Niwa Nagahide

Niwa Nagahide （丹羽長秀）is the tactician of the Oda clan. Her nickname is Machiyo.

She is voiced by Matsuzaki Rei in the anime.

Appearance
Nagahide is described as an elegant and beautiful individual and is as calm and collected as Katsuie is fierce and aggressive. she is regularly seen in an era fitting garment and wields a naginata into battle.

Personality
Nagahide is usually quite friendly and soft-spoken. She is usually seen smiling, and even takes her cheery personality to the battlefield, where she will greet her enemies with smiles. She shows a high degree of self-control, and is even able to keep her cool while being threatened by Kastuie. It is not as if she isn't prone to angry outbursts, however, as she berates Nobuna and Yoshiharu for having a "lover's quarrel" in front of Asai Nagamasa; and breaks her almost timeless relaxed demeanor. She enjoys playfully teasing those around her, such as when she makes fun of Yoshiharu when Nobuna dubs him "monkey" (サル), and usually tries to lighten up the mood in serious situations.

Being Nobuna's tactician, she is very intelligent and insightful. She is able to tell immediately that Nobuna is troubled by Dousan's decision to die in battle. One of her notable quirks is that she rates, actions, comments, and anything else she finds amusing with "points" ( 点 ten), with the higher number being more favorable. This is most likely because, as a tactician, her job is determine the best course of action to take.

LIke all of her retainers, Nagahide is extremely loyal to Nobuna, and can't fathom the idea of her princess being used, or being given up on in any way. In fact, she even awards "0 points" when a general suggests surrendering and giving up Nobuna. She greatly disapproves of Matsunaga Danjou's methods as well, since they can do more harm than good, though this is justifiable as Danjou is both dangerous and has a very loose grip on reality, so much so she refuses blatantly to perceive the difference between dream and reality. It's worth noting, she herself admits that she is not a strategic genius like Hanbei, and notes that there is a difference between an advisor and a strategist(she is the former).

According mostly to Katsuie, who herself is rather rough and a masculine woman, Nagahide is the kind of feminine person she wants to try to be.

Nagahide can be quite supportive of Nobuna's relationship with Yoshiharu, and is perhaps the only girl around him who doesn't have any feelings of her own towards him, although she considers him a valuable ally and friend. She is usually seen to be close to Katsuie, usually due to both being Nobuna's closest retainers, and ultimately she ends up playing something of a "straight man" to her antics, especially when she starts trying to change her manner of speaking, which causes Nagahide to have to be the one to tell her she's not quite doing it right.

Background
It is noted that she was rising through the ranks since a young age to become Nobuna's chief strategist by the age of twenty. Nobuna herself seems to see Nagahide somewhat like an older sister.

Arrival in the Sengoku Period Arc

 * Main Article: Arrival in the Sengoku Period Arc

She is present when Nobuna attempts to execute her younger brother, however she does not stand out until Yoshiharu talks Nobuna down. Following this incident she asks what they will do with Nobukatsu after his execution has been avoided, which leads Nobukatsu to change his name to Nobusumi Tsuda and declare loyalty to Nobuna. With the situation resolved, Nagahide and the remaining retainers ultimately feel relived and happy for the way the situation was resolved.

She is the one who informs everyone of Yoshimoto's invasion and is present at the meeting later to discus their plans. When Yoshiharu informs them of the location of Yoshimoto's campsite, Nagahide asks Nobuna if she wishes to pray to the gods, and Nobuna basically tells them to either help her or stay out of her way. She is present for Yoshimoto's capture and later appears at the celebration of their victory at Yoshiharu's house, where she talks to him for the first time to thank him for his efforts.

Invasion of Mino Arc

 * Main Article: Invasion of Mino Arc

Kyoto Arc

 * Main Article: Kyoto Arc

Retreat at Kanegasaki Arc

 * Main Article: Retreat at Kanegasaki Arc

Trivia

 * She was based on the historic figure with the same name, as is a recurring theme in the series however she is female while the historic figure is male.