ko more tollerable.

"Shinchou Meikan", Official and Updated!

Do you remember the doujinshi catalogue dedicated to all the fictional Nobus out there, starting from 1583 to 2017--? Apparently on November 2019 it was released as an "official guide" by Ohta Books publishing: This was updated with new Nobus (of course!) reaching 703 characters and covering 585 works, and included some "mini-columns" exploring the various representations, influences of pop culture on the historical image, the contributions of history buffs and so on-- You can check a preview of its contents here, on the website of the publisher.

A far-sighted Revolutionist, a visionary Anarchist or-- Nothing at all? Nobunaga in "Yasuke"

Apparently the long-waited movie about the figure of Yasuke, the legendary "black samurai" of Nobunaga, was convoluted in this 6 episodes long ONA series by Netflix. Aired on April 2021, Yasuke (Yasuke -ヤスケ-) was as bad as I expected, with a ridiculous plot that made no sense and a pitiful characters' development. Truly a pity, 'cause it had all the ingredients for an interesting production and technically speaking it was amazing, but, oh, the cringe--!

"Kochōki 〜Wakaki Nobunaga〜" First Impressions

So, the first episode of that new anime about Nobunaga was just released a few days ago, and here's a first, light-hearted comment before a proper review once the series is over.
I must say I'm really sick of these series where Nobu is a vapid bishounen, I just can't take that character design seriously, but I made an effort to put this series on my watchlist, if just because of its brevity, and the obvious curiosity derived from any Nobu's adaptation.

About "Gorgeous Butterflies"

*updates blog nonchalantly*

I was checking out some pictures from the Animage of this month, and I happened to find about this new novel about Tsuneoki and Nobunaga!
The complete title is The Strange Story of the Gorgeous Butterfly 〜The Young Nobunaga〜 (胡蝶綺異聞 〜若き信長〜, Kochōki Ibun 〜Wakaki Nobunaga〜) and the author is Megumu Sasano, a popular scriptwriter who contributed to series like Hakuoki or Bakumatsu Rock. The story is centered around the youth of Nobunaga and his special relationship with Tsuneoki Ikeda, one of his most faithful vassals as a warlord, and pretty much a brother during his childhood.
The "Butterfly" of the title should refer to the Ikeda kamon; incidentally, also Nobunaga used to sport a Butterfly kamon, related to Taira's.

But that's not all! Exploring further hashtag I realized that the novel is not the main item, but a side-story of a new anime project centered around the youth of Nobunaga!
The title of the series is The Gorgeous Butterfly 〜The Young Nobunaga〜 (胡蝶綺 〜若き信長〜, Kochōki 〜Wakaki Nobunaga〜) and it's going to tell about the rivalry of Nobunaga and his younger brother Nobuyuki.

I hope that this new project will sport some hystorical accuracy, but given the precedents I highly doubt so...Oh well, I'll watch it anyway!
The anime is scheduled for Summer 2019, and you can find the official website here.
The pictures come from the Twitter account of the magazine and the Twitter account of the anime.

Nobunaga's Moving Castle

I'm following the anime Basilisk: Ouka Ninpouchou; it's a ninja story set in the early Edo period, the obvious sequel of Basilisk: Kouga Ninpouchou.

This new chapter in the misadventures of Iga and Kouga ninja focuses on an attempt to revive Nobunaga by a group of Tokugawa opponents, the Joujinshuu. As a "cradle" to host the rebirth of Nobunaga, they set up this disturbing moving castle heading for Edo, dubbed the Murakumo, which is, by far, a perfect copy of Azuchi castle!

The Nobunaga of Kiyoshi Kimata

So, recently I resumed my interest for Japanese children books, and I started to collect some old illustrated books dedicated to Nobunaga.

Among my first purchases was the 42nd volume of Hinotori Denki Bunko (火の鳥伝記文庫) series by Kodansha dated 1983, which is dedicated to Nobunaga.

The text, a novelization of Nobunaga's life, is composed by Shunpei Suzuki, while Kiyoshi Kimata took care of the illustrations inside the booklet.
A master of inking, his style is quite charming and I fell completely in love with his simple, elegant artworks.
I'm sharing some of them in this post, then!

Suddenly, a Nobunaga in C3 AFA in Hong Kong!

Let's stay in Hong Hong but this time let's move to the C3 AFA in Hong Kong event when, suddenly, I noticed that the booth of Manga Shop (pretty much a "sister shop" of the Japanese Animate in Hong Kong) was decorated by artworks signed by Hiroyuki Suwahara featuring our favourite warlord!



The reference is yet another figure, the Nobunaga by ACI Toys that I mentioned (and I preordered) years ago, by now... So I got closer to indagate.

Behold the "Shinchou Meikan"!

It's almost Comiket time and some previews are already popping out here and there.

Irene (thank youuuu!) showed me this awesome book, "Shinchou Meikan" (信長名鑑) by Chihatan (ちはたん) circle!
It's an encyclopedia of ALL the depictions of Nobunaga in fiction, featuring anime, manga, mascottes, light novels and videogames!
The author researched 388 Nobu-versions in this book, with references and details on sources and interpretations... Far from "scholar stuff", but quite the task nevertheless!

I can't find a webpage of the author but their Twitter account, where you can check some pictures of the contents, too.
If you manage to visit Comiket on December 31, note the booth of Chihatan: 東ホ09b!