Tear Jerker / The Ambition of Oda Nobuna

• Throughout the series it is frequently made clear that Nobuna has a bad relationship with her family. The only member of the Oda clan that she ever really appeared to get on with was her father, who is long dead. A flashback scene in episode 2 indicates that just like in our timeline Oda took her father's death very badly and behaved inappropriately at his funeral, which resulted in her alienating herself from her clan even more. Fortunately, Nobuna's relationship with her younger brother, Oda Nobukatsu, improves later in the series and they manage to avoid his historical fate.
• Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Nobuna's mother. In fact, in every scene she appears in, it is made perfectly clear that Nobuna's mother really hates her daughter.
  • In episode 2, Nobukatsu not only casually calls his sister a fool, but mentions that his mother has hated Nobuna since she was young. This was confirmed through a flashback sequence where their mother was shown leading Nobukatsu away from Nobuna when the latter was learning about handguns. Although Nobuna didn't say anything, her reaction indicates that this act really hurt her.
  • From the same episode, Nobukatsu tells Yoshiharu that his mother always said he should be the leader of the Oda Clan, rather than his older sister.
  • Speaking of which, we also learn that Nobukatsu once rose in rebellion against Nobuna, probably at the behest of his mother. Although he lost, Nobuna spared him. However, when Niwa points out Nobukatsu could rebel again, Nobuna makes it clear that if he does, he is dead. Fortunately, Yoshiharu manages to convince her not to go through with it.
  • Later, in episode 9, Mitsuhide was told that on one occasion, when Nobuna successfully protected the Oda territory of Owari, she went to inform her mother in person. Far from congratulating her daughter on a job well done, Nobuna's mother instead scolded Nobuna for appearing before her in European clothing. From her reaction, it is clear that this statement, once again, really hurt Nobuna as she thought she had finally done something that would make her mum genuinely proud.
  • The worst part about all of this is that, this really happened! The real Oda Nobunaga was despised by his mother and many of his peers during his youth, due to his attitude and behaviour. Despite his later accomplishments, there is no indication that Nobunaga's relationship with his mother ever improved. Plus, anyone who has studied Japanese history can tell you that Nobunaga's real-life brother, Noboyuki, was not as lucky or fortunate as his anime counterpart.
• Dousan's letter and everyone's reactions after Nobuna reads it.
• Episode 11 in its entirety is full of these.
• The last parts of volume 5 would make anyone shed Manly Tears.