Nobunaga Concerto

Characters

Shun Oguri plays a dual role in this story: Saburō, a modern high schooler who gets sent back to the Sengoku period, and the real Oda Nobunaga. Because the two look exactly alike, Nobunaga asks Saburō to impersonate him. Saburō occasionally uses a textbook regarding Nobunaga's life to guide events. The real Nobunaga, unable to withstand political pressure, lets Saburō take his place while he travels the country.

He eventually takes over the Akechi Clan after the previous leader had no heir, and serves under Saburō as Akechi Mitsuhide. Nobunaga's wife is Kichō, played by Kou Shibasaki. His younger sister is Oichi, played by Kiko Mizuhara. Kinoshita Tōkichirō, played by Takayuki Yamada, starts as a spy for the Imagawa clan, sent to ruin the Oda.

He tries to incite rebellion through Nobuyuki and acts as a stable boy during the Imagawa advance, but both plans fail: Nobuyuki is betrayed by Katsuie, and a miscommunication leads Tōkichirō to send incorrect info to Yoshimoto, causing Yoshimoto's death at Okehazama. With no place to go, he bides his time under Nobunaga, waiting for the perfect opportunity to kill him. Shibata Katsuie, played by Masahiro Takashima, was originally a retainer of Nobuyuki. He initially tried to kill Matsudaira Motoyasu to show Nobunaga's incompetence, but later realizes Nobunaga has the support of the people and ambition to rule, so he sides with Nobunaga, though he remains baffled by his lord's decisions.

Maeda Toshiie, played by Taisuke Fujigaya, is a violent man found by Nobunaga fighting in the streets. As punishment, he is not allowed to serve in the army until after Nobunaga's first few battles. Sassa Narimasa, played by Shinnosuke Abe, was also violent and was fighting Toshiie when Nobunaga scouted them both. Other characters include Ikeda Tsuneoki (Osamu Mukai), Niwa Nagahide (Masanobu Sakata), Takugen (Denden), and Matsudaira Motoyasu (Gaku Hamada).

Motoyasu, initially a young hostage for the Oda, becomes indebted to Nobunaga after he rescues him from Katsuie's assassination attempt. Given Saburo's modern pornographic magazine, he forms an alliance with the Oda after the collapse of the Imagawa forces at Okehazama. Takenaka Hanbei, played by Naohito Fujiki, initially served Saito Tatsuoki but became dissatisfied with his lord's complacency, took Inabayama Castle for himself, and later joined the Oda forces. Matsunaga Hisahide, played by Arata Furuta, was originally a Yakuza member transported to the past and offers loose loyalty to Nobunaga until he can rebel.

Oda Nobuyuki, played by Yūya Yagira, is Nobunaga's younger brother who spites him; after multiple failed rebellions, he commits suicide. Hirate Masahide, Nobunaga's elderly tutor, is murdered by Kinoshita and another Imagawa spy. Saitō Dōsan, played by Toshiyuki Nishida, is the Lord of Mino and father of Nohime; originally a policeman named Nagai Shinichi who traveled to the past like Saburo, he gives Saburo his uniform, pistol, and letters before being killed by his sons. Yasuke is originally a batter for an unknown professional baseball team, transported to the Sengoku period, where his baseball bat is mistaken as a weapon.

Media

Ayumi Ishii created the manga Nobunaga Concerto, which first appeared in the debut issue of Shogakukan's Monthly Shōnen Sunday on May 12, 2009. The series went on hiatus in March 2023, resumed on July 11, 2026, and will conclude in three chapters. Shogakukan collects the chapters into tankōbon volumes, starting with volume one on November 12, 2009, and reaching 23 volumes by August 10, 2026. A ten-episode anime adaptation, directed by Yūsuke Fujikawa, scripted by Natsuko Takahashi, with music by Masaru Yokoyama, aired on Fuji TV from July 12 to September 20, 2014.

Crunchyroll streamed the series worldwide outside of Asia. An eleven-episode television drama starring Shun Oguri as Saburo and Nobunaga aired on Fuji TV from October 13 to December 22, 2014. A live-action film with the same cast premiered in Japan on January 23, 2016.

As of February 2016, the manga had over 3.5 million copies in circulation. The series placed 10th on Kono Manga ga Sugoi!'s 2012 list of Top 10 Manga for Male Readers. In 2012, it won the 57th Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen category. It was nominated for the 5th Manga Taishō Award in 2012, and ranked 3rd with 57 points.

Did You Know?

• Kinoshita Tōkichirō's incorrect information to Yoshimoto leads to Yoshimoto's death at the Battle of Okehazama.
• Saitō Dōsan is a time traveler like Saburō, originally a policeman named Nagai Shinichi who lived in the Sengoku period for 30 years.