Its a ruff life
Oda Cinnamon Nobunaga follows the life of Oda Nobunga, a Japanese warlord credited with almost uniting all of Japan in the 1500’s. Here we see that after his loss at Honnō-ji, Nobunga has been reincarnated as a Shiba Inu named Cinnamon. That’s not all though, it seems many of Nobunga’s contemporary warlords have all also been reincarnated as various dogs. The series mostly deals with these warlords adapting to their new lives as dogs, while also discussing their past lives and behaviors. Of particular note, there is some mystery around who exactly betrayed Nobunga and ultimately led to his death (Nobunga suspects Akechi Mitsuhide, whom we learn was reincarnated as a chupmunk). There’s little in the way of conflict in the first few episodes, much of the humor is derived from the juxtasposition of the once powerful warlords and their cute dog bodies. Also the ED is pretty great.
The show itself is definitely trash. It’s tailor made for people who like watching cute dogs do cute dog things and doesn’t really do much outside of that. The human characters are fine enough, though obviously they are secondary to the dogs themselves. Honestly, I found myself moderately entertained by this show. I am biased because I love dogs, but the light-hearted plot and silliness of the show provided enough entertainment for me. It also teaches at least a little bit of Japanese history. Obviously there’s some liberties taken, but for the most part it accurately portrays the past lives of these warlords. There’s also a musical number done by a chihuahua so that’s pretty cool. There’s probably better ways to spend your time than watch this, but there are also much worse ways.
Is it trash? YES
Rating: ★★★☆☆