New Nobunaga Chronicles: My Classmates Are Warring States Warlords Blu-ray Box

Ren Nagase of King & Prince stars as Oda Nobunaga. What if famous Warring States warlords were your classmates? Youth, battles and a struggle to rule the school combine in this entertainment series. Nobunaga, Ieyasu, Hideyoshi: the great warlords become fifteen-year-old high-school students and set out to unify their world.

A doctor obsessed with the Warring States period creates clones of its warlords and releases them into the world. Fifteen years later, in 2122, the famous warlords' high-school clones gather. Bargaining, schemes, betrayal: anything goes. A new Warring States era begins, with the warriors' fierce pride at stake. Every day should be filled with battles, but an eccentric high-school student has secretly been saving the school. That young man is Oda Nobunaga. Then the brutal, merciless Tokugawa Ieyasu transfers in. Faced with Ieyasu's overwhelming strength and his plan to seize the school, Nobunaga finally takes action. Everything is for the sake of ruling the realm.

In April 2122, Miyabi Kusakabe, played by Anna Yamada, a history enthusiast hoping to become a historian, prepares for her first day at Ginnan High School. On the way, she helps an elementary-school child being bullied. The child says there is no way to win against so many opponents. Miyabi responds with Nobunaga's words: 'There is absolutely no such thing as absolute.' But the child has never heard of Nobunaga. History lessons covering the period before the Meiji era have been abolished, so only enthusiasts like Miyabi know who he was.

At school, Miyabi introduces herself to older students as a member of the advanced class. Their expressions change, and they seize her bag and throw it over the wall. Behind them, a young man carrying dried persimmons passes by. When Miyabi returns to the main gate, the older students are lying defeated. The young man says, 'I am Oda Nobunaga,' and reveals that he too belongs to the advanced class. Shocked by his name, Miyabi nonetheless finds herself captivated by him.

A small, monkey-faced student appears: Toyotomi Hideyoshi. While checking her injury, he touches Miyabi familiarly and seems unable to resist women. Takeda Shingen, Date Masamune, Uesugi Kenshin, Akechi Mitsuhide and Kuroda Kanbei soon follow. They are high-school clones of famous Warring States warlords.

The students assemble in the hall. The advanced class sits in front while the others glare at them. Chairman Beppu-no-Kami Yotaro announces a competition to determine Ginnan High School's strongest person: the Banner Battle. Participants raise a banner naming the opponent they intend to defeat and gain that opponent's points by winning. Whoever earns the most points wins the right to challenge the supreme leader. The next day, a banner declares, 'Defeat Takeda Shingen within two hours.'

The four-disc box contains all ten episodes, with 430 minutes of main footage and 69 minutes of bonuses. Extras comprise cast comments, the production press conference, making-of footage, a drama-original promotional video for the theme song TraceTrace, and three promotional programs: the July 24 Premiere special; Nobunaga vs. Ieyasu: Who Is the Traitor?, shown before episode four; and the pre-finale special. A deluxe 24-page visual book is enclosed.

The cast includes Ren Nagase of King & Prince, Anna Yamada, Daigo Nishihata of Naniwa Danshi, Riku Hagiwara, Atsuhiro Inukai, Shohei Miura, Shinnosuke Mitsushima, Gaku Hamada, Yukiyoshi Ozawa and Akira Emoto, among others. Bonus titles, contents and specifications are subject to change without notice.