The Legend & Butterfly

Historically this is probably not possible. An enduring love between Oda Nobunaga and Nohime. The costumes are 10/10. OST is 9/10. The prancing and laughing westerners could be eliminated they look stupid.

But Takuya Kimura's acting of multidimensional Nobunaga is praise worthy. His chemistry with Haruka Ayase is bittersweet. The scene when Nobunaga has to bite on his dagger scabbard to hold his tears when seeing Nohime leave tugged on my heart strings. This is an excellent movie. I just wished there would be more emotional depth between those two since they have so much chemistry.

Akechi Mitsuhide is well played. I am surprised at how young the actor was. Overall this is a movie I would recommend to people who enjoy Sengoku era inspired movies.

Super interesting movie rooted in history.

Kimura Takuya plays Nobunaga beautifully starting from a scrappy teenager to the Demon Lord that he is famous for. Ayase Haruka also plays a strong woman who contrasts with Nobunaga. A huge portion of the movie is character development of Nobunaga and Nohime and you can see how their personalities change over time as they're influenced by their situation. Throughout the movie, you also see recaps of major historical events that Nobunaga went through in his conquest to unify Japan.

I love how the movie labels each historical event so that you can read along Wikipedia as you watch the movie, if learning history is your jam.

With two neighbouring kingdom's set for war, their kings decide that the best way forward is for the son of one - "Oda" (Takuya Kimura) to marry the daughter of the other - "Nohime" (Haruka Ayase). Neither are very keen on this arrangement but patrimonial loyalty and all that... An early shoulder massage illustrates really early on that these two are not a marriage made in heaven. Indeed, she proves considerably more adept than him at just about everything and is also unafraid of speaking her mind in front of his nobles - and women, well that just wasn't done! What now ensues does have an element of predictability to it, but this period of 16th century Japanese history is fraught with intrigues, political machinations, duplicity and ambition - and over the next 2¾ hours we have a decently paced unravelling of a generation of dynastic ambitions and manoeuvring that looks good and holds the attention well. Ayase takes the acting plaudits - she delivers well; and the others contribute adequately as the story advances. For me, it was the focus on the internecine society of love and honour your lord whilst you figure out ways to stab him in the back that worked well here. Loads of CGI - well it is 2023, after all, but the costumier and armourer's arts are well represented and the combat scenes spare us the worst excesses of repetition. It's a long slot of your day to commit to on the television, and I wonder if it would look better on a cinema screen, but if it's a genre in which you've an interest, then this is well worth a watch.

21st century has infiltrated the Japanese movie makers. This show focuses on the relationship between the Husband and Wife. And not surprising the Wife is a 21st century western wife with a sharp tongue and attitude, dressed in period costume. The Husband, you guessed it, is a fool and she saves him from death, which now days is credential for any "Independent woman" in a movie, forgetting that this is supposed to be 1500th. So no historical authenticity here, another show to distort history. There are plenty of better movies on this era and plot. Not worth watching.

The characters of two dimensional and the plot is fictional and not based on historical records. Do not recommend it.

Where to start? How about the amazing beauty that is Japan? The amazing camera work in capturing 16th century Japan. Having spent time in Japan, I know there are many well preserved sites from this era. The creators of this film used them well, not overwhelming the story. Such an epic of war, conquest, rise and downfall. The way Lady No inspired the transformation of Oda from a fun loving playboy to a leader of armies is magical. There is enough comedic relief to downtown the horrors and realities of the time. I kind of loved the pseudo ending and wish things had stopped there. I would probably like to watch it again. I cannot imagine a better cast of professionals who fit the parts well. If you don't select this movie for your watch list, you are cheating yourself.