Slbp - Blog Posts
Reviewing Ieyasu’s MS
So. Ieyasu. Who I see is in the top five characters in Japan again. (There’s a psychological study in that, if anyone has the resources.) I finally finished his MS a few weeks ago, but have been putting off writing my overall impressions because, frankly, I haven’t wanted to.
I collected dozens of screenshots documenting how his character does and doesn’t change throughout the story, but the thought of going through them just to say the same things as before has been disheartening. Rather than talk about abuse and the romantic view it’s given here again, I’m going to start by talking about something I haven’t given much attention to yet: the non-Ieyasu characters.
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I just re-read Kyoichiro's ES and his PoV story...but I couldn't shake the possibility that Hideyoshi might be THE ONE responsible Kyo got "detained" by Nobunaga.
...Long Post Below...
Do remember that Kyo is really careful with his thief identity (he is a former ninja after all) and the only time Kyo's identity was suspected by Nobunaga was AFTER Hideyoshi found him on the storehouse (at least in this ES. I still haven't done his MS, sorry). MC nor Suke wouldn't dare to let something slip about Kyo's "other life", perhaps Hide wouldn't unless he had a good reason...
...like using Kyo to ruin those monks to aid Nobunaga. But since the story implied Kyo refused that first offer (when Kyo busted the empty storehouse). Hide might have thought of a way to get Kyo in his plans, like slipping some rumors that Kyoichiro might be Ishikawa Goemon to get Nobunaga to act, thus entrapping Kyo in Kiyosu to make the cotton merchant at severe disadvantage.
"if something should happened outside while you are in here, you will be proven innocent" (-which also means "if nothing happens outside while you are here, you are guilty"-).
Sakuya went to Kyo's house and saw MC and judging by their conversation, Sakuya didn't expect MC to be there (or at least didn't expect that Kyo's "mistress" was the fugitive Tsuki MC). I was led to think Saku went to Kyo's house to assassinate MC but I believe it wasn't the case...So what was Saku doing in Kyo'shouse? Gathering evidence? Maybe. But we do not get to know his REAL reason being there because Hide intervened in an epic fashion.
Hideyoshi is not simple. He plans "two steps ahead" as Kyoichiro would put it. Hide might have "slipped" into Nobunaga about Kyo, he doesn't want him dead. While Nobunaga was busy with his entrapment scheme, Hide anticipated Nobu's methods. He prevented Sakuya from killing MC (or rather he stopped him from gathering evidence against Kyo) with his "presence" since Sakuya is supposedly a secret Oda ninja, therefore he can't act recklessly under Hideyoshi's watch.
In Kyo's pov, Hide used his weirdness and fixation to Kyo's crane to get him to give one to him, not because he want it to be a signal to MC about his predicament in Kiyosu. But in reality, Hide used it as a tool to get MC to act by being the supposed thief and steal something to clear Kyo's name.
So, Hideyoshi became Kyo's benefactor and became indebted to him. Because of this, Kyo ruined those corrupt monks which he would otherwise refuse to do under normal circumstances.
Kyo must have got a sense of Hide's motives as he forged the aliance with him not out of gratitude but only because he "does not want to be on Hideyoshi's bad side". And that statement, tells us something just how far and how "deep" HIDEYOSHI would go to achieve his goals.
“All I want is for mother to see me as her son.”
My interpretation on SLBP Masamune during his teen days.
Some of Kageie’s background story was revealed in the latest Tenka event before his MS will come out…
I’d like to put here my summary.
–
After his father and mother’s deaths. His uncle took hold of the head of the family and drove him off the castle together with his younger brother (Norikage) who was suffered from heart’s illness and needed medicine for living.
He found himself an underground job which later his skill was impressed and hired by a samurai then he slowly made his recognition as a good fighter.
Fate shifted when his younger brother was killed by those who served the same samurai. After that he lived his life with no strings attached, never had any home, never trust or be in deep relationship with anyone.
Returned himself to his underground job. One day…surrounded by too many opponents. He fled to a woman who he was recently with but obviously…was rejected.
Severely wounded with noone and no place to return to. Rolling like a garbage…he started to lose all hope in everything even a string of his own life.
Then emerged before his bloody blurry eyes…
A strangely beautiful figure in beautiful hagama…
「Will you come with me?」
Words that had brought an unexpected road. He stared up to that eyes…eyes that full of melancholy as much as his then a finger pointed to his chest had opened the path that light could shine through…
That’s how Kageie has come to Lord Kenshin.
My blood is boiling in anger how these men regard women in battle….poor MC! 😖😖
I wish I could sew their mouths shut.
You know…if I didn’t know better Lady Yoshihime can be the worst evil LOVE RIVAL for Lord Kojuro’s affection until you knew the truth behind that woman.
I haven't done Saizo or any Tsuki Routes...but...Just asking, who do you think will win in a ninja duel? Hanzo Masanari or Saizo? Because from what I read so far, Hanzo is also a good ninja.
OMG @aedysa, thank you so much for this entertaining ask!! 😂I haven’t done Saizo’s route yet, but let me try to answer to the best of my abilities! :) First off, we have to consider the environment: Saizo is weak to rain, so in the case of bad weather, Hanzo is going to win, hands down.
But let’s assume it’s a sunny day (or a clear night), and our ninjas can’t bring allies, because that would get complicated. You’re right that both Saizo and Hanzo are considered excellent ninjas. We all know about Saizo’s skills, and Hanzo didn’t stay alive as future chief of his village by sitting pretty. That said, much as I hate to say it, I suspect Saizo would have a slight edge in a direct face-off. Here’s why:
Skillset: Hanzo’s a great fighter, yes, but if leveling up your ninja skills works the way it does in video games, Hanzo’s “wasted” a good fraction of his skill points on the charisma/seduction tech tree. Meanwhile, Saizo seems to have gone all in on fighting. People skills won’t help you in a ninja duel, probably (unless Hanzo plans to seduce Saizo?!?! I’d definitely buy that story, lmao).
Experience: Hanzo spends his days plotting/doing snakey things, trolling people, and helping Sakai grow strawberries. Meanwhile, when Saizo isn’t sleeping, he’s either actively training or going on the most dangerous ninja missions. I’m not saying Hanzo’s rusty (far from it), but Saizo’s ninja skills are going to be razor sharp in comparison. Also the one time Hanzo was sent on a mission with Saizo (street fair story), Hanzo made Saizo do all the killing, which seems to corroborate my theory.
Weapons: Hanzo uses throwing needles and something that looks like a claw. Saizo uses a vicious blade (sometimes two). Both of them use throwing knives. Anyways, throwing weapons are a finite resource, so let’s talk about close combat. Blades are longer than claws, so I assume they have a slightly wider range. Also, assuming you have the strength to handle a blade, which Saizo obviously has, if you move your arm at the same speed, a longer weapon (blade) will move faster than a shorter one (claw), which also seems like a good thing, giving Saizo the overall slight advantage.
Hair: Hanzo’s luscious locks, aka one of his greatest assets, would also prove to be his greatest downfall. He might be able to fight skillfully without his beautiful, silky hair getting in the way against most opponents, but hair isn’t something Saizo has to even think about when fighting. Point to Saizo for practicality.
Clothes: Similarly, Hanzo’s clothes are very pretty, but a lot bulkier than Saizo’s super hot skin-tight ninja outfit. This puts Saizo at a huge advantage in terms of speed and maneuverability! That said, Hanzo can hide more throwing knives on his person with that outfit, so I suppose in a long-term ranged duel, he’d be all right…
To recap, imho Saizo is more likely to win in a ninja face-off against Hanzo (happy to field counter-arguments!). But if you like Hanzo as much as I do, there’s no need to fret! Don’t forget that Hanzo is a slippery snake who, like Saizo, seems to have magic ninja vanishing abilities. So when the situation is no longer in his favor, he’ll be able to gtfo. And maybe that’s why we don’t hear about the Iga ninjas fighting each other all that often. ^_^
Hope that answered your question! :) Anyone reading this: feel free to send more fun asks my way, lmao. The box is always open!!
From Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa
This part occured after Nobunaga's death. Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuie (Nobu's senior retainer and an NPC in SLBP) had a fallout and after many schemes and faction disputes later, they fought in the Battle of Shizugatake in which Katsuie lost. When I read this part, I was awed.
As a player of both IkeSen and slbp, I have seen the loyalty and brotherly love of ikesen!Hide (the "mother hen"of Azuchi lol) and the clever mischief of SLBP!Hide, but this book opened my eyes to this cunning man whose mind is as dangerous as he is kind (and loyal) to his allies. He had no qualms using "borrowed knife" tactics against his enemies: a proof of how scary he is, if his mind is used as a weapon. So unless you are Ieyasu, you'll never see him coming....
I know he is depicted as a clever man in history (...like he coaxes the bird to sing proverb...) but this novel goes beyond my expectations. Not that I dislike him (In fact I respect this man for beating odds to unify Japan), but one can just imagine how the wars shape good men to do what we consider "evil" or "underhanded" means to achieve peace.
Hideyoshi: Are you threatening the fireflies, Ieyasu?
Ieyasu: What I do is my business. And what about you? Feeding your kind as usual, no?
Nobunaga: Gifts from my Wife! (*why did I agree on sending these instead of her though*)
MC: PERFECT! All three of you...SAY CHEESE! (*screenshot*)
Top 10 Visual Novels: INPO
10. A Little Lily Princess
9. Code Geass: Lost Colors
8. The Confines of the Crown
7. Hatoful Boyfriend
6. The Rose of Segunda
5. School Days
4. Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem
3. Umineko
2. Samurai Love Ballad Party
1. Long Live the Queen
Place your bets ladies and gentlemen!
Should you fight this character: SLBP Lords Edition
Nobunaga: You’ll probably lose horribly, but hey, at least you can say you landed a hit on Oda Nobunaga’s smug-ass face.
Mitsuhide: Working for Nobunaga gave him so much repressed everything that fighting him might trigger the ticking time bomb inside him. Don’t fight him, especially if he’s stressed.
Yukimura: Ten times out of ten, you’ll probably lose. Badly. Unless of course, you try to seduce him, then maybe you’ll have a very good chance of winning the fight.
Saizo: Horrible fucking idea. Dude is OP and was trained to be the best ninja in Iga. He’s razed entire villages and assassinated powerful samurai and ninja alike. Still, on the off chance that you’re dumb enough to fight him, make sure you get a good hit in because no craves the sweet release of death more than he does.
Masamune: Why in god’s name would you want to fight Masamune?
Kojuro: Sure, you can fight him. Ninety-nine percent of the time, he’s probably fretting over Masamune or his turtle so you could land a few good punches in while he’s distracted. Honestly though, the stress of his job might kill him before you do.
Hideyoshi: If he hasn’t outwitted you or charmed you yet, then you might have a chance of beating him. Granted, this is considering the fact that Mitsunari hasn’t yet found out about the fight.
Inuchiyo: Have you seen how thicc this guy is? Dude never skips leg day and wears titty armor into battle to intimidate his opponents. Plus, he lugs a fucking heavyweight trident like it’s nothing. You might have a chance if you ask Hana MC to help you, though…
Ieyasu: Fight him. Beat the living shit out of him. Teach his daifuku-eating ass a lesson. Mitsunari himself will sponsor the fight. Just make sure he doesn’t poison you first.
Mitsunari: Ieyasu will pay you himself to fight his nerdy ass. You don’t even have to win. Just get a few punches in and watch him yell at you.
Kenshin: If he’s distracted by pretty rocks or other “treasures”, then sure, you can fight him. But in the few moments when he’s actually taking shit seriously, you won’t even know the fight’s over till you’re down and looking up at Kenshin’s God of War eyes boring through your soul.
Shingen: Dude is stacked af and will definitely take your ass to Suplex City like it’s a regular Tuesday in the park. Even with a terminal illness, this dude can break melons with his thighs. Yeah, don’t fight him.
Shigezane: Yeah sure, fight him, but is it worth it? Dude never did anything wrong and just wants a laugh. Just invite him out for taiyaki and don’t fight him.
Nobuyuki: No.
Hana MC: I mean, you’ll probably win the fight, but she’ll win the war. She’s gone through about 14 routes of trauma and hell, yet she came back stronger each time. Girl has nerves of steel. You cannot defeat her. Defeating her was never an option.