@kenx The one thing confirmed by all sources is that Nobunaga is a progressive person. While the rest of the continent insists on using swords, he embraces guns. He embraces western culture while the rest of the continent reject it. He goes after those that oppose him making him ruthless. However, all rulers do this. The only difference here is that Nobunaga is the oddball progressive guy in a world of conservatives so he gets opposed a lot more. That is enough to be a Demon King.
On a side note, he could also be portrayed as a curious child wanting 'new toys' or doing things his way (read: guns, western stuff, etc, riding bikes indoors) and 'throwing tantrums' (
Kill Every Last One of Them) when he doesn't get them if we want to go NobunaGag. There are so many ways to portray Nobunaga but almost everyone wants to paint him as a cruel tyrant when they play the historical route.
@miyako19
But Nobunaga is famous for being rather cruel. He ordered his men to burn down Mount Hiei and slaugtered even women and children.
I will just quote this information from the technically untrustworthy Wikipedia. We all don't know how true this information is but it certainly raises a few more questions.
The Tendai monks of Mt. Hiei were long great enemies of Oda Nobunaga, due to their strength and independence, and due to their alliance with the Azai and Asakura clans.
Now, if self-proclaimed holy individuals with a lot of military power and also independence decide to join the war and side with your enemies while hiding on top of their very flammable holy mountain...
In hindsight, I would have burned down Mt Hiei as well. However, I am someone who doesn't believe in religion (i believe in God but not religion. Not sure what classification I belong to.) so any holiness they might have are pretty much lame excuses. The women and children on Mt Hiei? I am just going to ask this weird question.
What women and children? The one said to have been slaughtered on a mountain full of
Buddhist monks by those already painting Nobunaga as evil?
There is a chance that Nobunaga is truly a cruel and evil being but there is also a chance that he simply isn't and the people around him are assholes. We wouldn't know because they are all dead and history is usually just a fancy way of saying "some guy's personal fiction". Its about high time we get a 'Good Nobunaga with a happy ending'. I mean, what other purpose is there to time travel fiction?
This applies to Liu Bei and Cao Cao as well just so you know.