Matsudaira NobutsunaWP (松平信綱?) is a historical Japanese figure from the Edo Period. He is involved in the Edo Singularity of Fate/Grand Order.
Profile
Background
Nobutsuna served Tokugawa Ieyasu alongside Lady Kasuga and Yagyuu Munenori. He was the supreme commander on the Tokugawa's side during the Shimabara Rebellion, fighting against Amakusa Shirou Tokisada's Christian followers.[1]
Appearance
Personality
Role
Fate/Grand Order
Tokugawa Restoration Labyrinth: Ooku
When he realized Tokugawa Iemitsu was abducted and the Tokugawa itself was facing existential threat, Tenkai came to see Nobutsuna right away. Once they learned the Ooku was the locus of the crisis, they barely saved Lady Kasuga, who they both considered essential to resolving the crisis. Tenkai had cast a protective spell on her so her soul wouldn’t become materials for Kama’s Ooku. Then, at the cost of his life, he engraved a spell into Nobutsuna’s body to transform his organs into hanafuda cards with the same energy as Kama’s Ooku. It also imbued his soul with the concept of “one whose actions oppose the Tokugawa” to eventually act in conjunction in the cards to counteract Kama’s false Tokugawa authority. Nobutsuna would later serve Kama under the pretense of being a traitor to the Tokugawa so he could imbue himself with Anti-Tokugawa properties. During this time, he would scatter his organs turned cards throughout the Ooku.[2]
After she reversed-summoned mostly everyone from Chaldea and made them into materials for the Ooku, Kama allowed Nobutsuna to try and convince Yagyuu Munenori to join them before he is turned into a pillar.[3][4]
Ritsuka’s party first encounter him shortly after entering the Ooku. As her body is that of Parvati’s vessel, Nobutsuna doesn’t recognize Kasuga until she calls him by his childhood name and scolds him for forgetting the woman who raised him. Kasuga also notices he seems younger than she remembers, to which Nobutsuna reveals it is thanks to his new lord. He reveals Iemitsu is no longer available, thus he now serves the Ooku’s new lord, though it isn’t Goredolf Musik. He then orders the attendants to attack and leaves.[3]
On the second floor, Nobutsuna tries again to convince Munenori to join him and Kama, but Munenori’s answer remains no. Munenori asks him how he could betray the Tokugawa and aid Kama. Nobutsuna answers Kama is a god and has already toppled the Tokugawa shogunate. They have no hope of defeating her, so it’s only natural for the loser to swear allegiance to the victor. Nobutsuna believes Munenori should understand sometimes victory isn’t always possible, having fought in the Battles of Sekigahara and Osaka. He witnessed it himself during the Shimabara Rebellion. It is out of his respect for Munenori that he is offering him a new role in the new government, reminding him it only thanks to his request and Kama’s good graces that he remains as himself. Kama could have easily brainwashed him like she did with other Servants, but Nobutsuna prefers he join of his own volition. Munenori refuses to aid the Tokugawa’s enemies and would rather be beheaded. An attendant then reports guests have invaded the floor and asks for orders. Nobutsuna kills her for being rude. He again hopes Munenori chooses to join Kama before he is absorbed into the pillar, warning him zen alone will not allow him to endure it forever.[4]
Ritsuka’s party soon arrives. Nobustuna is impressed Kiara Sessyoin deduced the peoples of Edo Castle and Chaldea were abducted to construct Kama’s Ooku rather than being abducted after it was built. He reveals, however, not everyone who was abducted was turned into materials and all but confirms Kama was telling the truth when she said Ritsuka’s party would reach the Ooku’s bottom if they wished to rescue everyone. He then sics a giant female ghost at Ritsuka’s party. Kiara fights it on her own while Parvati frees Munenori using the energies of the card she found earlier. The ghost tries to attack Parvati, but Munenori catches its naginata with his hands. Kiara uses this chance to destroy the ghost. Munenori tells Nobutsuna that his resisting would have been rendered into nothing if he was turned into a pillar immediately. Nobutsuna admits that is true, but he is unashamed of his conduct. He then tries to retreat when Parvati asks what is Kama’s goal, and why were people and Servants turned into materials for the Ooku. Nobutsuna says he doesn’t know and that he only cares about serving his lord faithfully. He leaves thereafter.[4]
Nobutsuna later informs Kama of Yagyu Munenori‘s rescue. He asks her if she’ll punish him for his failure, but Kama tells him failure is only inevitable for humans, whom she considers weak and incompetent.[5]
Ritsuka’s party encounters Nobutsuna again at the end of the third floor when he comes to see if they’re breaking the Five Precepts to advance through the Ooku. To his disappointment, Scheherazade and Mata Hari are no longer brainwashed and Ritsuka only appears to be drunk. It makes him wonder how they made it through without partaking drink. Munenori asks Nobutsuna if he doesn’t truly know what Kama’s goal is . Nobutsuna refuses to share that information, especially with those more foolish than himself. Mata Hari demands that he tell them, saying it’s obviously important enough for Kama to brainwash her and Scheherazade to make others drink. Nobutsuna says the signs are already there and mocks the group for failing. He then sics two giant female ghosts at Ritsuka’s party and leaves, revealing Kama created the labyrinth to make it impossible not to fall into depravity.[6]
At the end of the fifth floor, Ritsuka’s party finds Nobutsuna being tended to Kama clones. Munenori is shocked to see Nobutsuna, who rejected both alcohol and tobacco, drowning himself in women. Nobutsuna confesses he rejected alcohol and tobacco because they tasted to him, though he never knew the joy of women tending to you until he experienced himself. But these women are the endless copies of Kama, who Nobutsuna finds incomparable to any other woman and impossible for humans to resist. He then sics the Kama clones and a giant female ghost at Ritsuka’s party. After Ritsuka’s party slays the clones and ghost, Nobutsuna calls it foolish and tells the group they could have been happy if she gave into their desires and consigned themselves to wandering the Ooku forever. He tries to warn them what will happen if they proceed, but his incessant coughing prevents him and he proceeds to the Ooku’s innermost chamber. Ritsuka’s party follows after him.[7]
Upon the group’s arrival in the labyrinth’s innermost chamber, Kasuga demands to know where Iemitsu is. In response, Kama removes a pillbox from her body and reveals Iemitsu’s soul is in it. She then explains how she used Iemitsu’s karmic bonds to gather souls across time and space to build her Ooku, revealing the pillboxes are the souls of the shogun. Parvati surmises that Kama’s reach extended to Chaldea, where she used Goredolf’s connections to reverse summon everyone there. She deduces the Ooku is a means to Kama’s goal, otherwise she didn’t need to attack Chaldea. Kama reveals she only found the Ooku by chance, and her goal was Ritsuka. Her karmic bonds with Ritsuka allowed her to reach out to them in Chaldea, but Sion protected them, so she had Ritsuka go through the Ooku of their volition to make them submit to her love. Ritsuka then begins to believe they are a Tokugawa. Kama’s Ooku turns whoever breaks the Five Precepts into a conceptual Tokugawa; Goredolf was Kama’s first test subject. Nobutsuna reveals it’s impossible to escape Kama’s Ooku once someone becomes a Tokugawa. Mata Hari and Kasuga tell RItsuka to resist while Munenori and Scheherazade fight Kama, but attempts are futile. Kama then changes form again and transforms the chamber into a scenery of the universe[8]
Kama reveals she is conceptually linked to the universe and that the Ooku’s innermost chamber is now her self-contained universe, meaning everyone is inside her and thus cannot move as they please. She changes her form again and reveals she is Beast III/L. Her goal is to give everyone in the universe her infinite love, but Kiara says that would destroy the concept of love. Declaring she will give everyone her love no matter what, Kama calls Ritsuka to her. Kama easily repels Ritsuka’s party and then orders Nobutsuna to have Ritsuka drink with Goredolf. The shogun’s conceptual authority is strengthened inside the Ooku’s innermost chamber, a concept Kama’s body also shares. Suddenly, though, Kasuga breaks Goredolf’s mental conditioning by slapping him. Goredolf attacks Kama, which she easily dodges, and he returns to being a Tokugawa since his reversion to his old self was only temporary. Kiara holds Kama back while the others escape. She tells them to gather the hanafuda cards to counteract Kama, then expels them from the chamber.[8]
After killing Kiara, Kama tells Nobutsuna that Ritsuka has no choice but to return, given she is still holding Goredolf and everyone else from Chaldea hostage, so they’ll only need to wait.[8]
Upon returning to Kama’s chamber, Ritsuka activates their Anti-Tokugawa shield to counteract the Tokugawafication and diminish the constraints on Munenori. The group seems to have the advantage in their fight against Kama, only for her to reveal she wanted them to find Yoshinobu’s pillbox so they may despair when they lost with their only hope. Then, after revealing it was the dying Kasuga’s desire that served as the catalyst for the current crisis, she takes the next form of evolution, removes the gravity, and envelops Ritsuka’s party in the darkness with the barest minimum of oxygen.[2]
Kama tries to wait patiently for Ritsuka to have a mental breakdown but loses her patience. She tells Nobutsuna to stop staring at her and orders him to keep Goredolf company so he doesn’t throw her off her game with a stupid remark. Appreciating his following her orders without question, she also promises to reward Nobutsuna with lots of extra love once she achieves her goal. Suddenly, she notices a light coming from where Ritsuka’s party is. Kasuga’s voice then declares that if she is here, then this place must be the Ooku, manifesting a floor.[2]
Kasuga then rewrites the definition of Kama’s universe to reestablish gravity, while Ritsuka’s Mystic Code is used to reestablish oxygen. Nobutsuna reveals himself to be a double agent for Tenkai to protect the Tokugawa and they ensured Kasuga’s soul was protected. The cards are also actually his organs transformed by Tenkai. Sion realizes the cards can purge Ritsuka of Kama’s corruption.[2] After Ritsuka is cleansed, Munenori notices the butterfly on the cards is the Matsudaira family crest. Nobutsuna tells Munenori that Tenkai engraved a spell on his body at the cost of his life and calls himself the Tokugawa’s mortal enemy for what he’s done. Munenori calls Nobutsuna a loyal man, but Nobutsuna says he must be a traitor for this plan to work and indirectly pleads Munenori to kill him. Munenori kills Nobutsuna to release his soul, which holds the concept of “one whose actions oppose the Tokugawa” thanks to Tenkai’s spell. The false Muramasa blade, an Anti-Tokugawa weapon, emerges from Nobutsuna’s body for Munenori to wield against the false Tokugawa. Munenori swears to wield it just this once in honor of Nobutsuna’s sacrifice. Thanks to him wielding it, Ritsuka’s party gains the advantage over Kama.[9]
Other appearances
Nobutsuna in the Fate/Samurai Remnant opening.
Nobutsuna appears in the opening animation for Fate/Samurai Remnant. He does not appear anywhere else in the game, unless the silhouette shown when Tsuchimikado Yasuhiro spoke to the shogunate was meant to be him, as the silhouette has similar shoulders and hair.
Abilities
Forms and Alternate Versions
Izu-no-Kami Muramasa
During the Edo Singularity, Nankoubou Tenkai devised and engraved a Spell in Nobutsuna's body as a means to take down Kama/Mara. Through this spell, Nobutsuna gained the ability to reshape his Soul into a singular katana: Izu-no-Kami Muramasa (伊豆守の村正?). Their objective was to create the ultimate Anti-Tokugawa weapon, however, for the plan to work, Nobutsuna had to betray the Tokugawa and pretend to work under Kama, becoming their mortal enemy.[9]
Abilities
Despite being a false Muramasa blade, Izu-no-Kami carries the Anti-Tokugawa properties they are known for. While wielded by Yagyuu Munenori, this sword was lethal to any of Kama/Mara's doubles due to her connection to the Ooku and the Tokugawa Clan. In fear of receiving a critical hit herself, Kama was forced to relinquish her control over the Ooku Labyrinth, allowing Lady Kasuga to send her flying outside to the surface.[9]
Development
Creation and Conception
Matsudaira Nobutsuna was designed by Furumi Showichi in Fate/Grand Order.
Comment from Illustrator
"He’s Tajima no Kami’s colleague, so I drew the picture always comparing him side by side with Tajima no Kami’s sprite, so he didn’t feel out of place when lined up. I was aware of the image of an overly serious and no-nonsense character, but in comparison to how you can feel the unique delicacy in the expression of the eyes of the fellow straight-laced · retainer type Agravain, I tried to bring out his personality in a more intimidating way." (Furumi Showichi)[10]
References
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order material VI - Profile of Yagyuu Munenori, translated by Smoof101.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Ooku: Tokugawa Restoration Labyrinth, Act Ten: Ooku, Part One
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Ooku: Tokugawa's World-Changing Labyrinth - Act 2: The Audience
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Ooku: Tokugawa's World-Changing Labyrinth - Interlude: The Truth of Materials
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Ooku: Tokugawa's World-Changing Labyrinth - Act 3: Path of Insincerity
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Ooku: Tokugawa's World-Changing Labyrinth - Act 4: Remedy for Intoxication
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Ooku: Tokugawa's World-Changing Labyrinth - Act 6: Myriad of Women
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Ooku: Tokugawa Restoration Labyrinth, Act Seven: God of Love
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Ooku: Tokugawa Restoration Labyrinth, Act Ten: Ooku, Part Two
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order material VIII - Matsudaira Nobutsuna's profile, translated by King_of_Padoru