sigh

[wardance]

♛ IC
Name: Masamune Date
Canon: Sengoku Basara
Canon Point: End of Season 1, anime.
Age: 19
Gender: male
Species: Human
Appearance: link to image

(basic information & mannerisms)
Masamune is known among them as the One-Eyed Dragon (which is where Capcom got his style of fighting with six katana in the style of dragon claws). It’s not clear how he lost his right eye canonly (whether he took it out himself or Kojuro did it for him or something entirely not related to history), but historically he lost his eyesight to syphilis at a young age.

True to the way Capcom is known for stylizing their characters, Masamune has a very distinct appearance as well as habits of speech and body language that contribute to defining his character. The Date Clan in Sengoku Basara is very much represented and modeled after modern day Yakuza, both in the clan's appearances (hairstyles, demeanor, etc.) as well as things such as how Masamune's highest ranking officer and strategist, Katakura Kojuro, treats the lower-ranked troops when giving them commands or dealing with them on more personal levels.

Masamune also has a very strange way of speaking, where he mixes random English phrases into his speech. He calls it the dragon language (. . .) For stylization sake, I change the font in his dialogue when he's intentionally using his English and Japanese purposely ridiculous video games to be honest???. Youtube has conveniently compiled a video segment of his engrish throughout the anime.

History/Background: Sengoku Basara Anime & Masamune Date.
Personality:

The Date Clan's fearless young leader, Date Masamune continues the aspirations of his father to conquer the land under one ruler. Out of all the lords warring with each other to conquer the Land of the Rising sun, Masamune is by far the youngest of them (historically, he's said to have participated in his first campaign with his father when he was 14), however that makes the Date clan no less of an adversary. Masamune's greatest show of contrasting characteristics is between his demeanor on the battlefield and off of it; the differences only seem to encourage those under him to be further loyal to him, but it also gives his characterization a rather well-rounded and unchanging dynamic.

On the battlefield, he is loud and bold, full of intense enthusiasm and energy using it to boost morale and rally his troops as well as to keep his own eye on the prize. He's not one for individuals getting in his way/with whatever his intended goal is, viewing them as mere "stepping-stones" and rarely showing doubt in his ability to go straight on through them. In order to not disappoint the men he's earned the loyalty of, Masamune's strength and skill of wielding his blades makes his brash cockiness... erm, mostly valid (I guess no one's perfect). He takes his tasks as leader seriously and has a good understanding of 'working together' with his men.

Off the battlefield, Masamune is more often quiet and a listener, but he is by far shy or introverted. He is always reflective of past actions especially when scolded by Kojuro for reckless decisions (anyone else would be ignored or punched in the face). While he shows a disdain for being in the wrong, he is very quick to understand that anything said to him by the other is to be considered and respected for the lessons it holds. Kojuro has been his personal attendant since he was young, and has become both a mentor and brother-like figure for Masamune. With that comes Kojuro's tendency to treat him like a child, still, at times, and even though it angers Masamune greatly, he learns that almost always he is being treated that way only when he truly is acting the part.

Regardless of where and what situation he is in, Masamune tends to not hold back and say what he thinks (he can be a rude brat). Even when fear strikes him to the point he abandons the battlefield after his meeting with Oda Nobunaga-- while he doesn't openly express things --he doesn't hide his change in demeanor from any of his men.

Other than exhibiting his restraint for needing to 'keep it cool' in order not get too hotheaded (which is what really triggers his reckless descisions—his bad attitude is usually to taunt his opponent into losing their control) during fighting, he is openly critical and downright insulting those he deems unworthy to taunt and amplify the tension of a fight (which is basically everyone until they prove otherwise). At the same time, he has no issue with granting compliments to those who earn it.

Masamue's initial goal seeking is done in the most direct fashion possible by fighting a clan leader head on. Often, the Date clan's movements are pretty straightforward (Kojuro proves his strategic genius by still being able to make Masamune's plans such as "Let's just go straight there and shank the guy himself and avoid everyone else to get there first") but he's also shown, when crossing paths with worthy opponents, to become rather enthralled and otherwise excited by their capability and the fight unfolding between them. It's a noticeable change, particularly in the sense that he starts the fight in an aloof manner, but deeper in he seems to no longer consider the opponent "in his way".

He demands actions, not words, for his attention.

( RELATIONSHIPS )

Such a demand is just one of many reasons his respect is deep for Sanada Yukimura. They are similar in age (Masamune is 2 years older than Yukimura), but the two of them offer stark contrasts to each other that seems to only provoke their interest further: Yukimura is hotheaded on the battlefield with an insatiable amount of passion and devotion in opposition to Masamune's cool and collected approach.

While Masamune is not as naïve as the younger retainer and he finds the other “too innocent” to survive the warring times without changing his mentality, Masamune can't help but find him truly fascinating. For all his faults that Masamune claims of him not being a 'real warrior' to serve in a war, it's exactly those things that make Yukimura so unique to him and he holds a great deal of respect for the other. He often mentions to others that Yukimura is the only one who can make him lose his cool during a fight and get him truly excited to the point he's willing to throw everything away for the chance to fight (his objectives, his need to survive to keep leading his men to the future they are fighting for, etc.). Their encounter pretty much changes Masamune's entire goal and purpose in life. While he is still first and foremost dedicated to conquering and uniting the Land of the Rising Sun under Date rule, as time goes on it's clear that such a thing is now considered something that must be done to get to what he finds to be the 'real party' he's looking forward to: a fair one-on-one fight with Yukimura to the end.

AKA: his warlord duties are now the college thesis you need to finish before you go party like it's 1999 for a week. Yep.

When together, fighting alongside Yukimura is something he has no hesitance in accepting despite even when he tells his army that he is going to face an enemy alone and they aren't to come with him. The two of them show a ridiculous amount of trust between one another when things get dire, especially considering they are technically enemies and have not spent years developing trust between one another. For whatever reason, though, even Masamune with his usual preparedness to be suspicious of everyone and everything because just about anything can go wrong in war, Yukimura is treated differently. He has hope Yukimura's passion for life won't burn out too early and things will allow them a "last party" together (fight to the death).
Katakura Kojuro is his retainer (+strategist) and he is also known as Masamune's "Right Eye". It's clear that Masamune puts a great deal of confidence in trusting this man to act faithfully as his nickname claims him. Moreso than military relations, however, Kojuro is like an older-brother figure and mentor to Masamune. Having served his father, Kojuro has been Masamune's personal attendant since he was a child and he has taken his duties to his young lord very seriously. The older man walks a fine line between being a loyal retainer that never questions his lord and basically backhanding him or otherwise punching him for stupid life choices. ( eg., when Masamune is injured via gunshot wounds, he decides he's going to go contend with an infamous warlord that no longer has an army but is still very dangerous and not to be trifled with in order to rescue his men who have been captured. Kojuro pleads with him and when Masamune ignores him, Kojuro resorts to raising his sword and fighting him to stop him. In the end, of course, he just knocks him out with a good beating that Masamune 150% deserves but also decides to go in place of Masamune.)

Despite this, Kojuro trusts Masamune to be able to do just about anything: living up to such expectations so Kojuro is proud is quite a priority when he considers actions and choices, even if subconsciously. He also has similar unshakable faith in Kojuro. However, when push comes to shove, Kojuro could probably be said to be the one weakness Masamune really has in terms of losing someone that would make him suffer. Luckily, Kojuro is more than capable of taking care of himself (truly, Masamune has a better chance of dying, and if Kojuro goes before him it would only be because he was protecting Masamune's dumb ass from his own stupidity).



Despite his higher 'maturity' level than his rival counterpart and his often shown displays of being dismissive or aloof in terms of death and how war works, several times he has ultimately shown that he, too is, an idealist at his core, still, and a person wanting to be able to do the 'right thing' even when there is nothing such as right and wrong in their times.

For the Date Clan, nothing is more important to them than paying back their debts and never going back on their words. Once things are set, that's how it has to be done, regardless. There are no betrayals, no back-outs if a promise has been given. In turn, he rarely makes such promises, but in these matters, he feels that everyone who has humanity in them should abide by. Even when his enemies turn on one another and create an advantage for him via their betrayal, he has a hard time watching such a thing happen.

He believes in fair fights and while he knows logically it won't always be that way, he reacts at times in ways that show he is still young enough to hold people to better standards and actions that are unrealistic of humans who are consumed by greed and power. And when he doesn't believe in something or how it's done (such as strength being equivalent to ruling over people via fear and bloodshed in order to create 'peace'), he won't bow down to it, even at the cost of his life. Because there are some things to him that just aren't acceptable, and he is still of an age where he believes he can fight his way to achieve things successfully without the need for things like that.

On a final note, it is important to realize this: Masamune can and does act immature, but he is far from stupid. In fact, most of his successes are from older warlords underestimating him due to them viewing him as arrogant and spoiled by his retainer. Masamune is quite clever, the situation and his emotional control determine if his head or his emotions come out first.