Sengoku Strays is a historical fantasy shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Shingo Nanami. It ran in Gangan Joker from 2007 to 2014.
It tells about a first year high school girl named Kasane Kusanagi, who learns the art of Kendo from her grandfather and takes care of her young twin brothers ever since their parents died.
One day while walking back home with her brothers after her high school Kendo tournament, one of her brothers finds a strange sword with a gem lying on the road. As he goes to retrieve it, a truck is about to hit him, causing Kasane to jump in to save him. As she is saving her brother from the runaway truck, the sword suddenly teleports her back to the Sengoku Era, where she encounters the feudal lord Oda Nobunaga, who makes her his vassal.
Now as a member of Nobunaga’s army, Kasane must try to protect Nobunaga from his enemies while trying to adjust to life in this ancient surrounding, and must find a way back to her modern era to reunite with her brothers.
Compare with Red River (1995), where a Japanese girl named Yuri gets pulled into the Hittite Empire (located in what we know as Turkey now) and Ouke no Monshou, in which a 15-year-old American girl named Carol Reed is thrown into Ancient Egypt.
Sengoku Strays contains examples of :
- Alas, Poor Villain: It happens to Mitsuru in his own time before taking the identity of Imagawa Yoshimoto in the Sengoku Era. His family was caught up in a scandal that caused them to go bankrupt, and his friends began to hate him. In addition, his father doesn’t care for him at all.
- Be Yourself: In chapter 74, Kasane advices Mitsuru to just be himself rather than being Yoshimoto.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Ideka Tsuneoki may look silly, but don’t be fooled by his appearance, because he is in charge of intelligence gathering and is good at using explosions against his enemies.
- Bittersweet Ending: Kasane finally returned home to her time and is reunited with her younger brothers, but she misses her friends back in the Sengoku period, and since the gem which teleported her back home is broken, she will never see them again. But she will always remember them, and thinks about what their life would be like without her.
- But Now I Must Go: With many conflicts ended and receiving a teleporting gem from Mitsuru, Kasane is finally going back to her era, but not before saying goodbye to her friends from the Sengoku Era, including Nobunaga and the three fools.
- Dead Person Impersonation: Mitsuru uses Imagawa Yoshimoto’s identity since the real one died before he landed in the Sengoku Era.
- Determinator: Kasane will always protect innocent people in the Sengoku Era, and she will not give up on finding her way back home.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Kasane is a girl from the modern era and stuck in the Sengoku Era. Same for Agatsuma Mitsuru, who took on the identity of the deceased Imagawa Yoshimoto.
- Graceful Loser: Mitsuru admits defeat but later escapes from his cell with Asahina's help.
- I Choose to Stay: Listening to Kasane’s advice on just being himself rather than being "Imagawa Yoshimoto", Mitsuru decides to remain in the Sengoku Era, since he feels that he doesn’t deserve to live in the modern era. He gives Kasane the gem which teleported him to the Sengoku Era so she can return home because she has a better family than his.
- Get Back to the Future: Kasane must try to find a way to return to her era.
- Historical Domain Character: This manga takes place in the Sengoku Era, and the character Oda Nobunaga is based on the actual historical figure.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Oda Nobunaga
- Jidaigeki: The main setting of the series.
- Kimodameshi: In the Omake chapter of Vol.8, taking place on a summer day, Oda decides to conduct a test of courage - which is Kimodameshi themed - to test his vassals courage, with hilarious results.
- Ninja: The female ninja trio Kuzunoha
- Power Trio: The Three Fools - Niwa Nagahide (Gorouza), Sassa Narimasa (Kuronsuke)and Maeda Toshiie (Matazaemon)
- Save the Villain: Nobunaga witness Mitsuru escape from his cell, but decided to spare him and let him escape since the real Yoshimoto is dead.
- Supreme Chef: Kasane
- Secret-Keeper: Nobunaga and Toukichirou are the only people who know that Kasane is from a different era.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Kasane cross-dresses as a male soldier in chapter 48 in order to ask Nobuyuki why he betrayed Nobunaga.
- True Companions: Asahina to Agatsuma Mitsuru. Though he is not really his lord Yoshimoto (as Yoshimoto is dead), he still respects him and was the one who let him escape from his cell. Mitsuru decides to let Asahina travel with him to journeys unknown, admitting that he is a worthy companion.
- That Was Not a Dream: After appearing in the Sengoku Era, Kasane thought she was dreaming.
- Trapped in the Past: Kasane is stranded in the Sengoku Era.
- We Can Rule Together: Yoshimoto/Mitsu tries to convince Kasane that if she can help him defeat Oda Nobunaga and build his own empire, then he can send her back home to her era. Kasane refuses.
- Will They or Won't They?: Oda Nobunaga was attracted to Kasane even though he is married to Nouhime, and Kasane felt attracted to Nobunaga but couldn’t admit her feelings to him.
- Wham Line: In chapter 61 Yoshimoto reveals to Kasane that he is Agatsuma Mitsuru, the son of a corrupt finance minister mentioned in chapter 1, and is also stranded in the Sengoku Era like her.Yoshimoto/Mitsuru: My real name is Agatsuma Mitsuru. Like you, I came from the future.
