ザラ Notes: 信長協奏曲 Nobunaga Kyōsōkyoku

24 December 2014

信長協奏曲 Nobunaga Kyōsōkyoku

Title: 信長協奏曲 Nobunaga Kyōsōkyoku
English Title: Nobunaga Concerto
Country: Japan
Language: Japanese
Year: 2014
Episode: 11
Cast:

小栗旬 Oguri Shun
柴咲コウ Shibasaki Kō
向井理 Mukai Osamu
夏帆 Kaho
山田孝之 Yamada Takayuki
濱田岳 Hamada Gaku
高嶋政宏 Takashima Masahiro
藤木直人 Fujiki Naohito
藤ヶ谷太輔 Fujigaya Taisuke
水原希子 Mizuhara Kiko

SYNOPSIS

Mr. Children - 足音〜 Be Strong (Ashioto 〜 Be Strong) (Footsteps 〜 Be Strong)

Oda Saburo is a flighty high school student who always runs away from things he can't handle.

On a school trip in a village set up for historical experience, he confesses to a classmate he likes and asks her to be his girlfriend. She doesn't feel the same way about him, and he runs away before she can clearly reject him. Miserable because his friends are teasing him, Saburo escapes to be alone.

Saburo climbs over a wall and falls down. When he comes to his senses, he meets the historical figure Oda Nobunaga. They are both surprised at how similar they look, and Nobunaga asks Saburo to pretend to be Nobunaga. Saburo readily agrees to play the role of Nobunaga because he thought that he is talking to an actor.

Saburo assumes Nobunaga's identity for fun, but he gradually realizes that he somehow traveled back in time and he is acting as the real Nobunaga.

REVIEW
Nobunaga Kyōsōkyoku, also known as Nobunaga Concerto, is a fun drama about a high school student who traveled back in time and assumed the identity of famous historical figure Oda Nobunaga.

I like how there are many mysteries in the drama, and you'll probably watch the whole thing just to find out who is ordering the killing of another, who is betraying another, and which clan is siding with which clan, and who wins the battles.

I am not well-versed in Japanese history, and I didn't really research on it, so I can't comment on how much the drama followed history or how much it deviated from it. Likewise, I have not read the manga this show is based on and I am not familiar with the anime so again, I can't make any informed comparison.

I don't know if it's because of my lack of extensive background information on the topic at hand, but I found Nobunaga Kyōsōkyoku quite entertaining. It's interesting to think about time travel, particularly going back to the past where you're supposed to know things because you studied it but when it comes to it, you're as clueless as if you don't know anything about it.

Oda Saburo doesn't like killing other people and he couldn't accept dying for the sake of honor, which is common in the past. He shared his personal values and novel way of thinking, such as the importance of life, throughout the drama.

Oda Saburo as Oda Nobunaga: You have to live for the people who died. You have to live!
-- E11

I don't understand why Saburo keeps running away, as if he can really escape all his troubles by doing so. It is explained that it is his personality ever since he was a kid, and that's it. He always runs away, even after declaring that he won't do it anymore, and I think it's infuriating.

Be that as it may, I'm even more confused about Oda Nobunaga in the drama. Nobunaga runs away from the Oda family when he first meets Saburo, even though he is the firstborn son and the one most likely to head the family when his father passes away. Nobunaga asks Saburo to pretend to be him, and Nobunaga takes on a new identity as Akechi Mitsuhide as if he doesn't want to lead the Oda clan.

But the thing I couldn't figure out the most is when vassals or retainers hate Saburo for being a fake Nobunaga when they find out the truth. I mean, Nobunaga asked him to assume the identity, and Saburo did his best to perform Nobunaga's responsibilities under the circumstances. It's not as if Saburo forced Nobunaga to flee.

Personally, I think Saburo is quite respectable because he did what is expected of him as Nobunaga even though he could just walk away from it all. I don't think I would want to still follow the real Nobunaga as the head of the family if I find out that he ran away when the Oda clan needed him the most.