With the future being less clear, Sagara’s position is less and less stable, especially with an emotional Nobuna.
What They Say:
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The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With a good mixture of seriousness and simple fun in the previous episode, especially with the whole competition that unfolded, The Ambition of Oda Nobuna has a feeling of getting back to the core story a bit here with a fair bit more seriousness to it. Not that it excludes lightness or levity completely as there’s some smart humor in the opening segment that shows the way the characters all interact with each other. Nobuna’s group certainly has a ragtag feel about it a lot of the time and that allows for a bit more bluntness from some, herself included. Most of her those that are directly sworn and loyal to her tend to be more serious though and that helps to balance things out. Especially in the face of changes that are happening around the country as Takeda and Useugi’s forces have come together now, something that did not happen in the history that Sagara knows.
And as history continues to change, it’s becoming more difficult for Sagara to know his place and value with Nobuna. It’s not so much that he’s looking out for himself, though he should, but it’s primarily about how he can help her to achieve her goals. It doesn’t take much for her to get frustrated with him either at this point, casting him off since he’s going on about how things shouldn’t be happening even as they have happened. His self reflection is decent for what little there is of it, but it’s short lived since there’s someone who wants him as well and has come to take him by force when he least expects it.
It is of course his lot to be used as bait for Nobuna, even as other forces align into battle with some beautifully cinematic moments that are really appealing. It may be filled with more fanservice than is realistic when you get down to it, but it has its appeal as well in making it stand out, especially with the kind of personality that Genji has. Weaving the two stories together with Mutsihide fighting hard while Nobuna moves towards rescuing Sagara works well since it builds up the tension for both of them, but ends it with some striking moments visually.
In Summary:
The Ambition of Oda Nobuna works to solidify a few things here in a pretty good way when it comes to the relationship between Nobuna and Sagara and his knowledge of the future. He has plenty of reasons to be concerned and her age makes things difficult at times since she can be rather emotional and all over the map. That side of the episode is dealt with fairly well overall as it goes along and we do see that while Sagara is taken advantage of, he doesn’t just wait around either. The flip side is the battle that Juubei gets to fight and it’s just strikingly beautiful for much of it as it unfolds, deeply atmospheric and perfectly colored to make it a rich and engaging fight, even if it is forced to bring in more fanservice than it needs.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.