History Film / Kagemusha

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: "I only stole a few coins. A petty thief. But you've killed hundreds and robbed whole domains. Who is wicked, you or I?"

*** The battle was supposed to be in rough terrain surrounded by forests and streams, and the ground was supposed to have been rained on--which gave Katsuyori a reasonable (if ultimately flawed) assumption that a) the Oda-Tokugawa army's gunpowder would have been wet and unusable; and b) the muddy terrain is as much of a disadvantage to the defenders as it is to his cavalry. The same flawed assumption tends to pop up in multiple battles of the Sengoku period.
*** The cavalry did what they were supposed to do given the terrain (which involved forests and streams), and were banking that the enemies were still scared/demoralized following a recent defeat at the previous Battle of Mikatagahara. The film ultimately ignored that what ultimately failed the Takeda cavalry was [[VictoryByEndurance the endurance of the Oda gunners]] [[{{Determinator}} even while being charged upon multiple directions]]. The Takeda cavalry was indeed doing what they should: they just happened to run against a sturdy wall that was firing back.

** The film's [[https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/images/8393-6dc40105332fcf4aef4b226bf7008cc9/kagemusha_medium.jpg armor for Shingen/the Kagemusha]] explicitly avoided the traditional portrayal [[https://www.samuraimuseum.jp/shop/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/00_top_takeda_mae-1.jpg of Shingen's armor late in life]], which was a striking [[RedIsHeroic red]], [[GoldColoredSuperiority gold]] and white ensemble]].

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: This film, including many other series, helped popularize the image of the Battle of Nagashino as a massive case of TooDumbToLive for Takeda Katsuyori--sending wave after wave of his lightly-armored cavalry against volleys of fire in a dry, open plain--guaranteeing the Takeda cavalry were open season to the enemy gunners. In reality, however:
** The battle was supposed to be in rough terrain surrounded by forests and streams, and the ground was supposed to have been rained on--which gave Katsuyori a reasonable (if ultimately flawed) assumption that a) the Oda-Tokugawa army's gunpowder would have been wet and unusable; and b) the muddy terrain is as much of a disadvantage to the defenders as it is to his cavalry. The same flawed assumption tends to pop up in multiple battles of the Sengoku period.
** The cavalry did what they were supposed to do given the terrain (which involved forests and streams), and were banking that the enemies were still scared/demoralized following a recent defeat at the previous Battle of Mikatagahara. The film ultimately ignored that what ultimately failed the Takeda cavalry was [[VictoryByEndurance the endurance of the Oda gunners]] [[{{Determinator}} even while being charged upon multiple directions]]. The Takeda cavalry was indeed doing what they should: they just happened to run against a sturdy wall that was firing back.

-->'''Nobukado:''' I often [[DareToBeBadass wanted to be myself, to be free]]. [[SubvertedTrope But now I think it was selfish of me]]. [[TheRemnant The shadow of a man can never stand up and walk on its own]]. [[HappinessInSlavery I was my brother's shadow. Now that I have lost him... I don't know what to do]].

** The battle was supposed to be in rough terrain surrounded by forests and streams, and the ground was supposed to have been rained on--which gave Katsuyori a reasonable (if ultimately flawed) assumption that a) the Oda-Tokugawa army's gunpowder would have been wet and unusable; and b) the muddy terrain would nonetheless be as much of a disadvantage to the defenders as it is to his cavalry. The same flawed assumption tends to pop up in multiple battles of the Sengoku period.
** The cavalry did what they were supposed to do given the terrain (which involved forests and streams), and were banking that the enemies were still scared/demoralized following a recent defeat at the previous Battle of Mikatagahara. The film ultimately ignored that what ultimately did in the Takeda cavalry was [[VictoryByEndurance the endurance of the Oda gunners]] [[{{Determinator}} through discipline and being charged upon multiple directions]].

** The cavalry did what they were supposed to do given the terrain (which involved forests and streams), and were banking that the enemies were still scared/demoralized following a recent defeat at the previous Battle of Mikatagahara. The film ultimately ignored that what ultimately did in the Takeda cavalry was [[VictoryThroughEndurance the endurance of the Oda gunners]] [[Determinator through discipline and being charged upon multiple directions]].

->''Swift as the wind.\\
Quiet as a forest.\\
Fierce as fire.\\
Immovable as a mountain.''
-->-- '''Takeda Shingen's ''furinkazan'' banner'''

* KillThemAll: [[spoiler:The Takeda clan perishes under [[GloryHound Katsuyori's]] poor leadership in the final battle. Kagemusha dies too. It's implied some of the leaders [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere fled in time]], however.]] Serving as TruthInTelevision as well, as the Battle of Nagashino was the pivotal battle heralding the downward spiral of the Takeda clan. The Takeda would be finished off seven years later at the Battle of Tenmokuzan.