Sengoku Basara/Characters/Oda Clan

Oda Nobunaga
"Voiced by: Norio Wakamoto (Japanese), Gary Chalk (Devil Kings), John Swasey (anime), John Fitzgerald (Samurai Heroes)"

""All that stands before us shall turn to dust.""

Imagine every single Evil Overlord trope that one can ever use. Good. Now turn it Up to Eleven. You've got the Sengoku Basara version of Oda Nobunaga. Uses a Sword And Sawed-Off Shotgun combo in combat, along with his Badass Cape. His main goal throughout the game is pretty much to, you guessed it, Take Over the World (starting with Japan) and run everybody to the ground.

He returns in the third game, having escaped from hell with a set of new powers and the desire to tear this world a new asshole. Well, that's just great.

Was the titular Devil King of the Devil Kings game. - ""A man named Oda Nobunaga... I have never heard of that man.""
 * Back From the Dead: Makes a dramatic comeback, this time as a fully fledged demon who just wants to destroy the world once and for all.
 * Badass
 * Badass Cape: It has a mind of its own!
 * Badass Creed: "Tenka Fubu" or "the world under military rule".
 * Also his very first speech from the anime about worshipping him is quite epic.
 * Like a Badass Out of Hell
 * Beard of Evil: Has an eeevil moustache.
 * Bonus Boss: Basically this in the third game, where his stage is only unlocked for other characters after Oichi beats him as a True Final Boss.
 * Card-Carrying Villain: Maybe you noticed, what with all the spikes, and thunderclouds, evil laughter and the Ominous German Chanting in the anime. Or him proudly proclaiming himself the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven with a swish of the cape.
 * Cast From Hit Points: His 'Scorched Earth' Super Mode in the third game drains health while active. However, it also prevents him from dying while active. It's also somewhat mitigated by the fact that his element lets him drain health from enemies.
 * Casting a Shadow
 * Classic Villain: The sinister appearance, megalomaniacal personality and Norio Wakamoto on his vocal cords alone should tell something about him.
 * Dissonant Serenity: His behaviour in the third game. Nobunaga is always perfectly calm and never raises his voice apart from the occasional Evil Laughter while you're playing, never shows any sign of anger, and praises his enemies for standing up to him.
 * Dramatic Thunder: Taken to extremes in the anime, where he is followed everywhere he goes by dark clouds, thunder and lightning.
 * Eviler Than Thou: In the anime,
 * Evil Is Hammy:
 * Evil Laugh: If anything manages to amuse him, it usually means you're screwed. In the third game it's more an Evil Chuckle.
 * Evil Overlord: If he does manage to take over the country. In the anime he starts off like this.
 * Evil Sounds Deep: Of course, it's Wakamoto. His voice in Samurai Heroes is pretty intimidating as well.
 * Excuse Plot: His 'story' paths in Samurai Heroes have only one story-significant cutscene, which is after defeating Mitsuhide in the red path. His stories can basically all be summarized as "Oda Nobunaga beats up everybody", just in different orders.
 * Eye Beams: His Basara KO in Cross has him fire these at the opponent from his throne before dealing the final blow.
 * Glowing Eyes of Doom: After he is resurrected.
 * A God Am I: Seems to believe this when he's alive, and once he comes back from Hell it's the bonafide truth.
 * Go Out with a Smile: In the anime at least.
 * Graceful Loser: In the third game,
 * Guardian Entity: One of the things he picked up in the third game.
 * Hero-Killer: The anime incarnation succeeds at paralyzing Masamune with his glare in his first appearance and kills a good deal of supporting characters from the games who didn't make it into main characterhood in the anime. Every time the heroes try to face him prior to the final battle it goes badly for them,.
 * Historical Villain Upgrade: Probably the most egregious example of the trope.
 * Humanoid Abomination: Regarded as one by most of the cast in 3. He may or not have been one before.
 * I Have Your Wife: When he kidnaps Oichi in Heroes and the anime.
 * Inconsistent Dub: Nobunaga's historical title of "第六天魔王" (Dairokuten Maou) - In the first game and anime, it's "Devil King" (of the Sixth Heaven). In Samurai Heroes, it's "Demon King" (of the Sixth Underworld). English has no equivalent term for "maou", which has been translated into a lot of different English words in many different Japanese games, and both terms carry the meaning of the word.
 * Instant Death Radius: You do not want to get caught by his Super Mode.
 * I Was Quite a Looker: Too bad young Nobunaga didn't make it into the actual game.
 * Japanese Pronouns: 'Yo'
 * Large Ham: Even by the standards of the series.
 * Laughably Evil: It's kind of hard not to at least chuckle at how Obviously Evil Nobunaga is in this series. Even the Onimusha version isn't this over-the-top, and that one became the king of hell.
 * Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: His Infinity Minus One Swords in Samurai Heroes look suspiciously much like a one-handed (and slightly spikier) version of Soul Edge, complete with an eye in the middle.
 * Leitmotif: Dear God, just listen to it!''
 * The remix on the movie soundtrack adds a gothic-sounding intro and a drum solo. Just because it can.
 * Lightning Bruiser: Moves and hits incredibly fast.
 * Lightning Reveal: How he appears in the anime.
 * Marathon Boss: In the third game, he'll be able to revive himself at least once in his stage due to the sacrifices.
 * One bonus objective on his map is to fight him after letting him devour all the souls he can, meaning you have to kill him eight times. Good luck with that.
 * Neck Lift: Does this to Masamune in the anime.
 * Nothing but Skulls: Likes to sit upon a throne of skulls. He also uses them as cups.
 * Obviously Evil: Does he really look like anything else?
 * Ominous Latin Chanting: German, actually.
 * Omnicidal Maniac: His main schtick in the third game. Not that this was that big of a difference.
 * One-Winged Angel: His "Scorched Earth" Super Art.
 * Orcus on His Throne: Spends most of the anime sitting around doing nothing but drink sake and look badass, pretty much waiting for the heroes to come and get him. However considering how powerful he proved to be...
 * Pet the Dog: Double Subverted during Ranmaru's ending in the 1st game, Nobunaga rewards the boy with a few pieces of candy. While today this may make Nobunaga look like a cheapskate, Fridge Brilliance/Values Dissonance would set in once one realizes Sengoku Japan didn't have a sugar refinery to make the candy, which is likely imported from Portugal. Long story short: the candy is most likely NOT cheap.
 * Physical God: In the third game.
 * Purposefully Overpowered: As a playable character in the third game. The health, offence and defence of Tadakatsu combined with Yukimura's movement speed, attack speed and reach (both in front and to the sides), use of the shadow element, and a ludicrously overpowered Super Mode as one of his final arts. His boss incarnation has between one and seven One Ups depending on how many souls you let him eat, gets stronger every time he revives, and has all his playable moves powered up further.
 * "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Loves giving these.
 * Red Baron: "Devil King of the Sixth Heaven", apparently a self-bestowed title. Older characters also mock him as the "Fool of Owari".
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: In the anime they're always like this, whereas in the games he has Gray Eyes most of the time but they turn red when be enters demon mode.
 * Secret Character: Sort of in the third game. He's revealed as playable right in the manual, but unlocking him takes a lot more time than any of the other unlockable characters and the method is rather esoteric.
 * Sinister Scimitar: Looks more like a falchion, but still fits.
 * Slasher Smile: Sports an impressive one upon his return from Hell in The Movie.
 * Slouch of Villainy: When reclining on his throne of skulls.
 * Super Mode: The 'Scorched Earth' super art in the third game, complete with a giant ominous glowing demonic silhouette of doom.
 * Sword and Gun: Manages this with a Sawed-Off Shotgun.
 * Take Over the World: Starting with Japan.
 * That Man Is Dead: In the third game, Nobunaga never calls himself by name (only his title) upon his return and denies any knowledge of himself. Yet, somehow, he remembers Oichi (and in her battle against him, Mitsuhide).


 * Tin Tyrant: Wears a European full-plate worthy of Sauron, complete with...
 * Spikes of Villainy: All over his armor. Doesn't stop him from being a Lightning Bruiser.
 * To the Pain: His speech of each of the six hells, which he describes individually with gruesome detail.
 * Unholy Matrimony: With Nouhime, whom he will quickly deem worthless after her death.
 * Worthy Opponent: He demonstrates honor when facing opponents he perceives as this in 3.
 * You Can't Fight Fate: "This was inevitable..."
 * You Have Failed Me: In the anime, after Mitsuhide changes his plans in order to screw around with For the Evulz, Nobunaga showers his head with sake and exclaims that the next time it will be his own blood.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: in the anime.
 * Your Soul Is Mine: In the third game, his map involves you running like a maniac all over it trying to stop Nobunaga from devouring all his minions' souls for One Ups. Luckily there are ballistae to launch yourself across the map as shortcuts.
 * You Can't Thwart Stage One: The first sacrifice will go off automatically when the base commander reaches half health.
 * 0% Approval Rating: This is one man who does not care for Public Relations; everybody wants a piece of him and that's the way he likes it. Given that the closest he's got to a chief diplomat is Mitsuhide...

Nouhime
"Voiced by: Yurika Hino (Japanese), Kathleen Barr (Devil Kings), Stephanie Young (anime)"

""Time for your punishment.""

Slavishly devoted wife of Nobunaga, who in return... well... doesn't kill her? Uses Guns Akimbo in combat, as well as carrying a Gatling Gun, a rifle and what seems to be a rocket launcher which she summons from her kimono.

Uses butterfly motifs a lot, and thus she is called Lady Butterfly in Devil Kings -
 * Apologetic Attacker: Mocked as she says "Excuse Me!" in the anime
 * Babies Ever After: Though historically she could not conceive, her ending in SB2 (after Nobunaga's death) implies she is pregnant.
 * Co-Dragons: With Ranmaru.
 * Femme Fatale: More-so in the first game and anime, where she's sultry and likes to tease her opponents. The second game portrays her with some Broken Bird qualities.
 * Gatling Good: Can whip out a massive Gatling Gun as one of her attacks.
 * Glass Cannon: Her guns allow her to cheese it with bosses pretty easily, though her lifebar is much smaller than other characters.
 * Guns Akimbo
 * The Gunslinger: Mostly fits The Woo with a few elements of Trick Shot. Her Gatling Gun makes her into The Vaporizer as well.
 * Hair Decorations
 * Hidden Buxom: Doesn't seem like it in the games but she is revealed to be a definite case of this in the anime when she once posed as a Kunoichi and is revealed to be about as well-endowed as Kasuga.
 * Hot Springs Scene: Her ending in Devil Kings. There is no point to it other than Fan Service.
 * Japanese Pronouns: 'Watashi'
 * Killed Off for Real: Unlike Nobunaga she can't come back for the third game.
 * Lady Macbeth: She would certainly not disapprove of her husband's bad deeds. In fact, she facilitates them...
 * Lady of War
 * Loving a Shadow: For whatever reason she idolises Nobunaga, with she herself being rather kindhearted at times. But if one thing is certain, it's that he's never going to love her back.
 * Love Makes You Evil: Is prepared to kill anyone and anything and turn herself into a demon for her husband.
 * Love Martyr: For Nobunaga, who barely recognizes her existence at best. And she has no interest in making him good anyway.
 * More Dakka: Her Gatling Gun can be outfitted to have a second barrel.
 * Playing with Fire
 * Psycho Supporter: Somewhat acknowledged by other characters in the second game, where they find her genuine devotion to the Demon King rather disturbing.
 * She's Got Legs: Especially in the anime. Her outfit bares little else, making sure they are suitably emphasised.
 * Shout-Out: Her ultimate weapons are Ebony and Ivory.
 * Victoria's Secret Compartment: Manages to use her skimpy kimono as a Hammerspace.
 * Weak but Skilled

Mori Ranmaru
"Voiced by: Hiroki Shimowada (Japanese), Cathy Weseluck (Devil Kings), Maxey Whitehead (anime)"

""Ranmaru will take your head as a trophy!""

A bratty kid with a bow and arrow that thinks Nobunaga is totally awesome. Not much else to say.

Renamed as Hornet in Devil Kings -
 * The Archer: Mostly uses it as a close-range weapon.
 * Bratty Half-Pint
 * Co-Dragons: With Nouhime or Mitsuhide.
 * Child Soldiers: His youth disturbs some characters, but he himself seems to have no problems with warfare and treats it like a game. Which just makes it even more disturbing.
 * Cute Shotaro Boy: Bratty though he may be, he still looks adorable.
 * Fragile Speedster
 * Hero Worshipper: Towards Nobunaga, who in return acknowledges him as a useful aide and rewards him with a single piece of candy for doing a good job. See Nobunaga's "Pet the Dog" article above.
 * Horrible Judge of Character: What the hell is his definition of 'Hero' anyway!? Calling someone like Nobunaga heroic!? Kids these days...
 * His intro for SB2 is basically him wandering around a battlefield until he comes up to Nobunaga, who gives him a Death Glare before scoffing and riding away on his horse. His reaction? "That dude's awesome!" His total loyalty as well as being a little brat makes it so that other characters quickly get over the fact of fighting a kid.
 * Human Shield: attempts to use him as such against Kojuro..
 * Killed Off for Real: Just like Nouhime.
 * Morality Pet: Nobunaga treats him marginally better than anyone else in the series, even going so far as to give him encouragement in battle and reward him afterwards.
 * Mouthy Kid: Which eventually leads Mitsuhide to threaten him with death if he doesn't shut up in the second game.
 * Parental Substitute: He sees Nobunaga and Nouhime as these. Both of them do get visibly upset if Ranmaru is killed.
 * Rain of Arrows: His Basara attack consists of this. He also creates a very impressive one upon his anime introduction (so thick that it covers every inch of the surrounding area).
 * Shock and Awe
 * Third Person Person: Used to show that deep down he's really just a naive little kid.
 * Tyke Bomb

Akechi Mitsuhide/Tenkai
"Voiced by: Show Hayami (Japanese), Peter Kelamis (Devil Kings), Vic Mignogna (English)"

""This is it, this is it! This is true slaughter! Ahahaha!!""

Nobunaga is running through the evil competition by himself. At least there will be the heroic Akechi Mitsuhide to stop the Evil Overlord Nobunaga, like usual, right?

Bzzt! Wrong!

Mitsuhide here is anything but heroic. He's an Obviously Evil White-Haired Pretty Boy who is completely Ax Crazy. With an evil giggle which can evolve into any Evil Laugh, two mean scythes and a lust for seeing people suffer, Mitsuhide might as well be the man to surpass Nobunaga in terms of evilness. Known as Reaper in Devil Kings, but said game demoted him into an NPC. He's playable in most Basara games, though.

Sengoku Basara 3 introduces the character of Tenkai, a monk who turns out to be Mitsuhide is disguise. How exactly this came to be is unknown, though it's clear that Tenkai has something up his sleeve... Too bad he got demoted to an NPC in the same time until Utage. - ""You utterly annihilated opponents who had already admitted defeat, right down to the last survivor. You mercilessly cut down women and children running away in confusion. You burnt down everything, leaving not even an insect alive. The only thing remaining is the ashes dancing in the transient wind. I, Mitsuhide, can no longer contain how intoxicated I am with you!""
 * Animal Motifs: Oichi has compared him to a snake.
 * Ax Crazy: All you need to know about him.
 * Bad Boss: The only other character aside from Motonari to have no qualms about hurting his own men.
 * Baddie Flattery: When he starts praising his opponent, it usually means he's even more determined to kill them.
 * Bishounen
 * Blood Knight: Lives to kill people and seems to be in a state of perpetual blood lust.
 * Blood Upgrade: Goes mad at the sight of blood, especially his own.
 * Casting a Shadow
 * Combat Sadomasochist: Mitsuhide practically defines this trope! Why do you think he toys around so much? He even has an attack where he squirms around as enemies strike him before countering in one big release.
 * Composite Character: Tenkai and Mitsuhide were completely unrelated in history (aside from some wacky rumours), but are consolidated into one character because why the hell not.
 * Cool Mask: Tenkai wears one, not that it makes much of a difference.
 * : Strange as it sounds, during Utage.
 * Death Seeker:
 * Demoted to Extra: In Devil Kings, he/Reaper got demoted to an NPC. Then, when he becomes Tenkai in SB3, he's an NPC once again. Then he becomes playable again in Utage.
 * Does This Remind You of Anything?: All that moaning he does...
 * Dragon with an Agenda
 * Dual-Wielding Sinister Scythe
 * Evil Chancellor: As Tenkai.
 * Evil Tastes Good: Mitsuhide constantly uses taste-related metaphors, such as finding it "delicious" to trample on true love.
 * Evil Versus Evil: Up against Nobunaga, though he's more of a sadistic psychopath than plain old evil... which may make him a far worse evil than even his lord.
 * First-Name Basis: He is notably the only person in the cast to refer to Nouhime by her real name, Kichou. This familiarity is linked to the fact that they were childhood friends in Real Life.
 * For the Evulz: Why he does anything.
 * Giggling Villain: Can also break into Evil Laugh, however the giggling is far more disturbing.
 * Go Out with a Smile: In the anime. While begging for more.
 * Gray Eyes: To fit his cold-bloodedness.
 * Half the Man He Used To Be:
 * Historical Hero Downgrade: Sengoku Basara is one of the very few media where Mitsuhide is downright villainous and wicked. Keep in mind that Capcom did however portrayed him in a better light in Onimusha.
 * In Love with Your Carnage: For Nobunaga.
 * In Love with Your Carnage: For Nobunaga.


 * Interplay of Sex and Violence: Oh yes.
 * Japanese Pronouns: 'Watashi'
 * Keigo: To make him even creepier (and also somewhat effeminate).
 * Leitmotif: Not as cool as Nobunaga's, but just as evil.
 * Large Ham
 * Lean and Mean: He's even taller than Nobunaga, and so thin he appears almost skeletal.
 * Licking the Blade: Has been known to do this, whether the blade has blood on it or not.
 * Limp and Livid: The way he's always moving, except rather than livid he is very calm, gliding about and swaying from side to side as if it comes perfectly naturally. Human spines shouldn't be able to move like that...
 * Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Isn't it shiny and silky?
 * Loves the Sound of Screaming: "Your screams are so exciting! Scream more!"
 * A Love to Dismember: In Utage he carries around with him and speaks to it as if it were the real.
 * Manipulative Bastard: As Tenkai, he effectively controls Kobayakawa Hideaki's every decision through schemes and flattery, bending him to his every will. Though it's not like Hideaki is particularly hard to fool anyway.
 * My God, What Have I Done?:.
 * Near-Death Experience: In Utage, only to then wake up.
 * Obviously Evil: Almost as bad as Nobunaga.
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: He gets rather upset if anyone gets to Nobunaga before he does.
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: As Tenkai, he now sports a mask and a change of clothing. That is about all that's different.
 * Peek-a-Bangs: His horse also adopts his hairstyle in the anime.
 * Sickly Green Glow: His Basara attack creates a greenish black aura reminiscent of this.
 * Sinister Minister: Keep in mind, Tenkai is meant to be a monk. Lampshaded by Hideaki's soldiers saying they've never seen one who looks like that.
 * Soft Water: When Tenkai is defeated he will escape by jumping off a cliff into the sea.
 * Spikes of Villainy: Very long ones on his shoulder guards.
 * The Starscream: He doesn't necessarily want to replace Nobunaga, but he sure as hell has been biding his time in order to kill him.
 * That Man Is Dead:
 * Too Kinky to Torture: The more he's hurt, the more it pleasures him and makes him want to inflict pain on his opponent.
 * Trickster Mentor: Plays this to Hideaki, abandoning him in times of danger and sending letters to anyone Hideaki visits that get him into trouble.
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Mitsuhide is usually the one who does this to Nobunaga's allies. Even if Nobunaga doesn't necessarily want him to.