Literature / The Ambition of Oda Nobuna

"It is the age of the civil wars. The land is divided by powerful warlords, who constantly fight each other. Any internal power struggle is an invitation for your neighbors to attack. So it is decided that the firstborn child, regardless of gender, would become the head of the family. The result of this was the birth of the Princess Generals."

— Opening Narration

Suddenly finding himself in the Sengoku Jidai, Ordinary High-School Student Yoshiharu Sagara is about to be killed on the battlefield. He is saved by none other than the man who later becomes the respected Toyotomi Hideyoshi but at a cost to the latter's life. With history completely changed because of Yoshiharu's actions, he tries to make things right again, but it seems that history is taking a different course than the one he learned in school. Oda Nobunaga is now a brilliant but young girl named Oda Nobuna. Yoshiharu starts working under her command, who nicknames him "Saru", to bring back history to its correct course and find his way back home to the present world.

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna (織田信奈の野望, Oda Nobuna no Yabou) is a Japanese light novel series written by Mikage Kasuga with illustrations by Miyama-Zero (who also illustrated the High School D×D novels), which was published from 2009 to 2019 for 22 volumes. It was adapted into an anime television series that premiered on July 9, 2012.

It can be watched legally in some countries on Crunchyroll. Baka-Tsuki has a translation project for the light novels here.

While the title is based on a pun of the KOEI game Nobunaga's Ambition (Nobunaga no Yabou), they have nothing in common except the 'Sengoku' setting.

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This series provides examples of:

• Acceptable Breaks from Reality:
  • It is something you can expect from a Japanese light novel. For example, Sagara Yoshiharu can suffer multiple tramples and assaults from other female characters without any crippling effect. And the list goes on, especially in the anime.
  • During Volume 4, Akechi Juubei Mitsuhide perform CPR to restart Yoshiharu's heart. Sadly, in reality, CPR is just an emergency action in order to continue the flow of blood into the brain to prevent tissues from dying before any proper treatment is applied. It did not mean to resurrect one that stopped breathing whose heart has already stopped directly. The chance for success is very low. It is truly a miracle that the Monkey managed to survive, but then again, this is a break from reality, and if he died soon, the story would end in Volume 4.
• A-Cup Angst: In episode 2, Yoshiharu casually mentions to Inuchiyo that if she ate more nutritious food, she'd have big breasts like Katsuie. She responds by pulling on his cheeks.
• Adaptation Distillation: The anime puts more emphasis on action and drama compared to the novels, at least in initial volumes. Also, many of the Ecchi moments and characters' comedic traits (which arguably are quite a cliche) are toned down in the anime. In exchange, many of the characters, most notably Sagara himself have most of their more badass moments taken out, toned down, or given to someone else, to emphasize on the remaining cliches, such as his running gag of being a monkey.
• A House Divided: Nobukatsu rebels against Nobuna in episode 2 at the urging of two of his generals. Judging by what Nobuna tells Yoshiharu, it's not the first time he's done it, though she wants it to be the last, and seriously considered killing him until Yoshiharu talks her out of it.
• All Just a Dream: Nobuna has one in episode 11 while in a coma. she dreams that she's marrying Yoshiharu, and then the dream quickly turns into a nightmare as she's instead standing over his coffin.
• All Your Base Are Belong to Us: Nobuna is threatened with this multiple times throughout the series, as her foes try to outwit and outmaneuver her, such as Imagawa's forces invading her lands after Nobuna goes off to rescue Yoshiharu from saving Saitou Dosan in episode 3.
• Alternate Timeline:
  • The fact is plain to see, but it is lampshaded when Goemon and Yoshiharu went to rescue Dousan.
  Goemon: What'll happen in your games?
  Yoshiharu: I don't know, this isn't one of the scripted events!
  • Subverted in Episode 4. When Yoshiharu heard that "Okehazama" is a mountain rather than a valley as depicted historically, he fell into a BSOD because of this. It turns out Yoshimoto was stationed at the foothills which was named after the mountain, so there wasn't an Alternate Timeline after all. ^note Calling Okehazama a valley, while common in traditional historiography, is not in fact accurate. Okehazama is, indeed, a mountain.
  • He begins to worry about this in episode 7 since a lot of things have changed from what he remembers in his timeline, largely because of people who were supposed to have been killed being spared or saved.
• Amazon Brigade: Nobusumi has one. Yoshiharu is not amused.
• Anachronism Stew: Of course. Basically, take most of things with a grain of salt.
  • Nobuna wears a black bra. While there is some possible historical basis, Western-style garments would not have been adopted in Sengoku period Japan.
  • Nobukatsu/Nobusumi's Trademark Favorite Food is the Uirou, which, while is famous in the region, wasn't introduced in what was Owari a century after the Battle of Okehazama.
  • Date Masamune's appearance in Episode 7. The episode was based on events in mid-1568, when real-life Masamune was just one.
  • Episode 8 is mainly about Takoyaki, something that isn't invented until the mid-1930s.
  • Loudspeaker in 16th century? One which could spill out music?
  • Sugitani Zenjuurou as a sniper is historically absurd, as the very concept of snipers originates in the late 1700s/early 1800s, and the matchlocks of the 1500s weren't anywhere near accurate enough for the role. Likewise, nothing like the telescopic sight on his arquebus existed until the early 1800s, and early scopes were much longer than the compact one Zenjuurou uses.
  • Konoe Sakahisa historically died in 1612. The anime made him die 41 years early. Hilarious in Hindsight as historically he became Toyotomi Hideyoshi's pro forma adopted father in 1585 so that Hideyoshi is enough Blue Blooded to become kampaku...
  • Imagawa Yoshimoto is seen playing kemari with Motoyasu in the first episode. There's nothing wrong historically about that, but she's using what seems to be a modern-day Association Football goal post, which isn't invented until the 1880s...
• Animal Motifs: Applied to many characters in either appearance or mannerism.
• Arranged Marriage: Between Asai Nagamasa and Nobuna's little sister, Oichi (historically accurate). But, this "Oichi" is actually an oblivious Nobusumi crossdressing (historically absurd). And this version of Nagamasa is actually a woman. Nobuna had no idea of that when she sent her little brother to marry him. Take that as you will.
• Arrow Cam: An arrow is briefly followed in the beginning of the opening title. Its aimed at Nobuna, but she slices it in half before it hits her.
• Because You Were Nice to Me:
  • Hanbei is essentially won over to Yoshiharu because of this. Yoshitatsu tended to treat her like dirt when he wasn't using her for her strategies in battle, but Yoshiharu was essentially a Nice Guy to her without any ulterior motives.
  • Mitsuhide gives Yoshiharu a charm she created to protect him in episode 10, after he tried protecting her in the previous episode from Danjyou's attack despite her Jerkass attitude towards him up till that point.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Nobuna and Yoshiharu. It has come to the point where her retainers leave them alone when they start bickering.
• Berserk Button: Mitushide's gets pressed after Yoshiharu gets blown up in episode 11. It doesn't do any good however, as Yoshitatsu simply blows her away with his BFG, and she falls from a high mountain.
• BFG: Yoshitatsu carries around a small cannon in episode 11.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • Yoshiharu and Inuchiyo saved Empress Himiko when some Miyoshi lackeys tried to kidnap her in episode 7.
  • Bontenmaru and the Christians daimyos Dom Justo Takayama Ukon and Konishi "Joachim" Ryuusa delivers an epic one in episode 9.
• Break the Cutie: Sakihisa Konoe tries to do this to Nobuna in the latter half of the anime series. It almost works until she remembers events in the past in which Yoshiharu told her not to turn into such a monster.
• Brick Joke: When Nobuna and Yoshiharu arguing after Nagamasa proposed to her, she said that Yoshiharu was about to lose the prettiest girl in Japan. A couple episodes later, when Yoshiharu demanded the prettiest girl in Japan as a reward for his service, Nobuna got flustered.
• The Cavalry:
  • In episode 3, as Yoshiharu and co. are pitted against Yoshitatsu's army, Nobuna with most of Owari Army comes to the rescue.
  • She did it again at the siege of Sunomata castle.
• Cerebus Retcon: The beginning of episode 7 shows the downfall of Ashikaga Shogunate... Which quickly changed into the usual Oda Clan whacky habits.
• Chekhov's Gun: Yoshiharu's phone displays a "battery low" message in the first episode. He uses up the remaining power to save Nobuna with it a second time. This is fairly accurate; most cellphones will shut down from a low battery before the charge is completely gone, and can usually be turned back on for a few seconds.
• Chekhov's Gunman:
  • Oda Nobusumi in episode 4 and 7, and Imagawa Yoshimoto who became the figurehead of Oda Clan as they advanced to Kyoto.
  • Also in episode 7, It's revealed that Saito Yoshitatsu (in a Paper-Thin Disguise) has joined the conspirators of Miyoshi rebellion.
• Chronic Backstabbing Disorder:
  • Asai Nagamasa has a habit of doing this. First by suggesting a marriage and alliance to Nobuna to save Saitou Dousan, and in episode 5, he tries to recruit Hanbei so that Nobuna would be forced to marry him if he had such a skillful strategist with him. Then when Saitou Yoshitatsu tries to kill both him and Yoshiharu, Nagamasa claims he was there to stop Yoshiharu's plan, but Yoshitatsu doesn't buy it, and instead orders his men to seize him.
  • Episode 7 introduces Matsunaga Danjo Hisahide, the worst offender of this trope in the Sengoku period.
  • Nagamasa later concedes to being outclassed by Nobuna, after the arranged marriage. Nobuna sent her brother Nobusumi, in drag, to marry Nagamasa. It turns out that Nagamasa is actually a cross-dressing woman, and she mistakenly concludes that Nobuna knew this all along.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Nobuna stomps on Yoshiharu's head a bit after hearing that he accidentally groped Katsuie in episode 4, and especially because he spared Imagawa simply because she was a cute girl.
  • Done in a cute way with Inuchiyo in episode 12. She just comments that she doesn't like seeing Nobuna so close to Yoshiharu.
• Colour Coded Armies: The banner of each faction during battles. Our heroes' is yellow, by the way.
• Color Failure: Happens simultaneously to Yoshiharu, Nene, Inuchiyo, and Goemon in episode 2 after he realizes that during his mission to make a lot of money, he forgot to buy the rice Nobuna ordered him to. And he now only has a few hours to do it.
• Comic-Book Time: A strange variation. Of course, historical events moves on, but the characters didn't age. Inuchiyo looks the same in episode 2 (based on events in 1556) and in episode 7 (based on events in 1568).
• Conservation of Ninjutsu:
  • Goemon and Inuchiyo defeat a much larger group of ninjas working for the Imagawa. Granted, the two girls did have backup, but they were still outnumbered before stalling the ninjas to give Yoshiharu time to get back to Nobuna.
  • Often played straight in some of the battles as well, where Nobuna manages to win with a smaller force.
• Cooking Duel: Episode 8 has one between Yoshiharu and Mitsuhide. It was both glorious and hilarious, and then...
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Hanbei's combat familiars vs the guards of Inabayama Castle. Hadn't Hanbei fallen sick afterwards, the Castle would have become Yoshiharu's.
  • Hisahide's elephant-riding troops vs Nagahide's foot soldiers. Before Hanbei comes to the rescue the battle only got 5 points in Nagahide's view.
• Cute Bruiser: Inuchiyo and Goemon, the two little girls who hang out with Yoshiharu a lot when he first arrives. They can hold their own against much bigger opponents.
• Cuteness Proximity: Goemon's henchmen fall into this trope when they're around her, especially if she starts stuttering.
• Didn't Think This Through: Yoshiharu sometimes does this, such as when he attempts to save Nobuna at the beginning of the first episode, and is faced with an armed soldier. And later when he rescues Saito Dosan.
• Died Standing Up: One of Goemon's henchmen who takes the spear attack intended for Yoshiharu in episode 11 does this when he holds onto the spear tightly to prevent Yoshitatsu from reclaiming it after he dies. The latter decides to leave it with him and goes after Yoshiharu with a BFG instead.
• Disney Villain Death: Happens to Sakihisa Konoe in episode 12. Nobuna slashes at him, but appears to only have cut his face slightly. He then backs up and a burning building falls on him.
• Distressed Dude: Happens to Yoshiharu in episode 9 as part of a plan to assassinate Nobuna.
• Double Standard: Abuse, Female on Male: Yoshiharu is often subjected to beatings by the female characters, and no one says a word about it. He usually deserves the beating though. Speaking from an Anime POV of course, where domestic abuse is comedic.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Mitsuhide experiences these briefly in episode 9, when Matsunaga told her Nobuna has been assassinated.
• Dying Moment of Awesome: Saitou Dousan tries to invoke this upon himself. Yoshiharu manages to talk him out of it.
• Easily Forgiven: Nobuna seems to utilize this trope quite a bit, in large part due to Yoshiharu. Sometimes the people she forgives helps her out, such as her brother Nobusumi. Other times, not so much, such as Saitou Yoshitatsu.
• Enemy Mine: In episode 12, after the priest who was part of the Miyoshi Three faction is captured, Hanbei immediately frees him and says that putting out the fire started by Sakihisa Konoe is a bigger priority than the current battle.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • The priest who was helping Konoe is appalled by the fact that he ordered the Hiei mountains to be burned, and was planning to blame Nobuna for starting it. He gets captured by Nobuna's forces and tells them about it. Likewise, Tsuda was Only in It for the Money, and seemed skeptical of Konoe's increasingly villainous schemes.
  • Yoshitatsu stops holding Nobuna back from reaching Konoe after she tells him about uniting Japan. While her generals arriving as backup probably played a role, he too wanted to see if she achieve what he and his father couldn't.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Despite Hanbei giving Saitou Yoshitatsu many victories, he can't comprehend why she wants to spare as many enemy troops as possible, and arrests her uncle under suspicions of treason. Yoshiharu does a Shut Up, Hannibal! on him, telling him that a good leader gets as many skilled people as possible. Later, he sees being spared of death as humiliation and plans revenge for it.
  • Sakihisa Konoe, the leader of the Miyoshi Three faction, can't accept that a lowly country daimyo such as Nobuna would be fit to rule Japan, despite the fact that she's won many battles and more importantly, has been winning the hearts and mind of the people. He feels that nobles such as himself are destined to rule over lowly peasants, an idea Nobuna is trying to shatter.
• Faking the Dead: Hanzo and Hanbei's familiar do this to Yoshiharu in episode 11 to save him from Yoshitatsu.
• Food Porn: Never heard about takoyaki? Aren't interested in it? Episode 8 might change your mind.
• Foregone Conclusion: Well, this is historical fiction. The main character's ultimate goal is to avoid one particular tragedy. And to avoid it in a way that leaves both Nobuna and Mitsuhide alive.
• Foreshadowing:
  • At the beginning of episode 2, Nene remarks that ukogi leaves she serves as a breakfast is a recipe to get quick promotion. At the end of the episode, Yoshiharu makes a leap in rank from mere foot soldier into a general.
  • In the opening, Nobuna does atsumori dance in front of a burning temple.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: When Goemon suddenly regained consciousness and sat up after getting shot, Inuchiyo's tiger hat widened its eyes in shock.
• Friendly Enemy: Takeda and Uesugi may be making peace treaties, but they will never join forces, thank you very much.
• From Bad to Worse: Episode 11 cranks the level of angst and drama up to eleven with many on-screen deaths including our protagonist and one major character, leads to Oda Nobuna losing her kindness in favor of revenge where she is willing to burn Hiei Temple down.
• Gender-Blender Name: It is fairly obvious that names like Toshiie, Katsuie, Nagahide, and Yoshimoto are not meant to be used for a girl's name. It's justified, because those are likely eboshi-na (adult names) and is awarded to them after their adulthood ceremony; they have fairly normal adana for girls otherwise (Toshiie's is Inuchiyo, Nagahide's is Manchiyo, and Katsuie's is Riku).
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Inuchiyo does this to Nobuna when she considers going back to try and save Yoshiharu, and starts to break down believing she ordered him to his death. The former tells her that if she does that, then Yoshiharu's sacrifice will have been in vain, since going back would ensure her army gets surrounded by enemy forces attempting to cut off their escape route. Which was the whole reason why Yoshiharu volunteered to delay the enemy forces with a small rearguard attachment.
• The Glomp: As he finds out that Okehazama is actually a mountain, Yoshiharu suffers an Heroic BSoD and glomping Goemon for support. Naturally, her goons are pissed.
  • Nobuna does this in episode 12 after finding out Yoshiharu wasn't dead.
• Happily Married: Mind you the this was not the case in the beginning between Asai Nagamasa and Tsuda Nobusumi, as it was purely a political Arranged Marriage of convenience. However when they accidentally reveal their true genders to each other, Nobusumi became the first male Nagamasa can honestly relate to as a woman; from then on, their relationship steadily grows into a tender and openly-affectionate one, bordering on Sickening Sweethearts level.
• Heel–Face Turn: Several characters do this, largely because they either got screwed by their former masters, or because of Nobuna (mostly through Yoshiharu) sparing them.
• Heir Club for Men: Its aversion is the justification of the existence of female samurai and daimyos.
• He Is Not My Boyfriend: Nobuna attacks Yoshiharu in episode 3 when asked about who she'd marry.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Two of Goemon's henchmen do this for Yoshiharu in episode 11, sacrificing themselves in an attempt to let him escape.
  • Hanbei's familiar sacrifices himself in episode 11, after Hanzo drops the bomb in front of Yoshiharu to fake his death. Hence the body they saw mutilated was his, rather than Yoshiharu's.
• Historical Domain Character: in spades. Not always 'historical' in portrayal, though.
• Historical Gender Flip: Interestingly, not applied to the whole setting. Many major players were Gender Flipped, but some retained their original gender. This is justified as this is an Alternate Universe where equal primogeniture is used.
• Historical Villain Upgrade: Some historical figures receive this treatment. Saito Yoshitatsu and Asakura Yoshikage get it the worst.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Sakihisa Konoe in episode 12, when a burning building, caused by his earlier order to set fire to the forest, falls on him.
• Honey Trap: Yoshiharu's asking Nobusumi to use his Amazon Brigade to delay Yoshimoto's main encampment at Okehazama can be counted as this.
• Honor Before Reason: Applied to Mitsuhide in episode 8. While her heart to help Nobuna unite Japan was in the right place, the way she she did it severely ostracized several of the main characters towards her. See What the Hell, Hero? for a further explanation.
• Humiliation Conga: Nagamasa has to beg to Nobuna for marriage in episode 7 in addition of becoming her ally without any condition in order to save his face. He gets to marry her sister instead, which is just a cross-dressed Nobusumi (luckily, Nagamasa is actually a cross-dressed girl).
• If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Nobuna tries to kill some characters a few times, such as her brother for rebelling, and later when she was intent on burning down Hiei Temple, a very sacred place where the Miyoshi Three deliberately fled to, but each time is talked out of it due to Yoshiharu's influence.
• I Have You Now, My Pretty: Saitou Yoshitatsu tries this with Takenaka Hanbei in episode 5, when he questions her loyalty. Luckily for her, she has some magical abilities to save herself and Yoshiharu.
• Imagine Spot: Yoshiharu has one during episode 7, when he's imagining which girl Nobuna will give him as a reward for capturing Mino. He imagines several of the main women as the "reward", then wonders if it might be Nobuna herself, but tries to beat it out of his head as he imagines her.
  • At the beginning of episode 11, Yoshiharu tries to instill some morale to his troops by saying that the main girls would be waiting for them if they make their escape. They all cheer and imagine the older females, right before an annoyed Inuchiyo pops up from under the screen.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Happens to one of Goemon's henchmen, after he does a Heroic Sacrifice in order to prevent Yoshitatsu from killing Yoshiharu.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Favored weapons for several characters, most notably Mitsuhide and Nobuna (alongside her gun).
• Keystone Army: Despite Imagawa's forces having the upper hand in episode 4, when Nobuna's brother cause Imagawa's main army to get drunk, and then Nobuna herself launches a sneak attack, they pretty much defeat Imagawa's forces.
• Kill the Cutie: Yoshiharu stops Katsuie from killing Imagawa simply to defy this trope.
• Last Episode, New Character: The very end of episode 12 shows a new character when Nobuna mentions still having rivals to defeat.
• Last Stand: A few characters attempt to do this, such as Yoshiharu when he does a You Shall Not Pass! in episode 11 to help Nobuna's forces escape an encirclement trap.
• Large Ham: Bontenmaru in episode 7 during her introduction, and Yoshiharu falls into this trope occasionally.
• Leeroy Jenkins: At the end of episode 11, after being taunted by Sakihisa Konoe, Nobuna storms off from her force's camp, likely to kill that guy. Her generals and advisers are forced to chase after her and likely attack a holy place, which they warned attacking would turn the people against her.
• Lighter and Softer: than the real history. Until episode 10 and 11 at least...
• Line in the Sand: One is drawn for Nobuna in episode 10, when someone has to stay behind to delay the approaching enemy forces. But she's reluctant to order anyone to do it, since that would almost guarantee that whoever has this task will certainly be overwhelmed and killed. So naturally Yoshiharu volunteers himself.
• Loophole Abuse:
  • After Yoshiharu demands Nobuna give him the prettiest girl in Japan to him as his reward for capturing Mino, she tells him to wash up and wait in his room at night. As he has an Imagine Spot wondering who the prettiest girl, Nene, from the early episodes, shows up, much to his shock. It should be noted that Nene married Hideyoshi in history, and since Yoshiharu is acting in Hideyoshi's place...
  • Also done towards Nagamasa earlier in the episode, who gets married off to Nobuna's younger sister, "Oichi" who is actually Nobusumi in drag, and is also wondering what the heck is happening as Nobuna waves "her" off to be married, as he cannot return home till he gets married, and promises an alliance with Nobuna with no strings attached this time around.
• Love Epiphany:
  • When Yoshiharu is imagining which girl is the prettiest, he thinks about the various main women in the show. Then he thinks wonders if Nobuna would be the one. But he immediately tries to dismiss that idea, coming up with various excuses to try not to think about her.
  • Mitsuhide seems to develop a crush on Yoshiharu after he helped save her in Kyoto from Danjyou.
• Male Gaze: Most of the older female characters often wearing interesting clothing outside of battle, and a pretty blatant example in the end credits.
• Meaningful Rename:
  • Oda Nobukatsu changed his name into Tsuda Nobusumi to affirm that he is a changed man.
  • There is a reason Nobuna renamed Inabayama Castle and its city into Gifu Castle. (Gifu is also homophonous to "adopted father," referring to Saitou Dousan)
  • Nobuna stopped calling Mitsuhide "Juubei" when she realized that the young retainer is actually a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing.
• Men Are the Expendable Gender: Played straight. Any on-screen deaths that are shown are usually just ordinary male foot soldiers. The few female combatants seen fighting don't get killed either because they're important characters, or they just simply get defeated without dying.
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Two of Yoshitatsu's retainers join Nobuna's side in episode 6 after he set a trap for both of them along with Nobuna by exploding and setting fire to the mines they were fighting nearby. They originally wanted to kill her before succumbing to the fire, but Nobuna convinces them to live, and manages to blow out an escape route for everyone.
• Mood Whiplash: Plenty. At times this show may seem like a light-hearted romantic comedy, such as the interactions between Nobuna and Yoshiharu outside of battlefields. But you will then often be reminded that this is the Sengoku period in Japan when there was lots of warring going on, such as when Yoshiharu volunteers himself to stay behind and delay enemy forces to give Nobuna enough time to make it back to Kyoto
• Moment Killer: In episode 12, as Nobuna sees Yoshiharu running towards her, he asks her for a kiss, and figures that since she was still in a dream, she might as well give him one. Then she spots several characters behind him watching, and immediately goes into Tsundere mode again.
• Morality Chain: Yoshiharu is this towards 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. And after hearing that he and Mitsuhide were killed in episode 11, she pretty much stops being a nice person and orders her troops to kill everyone they fight. In light novel volume 7, hearing of Yoshiharu's death at the hands of Date Masamune's Oshu army, Nobuna and Mitsuhide resolve to go on a suicide mission to avenge him.
• Ms. Fanservice: Take your pick: gorgeous Tsundere Oda Nobuna, Cool Big Sis with nice legs Niwa Nagahide, fierce busty warrior lady Shibata Katsuie, or maybe Matsunaga Danjyou? ...The list can keep going, though the amount of fanservice itself varies.
• Mundane Made Awesome:
  • In episode 7, Bontenmaru tries to make her introduction impressive. Sadly, only passing-by crows responded.
  • And then there is a battle where Toyotomi Hideyoshi substitute and female Akechi Mitsuhide fight each other with their pride and the future of Oda clan at stake. It's a... Cooking Duel.
• Noblewoman's Laugh: Imagawa does one at the beginning of episode 9.
• Ninja: Yoshiharu is quite shocked to see them for real in episode 4, leading to this Casual Danger Dialogue:
  Yoshiharu: Whoah! A real ninja!
  Goemon: Hey! I'm a real ninja too!
• Not What It Looks Like: Standard comedic routine in the novels. Not so much in the anime. Usually it's Yoshiharu got caught doing something suspicious with another female character by Nobuna.
• Off with His Head!: Yoshiharu and Nobukatsu almost got this fate.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Many historical figures nearly exclusively use their historical childhood names; the most prominent being Maeda "Inuchiyo" Toshiie—he was historically known as Inuchiyo before of age (at 15), but in this series she is nearly always known by that name. Though justified in that Inuchiyo is twelve-year old and the use of childhood nicknames indicating a degree of closeness.
• Our Hero Is Dead: In episode 11, right before Yoshitatsu gets a chance to kill Yoshiharu, Hanzo drops a small bomb in front of him and vanishes. All any of the other characters see is a limb fly out.
• Pillar of Light: Somehow, the intensity of takoyaki-making contest created a huge one.
• Pocket Protector: Yoshiharu gives Nobuna his cellphone in episode 10 before she leaves as something to remember him by if he doesn't make it. It ends up saving her life by slowing down the bullet that she was shot with at the end of the episode. This causes the Miyoshi Three faction to wonder if Heaven itself were protecting her, as well as Nobuna's retainers to comment that even in death he protected her. It ends up saving her again when Konoe tries to stab her with his broken sword, but manages to hit his phone.
• Politically Correct History: In episode 3, several retainers of the Oda clan talk of marriage. While they do talk about marrying for political gain and alliances, ultimately they conclude that it's more about love. While commoners may or may not have done this in the past (and certainly in Yoshiharu's timeline), back around this time period through much of the world nobility often married for political reasons, largely in an attempt to unite lands or nations together. Of course, Nagamasa being a total douche about the whole thing may have contributed no small influence into the group's general disapproval of it.
• Rightful King Returns: Subverted, big time. Imagawa Yoshimoto does have blood ties with the once-ruling Ashikaga Shogunate and Nobuna gains a lot by installing her as the new shogun, but this doesn't meant that she's more righteous than the other candidates. In fact, Yoshimoto is kind of a douchebag, even to Nobuna who once spared her and is now her sole backer.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: In episode 11, Nobuna is pissed after hearing that Yoshiharu was blown up, and Mitsuhide died, and when she's seen on the battlefield again, she orders her troops to kill everyone who fights although the enemy forces opposing her retreat after seeing she's not dead from that assassination attempt at the end of episode 10. Then Sakihasa Konoe further taunts Nobuna by sending Tsuda to her with a peace offering in which a severed monkey statue's head is seen and mocks his death and orders her to give up her conquest of Japan or else he'll kill them all. She then rides off to kill him.
• Rubber Face: Inuchiyo does it to Yoshiharu after he suggests she eat more to get big breasts like Katsuie.
• Running Gag:
  • Goemon can't speak too long (around 40 kanjis, Yoshiharu observed) without pausing, or she'll start stuttering.
  • Nobuna abusing Yoshiharu, usually by kicking him.
  • Yoshiharu = Monkey
• Samurai: This series is about this trope, although Mitsuhide is seemingly the one of most notable example.
• Say My Name:
  • In episode 2, this is used to quell Nobukatsu's rebellion.
  • More dramatic example in episode 6 during the Darkest Hour.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Yoshiharu is a big user of this trope, such as pleading to spare Nobuna's brother after his betrayal, and going on a largely Suicide Mission to save Dosan despite Nobuna's explicit orders not to due to the extremely high risk and low chance of success.
• Seasonal Motif: The ending theme shows transition of seasons from summer till spring. Ironic, considering that It's Always Spring in the anime.
• Secret Test of Character: Hanbei does this to Yoshiharu and Nagamasa in episode 5. He shows them 4 rice buns, and claims one is poisoned, and one will win him over to their side. Both men hilariously eat two each, only to find out that Hanbei tricked them, and that none of them were "correct". He then changes into a giant wolf, and seems ready to assault them, until Inuchiyo "kills" it, and the real Hanbei, a small girl, says she was doing the test to see if they would be angry with her when she showed herself. Yoshiharu, being the Nice Guy that he is, promises not to get mad at her for that.
• Serious Business: Mitsuhide treats the Cooking Duel like this, since she wants to prove that she's better than Yoshiharu and will be the one to help Nobuna unite Japan.
• Sequel Hook: Nobuna and Yoshiharu talk about continuing their conquest of Japan at the end of episode 12, mentioning that there are still many enemies they have to face: Asakura, Asai, Takeda, and Uesugi.
• Shout-Out:
  • As Yoshiharu is a fan of history simulation games from Koei, this is very common.
  • The title is a shout-out to Nobunaga's Ambition (mentioned in-series as Oda Nobunaga-ko no Yabou; the real-life one doesn't have a -ko in it), and Yoshiharu gets his knowledge of Sengoku Jidai from playing that game. Screen caps from that game also appears frequently in the anime adaptation.
  • Uncharted Waters and Taikou Risshiden (the latter being a RPG game based on the life of Hideyoshi) were referenced in the second episode.
  • Old literature such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The Tale of Genji are referenced in episode 5 and 9 respectively.
  • Asai Nagamasa looks a lot like Sasaki Kojiro.
  • Episode 5: "No response. It seems to be a corpse."
  • Hanbei's fear of mean people reminds us of Kotomi.
  • To a degree, Nagahide looks quite similar to Chikaru.
  • Starts wearing a mask after losing a battle so he can have his sweet revenge on the heroes? Guess we finally know where Graham Aker got his inspiration from.
  • Smoking pipe? Summons golden butterflies and is basically known as a witch? Now where did I hear that before?
  • Possible one in episode 10; Nobuna's "Usotsuki! Usotsuki! Usotsuki!"
  • Doesn't Naoki and Naozumi's swords remind you of a certain Dragon Slayer?
• Shower of Awkward: In episode 10 this is how Nobusumi and Nagamasa find out about true genders. Nobusumi happens upon her bathing in the female side of the hot springs at night and startles her who immediately picks up a blade she kept nearby and stands up in the water to fight off the intruder... only to be shocked since Nobusumi is also naked and as her gaze lowers she finds out he's very much a male. And that she's now naked in front of a man. In the ensuing Naked Freak-Out she drops her weapon and dives under the water in shame, although Nobusumi manages to calm her down and they have some Bathtub Bonding and come to terms with their marriage. The scene uses Scenery Censor, Shoulders-Up Nudity and Toplessness from the Back to prevent any important bit from being exposed to the audience.
• Shown Their Work: Historical absurdities and innacurracies aside, the author clearly has done his research, only adding all the craziness for aesthetic purpose.
• The Siege: Yoshiharu is caught in one during episode 6.
• The Stinger: Takeda cavalry march for battle and their Daimyo Takeda Shingen makes an appearance, smirking slyly.
• Storming the Castle: A few examples:
  • Yoshitatsu's forces do this to Yoshiharu's hastily built fort in episode 6.
  • Nobuna does this to the Miyoshi Three forces in episodes 11 and 12.
• Suicide Mission: Yoshiharu often ends up doing several of these, such as attempting to rescue Saitou Dousan, attempting to build a castle overnight across the river from Yoshitatsu's main castle, and later delaying enemy forces to give Nobuna enough time to reach Kyoto with the bulk of their forces.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: In episode 7, Nobuna mentioned Kyoto at a briefing to which Nagahide asked whether she was worried. Nobuna quickly rebutted that she's not worried about Yoshiharu (who was currently investigating in there)...Nagahide might be referring the city, Princess.
• Sweet Polly Oliver: Nobusumi, and Nagamasa later revealed to be one. They got married.
• Tactical Withdrawal: Yoshiharu does this in the second part of episode 10 and the first half of 11 in order to buy time for Nobuna and her main force to escape.
• Take a Third Option: Both Yoshiharu and Nobuna do this on a regular basis, such as his attempt to rescue Saitou Dousan, and Nobuna figuring a way out of Yoshitatsu's trap by the gold mine by using her remaining gunpowder to open a path for everyone, both friend and foe, to escape the fire safely.
• Taking the Bullet: Goemon does this for Yoshiharu in episode 6. She then seems lifeless as he holds her. She was actually okay since she was wearing chainmail, and a small clue is given when the bullet hits her, and you see sparks instead of blood flying. The force of the shot knocked her out cold however, hence the characters' reactions when she seemed limp.
• Taking You with Me: In episode 6, two of Yoshitatsu's generals decide to do this to Nobuna after they both realize he was going to sacrifice them along with her forces in an attempt to save face. However, Nobuna offers them an alternative, to pull out of the trap and live. Her actions of trying to save their lives as well as being a resourceful commander inspires both of them to switch to her side.
• Team Pet: That hawk at the end of the opening theme? It's Nobuna's pet and it has a name in the novel.
• Thanks for the Mammary: Yoshiharu does in order to stop Katsuie from killing Yoshimoto.
• The Day the Music Lied: Smashing through Kanegasaki while epic music is playing, assuring a successful retreat? Not so fast, Nobuna.
• The Siege: Episode 6 has one with Yoshiharu defending a hastily built wooden castle against Yoshitatsu's forces.
• Tsundere:
  • Nobuna has shades of this, and gets particularly dangerous when mixed with his code of honor.
  • Yoshimoto Imagawa does this towards Yoshiharu after he spares her life. She claims her surrender was to save face for him.
  • Mitsuhide goes into Type A mode in episode 10 as she gives Yoshiharu a charm she made to protect him.
• Villainous Breakdown: Happens to Sakihisa Konoe in episode 12 as he fights Nobuna and claims he's going to be the rightful ruler of Japan.
• War Elephants: Matsunaga Hisahide's troops ride these. They were nearly unstoppable until Hanbei suggested using fire to scare the elephants away.
• We Do the Impossible: Although Yoshiharu is the biggest user, Nobuna does this often as well. Because of their success in both on and off the battlefield, many people join their cause as a result.
• Wham Episode:
  • Episode 10 ends with Nobuna getting shot as she's leading her forces back to Kyoto.
  • Then episode 11 has Yoshiharu get blown up, as well as Mitsuhide getting tossed off a cliff after Yoshitatsu shoots at her with a big cannon.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Mitsuhide is so determined to win the Cooking Duel that she doesn't care what happens to anyone else in the process. And even though her food was judged to be terrible, she somehow wins. Then happily gloats about it to Yoshiharu. Several of the characters are so disgusted by her actions that they can't look her in the face, and Nobuna in particular seems rather cold to her despite Mitsuhide's win. At the end of the episode Mitsuhide is wondering why everyone seems so distant to her.
  • Nagahide plans to call Hattori Hanzo out of his questionable action of blowing Yoshiharu into pieces, but it fails because the ninja has returned to Mikawa with his lord.
• You Are Too Late: Invoked in episode 6 after Nobuna reaches the hastily built castle Yoshiharu was defending, and sees it burning. But it turns out he was okay when she sees the gourd she gave him earlier.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness:
  • Yoshitatsu does this to two of his retainers in episode 6 when he sent them to lure Nobuna into a trap, then sets the area they were in on fire, trapping both forces. Nobuna convinces them to live, and figures out a way to escape the fire, causing both of them to do a Heel–Face Turn when they show up to help out Yoshiharu's forces.
  • Those same two guys again wonder if the fire that started in the forest in episode 12 was done under similar conditions that they were put in in episode 6.
• You Shall Not Pass!:
  • Nagahide prevents Nagamasa from attempting to attack Nobuna's forces while she was engaged with Yoshitatsu in episode 6.
  • Yoshiharu attempts to do this in episode 11 to give Nobuna enough time to make it back to Kyoto safely. It works, although Nobuna still gets shot by a sniper, and Yoshiharu as well as Mitsuhide are presumed dead.

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