Firstly, let’s get the obvious aging itch off of our chest. Shun, man. Next time you receive a script that calls for a teen role, hand the script to me. Lol. I’d find an age-appropriate Japanese actor to take the part and spare you the ongoing laughs by your peers (I’m seeing Nino’s tiny fingers pointing.) 😀 Anyway, now that we are done with the complaint, I have to say I enjoyed the premiere episode of Nobunaga Concerto, a drama adaptation of the manga series, “Nobunaga Kontseruto” by Ayumi Ishii. I found myself laughing hysterically in certain scenes and I went in NOT expecting it to be funny at all.

Episode 1 Picture Commentary and First Impression:

The premiere wastes no time in establishing the the time travel. The ball begins rolling and we’re introduced to our young old-looking teenager, Saburo (Shun Oguri), as he confesses his love for a girl. However, before the girl can get her rejection out, he runs away and his friends shake their heads, “You need to do something about your habit of running away.” They’re on a filming location and Saburo hops over a wall, meaning to exit the set but he slips and tumbles down into a vast land of grass. When he looks up, he sees someone on a horse with a face identical to his.

That person is the real Nobunaga and he has a favor to ask. He’s also running away from the burdened title of being Oda Clan’s eldest son. He hands Saburo his sword, hops on the horse, and gallops away to a life of freedom. Saburo merely laughs because he thinks he’s part of the script they’re shooting on set.

Seconds later, Nobunaga’s retainers – three of them, arrive, and I only recognize one of them being Tsuneoki Ikeda (Osamu Mukai). They’re worried about his sudden disappearance and when a quick scan up-and-down his wardrobe suggests something is amiss, they’re quick to think that maybe he fell off his horse and struck his head. LOL!

While they contrive of hiding his “memory loss” from the enemies, Saburo snaps a few selcas. They take him home to meet his upset father.

And this is the pose Saburo uses to greet his father and clan. XD

Father Nobuhide.

Younger brother, Nobuyuki (Yuya Yagira), and his loyal guard, Katsuie Shibata (Masahiro Takashima).

They don’t get to talk at all because Oda clan is attacked suddenly and as the battle turns bloody, Saburo slowly realizes they’re not acting, they are killing people for real. This is a real battle!

At home, Tsuneoki explains to Saburo why his life is in danger every second of the day. His younger brother wants to lead the clan and he, Nobunaga, is standing in the way to that seat.

Poor kid. He’s so confused and frustrated. Attempts at running away. heh.

Saburo finally meets Nobunaga’s wife, Kicho (Kou Shibasaki). This scene got me rolling.

haha. The only time a teen willingly goes to bed. After a minute of being nervous, he lies down like so and asks her to do the same.

She doesn’t comply to his wishes so he whips off his robe.

Except the piece hanging around…his little friend is a bit complicated. He asks for her help. LOL!

Surprise, surprise. She slaps him across the face. Gone is the demure act. She screams at him and we finally understand the dynamic of her and the real Nobunaga. He found her tedious and plain and told her to perform her wifely duties and put on a demure act around the elders.

His brother attempts to kill Saburo again and even kidnaps Kichou so that her powerful family would demand the head of Nobunaga for failing to protect his wife. However, through that peril, Kichou sees her husband in a new light when she overhears his words that they should be worried about her safety instead of wars and his head.

I also liked this scene (beside the obvious re-shoot of Shun’s exposed thigh, Lol.) because it gives his brother more dimension as a character. I wish that he didn’t have to die so early. His reason for wanting to kill Nobunaga? Because he is the one with scars and accomplishments in numerous battlefields, while Nobunaga always claimed to be sick and escaped fights, and yet he cannot inherit the clan because he’s the second son. This makes the real Nobunaga look very bad and I’m intrigued as to why he did what he did.

The twist at the end was awesome! At this speed, what I learned or will learn about Oda Nobunaga is all from Jdramas. Thanks to Nobunaga no Chef from last year, I understood the reference immediately.

Another character that I didn’t mention in the recap is Denjiro Tahara (Takayuki Yamada), a mysterious henchman who’s followed by another younger male companion. Crows Zero reunion between the two leaders! Ah!! Nostalgia! Now all we need is sexy Kenta Kiritani to make a cameo!!

And the music. Oh the scores and the instrumentals used throughout are absolutely beautiful.

And I’ll leave you with this screenshot because I have weird thoughts sometimes. But I’m totally not a weird person.

Totally. Not.