Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Toshiie to Matsu (Toshiie and Matsu) is a live-action drama made in 2002 by the NHK as the 41st of their "Taiga Drama" series (see the relevant article
in The Other Wiki for details) that covers the rise and fall of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ending the subsequent establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate from the perspective of Maeda Toshiie, one of Nobunaga's retainers, and his wife Matsu.
This series provides examples of:
- Beware the Nice Ones - Matsu. Even the other retainers are scared when she gets pissed off.
- Catchphrase:
- Matsu's is "Leave Everything to Me!"
- Nobunaga's is "Is... that so?"
- Creepy Child - Maeda Keijirou, who is, among other things, a little too happy about potentially blowing his entire family to pieces when his stepfather (Toshiie's elder brother) attempts to blockade the order to exile them from Maeda territory.
- Dark Horse Victory - Ultimate control of Japan goes to dark horse candidate Tokugawa Ieyasu by virtue of him out-living all of the other contenders (and killing a few of his rivals).
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Toshiie does NOT like being called "Doggie" (his birth name was Inuchiyo); for Hideyoshi, being called "Monkey" almost becomes his Berserk Button and he holds some serious grudges over being insulted.
- Dope Slap - Toshiie is on the receiving end of a few of these for putting his foot into his mouth.
- Foregone Conclusion - When introducing each major character, the narration explains what happened to them, but the series also speculates quite a bit on what went on behind the scenes.
- Foreshadowing - Happens in-universe when the characters see a portent that means bad things for Oda Nobunaga.
- Gonk - A spectacularly unattractive actor plays Mitsuhide Akechi, and this is quite jarring if the viewer is more used to the prettier versions.
- Honor Before Reason - The Maeda clan in general; Toshiie is the worst offender, but Matsu gets played on a few occasions as well.
- "Just Joking" Justification: Nobunaga tries to blow off the event detailed in What the Hell, Hero? as a joke; it's obvious from the body language of all involved that nobody buys this as an excuse.
- Kissing Cousins - Matsu and Toshiie (first cousins; their mothers are siblings).
- My Girl Is Not a Slut - Toshiie invokes this trope to motivate his otherwise pacifist older brother into fighting.
- Ninja - Toshiie's sister in law is rumored to be one, and she hires a few of them to act as Toshiie's bodyguards after he makes daimyo.
- The Power of Friendship - Toshiie's friendships with Nobunaga and Hideyoshi are what propels him into a position of power, though his sense of honor holds him back just as much; Matsu and Nene's friendship is what keeps things running in the background when Toshiie and Hideyoshi have a brief falling out.
- Rich Bitch - Nene pretends to be this in order to deflect criticism from her husband.
- The Rival - Toshiie and Hideyoshi; furthermore, Matsu considers Tokugawa Ieyasu an enemy because he killed her father in battle.
- Smug Snake - Hideyoshi, who is reviled by his colleagues for being a perennial kiss-up (Hideyoshi justifies it by claiming that he has no other marketable skills); Tokugawa Ieyasu is presented like this whenever he shows up.
- Wham Episode - The revolt at Honnoji still manages to
sock the viewer in the guts even though everyone knows it's coming. - What the Hell, Hero? - On the day of Oichi's marriage to Katsuie Shibata, Toshiie is the only one who dares to protest that Nobunaga has gone too far when he brings out the gold-plated skull of Oichi's first husband Nagamasa Azai and orders her and her new beau to drink out of it.
- Yamato Nadeshiko: Matsu (gracious and scary) is considered to be this by her peers, though she herself is presented as Tsundere around Toshiie.
