Back to mechato's Profile mechato's Profile

Nobunaga the Fool is a jack of all genres, master of none.

It has an awesome premise—a reconstruction of Oda Nobunaga’s rise to power within a mecha-filled, pseudo-historical setting. Anachronism definitely has the potential to produce beautiful things (e.g. Gintama or Samurai Champloo), and going into this show, I was excited to see how its producers would handle a historical/mecha fusion. Now that I’ve completed it, I’m disappointed to say that it felt more like a disjointed mishmash of genres than a smooth blend.

When I say that NtF was a mishmash of genres, I don’t just mean historical and mecha. It was often fantasy, occasionally supernatural, ... sometimes shounen, sporadically romance, and towards the end, sci-fi as well. Hence the comparison to a jack of all trades, master of none. NtF essentially gave itself too much to do. It had too many themes to neatly put together and ended up spending time focusing on different subjects without really combining them. There were magical evil imp children, melodramatic love triangles, power-ups with spirit dragons and cyborg limbs (I'm not even kidding), and so on. In the end, it was hard to tell what exactly the series was supposed to be about.

My score is 5.9/10. Read below for the full review + rating breakdown.

- - -
Story = 5/10

Layout:
If you want to enjoy NtF, be ready to suspend your disbelief. The show is a war story takes place on two stars, east and west. The east star is dominated by Japanese warlords from the Sengoku period. The west star is dominated by random famous Europeans plus Chandra Gupta. (If you're a stickler for historical accuracy, you probably won't like this anime.) As you might guess, the allusions and references are all over the place. Here’s a small sample of the references made in NtF: Schrodinger’s cat, Excalibur, and Hercules—and that’s only in one episode.

The topic for each episode is set by tarot cards. At some point in each ep, a new card is revealed (like Hanged Man or Empress), and the card signifies a character or event during that episode. It's generally predictable, but it does make the anime more entertaining. The idea is admittedly clever.

Characters spend a lot of time fighting over regalia, which are mystical pendants that grant physics-defying upgrades to giant war armors (NtF's mechas). When activated, they draw from the power of ley lines and cause extra weapons to immediately materialize. Yeah...just roll with it.

Plot:
There's a prophecy that two kings will be born—a Savior King and a Destroyer King whose destinies are to save and destroy the world, respectively. The higher-ups on the west star believe that Arthur, an enigmatic and seemingly faceless man, is the Savior King. After Jeanne Kaguya d'Arc has premonitions of an east star warrior named Oda Nobunaga, she and Leonardo da Vinci defect to the east star to see if he's the actual Savior King. They join the Oda clan, and Jeanne goes into disguise as a page named Ranmaru. Nobunaga and co. then continue their efforts to unite heaven and earth. Or conquer the world. Whichever sounds better.

The plot isn't too hard to follow, but it's still unnecessarily contrived. Things get especially confusing during the last few episodes.
- - -
Characterization = 3/10

Warning: characters' personalities don't necessarily reflect those of their historical counterparts. (Don't expect Jeanne to be a badass warrior. You will be disappointed.) The names are just there for the sake of making characters look cooler. The east star warlords at least bear some resemblance to the figures on whom they're based, but the west star knights of the round table (which include members like Hannibal Barca and Alexander the Great, and are not to be confused with King Arthur’s other knights of the round table) show little to no evidence of historical context. Caesar says “veni, vidi, vici.” Cool. Hannibal and Charlemagne speak to each other in French. Nifty. That's all you really get, in terms of historical influence. You won't be getting any Fate/Zero sort of background info on the characters, either.

Historical inaccuracy aside (Jeanne Kaguya d'Arc...really? I know she's supposed to be a pseudo-Mori Ranmaru and have ties to the east star, but come on), the characters at least have interesting, distinct personalities. The reason why I'm giving a 3 instead of a 1 or 2 is because the character types aren't any less than what you'd get from your average action anime. A lot of the supporting chars may be one-dimensional, but they're rarely boring.

Moving on, the biggest qualm I have regarding characterization is that the main characters have these little tics and habits, and the show abuses the heck out of them. Mitsuhide flips his hair. Hideyoshi rubs his nose. Nobunaga adjusts his shirt sleeves. I've seen each of these happen at least once per episode. Why do I say they're abused? Habits are supposed to reflect a character's personality, not define it. The habits shown in NtF are extremely overstated and, for the most part, not special. Among other things, the issue with the habits highlights how static the characters are. Their most obvious traits are literally tiny habits.

Quick note about development: the main characters do go through changes in their ambitions and temperaments, but the changes are often sudden and not sufficiently explained.
- - -
Art = 8/10

You can tell a LOT of the animation budget went into the giant war armors, which are the only things that are CG. They look gorgeous, and fight scenes look amazing. Unfortunately, although the art is very good overall, the discrepancy between quality for giant war armors and everything else is pretty noticeable. The CG animation = 10, the rest = 7.

Interesting thing I noticed: in the Owari setting, you see the same looped animation of this dude ringing a bell for every invasion scene. The only explanation is that the guy is secretly immortal and never rests, eats, or gets hurt even when his city is being attacked by laser beams.
- - -
Voice Acting = 9/10

The voice acting is great overall, though a little over-the-top at times. (The “over-the-top” part applies mostly to Hideyoshi. As much as I love Kaji Yuki, I think I've heard him make enough monkey noises to last a lifetime.)

Additional props to Miyano Mamoru, Sugita Tomokazu, and Nakamura Yuichi for pulling off Nobunaga, da Vinci, and Caesar so well.
- - -
Music 6/10

The BGM is a mix of traditional and orchestral music. It fits the series well, but isn't exceptionally good. The most memorable tracks are the ones played during the more intense scenes; they're one of the things I like most about NtF.
- - -

Story (25%) = 50
Characterization (25%) = 30
Art (20%) = 80
Voice Acting (15%) = 90
Music (15%) = 60

Total = 59/100 = 5.9/10 —> 6

Thanks for reading!

Accel World is based on a light novel series of the same name, and takes place in a futuristic universe where virtual reality is commonplace. It tells the story of a boy, Haruyuki, and his discovery of a game called "Brain Burst." The game allows a player to assume a virtual identity and defeat others in-game in order to gain points and use them to 'accelerate' (slow down time) in real life.

AW’s storytelling definitely isn't perfect, but in spite of its faults, it manages to be incredibly enjoyable. The battle sequences are great, and the protagonists are easy to root for. I'd recommend it to ... anyone looking for a fun series that focuses more on action than logic.

| Story: 5 | Art: 10 | Sound: 9 | Character: 5 | Enjoyment: 9 |

Read on for the full review. Warning: contains mild spoilers.

= = = = = = = = = =

- The Universe -

The Good:
After watching the first few episodes, my interest was piqued: the premise--real-life underdog getting his chance to become a knight in shining armor via a virtual game--seemed decent, and the universe/setting was constructed well. Despite its generic school setting, AW maintained a futuristic theme, complete with holographic interfaces and thought-sharing cables. Virtual reality certainly isn't a novel concept, but AW pulled it off by combining it with modern school life themes. It's an interesting mix, and it sets AW apart from series like Sword Art Online or Btooom!, which delve entirely into the virtual aspect of their storylines.

The Bad:
Like most shounen series, AW had a tendency to introduce new rules/abilities and reveal hidden information as the show progressed. For the most part, these "game changers" happened within the virtual side of the anime--the Accelerated World. Because of the world's RPG-like system, you'd think that the reveals would've made sense, since leveling up in an RPG amounts to gaining new abilities and information anyway. However, a lot the new abilities and information in AW felt more like cop-outs/deux ex machina that were just there to advance the plot, rather than enhance the universe.

- The Story -

The Good:
The first half of the anime was wonderful in terms of storytelling. Brain Burst and the Accelerated World were useful devices for facilitating character development, and it was nice to see the bonds between the characters evolve as they interacted with each other both in the Accelerated World and real life. Haruyuki's transformation from a rookie Burst Linker to the famed aviating Silver Crow was fun to follow, and it was nice to see him being trained by other characters.

The Bad:
Loose ends. A lot of them. I understand that the producers wanted to follow the plot of the light novel, but the shift in the story halfway through was a bit jarring. The goal established at the beginning of AW was to help Kuroyukihime defeat the other kings and reach Level 10. However, the second arc of the anime had KYH on a school trip, detached from most of the action. AW introduced a new antagonist and focused on the Haru/Taku/Chiyu trio’s efforts to defeat him. KYH was only brought back at the very end, to provide assistance in the final battle.

- The Characters -

The Good:
Character interactions were fun to watch, and AW had plenty of quirky figures. No character with an important role had a one-dimensional personality. KYH in particular was my favorite character in the series--beautiful, badass, and one hell of a Legion Master.

The Bad:
There was little character development, and a few characters were introduced without any backstory whatsoever. As well, Haruyuki didn't change as much throughout the series as I'd hoped. (Even one of the post-series OVAs spoofed his low self-confidence.) The series began with him as someone whose sense of self worth relied only on how powerful he was in the virtual world, and sadly, it seemed as though that trait didn't change, even towards the end of the show. During the second arc, he got his wings stolen by the main antagonist. After this happened, he fell into a depression and henceforth felt as though his wings were the only reason why KYH kept him around. KYH was clear about her adoration for him, but he never gained enough confidence to reciprocate her feelings. That was probably one of the series' biggest disappointments.

No.6 follows two boys from opposite ends of the socioeconomic ladder as they try to reveal the secrets behind a so-called utopia. Although it's only 35 chapters long, I'm giving it a 10 because it's incredibly well-done despite its length. Read below for the full review.

- - - - -
Storyline: 9

To some extent, No.6 is just another dystopian story--perfect society with a dark secret, disillusioned citizens, etc.--but the inner workings of its dystopia are both unique and unexpected. Its plot is well-developed and easy to follow. The only reason why I don't give a perfect score for this category is because some moments within the ... manga feel a bit rushed.

- - - - -
Characters: 10 (Mild spoilers below.)

The backstories and personalities are well-crafted, and everyone who is introduced has a role within the story. Character development is executed well. The issues that the protagonists face, as well as the personality changes they undergo, are believable and never left unexplained.

I also have to give props to this series for being one of the few I've read that aren't exclusively BL, but portray a same-sex couple as realistically as they would a heterosexual couple. (Note: No.6 is not a yaoi manga. It does, however, have shounen-ai elements.) It doesn't dole out fanservice. Nezumi and Shion's relationship isn't established to pander to BL fans; it's there to represent a legitimate bond between two characters--one that develops over time, and through mutual understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses. There's no masculine or feminine binary, no "husband" or "wife" imposed upon Nezumi and Shion. They're just two characters that happen to fall in love.

- - - - -
Art: 10

No issues here. No.6 is beautifully illustrated and skillfully paneled. As well, the character designs are memorable and unique without being over-the-top.

- - - - -
Enjoyment: 10

All the factors mentioned above culminate in a series that's difficult to stop reading once you start. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good action/adventure/sci-fi manga.