Nobunaga Concerto Drama First Impressions

Nobunaga Concerto : First Episode Impressions

While channel hopping last night, keeping track of where Typhoon 19 was heading, a random new drama popped on screen. Turns out it was the first episode! I soon found myself getting sucked in because 1) I'm an Oguri Shun fan and 2) It is set around the Sengoku Jidai, and I'm a giant Sengoku nerd. Therefore my interest peaked as soon as I saw the intro. Sengoku Jidai is the era where various samurai clans under the rule of powerful generals fought against each other to unite Japan.

Oguri Shun plays the role of Saburo, a high school student who is poor at studying and pretty unsuccessful with the ladies. In the opening, Saburo finds himself being rejected by a girl at a Sengoku Matsuri, a festival celebrating the famous samurai of the past. While sulking he slips down a hill and smashes his head. Unknowingly slipping through time and arriving in the Sengoku period of 1549. Almost immediately he meets Nobunaga Oda who is the spitting image of himself. Nobunaga is one of the most famous warlords in Japanese history and in this period is the son of a warlord and magistrate of the lower Owari Province. Nobunaga is physically sick and asks Saburo to live his life in his place, under the name Nobunaga Oda.I'm not going to lie, the premise for the series is pretty stupid, and the introduction sequence is full of over the top acting that Japanese dramas are known for. At first I took it for a simple carefree comedy drama, but while it does have many comedic moments it also has a serious side too. At first Saburo treats the world as a joke, thinking that he is still at the festival in modern times. He is still dressed in modern clothing yet has no phone signal, and treats the world as one big stage, much to the embarrassment of his very real retainers. 

Look how stupid he looks!

This is amplified throughout as despite changing into more traditional samurai garb he is still sporting his sneakers and occasionally his hoody. This light hearted tone often made me laugh out loud during some of the more slapstick scenes. Especially when he tries to woo his future wife for the first time, showing clear inexperience!

 However, soon battle breaks out involving Nobunaga's clan, Saburo still assumes that it is a re-enactment and cheerfully walks into battle, almost causing his premature death. It isn't until he is directly attacked, slashed and seeing people die before his eyes that he panics and realises that perhaps the world is real after all! His realisation scene was a powerful moment, however due to drama budget constraints, the battle was very small scale and some of the blood effects were too fake. Ruining the effect. Perhaps I have been spoiled by the recent Kenshin movies.

Another complaint about this drama depiction of the era is that everything is too clean, from the armour to the village. It looks like a set, not a real village and while I realise this is a prime time drama, I felt that it would have had more emotional impact if they tried to make us believe in the world more.

Without revealing the plot of the first episode, several key events occur that push Saburo into power as the leader of his region as well as bringing on the troubles that come with that responsibility. The last thirty minutes of the episode are quite tragic due to the horrors of war and the duty of samurai involved. Saburo grows a lot during a single episode but he still has a way to go! I don't want to say any more for fear of ruining the story but I found myself respecting the drama more and more as the story developed. Becoming less of a slapstick comedy and more of a character development piece.

Having watched the episode with no previous knowledge of it whatsoever it turns out that it is based off a popular manga and anime series of the same title. Needless to say I already have the next episode set to record and am excited to see how Saburo's tale unfolds!

Check out the trailer here!