Oda Nobunaga

"Oda Nobunaga"

- imparting advice to Rance that he'd never forget.

About
Oda Nobunaga was the warlord of the Oda House of JAPAN that lived during its 4th Warring States Period. He was a very skilled and beloved leader of his clan, but he retired from the battlefield after he gradually weakened more and more over the years from an illness.

Nobunaga was born in the year GI985 with the name of Kazusanosuke as the son of the previous Oda Nobunaga. During his earlier years, the young Kazusanosuke grew as a meek and unconfident person, directly contrasting with his brutal and vicious father. With a weak and sickly body and being the son of the Lord of the Oda House, he experienced a sheltered life and found himself without having any meaningful relationships with people, since most treated him as their Lord and not as a person. One day, 3G employed a war orphan named Kichou as a maid in exchange of keeping her under the Oda House's protection. Unlike most of their servants, Kichou showed little restraint when dealing with the shy Kazusanosuke, to the point of bullying him for his lack of courage and bossing him around despite her position as an attendant. Despite this, Kazusanosuke was found her behavior as odd as interesting, and regularly seeked out for her as she was the only one that would treat him like an equal. In spite of their seemingly opposite personalities, the two became close childhood friends, often playing together under the iconic cherry blossom tree near the Oda Castle. Over time, a very special friendship was formed between the two, one that would inevitably become love. His relationship with Kichou allowed the timid Kazusanosuke to grow as a person, changing into a more confident and jovial individual, and Kichou herself changed into a more agreeable and gentle woman as well.

When the dreadful conflict with the Youkai that would be known as the Great Youkai War was initiated, both his father and elder brother lost their lives as the Oda House had allied with One-Eyed Masamune against the Youkai King Omachi, leaving Kazusanosuke as the only heir of the clan along with his much younger sister Kouhime. After the tragedy, he was left with no choice but to become the head of the House, inheriting his father's name as Oda Nobunaga. Due to his appointment, he was require to choose a wife to leave a suitable heir, leading Nobunaga to pick Kichou as a result. While the marriage was a subject of debate among the members of the clan, as she was a mere servant with no blood relation to nobility, it didn't stop the couple from happily marrying under the cherry blossom tree where the two had spent countless days together. Upon becoming the head of the House, Nobunaga successfully commanded the Oda Army towards many victories in the battlefield and was widely respected for his incredible performance both as a fighter and as a leader. Despite his outstanding talent for war, Nobunaga still had a fragile health that would quickly force him to repose, preventing him from making advancements too significant in the unification of JAPAN. Additionally, his naturally unassertive personality made him less than notable as a politician but fortunately for him, his wife Kichou was much more determined and firm, managing the diplomatic and political affairs of their territories. She was also responsible for replacing him as a commander when he was too sick to be deployed, allowing the Oda House to never lose territory while she was around. However one night Nobunaga was caught by surprise by an assassin during one of his most vulnerable periods, and Kichou traded her life to save his.

Her death was a huge blow for Nobunaga, who was left with a severe depression after the passing of his beloved Kichou to the point that he lost all his motivation as a Warlord. With an ambitionless Nobunaga and the death of one of a key military and political figure, the Oda House lost a large portion of its territory over the years, being left with only their home province at Owari by LP0005. Many of its warrior defected to other more powerful houses as well, with only its most loyal retainers remaining with the Oda. This events caused the influence and power of his house to decline significantly compared to the previous time, but Nobunaga hadn't lost his will to live yet. After Kichou's death, his younger sister Princess Kou became the focus of his life, and wanted to ensure a future full of happiness for Kou, wishing her to live a peaceful life safe from quarrels and conflicts, and became disinterested in wars or politics, but this started to look like an implausible dream after he found out he had an incurable disease.

In LP0005, weeks before the events of Sengoku Rance, he came to meet the adventurer Rance, who was at JAPAN for a vacation on a hotspring trip. The two became instant friends as they are both very easy-going, and quickly entrusted Rance with running the Oda House for him. While he initially simply intended him to lead their army decently enough to protect their territory, he was surprised by the exceedingly positive results of Rance's leadership, who was not only managing to keep their territory but also expand Oda's forces and taking over other surrounding houses such as the Hara and the Ashikaga. Seeing his incredible talent as a warrior and his sheer competence, he allowed Rance to act as he saw fit and, even though Nobunaga wanted to secure a safe territory where the would be able to live a comfortable life, Rance instead wanted to conquer the whole country and unify JAPAN, a decision that Nobunaga decided to follow. Nobunaga and Rance would regularly spend time as friends and the two were fairly fond of each other, an impressive feat considering how much Rance hates to hang around with males.



Later on, the Oda House was payed a visit by a monk of the Tenshi Sect that arrived to check the sacred gourd the Oda House was securing. The gourd was one of the 8 ancient relics from hundreds of years of the past that had been used to seal the wicked Dark Lord Xavier, who terrified the country with his Apostles on his last awakening. The gourd contained a piece of Xavier's soul, and the monk arrived to make sure that the seal remained strong. After the monk left, Nobunaga explained to Rance about Xavier and his horrifying acts but during the conversation, he accidentally breaks the gourd because of his monkey Toukichirou. While they expected Xavier to appear in some way or form, nothing happened, which led Nobunaga to assume that Xavier had perished after being sealed for so long. Over the following days, Nobunaga began experiencing strange nightmares and illusions, hearing voices and the like. He quickly came to realise that Xavier's fragment of his soul had inhabited his body, and was trying to take it over, to the point where he lost control of his body. While Nobunaga's will remained, Xavier was able to possess his body. Now in control of Nobunaga's body, Xavier used his influence as a Warlord to exterminate many members of the Tenshi Sect, which led the Sect to go at war with the Oda House after he burned hundreds of followers to death.

After some time passes, he decided to seclude himself from Nobunaga's inner circle by confining himself at Honnouji away from everybody with the excuse that his illness had gotten worse. When Rance would conquer a major House with one of the gourds, his monkey Toukichirou, who turned out to be one of Xavier's loyal Apostles, would search among the destroyed remnants of the house and steal the gourd to take it to his master. Every time a gourd was broken, a fragment of Xavier's soul would inhabit Nobunaga's body, allowing Xavier to get stronger while weakening Nobunaga. Despite being possessed, his will still resisted Xavier from within, but it was only a matter of time before his will would vanish entirely.

Eventually when 5 of the 8 gourds are broken, Kouhime will try to meet with Nobunaga on Honnouji, as he had distance himself for a long time without giving her any explanations. She'd tried to speak to him countless times trying to understand why he wouldn't meet with her anymore. She forced herself in to Honnouji during a time where Xavier, with Nobunaga's body, and his Apostles were torturing a Tenshi Sect monk to death. Kouhime was only confused by the scenario and about her brother's acts, and the monk would desperately try to alert her to run away, but Xavier wouldn't allow it now. His Apostle Rengoku captured her immediately and gathered a group of young males to continuously rape her for many days until she dies. Fortunately, her sudden and mysterious dissappearance set all the forces of the Oda House led by Rance on motion, and he was able to find her before she was killed, though she was severely scarred as a consequence of the sexual abuse. Thanks to this, Rance was able to discover the truth about Xavier, and gathered all his army to raid the Honnouji Temple where Xavier was hiding. During the Honnou Temple Incident when Xavier was weakened by Rance and Kentarou in their battle, Nobunaga managed to partially reclaim control over his body, trying to wound himself further so that Rance could kill Xavier. However, Xavier ultimately escaped in his body, and Nobunaga's soul finally died in the process. After Xavier's escape, only a lock of his hair was found, and it was buried by Kou next to his wife Kichou under the cherry blossom tree.

Personality and Appearance
For as long as he lived, Nobunaga was well-known for being a compassionate man and a charismatic leader. He's an extremely relaxed person that portrays a laid-back attitude, making him stand out as a figure of calm collectedness. He's charismatic as a leader, as many remained loyal to the Oda House after its decline solely due to their allegiance to Nobunaga, and countless warriors have been greatly inspired by his ability and charisma. Despite this, he's also a highly controversial figure for some of the decisions he's made because he's not nearly as restricted by traditions as other JAPANese, such was the case when he picked Kichou, a servant, to become his wife. Another highly questionable decision he's made was appointing Rance as the secret ruler of the Oda House, something that many found unacceptable and made them either defect or rebel against Nobunaga. As a ruler, Nobunaga was also extremely humble and wanted to be treated like an equal to commoners. He wished to live a peaceful life with his younger sister Kou and without many obligations. His love for Kouhime is unfathomable and would go to extremes to guarantee her safety. After the death of his wife and the depression that followed, she became Nobunaga's sole reason for living, becoming extremely protective and acting as a father figure for her. His sickly body and careless behavior usually causes a lot of stress for her however, and she's constantly worried by her brother's well-being. He has a habit of patting her in the head all the time, something that usually embarasses her when they're in a public area.

He was a good-natured, rational and sensible man that served as a comforting leader to the Oda for as long as he lived, and his serene behavior allowed him to keep composure at all times. However, he was perfectly aware of the warring period he was living in, and wasn't as soft as he seems to be. He's not above of killing or invading other territories for her House's convenience, seeing it as an inevitable outcome of war. He still believes that he would only take as much territory as it was necessary for his clan to survive, but doesn't go against Rance for doing the opposite and respects his approach in the matter. He was almost never seen angry or emotional, and usually kept a jovial and friendly smile with those he associated. He was, however, a carefree and even irresponsible man that wouldn't fully attend his duties, convincing others that things will always work out in the end. Aditionally, despite being a fairly affable and agreeable person, Nobunaga also had another serious and gloomy side that doesn't usually show. The death of his wife years ago impacted him much more than he shows, and he's still deeply depressed by her departure. Despite his lack of motivation to expand or wage war during a Sengoku Era, his subordinates still hold an incredible amount of respect for him, not only for his skills as a leader or a combatant, but as a human being, since the house still retained a considerable number of loyal supporters that fought for him to the death even when the Oda House was at its weakest point before Rance's arrival.

Upon meeting Rance, Nobunaga formed a surprisingly close and solid friendship with the brutish warrior. The two often spent time drinking together and Rance would regularly boast about all his achievements throughout the continent, and while Nobunaga was unsure if he was just making up stories or not, he nonetheless enjoyed the time they would spent together. 3G noted that he was seen much more active and in high spirits with Rance, as his illness usually prevented him from engaging in overtaxing activities. Curiously, he noticed that Rance shared many personality traits with his lost love Kichou, comparing his fiery and bold with that of his deceased wife. He came to trust a lot in Rance to the point of granting him complete command over the Oda House, and he was legitimately surprised by how far Rance was able to expand the clan's territories. Rance also is unexpectedly fond of Nobunaga, and when he fell ill and secluded himself at Honnouji, he made several attempts to try to pay him a visit. Nobunaga also had a close relationship with all his most loyal retainers, such as Ranmaru, Shibata Katsuie and 3G. They all held a deep respect for their lord and he trusted them all more than anyone else.

Unusually for a warlord, Nobunaga greatly enjoyed cooking, a hobby he learned from his wife Kichou. It is for this reason that he opened a Dango Shop with his younger sister, where he was able to sell Dango and tea he prepared while Kou attended the customers. It was a humble shop, but so was Nobunaga and he managed it solely for the enjoyment of it rather to make a profit. It was a successful eating place though, as his cooking was often considered to be excelent, and Kou is a greatly beloved figure for the Oda.

Abilities
One of the greatest talents of JAPAN, Nobunaga was a man well-versed in the art of war. With an extraordinary talent as a commander and a warrior, and a collected demeanor tha allowed him to remain composed even on the turmoil of the battlefield, Nobunaga was able to lead the armies of the Oda to several victories in the campagins he participated in. As the Lord of the Oda House, he has absolute control over everyone in the Oda Army, as well as in the territories that they occupied. He became a famous figure worthy of the praise of other talented warlords thanks to his impressive combat ability, displaying expertise in a vast array of weapons such as Bows, Spears and Swords. Additionally, Nobunaga also had a phenomenal Level Cap of 60, making him one of the greatest prodigies in The Continent.

His greatest skill however is his amazing talent for Jiujitsu, displaying a Lv2 skill for it. His refined and fluid tecnique allows him to disarm with far higher strength than himself, and he was able to even best the extremely skilled swordsman Rance on a duel despite being ill and weakened at the time, although he was still exhaused after a short spar. He enjoys fighting and claimed that his spar with Rance improved his health because he was having fun. His greatest weakness is his fragile and sickly body that often forces him to spend extensive periods of time away from the battlefield, and even when he's in top shape and ready to fight, he's incapable of taking part on lengthy battles without severely dropping his performance. Despite this, he was still able to come out on top of many battles in the Sengoku Era and his fame as a warrior reached even the ears of those of the main land in The Continent. Word of his talent and ability spread to the point of reaching Miracle Tou, who considered him for being part of her theoretical team of the Twelve Knights, which consisted of the most talented men in The Continent.

He's also a very capable cook with a Lv1 Cooking skill. He's the one that cooks in his Dango shop while Kou attends the clients. Even Rance didn't want to admit that his cooking was actually delicious, because he doesn't like eating food made by men.

Nobunaga in Kichikuou Rance
To read about the version of Nobunaga despicted in the non-canon Kichikuou Rance refer to:


 * Oda Nobunaga (Kichikuou Rance).

Trivia

 * Nobunaga came in 2nd place in the "Males" category of the Sengoku Rance Popularity Poll.
 * Nobunaga's character is derived from the historical figure of the same name, who was a powerful warlord active during the late Sengoku era who is credited as having united Japan through military conquest. The historical Nobunaga was known for his ferocity and cruelty, with many fictional depictions making him outright demonic in nature. The Nobunaga of the Rance Series takes a slightly different approach to this concept by making him a heroic character corrupted by the influence of a demonic entity.
 * Nobunaga's wildly different portrayal in Sengoku Rance relative to his character in Kichikuou Rance is the result of a major alteration to Sengoku Rance's story and gameplay during its development. During its initial production, Sengoku Rance was to be a conventional RPG in which Rance would conquer JAPAN while impersonating Takeda Shingen, with a Dark Lord version of Nobunaga serving as the main antagonist much like how he had in Kichikuou Rance. Partway into the development cycle, TADA, the game's director, decided that it would be more interesting if the player began the game at the center of JAPAN so that they would be able to independently choose which direction to conquer the country from. To accomodate this decision, the development team resolved to have Rance ally himself with Oda rather than Takeda, which resulted in Nobunaga's character needing to be rewritten from the ground up to make him an ally rather than an enemy. Even after being modified into an ally character, Orion, the Rance series' main character designer, described early versions of the redesigned Nobunaga as possessing an intense charisma and a willingness to act ferociously towards his enemies, with the laid-back and peaceful personality that he has in the final version of the game only coming about in order to make him seem like a person that could believably befriend Rance.
 * Nobunaga was one of the few male characters that managed to befriend Rance.