Nobunagun

Nobunagun

Cover of the first volume of Nobunagun by Earth Star Entertainment, featuring the protagonist Sio Ogura.
ノブナガン
(Nobunagan)
Genre Action
Manga
Written by Masato Hisa
Published by Earth Star Entertainment
Demographic Shōnen
Magazine Comic Earth Star
Original run May 12, 2011 – ongoing
Volumes 5
Anime television series
Directed by Nobuhiro Kondo
Written by Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Music by Yutaka Shinya
Studio Bridge
Licensed by
Network Tokyo MX
English network Crunchyroll
Original run January 5, 2014 – March 30, 2014
Episodes 13

Nobunagun (Japanese: ノブナガン Hepburn: Nobunagan) is a manga series written and illustrated by Masato Hisa. Serialized in Earth Star Entertainment's magazine Comic Earth Star since May 2011, it has been compiled into five tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by studio Bridge was broadcast from January 5, 2014 to March 30, 2014 in Japan. Crunchyroll and Funimation streamed the episodes with English subtitles, which attracted commentaries by anime and manga reviewers who gave it mixed reception.

Plot

To protect the world from the impending invasion of the alien species known only as "Evolutionary Invasion Objects", the supranational organization DOGOO created special warriors through DNA manipulation called E-Gene holders. These E-Gene holders are the reincarnations of various historical figures. Using special weapons called AU balls, E-gene holders can call forth AU weapons with an affinity to their assigned historical figure and use it against the invaders. Sio Ogura is one of them, being the reincarnation of Oda Nobunaga. However, her memories of her past life are limited only by dreams about the military past. Going on a school trip in Taiwan, Ogura gets caught. in the middle of a battle between Evolutionary Invasion Objects and Dogoo's E-gene holders, alongside her classmate Asao Kaoru. When one of the E-Gene holders, the reincarnation of Jack the Ripper, gets incapacitated and Asao ends up in danger when confronting an Evolutionary Invasion object, Sio uses Jack's AU ball to fully activate her E-Gene holder status. She gains her AU weapon, a massive machine gun, and assists the other E-Gene holders to put an end to the Taiwan invasion. After some reluctance, she joins DOGOO at Asao's behest.

Characters

Main characters

The main characters in the series are part of the DOGOO's Second Platoon. They include:

Sio Ogura (小椋 しお Ogura Shio)
Voiced by: Shiori Mutō (Japanese), Jad Saxton (English)[1]
The main protagonist in the series, she is a Japanese student who attends an all-girls school, and the E-Gene Holder of Oda Nobunaga. Her AU weapon is the Nobunagun (ノブナガン Nobunagan)[2] (Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (Japanese), Kent Williams (English)[1]). She is clumsy, but likes military equipment, which her classmates find weird. Her only friend in school is Asao, whom she saves in the first anime episode. Following the Kaohsiung incident, she is recruited to DOGOO, where she specializes as a sniper and strategist. Over the course of the series, she develops feelings for Adam.
Adam Muirhead (アダム・ミューアヘッド Adamu Mūaheddo)
Voiced by: Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Japanese), Jason Liebrecht (English)[1]
One of the first DOGOO members that Sio encounters, Adam is the E-Gene Holder of Jack the Ripper, and his AU weapon is a large hunting knife. Though he and Sio team up in various missions, they still get irritated with each other at times. During the Stone Forest Operation, he transforms his weapon into Nightingale Mode, which channels the spirit of Florence Nightingale. He also develops feelings for Sio.
Mahesh Mirza (マヘシュ・ミルザ Maheshu Miruza)
Voiced by: Nobunaga Shimazaki (Japanese), Christopher Bevins (English)[1]
Mahesh likes cute girls and often enjoys teasing Sio. He is the E-Gene Holder of Gandhi, an AU weapon that produces barriers.[3]
Jess Beckham (ジェス・ベッカム Jesu Bekkamu)
Voiced by: Yū Asakawa (Japanese), Caitlin Glass (English)[1]
Jess is the only other female in the Second Platoon. She easily befriends Sio when the latter joins. She is the E-Gene Holder of Newton, an AU weapon that enables her to manipulate gravity with the only drawback being that the target must be under her massive right foot.[3]

Defense Organization aGainst Outer Objects (DOGOO)

Some of the characters' real names are unknown, and are thus referred to by their weapons which carry the spirits of various historical figures.

First Platoon

Lemon (レモン Remon)
Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō (Japanese), Alison Viktorin (English)[4]
A short-haired woman who is the E-Gene Holder for Geronimo. Her AU weapon is a tomahawk.
Ibukigīn Erdenbileg (イブキギーン・エルデネビルグ Ibukigīn Erudenebirugu)
Voiced by: Mutsumi Tamura (Japanese), Elizabeth Maxwell (English)[5]
A woman who can transform her body into a motorcycle-like machine named Cyx (スーホ Sūho), albeit with treads instead of wheels. She dotes on Geronimo, whom she calls Princess.
Antoni Gaudi (アントニ・ガウデ Antoni Gaudi)
Voiced by: Ayumu Murase (Japanese), Sean Michael Teague (English)[5]
A young boy who is the E-Gene Holder of Antoni Gaudi. His AU ability allows him to cause large sheets of rock to erupt from any ground he touches, even to enclosing an entire town in a hemispherical dome.

Special Squad

Each Special Squad member's AU object is a tool rather than a weapon.

Vidocq (ヴィドック Vidokku)
Voiced by: Akira Ishida (Japanese), Josh Grelle (English)[4]
An arrogant young man whose AU tool is a chair that allows him to calculate various things with the speed of a supercomputer. He is named after François Vidocq.
Hunter (ハンター Hantā)
Voiced by: Makoto Yasumura (Japanese), Ian Sinclair (English)[5]
Infused with the spirit of surgeon John Hunter, he examines the bodies of the Evolutionary Invasion Objects using a set of AU surgical and analytical tools. He is dragged into combat during the Stone Forest Operation; during which he makes a discovery that leads to the success of the operation.
Galiko (ガリ子 Gariko)
Voiced by: Sumire Uesaka (Japanese), Alexis Tipton (English)[4]
A young girl whose AU tool, Galileo, encloses her in a miniature planetarium. She has binocular vision as well as four detachable spherical remote sensor probes named after the Galilean moons of Jupiter. Her probes allows her to see and hear, as well as collect data; however, they must join with her AU tool to transmit the data. She has a crush on Vidocq.

Upper Echelon

Commander (壱与 Iyo)
Voiced by: Ai Satō (Japanese), Rachel Robinson (English)[6]
Leader of Dogoo. She has lived almost two millenniums thanks to DOGOO.
DOGOO (土偶 Dogō)
Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe (Japanese), Monica Rial (English)[6]
An alien whose world was destroyed by the Evolutionary Invasion Objects centuries ago, who came to Earth to stop a repeat of the process by collecting the souls of several various distinguished individuals, turning them into "E-Genes" and imputing them into different bloodlines around the world; it would be gene that would be unknowingly passed down from parent to child until its host awoke and became an E-Gene Holder.
St. Germain (サンジェルマン Sanjeruman)
Voiced by: Kōji Yusa (Japanese), J. Michael Tatum (English)[6]
Second-in-Command of Dogoo. He is the Count of St. Germain, who is immortal and has been with the commander since being asked for help by DOGOO.

Other platoons

Unaffiliated

Some characters are not affiliated with a DOGOO platoon, but are E-Gene Holders:

Other characters

Kaoru Asao (浅尾 かおる Asao Kaoru)
Voiced by: Haruno Inoue (Japanese), Mikaela Krantz (English)[6]
A popular student in Sio's school and the only one who befriended Sio during their field trip to Kaohsiung. After Sio rescues her when the Evolutionary Invasion Objects attack, Asao is inspired to help out and studies to become a nurse.

Media

Manga

The manga chapters of Nobunagun are written and illustrated by Masato Hisa. They have been serialized for the manga anthology book Comic Earth Star from Earth Star Entertainment since its 2011 sixth issue, which was published on May 12.[7] Earth Star Entertainment has been collecting the chapters in tankōbon volumes with the first being published on February 10, 2012.[8] A total of five volumes have been released in Japan as of December 12, 2014.[9]

No.Release date ISBN
1 February 10, 2012[8]ISBN 978-4-8030-0308-6
2 January 12, 2013[10]ISBN 978-4-8030-0414-4
3 September 12, 2013[11]ISBN 978-4-8030-0504-2
4 December 12, 2013[12]ISBN 978-4-8030-0519-6
5 December 12, 2014[9]ISBN 978-4-8030-0620-9

Anime

The production of an anime adaptation was first announced through the June 2013 issue of Comic Earth Star.[13] It was produced by the animation studio Bridge, directed by Nobuhiro Kondo and scripted by Hiroshi Yamaguchi.[14] On December 25, 2013, a preview of the series was exhibited in the Shinbashi Yakult Hall.[15] Tokyo MX, on January 5, 2014, broadcast the first episode, which was subsequently aired by YTV, CTV, BS11, and AT-X.[16] The thirteenth and last episode was aired on March 30, 2014.[17] VAP released episodes 1–6 in a DVD and Blu-ray box set on April 23, 2014, and episodes 7–13 on July 23, 2014.[18] An English-subtitled version started to be streamed by Crunchyroll on January 5, and by Funimation on their video website on the following day.[2][19] In March, Madman Entertainment announced at the Wai-Con it have acquired the series' rights.[20]

The series music is composed by Yutaka Shinya.[14] The opening theme is "Respect for the Dead Man" by Pay Money to My Pain, which is also used as the ending theme for the first episode.[21] The "ver．α" of "Chīsa na Hoshi" (ちいさな星, lit. "A Small Star") by Shiori Mutō, Yū Asakawa and Sumire Uesaka is used as the ending theme from episode two to five, and from episode 11 to 13.[22] Episodes 6 to 10 feature a "ver.β" of "Chīsa na Hoshi" by Shiori Mutō, Chiwa Saitō, Mutsumi Tamura and Ayumu Murase.[23] An official soundtrack was released on February 19, 2014; it consists of the full and the television version of "ver．α" and "ver.β" "Chīsa na Hoshi", and 30 other tracks.[24]

No. Title Original air date
1 "Oda Nobunaga"
"Oda Nobunaga" (織田信長) 		January 5, 2014[25]
Sio Ogura visits Taiwan with her class on a school trip. However, things changes when strange creatures appear out of the ocean, and when a young man appears to cut them down with a massive blade. 
2 "Evolutionary Invasion Objects"
"Shinka Shinryaku-tai" (進化侵略体) 		January 12, 2014[26]
Ogura awakens Oda Nobunaga with her E-Gene and prepares a counterattack with Newton and Gandhi, the associates of Jack. 
3 "Capa's Island"
"Kyapa no Shima" (キャパの島) 		January 19, 2014[27]
Ogura accepts DOGOO's offer and joins them. Ogura begins training with the reincarnation of Robert Capa, who is capable of creating illusory copies of whatever his camera captures. During her training Ogura meets the team of a D-101 Hurricane research crew. 
4 "Hurricane"
"Harikēn" (ハリケーン) 		January 26, 2014[28]
Ogura and the others are sent to deal with an Evolutionary Invasion Object that can ride a hurricane and avenge the deaths of the crew of the D-101 Hurricane research crew that got their plane destroyed by the EIO. 
5 "The Second Platoon"
"Daini Shōtai" (第二小隊) 		February 2, 2014[29]
Ogura is assign to join the DOGOO's Second Platoon which Newton and Gandhi are in. 
6 "Monster Meat"
"Kaijū no Niku" (カイジュウノニク) 		February 9, 2014[30]
The episode shows a mission that the First Platoon is on. 
7 "Musashi Wonder"
"Musashi Wandā" (ムサシ・ワンダー) 		February 16, 2014[31]
The Second and Special Platoon heads to face an Evolutionary Invasion Object that possesses the Musashi. 
8 "Tunnel"
"Ton'neru" (トンネル) 		February 23, 2014[32]
Ogura meets the First Platoon while the Second Platoon are support them on a mission. 
9 "Sio and Kaoru"
"Shio to Kaoru" (しおとかおる) 		March 2, 2014[33]
Kaoru decides to help Ogura while she recovering from the last mission. 
10 "Dogoo"
(DOGOO) 		March 9, 2014[34]
St. Germain's and Commander's past is revealed. Ogura orchestrates a plan to surprise the enemy. 
11 "Operation Stone Forest Part 1"
"Sutōn Foesuto Sakusen Zenpen" (ストーンフォレスト作戦・前編) 		March 16, 2014[35]
Ogura faces the enemy's main battleship while the others follows up with her plan. 
12 "Operation Stone Forest Part 2"
"Sutōn Foesuto Sakusen Kōhen" (ストーンフォレスト作戦・後編) 		March 23, 2014[36]
An unexpected second battleship suddenly appears and captures Nobunagun, but she is determined to fight. 
13 "Nobunagun"
(ノブナガン) 		March 30, 2014[17]

Reception

Anime News Network (ANN)'s reviewers have had different opinions on it. About the premise Carl Kimlinger commented "Sound ridiculous? It is. Ridiculously so. But it's also ridiculously fun." Hope Chapman, on the other hand, criticized its story and animation, asserting it "isn't a terrible show," it is "a cheap imitation of other styles and ideas, and without the looks to compensate, its lack of brains isn't very entertaining."[37] Although criticized it for its generic premise, Theron Martin praised its animation and capacity of entertaining. Martin and Rebecca Silverman commended its "striking visuals" and "visual tricks" respectively.[37][38] Martin, Silverman, Andy Hanley of UK Anime Network and Nick Browne from THEM Anime Reviews praised Sio's characterization, with the latter calling it one of "the show's biggest strengths".[37][39][40] Hanley commented that "its opening episode has been one of the most directly exciting and thrilling of the winter season - a rip-roaring action packed affair that continued into an equally enjoyable second episode." He added, "Nobunagun has managed to exceed our expectations, even if those expectations were 'this will probably be terrible'."[39]

Browne praised the action of "these early episodes" as "well-animated and entertaining". However, Browne stated that it "evolves into a missed opportunity almost immediately" due to "the combination of shallowness and technobabble-ridden battle scenes" and "the sexual harassment jokes".[40] Martin The Fandom Post's Thomas Zoth called it "a delight to watch" and stressed, "Fans of shounen anime, yuri undertones, or action series like Hellsing will probably want to check this out."[41] Another critic from The Fandom Post, Kory Cerjak, wrote that the plot is generic "[b]ut Nobunagun is incredibly fun and the visuals of fighting against the EIOs are incredible." Cerjak pointed the anime feels natural, saying "Execution is key in Nobunagun, and it is above average here."[42] Commeting the last episode, however, Cerjak questioned "Everything returns to the status quo and, while it was fun, I wonder what the point of the entire show was at this point." He declared, "I think its good parts outweigh the bad…that is if you just straight up skip over the bad parts", though.[43] Despite of its "flaws, a great cast of characters, striking visuals, strong musical score and voice acting, and a high-spirited sense of fun help establish the title as a worthy entry in the action genre", according Martin.[38]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lee, Michelle (January 31, 2015). "English Cast Announcement for Nobunagun". Funimation. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Funimation to Stream Buddy Complex, No-Rin, Nobunagun Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Nobunagun Anime Staff, January Premiere Announced". Anime News Network. October 12, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "More Nobunagun Cast! (2/3)". Twitter. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "More Nobunaga Cast! (3/3)". Twitter. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "More Nobunagun Cast! (1/3)". Twitter. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  7. ↑ 2011発売号　バックナンバー (in Japanese). Earth Star Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved July 13, 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 ノブナガン1 (in Japanese). Earth Star Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 ノブナガン5 (in Japanese). Earth Star Entertainment. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  10. ↑ ノブナガン2 (in Japanese). Earth Star Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  11. ↑ ノブナガン3 (in Japanese). Earth Star Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  12. ↑ ノブナガン4 (in Japanese). Earth Star Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Nobunagun Manga Gets Anime About Historical Figures vs. Monsters". Anime News Network. May 9, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 キャスト・スタッフ (in Japanese). VAP. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  15. ↑ メディア・イベント情報 (in Japanese). VAP. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  16. ↑ オンエア/配信情報 (in Japanese). VAP. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 十三ノ銃「ノブナガン」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  18. ↑ "DVD/Blu-ray" (in Japanese). VAP. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Crunchyroll to Stream Nobunagun Action TV Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Madman Entertainment Announcements from Wai-Con 2014". Anime News Network. March 1, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  21. ↑ "織田信長". Nobunagun. Episode 1 (in Japanese). January 5, 2014. Tokyo MX.
  22. ↑ Credits from
    "進化侵略体". Nobunagun. Episode 2 (in Japanese). January 12, 2014. Tokyo MX.

    "キャパの島". Nobunagun. Episode 3 (in Japanese). January 19, 2014. Tokyo MX.

    "ハリケーン". Nobunagun. Episode 4 (in Japanese). January 26, 2014. Tokyo MX.

    "第二小隊". Nobunagun. Episode 5 (in Japanese). February 2, 2014. Tokyo MX.

    "ストーンフォレスト作戦・前編". Nobunagun. Episode 11 (in Japanese). March 16, 2014. Tokyo MX.

    "ストーンフォレスト作戦・後編". Nobunagun. Episode 12 (in Japanese). March 23, 2014. Tokyo MX.

    "ノブナガン". Nobunagun. Episode 13 (in Japanese). March 30, 2014. Tokyo MX.

  23. ↑ Credits from
    "カイジュウノニク". Nobunagun. Episode 6 (in Japanese). February 9, 2014. Tokyo MX.

    "ムサシ・ワンダー". Nobunagun. Episode 7 (in Japanese). February 16, 2014. Tokyo MX.

    "トンネル". Nobunagun. Episode 8 (in Japanese). February 23, 2014. Tokyo MX.

    "しおとかおる". Nobunagun. Episode 9 (in Japanese). March 2, 2014. Tokyo MX.

    "DOGOO". Nobunagun. Episode 10 (in Japanese). March 9, 2014. Tokyo MX.

  24. ↑ "ノブナガン Original Soundtrack" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  25. ↑ 一ノ銃「織田信長」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  26. ↑ 二ノ銃「進化侵略体」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  27. ↑ 三ノ銃「キャパの島」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  28. ↑ 四ノ銃「ハリケーン」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  29. ↑ 五ノ銃「第二小隊」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  30. ↑ 六ノ銃「カイジュウノニク」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  31. ↑ 七ノ銃「ムサシ・ワンダー」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  32. ↑ 八ノ銃「トンネル」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
  33. ↑ 九ノ銃「しおとかおる」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  34. ↑ "十ノ銃「DOGOO」" (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
  35. ↑ 十一ノ銃「ストーンフォレスト作戦・前編」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  36. ↑ 十二ノ銃「ストーンフォレスト作戦・後編」 (in Japanese). VAP. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 "Nobunagun – The Winter 2014 Anime Preview Guide". Anime News Network. January 6, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Martin, Theron (May 8, 2014). "Nobunagun episodes 1-13 streaming". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Hanly, Andy. "UKA Anime Review: Nobunagun - Eps. 1-3". UK Anime Network. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 "Nobunagun". THEM Anime Reviews. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  41. ↑ Zoth, Thomas (January 6, 2014). "Nobunagun Episode #01 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  42. ↑ Cerjak, Kory (January 13, 2014). "Nobunagun Episode #01 – 02 Anime Review". The Fandom Post. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  43. ↑ Cerjak, Kory (March 31, 2014). "Nobunagun Episode #13 Anime Review (Season Finale)". The Fandom Post. Retrieved April 21, 2014.

External links