The 14th episode of the NHK Taiga drama "BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" (NHK General, Sundays at 8pm, etc.), starring actor Taiga Nakano, aired on April 12th, and a scene in which Nobunaga (Shun Oguri) kicks Akechi Mitsuhide (Jun Kaname) attracted the attention of viewers.
"BROTHERS IN ARMS （Toyotomi Brothers!）" is the 65th Taiga drama. With Toyotomi Hidenaga (Koichiro) as the protagonist, it depicts the miraculous feat of unifying Japan together with his older brother Hideyoshi (Tokichiro) through their strong bond, a success story of dreams and hopes.
In episode 14, Nobunaga (Ayumu Nakajima) is furious when he learns that Asai Nagamasa (Shun Oguri) has defected to the Asakura side. However, he regains his composure thanks to Fujikichiro's (Sosuke Ikematsu) quick thinking and decides to retreat.
With only a small force, Fujikichiro is tasked with holding off the Asakura army until Nobunaga returns to Kyoto, acting as the rearguard. Koichiro (played by Nakano) takes on the most dangerous role among them. The brothers' life-or-death retreat begins... and so the story unfolds.
Initially unable to believe Nagamasa's rebellion, Nobunaga's anger eventually reached its peak, and he decided to proceed with the attack. He completely ignored his retainers' warnings that this would be "playing right into the enemy's hands," and Mitsuhide pleaded with him, "Lord Oda, please calm down," but Nobunaga yelled, "Shut up!" and delivered a powerful kick to Mitsuhide. Nobunaga then blurted out his true feelings, "Don't you dare give me orders, you shogun's lapdog!" and cast a suspicious glance, wondering, "Could this whole thing have been orchestrated by the Shogun?"
Viewers reacted immediately to the scene. Comments included: "Nobunaga's kick is directed at Akechi Mitsuhide," "He's already kicked him," "His first kick to Mitsuhide," "Mitsuhide got kicked lol, Honnoji Incident is inevitable," and "Honnoji points up ↑↑." Other comments included: "'The Shogun's pet,' oh, he's revealed his true feelings," and "'Surely, this wasn't something the Shogun orchestrated,' he's missing the honorific, 'sama'."
