Toshiie to Matsu

Exactly What It Says on the Tin, Toshiie to Matsu (Toshiie and Matsu) is a live-action drama made by the NHK as part of their "Taiga Drama" series (see the relevant article in The Other Wiki for details) that covers the rise and fall of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, ending the subsequent establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate from the perspective of Maeda Toshiie, one of Nobunaga's retainers, and his wife Matsu.


 * Beware the Nice Ones - Matsu. Even the other retainers are scared when she gets pissed off.
 * Blood Brothers - Nobunaga and Toshiie.
 * Catch Phrase - Matsu's "Leave Everything to Me!".
 * Childhood Marriage Promise - Matsu and Toshiie.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl - Matsu and Nene.
 * Creepy Child - Maeda Keijirou, who is, among other things, a little too happy about potentially blowing his entire family to pieces when his stepfather (Toshiie's elder brother) attempts to blockade the order to exile them from Maeda territory.
 * Dark Horse Victory - Ultimate control of Japan goes to dark horse candidate Tokugawa Ieyasu by virtue of him out-living all of the other contenders (and killing a few of his rivals).
 * Dawson Casting
 * Dope Slap - Toshiie is on the receiving end of a few of these for putting his foot into his mouth.
 * Foregone Conclusion - When introducing each major character, the narration explains what happened to them, but the series also speculates quite a bit on what went on behind the scenes.
 * Foreshadowing - Happens in-universe when the characters see a portent that means bad things for Oda Nobunaga.
 * Gonk - A spectacularly unattractive actor plays Mitsuhide Akechi, and this is quite jarring if the viewer is more used to the prettier versions.
 * Honor Before Reason - The Maeda clan in general; Toshiie is the worst offender, but Matsu gets played on a few occasions as well.
 * Hot-Blooded - Toshiie.
 * Kissing Cousins - Matsu and Toshiie (first cousins; their mothers are siblings).
 * Moral Event Horizon - Nobunaga's worst offense (in this troper's opinion) is when he has the skull of Oichi's first husband Nagamasa Azai gold plated and orders her and her new fiancee Shibata Katsuie to drink from it on the day of their betrothal.
 * My Girl Is Not a Slut - Toshiie invokes this trope to motivate his otherwise pacifist older brother into fighting.
 * My Name Is Not Durwood / Do Not Call Me Paul - Toshiie does NOT like being called "Doggie" (his birth name was Inuchiyo); for Hideyoshi, being called "Monkey" almost becomes his Berserk Button and he holds some serious grudges over being insulted.
 * Ninja - Toshiie's sister in law is rumored to be one, and she hires a few of them to act as Toshiie's bodyguards after he makes daimyo.
 * Oda Nobunaga - In a largely sympathetic portrayal, though the show doesn't shy from his worse moments either.
 * The Power of Friendship - Toshiie's friendships with Nobunaga and Hideyoshi are what propels him into a position of power, though his sense of honor holds him back just as much; Matsu and Nene's friendship is what keeps things running in the background when Toshiie and Hideyoshi have a brief falling out.
 * Rich Bitch - Nene pretends to be this in order to deflect criticism from her husband.
 * The Rival - Toshiie and Hideyoshi; furthermore, Matsu considers Tokugawa Ieyasu an enemy because he killed her father in battle.
 * Smug Snake - Hideyoshi, who is reviled by his colleagues for being a perennial kiss-up (Hideyoshi justifies it by claiming that he has no other marketable skills); Tokugawa Ieyasu is presented like this whenever he shows up.
 * Unwitting Pawn - Toshiie.
 * Wham! Episode - The revolt at Honnoji still manages to sock the viewer in the guts even though everyone knows it's coming.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko - Matsu is considered to be this by her peers, though she herself is presented as borderline Tsundere around Toshiie.