This is a list of characters who appear in The Ambition of Oda Nobuna anime series. Most of them are actual historical figures who lived during Sengoku era albeit with different portrayals.
Name Order Confusion warning: Since this series happens in the latter half of 16th century, and most characters (i.e. except Yoshiharu) are based on historical figures of that era, this character sheet follows the "surname first" order.
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Main Cast
Sagara "Saru" Yoshiharu
"With no idea of how to get home, I'll have to survive here. It sucks that it's not Nobunaga, just some snippy little girl named Nobuna, but saving a pretty girl and conquering Japan doesn't sound so bad."
Voiced by: Takuya Eguchi (Japanese), Clint Bickham (English)
An Ordinary High-School Student who suddenly found himself in the Sengoku Era. As he got caught in the middle of battle, the person who is later known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi saved him at the cost of his life. He later encountered Oda Nobuna, a female version of the legendary Oda Nobunaga. Determined to bring history to the right course, he took Hideyoshi's place and worked under Nobuna who nicknamed him "Saru" (Monkey). This mirrors the real-life Hideyoshi's nickname of "Kosaru" (Little Monkey).
- Animal Motifs: Monkey. Thanks to Nobuna.
- Anime Hair: His uniquely shaped hair is there to reinforce his monkey imagery.
- Ascended Fanboy: He's a huge fan of Oda Nobunaga, so he knows a lot about the events of this time period, even if its an Alternate History. Thankfully the situation is similar enough that he's able to predict with some reasonable success about the outcome of various events he encounters.
- Brainy Brunette: His role is using his knowledge about Sengoku History to help Nobuna realize her dreams.
- Butt-Monkey: Why does Nobuna make him her shoe-caretaker? Because it feels good to step on him! And that's only the beginning. Not to say he is indeed called "Monkey."
- Can't Take Anything with You: Averted. He has his cell phone with him when travelled back 450 years in time.
- Changed My Jumper: Averted by the light novel and manga by making him, eventually, wear period clothing. The anime plays this straight; he's always seen either in his school uniform
or a yellow T-shirt, sometimes with period armour on them. - Charles Atlas Superpower: He is quite agile in novels and manga: being able to dodge spears and arrows like a monkey, he was even mistaken for ninja by Imagawa Yoshimoto. The explanation of that feat is that he was good at playing dodge ball during middle school.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Despite knowing that they might change the future and thus nullify his knowlege of his future, he keeps trying to prevent historical tragedies from occuring for the happiness of people he cares about. Especially for Nobuna.
- Determinator: Not even injury dealt by Hattori Hanzo can break his resolve to meet Nobuna.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Despite planning various strategies that turn out to be fairly successful and winning over key allies such as Hanbei, several of the characters still treat him like dirt much of the time. However, a large part of that may be due to his actual or perceived pervertedness throughout the show.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Not only did he travel back in time, but he's also in an Alternate History where major people he remembered in history games as old guys are young women.
- Friend to All Children: Those young girls just keep flocking around him, don't they?
- Green-Eyed Monster: He scratched a pillar once he realized that Nagamasa and Nobuna would indeed look good together.
- The Glomp: He did this to Goemon in episode 4.
- Guile Hero: Since he's not a fighter, he relies on his wits and knowledge of the Sengoku period instead, which helps a lot.
- Harem Seeker: When Kinoshita Tokichirou asked Yoshiharu to carry on his dreams when he died in the latter's arms, Yoshiharu clearly understood "the dreams" to not only unite Japan, but also to have all 14 wives Hideyoshi historically had.
- Heroic BSoD:
- In episode 4, as he realized that he is pretty much being arrogant by putting himself in danger with only his knowledge of history (which he changed himself) to rely on. It doesn't last long, fortunately.
- When Goemon took the bullet for him. He then questions whether it was worth building the castle overnight or not. Fortunately it didn't last long either.
- Hot-Blooded: It doesn't matter to him that Nagamasa is a daimyo, he still wants to hit the bastard for playing with Nobuna's heart.
- I Know Mortal Kombat: How does he become so knowledgeable about history? Well, a lot of playing video games of course!
- Impossibly Delicious Food: His fried takoyaki which was able to put Tsuda and Imai to tears. Maybe because he added mayonnaise in it?
- In-Universe Nickname: Saru (Monkey). It's often used by Nobuna, Katsuie, and Nene.
- Kid with the Leash:
- He is this for Nobuna; Saitou Dousan mentioned in Episode 3 that he is the only person able to prevent Nobuna from becoming the same Jerkass Nobunaga is in our history. And it's shown in his interactions with Nobuna: he stopped her from killing her brother after he rebelled, and often keeps her from doing more potentially harmful things in battle, such as slaughtering their enemies once they've lost.
- After his apparent death, Nobuna becomes more ruthless than ever, proving his position as her Morality Chain to be true.
- Large Ham: Can go into this at times, particularly when excited about something, or arguing with Nobuna.
- Le Parkour: Related to Charles Atlas Superpower above. Implied in the anime during his chasing game with Hanzo.
- Made of Indestructium: His phone has gained the respect of the fans for saving Nobuna's life thrice: distracting Zenjuurou with sound effect, absorbing gunshot impact, deflecting sword thrust, and still remains intact after all that.
- Money Fetish: Shows some shades of this in episode 2.As Yoshiharu swam in his mountain of moneyYoshiharu: "With this much money, the ladies will flock to me!"Inuchiyo: "You are so greedy."Nene: "I'm disappointed in you, Mr. Monkey!"Yoshiharu: "Say what you want! Money is power!"
- Morality Pet: For Nobuna. He helped keep her from killing her brother after he tried to revolt against her, and its his words that calm her anger in episode 12 when she rode off alone to kill Konoe Sakihisa.
- Nice Guy: His perverted tendencies aside, he is quite a decent guy. Apparently this trait is the very reason why some of the girls are very loyal to him.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Mitsuhide's adoration of Nobuna is such that Honnouji is very unlikely to occur as it did in our history. However Mitsuhide's growing love for him ultimately culminates in her wanting to marry him. The jealousy she feels from Nobuna and Yoshiharu's relationship could easily boil over into the events of Honnouji Temple.
- Non-Action Guy: He plays this role in the Oda clan. To be fair, he comes from a relatively peaceful era where being a warrior isn't the standard way of living like during the Sengoku period where he landed.
- Oh, Crap!:
- Episode 1: "Kinoshita Tokichirou? Doesn't that mean you are Toyotomi Hideyoshi?!"
- Episode 2: "I got so obsessed with making money that I forgot my original goal!"
- Episode 4: "Okehazama is a mountain!?"
- Episode 9: "Is history starting to turn in a direction I don't know?"
- Off with His Head!: He almost suffers this fate because he carelessly hit Nobukatsu's head in episode 2.
- Thanks for the Mammary: How he stopped Katsuie from killing Yoshimoto.
- Trapped in the Past: Not that it bothers him much.
- The Strategist: He eventually becomes this. Eighty-two points!
- Took a Level in Badass: In the novels he starts learning to use spear. Anime keeps him a Guile Hero and increases his intelligence accordingly.
- Cruelly Deconstructed by episode 11. Him taking a level in fame and badassery much earlier than the historical Hideyoshinote had been heightens the danger and difficulty of the Retreat from Kanegasaki event, causing he, Mitsuhide, and most of his men's death.
- Tsundere: Just like his Belligerent Sexual Tension partner below.
- Would Hit a Girl: Though, to his credit, he doesn't know they're female.
- You Already Changed the Past: He certainly did.
- Subverted in Episode 9. The Takeda and the Uesugi signed a peace pact over Kawanakajima and formed an alliance, unlike in Real Life they fought over there for a whole decade. This is taken to be a joint effort to invade into Oda territory, but in fact it was a ploy by Asakura to distract the Oda forces away from Kyoto so that they can kill Yoshimoto. Yoshiharu's recommendation of staying put in Kyoto (based on what he knew) turned out to be right.
- Subverted in Episode 9. The Takeda and the Uesugi signed a peace pact over Kawanakajima
- You Will Be Beethoven: Inadvertently takes Toyotomi Hideyoshi's place in history after the former gives his life to save him.
Oda Nobuna
"I'll destroy all the old systems that have wreaked havoc in Japan, and turn this land into a country that can compete with the barbarian nations!"
Voiced by: Kanae Itō (Japanese), Emily Neves (English)
A Gender flipped version of Oda Nobunaga, she is the daimyo of Owari Province. As quoted above, she has a great ambition of unifying Japan and eventually conquering the world. Despite their many similarities, she is notably more emotional and naive than her historical counterpart. She seems to harbor special feelings toward Yoshiharu due to him being the first person to ever understand her ambition (not that she would admit that).
- Aloof Big Sister: to her little brother. Unlike what her real-life counterpart, she didn't kill him, and even saddened she had to do it. Thankfully, Yoshiharu managed to convince her to spare him.
- Anger Born of Worry: tends to deliver this to her monkey, unsurprisingly.
- Babies Ever After: She has a daughter together with Yoshiharu at the end of Volume 22.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With her "Monkey".
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Because he was nice to her, she had to fire Yoshiharu to get him out of harm's way.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Nobuna is usually laid back, but make her angry as some rival daimyo's found out after she heard Yoshiharu died...
- Black Bra and Panties: She has her black bra in plain view most of the (non-war) time.
- Catchphrase: "Dearu ka!" often translated as "I see."
- Combat Pragmatist: She utilizes guns in combat, which around this time in Japan is seen as taboo due to its origins outside of the country. However, the results speak for themselves, and often gives her the upper hand in many battles.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Many people consider her to be a fool while in reality she is perhaps the smartest ruler at the time.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Zigzagged. Her brother thought she is the foolish, but nope.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: still harsher than usual example, but she IS a Tsundere not for nothing. Also borderline to Fiery Redhead.
- He Is Not My Boyfriend: Now Princess, who would you marry? Oh, is it the man you just kicked across the room?
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Oda Nobunaga
- Intelligence Equals Isolation: Not as extreme as being isolated (her retainers are very devoted to her), but before Yoshiharu comes, no one really understood her idealism and advanced knowledge, making her quite lonely.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She is actually quite caring for the people around her. Being a warlord, she has to keep her kindness in limits.
- Katana and Gun: Uses a katana and a matchlock rifle.
- Lame Pun Reaction:"I guest this is the end of Oda clan. We live in Owari after all." note Nagahide:"That joke only gets five points, Princess."
- Lonely at the Top: She once lamented her fear of this."For some reason, all the people I love die quickly."
- Not So Stoic: Her reaction to Nagamasa's marriage proposal is priceless.
- Otaku: Just like her real-life counterpart, she is very interested with western culture (dubbed "barbarian"). Most notably is her use of gunpowder weaponry (her forces make more extensive use of matchlock rifles than the opposing armies, this being one of the Oda clan's major strengths at the start), childish interest on Yoshiharu's smartphone, and possession of globe and organ in her room. She also demanded Yoshiharu to kiss her hand instead of the traditional way of swearing loyalty. Her reason was that "The barbarian way is much cooler and more elegant."
- Panthera Awesome: She does have a tiger motif.
- Parental Abandonment: Her father, Oda Nobuhide, had died due to illness. Her mother outright hates her.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She actually listens to and usually follows the advice of her retainers, particularly Yoshiharu.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: When she is about to behead Yoshiharu and her little brother, her eyes turns red.
- Regent for Life for a Regent for Life: Installed Yoshimoto as their figurehead to legitimize their rule. Since the Shogun is by itself a Regent for Life... Mind you that that was common in that time since a shogun had to descended from the Minomoto clan while the Oda only has a pretty shaky claim to be a Taira descendent.
- Rebellious Princess: The reason her mother hates her.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: When it seems her Monkey and Mitsuhide died to buy her time to escape, she goes on one of these to avenge their deaths and acts more like many portrayals of Nobunaga in the process.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Her appearance in feminine kimono stunned almost everyone. We find out how and why in episode 9.
- Sibling Rivalry: to Nobukatsu. They got better in episode 2, thankfully.
- Start of Darkness: Yoshiharu spends the majority of the time trying to stop Nobuna from turning into a Demon King, whether the cause is the execution of her little brother, the execution of Old Viper, or the execution of Imagawa Yoshimoto. Unfortunately, it doesn't work when the cause is his death.
- Tomboy Princess: In her younger age. Not that she has changed much...
- True Companions: How she considers what her retainers are.
- Tsundere: Compared to the novels, this aspect is actually downplayed in the anime.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: not much shown, but at one point or another, she's seemingly still wanting her mother's approval.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Yoshiharu's presence reinforced this trait of hers.
Oda Clan's Retainers
Shibata "Riku" Katsuie
"Prepare to Die!"
Voiced by: Hitomi Nabatame (Japanese), Carli Mosier (English)
Oda Nobuna's mightiest (and bustiest) general. Officially, she is an aide to Nobuna's younger brother Nobukatsu but her true loyalty lies with Nobuna.
- The Big Girl: She's Nobuna's strongest general, usually fighting at the front lines.
- Book Dumb: She's a competent war aide but is very bad at Math.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: She has a very busty figure, which is frequently noted by the other character, especially Yoshiharu who is so fixated on them to the point of making her uncomfortable. Her breasts even have Jiggle Physics when she's wearing her armor, which should not be possible.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: She can blow away three or four full-grown men by striking the ground with her halberd. No wonder Yoshiharu has to resort to a dirty trick to stop her.
- Defeat by Modesty: This is what happens to her when Yoshiharu has to prevent her from killing Imagawa Yoshimoto.Katsuie: "I've been tainted..."
- Historical Beauty Update: As noted by Yoshiharu..."The Katsuie I know from my games is an old guy with a beard..."
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Shibata Katsuie.
- Multi-Melee Master:
- Her primary weapon in battle is an halberd. A very overtly European-style halberd. More plausible than you might initially think, given that Nobuna is clearly very willing to supply foreign weapons to her soldiers.
- Katanas Are Just Better: It's mostly sheated and rarely used. But she still carries it during the battle.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Her first response is usually this. For example, when informed of Konoe Sakihisa and the Miyoshi faction plotting against Nobuna, Katsuie's immediate suggestion is "Let's kill them all!" The anime toned this trait down where in the novels it's borderline Comedic Sociopathy.
- Prepare to Die: Said to Imagawa Yoshimoto
- Red Baron: The Fierce General Shibata Katsuie.
Niwa "Manchiyo" Nagahide
"Women are not tools of conquest!"
Voiced by: Rei Matsuzaki (Japanese), Molly Searcy (English)
The tactician of the Oda clan. A soft spoken young woman who often becomes the voice of reason for the group. She has a penchant of giving a score to everything, ranging from military tactics, political decisions, to... lame jokes.
- Alliterative Name: Niwa Nagahide.
- Catchphrase: <> Points! Also serves as Running Gag.
- Death Glare: A sign that she is ready to get dangerous.
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Niwa "Gorouzaemon" Nagahide.
- Naginatas Are Feminine: She uses naginata in combat.
- Not So Stoic: Inverted. She can be loud and stern when situation demands.
- The Strategist: Character sheets mentions her as being knowledgeable on Chinese war manuals, such as The Art of War.
- Tranquil Fury: Even when she seems upset, she doesn't seem to lose her composure much, particularly compared to Nobuna. On the battlefield she also seems strangely calm to her opponents.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Soft-spoken and loyal but no push-over. She has inner iron in her mind and outer iron in her hands.
- You Shall Not Pass!: to Asai Nagamasa when he attempted to attack both Nobuna and Yoshitatsu's army as they were in the middle of battle.
Maeda "Inuchiyo" Toshiie
- Voiced by: Misato Fukuen (Japanese), Caitlynn French (English)
A young girl who is the best spear wielder in the Oda clan and works as Nobuna's page. Her house is next door to Yoshiharu's and they often hang out together.
- Badass Adorable: She is not called the best spearman of the Oda clan for nothing.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: Many of the stunts she does would put adults to shame.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Doesn't like how much time Yoshiharu seems to spend with Nobuna and in at least one instance, has to be dragged away when the two start bickering about something. Later, in an Imagine Spot that takes place during episode 11, Yoshiharu mentions women waiting for them back home, and it shows the bigger women, which motivates the soldiers a bit. An annoyed Inuchiyo then pops out from underneath.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Outside tense situations. Particularly when there is food involved."Sweetfish! Sweetfish!"
- Cute Bruiser: She may be tiny, but she can pack quite a punch like Goemon.
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Maeda Toshiie.
- In-Universe Nickname: Unlike Katsuie and Nagahide, everyone does call her Inuchiyo. But, then, since she is Nobuna's page, probably she wasn't known as Toshiie yet.
- Petite Pride: She doesn't want to have big assets."Breasts are just for decoration!"
- Signature Headgear: That tiger head on her head. It's real, only made to look cartoonish so the viewers wouldn't be unsettled and it came from the same tiger that provided the pelt wrapped around Nobuna's waist. She was given the head part as a token of friendship.
- Sleep Cute: A brief moment in episode 2 shows her leaning on Yoshiharu's arm as she is fast asleep. Aww.
- Undying Loyalty: She shares this trait with the other retainers towards Nobuna.
Allies
Hachisuka Goemon
"He is the trunk, and I am the vine hiding in its shade. Together we will make our way in the world. That's our promise."
Voiced by: Tomoko Kaneda (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English)
The leader of Kawanami Ninja Clan (originally a clan of thieves), she was Kinoshita Tokichirou's companion before his untimely demise. She then became Yoshiharu's aide in reconnaissance and also his personal bodyguard. She is not good with long sentences, often resulting in her stuttering.
- Badass Boast: Several.Episode 3: "We will steal the Viper of Mino."Episode 4: (to Yoshiharu) "We will follow you into hell itself."
- Butt-Monkey: To lesser extent than Yoshiharu. Interestingly, this grants her the status of a bro in the eyes of the fans."Whoah! A real ninja!""Hey! I'm a ninja too, you know?!"
- Charles Atlas Superpower: Her agility is simply inhuman.
- Combination Attack: Together with Inuchiyo during the Okehazama battle.
- Composite Character: She is a female fusion between Hachisuka Masakatsu, Hideyoshi's trusted subordinate, and Ishikawa Goemon, a ninja thief executed for trying to assassinate Hideyoshi.
- Cute Bruiser: Like Inuchiyo, she can be quite a deadly fighter despite her small size.
- Historical Gender Flip: Of both Masakatsu and Goemon.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: She leads the Kawanamishu. They consist of over-protective old men, much to Yoshiharu's annoyance.
- Sleep Cute: Together with Inuchiyo, she flanked Yoshiharu from the left during their money-making quest.
- Speech Impediment: Tends to bite her tongue if she talks too much.
- Terse Talker: She has to, or she will stutter. Still a better talker than Inuchiyo, though.
- Undying Loyalty: To Yoshiharu.
- Verbal Tic: -de gozaru.
Akechi "Juubei" Mitsuhide
"I'll do my best to catch up to and surpass Sagara-senpai!"
Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi (Japanese), Krystal LaPorte (English)
A young military tactician who served under Saitou Dousan as his general. When Saitou Yoshitatsu rebelled, she, along with Kichou, sought refuge in Owari.
- Bearer of Bad News: Subverted. The letter Dousan entrusted to her is indeed a bad news for Nobuna. Later, Dousan survived.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: She starts to display this later in the anime series after Yoshiharu helped save her from Danjyou.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: An effect of spell Danjyou casts on her.
- Flower Motifs: The Kikyo, which the Akechi family crest is based on.
- Genki Girl: Under the right circumstances. Like when Yoshiharu became less useful than ever because of the diverging timeline, for example.
- Heroic BSoD: Disappointing Nobuna greatly devastated her.
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Akechi Mitsuhide.
- Katanas Are Just Better: Her weapon, just like the other Mitsuhide.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": She really admires her Nobuna-sama.
- Made of Iron: Seriously, Lady. You got blown by cannon and yet you are able to climb up the cliff you fell into?
- Oh, Crap!: Impossible! The fool had her men light their rifles up!
- Sour Supporter: for Yoshiharu, and Nobuna to some extent. At first, that is. Her sour attitude changed to rivalry towards Yoshiharu and admiration when it comes to Nobuna.
- Token Evil Teammate: In the light novels, we get more insight into Juubei's thought processes. Unlike most of the Oda retainers, she cares very little about the common folk and is willing to sacrifice a great number of lives to fulfill her objectives. For example, she thought nothing of destroying a Christian chuch and possibly killing the nun there due to the benefits she was promised for doing so. In essence, Juubei is closer to the people Nobuna is fighting against than the main retainers of the Oda clan.
- Tsundere: She displays this trope in episode 10 after giving Yoshiharu a protection charm.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: one of her motivations is to make her mother proud.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She is afraid of ghosts.
- Yandere: Shows indications of this. Surprisingly,
it's Nobuna she has a crush on. And later on, her affection turns to Yoshiharu instead, but she is still in denial. As of what's going to be of that later, let us hope Yoshiharu does something about Honnoujinote later on once she truly realizes her own feelings...
Takenaka Hanbei
"You are a dummy, Yoshiharu. Too big a dummy for me to leave you alone. I want to protect you and let you shine, too. Takenaka Hanbei will not serve the Oda clan, but Sagara Yoshiharu."
Voiced by: Yui Ogura (Japanese), Brittney Karbowski (English)
A young onmyoji girl who is also a genius military strategist initially serving under Saitou clan. She took a liking to Yoshiharu's kindness and sincerity, so swore to serve under him.
- Anti-Magic: One of her spells nullified Danjyou's.
- Badass Adorable: A (rather powerful) Onmyōdō and The Strategist, her introductory acts in Episode 5 of the anime are 1) routing Nobuna's army using rocks and fog, and 2) blowing up a castle.
- Barrier Warrior: Zenki protected Yoshiharu, Goemon, and Nagamasa from his fellow familiars' magic blasts.
- Delicate and Sickly: Downplayed compared to many fictional depictions of the underlying Historical Domain Character—she'd only have a fever after using too much magic, but is fine otherwise.
- In the anime at least. In the novels, Zenki reveals that she's always had a weak body and wouldn't live long and at one point she gets so sick that only a really hard to obtain cure can help her. And even then, it's stated that the cure will only prolong her life by a few years at most.
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Takenaka "Hanbei" Shigeharu.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: She claims to be loyal to Yoshitatsu, but he doesn't like that she's allowing his enemies to largely survive despite winning. He later holds her uncle in jail, then threatens to make her a concubine before Yoshiharu and Zenki save her. Since Yoshiharu doesn't want to do anything malicious to her, she decides to serve him instead.
- Nice Girl: Takenaka is one of the most kind-hearted and friendliest characters in the series.
- Noble Wolf: Zenki can transform into one. In the Light Novel, he has a kitsune form while another familiar assumes the wolf form.
- Shrinking Violet: She is very shy at first, and hides behind her double when first meeting Sagara.
- The Strategist: Her exceptional strategies are what allowed Mino to hold out for as long as they did against Nobuna's forces. She also minimizes casualties as much as possible, because she strives to avoid needless bloodshed.
Rival Daimyos and Lords
Imagawa Yoshimoto
"We will enter the capital elegantly and unscathed. That is how a noble fights."
Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese), Nancy Novotny (English)
The Daimyo of Suruga Province. Before her defeat at the Battle of Okehazama, she was the closest warlord to conquering Japan. She was spared the fate of her historical counterpart thanks to Yoshiharu persuading her to surrender. She later on became the Shogun, acting as the figurehead of the Oda clan.
- Bad Boss: She ordered her closest aide to keep attacking despite their already exhausted force and then take the credit of the victory for herself.
- Chekhov's Gunman: She later became the figurehead of Oda Clan (as in, Shogun candidate) during their advancement to The Capital.Historical Divergence
- Defeat Means Friendship: While not an overly active ally as some other characters such as Motoyasu, once defeated she works for Nobuna rather than try to go against her as Saitou Yoshitatsu does.
- The Ditz: Several of Nobuna's retainers comment that she seems to be rather foolish. Nobuna however, prefers that she's air-headed, since it minimizes the likelihood of her attempting to plot things behind their backs.
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Imagawa Yoshimoto.
- I Owe You My Life: The only thing stopping her from retaliating with the rest of her army is that Yoshiharu stopped Katsuie from killing her.
- Keystone Army: Actually Justified. The death or surrender of the lord is the cue for the army to retreat during that period since there are no other reasons for them to keep fighting, especially with a self-centered leader like Yoshimoto. In particular many of these generals are only his/her vassals, who have their own agenda.
- Noblewoman's Laugh: "Ohohohohoho..."
- Pimped-Out Dress: She wears her multi-layered kimono all the time.
- Regent for Life: Named Shogun in Episode 9. However, she's under the control of her own Regent for Life Nobuna... She clearly knows this.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Her real-life counterpart was killed in battle, whereas she was spared here due to the last minute pleading, and groping of Katsuie from Yoshiharu.
- Underestimating Badassery: She underestimated Nobuna so much that she never expected an ambush.
- Villainous Breakdown: "No! I don't want to die!"
- We Have Reserves: She tends to use her retainer's forces to whittle down enemy forces so that her forces will then be able to swoop in and claim victory. This tactic has earned a lot of ire from Hanzo Hattori.
- What Measure Is a Mook?: In addition to the previous trope, she also has no concerns for her retainer's soldiers well-being or the difficulties they encounter while fighting enemy forces. This in stark contrast to Nobuna, who in episode 5 makes sure that all of her retainer's and their soldiers are well fed and relaxing shortly after a hard won battle.
Matsudaira Motoyasu
"Okay! Let's go kick them around then!"
Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori (Japanese), Margaret McDonald (English)
A meek servant of the Imagawa clan and the ruler of Mikawa Province which was under Imagawa's rules. In the future, she would become known as Tokugawa Ieyasu.
- Animal Motifs: the tanuki, which is his historical nickname.
- Beware the Nice Ones: At least Yoshimoto thinks this about her. Considering who she is, Yoshimoto has a reason to.
- Dissonant Serenity: It's quite jarring to see such a young girl ordering her army to kill enemies with such cheeriness and cuteness.
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
- Killer Rabbit: She looks cute and harmless. Again, she's Tokugawa Ieyasu.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: In the light novels, after a comprehensive defeat by Takeda Shingen that mirrors our history, Motoyasu channels her frustration and rage into Taking a Level in Badass. She issues a Dare to Be Badass challenge to her savaged, demoralized troops and lead them to a Big Damn Heroes charge in what they regard as the Last Stand of the Mikawa. They attack the Takeda army from the rear, an army that outnumbers them by a factor of *ten*, much of which is calvary.
- The Pollyanna: Not even a pay-cut can erase her smile.
Saitou Dousan
"To do what others would never consider. That's what it takes to conquer the land."
Voiced by: Mugihito (Japanese), Carl Masterson (English)
The Daimyo of Mino Province. He is an ambitious but very perspective man. Thanks to Yoshiharu's efforts, he decided to make alliance with Oda Nobuna by making her his heir.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Did not show much of it since in the 1550s he's already retired from backstabbing. However, this was sometimes alluded to—when Yoshitatsu mentioned "Mino was built on coup d'Etats," he referred to Dousan, and his being an offender of this was again raised by Matsunaga in the anime finale.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Tried to invoke this upon himself. Yoshiharu managed to talk him out of it.
- Honor Before Reason: Was willing to die in battle against his son's overwhelming forces. Yoshiharu manages to talk him out of it however, claiming that she wanted him alive due to accidentally letting him know earlier that it seemed everyone she cares about ends up dying.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He's the first person to see Nobuna as a useful ally rather than a rival to be defeated, particularly with Yoshiharu's sway. He also tells Nobuna that letting his son live would be a mistake, which later on does cause problems for her.
- Red Baron: The Viper of Mino.
- Shipper on Deck: He mentions wanting Yoshiharu to marry his adopted daughter Nobuna.
- Spared By Adaptation: Historically he died in 1556. In this universe he's still there in 1571.
Saitou Yoshitatsu
"I will let none of the Oda survive!"
Voiced by: Kiyoyuki Yanada (Japanese), Chris Ayres (English)
Saitou Dousan's possibly adopted son. He was denied the land of Mino after Dousan made Nobuna (who he hates) his heir. He rebelled in response, determined to kill his father and take over the land.
- Bastard Bastard: Dousan implied that Yoshitatsu is not his blood son
- Berserk Button: Don't compare him with his father.
- BFG: After one of Goemon's gang manages to take his spear, he starts carrying a cannon. How he reloads it is unclear.
- Composite Character: Yoshitatsu in this universe also had shades of his son Tatsuoki.
- Cool Mask: He starts wearing one when he joins Konoe Sakihisa's conspiracy circle.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Though he was still opposing Nobuna till the end, after she reveals her motives to unite Japan, he steps aside to let her battle Konoe Sakihisa.
- Pet the Dog: He let Hasshi kept his spear in respect of the latter's bravery. After he had impaled the poor guy with it, that is.
- Spared By Adaptation: Historically Saitou Yoshitatsu died in 1561. In this series he's central to the events in 1571.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Despite being spared from death, he joins Konoe Sakihisa's forces opposing Nobuna in the last few episodes.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Does this to two of his retainers by trapping them in a fiery mine with Nobuna's forces. They repay the favor by joining her instead after she saves them from said trap.
Asai Nagamasa
"I pity all the women who try to rule during these civil wars. I'll take advantage of them all."
Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Japanese), Blake Shepard (English)
The young daimyo of the northern Omi Province. Defeating him is required for another daimyo to reach the Capital.
- Abusive Parents: Given an ultimatum by her own father to either forsake her womanhood or be whored off into a marriage of political convenience.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Only time will tell of Nobusumi's love will change her into a better person by Season 2.
- Freudian Excuse: If the alternative to becoming a man is to be a victim, she reasons, then she will become the most cruel, wicked and cunning of men so that she'll never become one.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Nagamasa is revealed to be a woman in episode 10. Nobusumi of all people finds this out, but he's okay with it.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: She chose to become a heartless and treacherous womanizer rather than become a victim.
Date "Bontenmaru" Masamune
"I am the Demon King of Destruction. The beast of apocalypse... Bontenmaru!"
Voiced by: Rumi Ōkubo (Japanese), Margaret McDonald (English)
The Daimyo of Oushu. An eccentric girl who takes a liking to Christianity and Western Culture. A companion of (and being cared for by) Louise Fróis.
- Anachronism Stew: She appeared in Episode 7, which is based on events in 1568. The historical Masamune was only one year old at this time.
- But Not Too Foreign: born out of an adulterous relationship between her mother and an European merchant.
- Calling Your Attack: Played for Laughs with the "Bontenmaru Wants to be Like That Too Super-Sword!"
- Cool Helmet: Her initial appearance in the first episode showed her sporting that legendary helmet.
- Eyepatch of Power: Curiously, it's her left eye that's missing instead of her right one as historically depicted.
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Date Masamune.
- Large Ham: Introducing yourself while Ominous Latin Chanting playing in the background counts. Not that anyone takes it seriously...
- Milking the Giant Cow: Her body language is just as hammy as her way of speaking.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Maybe Yoshiharu would see her in a higher regard had she revealed her full name.
- The real-life Date Masamune didn't assume that name until adulthood.
- Signature Headgear: Wears the horizontal crescent hat like the real-life Masamune.
Takeda Shingen
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Takeda Shingen.
- Last Episode, New Character: Appears at the very end of episode 12 shortly after Nobuna mentions still having many rivals to defeat.
- Red Right Hand: Takeda clan insignia tattoo above her breasts.
Konoe Sakihisa
- Voiced by: Seiro Ogino (Japanese), Mark X. Laskowski (English)
The kampaku who has controlled the politics and nobility of the country from behind the scene. He staged a conspiracy against Ashikaga Shogunate involving Miyoshi faction and some other big names in order to seize control over Japan.
- Blue Blood: The Konoes are the most blue-blooded people in Japan aside from the imperial family as they're the most senior branch of the Fujiwaras. This is his motive for setting up the conspiracy, as he thought the most blue-blooded person should rule Japan.
- Historical Domain Character: this time he was not Gender Flipped.
- Kick the Dog: So, Oda Nobuna is grieving for her beloved retainers' death, huh? Let's send her a gift, then.
- Villainous Breakdown: Has one hell of a mental meltdown when he is wounded by Nobuna in their battle.
Matsunaga "Danjyou" Hisahide
"Distrust. Obsession. Ambition. The seeds will grow by feeding upon these feelings. I can't wait till they bloom."
Voiced by: Masumi Asano (Japanese), Shelley Calene-Black (English)
A female daimyo notorious for her treacherous nature. A practitioner of witchcraft, she is a part of the conspiracy behind the downfall of Ashikaga Shogunate.
- Ambiguously Brown: Deconstructed as she mentioned she was discriminated against because of this (at least in this universe).
- Blood Knight: She got visibly aroused seeing Mitsuhide's fighting prowess...
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: The worst offender of this trope in history. Not so much at this point.
- Everybody Calls Him "Barkeep": "Danjyou" is an abbreviation of her nominal title, the Danjyoushuu.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Eventually, she follows the pattern of her historical counterpart and betrays Nobuna for real..
- Heel–Face Turn: Joins up with Nobuna's forces after surrendering.
- Historical Gender Flip: of Matsunaga Hisahide.
- Lady of Black Magic: An evil and manipulative female daimyo and a practitioner of evil and powerful witchcraft.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: The dark feminine to Nagahide's light feminine.
- Manipulative Bitch: From time to time, even almost made Nobuna to wage brutal war to avenge the (supposedly) dead Yoshiharu and Mitsuhide.
- Morph Weapon: Her smoking pipe can change into either spear or sword.
- Parental Substitute: In the novels, Nobuna sees her as mother figure since she's much older than her, even after she betrayed her.
- Psycho Supporter: Despite appearances, she is completely loyal to Nobuna and always works towards Nobuna's best interests. Unfortunately as this trope implies, Danjyou's idea of Nobuna's "best interests", and the means to attain them, diverge sharply from Nobuna.
- Red Baron: The Witch of Civil Wars (Sengoku no Majou).
- Smoking Is Cool: Especially if your smoking pipe doubles as your magic wand.
- Straw Nihilist"My wish is to burn this whole country to the ground."
- Token Evil Teammate: She may have joined up with the Oda clan, but her manipulative and ruthless personality hasn't changed.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: Where she keeps a vial of mysterious medicine.
- War Elephants: She rides one and leads an army of elephant-riders.
- Zero-Approval Gambit: Her final betrayal of Nobuna involves one of these. Danjyou still sees herself as a surrogate mother to Nobuna. She is rebelling for real so that Nobuna will be forced to kill her, or at least corner her to the point where Danjyou could plausibly commit suicide. She explains to the heartbroken Nobuna that this is so that Nobuna can placed all the blame for atrocities attributed to the Oda, and Nobuna herself, on Danjyou's shoulders. As it stood the Oda could conquer but could not govern as the nobles and peasants both feared and hated Nobuna. With Danjyou's death, much of this can be washed away. After all the older woman is a notorious villain and manipulator.
Asakura Yoshikage
"The Fool Princess marching on the Capital? These are dark times indeed."
Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura (Japanese), Greg Ayres (English)
The great Daimyo from the famous Asakura clan ruling over Echizen Province. Appears as a flamboyant young man, he is also a part of the conspiracy behind the downfall of Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
- The Casanova: Failed to get his hands on Yoshiaki, he set his eyes on Imagawa Yoshimoto.
- The Chessmaster: Among his pieces are both Takeda and Uesugi.
- Historical Badass Upgrade: He's historically seen as an incompetent ruler.
- Stalker with a Crush: Is obsessed with making Nobuna his.
- The Unfought: He never fights Nobuna's forces personally in the anime. He does at least send his forces out to meet theirs near the end of the show.
- Wife Husbandry: What he plans to do with Oda Nobuna and her younger retainers, is even referred to as the 'Hikaru Genji of this age' by Shoukakuin Gousei.
- Wine Is Classy: He sips the hell out of his wine.
Other Characters
Kinoshita Tokichirou
"My dream to have a country and a castle, and all the girls... You fulfill it!"
The original Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the (supposed) unifier of Japan. He died by stray bullet when trying to save Yoshiharu in a battle. In his last moment, he entrusted his dreams to Yoshiharu.
- Artistic Age: He already has appearance of middle-aged to old man when he died. Historically, he should've just about 24 years around that time.
- Dirty Old Man: Considering how old he looks, and how young the majority of female characters are, he certainly would have been one had he of lived.
- Harem Seeker: As he lays dying, he tells Yoshiharu to acquire a harem of women, which was his dream.
- Heel–Face Turn: He was in the process of defecting from Imagawa when he met Yoshiharu.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: In a way, Yoshiharu is certainly not disgusted by Tokichirou's too-openly honest desire to have many women.
- Passing the Torch: He tells Yoshiharu before dying to live out his dream of acquiring a harem. And since Yoshiharu knows what this man historically did, he's got a big pair of shoes to fill.
- Posthumous Character: Is killed moments into the first episode saving Yoshiharu.
- Sacrificial Lion: He was the freaking Toyotomi Hideyoshi!
- Small Role, Big Impact: Saves Yoshiharu at the beginning, and asks him to become the famous man the former knew him as.
Hattori Hanzo
"I, Hattori Hanzo, never let my prey escape."
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese), Leraldo Anzaldua (English)
A highly skilled ninja working under Matsudaira Motoyasu. Although he also aids Imagawa Yoshimoto, his loyalty lies with Motoyasu and he always proritizes her interest above Imagawa's.
- Chain Pain: He uses a kusarigama in melee combat.
- The Dragon: To Imagawa while Motoyasu, his lord, was serving her. He becomes an Anti-Hero afterwards.
- Dragon with an Agenda: He neglected to tell Yoshimoto of an ambush from Nobuna. It's for Motoyasu's sake.
- Honor Before Reason: In episode 4, although he could have easily killed Yoshiharu, and thus ensured Nobuna's defeat, he lets him go after the latter promises that Nobuna would treat his master, Motoyasu, much better than while she was serving Imagawa. At the beginning of episode 5, Motoyasu, as well as her soldiers, are indeed being treated much better than when Imagawa was in charge of them.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: He doesn't like Imagawa ordering his lord Motoyasu around, and forcing the latter to utilize a Red Shirt Army for her. But he stays loyal to her and fights against whoever his enemy is at the time, whether its against Yoshiharu in episode 4, or helping him against Yoshitatsu later on in episode 11.
- Smoke Out: Whenever he needs to disappear.
Nene
"Ta-da! Nene, The prettiest girl in Japan!"
Voiced by: Natsuki Kitakata (Japanese), Allison Sumrall (English)
Historically speaking, Nene was the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Here, she is a young girl and Yoshiharu's neighbor. Her father had shown interest to marry her to Yoshiharu which he rejected. Later, Nobuna arranges her to be Yoshiharu's adoptive little sister to keep an eye on him so he won't act perverted to other women.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: By adoption, although she's not very often annoying.
- Cheerful Child: She acts this way in almost every scene she's in.
- Nice Girl: Sweet, kind-hearted, friendly, and loyal. Apparently, this trait is one of the main reasons why Yoshiharu doesn't mind having her has his younger sister.
- Supreme Chef: Even leaves tastes good when she cooks them.
Oda Nobukatsu/Tsuda Nobusumi
"I'll be reborn and work for you, my sister!"
Voiced by: Emiri Katou (Japanese), Shannon Emerick (English)
Oda Nobuna's younger brother. Had Nobuna not been born, he would have become the heir of the Oda Clan. A conflict with Yoshiharu and persuasions from his advisors led him to rebel against her sister. Fortunately, because of Yoshiharu's wit, he surrendered and was later forgiven by Nobuna. He then changed his name from Oda Nobukatsu to Tsuda Nobusumi and strove to help his sister in her conquest.
- Amazon Brigade: He has one. Yoshiharu is not amused.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: And quite harsher than usual examples, since he had his own army, too. Thankfully, they got better in episode 2.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He was missing from episode 3, but he played quite an important role in the Okehazama Battle.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Rebels against Nobuna in episode 2, and from what Nagahide asks Nobuna, it's not the first time he's done this.
- Composite Character: He is the fusion of several Oda clan members.
- His namesakes are Oda Nobuyuki aka Nobukatsu and his son Nobusumi.
- Later he was sent off as Nobuna's "sister" Oichi—historically existed but not in this universe—to marry Asai Nagamasa. This marriage historically existed, if not Gender Flipped.
- His namesakes are Oda Nobuyuki
- Disguised in Drag: Nobuna forced him to dress as a girl named Oichi to be married with Nagamasa. Hilariously, as Nagamasa discovered he is a boy, so is Nobusumi discovered Nagamasa is a girl.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: He thought he's the responsible while Nobuna is the foolish, but nope.
- Harem Seeker: This brat once boasted that he will bring all the cute girls to Owari after he defeats Imagawa and Saitou. Yoshiharu even hilariously admits defeat after seeing a harem he has in episode 4.
- Happily Married: To Asai Nagamasa, when he promised her that she can be herself when they are together.
- KidAnova: His Amazon Brigade demands "some time together with him" after helping the Oda army locate the Imagawa camp. Later he knocks up Nagamasa.
- Put on a Bus: Sent away as a woman to marry Asai Nagamasa. A pretty bold marriage fraud. Even better, it works.
- Spared By Adaptation: In Real Life Nobunaga lured Nobukatsu/Nobuyuki into the former's castle and killed him in 1557.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Uirou.
Saitou Nouhime
Known by her maiden name, Kichou, she is Saitou Dousan's daughter, and thus Yoshitatsu's younger sister. During Yoshitatsu's rebellion, she, accompanied by Mitsuhide sought refuge in Owari.
- Demoted to Extra: Since she's not gender-flipped, then she won't fill the role of Nobuna's spouse. In the novels, Yoshiharu almost thought they would be before Inuchiyo corrected him that they'll be just adoptive sisters.
- Historical Domain Character: She was Oda Nobunaga's wife in real life. In the novels, she became Nobuna's adopted little sister.
Himiko
"I wanted to see it for myself. I need to go outside to see how much the people were suffering. Regardless of the future, this hell is reality right now."
Voiced by: Sumire Morohoshi (Japanese), Luci Christian (English)
The head of Yamato court What?. Said to be an incarnation of the Gods who built Japan, she is worshipped and became a crucial part in Konoe Sakihisa's conspiracy.
- Composite Character: She represents any number of Emperors that were on the throne in the period. There're exactly 3: Go-Nara, Ougimachi, and Go-Youzei.
- Distressed Damsel: She willingly let herself be taken by Danjyou to protect Yoshiharu and Inuchiyo's lives.
- Meaningful Name: She is named after the semi-mythical shaman-queen of Yamatai.
- Miko: She wears the traditional miko uniform, fitting with her namesake, who was said to have been a shaman as well as a political ruler.
- Mysterious Waif: She barely has any screen time, yet is considered to be quite a powerful figurehead. Even Konoe Sakihisa kisses up to her somewhat.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: She averted She Who Must Not Be Seen, below, because she was never referred as to the empress. While the description above would cause any reasonable Japanese to recognize her as the empress, nobody referred to her as such in-universe.
- She Who Must Not Be Seen: Averted, somewhat: As a rule of thumb, The Emperor of Japan (the actual, historical or even fictitious ones) never appear or ever being mentioned by name in any Japanese media outside news stories and government propaganda. For avoid offending the Japanese Imperial Family, Himiko is a female emperor, not to mention being a Composite Character of many of them— and on top of all, she wasn't directly referred to as one (see No Celebrities Were Harmed, above). Even so, Japanese viewers found themselves not at the position to make fanarts of her, clean ones included; the number of art including her on Pixiv is in the single digit.
- Telepathy: She is able to read Yoshiharu's mind simply because he held her hand when leading her to safety. It's through this that she realizes that despite being a pervert, he's a good person. As a result, she also feels that Nobuna would be the best choice to unite Japan as well.
- Wise Beyond Her Years: She is quite intelligent despite her seemingly young age.
Louise Fróis
"To end the wars and make a nation where everyone can live happily. That is God's wish. And my dream."
Voiced by: Rina Sato (Japanese), Kasi Hollowell (English)
A Portuguese missionary befriending (and babysitting) Bontenmaru.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: she is kind, as expected as a nun should be.
- Historical Gender Flip: Of Luís Fróis
- Naughty Nun: often mistaken as this by enemy Mooks.
- Technical Pacifist: She will hold Bontenmaru's leash, except when the opposing side starts to get violent.
Tsuda Soukyuu
- Voiced by: Kanehira Yamamoto (Japanese), Scotty Fults (English)
A highly successful merchant from Sakai, he is said to be willing to do anything for profit. He is a part of Konoe Sakihisa's conspiracy.
- Only in It for the Money: He only joins in Sakihisa's conspiracy hoping to get rich from it.
Shoukakuin Gousei
- Voiced by: Eiji Miyashita (Japanese), Rob Mungle (English)
The master monk of Hiei mountain temple who hates foreigners. Also part of Konoe Sakihisa's conspiracy.
- The Fundamentalist: While it is not stated in anime, Gousai hates foreigners for spreading Christianity.
