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Maeda Clan

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Debuting in Sengoku Basara 1

    Maeda Toshiie 

Maeda Toshiie

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sb4_render_toshiie_839.png
Voiced by: Tomohiro Tsuboi (Japanese), Andrew Jackson (Devil Kings), Chuck Huber (anime), Skip Stellrecht (Samurai Heroes)

"It would be great if there was a world where everyone could eat in peace..."

Lord of Kaga Province, Matsu's husband and Keiji's uncle. A vassal of Oda Nobunaga, which is surprising considering what a nice guy he is. Has a huge appetite, and is the butt of many jokes.

Known as Lark in Devil Kings.


  • Always Save the Girl: Seems his only rule is to "guard Matsu".
  • Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: Especially when it comes to food, or flying things like ninja.
  • Battle Couple: With his wife, Matsu. They're even referred to as the "Strongest Couple in the Land".
  • Beware the Silly Ones: Even more so than his nephew. He may be a bit slow and simple-minded, but the man will protect his clan until the bitter end.
  • Big Brother Mentor: As Keiji's guardian, he's a mixture of this and Bumbling Dad. They care about each other a lot and though Toshiie seems content to let Keiji make his own decisions, he always keeps an eye on him.
  • Big Eater: He's always hungry and can't fight unless his stomach is full.
  • Boss Subtitles: "The Broadminded"
    • "Toshiie Maeda - Hungry as Ever" in Samurai Heroes.
  • Booze Flamethrower: A few of his attacks involves him taking a drink from his gourd before spitting out flame, including his Limit Break.
  • Butt-Monkey: Keiji's pranks usually end with Toshiie being beaten up or otherwise suffering somehow.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: His first reaction after seeing a ninja is to decide that he wants to fly too.
  • Charged Attack: Almost all of his attacks in Utage can be charged and become stronger if they're released with proper timing.
  • Covered with Scars: Likely a result of getting attacked by bears...
  • Defector from Decadence: As of the fourth game, he's officially left Nobunaga's service. His drama mode in Sumeragi has him decide to deal with his former lord himself.
  • Demoted to Extra: Like several others, Sengoku Basara 3 made him into an NPC, but was made playable in Utage. He's back to being an NPC in the fourth game.
  • A Father to His Men: To complement how motherly Matsu is toward them, Toshiie's troops say that in this sense he is a perfect general.
  • Happily Married: Which makes him the straightest man in the whole verse!
  • Henpecked Husband: In the manga. He also admits that Matsu is scary in the games.
  • Hot-Blooded: Certainly when he's fighting.
  • Loincloth: Basically the only clothing he wears.
  • Manchild: Reacts with childish wonder to new places and concepts.
  • No-Sell: In the fourth game he takes one of Hideyoshi's punches to the chest and it only makes him sweat a little.
  • One Head Taller: Than his wife, since they're the quintessential cute couple.
  • The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Despite being Nobunaga's vassal, neither he nor Matsu (and especially Keiji) are seen doing much for him. Nonetheless they're generally portrayed as loyal to the Oda, not only being worried about Oichi during the third game, but willing to avenge Nobunaga's death at the hands of Mitsuhide.
  • Playing with Fire
  • Power-Up Food: Collecting riceball health items can put him in a powered-up state, in which almost all his attacks come out fully charged. After it wears off however, he'll be left vulnerable as he grabs his stomach in hunger. Since having Matsu as a partner character has her to give free riceballs to the player once in a while, she's a great support character for him in-game.
  • Prongs of Poseidon: Wields a trident, although he still refers to it as a spear.
  • Shell-Shocked Veteran: The anime portrays him as this, due to the horrors he experienced while serving under Nobunaga. Strange considering the above trope.
  • Too Many Belts: Wears them around his arms and legs as well.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene

    Matsu 

Matsu

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sb4_render_matsu_9538.png
Voiced by: Yuko Kaida (Japanese), Tabitha St. Germain (Devil Kings), Jamie Marchi (anime), Erika Lenhart (as Erika Weinstein, Samurai Heroes)

"Even though I am a woman, do not dare take me lightly!"

Toshiie's devoted wife, usually tasked with keeping track of their renegade nephew Keiji. Has been described as "the ideal housewife", and she can still kick butt if she wants to.

Called Bramble in Devil Kings.


  • Lucky for her, Toshi's is bottomless.
  • In the anime she even manages to befriend some enemy soldiers by cooking for them.
  • Transformation Sequence: How she changes from her everyday kimono into her battle dress.
  • Tsundere: Type A. She's very strict with Keiji, but acts incredibly cute and affectionate whenever Toshi is involved.

Debuting in Sengoku Basara 2

    Maeda Keiji 

Maeda Keiji

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sb4_render_keiji_492.png
Voiced by: Masakazu Morita (Japanese), Eric Vale (anime), Matthew Mercer (Samurai Heroes)

"In both love and fights, it feels good when hearts communicate."

An eccentric and happy-go-lucky man, introduced in SB2, who likes food, festivals, and falling in love. He is the adopted nephew of Toshiie and Matsu. He also has a pet monkey named Yumekichi. An old friend of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, until he becomes Drunk on the Dark Side. In the third game, he serves the Uesugi army, and by the fourth game he's become head of the Maeda army.


  • The Ace: Has a well-rounded personality, good looks and popularity with girls, gets along with almost everybody, is a more than competent fighter and possesses diplomatic skills to boot.
  • Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When he and Hideyoshi were set upon by Hisahide in the past, Keiji begged for his friend's life.
  • Allergic to Routine: Why he prefers to hang out in Kyoto partying rather than perform clan duties back home.
  • Amazon Chaser: He falls in love with Magoichi immediately after she delivers a flying kick to his face.
  • BFS: Not as bulky as most, but it's over six foot long (taller than he is) and he wields it one-handed.
    • And when things gets serious, he can connect the hilt and the empty scabbard, turning it into a spear.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Does this in fine style at Sekigahara Invasion. When Ieyasu and Mitsunari refuse his request to end the conflict, he takes them both out with a headbutt to make them listen!
  • Boisterous Bruiser: He's loud, fun-loving, rebellious, friendly, thinks about nothing except fighting, parties and girls... yep, that's Keiji!
  • Boss Subtitles: "Adorned in Beauty and Splendor"
    • Samurai Heroes gives us "Keiji Maeda - Day Dreaming"
  • Booze-Based Buff: One of his skills involves him drinking huge amounts of sake in between attacks, which restores health.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: He calls out to the player at the beginning of the Maeda Kaga Border stage in SB4.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: He's one of the strongest warriors in the series, being able to single-handedly defeat both Ieyasu and Mitsunari in SB3, Yukimura and Masamune in The Movie, and the shogun Yoshiteru in SB4. However, he doesn't tend to apply himself very often.
  • Butt-Monkey: The second season of the anime sees his dreams of a peaceful Japan gets increasingly overshot by Hideyoshi's ambitions, climaxing in being forced to fight Toshiie when the Maeda ally with the Toyotomi and then run over by Hideyoshi when he tries to give him a Last-Second Chance.
  • Character Catchphrase: "Make love, for life is short!"
  • Cherry Blossoms: Randomly appear wherever he goes.
  • Chivalrous Pervert: Just check out his comments on Kasuga's poledancing in Utage.
  • Composite Character: While mostly (and very loosely) based on his historical self, this version of Keiji was at one point close friends with Hideyoshi, a position which in Real Life was occupied by Toshiie.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:
    • Despite commonly being mistaken for an idiot due to his carefree nature, Keiji is not a guy to be messed with.
    • Demonstrated nicely during the movie. He's able to handle a 2 against 1 fight with Masamune and Yukimura and win, with surprising ease.
    • He plays this very straight in his drama route against Yoshiteru in 4. He disarms him, takes a punch from him...and then manages to drop his sword that he threw in the air earlier on both of their heads.
  • Dance Battler: His moveset has elements of this, based on kabuki dance. Leads to Masamune calling him 'The Kabuki King' in the fourth game.
  • Demoted to Extra: Keiji hasn't been a poster boy since his debut in 2, and these days even Masamune and Yukimura's second-in-commands Kojuro and Sasuke as well as Motonari and Motochika get far more merchandise released for them in comparison.
  • Determinator: Episode 13 - after breaking free from his bonds with strength alone, he attacks Motonari with his arms still tied, is shot at repeatedly, fakes his own death, then turns up just in time to stop Motonari and Motochika killing each other.
    • In the second season Masamune commends him for trying to stop Hideyoshi with words rather than force, something nobody else had the guts to do.
  • Distracted by the Sexy: Takes a kick from Magoichi straight to the face in SB3 because he's too busy noticing exactly what her position allows him to see to bother dodging.
  • Double Entendre: Likes making these, particularly around the more naive characters.
  • The Empath: According to Word of God, he's the only man capable of understanding Yoshiteru, something that Kenshin also thought only Keiji could do.
  • Empathy Pet: Yumekichi often copies his movements.
  • Faking the Dead: He has a move that cancels his own death.
  • Fashionable Asymmetry
  • Forgotten Fallen Friend: In SB3 Keiji seems to have entirely forgotten Hideyoshi since his death, and is mostly plagued by boredom and a lack of something to do. It's subverted once you play Keiji's purple path, in which Keiji admits he's just been using that to run away from having to face Hideyoshi's death.
  • Green-Eyed Monster: Keiji admits to Hanbe in his drama route that he was jealous of him for taking his place as Hideyoshi's close friend. At first Hanbe tells him that his honesty won't make him any more willing to let Keiji see Hideyoshi, but once Keiji thanks Hanbe for sticking with him after he killed Nene, Hanbe shows genuine confusion at how and why Keiji had changed so much.
  • Hidden Depths: Make no mistake - just because Keiji prefers to spend his time roaming, it doesn't mean he's useless. He's a competent tactician and fighter. He also genuinely believes in making love and not war.
  • "I Know You Are in There Somewhere" Fight: Tries to get Hideyoshi to come to his senses in SB2 (by punching him in the face no less). It doesn't work, though it likely contributed to Hideyoshi's eventual defeat at Ieyasu's hands.
    • Keiji has another fight with Hideyoshi in his drama route, but this time he lets go of his grudges and tries to come to terms with Hideyoshi's way of life in a last-ditch attempt to make amends with him. Hideyoshi's having none of it, since he believes Keiji was right to walk a different path to him, and makes it clear to Keiji that they'll never go back to being friends no matter how much he changes.
  • Involuntary Charity Donation: Steals no small amount of Hideyoshi's war funds and distributes it amongst the townsfolk of Kyoto during his ending in 2.
  • Leitmotif: Theme of Maeda Keiji.
  • Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Long, beautiful, flowing locks. Heck, most of the girls have shorter hair than him, Oichi being his only rival.
  • Love at First Sight: The start of his relationship with Magoichi in SB3. She dismisses it as a lie, but by the end he really has fallen for her.
  • Love Triangle: Playfully invoked in the second game, when he wonders if Matsu has a crush on him, which she and Toshiie heatedly deny. In the third game he briefly believes himself to be involved in one of these with Magoichi and Motochika.
  • Martial Pacifist: Though he dislikes war and killing, Keiji's always up for a good brawl.
  • The Matchmaker: Seems to have made himself unofficial love guru to the masses, dishing out advice to anyone he thinks needs it.
  • Nice Guy: Keiji only wishes for everyone to get along. He's even friendly and relaxed towards Nobunaga (though it comes with the territory that his family serves him).
    • Beware the Nice Ones: If you well and truly cross the line he will beat you beyond all recognition. One person who crossed that line was Yoshiaki when he kidnapped Matsu in the third game. Suffice to say Keiji's livid:
    Keiji: I will bring you such pain! You will beg me for death!
  • Parental Abandonment: Implied, as Matsu and Toshiie appear to be the only family he has.
  • Parrot Pet Position: Yumekichi often occupies this.
  • Petal Power: If creating a hurricane of cherry blossoms that can cut you to pieces counts.
  • The Power of Love: Believes in this without fail. It's not that he's wrong, it's that everybody else is too jaded/bloodthirsty to listen.
  • Punched Across the Room: Does this to Hideyoshi after defeating him in SB2, before leaving him to think about the choices he's made in life, i.e killing Nene.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Aside from clothing that is either pink or just really gaudy, he also wears flowers in his hair and enjoys dancing.
  • Rummage Sale Reject: His historical counterpart was known for dressing "flamboyantly", so...
  • Self-Restraint: In the first season OVA, he purposefully lets Motonari capture him in order to try and negotiate. It doesn't go quite as planned.
  • Serial Romeo: He's apparently had a lot of conquests in the past (in Heroes he has a lady practically begging him to sleep with her) but seems to love all women, and certainly knows how to treat them right, which prevents him becoming The Casanova.
  • Shipper on Deck: In the anime he's convinced that Kenshin and Kasuga love each other and wholeheartedly supports the relationship, despite Kasuga's embarrassed protests.
  • Single Tear: In the third game he cries one for Hideyoshi after finally coming to terms with his death.
  • Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: He's firmly on the idealistic end and seems to believe that everyone can be reasoned with. Even before Hideyoshi came into the picture, he had tried to talk Oda Nobunaga out of his plans, and later he risked his life trying to get Motonari and Motochika work together against Oda.
  • Spontaneous Choreography: Can induce this with his exclusive item in 2. Using his taunt with it equipped will cause normal enemies in the vicinity to start dancing along with him.
  • Stepford Smiler: Concerning his Dark and Troubled Past. Eventually comes to realise this isn't the way to deal with it.
    Masamune: Keiji, you ever gonna take all this seriously enough to use that sword?
    Keiji: That's where you're wrong. I take everything seriously. Always.
  • The Tease: Especially when it comes to Kasuga and Yukimura.
    • You Need to Get Laid: Outright tells the latter that it's high time he settled down and got married in 3.
  • Took a Level in Badass: At least in the eyes of the fans. See Determinator above.
    • He's definitely taken a level in badass since becoming commander of the Maeda army in the fourth game. Observe.
  • Tragic Keepsake: The good luck charm Keiji wears around his neck actually belonged to Nene. No wonder it looks girly even for him.
  • Unlucky Childhood Friend: To Nene, who married their other friend instead.
  • Walking the Earth: He's known as the "The Maeda Vagabond" for a reason. Although, now that he has become head of the Maeda house as of SB4, this might change.
  • We Used to Be Friends: With Hideyoshi.
  • You Shall Not Pass!: Pulls this three times in the "Retreat at Hasedo" stage in SB2, blocking the player's progress repeatedly in order to allow the fleeing Uesugi army time to retreat.

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