English Dub Review: Kochoki “Father and Child”

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Nobunaga is interrupted in his musket display by a young boy named Inuchiyo, later known as Maeda Toshiie, who begs to get work as a page. But this liveliness is itself disrupted by ever growing news that Nobunaga’s father, Nobuhide, is likely on his deathbed, and Nobunaga is having difficulty with the idea that his once powerful father would now be reduced to a sickly old man, let alone be about to die. Tsuneoki tries to keep him stable, but there’s also the matter of the Oda Family’s waning influence and Nobunaga being next in line to take leadership, which many of the retainers aren’t too happy with, preferring Nobuyuki to take over instead despite Nobuyuki not wanting that. But one retainer, Yamaguchi Noritsugi, speaks in Nobunaga’s defense.

But things only get worse, as one of the retainers betrays the Oda clan to steal a deed to some important land and flee to one of their enemies, though Nobunaga won’t hear any talk of someone who fought beside his father being a traitor. Even when Tsuneoki brings up the possibility, Nobunaga ceases talking to him until further notice. Inuchiyo’s antics liven things up a bit, though not enough to rebuild the bridge between the two friends. On the way back from some falconing, Nobunaga sees a funeral for a poor family’s grandfather, which touches Nobunaga in how loved the deceased there was, but making him question how his own father’s retainers will really feel once he’s died.

Soon after, in April 1551, Nobuhide passes away and funeral preparations begin, but Tsuneoki has disappeared to stop the traitor, so Nobunaga chases after to respect his father and save his friend. They manage to defeat the enemy soldiers with Kichou and Inuchiyo’s help, but they kill themselves when cornered. The traitor is revealed to be Yamaguchi, which disturbs Nobunaga because he may have to distrust everyone he thought he could rely on, but Tsuneoki assures him that his own loyalty will never fade.

However, this does lead to Nobunaga missing his father’s funeral, leading the remaining retainers to decide that Nobuyuki is the only choice to succeed rule.

OUR TAKE

I’m still kind of wary of how accurate this story is allowing itself to be for the sake of flourish, but this episode was a pleasant surprise in how much focus we were given into how the power structure of the Oda clan and its members were shaken by Nobuhide’s oncoming death. We only saw him in his prime for a moment in the first episode, but even that was enough for us to feel how much he has weakened since then in the intervening years. Plus, regardless of their feelings, everyone’s places are impacted by this death, and so reactions to it are multi-layered and varied, including Nobunaga’s.

While he hasn’t been the most orthodox son, he still holds his father in high esteem, so the idea that such a man would be close to death is naturally a very hard one to accept. It messes with his judgment, making him revert somewhat to a child who wants his regular life to remain stable, and so is unable to even humor the idea that people who had fought honorably with his father before would ever betray them. In terms of character writing, this also shows us what might have been his and Tsuneoki’s first real fight, which is important for testing their bond and the ever complicating political battlefield Nobunaga will probably be facing going forward along with the literal one.

Also interesting that Kichou and Tsuneoki are getting along so well despite being in roles that might normally put them at odds with one another in more cliché writing. I’ve seen it sometimes be written where a guy’s friends and his wife are seen as opposing sides trying to get the main guy’s free time, but it looks like both of them are, in this case, fully willing to work together for the common goal of helping Nobunaga in whatever way is best for his future prospects. It’s nice to see, though I do hope they get some more scenes together down the line so their potential friendship can be a bit more interesting. With that on top of the other stuff I’ve mentioned, it might be possible that this series will get a pleasant ride out of its historical topic that most westerners like myself normally wouldn’t bother giving a second glance at. But only time will tell in that regard, and speaking of which, it might be time for another major time skip in the next episode.